Training Update #3!

Hello again!

My boss Keith, himself an avid runner/triathelete, tells me I must learn
to run without music in order to fully be able to appreciate the
atmosphere of the NYC marathon – the fans, the sights, the sounds of
45,000 feet pounding the pavement of NYC. However, I don't know if I am
going to be able to do that, and today was a prime example of why.

I was up at 6:00am to get my long run in before the heat of the day
really kicked in. I ran out the door at 6:30am, threw my headphones on
and headed for the boardwalk. As soon as the music starts, the memories
begin to flow – almost every song on my iPod is firmly attached to some
memory, most happy, which transports me to a different place/time, and
makes the time fly...

“Hot in Herre” by Nelly

***FLASH BACK***

I look up at the clock. Only 3:00am?? I swear it feels like we have been
here ALL NIGHT. I am surrounded by surgeons and students alike, all
wearing scrubs, all extremely tired from this barrage of emergency cases
hitting the equine clinic at the Royal Veterinary College. Of course I
had to be on call tonight of all nights!

Jennifer, otherwise known as Sniffer (i.e. Butt Sniffer – yes, I came up
with the nickname. I know, I am SO mature), was standing next to me. The
surgeons just anesthetized the second surgical colic case of the
evening, and we were definitely going to be stuck in the theatre with
them until daybreak. Us students were of SO much use to the surgeons –
standing around, occasionally having a look to make sure the horse was
still breathing, etc, was definitely an important job. Before this, my
latest surgical “assistance” included standing in one place, scrubbed
up, wearing surgical gown, mask, gloves, etc, and holding a bowl for 5
hours. Now this.

“UGH it is SO HOT in this room! Can't they turn on the AC or something?”
says Sniffer.

At this point, the fatigue started to overtake me, and I became
delusional. Despite one of the surgeons preference for Led Zeppelin
(which was on the CD player at that moment), I jumped up and started to
sing...

“It's gettin' hot in hea! So take off all yo clothes!”

“I am...getting so hot...I'm gonna take my clothes off!” shouted
Sniffer.

We continued to dance around and sing in such a fashion, and luckily the
surgeons and the rest of the staff found us amusing rather than
offensive, as they continued to examine the intestines of this poor
unfortunate horse. Once the horse was in recovery, the surgeons bought
us bacon sandwiches and diet cokes and sent us to bed, correctly
assuming that we were going to be useless in the hospital for that rest
of that day.

***FLASH FORWARD***

“Sexy Love” by Ne-Yo

***FLASH BACK***

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

I am watching Ella on my own for the first time today. Angela just
started back at work this week, and this is my Monday off so Ella gets
to hang with her pop for the day. I was so excited at the prospect of
this day finally arriving – I had thoughts of her having a nap on my
shoulder while I watched Sportscenter, giving her her milk and maybe
even going for a walk in the lovely September afternoon. Of course I was
planning on her being a little angel for her daddy.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“HOW DO I GET HER TO STOP SCREAMING!??!” I frantically howled down the
telephone to Angela. “SHE WON'T STOP!!!!”

“I'm sorry babe, I haven't quite got that mastered yet. Woops, an
appointment just walked in, gotta go, good luck, bye!!!” Click.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

I hear singing helps soothe savage beasts from time to time. Let's give
it a try. I click on the iPod, and the first song on the “Baby Mix”
comes on...and we sing...

“She makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, just one touch and
I erupt, like a volcano and cover her with my love baby girl you make me
say...Sexy Love, oh the things you do...”

She stops crying, and falls asleep. I put her in her little vibrating
chair contraption and watch her snooze. I finish singing the song,
because I feel like it, and turn the iPod off...

..and savor the silence.

***FLASH FORWARD***

“September” by Earth, Wind and Fire

***FLASH BACK***

Damn, this girl can DRIVE. Hurtling down the M-25 at 8 million mph
(approximately), heading towards Heathrow Airport, Siobhan and I were
having a grand old time singing along to everything that comes on the
radio. This is it, my final trip back to the states from London, my
second home. I have already said goodbye to most of my wonderful friends
from vet school, and Suzie G and I are heading back to reality. Suzie is
in Ros's car with her luggage and puppy Joey. I am rollin' with my
singing partner Sio in her ride. This is a bittersweet day – whilst I am
SO very sad to be leaving this country and these people, my girlfriend
Angela is back on Long Island with our cat Ainsley, awaiting my arrival.
It has been 3 long months since we have seen each other, and I cannot
wait to hug her and never have to be apart like this again.

Although it is July, for some reason, “September” comes on Heart 106.2
FM...and Sio and I are belting it out like rock stars. I am going to
miss these days, but can't wait to see what the future holds. Could I be
smiling any wider??

***FLASH FORWARD***

“Where the Green Grass Grows” by Tim McGraw

***FLASH BACK***

MAN, did I need that nap! I have never been out of the NY time zone
before today, and now my internal clock is all messed up. When I arrived
in “Clandon Gardens,” I expected some posh neighborhood, and found
instead a run-down block of flats. Good ol' University of London – so
much for first impressions, eh?

When I arrived this morning (which, to my body, was still last night), I
got my key, let myself into an empty flat, and passed out. Now I hear
some rustling in the kitchen, so I guess I should go meet my new
flatmates.

I walked into the kitchen and am greeted by the backs of 2 people
wearing nearly identical clothes – flannel lumberjack-style shirts and
jeans. “Hi!” I joyfully exclaim.

They turn around and look at me, with my bleach-tipped hair, 7 earrings,
tongue-ring, and larger-than life-ness (all 340lbs of it), and stare for
an instant before responding with “Uh, hullo.” I notice the t-shirts
underneath the flannels – his was a Garth Brooks concert t-shirt, hers
had the Budweiser clydesdales emblazoned upon it. “Holy crap,” I think
to myself, “I am going to be shacked up with a couple of hicks from the
middle of nowhere!”

Shocked as they were, Brittany and her husband Darren finally got to
talking a bit – Brittany was my classmate, Darren just came to get her
settled in, and was heading back home to Illinois next week to help with
the harvest. They used funny words like “erl” instead of “oil” and
“crick” instead of “creek.” Silly little folks from Bumble-Fart,
Nowhere, USA!

One night sometime during the beginning of our first year, “When the
Green Grass Grows” emanated from Britt's room. Her door was locked. I
came to find later that she was crying from homesickness, especially now
that Darren had left.

We ended up becoming the closest of friends, and lived together
throughout our 5 years of vet school. I guess opposites do attract?
Maybe we aren't so different after all. Britt did get me into Garth
Brooks and Dixie Chicks, and I think I managed to get her to listed to
Dave Matthews Band once or twice. I continue to make fun of their
“wershing their feet in the crick” and “filling the car up with erl” to
this day. It never gets old.

***FLASH FORWARD***

“Hotel California” by The Eagles

***FLASH BACK***

“Feed it some beer. That would be hysterical.” We were huddled around a
little frog we found in the woods of Vermont, all 4 of us in our second
year of vet school on a camping excursion. All 4 of us drunk.

As the evening went on, and the drunkenness continued, we were sitting
around a picnic table listening to the radio. “Hotel California” comes
on, and Matthias, drunker than I had ever seen him, looks up and
exclaims “Turn that shit up. This is the best song ever!” And flops over
head first onto the table. Nate, Jeff and I decide to go for a wander,
to let Matthias work through whatever gastrointestinal problem he might
have. We circled back to the campsite, and heard Matthias retching in
the woods. We figured he'd need another few minutes, so we wandered some
more, came back, and found him passed out in his tent. He was breathing,
so we thought he'd be ok. After a few more bags of Doritos and a couple
more beers, we retired for the night – tomorrow would be a long day of
driving back home to Long Island.

***FLASH FORWARD***

“Crazy in Love” by Beyonce

***FLASH BACK***

Dancing like loons in the seedy clubs in Corfu, Greece on our Vet School
Final Year Holiday, all of us together for the last time in the most
disgusting place I have ever been.

***FLASH FORWARD***

“Lover Lay Down” by Dave Matthews Band

***FLASH BACK***

Angela and my wedding song (I chose it, of course). One of the best days
of my life.

Also, one of the songs played into Angela's tummy while Ella was
incubating nicely. Ella's birth being the other best day of my life.

***FLASH FORWARD**

I look down at my watch...and the 9 miles are done.

Hopefully the music of my life can help me get through the 26.2 miles on
November 2nd...because I am going to need all the help I can get!

Until next time,

-Brian

To donate, please click the following link:

https://www.nyrrc.org/cgi-bin/start.cgi/mar-programs/nyrrf/team/2008/donations.htm

My Entry Number is 211355 – you will need to put this number and my last
name in the appropriate boxes in order to donate.

Now....pics!

I SWEAR she climbed in there herself!

In Ella's own words..."SIMMING!"

Beach BBQ!

Family Photo!

James and I grillin'

Some of the TAH crew.

A day at the park!

Daddy, Ella and Mee-mah.

Loving the slide.

What a profile...!

My new clothes for Nate's wedding rehearsal dinner

You LOVE the white socks, don't lie.

"CHEEEEEEEEEEEESE!" She is seriously saying that right here.

Ah the happy times...if only she wasn't screaming "NO!!" so frequently these days...

Random Thought of the Day

Anyone who does this to their car/truck should be dragged forcefully from the vehicle, beaten over the head with a shovel and shot between the eyes.

Training Update #2

Hello again!

This week marked the first official training week for the marathon.
This past Friday, I sat down with a couple of possible training plans
and combined aspects of all of them to create my own 18-week plan. I
wanted to start from scratch, so am starting at a slower pace than I had
been accustomed to, which is pretty sensible considering that I have
never run any further than 14 miles, so I can't expect to maintain a
14-mile pace for 26.2 miles! So far, so good - a 3 mile mellow trot on
monday and a 5 mile tempo run today. Feeling great!

As I mentioned, I promised Angela that I would go to a cardiologist
before attempting the race. I never thought she would actually hold me
to that...alas I was wrong, as she pulled out the medical insurance book
last week and made me pick a doctor and call to make an appointment
while she stood listening. Yes, seriously.

So, today was the big day - would my heart pass the test? Would I be
able to fulfill all of these expectations placed upon myself? Would I
live the dream? Or have my hopes SHATTERED???

I went in to the office, filled out my paperwork and sat down and
waited. The waiting room was filled with, shall I say, "overly mature"
folk, several that needed walkers to move around. I felt a bit out of
place in my running shoes and sweat-wicking shirt and shorts (yes, I was
going for a run after the appointment). People may have been staring at
me, but I was too engrossed in watching one unfortunate woman try to get
her insurance sorted out to notice.

After a few minutes, I hear my name called, and follow the nurse in to
the doctor's office - now, I am talking about his office, not an exam
room - you know what I mean, his diplomas from 200 different
universities plastered on the walls, notes scribbled on bits of paper
scattered on his desk. I managed to sneak a peak at one of these sheets
of paper, and found that the good doctor was off to Toronto next week!
For what, we can only guess...but I digress.

The doctor looks at me as if I just flew in through the window or
something and says, "You are way to young to be here."
Obviously, flattered that this chap considers me a strapping young
stud, I say "Well, nothing is actually WRONG with me. Hopefully. My
loving/paranoid wife wants you to guarantee her that I will not die
doing the NYC Marathon. If I die, she is going to hunt you down and
destroy you, so just keep that in mind." I made that last part up. He
asked me a bunch of questions, including what I do for a living, if I
have run much in the past, etc etc. I tell him that I used to be 150lbs
heavier, I have been running for 2 years, and over the last calendar
year I have done 4 half marathons, 2 10-mile races and plenty of other
runs as well, and that I am a veterinarian. He looks at me and says,
"You are a vet? So you know this is a waste of time, right?"
I say, "Indeed I do, and my wife is also a vet who also likely knows
deep down that this is a waste of time. I just elect not to argue with
her." He laughed, and went on to say, "You have done all this running
over the past year and have had no problems - I highly doubt you will
have any going forward, but let's just do a couple of tests."

So, they weigh me, check my blood pressure and do an EKG - all of
which is perfectly normal. So the doctor gives me the "all clear" and
thus...the dream is alive! WHEW.

Another couple of cool bits of news - the charity I am running for,
Team for Kids, contacted me a few days ago. The person who writes the
newsletter for the organization, a lovely woman named Gail Waesche
Kislevitz (who has also run over 20 marathons and has written a couple
of books on the subject!), heard about me and wanted to have a chat
about my weight loss success to put in the newsletter. We spoke on the
phone for about 20 minutes yesterday, and it turns out she also writes
for Runner's World magazine, and is going to try and get my story
published in there as well! How cool is that!??! Oh, and also I
emailed the Long Beach Herald to see if they would print something about
me, so I could get some publicity in my home-town newspaper, and maybe
get some more donations rolling in - they emailed me back that they want
to do a featured article about me! Yeah, I'll be in the movies in NO
TIME at this rate...!

That's all I have for you for this installment of "Brian's Road To
Lunacy" - please stay tuned for more updates!  For all those who have
been donating to the cause, I once again must say THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
For those who have been meaning to, I will include the link again, and
appreciate all the good vibes you are sending my way.

Until next time,

-Brian

To donate, please click the following link:

https://www.nyrrc.org/cgi-bin/start.cgi/mar-programs/nyrrf/team/2008/donations.htm

My Entry Number is 211355 - you will need to put this number and my
last name in the appropriate boxes in order to donate.

Training Update!

Hello everyone!

As part of this marathon preparation/charity process, I swore I
would send out updates on a 1-2 weekly basis for all to read...
and probably snicker with delight at my insanity!  So, here is
the first installation of "Brian's Training Log" aka "That Idiot
is Doing WHAT???"

Today I ran another half-marathon - my second in 2 months,
and that is not counting my 2 10-mile races in that same period
of time.  This one course is a KILLER - it is in Fairfield,
Connecticut, and it was the first half marathon I had ever
attempted last year at this time.  It is the hilliest race I have ever
done (until I do the NYC marathon, so I hear), and the hills do
NOT quit.  From mile 2 up until mile 11, you are going up and
down hills the ENTIRE time.  Whether they be gentle, rolling
ones or steep morale-killers, they are "challenging" (read as
soul-destroying) and they last literally about 9 miles.

So, I really haven't trained for this race particularly - I trained
properly for the LI half marathon, and had great results - but I
didn't have time to put in a proper training schedule again
for this one.  I figured since I did the 10-mile race in Long Beach
a few weekends ago, and performed quite well, that I would be
up for the challenge of the Fairfield Half.  Thus, I signed up,
and away I went.

I tried to tell myself before the start to just think of it as a long
training run, do not even TRY to set a time to finish it in.  That
lasted about 30 seconds, as I told myself I wanted to at least
beat 2 hours.  This morning we awoke, with the previous
evening's weather forecast fresh in our minds (calling for rain
and thunderstorms).  It looked decent enough outside, so that
made us happy.  Until we stepped outside.  It was warm, yes,
but it was HUMID.  Humidity = run killer.  BIGTIME.  The new
thought going through my mind?  "SHIT" and "I hope I don't
end up in the hospital."  Off we went to the race.

Usually before races, I get the pre-race jitters - a nervous
feeling in my belly accompanied by extreme jittery jumpiness. 
I had none of it today, probably because I had resigned myself
to the fact that this was not going to be a personal-record
setting day.  This became even more evident when I tried to rev
up my ipod and the memory was wiped clean.  We postulated
that this was due to a jamming frequency set up by the race
coordinators due to the fact that they made headphones and
ipods outlawed for the race.  Whatever. I wolfed down my Clif
bar, and headed to the start.  We stood and chatted for a bit,
and then off we went.

I am going to condense this down, for the sake of everyone's time,
because it was 13.1 grueling miles... but basically, before the
start, I was hoping to maintain a nice 9 min/mile pace and finish a
shade under 2 hours.  That lasted for about 6 miles.  I am surprised
it lasted for more than 1/2 mile, considering I was hypoxic and
probably blue from 1/2 mile onwards, but I kept up the pace for a
while. Then, I could no longer take it, and my pace dwindled. When
I got to 10.5 miles, my hands went numb and my head started
throbbing - at this point, I thought it was probably a smart idea to
stop running to avoid that whole hospital thing, so I walked for a few
minutes to regain composure.  From here on, everything REALLY
sucked.  I had to stop at every water station to drink a cup, pour a
cup over my head and arms, then use another cup to swish around
in my mouth and spit out.  Usually I would do this whilst running....but
the last 4 miles or so I took the opportunity to actually STOP and
consume fluids.  I sputtered across the finish line in 2:04:04, which
was 3 minutes better than I did last year at this race, but is 12 minutes
slower than my time for the Long Island half in May. Truly appalling...
but I managed to avoid the hospital, engorged myself with watermelon,
bagels and chocolate milk, and drove home.  All in all a disappointing
day, but not surprising!

That's about all for now - for all those who have been donating to the
cause, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! For those who have been meaning to,
I include the link again, and appreciate all the good vibes you are
sending my way.

Until next time,

-Brian

To donate, please click the following link:

https://www.nyrrc.org/cgi-bin/start.cgi/mar-programs/nyrrf/team/2008/donations.htm

My Entry Number is 211355 - you will need to put this number and
my last name in the appropriate boxes in order to donate.

And now...some pics!

Ella eating "fruit"

Ella and Mommy

"Helping" with the laundry

At Shea Stadium for the Mets vs Diamondbacks game 6/12/08. The new Citifield is in the background, will be the new home of the Mets starting next year.

My friend Jim and his bro Bill, the Biggest Losers from Season 4.


Throwing out the first pitch!


The starting pitcher = the $140 million dollar man, Johan Santana!


The pitch...


One of Johan's 10 strikeouts on the day!


Ah Willie, we hardly knew ya....

Today's race - pre-torture.


Family photo...pre-torture.

The 3 lunatics...pre-torture.

Ticker

Please Help!

Most (if not all) of you have known me for a VERY long time, and remember well the time in my life when I wouldn't pass up a quart of italian ices or even consider a walk around the block. When I would have to buy XXXL clothes, which I would have to special order online because no store carried such large sizes. The time in my life where I would literally start sweating with the effort of bending over to examine a dog at the office. To say I was overweight would be a drastic understatement - I was most certainly morbidly obese.
It is a proven fact that the majority of children who are obese become overweight adults. Obesity can lead to many health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney problems, certain types of cancer and diabetes, to name a few. I was overweight for my entire life - until I was fortunate enough to have a switch flipped inside my head, and I was able to remedy my problem before it became irreversible. I feel very lucky and proud to have accomplished this feat with love and support from all of you.
You all probably also know of how I spend most of my time outside of work and home - I have become a runner. If you would have told me that I would have uttered those five words 4 years ago, I would have told you to either see a psychologist or get help for a drinking problem. I have run numerous races to this point, the longest being the half marathon (I have done 4 of these in the past year). My ultimate goal is to run a full marathon, specifically the New York City Marathon this November.
The NYC Marathon is the most popular marathon in the world, with over 40,000 runners participating. The crowd support is unparalleled. I have been told that running this particular race has been one of the best moments of a runner's life. This is the feeling I want to get from my first marathon, no matter how hilly or difficult the terrain.
It is for these reasons that I decided to kill two birds with one stone - run my "dream race" while trying to help educate a new generation of children on how to live a healthy lifestyle. I am going to run the NYC Marathon in support of Team for Kids.
Team for Kids members support acclaimed youth running programs that improve health, combat obesity and enhance personal development of children from low-income communities. Since 2002,Team for Kids members have raised more than $8 million to fund NYRR Foundation programs now uplifting almost 50,000 children a week in more than 200 schools and community
centers. Programs are transforming kid's lives in New York City and throughout the United States as well as the Cape Town region of South Africa.
Team for Kids plays a decisive role in responding to the devastating human and economic toll of childhood obesity, a deadly scourge whose long term consequences will diminish tens of millions of lives and cost of hundreds of billions of dollars if left un-reversed. With primary support from Team for Kids, NYRR Foundation's model programs teach children the fundamentals of lifetime fitness, while building their fortitude and focus and increasing their
self-discipline and self-esteem.
Please help me fulfill my 2 goals: 1) To run a previously unthinkable distance in the best venue in the world, and 2) Support a charity which will help our future youth live healthier, happier, longer lives. If you can donate any amount, it will get me that much closer to accomplishing 2 amazing feats that I would never have imagined I could do. When I cross
that finish line, I will have all of you in my thoughts...as well as being thankful that I have made
it alive!!!

I have pledged to raise $2500 - To donate, please click here.

My Entry Number is 211355 - you will need to put this number and my last name in the appropriate boxes in order to donate.

Thank you in advance, I will keep you all posted on my training progress!

HOT

As I sit here and sweat my cojones off in the 90 degree heat, and as I continue to ponder what marathon I shall commit myself to, I figured...why not post some photos?

Movie starlet in her latest role.

Nice stems!

"CHEEEEEEEEESE!" again...

"Mess? What mess?" *innocently bats eyelashes*

Ella and Poppy!

Bummed

I didn't get a number for the NYC Marathon this November. I am majorly bummed out right now. I will, therefore, have to look into signing up for a charity to get a number, but most of them require $2500 to be raised for the cause, and I am not sure I will be able to get that much together. So we'll see what happens. I am bummed.

Memorial Day Racing!

Yesterday, my sister and I ran a 10 mile race in Long Beach. I wouldn't have done it if it weren't so close to home (seeing as I hadn't really run much over the past 3 weeks after my knee hurt post-Half Marathon), but I figured "What the hell." Weather was perfect, and thus both of us did very well - I bested my last 10 miler time by about 30 seconds, and Melissa ran her fastest long run ever, averaging a 9:30 min/mile. The last mile of the race I actually ran in 7:55, which is quite amazing for me considering I felt completely drained...oh, and my knee doesn't hurt either...! Here's some finish line photos, courtesy of Angela (and Ella was there cheering us on!):

Still smiling, probably at the sight of wifey and my clapping munchkin!

The camera battery died before we could get Mel crossing the line, but she is that blue dot.

Today was a nice relaxing day - this morning, Angela took me along to her Stroller Strides class again, which was supposed to be a family day, but I was the only daddy there...yes, I felt a bit awkward at first, but it was nice to be outside with my ladies, and Ella helped me by sitting on my belly while I was trying to do crunches. By "helped," of course, I mean the exact opposite, but she was smiling and giggling, so who can argue with that? When we got home, we all napped for a couple of hours, and hung out for the rest of the day. Now, it is off to snooze-ville, tomorrow we are all back to work! Happy Memorial Day to all!

HOT

So I started doing something new - it is called Bikram Yoga. Yes, it is yoga, but it is not your average run-of-the-mill, contort yourself while chanting "Ohmmmmmmmmmm" type of thing... no, of course, I have to take everything to the extreme these days. Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 poses in succession, performed in a room that is heated to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. That is not a typo... it is f**king HOT in there people. The second you get in, lay your mat down, and try and adjust to the temperature, the sheen of sweat immediately starts on your body. When you start with a simple breathing exercise, the sweat starts rolling down. By the time you have finished your "warm-up" breathing exercise (keep in mind, you are barely even moving at this point), your clothes are nearly saturated with sweat. Then, you have 90 minutes of stretching and posing and doing things which seem completely unnatural to your body. By the time you leave, you are 4lbs lighter, and could use a couple of gallons of Poland Spring to re-hydrate. Pleasant? Not really, but I figure it can only help...if I can continue to live through it. Anyhoo...here's some pics/vids!

Ella feeding waffle to her "baby"

At the childrens museum a couple of weeks ago - Ella the Builder!

Mirrors are cool.

Bricks are cool too.

Ella and daddy up a tree.

Family photo on the boardwalk

Angela and Ella (and their Stroller Strides friends) after a 5k walk a couple of weeks ago.

Ella with Angela's Mommy's Day flowers!

She's a coooooooooooool rider. A cool cool cool cool rider. (Yes, that is a nod to "Grease 2")

My lovely ladies enjoying the sunshine.

"Found you!"

"All through the toooooooooooooooown."


"CHEEEEEEEEEEESE"


"HONK!"


"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

Long Island Half Marathon

Today was the day. The day I had been training for the last 4 months - the Long Island Half Marathon. My goal was to break 2 hours for the race - my previous best time was 2:03:50 at the Hamptons Half Marathon this past September. I have been busting my butt, running 4-5x a week, just for this one race. The weather called for thunderstorms, yet they never materialized...in fact, it didn't even rain. Mike and I met up before the race, and we started together. We stayed together for the first 2-3 miles, and then it happened - my right knee "twinged." I don't know exactly what happened, but I knew it hurt. And I still had over 10 miles to go. Needless to say, I toned my pace down a notch, and Mike took off. At around mile 6, I felt the rubbing sensation on the bottom of my left foot. I knew a blister was forming rapidly, and within minutes, it started to HURT. And I still had over 7 miles left. This was not going according to plan. I plodded on, pretty much in agony, for the rest of the race. Oddly enough, as I looked down at my GPS watch, I never went much slower than 8:30 min/mile, despite not being able to bend my right leg and each step on my left foot resulting in pain. I carried on as such, and finished the race in 1:52:28, which obliterated my old personal best! I was thrilled. Mike finished in an amazing 1:47:35, an average of around 8:08 min/mile. This made me think that if I weren't in acute pain, maybe I could have done even better. It was a great accomplishment, and as I sit here with my knee wrapped with ice packs and my foot covered in bandages, I am also filling out the forms for my next 10 mile race in 3 weeks, and am going to see how I can do on the extremely hilly Fairfield Half Marathon in June - can I match this pace? Better it? Stay tuned...

Mike and I at the finish.

Oh, yeah, and for everyone who doesn't give a poo about running........here's some Ella pics:

Think she likes the slide?

Ahoy!

Eyes?

Yahoooooooooooooooo!

Finally she is old enough to earn her keep around here.

PS - I must give a shout out to my sis and her man Dan for completing a full marathon today in approximately 5 hours - SO impressed with them both!

Race for Spinal Victory

Today was the Race for Spinal Victory at Jones Beach - this is my 3rd time partaking in this particular event, although this year I ran the 10 mile portion rather than the 5k as in years past. I was hoping to break 1 hour and 30 mins, which would have been 9 min/mile....and managed to finish just above 1 hour and 25 minutes, at an average pace of 8:30 min/mile! Very pleased with the result, I finished 38th out of 133 runners - not too shabby. I managed such speed despite pretty high winds for the westbound half of the race, and an ankle-deep inescapable puddle of ice-cold water right near the end, which soaked me from knee to toes as I splashed through it. Click here to see the full results! Angela and Ella finished the 5k in a speedy 48 minutes (they walked it) - 4 minutes better than last years race, so they also kicked ass! Next up... Long Island Half Marathon in a few weeks. I am hoping I can maintain that 8:30 pace for an extra 3.1 miles!

I am that red/white/black dot running past the Jones Beach Amphitheatre.

Bummed that Angela didn't manage to get a pic of me crossing the finish line. She says I was too fast. Whatever.

Almost Famous