SalsMiles2

One of Jan's co-workers, who has completed a couple of marathons (at least) this year has his photo in the newest issue of Running Times magazine. There is a full page ad of the Buffalo Marathon and he is seen jumping with both feet in the air over the finish line. Evidently he set a p.r. and was understandably excited. It's neat someone local is in a national magazine. It's unbelievable he could jump like that at the end of 26.2 miles. I can't lift my leg over the curb after a marathon without using my arms. I want that kind of energy. This morning Jan ran at 4:30am with Eileen for 10 miles or so. I think tonight she is swimming instead of handing out candy to trick or treaters. Last night I had a great track workout, 1 mile warmup at marathon pace, 5x1mile @7:03 average pace w/1 minute rests, 1 mile cooldown at 10 seconds slower than m.p. I felt good throughout the entire workout. MM helped me through the last interval and Marty and MM ran the cooldown. The Race with ...

Friday Jan ran 10 miles after work. Friday night we watched our first Netflix movie rental, Will Smith's, "the Pursuit of Happyness", a good movie about perseverance through some terrible circumstances and believing in yourself, not unlike a long-distance runner or triathlete must do. We signed up for the $4.99/month plan, which gives us 2 movies. No driving, no shipping, seems like it should be a good deal. Saturday morning Jan ran 18 miles while I ran 15.4. With the help of training buddies I was able to run miles 9-14 at Boston qualifying pace, which was a confidence builder. It sure does help my running to have cooler weather arrive in Rochester. Saturday afternoon Jan, Mike W. and I swam at the Brockport pool. I wore my wet suit for the first time (the caption for the photo says, "never fart in a wet suit"). It was pretty neat staying on top of the water instead of having the lower part of my body sink. I cut 14 seconds off my best 50 yard time and 1:40 off...

For Jan on Friday she is planning a run of 4-6 miles and possibly a swim. Saturday will be a medium long run of 12-15 miles, then a swim. I'm thinking of trying my wetsuit for the first time on Saturday. I'm sure I'll be much faster, who cares if my form stinks, at least I should stay afloat. Sunday I'm planning a run of 10+ miles, then biking for an hour, indoors, during the Bills game. I'm not sure what the triathlete of the family is planning.

Yes, Jan and I have been trying to lose weight. Of course she didn't need to lose weight, always looking great to me. But Jan felt losing a few pounds would help her run faster. The diet must be working as she finally bought a few new clothes so the Goodwill baggy look (as Mike W. would say) is out. I think Jan's diet is to exercise hard in the morning, eat a yogurt at 8am when she gets to work and then have soup or something for lunch. Dinner is whatever I cook. Actually we share cooking about 50/50. Then a low-fat popsicle for desert. Of course somewhere in there are a few days with a bottle of wine (shared). My diet has to be a bit more structured. If I don't write exactly what I ate for the day down, and add up the points based on Weight Watchers , I don't lose weight. After 2 months I've lost about 8 pounds. It's not happening quickly, but I'm getting closer to my marathon goal weight of around 160-162. Currently I weigh 166 or so. Without Weight Watch...

Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across her head, went down stairs and drank a cup, noticed she was late, grabbed her shoes in seconds flat (apologies to the Beatles). On Tuesday Jan decided the treadmill and tv were better options than the wind and rain at 5am. Six miles or more, I can't remember. Wednesday morning was nicer weather, so she met Eileen at 4:30am for an eleven mile run before work. Tonight we will be swimming for the first time in two weeks.

Our daughter Amanda decided our pre-race meal for the WDW marathon is going to be at IHOP . They serve breakfast all day and a variety of other foods, so everyone can find something to eat. Being a bit anal, I made Jan go to dinner at IHOP on Friday, so we could practice what to eat, since the next morning we were each running for three hours. Jan had french toast, home fries, bacon and I went for the pancakes with bananas and strawberries and some of Jan's bacon. Tasted good, plenty of carbs, low price. I had none of my usual pre-long run problems and the three hour tour went well for both of us. The heck with pasta and tomato sauce before a race. On Sunday I ran for an hour and Jan did 5 miles, so we had a good weekend of building our aerobic base.

Apparently the bug that infected me at least a week ago decided to travel to hidden regions of my intestines. On Monday I decided it best not to risk running, thinking at the time this was just the result of food I ate over the weekend, so I stayed indoors, near the bathroom, and lifted weights. Tuesday I felt better, after two days of running to the bathroom 5 or more times, so braved the outdoors. Knowing a port-a-john was in the village aided my self confidence. I was actually doing well on a day made for running. Then, at 6 miles, the bug surfaced. An immediate need for a bathroom became quite clear. Fortunately I was about 300 yards from the port-a-john. I got on the canal path, headed for the bathroom, and...it was gone! Gone for the season! Man, this was not good, not good at all. I was in crisis mode. What to do? Well, the only thing I could do was waddle, slow jog/walk and squeeze my cheeks tight until getting to some woods about 300 yards away at Pineway Ponds. The only thing...

The Run for Hospice , otherwise known as "The Food Feast" that happens to include a four mile and 10 mile road race was held on Saturday, October 13. The weather was great for racing and the courses were pretty flat and fast. Race director Pete Van Peursem does an amazing job year after year with all aspects of this race. We have yet to be at any race on the east coast that has better post-race food. Jan ran well, finishing in 32:06, good enough for 5th/31 in her age group. I somehow finished 3/32 in my age group and won a $15.00 gift certificate, along with my first ever Rochester Runner of the Year points. The fast 50+ year old men must have been in the 10 mile race, or tired from recent marathons. On Sunday I managed to run 10 miles, while Jan biked 40 miles with Eileen, then ran 17 miles. We keep looking at the countdown clock on the blog. It seems the Disney marathon is getting ever so close and training time is slipping away.

"Hairless, clawless, and largely weaponless, ancient humans used the unlikely combination of sweatiness and relentlessness to gain the upper hand over their faster, stronger, generally more dangerous animal prey", according to Harvard Anthropology Professor Daniel Lieberman on physorg.com Maybe I should have been a caveman? It's crazy that the Chicago marathon was held on such a hot day that there were 10,000 no-shows, another 10,000 dnf's, and 300 runners taken away by ambulance. The Sal's group of five who raced at Steamtown had mixed results on a 70 degree and high humidity day. Pete, the ageless wonder, qualified again for Boston and Andy set a pr and qualified for 2009 (he is already in for 2008). Mike, Mike and Lou finished, but not under the Boston times they desired. Jan was again the loyal spectator as I crawled through a hot, high dew point xc race at Oatka Park. At three miles I was more than 2 minutes slower than the race 2 weeks ago. I finished the 4...

I still can't believe it, but yesterday Mike and I went to our favorite candy store, Fleet Feet Sports , and bought wet suits! It's just further proof that being married to enthusiastic triathlete women can drive any man crazy since we sure aren't swimmers. We have our own unique styles which basically involve splashing, gasping for air and getting passed by three year old children wearing swimmies. We count strokes by the dozens for 25 yard swims. Improvement is measured by how many lifeguards follow us as we do laps. I think the lifeguards draw straws to see who will have to give us rescue breathing when the bald old guys drop to the bottom of the pool. Mike, who writes a weekly e-mail newsletter that is so popular people he doesn't know receive it, gave permission to share his version of our trip here. "Put this into your mental photo gallery. Yesterday, Mike McGridlock and I brought our relationship to a new level. We have been running together for 15 to 85 yea...

A recent Runners World article on the Hanson Brooks Distance Project, got me to thinking, again, on how great our little Sal's running group has been over the years. (Sal's, from the song, "I got a mule, her name is Sal, fifteen miles on the Erie Canal"). In the past 15 or so years Mike and Mike have been running on weekends together, doing hill repeats at 6am, track intervals in the morning or night and pushing each other in workouts and races, many compatriots have come and gone. Fortunately, for many reasons, our wives have stayed, not the least of which they are the ones who bring home the trophies. But Mike and I are well aware we married above our station in life. Anyhow, I firmly belief the success many runners and triathletes who have listened to us babble (well, Mike babbles, I just whine) through the years have become better athletes and definitely made us better, because of the group training. The Hanson-Brooks project has money, young fast runners and prov...

Thirty-four year old Haile set the world marathon record at Berlin on Sunday, September 30, finishing in 2:04! That is a 4:44 average pace per mile. It's just under 13 miles per hour, a little slower than the speed I ride a mountain bike on my way home from work. On the Marathon Guide web site there are interviews, a biographical history of Haile and his 24 world records, and a video of his Berlin race. I'm not really able to comprehend running that kind of pace for 26.2 miles. He finished at about the time I want to reach mile 16 at the WDW marathon.

On a beautiful Saturday morning for running, Jan ran 14 miles. She followed that up with 10 miles on Sunday. I began running at 6am on the canal path Saturday, with a head lamp on due to darkness, and had a good 19 mile run. What a difference 20 degrees in temperature makes.

A hot day for the first Upstate NY xc meet at East Aurora NY made me decide to forgo my usual race hat and instead wear sunglasses. It didn't help me stay cool however, as my body seems to naturally absorb 90% of the sun's radiation and dehydrate amazingly fast. (photo courtesy of the Checkers Athletic Club, Buffalo). Our Fleet Feet team only had four members that day, so we didn't score. Cross-country is amazing. In a road race I generally finish in the top 10-25% of all runners. In XC I do well to finish in the top 50%. Jan provided moral support, trying to make me move my legs faster, but the bear was on my back after 2 miles and getting heavier with every step.