USAFit Philly - Marathon/Half Marathon Training

Half of the First Half is a Quarter of the Whole

2012-02-25T11:16:00.002-05:00

Such profound discoveries are waiting for you when you run or walk with this group.

This morning at 8 a.m. Maggi, Russ, Julius, John T, Sue, and I met at Forbidden Drive. Also there was a fitter from before my time that I'm pretty sure went by the name of Bill. I hope I got that right. We all had different plans and paces but what does that ever matter with this group.

Russ, Bill and Sue took off ahead of the rest of us. Sue and Bill planned 6, Russ was in it for 5 and the rest of us were going for 8. At mile 2 we discovered the title of this blog post. But then if you can do the math you knew that already didn't you? Other discoveries included the observation that puddles are easier to jump over than fallen logs and I wasn't even going to attempt to hurdle the horse droppings.

There were lot of puddles today as you might expect after yestererday's rains. But the sun was shining and the sky was bright blue. At least it was when we started. Around mile 5 the winds started to pick up and by the time we were finished the clouds had covered.

Maggi, Julius and John and I stayed together more or less until mile 4 with a pattern of 1 mile run; 1 minute walk. At that point we spread out a bit. Bad-Ass-Maggi (you should so get those socks) ran the entire final 4. And she did that with a well rested Russ pushing her pace in the final 2.5. Once all had returned safeul we had high fives all-around and went our separate ways to begin part two of our weekends; all before many folks even got out of bed of the day!

And on the way home a snow squall blew through. A winter running day at it's best!

Let it Snow, Let is Snow, Let is Snow!

2012-01-21T17:28:00.000-05:00

What a beautiful morning for a run!

I arrived at Betzwood at 7:45ish to find the gate closed and locked. I pulled out of the way of traffic (what little there was) and waited to see who else would show up. In a few minutes I saw Tom running up from the parking lot of the condominimum development across from Betzwood. Just as he climbed into the passenger side of my car we saw John T and John C arrived. We directed them down to the parking lot and followed them. The three of us returned to the locked gate and waited and wondered where Pete was. He had posted that he was going to be there. While we waited Julius and Amy arrived and we directed them to the parking lot.

Where was Pete? We really should have known better as he arrived a few minutes later running up from the trail.

Amy and Julius joined us shortly after this photo and off we went. We started out down the river trail. Eventually all but Julius and I went up the levee path and back. I had a family committment though and had to turn around early. Julius was kind enough to accompany me back.

Closing the gap between runners and photo break.

The trail was all but empty. While I was out there we saw a couple and their dog and two other runners. We were more or less blazing our own path on the way out.

An attempt to capture our footprints in the snow.

Shortly after we got on the trail the sleet turned back to snow.
Here is the view looking across the river at the VF train station.

"Water rolls of their backs but snow does not" - Julius Maul

Proof I was there :)

The River Trail is one of my personal favorites and the snow made for a really magical run.

Boulders, Roots, and Ice... Oh my.

2012-01-14T15:22:00.006-05:00

At 8:00 a.m. and about 5 seconds (because it was very cold standing around) eight of us headed out along Forbidden Drive; John T and John C, Marjorie and Jeff and Marjorie’s sister Amy, Sammy, Julius and me. Pete was out of town today but he left instructions.

“If you would like to try some beginner trails, my recommendation is to try the trail on the opposite side of the creek from Forbidden Drive. To do this, take Forbidden Drive down to Bells Mill Road (the road you must cross about 1/2 mile from Northwestern Avenue). Cross the creek here, and catch the trail just at the other side of the creek to continue down the creek. This is a bit rocky in a few places but pretty level and quite scenic if you stay next to the creek. You can cross back over at the covered bridge or the stone bridge. After the covered bridge it gets a bit hilly, so I recommend some caution. This rates about a 3 on the Adventure scale, or a 5 if you go past the covered bridge.”

Now that I’ve read his instructions again, let me say that we owe Pete some apologies. You see as it turns out we did go past the covered bridge, past the first stone bridge and continued to the next stone bridge just before Valley Green at mile 2.5. However, all of us, me included, managed to read the instructions and focus on the highlighted words. With those words in mind, as we ran we debated Pete’s sanity, his definition of "pretty level" or at least his rating system. Ooops. Next time we'll read more closely.
In the end, though, I believe I speak for all of us though when I say we had fun! It was a very brisk morning with sunshine and even a few flurries as we gathered to start. Once again no injuries and this week John T. gets the "Buzz Lightyear Falling With Style Award". We're still trying to figure out how he did and didn't get dirty!!

Check out our Facebook page to see pictures of today's adventure.

Phillyfit Welcomes in the New Year in Style!

2012-01-07T11:26:00.001-05:00

What a great day for all of us to get out there and excercise. I think we had close to 20 or more folks out on the trails today.
I ran with Pete's trail group. (Sorry for the confusion all. We had originally planned to meet together to start but it didn't work out that way). In the trail group we had: Pete and I, Marjorie and Jeff, John T and John C, the Smileys, Tom S, Gabby, Sue and her friend Dan. Upon returning to my car I found a note from Sammy who missed us by mere minutes due to alarm failures. She ran the loop. After the trail run, John T and I went over to Betzwood to do a few more and we saw Mel, and Sherry, and Dan and I think I saw Gina. After running at Betzwood I saw Roy on his bike and he said he was with Brian. I know there were likely a few more at Betzwood before we got there as well. Yay Phillyfit! I hope you all had fun.

I'd like to say that trail running was incredibly fun. I've done very little in my running career (short as it is) but I intend to do more. We ran over and under fallen trees, through the leaves and up and down the banks of the river. At one point we went over the train tracks and crossed over a streamlet that was a bit wide for short legged people. I'm glad I wore old shoes as my toes did get wet. We ran across frozen ground and some not so frozen. We saw ice lining the little streamlets. My legs are still buzzed (and we finished for over 2 hours now).

I'm happy to say that no one was injured and Jeff gets the prize for most acrobatic save. I was sure we were going to be carrying him back. And you should have seen Pete pushing obstacles out of the way with his feet without missing a step. It was like watching a mountain goat!

Conversation is not easy on these runs because we were single file most of the way - but it was not impossible.Here are some things I heard (paraphrased a bit)

"I feel like a kid again"
"That's not the significant hill" "It's not?????!!!!!"
"Ya know I said this trail was a 2 on Pete's adventure scale (out of 10) but maybe it's really a 3" (NOW he tells us)
"Healthy advise from me is highly suspect" said of course by the guy who writes "I'm Fat Blogging"
"I think running some during the week might be a good idea"

Keep smiling and keep moving folks. That's what it's all about.

Distance Walking

2012-01-02T12:06:00.004-05:00

I was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome (an autoimmune disorder similar to rheumatoid arthritis) four years ago when I was just 27 years old. The joint pain and fatigue I experience on a daily basis can be overwhelming, and it’s difficult to find the energy to exercise even though staying active is actually the best way to improve my symptoms. Joining a walking group last spring made all the difference! The training schedule keeps me on track during the week and I look forward to the long group walks on the weekend. I’m physically stronger than I have been in years and feel much more in control of my illness psychologically. I used to hike and run long distances before my diagnosis, so knowing that I can at least walk 10 miles now gives me a small but significant semblance of normalcy. I hope to keep this up forever!

Discovering Who You Are

2012-01-01T17:21:00.002-05:00

Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are: - Bernice Johnson Reagon

Running a marathon or half marathon is a daunting task to most people. So why are so many taking up the challenge? If you ask a room full of people that question you'll likely get a roomful of answers. In this post (and in a few that follow this) I'd like to answer the question "Why do you keep doing it? What makes someone join a group like this one year after year; committing to 28 weeks of early morning Saturdays to run or walk miles and miles.

For me the answer lies in the quote above. Completing a marathon was a challenge I had often thought of and in 2008 I finally did it. I honestly thought it was a one and done thing. It wasn't. I was addicted; addicted to running but more so to the community. Whether I run for 1 mile or 10 miles with my friends I learn something new about them or me or both.

For most of 40+ years I was a stay-off-to-the-side people watcher. Crowds never appealed to me and social events were a struggle, especially if I didn't know anyone or only few in the group. Running (and walking) with a group has brought me out of my shell a bit. I'm still a dork but one that has something to contribute to the group afterall. Strangers become friends in a matter of weeks when we run or walk together. I discovered I'm not really a loner I was just playing one because I didn't know any better.

I also have learned that I like running. After years of convincing myself I hated it; that it would be too hard; that unless it involved team sports I couldn't do it... I am a runner. And it doesn't matter how fast (or not) I am.

Stay tuned to read the thoughts of other Phillyfitters.

Top 10 Reasons to be part of USAFit/Philly

2011-12-21T18:38:00.003-05:00

10. Forces to get your butt out of bed Saturday mornings

9. You never even dreamt you could walk or run more than 3 miles

8. Age is only a number. Never too old to start and accomplish a dream!

7. You can accumulate some lovely bibs, medals and some nice free bees

6. Have a wide variety of races, and excuse to travel – Ask Julius – he did 19 this year!

5. You can say you knew Ryan White when he was a child, years before he entered Congress

4. You always wondered what chafing and bleeding nipples really felt like – OUCH!

3. Group therapy – it’s amazing what you can discuss on a 15 mile run!

2. You don’t need to stop at 26.2! Ask Sophorn and Pete, our ULTRA Runners!

1. That feeling Of Crossing the finish line - PRICELESS

Cow Bells Ring

2011-12-21T18:35:00.001-05:00

Cow bells ring, are you listening
That magic race, folks are cheering
We’re running along to finish so strong
Run and walk with US Philly Fit

Gone away are the hot runs
Here to stay are the Long Johns
We’re layering up now, no whining aloud
Run and walk with US Philly Fit

In the morning every week we’d all meet
Starting out with all the morning dew
Some facts and words of wisdom from Coach Pete
Reminding what we’re capable to do!

Our family’s grown, with all the new ones
Some who walk and some Run
We all have our dreams, perhaps run like Shalane
Run and walk with US Philly Fit

Paula and her team are here to guide us
I can’t name them all in this old song
We thank you for your time and commitment
You kept us motivated all along

Another year has quickly gone by
Sore legs and feet, and we ask Why?
A rare group are we, we’re Warriors you see
Our group kicks Ass, we are Philly Fit!
Run, Run and walk with US Philly Fit

Phillyfit Spirit Shines at the Marathon

2011-11-21T12:03:00.002-05:00

Phillyfit is an awesome group of people. The truly amazing thing is that each season we start out with a mix of new and returning and by the end we have all discovered new friends and training partners. A group of (mostly) introverts has formed friendships that will last a lifetime. Most of us will admit that we have shared things with our distance running and walking parnters that we never thought we'd share with anyone let alone someone we've only known for such a short time. It really IS cheaper than therapy.

Just being part of each other's lives (on and off the trails) makes a huge difference to most of us. Phillyfit Spirit awards recognize actions and words over and above the call of friendship. These are actions that pulled someone else out of a slump or past the wall. On marathon day 2011 I was made aware or witnessed several such acts.

*I heard one fitter bolstering another who wanted to quit after mile 4.
*I saw coaches and non coaches running people in the last half mile AFTER finishing their own races.
*I know that one fitter who ran 50 miles the day before came out and stood for hours along the course cheering fellow Fitters on.
*I know one coach who waited for his full marathoner - a walker - so he could personally put a medal around her neck.

All great examples of Phillyfit Spirit. The award for the day however goes to SHERRY CANNAN. Here is the story as was told to me via email:

Just wanted to let you know when the corrals were starting I jumped in the purple corral and found Sherry. She happily ran the first couple of miles with me. Then, when I was heading outbound to Manayunk on Kelly Drive, she was inbound already and asked if I needed a partner. I wanted to say yes, but didn't want to mess up her time and didn't want her to run back to Manayunk. I just said maybe the last 3 miles? And she said OK with a smile!

The last 7 miles I hit a wall....I walked a little and then ran a little. My right knee, right ankle, and top of my left foot was in pain. And mentally, it was hard....there were few people on the road and I felt like the little engine that couldn't! When I was at mile 24ish I saw Sherry walking back towards me. When we reached each other I thought she finished and walked back and she didn't! I was so happy she walked back, but felt bad she didn't cross the finish, but she said she was totally fine. She even offered me her knee brace! I declined b/c I was afraid my leg would feel weird while running in it.

I was already extremely nervous at the start and started to lose hope until I saw Sherry!

Twas the Night Before Philly - 2011 Edition

2011-11-17T22:18:00.002-05:00

Once again with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore (and possibly Henry Livingston, Jr) here is Twas the Night Before Philly.

'Twas the night before Philly, and all through the city

the Fitters were anxious; all wired and jittery;

Their shirts were laid out with bibs all pinned on
waiting for the alarm that’d go off before dawn;

They tried to be nestled, all snug in their beds,
and picture the finish line dance in their heads;

But sleep would evade them, and fidget they might
as they obsessed about something for one more night,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from our beds to see what was the matter.

Away to the window we flew like a flash.
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the lawn gave a beautiful glow
and we wanted to run but we shouldn’t, we know.

When, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But a wide eyed runner, showing none of our fear.

With a gait that was spunky, so lively and quick,
I wondered out loud, “This dude must be sick.”

More rapid than Abigail much closer he came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called out some names;

"Now, Amanda! now, Dan! now, Mary and Tom!
Oh, Aimee! And Mel! Your nightmares be gone!

To hydration and fueling! To hitting the wall!
Just dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

The Fitters would rock, this little dude knew,
Even if it meant a blister or two.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney runner dude came with a bound.

He was dressed for the dance down the finish line chute
His clothes all wicking and layered to boot;

A bundle of Gu he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a winner; at the back of the pack.

His Garmin was absent; his pace not a care
Distance was fixed and mile markers were there.

He motioned for us to gather around
So shocked were we all, we made not a sound

“From May to November, you’ve trained for this day
Yet still you can’t keep the anxiety at bay”

“In the heat of the summer; and snow in the fall
You’ve faced miles upon miles and conquered them all”

“You’ve sweated and hurt, but whine you did not
Rock this, you will; I mean that …….a lot.”

Then taking a pause as he turned but to leave
The secret, he said, is you have to BELIEVE!

He posed for a picture then sprang to his corral
Hoping he had done enough to boost our morale

And I heard him exclaim, ere he jogged out of sight,
"Keep smiling and moving and you’ll be alright!"

Philadelphia Marathon meets Where in the World is Carmen San Diego

2011-11-13T09:16:00.005-05:00

This is not an original idea, I saw it in today's newspaper. List the following Philadelphia Landmarks in the order you will see them on the course. Here is a link to the course map

1, Boathouse row (the view from across the Schuylkill)
2. Cith Hall (northside)
3. Independence Hall
4. LOVE Park
5. Memorial Hall
6. Mother Bethel, A.M.E. Church
7. Penn's Landing
8. Philadlephia Zoo
9. Reading Terminal Market
10. 30th Street Station

Post your answer on our FB page.

Running Naked

2011-11-12T13:39:00.003-05:00

Today was the second USAFit/Philly Prediction Run. We began this tradition (?) last year on the final meeting of the year. It's a way to let everyone run free of watches and other timing devices. This was not an easy task for some. In particular, Dan begged us at first to let him keep his watch in his pocket if he promised not to look at it. He really wanted to know his stats. In the end, he left his watch in the car and as you see below came within 1 minute and 14 seconds of his predicted time. Nice job.

Jason and Ryan started everyone off with a 10 to 1 countdown.

After the yellow group was all in it appeared that Tom and Gabby were 1st and 2nd with a difference of 14 and 24 seconds respectively. In the orange/red runners Mary, Elaine, Anne and John all came in less than a minute of their predicted time at 23, 25, 28 and 31 seconds respectively. Nice job all. So in the end Mary edged out Gabby by 1 second to take second place among the runners. In the walker category, Mike came in first with a differential of 2 minutes 40 seconds and Swati was second at 3 minutes 32 seconds. The record is 4 seconds held by Steve B in 2010. Perhaps we will have to have a challenge to beat that next year!

First place in each category recieves free 2012 membership with USAFit/Philly and second place in each category recieved a $25 gift certificate to the Running Place.

And here are the results. First number is the prediction; second numer is the actual.

RUNNER DIVISION

Abigail 53:30 53:06

Aimee 1:11:17 1:02:14

Amanda 57:30 54:46

Anne 1:07:23 1:06:55

Dan 56:30 55:16

Elaine 1:15:00 1:15:25

Gabby 57:59 55:16

John T 1:07:22 1:07:52

Mary 1:15:00 1:15:23

Mel 1:05:57 1:02:14

Tom 56:00 55:46

WALKER DIVISION

Brian 1:21:00 1:27:11

Candy 2:00:00 1:48:26

Carmena 1:31:00 1:25:45

Mary 1:30:00 1:26:26

Mike 1:22:00 1:20:40

Pauline 1:40:00 1:26:26

Swati 1:30:00 1:26:28

Snowtober 13-21-30 Mile Run

2011-10-29T18:33:00.001-04:00

Life is an adventure and today was one of the better rides for USAFit/Philly. The forecast for snow not only held up it came early. Changeover from rain to snow began around 8 am instead of 3 pm. I will start by saying that all those who came out finished and as you see in the photos they all SMILED at the end.

A week or so ago someone commented that we had not had much rain this season. Well mother nature made up for any Saturday lack of preciptation in a major way today. Today the group faced rain, sleet, snow, wind and icy bridges & hills. Marathon day? Bring.It.On!!

We gathered under cover of the rest room building for a group photo and check to see that everyone knew the route. Some opted to modify the route to avoid the (likely) deteriorating river trail at Betzwood. Still everyone accomplished their mileage for the day.

I cannot tell you much about the individual runs or walks of the group since I wasn't out there with them. I can tell you that I am once again so proud to be part of such a supportive group of runners and walkers. We had volunteers freezing their toes and fingers off supporting the folks on the trail; and the runners and walkers stuck together in groups of 2 and 3 so no one ran alone. We had folks doing 13, 21 and even 30 miles today.

Now some would call it crazy; others dedication. I think it's probably a combination of both. And while I firmly believe that had it been necessary anyone of them could have finished this alone; a workout like this is always better with friends. If for no other reason than most folks won't believe you if you didn't have a buddy to back you up! :)

As Pete said This is the run everyone will remember; even more than the marathon.

October Snow

2011-10-28T18:06:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow, Phillyfit will complete its 21 mile distance. This is the longest training miles of the season. After tomorrow it's three weeks of taper and then the full (or half ) marathon on November 20.

Adding to the anticipation and nerves is an approaching storm which - according to local forecasters - will dump anywhere from 1-6 inches of snow on us tomorrow depending on where you are. Right now it looks like the changeover to snow will not happen until late afternoon/early evening. On the surface that appears to be a good thing as we should be well done and home before that. Unfortunately the downside is that for the hours that our group will be on the trail it will be raining and getting colder by the hour. The winds will be start out at breezy and get stronger throughout the morning. Temps will start out in the low 40's and drop from there.

It will be a challenge for all; runners, walkers and support team. The upside; anyone who manages this is seriously ready for anything November 20 could throw at us.

All is ready and will make the best of it. I'll post more tomorrow with the results.

21 miles - Part ONE

2011-10-22T14:42:00.004-04:00

Today (and yesterday) 4 of our members completed their 21 mile (longest of the season) runs and walks. Carmena and Pauline - 2 of our walkers - got together to do their miles along Kelly Drive yesterday. It was a beautiful day and although I wasn't there I received messages from them both indicating it was a good walk for them. They managed 15 minute miles walking!! I can't wait to see them and congratulate them in person.

Today, Melanie and Kristen needed to do their longest runs. ( a week early than our schedule calls for). Melanie was doing her first ever 21 miles and Kristen her first in - well she told me her last marathon was 10 years ago so I'm thinking it's been a long time since she completed 21 all at once as well although I'm not positive.

Today was one of those days when I am reminded of what a great group we have at Phillyfit. I put out a call for help and recieved way more responses than we needed. In the end, Jeannie and Mark helped with water stops. Sherry and Kristie paced Melanie and Kristen respectively. Thanks to Anne, Lyn and Maggie for offering to relay Melanie had that been necessary. You guys are awesome.

Here are Melanie & Sherry and Kristen & Kristie at the 8 mile marker on the trail. At this point Melanie and Sherry were at approximately 12 miles and Kristen and Kristie were at approximately 14. Looking good ladies.

I hope you can see form these photos that it was a gorgeous fall day. Sunshine, cool, crisp air. PERFECT running weather.

Kristen and Kristie at the 4.5 mile marker (Yerkes Road dogleg)

on their way back. 4 miles to go and still smiling.

Melanie and Sherry flash their victory smiles back at Oaks. Coach Mark gave Melanie some taper and race day tips.

CONGRATULATIONS to all. Now go take a well deserved nap :)

USAFit/Philly Chats up the RNR Philly Half

2011-09-24T22:57:00.001-04:00

"Today's the day! So excited! I will not focus on how slow my time is ... rather the fact that, 6 mos ago, if you would have told me I would be running a half-marathon today, I would have said you were nuts! Woohoo! Here we go RnR half-marathon!"

On a fantastic day for distance running or walking, September 18, 2011, members of USAFit/Philly finished the Rock N Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon. I think it is safe to say that an awesome day was had by all. All of our first timers of course had PR's and many of our repeat half marathoners reported PR's as well. As far as I know, everyone who started finished and as Roy says, "You finish it, you win it".

Pre-race there were some jitters which made for interesting FB chatter.

"Honestly, I don't care if I am the very last person. I am going to finish, and I am going to be damn proud of that achievement!" (She finished and was NOT last )

Being prepared was important, "Outfit has been selected. Hydration and nutrition choices have been made. Copious amounts of fluids are being consumed. Nap is imminent. Anxiety is mounting."

And we all had our own way of preparing "...is getting a pedicure before her race. This way if I get injured my feet will be pretty!" (She finished in good form)

"I'm already nervous peeing! And freaking out about my sinus headache! So far successfully avoiding paint cans."

And when all was said and done -

"I really ran a race but was never in the lead. My guess is that I came in around 10,000th - give or take a couple thousand. Ran the Philly half marathon."

"We rocked it! (Through 1.5 of nausea & slower than I wanted) still Rocked!"

Congratulations to all! 7 weeks to another half for some and a full for others! Keep smiling and keep moving!

Click here for the full set of pictures.

To Kelly and Jim.
We missed you both.
One small step and any one of us could have
been in your shoes.

13 Miles of Racing To Do

2011-09-14T19:29:00.000-04:00

We’ve all tried to pass the time on a long trip singing “99 Bottle of Beer on the Wall”. If you haven’t, then your deprived life is about to be saved by this version adapted to a half marathon; specifically the Rock N Roll Philadelphia half marathon. With luck you’ll enjoy it enough to forgive me for putting the song into your head.

13 miles of racing to do, 13 miles of road
Finish one off, cheer the Elites, 12 more miles of racing to go

12 more miles of racing to do, 12 more miles of road
Around City hall, another one down, 11 miles of racing to go

11 miles of racing to do, 11 miles of road
Left on 4th then left on Arch, 10 miles of racing to go

10 miles of racing to do, 10 miles of road
Grab a cup, try not to spill, 9 miles of racing to go

9 more miles of racing to do, 9 miles of road
Pass the museum along Kelly Drive, 8 miles of racing to go

8 more miles of racing to do, 8 miles of road
Under the bridge and through the tunnel, 7 miles of racing to go

7 more miles of racing to do, 7 miles of road
Wondering why I’m doing this, 6 miles of racing to go

6 more miles of racing to do, 6 miles of road
Hear the band, grab a drink, 5 miles of racing to go

5 more miles of racing to do, 5 miles of road
Grab a Gu, over Falls bridge, 4 miles of racing to go

4 more miles of racing to do, 4 miles of road
The band’s not playing, my Garmin is dying, 3 miles of racing to go

3 more miles of racing to do, 3 miles of road
I’d like to whine but I’m not allowed, 2 miles of racing to go

2 more miles of racing to do, 2 miles of road
Along the river and around the bend, 1 mile of racing to go

1 more mile of racing to do, 1 mile of road
I can hear the crowd, I’m almost there, point 1 miles of racing to go????

*Sigh*

Point 1 miles of racing to go, Point 1 mile of road
Cross the line hands in the air, we're 13.1 miles of awesome ya know!!

Common Sense vs Competitive Nature

2011-07-31T11:20:00.003-04:00

We are fast approaching the mid point of our season. . Whether this is your first attempt at distance or you have finished mulitple half or full marathons right about now is when we begin to question our health, fitness and sometimes sanity.

The heat and humidity of the past two weeks has been brutal and quite frankly damaging to your pace and your psche (the latter being so often tied to the former). COMMON SENSE tells you that your body is being taxed more in this weather. Your resources are depleted faster. You need to make constant adjustments to your fluid & electrolyte intake and to your pace. For some of you it means working out indoors due to lung or heart issues. Your COMPETITIVE NATURE is that little voice in your head that is saying nasty things like "You are a slug", "What is wrong with you today?" "You are never going to get to your goal at this rate"... and similar stuff. Our competitive nature is overriding our comon sense on days like this. So in addition to all the juggling mentioned above we also have to keep a balance between these two competing forces. We need to balance working hard enough to stay on the road to our goal with making adjustments for the conditions at hand.

Remember, every step you take in this weather is a step closer to your goal; a step closer to better fitness and preparedness for your 8k, 13.1 or 26.2 mile race. You might be slower in this weather, and more tired at the end, but you are still building strength and endurance. You are also acclimating with each step and mile. The increased strength and endurance today will make next week - in similar conditions - easier to manage.

Overdoing it or pushing too hard and letting your competitive nature take over your common snese may cause injury or worse that could permanently derail your progress toward race day.

There is an argument to be made that too much common sense can be detrimental as well. And that's true. Sometimes we find ourselves making excuses not to train. Remember this - you made the committment to train for 28 weeks. You all know people who can't commit to anything for more than a day. You made the committment to get up early on Saturday to train. You have friends and family who aren't even awake by the time you get home on Saturdays. I know people who balk at driving the distances you are training to take on.

So I doubt any of you is in serious danger of making too many excuses. Relax, give yourself a break. You are all rockstars. Be proud, be strong and keep smiling and keep moving.

P.S. One of the benefits of group training is the help you can get and give eachother to balance these two competing forces. Words of encouragement to another go a long way to fighting the nasty voices and training together on Saturdays or the occassional weekday keep us from making excuses not to train. Whether you are on the giving or recieving end of these helps it's a win-win.

The Value of Keeping a Training Journal

2011-07-27T21:32:00.000-04:00

Some folks keep a blog, some a private notebook and some even keep it in their head although I'm not sure that's an efficient ues of brain cells. Some of the popular mapping websites and run/walk tracking websites allow you to keep a journal of your training runs and walks as well. Point is there are a number of ways to do it and you really should. Why?

Well let me answer that by asking this - Do you need to wear a hydration belt during your races? This is a common question asked by new members before their first half or full marathon. The answer lies in how you managed your hydration during training. If one kept a training journal it would be easier to answer the question. A race typically has water stations every 2 miles (more or less). You should study the course map if one is available to be verify this. So the question is are you prepared (have you trained) to only take water every 2 miles? Now you might be able to last 2 miles and take in the 1/2 dixie cup or so that is offered and be just fine. But what did you do in your training. Did you become accustomed to taking sips more often and will the that affect your psyche as you run the course if you can't do that? There are still about 7 weeks until the Rock n Roll Half marathon. If you start a journal now tracking your hydration habits you'll know what to do.

Now that's only one possible use of a journal. You can (and perhaps should) also track distance, pace, temperature, what shoes you wore, what and how much clothing you wore, how much water, electrolyte and fuel you consumeed and when you consumed it. Try different things and record them. Compare this all with how you felt before, during and after the run. You do not want to try anything new on race day so use your training to try different things and the journal to track the results.

A training journal is also a good place to track those little aches and pains you may be feeling from time to time (or all the time) after a run or walk. This will help you get to know what conditions make the pains worse and when you realize medical attention is needed you'll have a nice history to give the doc to aid in diagnosis.

The advantges of a public journal is acccountability (I tend to give up less on a workout knowing that I'm going to blog about it and I want to be able to truthfully say I finished) and it gives others a chance to chime in with support and helpful comments. Perhaps your readers will notice a trend that you don't. Any USAFit/Philly members may use this community blog as a training journal OR if you have your own send me the link and we'll add it to our blog roll.

Training journals can be anything from simply a collectoin of statistics about your workout or a full blown chapter in the novel that is your season. Whatever your style and whether you make it private or public, consider starting one. It's a very useful tool!

Who would you stuff in the appliance you got rid of last week.

2011-07-17T20:03:00.000-04:00

Ok that's not exactly what the question of the day was for our 10 mile run yesterday. It's just my goofy connecting of the dots from one week to the next. I didn't hear much chatter about this question.

That could very well be that we had a gorgeous day for a run. Warm.. but humidity levels way down. Also it was the first ten miler of the season. There is something about 10 miles - especially if it is your first time as it was for these folks - that is a big deal. I haven't had a chance to check in with all of them but I'm pretty sure they all made it.

In true Phillyfit Spirit, Nancy and John set up a refreshment stop for everyong just before the 5 mile turn around. Unfortunatley neither Nancy nor John was able to be on the trail on Saturday. They could have slept in. Instead they came out and looked after their fellow Fitters. Very cool!

Lastly, here is the team photo taken yesterday with our nifty 2011 yellow shirts.

Three Appliances

2011-07-09T16:46:00.001-04:00

This was the question of the day today for our 6 or 9 mile run or walk. Julius' and my group were in almost unanimous agreement that the washing machine is something we would not do without. Michelle, though had the thought that she would want to keep her dishwasher and use it wash dishes and clothes. Presumably not at the same time but I did not ask. There were mixed feelings about who could do without their microve, stovetop or convection oven. Some felt they could manage with a fireplace instead.

Our group is the slowest running group this season so we were suprised to have Jen's group sneaking up behind us in the final 2 miles. That's what a bathroom break will do to you. We learned that their group decided to co-op. Each of them taking a different 3 appliances and sharing. Now THAT's teamwork.

Conditions for today's run or walk were pretty humid as the area was recovering from heavy rain and thunderstorms from the night before. The sun was bright in some places.

So what would YOU 3 applicances be?

Run Relaxed

2011-06-25T20:42:00.000-04:00

That was the theme of today's run/walk. After having to regroup and change locations for our Saturday meeting, running relaxed sounded like a great idea to me. The idea is to run or walk without your training watch; to run by feel not by numbers and focus on form.

Our group (Julius' and mine) represent the back of the red group pack. We have a nice mix of new and experiened runners. Our plan was to really focus on slow running to the turnaround (today's total was 8.5 miles more or less). I tood the lead and encouraged no one (ok, directed but I tried to do it kindly) to pass me on the way out. We were also trying 2/1 intervals after spending our first weeks together at 1/1 and 1.5/1. At the 2 mile marker I asked Kelly and Amy to keep the pace we had established and I drifted back to see how the rest of the group was doing. Kelly and Amy did a great job of keeping the pace slow and conversational. At the turnaround we all stretched and I told everyone they could proceed at whatever pace felt comfortable to them on the way back. Interestingly the group more or less stayed together for the first mile.

At that point a few individual setbacks caused us to split up. One of our group tripped over a tree root and almost face planted on the trail. As it was he ended up with scraped palms and knee and after a longer than usual walk break to shake it off managed to continue his intervals back to our meeting spot and the first aid kit. Another of our group has a recurring foot problem which acted up again at 4 miles. Julius hung back with him and they walked most of the last 4 miles. And yet another of our group developed severe pain on the outside of the knee at about the same point and although she tried to run/walk we convinced her to walk the final two miles. I stayed back with her.

It's difficult to convince those training for a marathon to give up the run when injured. They want so much to 'be able to do it.. to run the whole distance'. Yet, as another group member so accurately explained, it's better you walk today than not be able to run at all in a few weeks. I think we were successful in getting the point made.

I've asked our group to rate their run at the end of each session when they sign out. 1=too easy, 2=tired but it was good; could have gone a little more but glad I didn't have to 3=gasping for breath or generally exhausted at the end. Two of our members rated today's run a 3. (these were not the injured folks).

So we tried to run relaxed. We managed it for half the run. Thankfully it's a long season and we can build from this.

30 rounds of insanity: Chapter IV

2011-05-30T15:44:00.014-04:00

Chapter IV, in which insanity is revealed in its full pathological grandeur

Quiet

The dawn crackled with excitement and taut energy. A few miles away, most of the 43 "official" entrants gathered in the cool and breezy atmosphere of Lloyd Hall and began their personal journeys. Many, with a wondering gleam in their step, would be looking to court the distance for the first time. Others were experienced ultra runners who knew just what they were facing. Several were just out for fun and to see what they could do. Most were alone, while a precious few were blessed with strong supporters who made the trek with them to "be there for their thing". They gathered, bringing together many hometowns, many stories, and many shades of elation and anxiety. Then, lacking race numbers or even race t-shirts that might serve to proclaim the enormity of the task, they quickly dispersed into the growing sprawl of early-morning joggers, walkers, and bikers beginning to emerge along the path. Other than the row of coolers and supplies lining the start, it was as if the race vanished into anonymity. Only the racers and their few dedicated supporters knew otherwise. This moment represented with perfect clarity the essence of ultrarunning.

Tranquility

I had agonized over my start time. On the one hand, I felt compelled to join this scene, to share a common quest and togetherness with my fellow racers. On the other hand, starting at 6 AM would mean ending at 6 AM, which I felt was unfair to my pacers, supporters, and family that might want to see the finish. After some thought, I decided to start and end at 9, but to arrive early enough to see most of the racers after their first lap, and to visit with race director Lauri. I had slept well, feeling unrushed and calm as I loaded my supplies. With reverence, I stuck with my prerace eating ritual, which has always been a half bagel with cream cheese, a banana, and juice. Then I said goodbye to Lori, the 1/3 of the family that was awake at this hour, and headed to the race.

THE RACE! It was hard to believe in this morning. Instead of my usual pre-race or pre-long run jitters, the past week I had increasingly become more accepting and matter-of-fact as the day approached. In retrospect, it was eerily parallel to the stages of grieving, where I had entered the acceptance phase and was at peace with the task at hand. I felt inordinate calm and focus, as well as a quiet confidence in the plan and the probability of success. Now, I just had to do execute, in one sense or the other.

I arrived about 7:15 to bright, cool, and dewy grounds. Lauri the RD was there. Alongside was Paula, who had most graciously volunteered to guard over the gear of all participants for the next hour and a half, as Lauri had to leave soon after. Just after, my long-time trail and race partner Renee showed up for support. As I unloaded my stuff and placed it in a convenient location, I began to realize the kindness that these two ladies were providing. Besides volunteering, Paula had also made stickers for all the supporters, proclaiming "Pete's 100 miles of insanity/April 2nd-3rd, 2011"! Not to be outdone, Renee brought a table filled with lots of goodies, including my favorite pop-tarts, M&Ms, pretzels, cereal bars, and a bunch of other food. Renee also made a sign stating "Team White's Aid Station" for my supplies. She then took off to, as I later discovered to my delight, place motivational signs around the course. These were a huge hit throughout the race, as each had a motivational quote on one side and some variant of "You can do it Pete" on the other. Paula and others later reported that many of the racers were wondering who this person with all the support was, and one even remarked that they were "pretending to be Pete for the day".

We hung out and talked to some of the runners for a time. Some of the folks were serious and focused, clearly demonstrating their expertise and determination. Others were out for a good time. One man my age, Mike, was with his two teenage daughters. They were out to see how far they could go as it sounded like a fun adventure A younger man with a Puerto Rico t-shirt had almost run one loop already and was seeing what he could do. He stated that he had "run 2 miles yesterday" (showing the true lack of structure this race has) and "I'll come back again tomorrow". His low-key, mañana spirit was infectious and strangely inspiring. Paula and I chatted for some time with the stoic wife of Joseph, who was trying to cross a century run off his bucket list. Next, they had booked flights to Pamplona so he could run with the bulls.

I began to get a bit chilled, despite wearing several layers over my race-designated custom-made t-shirt (remember, no bling in this race!) and lightweight tights, and I was also getting antsy. But soon enough, Jeff P., an enthusiastic Wissahickon trail partner, arrived as my first pacer. And so did the irrepressible John C., who had doggedly stuck to me on my hardest trail runs the last month, along with walking coach and attidude Roy, and loop 2 pacer and chief organizer Jeff L. What a great sendoff! Then, suddenly, it was 8:55. Just enough time to gather what I needed--my trusty first 2 bottles of gatorade and a cereal bar for the road, my pace chart, a quick explanation of how my schedule worked, and then we were off amid hoots and cheers from my supporters, and bewildered stares from passers-by.

Ignition

We started out going clockwise, as there was a breeze and my past experience on the 8.4 mile loop was that this direction was both a bit more sheltered and got more interesting as one proceeded. It turned out that I did each loop in this direction, and the wind that I had feared going into the race never became a factor. We zipped past the Art Museum and the Rocky statue, then settled in at 10 minute pace. Our pace seemed quick, and it soon became apparent that we were running pretty rapidly, as I was getting to my half mile marks much faster than my allotted 5 minutes. Well, that just meant more nice walking breaks for me.

Jeff and I actually mostly chatted about work, something we never do on our runs. I also scoped out landmarks, port-a-potty opportunities, and exactly where the half-mile markers were. In the latter half of the loop, we fell in briefly with an extremely nice young couple who were running the race as well. Both were from upstate NY and were experienced ultra runners, and he had run several of the big 100s. I'm always in awe of these folks who routinely run such daunting races, always with such humility and grace. Soon enough, we had looped around to the boathouses and completed lap 1 right on schedule. Amazingly, everyone was still there waiting for me. Didn't these people have anything else to do? I was very grateful for their dedication, which proved to be just the beginning...

I had built in some rest time between each loop, and that time was scheduled to increase with each circuit. In order to get the schedule under 24 hours, I had compressed these rests and was a bit concerned about the short nature of the first few...only 8 minutes for the first one. This actually occupied my mind a great deal early on, but it never became an issue. The first loop was a nice icebreaker, and I was in fine form for loop 2. My nutrition plan was to stick with what worked in training--12 miles of gatorade and cereal bars, then switch over to Ensure, gels, PB&J, and whatever else might be palatable. I downed my first PB&J, snapped a picture with new pacer Jeff L., and managed to post a thumbs-up status to Facebook (something I vowed throughout but quickly lapsed on).

Jeff L. was ready to go, and John T., who had been a real trooper this winter with the snow-fueled craziness that our winter trail group became, decided to tag along as well. We were speeding along pretty fast, so John turned back after a bit. Jeff had been a real godsend to my training, as he had often run with me Sundays during training, when my energy was at its lowest. He had also been instrumental in getting all the pacers on the same page, leaving no details unconsidered. Jeff had even managed to contact Art Carey, the Inquirer's longtime fitness editor, imploring him to cover the event. Alas, Art expressed interest but was otherwise occupied this day, but it was incredibly thoughtful and touching.

Jeff's prowess with organization was, somewhat comically, not translating so well to the complicated task of pacing. Due to my poor efforts to explain my convoluted schedule, it took him a while to figure out what I was up to. As it was early, beautiful, and glorious, I became heartily amused at his valiant efforts. Finally about mile 4 of the loop, it sunk in, and we enjoyed our usual chats about upcoming races--he was training for a half marathon in Indianapolis--and various sports topics. Several crew dual meets were setting up, and it became a lot of fun watching the sculls and crews progress through the day in parallel to our efforts. Indeed, the entire path was coming alive with activity. We began to do more weaving through the traffic than straight-ahead running as we headed back to Lloyd Hall. We were again on pace, and I held up 2 fingers as we headed in to greet Paula, John T., John C., Roy (why were they still here?) and loop 3 pacer Sophorn.

By this time, I'd transitioned to all water and a gel every 2 miles. While I loaded up on Ensure (350 calories of audaciously processed, electrolytic, protein-enthused, enematious, chocolatey goodness), Jeff explained the schedule to Sophorn. This became an oral tradition of sorts, as it was passed down from pacer to pacer with remarkable precision. During this break, I got to chat with a few of the racers, along with John, a young, accomplished ultrarunner from Penn State who was volunteering all day to watch over the racers' gear. John was accumulating volunteer time as a public service to get into the legendary Western States 100 (for a treat, be sure to click that last link!), which requires such community service. He and Paula ended up spending a lot of time together. After another pacer picture, I bid farewell to this tremendous support group of mine who had stayed for over three hours.

Incineration

Loop 3 was at 11 minute pace. This meant considerable walking breaks, as my step was still swift while I was running. Running into the low 20 mile range is usually a low point for me, but not today. Between the perfect temperature, the bright and beautiful scene, and good company, the miles flew by. With the help of PhillyFit, Sophorn had finished her first marathon at last November's Philadelphia Marathon, and she has real talent plus an almost insatiable enthusiasm for fitness that is leading her to ever greater heights. We found a lot to talk about, including her heritage, ways to train, very comparable musical tastes (Arcade Fire! Dengue Fever!), and a shared love of crazy running events such as this one. My prediction is that she will be the next PhillyFitter to do a 50 miler (though Steve may have something to say about that). Soon enough, the boathouses loomed again. There was a beerfest that was being held inside the houses, and we dodged the many folks that were sampling the wares. I made a mental note to come back next year when a few cold ones would be a bit more palatable.

As we finished loop 3, I noticed a few things. First, it was getting a bit warm and I was sweating a bit. It was breezy as well, so I stuck with the long-sleeve T. Second, several spots on my feet seemed to be rubbing a bit. I've had minimal blister and toenail problems in the past, but this was new territory and all on pavement as well. As a precaution, for the first time I had bodyglided my entire feet before starting. Now, I told myself to take close notice of these spots in the next loop. Third, while everyone else except my next pacer, John C., had finally left, Paula was still there! What was she doing? In asking, she indicated that she was having a great time and was hanging around for a while. She'd also gotten to know some of the runners as they came in each time, and as I had mentioned to her, she was beginning to catch on to the spirit of the ultra community.

I was continuing to feel strong and was right on schedule. John was great during this loop, run at 11:30 pace, because the math was getting tougher. John is a real athlete, having been a fast-paced road bicyclist for many years before coming out to PhillyFit with his walker wife Nancy in the last year. He also ran his first marathon at Philly and was one of a group of 6 of us who ran most of that race together. I also felt some responsibility for him, as I'd talked him into running the full marathon rather than the half distance; luckily for me, he made it look easy. John's graciousness and willingness to try anything ("sure, I'll run another 10 miles with you") is admirable. Those qualities were appreciated on this loop. I was feeling fine and chatty, so this loop also passed by quickly enough, and we were soon back. At this point, I'd finished 1/3 of the race, over 33 miles, and in less than 6 1/2 hours. It was hard to believe that I felt so great!

After a pit stop, I headed back to my "aid station", where I was in for a shock. Lori and the kids were there waiting for me! I had expected to see them only after the next loop, so this was a delightful surprise. As he had for the PhillyFit group all summer and fall, Ryan was waving one of two of his patented, double-sided motivational signs he had created special for the event. This one read "Run, Run, As Fast As You Can, You CAN Catch Me, I'm the Finish Line!" The other stated "Whew, 100 miles is a LONG way!". As always, both were decorated with a myriad of intricate other pictures, interwoven like petroglyphs, and including ants, various forms of weather, natural disasters, space objects, and the like. I was looking forward to interpreting these after the race, as they usually make sense after some study and explanation. As always, Jason was also having a great time, imploring every runner who would glance his way "Great job", "You can do it", and "Almost Have It". Unfortunately, "Almost Have It" wasn't quite appropriate yet for me, but just seeing the three of them was a real boost.

More PB&J--it was getting hard to choke these down, and I eventually gave it up and stuck with Ensure the rest of the way. Lori had very kindly brought some hot cup-o-noodles, which is one of my post-race delicacies, but I was doing fine with my usual routine and didn't want to risk anything. Not without trepidation though; both this and the many other generous offers of food were very thoughtful, and I felt not a little guilty for declining. In checking my feet, I saw some red spots and one blister beginning to form on the outside of my heel, where I'd never had any problems before. I patched this up with some moleskin, hoping it wouldn't cause more problems. Then, I loaded up with gels and water, posed for a picture with loop 5 and just-educated pacer Sherry, and was off again!

Inertia

It was now mid-afternoon, and the shadows were beginning to lengthen. In this loop, I started to cool down a bit, likely due to a combination of evaporating sweat, less energy to heat my body, and more walking. I'd noticed in my long training runs a tendency to slack off on my walking speed, so I was determined to keep up the pace now. In fact, I began to hit these walking breaks quite hard, first to see if I could get to the 1/4 mile marks before having to run again (which I soon started accomplishing), and then later to try to walk fast enough to not have to run at all (didn't get there until loop 12 despite lots of effort). In this loop, Sherry was doing a superb job of balancing discussion with prompting for the next run interval. She was an experienced marathoner with lots of life stories, and she was also going to help me coach in the 2011 PhillyFit season. We were both looking forward to this. She proved amazingly adept at switching mid-sentence to call out a time or reminder. This loop too zoomed by with no worries. As we finished up, Lori and the kids were still cheering us, along with ever-present Paula, who I began to suspect was in it for the duration, or more likely either suffering from some sort of acute anemia that prevented her from getting up, or was afraid to go home for some reason. Her son had come down to visit as well. I greeted everyone cheerfully, still somehow full of energy after 8 hours on the path.

Jeannie and Jen had arrived some time before for the next pacer session. By now, my pre-designated breaks between loops was up to 15 minutes, which was good, because I had felt a bit rushed trying to run down my memory list and get everything in order with the earlier, shorter breaks. Now, I was having trouble trying to fill the time. For some reason, I didn't want to just sit and rest, so I figured that starting early and walking slow would accomplish the same thing. Grabbing more supplies and pulling another layer on, we headed out.

I was feeling fantastic at this point. Loop 6 would be the last loop with daylight. A few days earlier, I had started obsessing that once it was dark, I wouldn't easily see the mileage markers, so I had the "brilliant" idea of placing glow sticks at each marker so I could see them coming up. This is a trick that overnight trail races use to light remote areas. As a backup, I carried a small flashlight, as did my pacers. Of course, this well-intentioned plan failed miserably: first, I forgot to buy them, so I embarrasingly had to ask Lori to do so before she came on down (which she did, what a sweetheart). Then, once it got dark, they totally didn't work, as they were too dim to see or couldn't be spotted until running past. Luckily, the path was so well lit that the mileage markers could be seen anyway. Well, it seemed brilliant at the time.

Anyway, Jen and Jeannie were a super-efficient team. Jeannie spotted the markers and relayed the run/walk transition times with military precision, while poor Jen had to place the glowsticks and then speed up to catch us. She was getting in some nice interval work! They were both very gracious, and they are a lot of fun with all of their wacky stories and imaginative ideas. After crossing over Falls Bridge, we were met on the other side, in a nice surprise, by long-time PhillyFit coach Mark and also Sherry, for whom apparently one loop hadn't been enough. We all headed back to the start, amidst lots of animated conversation about office pranks that made us all laugh and forget we were out running long distances. This really helped kill the time.

As we got back again, I was greeted with the best moment of the whole race: Ryan was standing on the path, waiting for me again full of energy, and with his arms spread wide. Incredibly, the family had stayed around for yet another loop! I had fully expected to see them part after the last circuit (I even said goodbye), as it was both getting late and was also tough on Lori. I reached out and scooped him up in a big hug--what a boost! This time, it was a real goodbye to Lori and the kids, but I felt comfort in knowing I would see them soon enough in the morning. Except for feet that clearly had some blister issues by now, I was somehow still feeling extremely strong. I hadn't even come close to bonking, and the typical leg soreness was kept at bay with a single ibuprophen. No chafing, not too hot or cold, no shin problems? My greatest fear all along was to finish the race in reasonable shape and say to myself (as I did after my first 50) "well, that really wasn't THAT bad", which to me was the same as saying "c'mon, let's try something even more crazy!"I was not so sure I wanted to really find out how my mind truly defines "THAT bad".

Twilight

Halfway! This was a great milestone mentally for me. A favorite trick of mine for long runs is, once I get a ways into them, to start telling myself that I've run the remaining distance before (and, for extra mind-numbing benefit, to figure out about how many times before). Now, after over 10 hours out there, I'd gotten to a point where I could FINALLY chant this to myself, having run 50 just 4 weeks before. Things were looking good. My loop 7 pacer, Sue, was getting expert instruction from both Jeannie, in the now-sacred pacer knowledge transfer ceremony, and confident Ryan, who had quickly become the leading expert on glowsticks. We soon headed out ahead of schedule in the gathering dusk. This was an easygoing loop, both because the required pace had lessened to a very reasonable 13 minutes per mile, which meant I was now walking about half of each segment, and in the comfortable conversation.

Sue and I were the longest-running Philly Fit members and had traveled many miles together, so we had lots of memories to share and reminisce over. This kept my mind entirely at peace, distracted from any anxieties I might have otherwise developed at that point. For a while, we strained to try to glimpse the glowsticks, but they were mostly lost in the darkness. It was in this loop that time seemed either to pass more quickly, or my mind started to notice it less. The miles were drifting along, but there was no longer any anticipation or waiting for the next marker. I was no longer looking for markers with a sense of urgency; they were just coming to me as if emerging out of a fog, and I accepted them. This really made the remaining miles much easier to handle. I was just drifting through a peaceful sea of time and distance, autopiloting my way around and around.

Once again, now in the full darkness, we came soon enough on Lloyd Hall, signalling the end of another loop. As Sue's reflective vest started to sparkle in the lights, I headed off to the bathroom for what turned out to be the last time this night, only to discover that they had just closed. Improvising quickly, I managed to EDITED, just in time to see that my friends Ryan and Ashley had come down to see me! This was a great surprise and another needed boost. They couldn't believe I felt so good, and neither could I, as I was still cruising.

Saying goodbye to Sue, it was time to re-connect with Sophorn, who had come down for ANOTHER loop, along with husband Jim. Of course, Paula was there and cheerful, and she seemed to still be enjoying her time as the unofficial race patron. I bid farewell to my friends, and we started off on loop 8.

In reading many 100 miler race reports,many folks commented that negotiating the nighttime hours was a uniquely challenging aspect of these races. This seemed to be due to a combination of sleep deprivation, darkness, fatigue, and unfamiliarity with the genre. While I had intended to do some late night training runs, it never seemed to happen, so I was heading into the unknown. I had especially been warned by PhillyFitter Helen, who had run 50 miles overnight at the Philly 20in24 race last summer. Her experience was that this time of early night was most difficult, when her body was expecting to wind down and head for bed instead of continuing on. I was interested in seeing how I would react to this but also a bit nervous about what might happen. My constant gel intake included a steady dose of caffeine, which might also have some detriment over time. Amazingly, neither fear became reality--I never became sleepy or shaky to any extent.

Sophorn and Jim were the perfect remedy for the evening hours. Having paced me once before, Sophorn was right on with keeping me on track, while Jim's delightfully intelligent and wandering wit kept me amused and engaged throughout the loop. We talked more about ultras, Sophorn's interest in running a 50, their goal of running the Chicago Marathon in October, various Jim-o'phobias that he always seems to overcome by a combination of his and Sophorn's collective wills, and many random cultural observations that kept me laughing. The two of them kept me on track past all the brightly illuminated bridges and boathouses, and back again to where we had started.

Orbiting

As we made it back again, Jim and trooper Sophorn headed out for some well-deserved rest. I took a minute to sit down and assess my progress. Here I was, with almost 70 miles complete and now 2/3 of the way through. I wondered, though, how much required effort was left--50%? 75%? 90%? I still felt fantastic, except for my now blistered feet, which I had pretty much given up on caring for by now. The blisters were only an issue when I stopped, and pretty manageable even then, so I just put them out of mind and made sure I didn't stop unless I needed to. As the PB&Js were getting too laborious to eat, I gave up and stuck with only Ensure and gels for the duration, the combination of which was still keeping me from dreaded anaerobialand.

It had been a nearly ideal and most enjoyable experience so far, and I was still right on time. Even my spirits were still good! I had heard all too much about runners getting cranky and altogether nasty as they ran through the night, and several of my fellow racers appeared to be getting to this point themselves. When would this hit me? As I continued to circle the Schuylkill, would my orbits begin to wobble, decay, or disintegrate altogether? Only one way to find out: pick up my next pace group and hop to it!

Jeff L., erstwhile and indefagitable pacer organizer, was back for loop #2, along with his sage wife Marjorie and her sister Amy, who was also a marathoner, and John C., also back for another loop. Here it was almost midnight, and the groups were getting bigger instead of smaller! Jeff and Marjorie had both been PhillyFitters with myself for quite a few years, and they had also participated in several of our winter trail series. Jeff had promised that we would hear some eye-opening stories from the typically reserved Marjorie, but alas we never got around to these. Instead, there was almost constant easy chatter about many subjects. All four pacers were uncommonly engaging and curious conversationalists, so the flow of conversation was not unlike being at an informal dinner gathering. I found myself mostly a listener, perhaps because my energy was beginning to wane a bit. Possibly, it could also have been due to Jeff keeping the group a pace or two behind me, his wise strategy for subtly keeping me from too quick a pace.

Invariably, the discussion turned to food as we crossed the lovely Falls Bridge (for the 9th time) and headed into East Falls. And then it turned to hamburgers, and specifically the divine Elevation Burger. Now, normally I would be an active participant, for Elevation Burger has arguably the best burgers I've ever tasted, and it's not unheard of for me and the boys to drive 30 minutes out of our way to chow down. HOWEVER, the thought of slimy patties of greasy meat slipping through my GI tract was not really what I was wanting 70 miles in. In fact, I can say that this turned out to be the absolute low point of the race for me, no fault to my well-meaning company. Silently, with an iron will and superhuman effort, I somehow maintained my composure and managed to break through this unexpected wall of challenge and cholesterol. Mercifully, the subject quickly changed for the better, and I slowly recovered to my previous form as we glided back to Lloyd Hall.

Despite the great company, I felt that loop 9 had been the only time so far where I had struggled a bit. This got me wondering whether I was headed for a big downhill slide, or whether it was just a blip. I also recognized that we were now seriously into the night, as it was now almost 2 AM. It was hard to believe that these folks especially had given up their prime sleeping hours, where it is impossible to justify the run as an evening extension or an earlier-than-usual wakeup. As the four of them left, there was talk of grabbing a very early breakfast (again with the food!), but I had other plans.

Looking around, I realized that this PhillyFit togetherness was almost getting out of hand! Besides Jeff, Marjorie, John, and Amy, here was also loop 10 buddy Steve, raring to go despite the early hour. And also John's wife Nancy, and preparedness queen Mary as well (how long had she been here?), besides the stoic Paula, now wrapped in a sleeping bag. I was convinced by now that this constant support and companionship was the major reason why this had gone so well for me, and what was keeping me so strong.

I noticed that it was becoming cooler, or perhaps it was getting harder for me to heat my body. The temperature had dropped into the mid 40s with a mild wind, so I added a layer for the next loop, along with some gloves and a hat. My feet were still painful when I stopped but not getting worse, so I again headed out early with Steve alongside. Mary had brought some sort of battery-powered string of bright green neon lights that she gave to Steve. I wasn't sure whether the purpose was to guide the way in a Rudolph-like fashion, or to scare off dangerous characters. More likely, they would have been incapacitated with laughing fits, but Steve was game and donned the "personal lighting system".

As we headed out, I glanced at the strategically placed sign near the Art Museum that Renee had put up now almost a full day ago. These 4 signs she had placed across the course grew in meaning with every lap, as they gave me assurance that I was making progress and doing well. I started to anticipate them as I went through the last miles.

After we rounded the Art Museum and headed down MLK Drive, we came across an astonishing sight: the young ultra couple from New York. He was lying ON the path, while she dutifully stood guard over him. We stopped and asked if all was OK, and she said that he was just taking a nap. She didn't look too happy about standing there in the cold and wind, and I can't imagine doing that after racing for so long, but she insisted that they were fine. I know that some people do take quick naps during ultras, but as this was so close to the start, it seemed a bit strange. It got to be kind of entertaining thinking about all the things that I thought were way too crazy for me. This was one of them--I can't imagine ever coming near enough to such exhaustion (or perhaps nonchalance) that one would actually be able to sleep on pavement. Or to be able to do an event like this alone. I'm also amazed at folks who walk marathons or longer, something that I can't imagine myself being able to do. But then I would remember that what I was doing was not exactly in the bell curve of normal human behavior. Lots of ultra runners have remarked that they don't even mention their sport to non-runners any more because they just get a blank look. But perhaps I was trying to justify to myself that I wasn't totally crazy because it could always be worse. It was an interesting thought to occupy my mind--how is normal behavior defined for an individual, and are comparisons justified or even possible between people?

This time was most comfortable, and perhaps the best lap of all. Steve was yet another PhillyFitter who had made it through his first marathon with our group in November. He also had been the most determined and enthusiastic of our winter trail group, even reveling in some of the snow-bound adventures we encountered. It became clear through the winter that his spirit most resembled my own one-inch-from-chaos tendencies. Also an avid hockey player, his strong skating ankles were superbly qualified for even the most technical trails I trained on. As his endurance grew over the winter, he began to bound up and down the Wissahickon to the extent that I had trouble keeping up. The quest for adventure we shared, plus the approaching dawn that was refreshing my rhythms, renewed my energy back to the point of where I had been previously. I found myself again cruising energy-wise.

As we rounded Falls Bridge and took note of Renee's signs, we passed a few more of the wacky personas that the Philly night had been presenting us the last 2 laps. We had seen midnight walkers, bikers, and joggers, plus some people that just seemed 12 hours out of place. Most curious was a large group of chanting, military-clad, sandbag and nightlight-toting joggers. We saw this group several times throughout the night, first climbing the Art Museum steps, looping around the area, and finally coming off of Lemon Hill and past Lloyd Hall carrying several enormous logs! This turned out to be some sort of extreme physical event called the Goruck Challenge, and yet another opportunity to mentally log a "those people are SO crazy" event. This sort of stuff is what makes big cities great.

Once again, the loop steadily wound up and came to an end. I was talking less but still fairly energized. Now, I was beginning to really focus on the prize, as I had less than 17 miles to go. In fact, I was so focused that I again started out early, enen before Paula had a chance to snap a pre-lap picture. Steve decided that one loop at my snails pace wasn't enough, so he started out again. We headed out slowly to regain some energy and to let official loop 11 pacer Renee, who was happy to finally run with us, catch up. Soon enough, she caught us and we started out again. I'd introduced Renee to trails a few years ago and she soon became an enthusiast, having now completed two 50Ks and competing in innumerable trail races, duathlons, and triathlons. She has also consistently gotten faster, so this was literally a walk in the park for her.

Reverie

During this loop, I really began to withdraw from the constant chatter, now supplied by Steve and Renee. For a few laps, I'd been trying to keep up my walking speed and made it a game to see how little I had to run within each 1/2 mile segment. For this loop, my schedule allowed 15 minutes/mile, but I couldn't quite walk fast enough to eliminate all of the running. It became a bit ridiculous to see us walking and then suddenly bursting into a fast run for all of 15 seconds--until I got to the next marker and started walking again. I was just happy that I could still run well, and that I had the emotional strength to abide by my schedule.

My focus steadily increased during this loop, and I became less and less distracted by surrounding events--not that there were many at this hour. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, it became lighter, a sign that many ultrarunners have remarked has generated renewed vigor in their minds. Strangely, so strong was my focus, I didn't really notice the breaking of the dawn until all was a rosy glow. When I finally did, it was glorious, as the often unique colors and shades of an early morning sunrise were in full display. The entire length of the river was bathed in shades of pink and orange that seemed to extend up into the air all around. This was the Art Museum loop in its finest hour.

Once again, the loop finished up in superb form. My two friends had done a great job putting up with my slow pace and antisocial tendencies. I was 92+ miles in at this point. My feet were trashed, but the rest of my body was still willing, with no other issues to speak of. Renee sensibly decided she had done enough, but Steve was again intrigued by the challenge and elected to hang around for a 3rd loop! For the last time, the sacred pace chart ritual was conducted, this time between Renee and Kristie. Maggi had also come down around 2 AM to deliver coffee and snacks, and then to join us on this ultimate lap.

Gaia

The forces were gathered: Kristie, Maggi, Steve, and myself. One more circuit around an 8.4 mile path that had alternated between friend and nemesis the last 21 hours. The early morning was brisk but utopian, with blue skies and little wind. The trail was sparsely populated with only a few motivated joggers and the ten or so racers still out on the course. Three had already finished, one of whom had completed the race before 1 AM and was probably now sleeping comfortably in his bed. The schedule could now be abandoned. All I needed to do was walk fast, and I would easily have it. I geared up for the last time, and we set off.

It's hard to relate the state I was in these last few hours. My companions seemed to be having a good time jogging or walking along, but they also seemed a bit anxious about my remoteness. By now, all of my energy was concentrated on finishing. I didn't feel overly fatigued or exhausted, but I was probably circling the wagons around my remaining energy and not allowing any negative thoughts to disrupt my focus. A few times, seeds of doubt started to contemplate sprouting, but they were met with resistance, as I had by now convinced myself of being able to finish. Though this feeling wasn't based upon anything real, it served to turn doubt into impatience. I began to count down the remaining miles, something that I constantly had done during training runs but remarkably hadn't done at all in this race up to now.

Finally, the backstretch of MLK Drive that is so devoid of landmarks it turns lonely was complete. All that was left was a long string of familiar sights, between which I intimately knew the distances. These became goals: the East Falls Dunkin Donuts, Strawberry Mansion Bridge, the St. Joe's Boathouse, the regatta grandstand.

These last few miles started to stretch out for me, like some sort of a distance/time distortion. I wasn't quite searching for the mile markers, but I also started to wonder where they were and why I hadn't gotten to a particular one yet. But soon enough, the Girard Point Bridge and its magnificent arches came into view, signifying the one mile-to-go mark. Onward we strode, through the bridge, then painfully down the slight hill alongside the rock tunnel , carved long ago to accommodate travelers on Kelly Drive. Then it was what seemed like an eternal stretch until I finally glimpsed the 3/4 mile marker. Never before had 1/4 mile been so long. This otherwise innocuous mark was of supreme significance: it marked the 100 mile point, as the race itself was 100.8 miles. I shouted out "100 MILES", shocking my crew, who had likely concluded that I had succumbed to some sort of zombie-like state that they would eventually have to revive me from.

From this point, in order to honor the distance, I decided I would need to give the last stretch my utmost effort. This whole event had been a negotiation, where I needed to cooperate with the path to find a mutually agreeable way to achieve my goal. Or maybe it was some need to honor the dying, like the prayer that some Native Americans recite after killing prey. Whatever the reason, I immediately regretted the decision to start running fast and wondered whether my exhausted body could sustain the effort. Only now did I begin to realize how tired I was. But after a minute or two, I managed to recover and regain a decent pace. I looked ahead to each boathouse to mark their ends as quick goals--one down! Two! How many more are there? And then it didn't matter, as Lori and the kids were walking toward me with big smiles. I grabbed Jason's stroller, and the act provided me with all I needed. Turning him around, we together sprinted past the last boathouses, up past Lloyd Hall, and across the finish line. It was done.

Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III

Long Slow Distance Saturdays

2011-05-29T20:37:00.000-04:00

Saturday miles should be completed at least 45 to 90 seconds SLOWER than your race pace.

Slow running builds your endurance. You are training your body and your brain to tolerate the distance you will cover in your half or full marathon. Long slow running will teach your body to burn fat for fuel. Carbohydrates are essential fuels but they burn quickly and are used up first. Even if your presonal percentage of body fat is low (I wish mine were) you still have enough to fuel your efforts for many hours. BUT you have to teach your body to use it. Research has shown that running at lower intensity for long periods maxmizes the body's ability to burn fat for fuel. This article explains this fairly well. It's full of a lot of numbers and science but stick with it and you'll find the english as well. Here is an excerpt that summarizes the process.

Conversely, when you teach your body to rely on fat for fuel, your combustion of carbohydrates goes down, thus "sparing" carbohydrates. This benefits performance in endurance events. You become very fatigued when you run too low on carbohydrates. We store only a very limited amount of carbohydrate (glycogen) in our bodies. Compare this with a relatively unlimited supply of fat. Even an athlete with only 6 percent body fat will have enough fat to fuel exercise lasting for many hours. When you use more fat, you generate more energy and your carbohydrate supply lasts longer.

Follow the principle of specificity. If you want to teach your body to use more fat for fuel, then create training conditions that generate high fat metabolism. Your body will eventually learn to prefer fat.

In short, teaching your body to burn fat for fuel delays the onset of fatigue and hitting 'the wall' during your race and training. Running slow also allows your muscles to get used to the distances as we add miles from one week to the next. You should finish each Saturday long distance feeling accomplished, perhaps tired but not ready to drop. If you go home needing a nap you probably worked too hard. You should feel like you could go just a bit more if you had to but happy that you didn't have to.

The challenge is that running slower goes against our competitive nature. Even back of the pack runners typically run their training runs too fast. At the beginning of our run we are full of energy and going slow feels weird. Left alone, most of us would start too fast. So at USAFit/Philly we assign a pace leader to a group of similar paced individuals. The pace leader will do his/her best to keep the group at the proper training pace. Each member of the group can play a part in this effort as well. Work together to keep the pace down and spirits up.

A common question is "Won't running slow make me a slow runner". Yes, if that's all you do. That is why it is important to follow the FULL weekly schedule. Completing tempo, hill and speed workouts during the week will give you the strength and speed you seek.

Getting to know USAFIT/Philly

2011-05-28T16:24:00.001-04:00

Another season has started and with that brings the challenge of getting to know our new members and re-aquaint or learn even more about returning members; many of whom have become friends.

Today I had the pleasure of spending 4+ miles with Heather. Heather is working a couch to 5k program and walked/ran her first 5k last weekend with her husband. I understand that her daughter(s) did the kid's fun run associated with it. The 5k was a benefit for Thon, Penn State's charity for Childhood Cancer. I did not ask her (and I will next time I see her) if she attended Penn State. There is always something to learn. Heather is proud of her 5k finish and I enjoyed being able to share in her enthusiasm. Congratulations Heather! I learned a few other things too but I'll leave those for you to discover on your own.

Group running and walking is a great way to pass the miles. In the process we chat and in addition to sharing our lives we share our own lessons learned about distance exercise. I've learned just as much from first timers as (I hope) they have learned from me. Running is an individual sport; yet a key to all our success this season will be in our group work.

Why a marathon?

2011-05-06T15:15:00.001-04:00

Or a half marathon or any distance running/walking event? The answers are different for different people. Some do it "because it's there" or "because I can" or "because it's hard" or "because my (insert friend, sibling, spouse etc) is doing it and he/she talked me into it too". Some people take on the challenge for a cause, some take on the challenge for personal goals, and some take on the challenge because they like challenges.

At USAFit/Philly the marathon is the carrot at the end of the stick. Getting, or staying in shape, is a difficult exercise (pun intended). Few people will work out without a goal; without some measure of success. The marathon gives us that goal; that measuring stick.

The marathon provides the structure to our weekly workouts. Group runs/walks are about more than just putting in the miles. Along the way we learn about hydration, fueling, injury prevention, gear, nutrition and pacing and more. We learn how to do speed workouts and tempo runs. We learn by doing and by helping others do what is necessary to achieve the goal.

Most of the folks who join Phillyfit will complete a full or half marathon at the end of the season. Some choose to participate in the program for fitness without the race goal. Both groups though will come away happier and healthier. Both groups will learn things about fitness. Both groups will learn about how far they can push their own limits; many will be surprised to find it's further than they thought possible.

And everyone comes away new friends with a common interest.

30 rounds of insanity: Chapter III

2011-05-01T21:24:00.006-04:00

On April 2nd, 2011, I was poised to run my first 100 mile race at the Philadelphia 100 Endurance Run. Things don't always work according to plan. What happened instead was a 24 hour collection of zaniness and comaraderie that changed everything.

Chapter III, in which Pete prepares to enter the Lost City of Insanity

Tuning

Race day was approaching, or so I thought. The Philadelphia 100 is quite a low-key affair. I had emailed Lauri, the race director, several times to let her know I was "entering" the race, but had not heard back. Finally, getting a bit concerned, I posted to the Ultarunner listserv, I got assurance that the race was indeed on for its 3rd year, followed shortly by an official acceptance, which consisted of a 2-word email: "You're in!". What was strange was that the closer the race got, the less obsessed I got about it. My taper the last 3 weeks went fine, though my shin began to act up a bit again. My last weekend before, I ran a tough 12 miles that included dragging through my nemesis, the Tyler Arboretum White Trail. This is a 9 mile loop that has 4 or 5 good climbs; I somehow convinced newly annointed trail partner John C. to join me, and we both struggled a bit. I didn't feel too well the rest of the day, and found that I was suffering from the beginning of a mild respiratory infection. Still, I went out the next morning to Ridley with Jeff L., who has run at about the same pace as me over the years. I was feeling great and absolutely cruising through a fast and hilly 6-mile course that had him panting at times, while I wasn't even breathing hard. I knew then that I was ready.

Calculation

My race planning has been detailed before. I found myself actually getting complacent about the race planning. What had been amazing, though, was the outpouring of volunteers for pacing me. I'd let the group and a few others know that I was attempting this, and many stated their interest in helping. After much contemplation, I thought that running a sub 24 hour time was achievable. This was a tough decision, because by inserting a time goal, the character of the race changed from a journey to an accomplishment. Also, I had no idea whatsoever whether I was capable of this--I'd run a sub 10 hour JFK50 in 2008, but who knew whether this would scale appropriately, especially since I'd never run anywhere near this distance or even overnight? Finally, my competitive nature won out. So I figured out a schedule that I thought would work OK, with an exact time goal for completing each loop. I did this mainly to accommodate anyone who wanted to run a loop with me, because I felt that if they were making such a big sacrifice to come down and help, it would be most ungracious to keep them waiting around before I showed up. This proved to work out perfectly, because I ended up internalizing this structure and thus generated a driving, if somewhat artificial, motivation for myself.
Togetherness

Once I posted my schedule, the outpouring of spirit really began. PhillyFit leader Paula and long-time group member Jeff L. immediately pounced on the schedule and started organizing people. I had hoped for a few pacers, but it seemed that everyone in our winter running group were somehow entranced by the event and wanted to run part of it. Very quickly and shockingly to me, the nighttime loops were the first to go! Who wants to get up in the middle of the night, drive a long way to downtown Philly, and walk/run at a jerky and unpredictable pace, and in cold and uncertain weather? I was very touched by this and honestly amazed at the goodwill. Soon, I had at least one pacer for each loop!

In the final week, it became quite challenging for me to balance other obligations with raceday preparations. There were several email and Facebook threads and parallel efforts to help organize that I did my best to inform and help coordinate, but it became pretty chaotic at times. I was also fixated on the weather forecast, somehow finding myself checking several different outlets on an almost hourly basis. My biggest fears were continual wind, as along the river it can blow pretty hard, and the constant toll that the pavement would likely exact on my legs and feet. The outlook was unsettled (61 and Sunny! 45 with rain/snow mix! 50 and 25 MPH winds!) and was constantly changing. This was fine a week out, but when it got to Wednesday and looked like a storm would linger over the first day, my enthusiasm began to wane. Finally, the forecast clarified, with no rain, a high in the mid 50s, and a low in the upper 30s--nearly perfect!

Threshold

Everything was coming together from without. Jeff L. especially was dictating instructions with such detail that they began to far surpass anything I had thought of. These included texting policies, gathering cell phone numbers, and procedures for how to pace me. All of these were most thoughtful and greatly appreciated. Me? I had some vague sense of what I needed to bring in my head, but as usual, I'd procrastinated preparing a prerace list or pacing chart. At the last possible instant, about 4 PM the day before, I finally got serious. I began to assemble everything I needed, helped (again) enormously by Lori's both thinking for me and buying some stuff ahead of time, as well as her taking on the kids while I began the military-style operation of procuring supplies. This quickly devolved into a ludicrous activity, where I collected enough stuff to probably be able to run across the country. I had 2 big coolers of food and drinks, 4 pairs of gloves, 3 hats, a large container of medical supplies, and many other things that I never touched. I guess it helps to be prepared, but I had so much stuff that I could hardly fit it in the car! In retrospect, all I really needed was water, gatorade, Ensure, PB&Js, a couple of warmer shirts, and a few other small things, good knowledge for next time (err, I mean if I ever coach someone else in a 100).

What had not worked for me in training was to adhere to the 1st law of ultrarunning: "start off slow, and then back off." Despite many attempts, I just couldn't seem to run slowly. I'd slow way down to 12 minute pace only to find it was really 10 minute pace. How was I supposed to run slowly? Then, during my 45 miler, I figured it out. If I couldn't run more slowly, why not just run less? I started experimenting with a novel twist of this strategy. I'd give myself a certain amount of time to run a 1/2 mile to match a race pace, such as 12 minutes/mile. If I got to the half mile mark in less than the 6 minutes I was allotted, I would start walking until those 6 minutes were up, then begin running again to the next marker. By doing this over and over, I'd bank additional distance with each walking stretch that I wouldn't have to run, so the walks would get longer and the runs shorter each new segment. Also, I was giving myself an extra 30 seconds per mile with each new loop, so there should be less running each loop. My last loop, at 15:30 pace, would likely be all walking if I could keep up a fast walk (of course, I hadn't really practiced walking, so I wasn't sure how long I could hold up with it). I had long been an advocate of Galloway's run/walk strategy, but this was taking it to an extreme. The progressive slowing also went against the advice of many experienced ultrarunners, who preach a slower, steady pace. The advantage I saw was that my strategy would both adhere to the rigor needed to keep each loop on schedule, and would give also me the structure that would help my confidence as I proceeded through it. Well, we would soon see whether this would work.

Of course there is no way I'd be able to figure this timing in my head as the accumulating miles began affecting my brain. So this would require an elaborate pace chart detailed to the half mile, because I'd need to figure out when to be where for each section. Also, I'd need to let my pacers know this and, ideally, keep track of this for me and my progressively meandering mind. So, at 9 PM on race eve, there I was on the computer trying to create my pace chart. Finally, I got it all together around 10:30, I suspect long after every other race entrant had gone to bed. Whatever.

Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter IV

30 rounds of insanity: Chapter II

2011-04-21T22:04:00.011-04:00

On April 2nd, 2011, I was poised to run my first 100 mile race at the Philadelphia 100 Endurance Run. Things don't always work according to plan. What happened instead was a 24 hour collection of zaniness and comaraderie that changed everything.

Chapter II, in which Pete finds fantastical adventures on the path to insanity

Resumption

For training, I decided to continue my every-3rd-week-peak-run plan, but to also cut mileage the other weekends to 1/2 and 1/4 the peak. This seemed to work really well and kept my shin from being an issue until the last few weeks. Also contributing was some expert deep massage and electrostim from the maestro, Johnny King-Marino. Then I looked at the calendar: only 4 months left to the race! That meant time just for five long back-to-backs, starting immediately. I managed to fit these in, partially because I was directing a new PhillyFit winter trail running group on Saturdays. This selfishly allowed some companionship in the middle of runs, as I'd go out before and after each scheduled trail run. I owe a great deal to those brave individuals who stuck with it, and who often volunteered to run longer, or on Sundays, with me (often because they wanted to help). These mainly included John C., John T., Kristie, Steve, Jeff P., and Jeff L.,along with a host of others. The snow was very tough to deal with this winter, as it showed up often and lingered long.

Resilience

Several runs became much harder due to ice, snow, and the reluctance of others before me to slog through foot-deep drifts just to make tracks I could then follow (what is wrong with people these days?). On one such run, Steve and I were following some ski tracks until we came across the skier, who thanked us because had been following OUR tracks. Still, in general, I was slacking a bit, knowing that the race course was completely flat. Most of my longest runs were just dull back-and-forths at Forbidden Drive, Oaks, Ridley Creek, or the Art Museum rather than hitting the trails. I knew that I wasn't in my best cardiovascular shape, but I was also learning a lot about nutrition, walk/run strategies, and mental approaches.

Recognition

As the race approached, I found myself focused almost entirely on the challenge. In this time, Lori put up with a tremendous amount of narcissism, to which I am eternally grateful for her amazing patience and belief. Between the long Saturdays, the long Sunday mornings, and the need to recover and plan, it was becoming hard to balance the task with the rest of my life. I was silently counting down the miles left (244 miles to the race! 14 today, that's 5% of the total remaining!) and the dwindling number of really long runs. For my 40 miler, I took Friday off, which meant that I ran it all alone. Plus, it had snowed 16 inches the day before. Where could I run? I finally chose Oaks, a paved path that luckily had been plowed. Unfortunately, I tried several offshoots--the River Trail, the Schuylkill River Trail--but none had been cleared or even had any tracks! Miserably, after exhausting myself in deep snow trying to find open routes, I retraced a 3 1/2 mile stretch of the Perkiomen Trail, occasionally passing just the park rangers who looked more incredulous at me each time I passed (sadly, not the first time this has happened to me). In this run, I suffered by bonking the last 15 miles. Even so, on this day I learned a valuable lesson about running anerobic. The legendary ultrarunner Ann Trason is memorably quoted, "It hurts up to a point, and then it doesn't get any worse". This always gets a laugh, but now I understand its underlying wisdom: running in glycogen deficit is not pleasant, but it's not intolerable, either; perhaps it can be managed with the proper mental focus. No idea whether my biochemical theorizing is legitimate, but at least I convinced myself of it. The next day was another 20 miles on a cold morning. By the end, I was having trouble keeping warm and actually ran in thick sweats and a sweatshirt over my running clothes while trying to keep up with Jeannie. I learned that weekend that I need to eat everything in sight to recover before going out the next day.

Turbulence

After the 40 miler, I was beginning to get nervous as my last two long weekends approached. Could I really get through these? Each peak weekend, I was already far surpassing my previous 2-day run total records. As it turned out, the 40 miler was the low point, but not the most challenging run. That was to be my next long run of 45 miles, in mid-February. In reflecting back on my many adventurous outings, this might top them all. It started ominously, at the dark and lonely pre-dawn head of Forbidden Drive. Within steps of beginning, a shadowy figure of a bounding animal shot across the trail ahead of me. What was it? Much too big for a fox, and too remote a location for a dog. It sure looked like a wolf to me. And in the dark, under a clear sky and a full moon, perhaps something more ominous than a wolf...a werewolf?! As I contemplated this in the first mile, I realized it was likely a coyote, rare for Philadelphia, but (as I later found out) previously seen on occasion in the area. Regardless, this was clearly an omen, but one that my hardheadedness failed to heed.

This was forecast to be a very windy day, with a wind advisory of gusts up to 70 MPH. Luckily, the gorge of the Wissahickon was quite protected, but the winds were howling up on the ridgetops. Suddenly about 5 miles in, amidst the dark stillness, I heard a resounding CRRRAAAACCCKKKK, followed by a tremendous and prolonged crashing of an enormous tree careening through the forest on its way down. Luckily, this was on the other side of the creek, but it was unnerving while somehow also magnificent. Soon after, I stopped briefly to throw away an empty gel pack; by doing so, I had to step on some ice and of course immediately flopped onto the ground and banged my elbow. Ironically, this was after running probably 100 miles on snow and ice that winter without a mishap. I guess I am graceful only when in full stride. Then Steve caught up me for some trail running. While Forbidden Drive had been mostly clear of snow, once we turned onto the trails, we found them a sheet of ice, and only on the trail itself--the rest of the terrain was bare! It was as if someone had invented an ice paver and run it down the trail. Fortunately, this lasted only a mile or so, and then Steve proceeded to exhaust me on rocky hills that I had once bounded up with ease, but now only he was doing the bounding! At one point trying to duck one of the many freshly felled trees, I cracked my head on a protruding branch. Things were really going well.

After Steve was finished, I still had 20+ miles to go. We stood at the parking lot in the strengthening wind, then looked up as a large pine tree emitted a sharp CRACK! and both watched a big branch dislodge and soar downwards close to us, only to crash onto the roof of the car next to mine! Clearly it was time for any sane person to leave, but not me; I had to see this through. The wind was really howling by now, with lots of small branches tumbling down onto the trail. Finally, about 6 miles from the finish, a limb as big around as my leg smashed end-on-end right into the trail, about 10 feet behind me. Okay, I got the message, time to wrap it up. But I had made my 45 miles feeling quite good, I'd discovered that I can tolerate solid food pretty well (PB&Js), and I had worked out a walk-run strategy beyond 30 miles that seemed sustainable for long distances. Plus, there was no way I'd have to put up with that many obstacles again, right?

Inertia

From that point on, my training became almost effortless, which was an amazing feeling. Twenty mile runs seemed like a jog in the park. My last big run, 50/25, was long and tedious, but it seemed almost routine. I had my nutrition, regimen, and pace. I didn't feel so much in a zone as much as just accepting of what needed to be done as part of the day's schedule. I often preach to new runners that they should strive to make weekday runs part of an automatic and unquestioned routine, like brushing their teeth every morning. Happily, I was finding this to be the case for my remaining schedule, and this gave me much needed confidence. It seemed to be acceptance of the task, and a belief that the training would enable the feat to be accomplished.

Chapter I
Chapter III
Chapter IV

30 rounds of insanity: Chapter I

2011-04-16T21:45:00.011-04:00

On April 2nd, 2011, I was poised to run my first 100 mile race at the Philadelphia 100 Endurance Run. Things don't always work according to plan. What happened instead was a 24 hour collection of zaniness and comaraderie that changed everything.

Chapter I, in which Pete discovers the path leading to insanity

Genesis

It all began in November 22, 2009, on the sidelines of the Philadelphia Marathon, across from Lloyd Hall and the imposing presence of the Art Museum. There I was curbside, cowbell in hand and next to my wildly enthusiastic 11 year old son Jason. I was cheering on the runners as they came past (way to go Temple! Looking strong Monica!), trying to keep warm, and attempting to glimpse runners I knew from the huge throngs that sprang and occasionally hobbled past. It had been a year since a major race for me, and while a summer of taking it easy amidst sporadic trail races had been fun, something was missing. At that moment, I found myself needing to be in a race like this.

After a typical marathon "career", I'd moved on to a try a few 50 milers. Immediately, I fell in love with both the quest and the understated graciousness of the ultra community. I was also looking for a new challenge as well as to answer the question of how far I could reasonably run in one outing, which was one of the motivating factors for turning to ultras in the first place. What were the others? I find ultrarunning to be zen for me-- it somehow creates a oneness both with the distance and my body and mind that has to be negotiated rather than defeated (unlike the marathon). Also, I very much believe that learning one's self requires looking in from outside the boundaries of one's normal existence. Realizing the commitment a 100 would take, I discussed this with my wife Lori, who was very supportive. Little did I know how important this support would be or how substantial the combination of physical, mental, and emotional effort would be in training. I picked out a small race in November 2010, the Pinhoti 100, which is a beautiful point-to-point trail run in the rugged hills of northern Alabama. This worked perfectly as Lori's family is in nearby Georgia; several of them were marathoners, and they enthusiastically embraced the idea of crewing for me during the race.

The plan

My training in 2009 had been sporadic. I hadn't been very focused or dedicated recently, and I hadn't run with my long-time group PhillyFit that year as Lori was training with them instead. So I would have to start almost from scratch. After searching vainly for books or convenient, Runners World-like training plans, I read online accounts of many races and plans, only to find very little in common between approaches. Instead, I sketched out a weekly training program that I desperately hoped might work for a 100. It was completely contrived, an extension of my 50 mile race training plan that in itself was totally made up, but which had seemed to work for me for that distance. The key concepts of my plan were to increase mileage by no more than 10% each week, to have peak mileage weeks every 1-3 weeks as I progressed, and to run most of my mileage in back-to-back "brick" workouts on the weekends, with 2/3 of the mileage on Saturday. I remember laying out the schedule, working back from race day, and then suddenly realizing that I'd have to start training THAT NEXT WEEKEND just to fit it all in.

Couch to 50K

That winter and spring, I moved up to 12/6 mile weekends, then added 2/1 miles to this every other weekend until I was up to 24/12. Then it was every 3 weeks until I got to 30. I'd been doing well up to now despite the heat and humidity of the summer, and I was taking on lots of hilly terrain at Valley Forge, the Wissahickon, and Tyler Arboretum to match the 11K of elevation gain that Pinhoti presents. 11K is pretty mild compared to most 100s, but there were climbs of 2000 feet and later a steep 1200 feet, so I needed to be ready for this.

Tragedy

However, the relentless schedule was taking its toll. Besides the usual amusements that trail running always presents--such as mud, tumbles, turned ankles, scrapes, poison ivy, ticks, persistent flies, wrong turns, annoyed animals, and briar patch defeats--my accumulating mileage was becoming a burden. My "rest" weeks were still pretty grueling, and eventually my body succumbed to the punishment: I developed a sore left shin. After taking off a week, then 2 weeks, then finally 4 weeks to get better, my November dream was dead. Strangely, despite all the investment to date, I didn't feel too bad about it. Maybe it was due to all the fun I was having in helping to coach the PhillyFit crew up to that point. I decided to see how it went. My final rest period had seemed to solve the shin problem for the moment while my endurance seemed to be largely intact.

Renaissance

After attempting and succeeding at a long run in early November, I finagled my way into the Philly Marathon by buying a half marathon slot from my running buddy John C.'s wife, then swapping that for a marathon with another running buddy, Jeff L. I justified my banditry in my mind because I had talked John into doing his first marathon when his goal had originally been the half, so I "felt guilty" not running with him. How's that for convenient logic? Philly was a magical race. I had the privilege of running with a group of PhillyFit folks who were attempting their first marathon (John C., Steve, Jill, Sophorn, and Jim). By using the race as a training run, my time didn't matter, and I found myself running free and easy. We scattered in the latter quarter of the race, but I had the privilege of being able to pace all of my group members the last mile or so, plus several more first-timers that came in later. Symbolically, Lori and the kids were positioned right where I had been the year before, and I went past this spot several times during the race. It was really rewarding to see everyone fulfill their goals and witness firsthand the tremendous perseverance each had maintained as they finished up. I felt amazingly strong in the race and knew that the layoff had probably been the best remedy for me. It was time to see if I could renew my plans!

Reconnointering

I needed two things: Another race, and a better training plan. There were a number of 100s in late spring, but most didn't suit me: too far, too hard, required a recent 50 or more to qualify, or (to me) an unappealing course. It came down to Kettle Moraine in June (in Wisconsin, a relatively easy but hot trail race) or the Philadelphia 100. I was inclined to go with KM, as the Philly race was not my kind of race at all: no support (meaning no bling!); completely on asphalt; and worst of all, 12 mind-numbing circuits around the Art Museum loop. Still, a local race where I could have a few folks come out to see me finish or (as I dared to dream) even a pacer or two was intriguing. The strange attraction of this thought kept gnawing at me over time. As the weeks went on, I began leaning towards Philly, until I finally decided to go for it. Only later did I find out how prescient that feeling was.

Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV

Evolution of a “runner”

2011-04-15T22:23:00.004-04:00

As a lacrosse/field hockey player the coaches always said, run faster. This irksome comment, paired with long runs and sprints twice a day, created my distaste for running. With running there was no purpose. I needed a stick in my hand and more importantly a goal.

When I stopped playing lacrosse in college the elliptical and the bike were the cardio tools of choice. I would NEVER willingly get on a treadmill. That all changed one day when a friend said, “Lets run a marathon.” A marathon? I had never run much more than maybe 5 miles. However, being the person I am, No is not a word found often in my vernacular, and finishing a marathon assigned a goal to running. This goal was accomplished and then I proceeded to take a five-year hiatus from running.

Enter USAFIT Philly.

I had been toying with the idea of running another marathon to get back into shape. I not only wanted to complete a second marathon, but also finish a bit faster this time. It is that whole, needing a goal to motivate my running. The quandary, I wanted someone to train with. My previous running partner had decided to go to medical school and was a little busy. Searching the web and asking around a few options surfaced, but USAFIT Philly seemed to be what the best fit. I dove in. The first day I was nervous that I was going to be too slow, wasn’t going to find anyone to run with, everyone would already know each other and I wouldn’t fit in. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Everyone was amazing. I met remarkable people who both challenged and encouraged me to become a better runner. Finishing my second marathon with the support and camaraderie of fellow Philly Fitters and shaving a half hour off my previous finish, there was no five-year hiatus this time! With the company of Philly fit, I continued to run through the winter and into my next season.

Now if you have learned anything from this post, it is that I need goals to motivate my running. Having completed two marathons, I needed a new goal. Now I am not a crazy fast runner. Many of my friends were and are competitive runners who log 70+ miles a week. That is NOT me, nor is it most of the Philly Fit group. However, I do love a good challenge. My goal would be to shave at least another half hour off my time. Now, to accomplish this goal I had to adapt the Philly fit running schedule to fit my needs, but I decided to join the group for my third year anyway. A decision I did not regret! Always having someone to run with is a privilege I do not take for granted. And there was always someone with whom to run no matter how many extra miles I chose to add to the scheduled runs.

The people in this group are the reason I have met the goals set for my running, they are the reason I run as much as I do.

I am now entering my fourth season with USAFIT PHILLY and cannot wait until May. I have not set a personal goal for the season yet, and I don’t think it will be anything crazy this year, but perhaps in a few years Boston will be a possibility. With USAFIT Philly anything is possible. If you surround your self with the right people you can accomplish anything. So whether your goal is to cross the finish of a 26.2-mile race for the first time, to set a personal record/BQ, or to just improve your running/walking Philly Fit has a group for you! See you all in May!

Addicted

2011-04-15T18:54:00.000-04:00

I joined USAFit/Philly in 2008. I wanted to attempt a marathon. I really didn't think this would be more than a one and done thing. Let me see if I can do it and cross if off the list.

HA! Not a chance. With the help of the group, I learned that running wasn't the punishment that my junior high and high school hockey and lacrosse coaches used it for. I learned about shoes and gear, nutrition and hydration, fueling and so much more. In short, I learned to enjoy running! I was hooked.

That's not why I keep coming back though. I come back (this will be my 4th season) because I'm addicted to the people in this group. I've made friends that I know I'll have for a long time - even if I stop running and walking. I've never been part of such a diverse group of people who so genuinely care about eachother.

Try us you'll like us. :)

NO LONGER WALKING ALONE

2011-04-11T22:46:00.003-04:00

Proud Coaching Moment

My name is Roy Attitude of Gratitude. In December 2007 a chance meeting/discussion with a friend I found out I could do something I always wanted to do but could not-be in a long distance running race by walking. My body made it very clear to me not to run. My first race was the 10 mile Blue Cross Broad Street Run. I did two (2) more half marathons The ING Rock N Roll and Philadelphia Half Marathon and felt great but unfulfilled-no one to walk with at my speed and being alone in a crowd of runners as well as knowing I could not do the ultimate-finish a marathon.

I searched all over for a group that would train walkers to do a marathon and finally at The Blue Cross Broad Street Run found Philly Fit. From my first email about walking a marathon to crossing the finish line this group welcomed me as a team mate and friend. On race day we met before during the race (including some moments I really neeeded a friend!) and celebrated together. Now a veteran and coach I can tell you my two favorite moments out of many were the group greeting a very slow participant with such joy and seeing the look in their face as a finisher! This past Philadelphia Marathon I welcomed a fellow walker I had the privilege of coaching with a hug and medal. I see an amazing picture of that joyous moment in an office we both visit.

It may see strange that my best moments are other people crossing the finish line. But when you join Philly Fit you are part of a community of athletes and friends there for you. You will want to be there for them and forget about being alone out there. Roy Attitude of Gratitude Walking Coach Philly Fit

The distance between insanity and genius...

2011-04-03T21:20:00.003-04:00

... is measured by success (Bruce Feirstein).

And in this case 100 miles of success. I'm sure (hope) that Pete will post details of his amazing success once he has sufficiently recovered enough and finds the time to do so. I'd like to tell you about the run from a spectator's point of view.

The USAFit/Philly portion of Pete's run began in November 2010, even if we didn't know it at the time. On Philadelphia Marathon day, 2010, Pete completed his own 26.2 miles and then came back out on the course to run each of us to the finish line. I heard from enough of the group to feel certain that I speak for us all when I say to be near the end of 26.2 miles (tired and yes a bit cranky) and be greeted by Pete's smiling face and words of encouragement was a memory we will carre with us for a long time. Well, spring forward to April 2011 and it should come as no surprise how many Phillyfitters wanted to support Pete in his quest to complete 100 miles in under 24 hours. Now, Phillyfitters are an exceptional group of caring folks to begin with so I am certain the support would have been there anyway; but the events of November 21, 2010 only made it more personal for all of us.

As soon as Pete had his schedule ready, Jeff Ledbetter took the lead in getting pacers organized so that Pete had company on all 12 of his loops. I debated being a pacer and in the end decided that I was better suited to providing sideline support. I was curious to see how one accomplishes 100 miles and to document the run with pictures. If you'd like to see a chronological photo report with captions of the event, click here. What follows here are my ramblings of the experience. It is not necessarily in order by time but rather in the order that things come back to me as I reflect on it.

First and foremost congratulations to Pete for finishing. As the day and night (and day again) wore on I had the chance to see each of the partcipiants as they finished their loops. With the exception of a 20 something runner, Pete was by far consistently the strongest. As the number of loops grew he continued to look confident and in good shape. Just attempting this feat is awesome. Still Pete seemed to be holding up better than most. This is a testament to his discpline and training. He had a plan and up to the final 2 of 12 loops around the Art Museum loop he was bang on schedule. The final two he was early!

I watched as each runner came in from a loop and prepared to go out again for the next. Most had a routine that became predictable. Like the woman next to us who stopped to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to carry with her on each loop. For the first several loops her parents made the sandwich for her as she approached. The parents stopped coming later in the night and she had to make it herself. Another runner had to mix new batches of sport drink from powder between loops. He would kneel down on a towel and scoop powder into bottles whose openings were too small for the scoop. I should have taken a picture of the little piles of red powder around his campsite. Some runners had a routine of stretches between loops. Others simply sat and took deep breaths. One woman, Miriam, took her frustrations out on her husband and children who were there the entire day and night. She was very demanding of them each time she came in; to the point of being a bit bitchy I thought. Her family took it in stride (or seemed to). They sort of silently rolled their eyes as if to say "This is just the way she is when she runs these things. This too shall pass." Another woman, Marina, sat on the ground and drank diluted grape juice after each loop and wrote her time for each loop on pre numbered 3x3 cards she kept in a ziploc in her pouch. This, she said, was how she kept track of her loops. She did not have any family or friends with her.

There were a total of about 12-15 paricipants. Several of them, like Marina, were there alone. The USAFit/Philly folks made sure to cheer for everyone and especially for those how didn't have anyone. Renee had gone out early in the morning to put up signs for Pete along Kelly drive. Many of the runners came back saying "Who's Pete?" or " I'm pretending to be Pete, today". Neat! I think Pete had more supporters than there were particpants in this event. Cool!

Most of the runners, as did Pete, kept going with out sleep through their loops. A few though did take sleep breaks; in cars or in a chair. Family and friends went back to cars between loops. One supporter fell asleep on the sidewalk near where we sat. Mary put one of our blankets on him. I heard there was a runner sleeping on the sidewalk along MLK, his wife standing guard while he did.

A word about Mary and her "Mary Poppins" style bag. You name it, she had it. It was amusing and amazing a the same time. From space blankets to gus and gels to the string of neon green lights that Steve wore for the final dark loops.

I was amazed at the helpfulness of the runners to each other. Whether it was bandaids and moleskin or water and food; everyone chipped in when someone else needed it. There was a sort of community table around the corner from us where folks put leftover food and drink for everyone.

I was repeatedly amazed at the determination of these folks. All of them. I, and the other fitters who were there focused on Pete and marvelled at everything he was doing from his bang on pacing to his lists of what to do between loops. I watched some of these folks literally hobble in loop after loop thinking they had to be finished. Yet, a few minutes rest and off they went again; hobbling still. How does one do that? It hurt to watch some of them. One woman started out to walk with her husband on his 11th loop. She came back 15 minutes later alone. "Is he alright?" I asked. "No," she said "he sent me back so I could come get him with the car if he needs it". She looked concerned. She had told me earlier that morning that the 100 miler was on her husband's bucket list and that next they were going to Spain so he could run with the bulls.

Pete never hobbled. At least that I saw. He came in from each loop with spring left in his step. Between loop 11 and 12 he jumped the curb even. Me.. i would have tripped on the curb and landed with a twisted ankle (ask me how i know). Pete never hobbled. More than one person commented - He knew the approach he wanted to take on this run; he worked it out in training; trained accordingly and stuck to the plan. It worked AND it showed. I don't think I want to run ultras, but I would like to be that disciplined in my training.

I've mentioned the willingness of fitters to be a part of this event. Whether they ran with him, showed up to cheer or commented from afar on FB - they were a formidable presence throughout the day and night. I feel blessed to be part of this group. This 'race' was a non event really. The entry fee was $0 and you get what you pay for. No race number, no finish line, no aid stations and NO BLING..so Sammy made Pete his own "100 miles of insanity" medal. Mary Kay brought confettie, pom poms and noisemakers to ring in Pete's finish. Several folks worked to make a finish line tape made out of linked together glow in the dark necklaces. We didn't use that though since there were too many other runners going by at the same time - they got in the way. LOL

You had to be there but it was an awesome finish to an awesome achievment.

One last commnent - I wish I could have recorded - in time lapse fashion - the changing 'mood' of the spot where I watched all of this. From 7:00 am Saturday to 9:30 am Sunday it was neat to watch the area come alive, get real quiet but never quite asleep and come back awake again the next day.

Top Ten Reasons Not To Exercise (Part Two)

2011-03-27T20:33:00.000-04:00

Top Ten ~~Reasons~~ Excuses not to Exercise (Part Two)

4. You can't seem to stay motivated to continue working out
Getting and staying motivated is hard. No doubt about it. Join the group and you may find yourself addicted to the people and that gets you out every Saturday. (See the Power of the Group) Once you've created the habit the motivation comes easier.

3. Exercise HURTS!
Exercise doesn't have to hurt. If you start slow (as we do) and build slowly (as we do) generally you will be fine. Our coaches are dedicated to getting you in shape in a safe, non-intimidating fun environment. Our seminars are injury identification and prevention will help too.

2.You can't make the commitment to stick to an exercise routine.

It's easier to stick to an exercise routine if you set goals and start slow. Our program will help you do that. It's a 28 week program designed for all abilities even couch potatoes.

1. You don't have time!
Everyone has time. Our group meets Saturday morning early - a time when you might typically be sleeping. Get up a little bit earlier, come out and run or walk with the friendliest group on the planet and the rest of your day will likely be more productive.

Registration is open. Register online or in person when the season starts May 14th.

Top Ten Reasons Not To Exercise (Part One)

2011-03-24T21:16:00.029-04:00

Ok, the Top Ten ~~Reasons~~ Excuses Not To Exercise

10. You really hate to exercise.
Ok, most people do.... at first. You have to practice and get used to it. Joining a group can make that easier. (See "The Power of the Group")

9. You've tried exercise but you keep quitting.
Chances are you are trying to do too much too soon. Our 28 week program starts low and builds slow.

8. You can't afford a gym memership.
Even at full price our membership fee comes out to less than $4.00 per week! Skip one or two of those fancy coffees each week and you've got it.

7. You are not seeing any changes in your body.
It takes time to lose weight or change your body shape. We didn't get the way we are overnight. You need to have patience. In the meantime, you will reap the many other benefits of exercise.

6. You don't know how to exercise.
Seriously? Running and walking are the easiest forms of exercise. Put one foot in front of the other. Repeat. Our coaches are dedicated to getting you into shape in a safe, friendly, non-intimidating environment.

5. You want to exercise but you have to take care of the kids and family.
Alright, this one is maybe, sorta, almost a real one. But wait...think about this - exercise improves your health and mood. Family will reap the benefits of that. If you have children, think about the example you are setting. Our group meets early on Saturday mornings (7 or 8 am depending on date and length of workout). You'll be back home in plenty of time for the day's activities and everyone needs a little 'me' time.

To be continuned........

The Power of the Group

2011-03-22T21:01:00.001-04:00

So why should you run or walk or take on any fitness program with a group.

10. The group welcomes you no matter who you are; where you come from or what mood you are in today
9. The group knows that athletes come in all shapes, sizes and abilities
8. The group will carry you when you struggle
7. The group will you cheer loudly when you shine
6. The group understands tired and will pull you along until you get over it
5. The group understands that some days it just isn't your day; they will send you home, encourage you to rest and keep you from beating yourself up about it
4. The group has experience to share
3. The group has recipes to share
2. The group takes you out of your own head
1. The group becomes your reason for coming out week after week

Invest in yourself! Join USAFit/Philly and begin a 28 week journey to the better fitness.

My first 100

2011-03-20T20:40:00.024-04:00

On April 2nd and 3rd, I am attempting my first 100 mile race, the Philadelphia 100 Endurance Run. This will be my first try at this distance. I'm both excited and nervous as the big day fast approaches. My training, which started in December...of 2009 (!) has been slow and steady, and I think I've done all I can to prepare. Still, you never know. I'm about to find out!

I've been overwhelmed with all the enthusiasm that my amazing family, running friends, and the great folks at PhillyFit have for this crazy attempt. For myself, it is a natural evolution of who I am, how my running career has progressed, and my exploratory nature. I'm sure that to many others it is yet another affirmation of my personal insanity, but that makes it all the more fun.

First, a word about this zany, unorthodox race. The course is a bit less than ideal for a trail lover like myself, but it is local and gives all of you a chance to see one of the few 100s held in the country up close, with relative ease. The course starts and ends at Lloyd Hall, next to Boathouse Row. It is 12 loops around the Art Museum/Schuylkill Loop (Art Museum to Falls Bridge), 8.4 miles each. That adds up to 100.8 miles for those who are counting at home, and I'm sure the extra steps will be "sorely" felt. There is no support for the race, no entry fee, no t-shirts, no numbers, nothing! It starts at 6 AM Saturday, April 2nd, and you can run until 6 PM Sunday. You can start later on, leave the course and go home and come back, stay overnight at the Four Seasons--anything goes.

Because several dear folks--and I'm floored by the kindness--have expressed interest in giving a hand, I'm posting some information about the event, what to expect, and how you might help if you so desire.

For my own sanity and as a convenience to others, I've worked out a schedule for when I leave for each loop. I'm starting at 9 AM (but will be there at 6 AM to set up). My goal is to run this in under 24 hours, so my finish time is 8:55 AM on Sunday the 3rd. Here is the schedule (note that it has changed from an earlier one):

Loop	Loop start	Loop time	Loop end	Break length	Pace (min)	Pacer(s)
1	9:00 AM	1:24	10:24 AM	8 min	10:00	Jeff P.
2	10:32 AM	1:28	12:00 PM	9 min	10:30	Jeff L.
3	12:09 PM	1:32	1:41 PM	10 min	11:00	Sophorn S.
4	1:51 PM	1:36	3:27 PM	11 min	11:30	John C.
5	3:38 PM	1:40	5:18 PM	14 min	12:00	Jeannie A./Jen A.
6	5:32 PM	1:44	7:16 PM	15 min	12:30	Sherry C.
7	7:31 PM	1:48	9:19 PM	16 min	13:00	Sue G.
8	9:35 PM	1:52	11:27 PM	17 min	13:30	Smileys
9	11:44 PM	1:56	1:40 AM	20 min	14:00	Margorie S.
10	2:00 AM	2:00	4:00 AM	21 min	14:30	Steve B.
11	4:21 AM	2:04	6:25 AM	22 min	15:00	Renee H.
12	6:47 AM	2:08	8:55 AM		15:30	Kristie M.

Ways you can help:

1. Keep me company! Nothing would be better than to run a loop with you. As you can see from the schedule, I will be following the ultrarunner's mantra: "start off slow, and then back off", so this will be a leisurely jaunt for most. I will likely have a hard time keeping up with you, so please be patient. I will also be incorporating a pretty structured run/walk schedule.

1B. Cheer on everyone! All the runners in this event are amazing people with compelling stories and are worthy of support by all. Be sure to share your enthusiasm with them, maybe of whom will need it as they take on their own challenges. I'd encourage you to pace others as well if you wish; the ultra community is a tremendously grounded, thoughtful, compassionate, and inspirational community that is infectious to all who experience it.

2. If you do want to pace me for a loop, please let me know what loop, so I can expect you. Email me at canethrasher@gmail.com or Paula at phillyfitorg@verizon.net.

3. Lend me some brains. I have a lot to keep track of, and I'm sure I'll get worse at it over time. If you can make it down, anything you can do to remind me of things between loops that should normally be self-evident would be most appreciated. This includes remembering to eat, chafing, hydration, ibuphofen, sunscreen, run/walk schedules, lighting, marking the course for nighttime, clothes changes, foot care, and electrolytes. Don't worry, I will have solutions for all of these things, but I may forget to tend to them between loops.

4. Have some good stories. If you are running a loop with me, chances are I won't be terribly chatty, especially later on, but please don't be shy! Words of encouragement and words that pleasantly distract are cherished during ultra events. Here is a good primer for pacers.

5. Food. If otherwise compelled, please do not go out of your way here. I've made it pretty well in training on a combination of gus, PB&J, cereal bars, chocolate chip cookies (oh, the shameless delight of ultras), and Ensure. Things that may work later on could be hot soup/ramen noodles, doughnuts, pop-tarts, and boiled potatoes. However, I'm going to be really cautious with the food, and I can't predict whether I will try or want any of these things, so this really isn't much of a concern or priority to me.

6. Following the action. We don't quite have it worked out yet, but there will likely be some sort of an online update that will intermittently posted somewhere, most likely here or on the USAFit/Philly Facebook Page. Contact myself or Paula and we will give you details as they are worked out. I'm hoping to post between loops if I can manage it.

7. Give yourself a hand. I couldn't have gotten to this point without you, and you are deserving of as much of the (non-existent, sorry) schwag for the race as I am. Thanks so much to all, and most especially to my patron saint, my wife Lori, for all of her love, patience, and belief.

Crew/pacer/spectator tips

For those of you who will be at the race, here are some tips paraphrased from the race director:

We will have volunteers there … more specifically, to watch the stuff the runners bring. Do not expect them to do everything for the runners as this is a self supporting race. Please be kind to these volunteers … they are here to help us, and are doing it for free. (Note from Pete: if you want to volunteer, the race director is Lauri Fauerbach Adams at phila100@gmail.com.

It appears we will be the only race on Saturday so we should have our pick of parking spaces. Note that there is free parking on Sedgely across from Lloyd Hall up through Fairmount until Girard Avenue, and further down westward on Kelly and Lemon Hill. There is also parking east of Lloyd Hall at the apartment complex across from the Art Museum. Note that the metered parking on Kelly IS HIGHLY MONITORED by PPA, and they mean business. So don’t intend on parking there for extended periods of time, unless you want a big fat ticket and/or a tow bill as a Philly souvenir. (Note from Pete: I'm assuming that the lot at Lloyd Hall will be available as well)

There are nice heated bathrooms at Lloyd Hall that are open when Lloyd Hall is open (read = DAYTIME). These are stocked and maintained by the facility itself. Since we do not have permits for this event to avoid me having to charge you huge entry fees, we are out there as a regular running group. I therefore do not have any more authority over the cleanliness as well as the stockage of TP etc. than you do. Last year there were several events running concurrently with ours so the Lloyd Hall bathroom did not always have TP. Perhaps you want to bring your own. Along the course there are various portajohns. Some are cleaner than others, based on personal experience at various events. These are maintained by Fairmount Park on a semiregular basis. Some are cleaner than others. But they are there.

If anyone pacing with a racer would like to run a single loop, or even 5K, they can "enter" the race too. Just have them email me at phila100@gmail.com their name, city/state, distance, and time and I’ll record them on the website. This is a fun race which attracts an eclectic crowd, from meanderers like me to some very talented and credentialed runners. So smile, be courteous to the runners and cyclists with whom we’ll share the path.

Now let's go rock this!

Blocks and Gels - By Anne Madden

2011-01-14T21:39:00.000-05:00

Here it is folks.
The words to Blocks and Gels written and sung by Anne at the post season party December 2010.
Enjoy
***************************************************
Blocks and Gels (Jingle Bells)

VERSE 1

Dashing through the trails
In a big group 30 are we
Our name is Philly Fit
Come join our family
We wear water belts
And give each other cheer
Preparing for the increased miles
And hoping the end is near

CHORUS

Oh Blocks and Gels Blocks and Gels
Refueling all the way
Paula and coaches sure do ROCK
They give their all each day

VERSE 2

A short 6 months ago
We started our season run
Timed on first 3 miles
Wondering if this is fun?
We met on Saturday morn
For many sweltering days
Starting to run the higher miles
And asking Paula, “which way?”

REFRAIN

VERSE 3

November approached so fast
The marathon was very near
Exciting time for all
While starting to layer our gear
Pete and Renee spoke
With all their wisdom and facts
We loved to see those handmade signs
That helped us keep on track!

REFRAIN

We all had our own goals
And reflect as seasons ends
Through all the pain and tears
We all became great friends
On behalf of all of us
We owe a lot to you
To Paula and all the coaches here
You deserve a big THANK YOU!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T17:28:00.000-05:00

We had a nice turnout for the start of 2011. The trails still had a significant amount of snow (enough for Brian to get in some cross contry skiing even). Yet off we went with yaktrax, hats, gloves and smiles.

We welcomed Craig and Samantha and left them in the care of #1 winter walker, Nancy

Despite the snow, leftover from last weekend, the temps were warmer than it's been and the sun was still shining. This made parts of the snow covered trail rather mushy and actually puddly in a few spots yet we managed and I think everyone enjoyed it.

And those of us that went far enough, ....well we touched the fence. (If you want to know what that's all about, you'll have to join us on one or our weekend adventures. Don't get too excited though - it doesn't take much to make us do goofy/dorky things.)

Happy New Year from USAFit/Philly. Keep Smiling and Keep Moving.

.

Pushing through.... the 2010 Philadephia Marathon

2010-11-23T15:21:00.002-05:00

Sunday was the Philadelphia Marathon. 25 Fitters started and completed the Full Marathon and 7 started and completed the Half Marathon. I'm so proud of all of them. It was an awesome season. I can't wait until the post season party to hear all about their individual experiences.

Here is mine.

I arrived at the Rocky statue a little before 6. On the drive down, just as we crossed the Schuykill River on Girard Avenue my heart did a double take and I found myself grinning. I was going to run my third marathon. Despite doubts that I was really ready, I was excited. The doubts came from the fact that I ran my longest run 5 weeks before and although the runs I did have in subsequent weeks leading up to today were good and I felt strong they were inconsistent in their regularity as I battled a head and chest cold. I ignored such a cold when I was preparing for the 2010 Goofy Challenge and ended up sick for a few weeks after and weak for much longer than that. I did not want a repeat. Yet, as I said, despite the doubts I was very excited. I couldn't wait to see the gang and send them off to the race. For so many of them it was going to be their first. The excitement in me was such that I was having trouble focusing. I felt lightheaded and giddy almost. As I did at the Distance Run I started calling people by their wrong names. I called Maggi, Julius. Geez! There was so much going on. So many conversatioins, so much to see. I was almost manic.

I stayed with a small group; Anne, Jen, Jeannie, Julius, Chris, Helen and Mark up to about mile 15. We were careful to go slow at first and logged our first mile in just under 12 minutes. The excitement got the better of us though and although I wasn't tracking it, I'm sure our pace picked up after that.

As we approached the halfway point I started to come back down to earth. The second half loomed before me. Lemon Hill is no longer a part of the route but still memories of 2008 came flooding back. This sounds a bit melodramatic perhaps but it really happened this way. I got scared of the out and back on Kelly Drive. It's long and lonely. You run so far away from the finish line before you turn around to come back. As I heard the voice over the speaker instructing half marathoners to stay to the right, full marathoners to the left I almost went right. Seriously. I knew in an instant though that I'd kick myself later so I stayed on the course to the left and on toward mile 14.

My legs were feeling sore and my back wasn't real happy either. The group separated a bit after mile 14 and as we took an extra walk break I veered over to stretch. As I bent down to ease the kinks in my back, there was a quarter right at my foot. Helen took a picture of me picking it up and Jen commented that I was richer than when I started.

And off we went. By the next mile my negative thoughts got the better of me and I told the gang to go ahead. We caught up again at the Falls Bridge. That's where Jen told me the story of how she decided to run a marathon. It's her story to tell so I won't share it here but I will say it was great and it picked me up for a while. I lost them again going over the bridge and that was the last I saw of them until the finish.

I spent the next several miles doing my own run walk intervals. No rhyme or reason to them, just running as much as I could and walking when it hurt. Every run interval was preceded by stretching of my legs and back. My mania from the morning was pretty much gone. I had gone the complete opposite direction. When I get low emotionally like that I can get pretty mean with myself. It wasn't pretty for the next 2 miles. I'll spare you the details of those thoughts. I'm better now and I know those thoughts were just hogwash and lack of energy.

As I approached the turn around in Manyunk a band was playing and singing a song whose lyrics as I came by said something about "Walking back to your house". Oh great! That was not helping!! I had to laugh then. And I also realized I was approaching mile 20. Only 10K to go. This was a bridge run only flatter!! I could do this. My goal of getting in under 5 and a half hours was gone now and I was ok with that.

I thought again about the Gettysburg Marathon that I had already signed up for. Back between mile 17 and 19 when I thought about Gettysburg I was thinking what a fool I had been to sign up for it. On second thought now, though, I remembered when I signed up. It was after my 21 miler in October. I felt so great after that run. Awesome in fact. A reminder that I COULD do the distance. Something was wrong today, that was obvious, but I have done - and can do - distance. I ran Disney in January and had a great time. And that was after running a half marathon the day before. So whatever wasn't working today was not the be all and end all of my running career.

Now I was on a roll. I spent the next 10k, more or less, thinking about how my training would work for Gettysburg. I had already picked out a schedule. I thought about how I'm going to manage it around my work schedule and the shorter days of late December and January. And how the days would start getting longer soon enough. I thought about doing real core work this time too so my back won't be so funky. I was feeling better every step of the way. I wasn't back to the manic state of the early morning. I was too tired for that but I was definitely out of my funk. I did more walking than running but I was in good spirits now. I had another goal. And I had to finish this event to get started on it.

Somewhere between mile 25 and 26, Pete showed up. He ran me in to just before the last turn. He had run everyone in and gave me a play by play of all their finishes. It was as if I was there! It was so awesome. Pete is awesome. I sent him back to find Julius and ran the remaining tenths by myself.

Being alone at the finish was cool because a) the announcer called out my name (there was no one else around to call) and b) I wasn't really alone. There at the finish was my husband on the sideline and just across the finsh line mat was my group. Cold, hungry and smiling! A sight for sore eyes (and hips, back and legs) if there ever was one.

Jen was right. I was richer than when I started.

Twas the night before Philly

2010-11-19T20:46:00.002-05:00

'Twas the night before Philly, and all through the city
the Fitters were anxious; all wired and jittery;

Their shirts were laid out with bibs all pinned on
waiting for the alarm that’d go off before dawn;

They tried to be nestled, all snug in their beds,
and picture the finish line dance in their heads;

But sleep would evade them, and fidget they might
as they obsessed about something for one more night,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from my beds to see what was the matter.

Away to the window we flew like a flash.
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the lawn gave a beautiful glow
and we wanted to run but we shouldn’t, we know.

When, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But a wide eyed runner, showing none of our fear.

With a gait that was spunky, so lively and quick,
I wondered out loud, “This dude must be sick.”

More rapid than Aaron much closer he came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called out some names;

"Now, Maggi! now, Anne! now, Jeannie and Steve!
On, Julius! on Jim! Your nightmares must leave!

To hydration and fueling! To hitting the wall!
Just dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

The Fitters would rock, this little dude knew,
Even if it meant a blister or two.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney runner dude came with a bound.

He was dressed for the dance down the finish line chute
His clothes all wicking and layered to boot;

A bundle of Gu he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a winner; at the back of the pack.

His Garmin was absent; his pace not a care
Distance was fixed and mile markers were there.

He motioned for us to gather around
So shocked were we all, we made not a sound

“From May to November, you’ve trained for this day
Yet still you can’t keep the anxiety at bay”

“In the heat of the summer; and chill of the fall

You’ve met hills and trees and conquered them all”

“You’ve sweated and hurt, but whine you did not
Rock this, you will; I mean that a lot.”

Then taking a pause as he turned but to leave
The secret, he said, is you have to BELIEVE!

He posed for a picture then sprang to his corral
Hoping he had done enough to boost our morale

And I heard him exclaim, ere he jogged out of sight,
"Keep smiling and moving and you’ll be alright!"

Easy 4 miles

2010-11-09T19:09:00.001-05:00

Three years ago I would never have imagined saying that. Yet here I am. 2 marathons and 6 half marathons later. It's not a given, three years later, that 4 miles will always be easy. Tonight it was and it felt great.

I planned to do 2 miles in my neighborhood. I wasn't looking forward to it all that much because I had to run alone. I haven't run alone very much this season. Since May, there always seemed to be some group or another of Phillyfit folks working together during the week and I glommed on to as many of those outings as I could. I so enjoy running with all of them.

Anyway, back to tonight. As I left the house I commented to my husband that I felt silly spending as much time as I did gearing up for 2 miles. I took me almost as long to change as it would to do the run. But off I went nonetheless. The sun was setting so I wore my reflective gear, too.

The first thing I noticed is that my breathing never struggled. It usually takes some time (depending on how long I've been off) to get into a rhythm with that. Not tonight. I did quick assessment of all my various parts and the only thing that niggled at me was my right shin. I decided to keep going and let it work itself out since there wasn't any real pain.. just felt kind of stiff. I let my mind wander to the Marathon in 12 days. I am really looking forward to running with my friends and doing intervals (something I've shunned during races in the past). Before I knew it, I was done 2 miles. Wow. The shin issue was all gone and I was feeling really comfortable. So I went around for another 2.

I felt like I could do more after that but didn't. I think I'm right where I want to be going into the last 12 days before the marathon. I want to feel like I've got more left.

Team Smiley's first finish line photo

2010-10-26T18:05:00.007-04:00

I have been waiting for two years for a finish line photo of me and my wife. And here it is:

This past Sunday, we ran the Army Ten Miler. And it turned out to be a blast. This was the first time my wife and I ran an entire race together. When we first started running, she was a lot faster than me, and then for a while, I got faster than her. But I suppose all the Saturday long runs we've been doing together have leveled us out.

As it stands, we finished with a 1:28:49. Sophorn set her personal record in a ten miler, beating her best Broad Street time of 1:33:33. I was off my personal best of from this year's Broad Street of 1:27:56 by under a minute. I think that's great considering we weren't really trying for anything.

My name is Jim and my wife and I are training for our first marathon. Here's all my training posts to date.

No Whining!

2010-10-17T11:25:00.002-04:00

Like a child at Christmas, I am waiting for noon today. That's when I am 'allowed' to register for the Gettysburg North South Marathon. It is a self imposed waiting period and there is no one to stop me or scold me if I jump the gun. Nevertheless I will wait. And while I wait I am going to write this post. It may ramble because I am not sure how to tell this story.

A few weeks ago, after the Philadelphia Distance Run, I was ready to give up on marathons. My last few runs leading up to it, the race itself and a few weekday runs just after it were less than stellar. Less than stellar means I wasn't having fun. I felt beat up, tired and defeated. Yet, I knew I did not want to give up running. So my plan was to get through the Philadelphia Marathon in November and then spend 2011 focusing on half marathons. I got through the mental defeat of that spell with the help of enthusiastic training partners (to whom I wouldn't admit my plan to give up yet) and from this blog.

First about the training partners. The USA/Fit philly folks are generaly excited about the November marathon; especially the first timers. Oh, there is anxiety, no doubt, but it's tempered with enthusiasm and a "WE can do it" attitude. It is contagious. My mind was still set on the half marathon focus for 2011, but their attitide was keeping me smiling, moving and training for November. If you've never trained with a group it may be hard to unerstand how this works. I'm not really sure I fully understand the phenomenon but I'm going to try.

We have a "no whining" philosophy at phillyfit. No whining can mean a lot of things. Recently we determined that statements of fact are not whining. For example, "I do not like this stretch of the trail" is a fact ...not a whine. "My foot hurts" is a fact ....not a whine. There is likely a fine line between fact and whining. :) I think the real benefit to 'no whining' is that it forces you to get out of your own head. At Phillyfit we've all have bought into the idea that we are there for eachother as much as for ourselves. It's not something we formally decided to do, it just happens. If you are watching out for others you can't get overyly wrapped up in your own stuff.

So what about the benefits of this blog. I write these as if I'm talking to someone else but really I'm talking to myself. Although I don't think I mentioned wanting to quit marathons before this (I know others read it and I didn't want to rain on their parade) but I tried to be honest about how I was feeling after each weekend long run - good or bad. It helps to get stuff out of my head.

Obesessing is really just trying not to forget. It's important to remember how I did or felt on a training run or race so I can do better next time or recapture the good. Leaving those thoughts here means I can let it go, move on to other things. I know where to find my thoughts when I need them. Leaving my defeated feelings here helped me be open to the attitude of my training partners and to the possibility that I was just having an off couple of weeks.

Now about the Gettysburg North South Marathon. I wasn't even looking for anymore marathons. Two Facebook friends 'liked' it and I was curious enough to check out the link and the webpage. I love the idea of another inaugural event (Hershey was one too!), I love the idea of the two divergent courses, and I love the promise of some historic perspective to the event. I've been to Gettysburg and think the area will make a great backdrop. Without my awesome training partners and this blog I might not have had enough curiosity to even look at it. My excitement about this race would not have been possible!

So in 35 minutes I will register and have a goal for training through the winter. Would anyone like to join me?

Attitude and Intervals

2010-10-16T20:54:00.000-04:00

That's what it takes to finish 21 miles! It also helps to have some awesome folks to run with. Thanks Jeannie, Jen, Julius, Anne and Chris for an exciting 12+ mile adventure. And special shout out to Kristie who did 18 with the faster folks then waited around and came out to run me in the last 3/4 mile! You rock!!

I am now a fully on board disciple of intervals from the beginning of a long run. If you've read some of my posts already you know I've been kind of up and down, wishy washy and inconsistent about it. In recent weeks I've started to realize the benefits and decided that for my 21 miler (which I did today so I can cheer everyone on next weekend) I wanted to do intervals from the beginning. It worked! I am sold! So much so that I think i'll finally get an interval counter for myself this winter. I have a birthday AND Christmas coming up afterall.

Attitude helps a lot too! I started thinking about today's run last Sunday. It was looming in front of me then. I knew I had to be upbeat and positive about it to be successful. I worked hard this week to stay upbeat and postive about it. I am proud of my ability to to do it, too. I'll spare you all the details but for a variety of reasons including weather, work and illness I did not do any weekday running this week. Yet I was strangley calm about it. There wasn't anything I could do that would make a difference for Saturday anyway (I reasoned) and I decided that getting sick was maybe a signal that I needed a break. In the past, I might have (no definitely would have) driven myself crazy worrying about missing it. In a way, it really did help. By Friday night I was itching to run. I was actually looking forward to 21 miles. Who'd've thunk it!!

So at a little after 7 off we went. We all started off (about 15 of us I think) in one large chunk. After the first mile we separated as everyone did their own thing. I stayed with Jeannie, Jen, Julius, Chris and Anne as we did 2.5 and 1 intervals. How sane it was. I finished the loop feeling energized! Even after a very graceful (?) demonstration of drop and roll about 2/3 of the way through. I turned around to see what happened when Jeannie turned back to see if she could find her sunglasses (she didn't). I should have stopped running and turned around but no I had to do it the hard way and ended up tripping over my feet. I didn't want to faceplant on the macadam so I leaned right and rolled over on the grass. I told the group I was "demonstrating" stop drop and roll in honor of fire prevention week. :)

At this point we got separated. Jen and Anne waited for Jeannie and Chris, Julius and I continued on. Unfortunately for Julius he was the only one with a running watch and so that left him to do the math of 2.5 and 1. As Chris said later "You could see the smoke coming out of his ears". As we finsihed the loop we headed back to our cars to remove some layers and I topped off my water bottles. This worked out well because as we came back out we were met by the other three and off we all went together over the "creepy" bridge.

Today was a very windy day. It was very noticeable going over the bridge. Once on the other side we opted for the river trail instead of the planned six miles on the SRT. We all love the River Trail so it seemed like a good choice. Well the emphasis today was on TRAIL. The route was ravaged from all the rains recently and flooding a few weeks ago. There were downed trees (big ones) and lots and lots of debris and puddles. Julius demonstrated his ablity to drop and roll after trying to run over one downed tree. His demo was challenged by two things. First he's a LOT taller than me so he had much farther to drop and there was no grassy spot to soften the fall. I'd give it a 7.3 out of 10 though. :)

We survived the River Trail obstacle course. It really was kinda fun! We made a pit stop at the Betzwood restrooms where we met up briefly with John, Pete, Renee and Kristie (faster folks). At this point we had finished 12.4 miles. The day's mileage called for 12. Chris, Jeannie and Anne wanted to do a bit more so we said good bye to Jen and Julius and headed out toward Norristown. I had 8.5 more to do so I planned to go out and back 2 miles in each direction. They went with me for one and then turned around.

It was strange when they turned around. I kind of felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. I have no idea where I come up with these images but we were talking about scary movies earlier so maybe that was it. Yes I was afraid of the Wizard of Oz when I was a kid. I mean, flying monkeys cmon! Anyway, I had this image of Dorothy heading off on the yellow brick road toward the emarald city by herself as I said good by to the others I'm definitely a first degree dork! (and proud of it)

The remaining 7.5 miles were ok. Without benefit of Jeannie calling out run walk intervals I was on my own. I decided to try 1/2 mile at a time. Almost twice or more than 2.5 running but I had no other benchmark. Besdies running 1/2 mile at a time might make it go faster?? I ended up walking more than planned (there's a lot to be said for peer pressure!) but i'm ok with it. The hardest part was the between 31 and 31.5. The wind (which was stronger now) just whipped through that open space. I was running into the wind and being tired already it was very slow going. I finally gave up and walked it. On the way back with the wind at my back it was much better. I also stopped to stretch a lot in the final 4 miles. Each time helped a lot.

Two items of note. I saw a fox run across the trail. Neat! And in that space between 31 and 31.5 there was a group (a large group) planting trees! So in a couple of years that stretch will be much nicer!

As I approached the 29.5, there was Kristie. I was so glad to see her. I was really really tired and feeling the run in my hips and feet. But with someone else to talk to I found enough energy to run the rest of the way in. Thanks Kristie!

Earlier this week I discovered the Gettysburg North South Marathon. I'll tell you more about it another time. For now, you only need to know that I really want to do it. I decided to wait until after my 21 mile run to be sure. And now I just have to wait until noon tomorrow because I decided a long time ago never to make any big decisions (positive or negative) within 24 hours of a long run or race. But if I stil feel this good tomorrow - I'm signing up!!

21 Miles and I'm hurting

2010-10-16T15:40:00.002-04:00

Because of some traveling in the next few weeks, my wife and I did our 21 mile runs today. Since Steve is planning on running the marathon with us, he came along too. We met at the Collegeville Diner and ran 7 miles north and back leaving us with a 3.5 mile distance south before heading back to the car. I really like this because of the ample opportunities to refill Gatorade and bathroom breaks.

The run wasn't that bad this morning. It was 50 degrees at the start so this happened to be the first time we all wore long sleeve shirts. 21 miles felt like a daunting challenge, after our 17 and 19 miles weren't that smooth. I remember our 15 mile being an adventure with us being excited about the challenge. But our mood for 17 and 19 soured a bit with the scope of what we were undertaking. I remember our last 6 miles of our last really long run was run in silence so I woke up this morning with a determination to chit chat and keep a light mood through the whole run.

Going out and back for 14 miles was really nice since it broke the run up into manageable parts. 14 miles isn't so bad. We chilled for a second at the car, and then headed out for the last 7. That a little challenging and everyone stopped talking so I started singing show tunes. I dreamed a dream of time gone byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. The mood was definitely lighter than our last two runs and it really helped. Lesson learned man, gotta keep up with good vibes, even if you have to force it a little bit.

I felt a lot better doing the last 3 miles today than I did doing 19. The worst part of the run came at the end when we stopped. I've never felt so.....uncomfortable. I was in pain. Nothing specific but it was rough. My legs were screaming about the abuse that I put them through. I didn't feel good standing still but it hurt walking too. It was the most hurt I've been after a run but I'm fine now.

I also found out what makes my wife nap. I've been coming back and lounging in bed since our 15 miles runs, but my wife has been staying up to fiddle around the house. Not today, so that's good to know. Only takes 21 mile runs to really wear the misses out.

We're away for then next two weeks but I think when we come back I'd like to fit another 15 miler in but I'll be waiting to make that decision.

Thinking that this is was our biggest run before the marathon is a little scary. We're going from 21 to 26.2 with nothing in between. I'm confident we'll be able to do it, but still. That's a 5 mile jump in distance with nothing in between.

My name is Jim and my wife and I are training for our first marathon. Here's all my training posts to date.

21 Miles

2010-10-14T21:07:00.000-04:00

That's my goal for Saturday. I'm strangely looking forward to it. Not sure why that is but I guess it's a good thing so maybe I shouldn't think about the why too much.

The group has 12 on the schedule starting with a tour around the VF Loop then over to the SRT and back. So my plan is to do 12 with them then go back over to the SRT for 9 more. I will NOT do the loop twice. I'm not that much in love with the idea of 21 miles.

I think that's all I have to say for now.

I'm A Terrible Pacer

2010-10-13T10:24:00.004-04:00

Recently, I've totally bailed on blogging about my marathon training. Family tragedy has struck, my home renovations call, life has gotten in the way. But at least I've been able to keep up with the actual training. I don't think I've posted since we did our 15 miles. But since then our elite crew consisting of Steve, my wife and I have inched up past 17 and 19 mile runs. This weekend we'll jump ahead of the group to do our 21 mile run because next weekend the wife and I are away running the Army Ten Miler down in DC.

I love ten mile races. They seem so short anymore. And I really want to do well in it. I'm not even going to pretend that it's a training run. And so we come to an issue. I think at this point as a runner, I actually need to start planning my race pace. But I'm really not that good at picking a pace. I suppose that's the real issue. During the Rock-n-Roll half marathon a few weeks ago I totally miscalculated my optimum pace. I wanted a sub 1:50 time and so paced for a 1:48 finish not taking into account the temperature or my recent training runs. I ended up running a 1:59:58 because I hit a wall at mile 9. If I would not have been trying to be such a manly man, I could have paced myself to finish a 1:55ish. And let me say, that experience really ruined my mood.

So let's play the pace game. What pace should I be shooting for with the Army Ten Miler? All things being equal, I'm currently of the opinion that temperature is a huge factor in how fast I am. I think I really miscalculated my half marathon pace this year based on thta. My thinking was "I ran at 2:03 for 13.1 last year, and I've been running non stop since then so I must be a lot faster by now". But the temperature for the Philly half last year was like 40 degrees cooler and I paid no attention to that.

Last year's Army Ten Miler started with a temperature of 55 degrees. I'm thinking I should run the first 5 miles at my finish pace for my last Broad Street Run, which . And then amp it up(if I feel like it) to 8:15 for the last 5. That would give me my first ever negative split. And a new personal record. But I don't know, I'm for suggestions.

My name is Jim and my wife and I are training for our first marathon. Here's all my training posts to date.

Something in the air.

2010-10-10T20:11:00.000-04:00

On Saturday I had a fantastic run. I love it when my pre-run strategy actually works. We had 10 miles on the schedule. We met at Lloyd Hall for a trip around the East-West River drive loop (Kelly Drive-MLK) and then an extra spur up, over and down Lemon Hill.

My plan was to run MY PACE to the falls bridge. Take a walk, water and gel break across the bridge. Run MY PACE to the Rocky Statue. Take a walk, water and stretch break. Then finish the run back to Lloyd hall and Lemon Hill. I managed almost all of it. It really felt good.

My only small failure was in running MY PACE during the first section. I always feel good and go too fast. I ran the first section with Mark, Christina, Jill and Collene. I know these folks are all faster than me. I get wrapped up in the conversation and off I go. On the second leg Jill and Collene did not take a break so they were off well ahead of me. Mark and Christina managed to keep their pace after the break but I was a little used up and lagged behind them. I was disappointed in myself for this but the good news is I didn't let the disappointment get into my head. I just kept at it and finished running the entire second leg - albeit slower- by myself.

I conquered Lemon Hill which, previously - during my first marathon in 2008 - knocked me on my butt. It had taken on mythic proportions in my head. So this run was returning to the scene of the crime so to speak. At the end of the run I felt good and still had some energy left. Perhaps I could have pushed that second leg a bit more. If I meet up with other Phillyfitters during the week (as we have been) I can use their pace to push myself. They are all faster than me.... and that's ok.

As for the title of this entry. It was a gorgeous day on Saturday. I know that helps make any run more enjoyable.

Chasing the sun

2010-10-03T19:19:00.001-04:00

Two weeks ago we chased the shade and shadows at the Rock N Roll half marathon. Today we chased the sun in a much cooler Hershey Half Marathon.

I had an incredible time. I enjoyed everything about the day. It was hard not to enjoy the day. It was a perfect running day. Bright blue skies, sunshine (when it finally came up a little after 7) and about 50 degrees at the start.

I finished in 2:32:38 which isn't my best time but it isn't my worst either. I consider it a respectable time for me. The most imporant part is that I finished and I really really had fun.

The course was hilly. I hadn't expected that, but really I didn't know what to expect. The course profile on the website did not provide an elevation chart. We did get one in our packets the night before but it was so condensed it really didn't show the full effect. All we could really tell from it was that the first half was more or less uphill and the second half downhill. I guess this proved true and except for two hills they were rolling. I really didn't mind them at all. The Valley Forge loop runs of late helped with that! (Thanks to my weeknight running buddies) Truth be told I actually like hills. They make me feel good when I conquer them. A day when I struggle on them is usually a day I'm struggling everywhere.

I started out slow. I was very proud of that. I positioned myself toward the back and I let lots and lots of runners pass me. I just smiled and let them go. Yay me! For most of the run I leap frogged the same people. The water stops were more or less every 2 miles. So I decided that I would run MY pace and at each water stop I would walk long enough to take water. I took electrolytes at mile 2, 6 & 10 and Gel at 4 & 8. The electrolytes were really guess work. With the cooler temperature and breezes I didn't really feel sweaty but I don't do gatorade so I decided the three doses (one pill each) would work. I guessed right I suppose because once again at the end I felt good -- no dizziness or heart strain.

A word about the breezes. They were very breezy! LOL. You could feel them the entire race and on some stretches - up in the corn fields - the cross winds had some umph. Not enough to make running difficult but definitely a presence.

According to the race results I ran the first half 1 minute and 2 seconds slower than the second half. I don't know if it counts - but technically I suppose it's a negative split. My first time! :)

At the end my legs and feet did not hurt as they usually do. I guess the truth is I could have run harder or faster, but I had a fantastic day and I really needed it.
All in all this was a very successful outing. I'm still feeling a bit of anxiety about the November full marathon. I suppose though that's better than being cocky.

It's all in my head...

2010-09-25T14:06:00.000-04:00

‎"Fear is probably the thing that limits performance more than anything - the fear of not doing well, of what people will say. You've got to acknowledge those fears, then release them." -Mark Allen

I saw this quote on Facebook today via Active.com. It is so true. The fear of failure, of not doing well is what gets me too often. I don't race. But I do have expectations of msyelf and I have to let them go some times. I used to tell my kids, "Perfect is boring". I need to embrace that. I think the fear of of not doing well (I wasn't) in the Philly half is what got to me most. It's a mental game and lost that one.

BUT it was just a race; one day out of many in the year and the rest of my life. I sitll have to take what I learned in the philly half and use it to my advantage the rest of the season. I do have to pay more attention to my training. And train better. But I don't have to be so hard on myself about one race. I tried to make that my message to the group today. Truth be told I was talking to/for myself as much as for them.

Today's run was great. Not quite awesome but really really good. I planned on 18 ad I finished 18. Originally, I planned to do 10 and then another 8. By the time I got to five, Jeannie, Helen, and Mark were with me. Helen said they were going out to 6 first to make the second trip shorter. That sounded like a good idea so off I went with them.

It was also nice to see where the trail went after Ridge ave. I've never been that far. Up to the 5, I was doing 1 mile and a walk break. I felt good. With Helen, Mark and Jeannie we did 2.5 and 1's which I was quite happy to do knowing that I still had 13 miles to go. I like the shorter intervals and it would probably be better to do them from the start but my brain isn't on board with that yet. I'm thinking about doing it seriously from the beginning for the 21 miler though if I have someone to go out with (since I run naked - no watch).

At 6 Jeannie and I turned around , Helen and Mark kept going. Helen had 20 on the schedule for today so they were going to go to 7 and turn around. Jeannie and I continued with a 2.5 and 1 run/walk ratio. We took two extended walk breaks but other than that we pretty much stuck with the plan.

I took gu at 4 mile intervals and endurolytes a mile before each gu. That seemed to work well. I did not have any dizziness or that feeling of straining heart pump that I've had in the past on hot humid days.

Helen Kristie and I went out again for 6 more. It wasn't easy. My feet and lower legs really hurt toward the end. But my attitude was much better than in the half last week. And that made all the difference.

2010 Rock N Roll Half Marathon - Philly

2010-09-19T22:50:00.001-04:00

First a comment on my goals for the Rock n Roll Half. I DID finish and overall I DID have fun. Thanks in large part to all the USAFit/Philly folks. It was so awesome to see so many Phillyfitters. There had to be at least 30 of us there! Everyone looked good at the start and happy at the end. Some of us were happy because it WAS the end but happy just the same! Quite a few had PR's.

My pacing goal was not met however. The website hasn't posted my split times yet but I know I didn't do it well at all.

Personally, I was discouraged today. About mile 7 today I was starting to think that I would quit the full marathon for this November; change my registration to the half. I feel almost as worn out today as my first full marathon (2008). I all but had myself convinced that giving up on the full was a good idea. I would focus on half marathons and get really good at them I thought.

Last November (2009) I finished a half marathon 22 minutes faster than today on a much hillier course and felt great after it! I started to think about why that was. It was much cooler and my allergies were not a factor (today they really did have an affect) But the biggest reason is that I was in way better shape then. I had been working diligently to get ready for the Goofy Challenge and it really showed. I thought about that a lot during the final miles of today's event. By the time I crossed the finish line (which always feels good no matter how the rest of the race feels) I decided that I would not quit the marathon in November. Instead I'm going to get very serious about my training. I only have 8 weeks. I hope it's enough. At the very least I'm going to go into the November MARATHON knowing I worked my hardest and best to get there.

So if any of my Phillyfit friends are reading this - please keep me accountable.

*Deep Breath* I have to do this. I will do this.

On Vacation and on to the Rock n Roll Half Marathon

2010-09-17T21:25:00.000-04:00

I spent the last four days in Florida. We flew down on Tuesday and returned earlier today. It was a great vacation, but the notable thing for this blog is that I ran on two of the days and went to the gym for one. Vacation is not the usual time for working out. Typically, running or gym visits lose out to other activities (or non activity) while on vacation.

Maybe it was knowing that the Half Marathon is Sunday. Or maybe it was knowing that after I ran (in much more humid conditions than was happening at home just before I left) I could jump in my sister's pool! Whichever I'm glad I got out because if I hadn't I would likely psych myself out about Sunday's half.

So it's time for my goals for Sunday's event.

#1 and #2 - Have fun and finish.
#3 - I'd really like to run the second half faster than the first half. Although I do try to concentrate on not going out too fast, I always slow down at the end. I have yet to have an event where my pace does not get slower as the miles pass.

So here's hoping we ALL have a great time.

Sometimes you just have to get out of bed

2010-09-04T20:46:00.000-04:00

Today was one of those mornings. I woke up at 5 am (15 minutes before the alarm) and really didn't feel like running. I thought I would get dressed, show up and maybe just sit and wait for everyone to do their miles.

By way of explanation my allergies are horrible this year. I don't remember it being this bad last year. In a bad year my face itches so much it feels like it's on fire. It make me tired and if my sinuses do get backed up I have trouble breathing. Yesterday was one of those days and although I didn't have the symptoms when I woke up I was still worn out and the nice weather was sure (I thought) to bring it all back. So in short (too late i know) I did not feel like running. As if that wasn't enough I also missed the exit off 422 and had to back up to get off at Oaks. Fortunately at 6:30 in the morning there wasn't anyone else around to care.

The enthusiasm of the group is too much to ignore. I got caught up in it and decided that I was going out and whatever happened happened. Start slow, see where it goes. I wasn't sure who was doing what intervals at first and not having a watch I decided on 1 mile and break and so on. However, I caught up with Julius who said he was doing 4 and 1's and that sounded more appealing so why not. by this time I had 2 miles done and was feeling ok.

There is something about running that seems to help the allergy reaction (temporarily anyway, more on that later) I can only think that it's because getting the blood moving keeps anything from sticking (dumb word but best I can do) and so the irritants can't settle in anywhere. At least that's my theory and i'm sticking to it for now.

So I stuck with Julius for most of the run. He runs faster than I do but I decided now that I was out there that I was going to give it my best effort. Had I been alone I would have slowed down. I don't think I was pushing too hard, just pushing more than I would have if alone. One of the many benefits to a group run :) Around mile 6 or so Jeannie caught up with us. She had been doing 2.5 and 1's and said she wanted to catch up so she switched to 5 and 1's and really must have turned it on. Great job, Jeannie! Somehow we also ended up with Mark who had been way ahead but stopped for a bathroom break. So the four of us more or less stayed together to the end. Jeannie and I switched back to 2.5 and 1's after awhile. Her pushing to cathc up and my trying to keep up with Julius had us both feeling the effects. Julius went ahead then but somehow we all were togehter again with just under 2 miles to go.

The last 2 miles we had a few gusty headwinds. Always interesting. This led to a goofy discussion about breaking wind. I'll spare you the details.

We finished strong with a good last 1/4 mile. This was Julius' first attempt at 15 and he did really well! Go Julius. And thanks to Mark and Jeannie for great company and encouragement.

I had a gu at the 5 and 10 mile mark. I had to refill water at the Collegeville Diner (thanks Jeannie for that too.. there's safety in numbers when you decide to just barrel you way in and get what you need!). I had a bit of stomach discomfort toward the end because these gus were the last two of my stash with caffeiene. I had forgotten to go get more before Saturday and I didn't want to waste them anyway. I took an Endurolyte at mile 4 and 8 as well.

As for the allergies, the day was gorgeous and with wind I was still taking in stuff. So after the run and after the endorphins passed on and my blood wasn't moving things around the symptoms crept back in. And right about now I'm ready to rip my face off again. BUT I had an awesome run, with great people and it all started because I got out of bed and went to meet USAFit/Philly.

Comfortable not fast

2010-08-23T22:30:00.000-04:00

I ran alone in the rain tonight. Today was a scheduled day off and it was raining so I wasn't surprised to arrive at the park and find no one there. (Although I was late so it's possible someone was there and I missed them.) I decided to run anyway. Afterall I was there, dressed to run and I think I needed to do this. I'm pretty sure part of my crummy outing on Friday was due to being alone. I think I gave up mentally (feeling sorry for myself) and that exacerbated the physical stuff. So I needed to do this.

I opted for the paved SRT rather than the River Trail. I've run the River Trail alone before but in the teeming rain it just looked too desolate. I headed out of the 31.5 for 2 miles out and 2 miles back. It was an awesome run.

I will never be a fast runner. I don't really aspire to be one. I'm not sure if running will ever be effortless for me but I strive to be comfortable. I want to feel the ground passing beneath my feet and just run. Tonight I came as close to that as I ever have. I checked in with my body a few times and noticed I was running tall. I had to relax my shoulders a few times but not a lot. My feet, ankles, knees and back were all fine. I was just running. I wish I had the right words that didn't sound so dorky. I was comfortable is the best I can do.

I didn't feel like stopping even once. I didn't strain to see the end or wish it was coming sooner. I just ran. At a half mile left I picked up the pace and held it - and still felt good - and with 1/4 left I picked it up again to the end. I was winded but not gasping. It felt good.

I know it was only 4 miles but it was a really good 4 miles! I needed it.

Such are the things that I've thought while running

2010-08-21T19:57:00.011-04:00

There was a time when I would cause the Earth to spin with my stride. But before that I used to tell myself it was just better to quit. I used to tell myself I couldn't do it, I used to tell myself I was too fat. That I was too slow. Look at that real runner, he thinks I'm a joke, I'm not that, I can't be that. The world would stop to look at me, as I trudged slowly down the Kelly Drive bike path, and they would lear in disapproval.

I guess I used to talk myself down. It was the worst when I used to reach the end of my run. I would be worried I'd have to stop running and walk. So, as a way to keep going, I would conjure up the big... mean.... world and tell myself to just give up. That the world wanted me to just give up. Oh that critical subconscious. That negative voice in my head. In retrospect it was so counterproductive. And looking back I feel like it rotted me, I feel like it polluted my passion. Not only did I have to contend with the very real obstacles in running, such as not knowing anything about the sport, especially shoes, hydration, pacing, etc... I had to fight with myself just to get out there and run. Just to get out on the path.

I don't really remember when it started, but at some point, I made a conscious effort to think more positively. I would imagine myself running down Kelly Drive with all of the world's inhabitants on either side of the path cheering me on. And everyone I ever knew was there -- my friends and family were encouraging me and screaming that they knew I could do it and that they were proud of me. And every man who ever wished me ill glared at me in astonished respect as every step that I took turned out to be one step I didn't know I had. Whether it was light or dark out, I always ran towards a bright rising orange sun, like it was out of a Disney movie.

Kelly Drive it's an out and back you see, if you run out 3, you HAVE to run back 3(Ha! I remember I used to think six miles was far! HA again!). To me, having to walk was failure. The world would fall on me when my gait would transition from jog to walk. "We knew you couldn't do it", and to hear the real runners come up from behind me was just a continuous death. They would flash past me, dodging me with hideous indignity, "how dare you make us move for you". You could see my shame from ten miles high; my shoulders were hunched; my head was down, every runner was disgusted that they even had to make an effort to pass by me on the left.

So in those last miles when I really needed to feel a purpose, I would imagine that every foot fall would push the whole of the earth around in it's rotation. Defying all of physics, I was the sole cause of the earth's spin, from my waist through my hips, to my thighs straight down, and right into my toes. I was the push that caused the tides; the rising and setting sun, that caused entire flocks of birds to startle and take flight from the ground. And in retrospect, big surprise, it was much better than the negative energy I would bring to myself from before. That was when I got faster than my wife. And the natural order was restored.

I've stopped doing that by now, seems almost childish looking back. It's like being a helpless adolescent trying to big in an even bigger world. And on top of that, I was patient. I'm proud of myself for that. I've always been good in math, and in math you build on your yesterdays. And so I built on a thousand running yesterdays. Just to be faster now. I'm a far more confident runner today. I've stopped taking the effort to visualize happy thoughts. After a while such thing just came to me.

So after I stopped putting on a show for all the world's inhabitants, I would run for just one man. It was the vision of the person I wanted to be. He was the me that I wanted to be. The ME with washboard abs. The me who knows all the words to say. The me without any of my life's mistakes. He had the peace of mind that had always eluded me. And he would run a couple yards in front of me, damn did he make it look easy, damn was his stride graceful. And he would look back at me and say "Come on now Jim, just this little further..... I know the wa..., c'mon now". And he was right in front of me. He was so close I could dare to touche him, barely inches from touching him.

And so that would go on for a few months, and then one day I was running in early June on my parent's treadmill; and there was no air conditioning. And boy did that suck. Just 4 miles, that's all I needed, but I couldn't go on. It was just too torturous. So I went looking to space out, I just needed a distraction, anything to bare it longer. And so I went looking to find that happy place; that place where I could see the person I wanted to be and run towards him, and those four miles would just melt way. But I couldn't find him, he just wasn't working. It was too forced, too corny, I mean this isn't the Cat In the Hat, this isn't the Giving Tree. I'm a thirty two year old man, and these are flights of fancy, these are indulgences to ease a weak mink. And so I couldn't find him. But what I found then, is what I have now. Fire. I found the man I wanted to be wasn't' outside, he was in me. And he was the strength to carry on, he was the endure. It's awesome and a shame at the same time, because I still still don't have those washboard abs.

I don't think about anything now. I don't have to. If I run with with my wife, we banter about the week's events. If I run alone, an ipod provides me a raucous soundtrack. All I do now is fall into the moment. 10 miles, 15 miles, next week is 17 miles. The marathon is assured. And if you've passed on the Drive, you've earned it. And it has only so occurred because I've let you. Broken ankle, healed ankle. There is no ankle. There is only left right, left right. I don't know if it's running Nirvana, because I don't know if there's anything that comes next, but I know I carry this feeling with me into the world outside of running. I carry it into the weekday mornings, onto the rides on the Market-Frankford El, into my wasted minutes in the board room.

I don't if I'll ever know peace outside of running, but I'll know it if I see it; because of running.

My name is Jim and my wife and I are training for our first marathon. Here's all my training posts to date.

15 miles was never so sweet

2010-08-21T11:50:00.005-04:00

photo:from left, Steve, Myself, Sophorn after glorious victory

It wasn't easy running 15 miles today, but it was pretty close. When we woke up this morning, neither my wife nor I had much doubt that we were gonna get it done, the question was, how was it going to feel.

The 15 mile course was out and back which is my favorite. I don't like going a little out and then a little back a bunch of times, I prefer to know that when I run 7.5 out, I HAVE TO run the 7.5 back. It provides me no opportunities to quite. And a straight out and back creates a mini achievement just getting to the turn around.

We also got a nice treat too as we saw Steve pull into the parking lot for the first time in 3 weeks. He seems to have the same pace as my wife and I and is good company. He started out with us and ended up doing the whole run with us. Because of our success at running last week's 12 miles at a set pace, we decided to do it again this week. In fact, that's how we're going to finish up our long run training. Go out steady, do NOT go out fast, and try to carry a steady pace through the entire run. Although last week we hit our stride at a 10:30 mile, this week we started out at an even 10. It helped that the temperature, at 72 degrees, almost felt chilly which is a change from last week when it felt a lot hotter.

Neither me, nor Steve, nor Sophorn had run 15 miles before, EVER. This was definitely a test day. The most Sophorn and I had done was 13.1 at last year's Philadelphia Half Marathon and I recall Steve saying the most he had done was 12. It really felt right today, pretty smooth, good conversation, and we kept the pace steady at 10 minute miles. There wasn't any talk of "this is real hard", "i don't know if I can do this". It was all just happening. I can't really recall either of my two partners in much distress, maybe three times we called "walkies" but never walked for that long, maybe an eighth of a mile, then just back at it.

Of course I hit my normal walls, where I had to beg my body just to move a step. That's normal, I've been there before, it's just something to push through. I had posted a part of Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" on Phorn's Facebook wall before we left, and part of it became my mantra during the run:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

I kept OCDing the "sixty seconds worth of distance run" in my head over and over as I hit pushed through my walls at 5 and 11 miles. My body wants to slow down for longer than 60 seconds though. More like 5 minutes at a time.

Today was the first time I ran with Gatorade. Usually I just go with water but on these longer runs I've been craving Gatorade at the finish so I just thought I'd indulge. That seemed to keep me more refreshed and I'm planning on continuing the practice. I run with the Nathan Quick Draw, which holds 22 ounces. I drank it all by the time we hit 9 miles so I made a pit stop at the Wawa at 3rd Ave and Ridge Pike in Collegeville to get a replacement after our turn around at around the 10 mile mark. It wasn't in the plan and I handed the cashier the sweatiest $20 dollar bill ever, next time I'll put the bill in a zip lock bag because sweaty dollars seem a breach of all kinds of etiquette. I don't think I could have made it all the way without refueling but it didn't occur to me until we were actually doing the miles so I fell into some luck today. I hope we do out and backs on our 17 and 21 mile runs because I don't plan on buying a backpack.

I also had to GU gel twice for the first time. My strategy is to just go with what it says on the packet, 15 before your next 45(so every 60 minutes before the finish). And I count backwards 6 miles(cause we were doing 10 minute miles) and took one at 3 and 9 miles. It used to taste just awful but I drink some water first and now it's quite appetizing on the runs.

We cruised though the later miles and we were all feeling good, I think when Steve's GPS watch beeped 12 miles and announced that every step was his new personal record, that fueled our small band of runners so the last three miles melted away. It felt really good, we were all proud of ourselves, and at ten minute miles at that. I even made us camera phone picture the moment. This was a cool day.

We'll be doing 17 miles in two weeks. I hope it stays cool. I hope we stay swift.

On a side note, my right toe is still doing it's little numbing/tingling thing, it doesn't get that bad, and it's definitely not getting worse. I'm pretty comfortable with it now and don't think I'm doing further damage, although it does keep me from pushing myself, which is probably a good thing.

My name is Jim and my wife and I are training for our first marathon. Here's all my training posts to date.

2 deer, 1 chipmunk, a LOT of water and 14 miles in the books

2010-08-20T14:03:00.000-04:00

My focus is on the fact that I did it. I got myself out of bed at 6 am on my day off and finished off 14 miles. It's only Friday. I ran today because I won't be able to run with the group tomorrow. We are going to a friend's wedding tomorrow in Tinton Falls New Jersey. When we looked at the map and what time we need to be there, I knew I couldn't possibly get the miles in before. Since I happend to have off today I opted for running today leaving Sunday as a day to sleep in. :)

I was NOT looking forward to this. I have been running weekday runs with others in addition to the group run on Saturdays and the thought of doing this alone was not making me smile. Last night I finally said "Enough!" focus on somthing else. Easier said than done.

Still I got up, dressed, ate (gobbled) a piece of whole wheat bread and peanut butter, filled my water bottles and off Iwent. I took off from the car at 7:00 a.m. I decided to run the same route that the group will run tomorrow. I really don't like straight out and backs. I prefer to mix up the routes with a little in this direction and a little in that direction but I stuck with the group plan anyway. I hadn't been that far in awhile so at least it would be something different. And in the marathon there is the long out and back to Manyunk so I have to get used to it.

Down to the zero mile maker first then turn around and out to the 7 mile marker. I started out ok. Felt pretty good acutally. Good comfortable pace, shoulders down, back more or less straight. The only weird thing at this point was my water belt. I opted for my amphipod belt (32 ounces) vs the nathan (20 oz) since I just about made it through the 13 with the nathan. The amphipod belt bounces more and that took some re-getting used to. My plan was to stop at the 3 for gu and water then again at the 7 and again at the 3 on the way back. A plan is just a plan though.. you have to be ready to go with the flow (or the lack of flow).

At Indian Head Road, about 2 3/4 into the run I felt out of breath...actually more like I couldn't get enough air. What was that about? It made me feel funky so I stopped and walked about a 1/4 mile and drank some water and downed some electrolyte pills. I started out again and by the time I got to the 3 mile marker I was feeling the same. I took my gu and water and tried to figure out what was wrong. I also had a lot of mucus in my throat; couldn't clear it out easily.(TMI? Sorry) Then I remembered that I've been sneezing and eye watering a lot the last week; my summer allergies must be kicking in. *sigh*.

Ok so I regrouped and modified the plan to 2 miles at a time. So off I went to the CVS just past the 5 mile marker. The traffic light was red anyway. I stretched my back and legs and waited for the light. A much faster runner came up behind me and complained about "this light is the only bad thing about this trail".. personally I look forward to the break it gives me. More water and off I went to the 7 mile marker. It's been a while since I've been past the CVS so I enjoyed the 'new' territory. I also made mental notes to share with the new folks in the group before they head out tomorrow morning.

At the 7 I took my second gu and water and headed back. I was really feeling sluggish though -- breathing is so important and I wasn't managing it well. :( I adjusted to one mile at a time and after the CVS again I was down to 1/2 mile at a time. I walked that last mile and a half.

Not a stellar performance but it's done, I think there are reasons for it and I'm just going to hope that the 15 miles in two weeks is better.

Follow up notes:
On the gus; I did switch to no caffeine ones and two runs in a row now I have no stomach pains :)
On the foot thing; I did experience the numbness again but not the shooting pain to my knee. I did take way more walk breaks than the past two weeks though so maybe that has something to do with that.
On the compression socks; working wonders on my calves but wish they were tighter on my feet they could really use it.

Keep smiling and keep moving :)

Nice 12 Mile Run Saturday Morning

2010-08-15T21:11:00.003-04:00

Sophorn and I did an easy 12 miles Saturday morning in Oaks with the crew. I am really loving the tree coverage that swallows up the path. It's awesome being shaded from the sun in summer. Doing the Kelly Drive loop just provides no protection from the heat.

We were only scheduled for 9 but felt the need to make up for our lame last couple of weeks. It was tied for the third longest run of our lives and was by far the easiest. Because she was feverish on Thursday night and I was worried about my tingly right big toe, we actually set a pace for our run and didn't commit to doing 12 when we started. It was in our minds to do an extra 3 but we weren't going to push it. And we were gonna do the first 3 miles at 10:30 and do a "wait and see" for what to do after.

This is a huge deal for me 'cause I never set a pace and when Tom and Aaron fly past us at an 8:30 pace, I get a twinge of ego and want to chase them. But the set pace helped us out and we just chilled through the run. Phorn felt ok and my toes didn't get real tingly.

The toe thing is a huge deal to me and makes me neurotic on account of how it's on the mashed up ankle, and I'm not planning on losing all feeling in lower extremities just to run a marathon. I actually have a friend who's idea of training for the ten mile Broad Street Run was to run a mile a week before the race. He's in the bind two years after bombing down Broad Street of loosing feeling in his legs if he stands for more than a half hour. There's a medical term for what happened but I can't remember, and I definitely don't want to repeat that mistake.

But my toes are cool. I've been trying to be mindful of my step and feel like I've been landing on my big toe before the others. And that might have been causing the issue. So I've been trying to make sure I give all my little piggies a chance and land on them all at once. And I guess it's been working because it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it was two weeks ago.

On a side note, Renee gave a seminar about core management and it reminded me about this thing that Johnny King Marino talked about during a seminar about a month ago on injuries. He said that we evolved so that our natural resting posture is to squat, all the while activating our core. And that we weaken our core muscles when we sit in a chair and allow it to prop us up by sitting back or by hunching forward. And that sounded good to me so I looked up those core stability chair balls on amazon.

I sit at computer 8 hours a day 5 days a week and I keep finding myself hunched over and totally bailing on proper posture. I asked Renee her opinion and she said the biggest issue she saw was that my boss might laugh at me, and that's fine with me so I might order one and see how it goes.

So game on. 15 miles is in sight for next week. This is gonna be awesome!

My name is Jim and my wife and I are training for our first marathon. Here's all my training posts to date.

Rambling thoughts (warning long truly rambling post)

2010-08-15T11:24:00.000-04:00

Today was week #3 of really nice running/walking weather. I'm afraid to think of what might be waiting for us. I can't imagine this is going to last forever. I know that's not very glass half full thinking but reality is what it is.

Today I was able to stick with my plan again. I so love when that happens. I had 9 to run today. I went 4.5; walked long enough to take a gu and some water and ran the rest of the way. I felt good almost the whole way and really good when it was over.

My left foot though is doing something weird. Started out with numbness in the ball of my foot just below the 4th and 5th toes. Then a sharp pain ran up to my knee. At one point I landed on a small stone right on that spot on the ball of my foot and the pain went shooting up to my jaw. Seriously, I thought my head would explode. It passed quickly but still... the numbness and pain shooting in my lower leg stayed through the last two miles. Within 5 minutes of finishing the run it was like it never happened.

I thought a lot about hills and run/walk today. First the hills. I read an article on running uphill this week. I've read stuff on hills before but this one really made sense. So I tried to follow the advice today. The advice on kicking the ground somehow made a lot of sense to me. Who knows if I did it exactly the way it is described (likely not since I didn't memorize the text before my run) but I did what it felt like what was described and I like the result. I managed both hills- one at about 3 miles into the run and one in the last mile going back- and funny to say but I was still kicking at the top of the hill. How do I explain this... um it's like I still had spring in my step at the top of the hill instead of feeling like "Oh thank goodness that's over". I liked that feeling better. I think I have to keep trying this though and see if it feels this good on hot humid day or a day when my butt is dragging going into the run. Today was such a great day weather and mood wise. A lot of things would feel great on a day like that!

So about the run/walk thing. Many in our group are trying it this year after a great seminar on it early in the season. Typically they are doing 5 and 1's or 4 and 1's... 5 minutes walking, 1 minute running etc. I understand the concept; which is all about keeping your legs fresh for the long distance. I have tried it with different people. These folks are faster than me (very few are slower than me in this group) and I figured if I could keep up with them running with the promise of a walk break every 3-5 minutes I'd be ok with the faster running. Although I've managed to keep up it doesn't feel comfortable.

And quite frankly my brain does not seem to be on board with these shorter intervals. I prefer to go miles and then take a short break. My walk breaks are shorter when I do it that way. I know from past experience that I need breaks in the marathon. So as we venture into the 14, 15, 18 and 21 mile runs I will have to experiment with what mile breaks. The last two runs (13 and 9) I went 4 or 4.5 miles. I think for the 14 miler I'm going to try two 5's and a 4. Actually it's too early to say that for sure. But if the Saturday weather continues to hold nice that will be the plan.

All of this means more running alone since my pace (in three years now) just doesn't seem to quite match anyone else's. But it's ok. There's always somebody just ahead or just behind or leap frogging me or passing me on their way back so it's not really alone alone.

Book Review: Ultramarathon Man

2010-08-13T19:10:00.000-04:00

I was checking through the Phillyfit library (donated books and magazines from members) 2 weeks ago and Pete recommended I try "Utramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner" by Dean Karnazes. Pete said he thought I might enjoy it. I admit that I had my doubts. I can just about finish a marathon and here was a book about someone who doesn't even blink until he's completed 3 or 4 IN A ROW!

I was really pleased with the book. I expected to be intimidated reading about someone who can run 200 miles at one time. Instead I chuckled a lot and in a couple of places laughed out loud. Instead of egotistical, I found the book to be about a love of running. Sure Mr. Karnazes pushes the envelope on endurance, but let's face it he can.... so why shouldn't he.

As I read about Mr. Karnazes accomplishments in the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, the Badwater Ultramarathon, and The Relay ( 200 mile race typically run in teams of 12 that he ran alone) I felt renewed desire to keep running. It's hard to explain the feeling really. I guess what really happened is I was reminded of why I run. Because I want to, and because I can. I like the feeling of accomplishment. It's a puzzle that keeps changing; every time I go out, even if the route or the miles are the same as something I've done before it's never exactly the same; never boring.

The book captured for me, the essence of distance running. It didn't talk down to me. It motivated me to not give up the idea of changing my full marathon to a half in November. :)

Shopping

2010-08-11T13:43:00.000-04:00

I am NOT a shopper. Generally, I hate shopping but there are things in life that have to be done from time to time. So today I went shopping for running stuff.

My shorts are getting worn and I've been thinking about trying a running skirt. I tried on two brands; Brooks and New Balance. I liked the fit of the Brooks best but I didn't buy just yet. I'm wondering about the shorts underneath riding up. It was hard to tell in an air conditioned store if they would hold their place when running. I'm wondering if I go back with running shoes on, the store would let me wear the running skirt to run around the parking lot and see how it feels? If you are reading this and have experience with running skirts and the short issue let me know.

I did purchase a pair of compression socks. I've been reading about them and after asking a few fellow Phillyfitters I decided the expense was worth it. Above 13 miles I really feel it in my lower legs and feet. My husband gives a good massage but that relief is only temporary. I am expecting the socks to bring about faster recovery. Here's hoping. I'll let you know.

I spoke to the clerk at the store about running fuel too. I've been using GU (Vanilla Bean). The last couple of runs I've had stomach upset. I know it could be the heat but I also figure now is the time to experiement. I don't want anything I have to chew. I've tried that and don't like it. I don't want anything too thick either. Zach (the clerk) suggested Hammer products but his store doesn't carry them. He also suggested that I might want to try caffeine free GUs. In recent years I have stopped drinking coffee. I've also swithced to decaf green tea. And one of the reasons I took the caffeine out of my diet was because of the stomache upset. I didn't realize Vanilla Bean Gu had caffeine in it. Turns out it says so in small print on the package. I should have looked closer. So, anyway, I purchased a few caffeine free gus and I'll see how they work my next few runs.

Totally bailed on running for the last ten days

2010-08-10T05:44:00.005-04:00

Last Sunday, July 31st, was the last day I(and the mrs) got an honest run in. We've been pretty diligent about our running for the last two years, I feel confident saying it has been part of our lifestyle....as long as we were home. But we have never been able to get it together when traveling. There's food to be eaten, there's drinks to be drank, there's sights to be seen, and there's extra sleeping to be had. And running is always the first thing we cut on vacation. From Sunday through Thursday we were down the shore with my family. From Friday through yesterday we were in Boston for a wedding. We alway take our running gear though.

That 14 miles we were supposed to do on the Charles River Trail just never happened; never came close to happening. We drove next to the Charles River Trail if that counts at all, looked nice too. I got to see Walden Pond though, which inspired me to reread the first 70 pages of Thoreau's Walden, and I walked the Freedom Trail. And I moseyed through Harvard Yard and I drank beers right next Fenway Park. Boston is an awesome town.

I did manager 4 miles in the Marriott's treadmill on Friday. But that's all. This has to be the lowest mileage for us in quite a long time and it's a little irking that we just can't get it together when taking trips. The good news is that the only other trip we have coming is for the Army Ten Miler in October.

I'm back on it though. I'm going to follow the training schedule for the rest of the week. What gives me pause right now is that we were supposed to do 14 miles this past Saturday. I don't think I'd have any issues if it was an 8 or a 10 mile week, but 14 would have been our longest run ever. And I'm still worried about my tingly right big toe so I want to see if that keeps happening after my long runs. I'm not planning on making it up, I'll just follow the 9 miles this Saturday and try to do the 15 miles the 21st.

My name is Jim. My wife and I are training for our first marathon. Here's all my training posts to date.

The difference between 64 and 84

2010-08-07T15:47:00.002-04:00

The humidity today when we started was still in the 70's%. The temperature though was 64 rather than 84 we had two weeks ago. Here are the three top differences to me:
- I finished today feeling accomlished; but not totally wiped out
- The little aches and soreness that accompany every long run are so much less bothersome at 64 than 84
- There are way more people and bikes on the trail!

Today I really felt good before, during and after. Last week, not so much. I had a plan today and I was able to stick to it. Our route took us from Oaks toward Pawlings Road. Then along the SRT to Betzwood for out and back along the River Trail and then back to Oaks. My plan was to go 4.5 - 5 miles then take a walk break to down some gu and water (of course I took water at other times too). I was able to stick with that plan and I'm very proud of that. I took a longer walk break after the second leg. For most of the 13 miles I ran.

I focused on two things while I ran today. First, to run at my own pace. No matter who I started with, caught up with or who caught up with me I was determined to keep my own pace. That is one of the things I struggle with, especially in races. I think I did well with this today. Mark was with me most of the River Trail. He's faster than me and he would run ahead and then wait for me. Which was nice and all, but I was determined not to try to match his pace. I can't keep up and when I've tried in the past I've collapsed before the end. I really think I did well sticking to my plan.

The second focus today was to 'run tall'. I tend to get all hunched over on long runs. It gives me strains in my back, neck and shoulders. So I tried to pay close attention to keeping good posture while running. It feels awkward at first, especially after I catch myself hunched over again. I think I did well for the most part. I wish I didn't slip into the hunchback mode at all but i'm hopeful that if I keep practicing i'll fall into it less and less.

Today was a gorgeous day for a run. That helped my mood tremendously, which of course helps everything else. I have to remember this on less than good days and remeber to accept that I'm going to struggle when it's hot AND humid and adjust my physical expectations and keep my mood elevated to get through it. Today was not a day when I needed to do that.

Care for a swim anyone?

2010-08-04T21:24:00.000-04:00

Six of us met at Pawlings Road tonight for a trip around the Audobon Loop. My first thought was this is going to be a slooooooooooowwwwwwwwww 4 miles. Maggi was very enthuisastic with a wish to do consistent 8 and 1 intervals. But she forgot her watch. Helen had the watch but was skeptical about being able to maintain 8 and 1. I suggested we try it; start out slow and we could always change the interval if it was too much. So off we went. Maggie, Helen, Sherry, Julius & Me. And Brian walked; broken toe and all.

The first 8 minutes was ok. At least we all managed to run the entire 8 minutes although I know I was ready for the walk portion. A minute later we were running again. I was just about to say are we there yet when Maggi asked what time it was. Helen informed us we had only gotten to 3 and 1/2 minutes. We all started walking. So much for 8 and 1.

Before I finish this story you have to know it was very very very humid tonight. It was about 83 when we started at 6:30 or so and the humidity had to be 70% or more. Within a few steps of starting out I was sweating ... a lot!

So we decided to change the interval to 4 and 1. I think we managed that twice before we came to the BIG hill on the loop. And we were heading UP. I like going up that hill rather than down but I was not going to run it tonight. So Helen, Maggi and I walked and Julius and Sherry ran. The two of them walked back down to meet us after (Show offs). At the top of the hill Maggi, Helen and I decided we were not running anymore so Sherry and Julius went off at their own pace and we walked the rest of the way.

We had a very nice conversation that included things like; families, nicknames, raw milk, cage free eggs, rails to trails and other stuff. And the best thing was we were out there doing something. Without the group I likely would have gone home and not done anything tonight. We were lapped by one biker at least three times and Brian passed us as well.

As we approached the farm on Pawlings Road, Sherry, Julius and Brian were walking back to meet us. Again SHOW OFFS! LOL We walked back to our cars, drank water, stretched a bit and went on our way.

I love group running (and walking).

Had To Do Our 10 Miles On Our Own Today

2010-07-31T09:55:00.005-04:00

My wife has a bachelorette party tonight in Atlantic City. It's officially tonight but it's starting at 11 am today. We decided to just bang out our 10 miles running the Art Museum loop in Fairmount at 6 am rather than run with the group and possibly not make it the bus for pickup. It takes her fooooorevvvveeeer to put her makeup on(don't tell her I said that).

The miles just melted away, nothing huge, I can't count how many times we've done that loop. The thing that worries me is next week, when we'll be in Boston for a wedding on Saturday. We're scheduled for 14 miles that day. That would be a record for both of us.

The current plan is to do the run on the Charles River Bike Path after we fly in on Friday. We'd probably run/walk it even though that's not our usual style. I don't like doing long runs in places that I'm not familiar with. I'm neurotic like that. Another option would be to do something like 8 or 10 in Boston and then do 12 when the rest of the group do 9 the week we come back. I think we'll have to play that by feel.

I only did 21 total miles this week, including the 10 we did this morning. I think the low mileage kept my legs fresh for today and it made the run easier. I may keep following the training schedule of less in-week miles. I may have been over training before.

One thing that does concern me is my big toe on my broken ankle is feeling tingly after long runs. It definitely seems like some sort of nerve issue. The question is, is how serious is it? It started after my nightmarish 12 miles from a couple weeks ago. I was so tired and dehydrated, I'm hoping my form just pinched a nerve or something. I also just switched shoes. I loathe the alchemy that is picking out a right shoe for you. I could be touching down on big toes more than my last shoes, and my bad ankle might make that worse. I did kind of feel that towards the end of the run. It seems to be getting better, definitely isn't getting worse and if it stays the way it does, I'd be satisfied with that.

I have no idea whether I'm right or not, but I'm feeling anxious to get to 15 miles. I feel if I can do 15, I'll be able to do 26.

My name is Jim and my wife and I are training for our first marathon. Here's all my training posts to date.

I'm Kinda Following The Training Program Now

2010-07-29T18:56:00.006-04:00

My wife is in Annapolis for work this week so we're each on our own for training. I just got back from Pennypack Park doing the 30 minute tempo run that's called for in the yellow schedule. Yesterday I did the 30 second sprint 30 second jog 14 times which is pretty much the first time I've ever done speed work. Tuesday I did nothing and just ate Chick-fil-a.

I'm finding that I'm digging following the actual schedule more than my usual routine of just getting out there and running Monday through Thursday and letting my legs just dictate how to run. That was getting monotonous. Also, I don't think I've taken training too seriously up until now but last week's 12 miles really humbled me. I had run 22 miles Monday through Thursday and think I might have overdone it. The scheduled routine seems weaker than my usual week but that might give my legs the rest they need to do these longer runs which I'm really looking forward to.

My name is Jim and my wife and I are training for our first marathon. Here's all my training posts to date.

It IS the heat AND the humidity.....

2010-07-24T15:22:00.002-04:00

Today's stats 84 degrees and 73% Humidity at the start ....

Today was one for the books. this is my third year with USAFit/Philly and we've had some interesting weather but today is by far the most extreme. The rainy cold tour of the valley forge loop last year was the opposite extreme (and I am thinking almost fondly of it now...lol)

Originally we planned an out and back to the 6 (Past the CVS). changed that and went to the 4 and back first. That gave everyone a chance to reload water and gatorade bottles (and rest a minute or two). After that most of us went out the the dogpark where there was more water and restrooms. And then back again.
I'm really happy to say that everyone appears to have managed their hydration and electrolyte balance well. I think we all earned a badge of honor today and i'm sure there are more than a few tired folks out there but we did it!

Personally, I want to thank all those who helped me through today. that's really everyone because I need this group to get me up and out on Saturday morinngs. But special shoutouts today to JEannie and Jen for the 2.5 and 1's on the first out and back. It was the perfect ratio and I so enjoyed the company and conversation. Thanks to the voices in my head for the next 2.75 miles to the dogpark. And thanks to Mark and Anne for the company and push to finish the last 2.75.

Until next week.... :)

First Post: My Twice Broken Ankle Is Excited About The Upcoming Long Runs

2010-07-22T07:57:00.012-04:00

My name is Jim, and along with my wife, am training for our first Philly marathon. It looks like we're at week 10 out of 28 in USAFit Philly's marathon training and I'm finding myself very excited to hit these longer runs.
The farthest I've ever run was last year's Philadelphia half marathon, I haven't run that far before or since. I've run 10 miles, maybe 4 or 5 times, that's including the Broad Street Run and last Saturday. But this Saturday we're on track for 12 miles, which will be the second longest run of my life.
I'm really looking forward to our first 14 mile run. That day will be the farthest I've ever ran. My right ankle is looking forward to it too. I first broke it ten years ago when I turned it trying to take two stairs at once. They just cast it and I was good to go. I broke it again just under three years ago when I crushed it spectacularly under a radiator while trying to renovate my house:

It's epic how huge this thing is, maybe 600 pounds. My father wedged my shoe under the thing for comical effect before he took the after picture. And it's still up on the third floor in the same spot that it dropped. It's like a carnival attraction, everyone who sees it tries to pick it up. No one budges it.

Anyways, the doctor put a pin in my ankle, and I didn't walk on it for six months. And every morning since then, I wake up and walk on an ankle that hurts. It takes a while for the ligaments and all that to loosen up. And in bare feet I always limp, which frankly I think is kinda cool. Cause I can still run. In fact the only time in a day when my ankle doesn't hurt is after I've run a half a mile.

I don't know if I can run a marathon though. The doctors don't either. I can run thirteen miles, but the ankle hurts after. But it would hurt if I sat in front of the TV all saturday morning. I'm thinking we'll find out at between 15 or 17 miles. We had a seminar a few runs ago about footwear. And the woman said "You can't tell if you have the right shoes on at 5 miles, but you'll definitely know at 15." I'm thinking that's how my foot will work. The only way to find out is to run on it right? So bring on 14 miles!

My name is Jim and my wife and I are training for our first marathon. Here's all my training posts to date.

USAFitPhilly 10-8-7

2010-07-18T20:56:00.001-04:00

75 Degrees and 75% humidity... tough conditions but the group did a fantastic job.

Our marathon runners reached the 10 mile benchmark today with an ou tand back to the 5 mile mark on the PErkiomen Trail. Those following the half marathon schedule conquered 8 miles on the mostly gravel trail while our Purple People Eaters (aka Walkers) competed 7.

Assistant Orange coach Pete was unable to run today suffering from what we hope is just a case of shin splints. In true Phillyfit form however he came out to greet everyone at 7 AM and took the Gatorade jug out to the 4.5 mile marker to give everyone a much needed lift.

I'm proud to be part of USAFIt/Philly and more so on day's like today.

9 mile Make up meeting at Oaks

2010-07-11T22:09:00.002-04:00

Yesterday's threat of thunder storms caused a cancellation of any official meeting. I understand that about 6 members went down to Kelly Drive anyway and did manage to finish their miles before the really bad rain. Kudos to you all! sometimes I wish I had a crystal ball.

So this morning a few others (8 total) went to Oaks for an out and back of 9 miles. It was about 75 degrees and 78% humidity when I left the house. We could feel the humidity on the run but it sure was nice to have sun and not rain.

We ran as a group doing a mile at a time and then a walk break which seemed to work out fairly well. We missed the turn around (4.5 mile post) and so our total miles for the afternoon was 10. I really don't think there IS a 4.5 mile post - I always miss it anyway. Regardless, I was really happy to have company. It always makes the miles better.

I have to really work on starting slower. Today I thought I went out at a comfortable pace. It felt good. But by mile 3 I was losing steam. I think I need to start at 'comfortable' and take it back a notch on long runs. i'll try again next week.

Spring in July

2010-07-04T09:42:00.001-04:00

**VEry low humidity and low 60's at 7 am**

A diehard (or people with nothing else to do) group met at Betzwood at 7AM for miles on the river trail. We could not have asked for better weather.........especially in July. I can't say enough about how nice it was. The group I stayed with most of the time managed 11 minute miles over all which is a good pace for our saturday long runs. Had it been warmer we would have been much slower and our walk breaks would likely have been longer.

i broke in my new shoes today. Boy was I overdue. I knew that it was time weeks ago but kept putting it off. Better shoes and the weather just made my day. I felt like the miles literally flew by. I have to bottle up this feeling for the weeks to come which will be hot, muggy and downright unpleasant.

Week #7 Audobon Loop + "Dog Park" Trail

2010-06-26T13:55:00.001-04:00

Today the group completed 8 or 6 miles depending on color group and schedule. I was pleased to hear about a few who just didn't feel great today yet they came out anyway and simply shortened their distance. some days it's really just about getting yourself out there and doing something.

And it was a gorgeous day for that!

PErsonally, I tried to keep up with a 10 min run/1 min walk routine. I don't wear a watch though so I was fine as long as I was with others that do. The last 4 or so miles I was on my own though and it was more or less guesswork.

I need new shoes. i could really feel it at the end of today's miles. I have been pushing the last dregs out of this pair that I wore for the Disney Marathon. So I'll order them today and hope to have them for next week. Other than that I felt pretty good about today's miles.

I went through all 20 oz of water and Green tea. I think I'm going to have to wear my other hydration belt for the longer miles or make sure i plan to refill along the way. I took an Electrolyte tablet halfway through today and did not feel the dizziness that I felt at the end of last week's miles.

Hoping someone else will join me in the blog soon. it helps me to see how others are faring too.

Week #6 - Forbidden Drive

2010-06-19T20:34:00.007-04:00

SATURDAY JUNE 19 -
TEMPS 61 @ 7 AM - 64 @ 9 AM; HUMIDITY 87% - 76%

Obviously I'm behind in posting here. I've been busy. And life goes on :)

After working out of Oaks for several weeks, today the group met at Forbidden Drive along the Wissahickon Creek. We also (ok "I" also) decided that we should move our meeting time to 7:00 a.m. Summer doesn't officially start until Monday but the heat and humidity the past two weeks have been brutal. And of course this morning was much less humid. Go figure.

This week's seminar was on Run/walk given by coach Pete complete with visual aids created with the help of his son. Pete did a great job of explaining the technique and its benefits. After a few announcements and the drawing to decide the winner of this year's refer-a-friend contest We set out to cover 7 miles for yelow orange and red; 5 miles for Purple; and 3 for those following the half marathon schedule.

The first half mile was littered with evidence of the horses that use the trail. Dodging these turned out to be good practice for our final half mile (more on that later).

I was pleased to see so many folks trying the run/walk technique. It was a nice distance to experiment with. If it helped at this level it will be even better later. I got a kick out of the teamwork involved. One group was yelling commands at the top of their lungs when it was time to walk. They had become separated from friends who (I suppose) didn't have a watch to measure their intervals. It was kind of like covering a golf course and hearing "WAAAALK" instead of "FOOOOORE".

Almost everyone carried water today. This is very good since I've been challenged on my ability to actually get in anybody's face about it. Having said that, I noticed the bathrooms at VAlley Green were popular. I guess that's only natural; what goes in........

So as it turns out starting at 7 AM had other benefits if not for the weather issues. The summer stroll 2010 by the Epilepsy foundation was schedule for 9 am this morning. The group was just gathering when we took off. As we returned there had to be about 500 people creating an obstacle course of sorts as we tried to reach our own finish line. So I felt vindicated about the 7 am start.

My personal experience today was good. I felt confident and finished strong (Despite the obstacles). I like the long slow hills on this trail. I know that's weird but living in Media, I'm used to them and it makes me feel good that I can do them. And of course what goes up must go down and gravity is a beautiful thing! Considering I missed Thursday's minutes I was glad to have a good day today!

Week #1 2010 Season USAFit/Philly

2010-05-16T22:16:00.001-04:00

Week #1 is in the books. We could not have asked for a better day. The humid muggy weather of Friday was blown away by thunderstorms Friday evening. We had a great weather day if a bit breezy.

After registration, welcome and orientation presentations everyone took off for the color group sorting event. This event gives us an idea of the paces of the participants so they can be grouped accordingly. it really helps to train with the right pace group to avoid injury and to mentally prepare for the distances ahead.

We found that we have a large majority of red group members (9.5 minute miles and slower). So we will have to retime this group next week in an attempt to break it down to a more manageable coach-to-participant ratio.

Seminars

2010-05-01T14:05:00.003-04:00

Each week usually before and occasionally after each Saturday meeting we will have a seminar. Click here to see the anticipated schedule through the first half of the season.

Meet the coaches

2010-04-22T19:32:00.004-04:00

USAFit/Philly walkers and runners will be guided through the 2010 season with a great group of fun loving motivational coaches. Learn a little bit about them at our website.

Each coach and assistant coach has one primary goal; to help the members have a safe and successful season. Success is measured by your progress toward your own goals. Not sure what your goals are? Your coach can help you with that. Remember it doesn't have to complicated. Walking or running regularly for the duration of our 26 week program is a great goal to start.

Join us!

4 weeks to USAFit/Philly opening day

2010-04-13T21:26:00.004-04:00

4 weeks from Saturday and USAFit/Philly's 2010 season will be underway. I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones. This season we hope to grow our walker group, give our half marathoners their own group and help everyone reach a higher fitness level than when they started.

Although USAFit/Philly promotes itself as a marathon and half marathon program; our primary goal is to get people up, out and moving and to keep them moving. Some of our members will complete a marathon or half marathon. All of our members will find themselves looking and feeling better.

Registration is open

Goofy Challenge

2010-01-13T22:11:00.003-05:00

This past weekend I participated in Disney's Goofy Race and a Half Challenge. Helen was there as were 4 others from USAFit/Philly. It was not easy but I did it and I had fun. I can say without a doubt that USAFit/Philly helped me go from "I think I'll walk a marathon" in 2008 to "I ran 39.3 miles in two days" in 2010.

Accountability, frienship, encouragement, support - without it I would have had a lot of difficulty sticking with the training. If I want to I will; my running friends at USAFit/Philly kept me wanting to and believing that I could.

Thanks!

Fitness Goals for 2010

2010-01-01T10:55:00.003-05:00

USAFit/Philly is about more than training for a marathon. An overarching goal of this group is to encourage ative lifestyles which leads to greater fitness and a longer an happier life. While that may sound hokey to some it is absolutely true. Getting active -whether it be walking 5 minutes or running a marathon does wonders for a our mood and it is often our moods that affect our performance in everything we do. A positive attitidue - like Roy's "Attitude of Gratitude" goes a long way toward helping one over the blips and roadblocks that a day my throw at you. Along the way, Phillyfit has given me a whole new set of friends who care and knowing that others care also keeps me going day to day.

So what are your fitness goals this year? If you are a member of USAFit/Philly I invite you to post your goals here. If you are a reader of this blog and not a Phillyfit member; tell us your goals in a comment. Sometimes just writing it down is a step toward making it happen.

My fitness goals for this year:
Run 1000 miles
Go to the gym 2 times a week before work
Work some distance walking/hiking back into my schedule. Since I started running I've neglected this activity that I love.

What are yours?

A DAY, A SEASON, AND A GROUP I SHALL CHERISH FOREVER

2009-12-22T20:03:00.010-05:00

I am Roy Attitude of Gratitude as my race day shirt says except for the Roy. November 22, 2009 was the culmination of over six months of training with USA Fit/Philly to finish a marathon. For me the day featured being with friends and being alone. I have never felt such joy and ecstasy along with intense pain. It was a time of the greatest self confidence I had ever known along with moments of something I rarely feel insecurity and self doubt.

The group USA Fit/Philly is comprised of women and men from all walks of life united in training together to do a marathon or half marathon. We do group training run/walks each Saturday morning. I am a race walker. Our group is very enthusiastic and supportive. You feel like you are part of a team. During the week you have training schedule which is very light. You train like a football player in that you keep up during the week for one big day on the week end.

All of us Philly Fit friends met at the Rocky statue by the Art Museum an hour before race time. For me it was very uplifting as I was out for the final 3 weeks with a toe injury. The welcome back truly touched me.

My buddies helped me several times during the race. The race did not start out well for me. I was among faster runners and felt like I was too slow to be in the race (I actually have passed a few runners in races but only when I am in the back). The cold made me shiver and my injured toe did not feel right with the cold. But a couple cheers from teammates as well as supporters from American Cancer Society DetermiNation got me over the hump of the first mile or so. Just before perhaps the biggest hill around mile 10 Brian and I shared some great conversation as well as using the makeshift bathroom on the side of the road. Helen and Mary saw us and jokingly said they would report our numbers. It was just what I needed to prepare myself for the hill that threatened my toe just coming off an injury.

At mile 17 I hit the wall the same time I had a stone in my shoes. But before I was able to get upset, Helen and Mary appeared to give me a much needed high five. From mile 17 to 25+ I was struggling. The route got quiet with both fans and participants. I was in pain and just wishing the race would end already. During this time I found out just how much I wanted to be a marathoner. Giving up was never an option. When you have nothing left in the tank so to speak, you see what you are made of. At mile 25+ there was Paula and her husband Dave. Paula told me I was awesome and we went arm and arm for a few feet. Paula would later tell me I looked great considering how far I had gone. I started to enjoy the final mile or so. As my name suggests I said a Prayer of Gratitude in the final couple hundred feet or so.

As I look back on this amazing day I remember how I felt defeat coming upon me in the first mile and the last nine or so miles at the end. What I will take away is that although I finished behind nearly everyone, the only thing that matters is that I did a marathon. The reaction from people I tell of finishing a marathon is that I am a champion.

Concluding with what my name means to me, tears flowed that day more than any day since I was a child. Sitting in my car listening to Rocky before the race I broke down and sobbed like a baby. I was so grateful that I was about to do a marathon. That night I again cried like a baby in profound gratitude for having done a marathon. USA Fit/Philly prepared me, brought me to the starting point, and was there for me all the way. Join us and become all you ever dreamed you would become and more.

Roy Attitude of Gratitude

Introduction + Goofy Challenge

2009-12-22T13:55:00.013-05:00

Well, the Philadelphia Marathon is officially a full month behind me and I'm embarassed to admit that I have run a grand total of three times since then. Part of that was recovery time, part of that was because of vacation, and part of that was because of the two feet of snow that fell. But no matter how you slice it, I've spent these weeks loafing around, eating junk food, and losing my fitness.

Normally this lazy streak wouldn't be a big deal, but this January, me and five other USA Fit friends (including Paula) are headed to Walt Disney World to participate in the Goofy Challenge. What's that? It's a half marathon on Saturday, followed by a full marathon on Sunday. You heard that right: 39.3 miles of running in one weekend! Scary.

The good news is that I'm not so worried because I will have friends there to pull me through this crazy adventure. If I was doing this alone, I think I might chicken out right about now, but instead I'm going to find some time to meet the group for a winter run over Christmas weekend and another one over New Year's and maybe I'll be a good girl and hit the gym a few times too.

No matter what, in a little more than two weeks I'll have completed the Goofy Challenge. Stay tuned for details...

As for the Introduction part: I'm Helen, better known online as hmonkeyruns. I've been part of USA Fit for the past five seasons and I'm sure I'll be around for many more to come.

2009 Philly Half Marathon

2009-12-09T19:59:00.005-05:00

2009 marked my second season with USAfit/Philly. I successfully completed the full marathon after the 2008 season and for reasons that aren't relevant right now, I chose the half in 2009. I expect to return to the full in 2010. This post is about race day 2009; the Philadelphia Half Marathon.

Our group agreed to meet at the Rocky Statue in front of the Art Museum at 6:00 a.m. We gathered and chatted and took a group picture by the statue. As the sun started to rise over the city we broke up and some headed to the port-o-potties. Me, I have (thankfully) avoided portopotties so far and headed to my corral. Once there, I saw three of our first time marathoners. They were excited and nervous. Truth be told so was I. We listened to the annoucements as the corrals in front of us started the race. We watched as some runners crowded over the right to high five Mayor Nutter as they started off. Finally, it was our turn.

The girls are faster than me and I let them go. If I've learned one thing it's that we all have to run our own race. I did catch up to them at one point because they foudn a group of their family and friends and stopped for hugs! The scene brought smiles to most of the runners around them - including me.

What I enjoyed most about the early part of the race was the temperature. It was about 20 degrees warmer at the start this year than last year. I liked that I could feel my feet! I tried to take in the sights of city and the spectators as I travelled around city hall, along penns landing, up south street and toward the Penn and Drexel Campuses. This helped me keep my pace my own. I was able to get into a rhythm early and the mile markers came up fast. As I passed fraternity row at Drexel I saw my husband. He is super supportive of my running and I enjoy seeing him on the route. We high fived and I went on my way and he headed back to the art museum to see me finish.

This part of the course has some gradual hills. I dont' really mind hills though and we had prepared for this in our training. I tried to hold my pace going up and let gravity help me going down. The route takes us through fairmount park and then back down to Martin Luther King Boulevard.

There were a couple new things about this year's race. One of them was to do an out and back for about a mile along MLK boulevard. I liked that. It gave me a chance to see other runners coming and going in front of and behind me. Another new thing this year was names on our bibs. That was way cool! Spectators would call out my name as i passed. It's hard to explain but that really was helpful and fun.

Miles 11-13 were along MLK heading back to the Art Museum. There is a little hill as you come up to the museum and i knew I was almost at the finish line so despite the that I picked up speed. I couldn't believe I was already there. Just as the finish line came into view the announcer asked us all to stay to the right because full marathoners were already finishing their 26.2 miles! That was strange. To be honest, although I stayed out of the marathoner's ways I ran on the outside of "to the right" because I really wanted to sprint to the finish and it was too crowded inside. I heard my name called by the announcer as I approached the finish...again way too cool.

My goal is always first and foremost to have fun. After that I want to finish. To beat a past time is icing on the cake. At the Philly half marathon in 2009 I had a blast! I finished!! and I took 8 minutes off my previous best.

After finishing my run I went back to my car to change into dry clothes. This was very uncomfortably accomplished by lying on the floor of our van so as not to flash anyone! I wolfed down and tunafish sandwhich and grabbed a bottle of water then my husband and I headed over Kelly Drive to cheer on the marathoners coming up on mile 26. WE had two signs and an obnoxiously loud cowbell. We called out people's names from their bibs and it was neat to see them smile when they heard them. I watched for my Phillyfit friends and managed to see almost all of them as they approached. I was very excited for them.

After a couple of hours Dave and I walked back to the finish to see if anyone from Phillyfit was still there. We chatted with a few and then headed home. It had been a long day but a great one.