A Halloween Runaround

..is weird. Today I ran for 20:00. I haven't run for that short amount of time since, I dunno, high school? When was it acceptable for me as an athlete to run for twenty minutes and call it a day? And I don't mean run a 5k at max speed and PR in under 20:00  - because that would be awesome. I mean literally just going out and jogging for twenty minutes. I honestly don't remember. It had to be more than ten years ago - wow, actually, ten years ago I was still in college, so check that, it had to be more than fifteen years. Damn, when did I wake up and become that old? Ugh, tangent.

Anyway, so my twenty minute run today was punctuated by seeing all the little rugrats walking around in their costumes. Such cuties. Really, I'm not a super-big Halloween person - I generally take the easiest route possible when making a costume (ie: "hey, I'm a lifeguard!" or "hey, look, I'm a firefighter!" or "hey, look, I'm a lacrosse player!") - but I do enjoy a great handmade costume, so long as I am not the one handmaking it. (Side note to SJ - you will more than likely be in charge of all future spawn costumes, just a head's up.) So seeing all the kids running around in their gear made my twenty-minute run feel like, well, a twenty minute run. I mean, there's not much lower you can go, friends.

So this whole tapering thing has been slightly strange. Two and three mile runs seem like not even worth the effort of getting dressed and going outside. Is it weird that I'm looking forward to Sunday if for no other reason than to run a distance that makes me feel like I'm actually accomplishing something?

After my "run", I came home and got ready to give candy to grabby-handed kids. Being a volunteer firefighter makes costumes readily available - just stick a helmet out and call it a day. I treated myself to a Pumking Beer (by Southern Tier Brewery - highly, highly recommended) and SJ and I split a delicious it's not delivery, it's DiGiorno pizza and you can find us currently sitting on the couch - trying not to fall asleep before 9pm on this Hallows Eve.

Damn, we really are old.

Marathon Motivation - Hump Day

Warning - Sentimental Post Ahead

Seeing as how yesterday we celebrated SJ's birthday, allow me to get a little sentimental. (Also, this whole tapering thing is making me go somewhat crazy - seriously. My body and mind have no idea what's going on right now.)

Looking back on this whole training process, there's a lot that I couldn't have done without SJ. First and foremost, since she has raced New York before, she knew the workload and the time that I was going to be in for. Obviously I come from a background where I know what hard work is, but the sheer volume of time and miles that I was going to be putting myself through was something that I had to do. While I've trained for various triathlons, half marathons and Half-Ironmans, training for a marathon was a beast that I had no knowledge of. However, having someone in my corner that knew what needed to be done made it that much easier.

SJ has never complained - not once during this whole 18 week ordeal. And trust me, there were plenty of times when she had every right. I basically dropped everything on the weekends to get my long runs in, and while we tried to work it out that I was running while she was working or going out or otherwise engaged, there were plenty of times when Sunday might be the only day we had together and I was out spending it with my running shoes and spandex instead of with her. There were plenty of nights when I went to the track to do speed work and would come home to an awesome dinner because she knew I would be absolutely starving - and then she didn't even make me clean up! There were the weekends that I skipped important events or even just hanging out with friends because I had to train - there were nights that I did the same. Rather than hanging out, I ran. Rather than happy hour, I ran. Rather than going into the city, or going out to dinner, or meeting up with whoever, I ran.

And she never made me feel bad for it.

She supported everything that I did. She never made excuses as to why I didn't come to things, she just simply told the truth - I was running. But she never made me feel guilty. I'm sure there were times when she wished I had come to some event, or gone to some party, or just simply spent the day with her, but she never made me choose. And I'm sure there are some things that she never even told me we were invited to just so I didn't have to make the choice.

She's surprised me with little presents that have made training better. She's made my life easier so that I could focus, all the while probably making her life a little bit crazier. She's been there for the good workouts and the not-so-great ones.


Besides just training for the marathon, I could never be the triathlete that I am without SJ. She's been at (nearly) every race, cheering me on. She jokes that she is a triathlon widow - and as much as we joke, it's only a half-joke because there is a lot of truth in that. There is a funny t-shirt that says:

 The Spouse's Triathlon -
I wait for her to finish swimming
I wait for her to finish biking
I wait for her to finish running

And that is pretty much what she probably feels like sometimes. She's up at 4:00am on Sundays to schlep to the transition area, where she waits around while I set up, then she walks over to where the swim start is, then she waits, then she waits some more while I'm out on the bike, then she'll wait for me again while I'm out running. She might see me for all of 2:00 during an entire race - but I always know that she's gonna be the loudest person and that she's going to push me to the finish. Knowing that she's at the end makes me want to finish faster.

And she never complains. Anyone that can give up entire weekends to watch sweaty people in spandex - and spend them someplace with a shared bathroom, nonetheless - is a keeper.

Yes, sometimes SJ is there doing the same triathlon or 5k or road race, so we get to set up together and see each other before we start, but rarely am I there for her like she is there for me. It's something that I am conscious of, mostly because I know how amazing it is to hear her words of encouragement on the course or in transition. And I know that she doesn't always get that.

Triathlons and marathons are very much me-first sports. They require hours of training and hours of sacrifice and hours of work - and it's the girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband left to pick up the slack. And SJ has picked up everything - and then some.

At any given moment, SJ has been my training partner, my sounding board, my cheerleader, my coach. She is pretty much the only reason that I can do what I do - and do it as well as I can. The sacrifices that I make for training hardly compare to the sacrifices that she makes so that I can do what I love.

And that's why she is my best friend and my favorite person.

Track Work and Birthdays

Yesterday I did my final speed work leading up to the marathon. In reality, this speed work is probably not necessary - if I haven't developed the speed work by now, one day of it ain't gonna help me on Sunday. However, since I have been doing my speed work according to plan, I figured why skip it now?

Now that the days are getting shorter and school has started, it's totally put a cramp in my style when it comes to going to the track. I have to wait until after-school sports are finished to get on the local high school track, and by that point I really only have an hour-ish of daylight left before it gets iffy. Luckily the track workouts peaked when it was still light until 7, so I haven't had to run too many times in the dark. And, really, I'm going around in circles. How difficult can it possibly be?

I finished work and got to the track around 5:30 yesterday - just enough time to get in a short - but intense - day. I had 2x800s and 4x400s to complete - which is pretty much a walk in the park at this point. Considering I peaked somewhere around 6x1600s - a mere two miles of speed was no sweat (and it literally wasn't a sweat because it was hovering somewhere around 49* and I was in short-shorts).

Total tangent: The past couple times I have gone to the track there has been a woman that comes about the time that I'm finishing up my workout and doing my cool down. This in and of itself is nothing weird, as it's actually something I see a lot of over the summer. Why people feel the need to get in their car and drive to a track to simply walk is beyond me - is the neighborhood where they live not suitable for walking? I don't understand. Anyway, the significance of this woman is that she walks the track backwards WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY TEXTING/EMAILING. Really, what is the point? It takes her upwards of 7:00 to do one lap - really, friends. That's not exercise. Maybe if you put your phone down and concentrate on what you are doing, you'll be able to pick up the pace. Or, better yet, just walk forwards because any benefit you may have gained by walking backwards (which is negligible) has been negated by your tortoise-like speed.

Anywho - so seeing as how I had a short work out, I went all out for everything. Here's the breakdown:

800 - 3:05.8
800 - 3:06.6
400 - 1:21.8
400 - 1:24.3
400 - forgot to start my watch, but based on PRE, probably somewhere in the 1:23-1:25 range
400 - 1:19.9 <--ouch

This was short, but the intensity was somewhere in the 110% range. While not the blazing fast speeds of my high school winter track days, I was solidly happy with what I did. Looking back at when I first started doing track work, my 800s where in the 3:10-3:20 range and my 400s where in the 1:29-1:35 range. So essentially I've taken almost 10 seconds off of each. Not too shabby - especially since I've been training for a marathon and not a track meet.

Rio 2016 here I come! Just kidding!

Totally switching gears here, everyone should go wish SJ and Mary a happy birthday! Yep, two people in the same family with the same birthday! It's like crazy town.

Marathon Motivation - Tuesday Edition

Greatness is inside everyone:

Find yours. . .

Just Do It

Here's a little inspiration for you on this Monday of Marathon Week:

If that doesn't make you want to go out and kick some ass, I really can't help you.

(Courtesy of the one and only, BSB)

Weekly Wrap-Up: The Final Push

That makes it sound like I am in labor, and you know what, I would imagine that having a baby is somewhat similar to this whole marathon training thing. While I have done neither at this stage in my life, I do know that planning to run a marathon and planning to have a baby both seemed absolutely crazy in the past - and now, knowing friends with babies and actually running a marathon in six days, it's not all that crazy after all. (Alright, the baby thing is still crazy. I mean, when did we become old enough to take on the massive priority of raising another human being? Really, some days I can barely take care of myself and I have plants that don't last a month - a baby is wildly optimistic.)

After seventeen weeks, it's finally here: race week. The emails from NYRR are coming fast and frequent at this stage in the game. Last week I hardly ran at all and this week's training plan makes it look like I'm training for a 5k rather than a marathon. But enough about this week - it's barely even started! Let's get on to the wrap-up.

Total Running Miles: 20. Wow, my total number of miles couldn't even legally drink a beer if I took it out to the bar. I will run more miles next Sunday than I did all of last week.

Long Run Mileage: 8. Yep, eight miles was my long run for the week. That's almost not even worth it at this point. I could run eight miles backwards (actually, I probably couldn't because that is hard. And also, I am not really that coordinated.)

This Day In History: Last year, those of us along the East Coast were prepping ourselves for the craziness that would be Hurricane Sandy. As a freaky coincidence, over the weekend in Cornwall (where SJ is from), they were prepping for a storm of epic proportions with crazy wind and rain. Kinda weird!

Also last week, SJ and I had ourselves a DIY party on Saturday and carved ourselves some pumpkins. We figured we had better get on it soon or else we would totally miss the holiday. Seeing as how she is somewhat more artistic than I am (and by "somewhat" I mean "extremely"), SJ was able to free-hand her pumpkin while I resorted to using the old outline trick. Here are the results:

The early stages.

Pumpkin heads.

SJ's pumpkin threw up on the carpet.

Ragnar pumpkin.

It's like a Ragnar billboard.

Ragnar pumpkin and friend!

This week in training is relatively short and quick. I have a few short runs, some time in the pool and a few off days, all culminating in 26.2 miles on Sunday. Naturally, I also have a hella busy week with two days of meetings, SJ and Mary's birthday on Wednesday, dinner out tonight and a black-tie work thing at SJ's school on Friday (which I may or may not be going to as heels two days before M-Day is probably not the smartest thing to do).

Trouble in Paradise

Let's not get bent out of shape - SJ and I are perfectly fine. My left soleus, however, has some complaining to do. After my half marathon on Sunday, I went out for an easy run on Monday evening to get the legs flushed and make sure all the parts were working well. Unfortunately, all the parts were not working well. After three miles (three miles!!), I had to ease up and walk back to the house because my left soleus (without getting too Gray's Anatomy on you, that's one of the muscles that make up what is collectively called the "calf muscle") was on fire.

So, with it being less than two weeks before M-Day, this could be a problem. I got on the BatPhone to my awesome PT, Liz, and got an appointment to see her ASAP the next day. I wanted to nip whatever it was that was going on in the bud, before it could turn into something worse. I took Tuesday off, and then popped up for my evening appointment. After some seriously intense work on my left leg - no, really, I don't know what hurt more, the actual muscle or the work she did on it. It was quite possibly the best and worst thing all at the same time - I was told I need to stretch more and was sent on my way to see how I felt in the next couple days.

I went ahead and gave myself off from running on Wednesday and swam (I think I'm on a roll now with this swimming thing) and actually had a great workout. One of the guys I used to swim with (back when I actually swam) was there so we picked a workout and went for it. Lucky for both of us, neither of us had kept up our end of the training bargain so we were both sucking some serious wind at the end. But this was the first time in a couple weeks that I actually feel like I "worked out" after the pool, so I'm slowly weaning myself back into it. Baby steps, friends, baby steps.

This morning I went out for an easy four, and I can safely say that I felt no residual pain from Monday's run and Tuesday's torture massage. While my muscle is most definitely sore to the touch, it's more like a sore that you would get from a hard workout or lifting and not a sore like you're muscle is about to shred itself from your body. So that's a plus.

With only ten more days until M-Day, I don't have very many hard workouts left. I opted to switch my track work from today to tomorrow so that I could do a test run (ha! pun intended!) on the old wheel. Depending on how I recover/feel will decide how much of the track workout I do. I am set-up for 4x800s/4x400s, but if I have to forgo the 400s then I will. At this point, those four 400s won't be what make or break me come Marathon Sunday. In reality, neither will the 800s, but the mental benefits of getting a solid track workout in this week will be worth it.

And on that note, I will leave you with this photo of the "Stretching Do's and Don'ts", just in case you were all wondering how to get your daily stretch in:

My favorite part about this poster is the outfit the female is wearing - I generally wear a sports bra and high-waisted briefs in the gym. I checked the date on this bad-boy - 1991. Oh yes, my friends, we at the Y are totally hip with the ideas of today. According to this poster, I'm sure this stretch would not be recommended:

Race Report: The Seaside Half Marathon and 5k

This was the 36th iteration of the Seaside Half Marathon and 5k, and I actually signed up for it simply because I was going to be down in Jersey for Homecoming and it was an easy way to force myself into doing my long run for the weekend. As far as small-town races go, this was excellently put on despite a ton of challenges standing in the way of the organizers, the Ocean Running Club.

For those of you unaware, Seaside Heights (as well as pretty much all the beach towns along the Jersey Shore) was hit pretty hard when Hurricane Sandy came through town last year. This was nothing like the devastation that ensued when Snooki and her Jersey Shore gang came through town during the summers of 2009, 2011 and 2012 (I had to Google that, FYI) - as if Jersey didn't already have enough problems with their "armpit of America" stereotype, they needed to go and bring in a group of idiots to enhance the problem. However, if they can recover from Snooki, they sure as shit can recover from Sandy.

Which one was worse for the Jersey Shore?!

Anyway, back to the race report.

SJ and I decided to sign up for the races because we would be in town and thought it would be fun to support the rebuilding efforts. Then the huge fire ripped through the boardwalk, and we weren't quite sure if they race would go on, but when we got the news that it was a go, we sealed the deal and signed up. Any town that can go through the trifecta of MTV stupidity, hurricanes and fires deserves our support!

Pre-Race

I have done a lot of races in the past four or five years - triathlons, 5ks, 10ks, Summer Series races, etc. - and I don't think I have ever been to a race where you weren't even given the option of picking up your packet until race day. Usually there is at least one place made available to get your number and t-shirt before the day of the race, but not with the Seaside Half Marathon and 5k. We actually got sent an email that said there would be "absolutely no Saturday pick-up of race numbers and shirts". Everything would be taken care of Sunday morning.

This could have gone one of two ways: perfectly okay or "major shitshow".

Surprisingly enough, it went pretty smoothly. I don't know if this is how it is every year, or possibly just this year because of the state of the town (Boro?) of Seaside Heights, but it was far from being a "major shitshow". We got there about 8:20, parked the car on a side street and walked to the Beachcomber to pick up our stuff. Jen needed to register for the 5k, which she was able to do right then and there, and SJ and I got our numbers and shirts (long-sleeved tech shirts - not super ugly) and we headed back to the car to get ourselves ready. The whole process took less than fifteen minutes.

I'm always surprised when I run road races and realize that I don't have to spend a ridiculous amount of time setting up my transition area and getting my wet suit on and making sure everything is laid out just so. Running is just so much easier - get your shoes, grab your racing belt, make sure you have your gels and you're good to go.

The bathroom line was the only iffy part of the whole pre-race - and if I had given myself just an extra five minutes, it wouldn't have even been an issue.

The Race

I was late for the start of the race (bathroom) so I wasn't able to be towards the front of the pack, which was not a very good thing for this race. It started on the boardwalk, just south of where the fire ended (the race itself was not effected by the fire this past summer, and the boardwalk had been rebuilt since last year's hurricane) and, as it was only roughly 12' wide, there wasn't a lot of room for all of the runners. This made for a super packed start. I spent the first mile weaving in a out of runners and trying to carve out some space to run.

The boardwalk ended after roughly 1.5 miles and we made a sharp right onto a side street before making a left out onto the main road. After another 1.5ish miles, we reached the entrance to Island Beach State Park and kept on going until the turnaround at mile 6.

Mile 1: 8:10 (weaving my way along the boardwalk)
Mile 2: 7:27 (found some open road)
Mile 3: 7:30
Mile 4: 7:43
Mile 5: 7:42
Mile 6: 7:38

We ran into a parking lot, around the perimeter and out another exit to hit the road for the run back. As far as interesting race courses go, this was about as boring as it gets. It was a straight out and back. At mile 10 we left the park and made a left, where it was another out and back before heading back onto the boardwalk for the final miles.

Mile 7: 7:26
Mile 8: 7:32
Mile 9: 7:45
Mile 10: 7:27
Mile 11: 7:09
Mile 12: 6:56
Mile 13: 7:01
Mile 14: 6:46 (push to the finish)

Even though we ran along the boardwalk, there wasn't ever really a view of the water and once we went into the park it was pretty much just looking at dunes on either side. However, we did have a pretty strong tailwind on the way out, which wasn't a whole lot of fun to head back into on the way back to the finish.

I had some pretty good goals for the race - in reality I was only doing this so that I was forced into doing my long run this past weekend. I knew that going to Homecoming could have put a crunch into my long run, so by signing up for the half I knew that I would go through with it. I also wanted to test out my speed work and my finishing kick. I know that 13 miles is far different from 26, and that my final three miles in the marathon won't be nearly as strong as the final three miles of my half this past weekend, but I pushed myself for the entire race at a pace that I know is faster than my normal half marathon pace for the simple reason that I wanted to be tired at the end. I didn't want to use this as a long slow run - I know I can go long and slow, I've been doing it the past 16 weeks. But I wanted to know that I could go out hard and finish harder, even if I was tired.

Total time: 1:38:55.6
9th Female Overall, 1st Age Group

(Obviously, the last three miles were NOT in target range, however, my goal was to finish strong, and I can pretty much safely say that I did that. I will most definitely not be running a pace this fast in New York, but I'm happy that I could do it for the Seaside Half.)

Stolen race pictures below:

The Race - 5K

SJ and Jen ran the 5k, which started a half hour after the half marathon went off. It was a straight out and back along the boardwalk, with a turnaround right at the end and a finish at the same place as the half marathon finish. Again, as far as interesting runs, this probably wasn't the most thrilling but it was a great day for running and you can't beat a run along the boardwalk.

And the best part about it?! SJ came in SECOND OVERALL for females! Yep. That's right. She totally rocked it. She PRed in the 5k at 23:23, taking almost a minute off of her best previous 5k time. There must have been something else in those Coors Lights from Homecoming the day before.

Jen also ran a great race and was super pumped at her sub-11:00 pace. She was rockin it out along the run and had a great time. Considering she had to do a literal "test run" the previous week to make sure she could handle a hungover three miles, I'm thinking that she deserves some major props.

Belly shot (sorry, couldn't resist!)

Post-Race

The host restaurant had bagels and bananas for all the racers to munch on after they ran, and a few other racers bought beers at the bar that was open. (I was smart and packed my own beers so I grabbed one from the car post-race and had myself a grand old time.) That was pretty much it for the post-race party. There were Gatorades and waters for runners at the finish line, but everything else happened at the Beachcomber - a spot made infamous by none other than our good friend Snookie when she was decked by some inebriated idiot at the bar.

The most interesting part of the post-race was really taking a look at the havoc that the fire wreaked on the boardwalk. It was amazing that the Beachcomber was actually spared, because the entire boardwalk and stores surrounding it weren't even there anymore - they had already been torn down so that they could be rebuilt. Apparently the Beachcomber had installed fire sprinklers when they did a complete overhaul of the building two years ago, and that pretty much saved their butts. I guess all that post-"Jersey Shore" money came in handy!

SJ, Jen and I hung out for a little so that we could pick-up SJ's prize and then we headed out to the car to pack up and get going. Jen had to get back for Jack's birthday (happy birthday, Jack!) and we had to get back for the Ravens' game at 4:30 (they lost). There wasn't much to do after the race, anyway, so I didn't feel like we were missing anything. I'm sure we could have stayed and had a few drinks at the Beachcomber, but the two hour drive home kinda put a damper on any day drinking in Seaside Heights.

Wrap-Up
 
Seeing as how this was my last double digit run before New York City, I'm glad that it was a strong one. Even though I ran faster than GMP - and ended with some blistering fast times for even my half marathon standards - I didn't feel any more taxed or exhausted after my usual long runs, which I hope means that my fitness is up to snuff for what I want to race on November 3rd.

As for the race itself, it was a good local half put on by some pretty enthusiastic people. There wasn't much to look at along the course, but it was flat and easy so I can't really complain. If you want a race where you have the chance to PR, this is a good one to do. The only issue you might have to deal with is the wind - October on the Jersey Shore can be iffy. There wasn't much of an after-party, but considering what Seaside Heights has been through in the past year, I wasn't expecting a blow-out (at least not in regards to post-race parties - hair styles are another story). All-in-all, I wouldn't go out of my way to do this race again, but if you're in the area and have the training, I would definitely recommend it. And for $40, you can't really beat it.

Other Notable Racers

Ashley Walsh - 1:38:34.2
Kevin Walsh - 1:38:35.5
Coach Kelly - 1:54:31.4

99% sure this was the face she made during every single Monday Run in college.

Coach even had the foresight to match her watch to her shirt. Not surprised.

(I don't know any other people that ran but if you do then let me know and I'll add them.)

Weekly Wrap-Up: Half Marathons Have Now Become "No Big Deal"

It's official. I have now reached the land of the "not normal" when it comes to running. I ran a half marathon yesterday in New Jersey at what could be considered the "last minute" (I signed up roughly two weeks ago), and it was no big deal. Really. At what point did running a half marathon become the equivalent to what was previously acceptable for a 5k to be called (namely: no big deal)?

There was a time - roughly two years ago - when running a half marathon was a "big deal". I trained for it. I ran consecutive weeks at building mileage and then tapered for a few weeks and then I ran a half marathon (or did a Half Ironman, but that's another beast entirely). Now, I go out on Sundays and run significantly more miles than a half marathon and consider myself "lucky" to "only have to run 13 today". I mean, really, when you get to the point where 13 miles is chump change, you know your mindset is seriously out of whack.

And I'm not writing this to brag - not even to humble brag, a la Lance Armstrong and this Twitter pic. Truth be told, this whole blog here is about training for a marathon, so all you people should expect to hear about just that - training. And when you train for a marathon, guess what becomes not so significant - yep, you got it, a half marathon. This is in no way to take away from the feat for those that are considering taking on the task of running a half marathon - it ain't no picnic, I can tell you that much. But when your long training days consist of 15, 18, 20 and 22 miles, 13 sounds like a pretty nice number.

On a totally different note, I went back down to good old Monmouth U. for Homecoming this past weekend. If there is one thing that the new coaching staff has totally dropped the ball on, it would be "Alumni Outreach". Mostly because there is none. But we had a good time anyway. It was nowhere near the epic-ness of some previous Homecoming experiences - especially circa 2002, when I was a mere Freshman who really had no reason to "come home" as I had only been there for roughly 2 months, but made my mark by puking in an upperclassman's car nonetheless (sorry, mom and dad) - but we made it work. Here are some highlights:

We like to start them young.

Our old haunt, Jack's, has now decided to class itself up. It's kinda like trying to give a makeover to a sixty-year-old hooker - in the end she's still just a sixty-year-old hooker, only with perkier boobs and better make-up.

Unlike previous Homecomings, we actually made it to not one, but two sporting events during the course of the day - the football game and the women's soccer game that night. In all my years at Monmouth, I can vaguely remember attending maybe five football games. But I could be misremembering (thanks, Roger Clemens, for that awesome word). And I never went to one on Homecoming. I don't even think I realized there was a football game going on during Homecoming, let alone that people actually went in to watch it. So I guess you could say that my streak is over - I have finally watched a portion of an MU football game. It only took me ten years.

Sunday morning we ran the Seaside Heights Half Marathon and 5k. Well, I ran the half and SJ and Jen ran the 5k. In case you have been living under a rock and don't remember, this and this both had a huge effect on Seaside Heights (although this also didn't help in the matter). And this picture was probably one of the craziest to come out of the Hurricane Sandy footage:

So anyway, between Sandy and the most recent fire (and the infiltration of the Jersey Shore cast, which is something I won't get into here), Seaside has had a tough few years so I figured I would do my part to Restore the Shore (and also, I'm hoping that if they restore the shore quicker I won't have to keep hearing this song on the radio). It was a good little race and I'm glad we did it - but I'll write a race report on it so I won't get into it here.

Let's move on to the wrap up.

Total Running Miles: 34. Whew, totally drove more than that last week.

Total Beers I Drank at Homecoming: Probably five. That is crazy low. That's like what I used to do to pregame. I am getting old.

Number of Minutes I Spent Watching MU Football Games in College: Roughly 45.

Number of Minutes I Spent Watching the MU Football Game at Homecoming 2013: Roughly 45. Should have stayed that extra minute just to outdo my former college self.

Taper week number two is under my belt with significantly less mileage than the previous week. My long run is only 8 this weekend - wow. That's like a typical mid-week run for me right now. Race day is creeping closer.

Thoughts on the Taper

Monday I officially started my second week of tapering. Last week I somehow managed to run the most amount of miles in my training plan on my first week of tapering, which is slightly back-to-front, but this week has started out much more on target.

After my great long run on Sunday, I was feeling pretty stellar. It's a great feeling to have your best long run come at the end of training. I definitely feel ready and feel like I've done all of the hard work. With a little more than two weeks to go until M-Day, I can say that I am finally on the down slope and can relax a bit.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I said "relax" a bit - I didn't say ease up on training or slack off.

On that note, my training schedule looks like this for the remainder of the week:

I gave myself a vacation day on Monday so that SJ and I could head out to the North Fork and enjoy a perfect fall day together. SJ sampled some wines from the region and we had a nice easy stroll through Greenport. I figured I had earned it after putting in a solid week.

My department meeting went till forever on Monday night and waking up for work Tuesday morning was not the greatest. I had an 8 miler planned and it was a ridiculously gorgeous day out - unfortunately, I got stuck at work until later than I expected so I missed most of it. However, I still managed to squeezed my run in during the last remaining daylight hours. I did a little figure eight loop of Huntington at a reasonably quick clip. I've been trying to run my shorter distances lately with a strong second half because I've wanted to get myself used to picking up the pace even on tired legs. And while 8 miles isn't anywhere near as long as 26, if I can finish strong with each run leading up to the final week of tapering, then I feel like I'll be in a better place mentally.

Tomorrow I have my last set of hills before the marathon. Even though I should be doing hills in the week leading up to race day, I've opted to change it to an easier track work out instead (800s/400s). I've intentionally found a longish hill that has a slightly higher gradient than the Queensborough Bridge so that I can simulate to the best of my abilities what doing the climb will be like. I've run over the bridge more than enough times to know how it feels, but it'll feel a lot different after I've got 15 miles in my legs.


Today I managed to drag my butt back into the pool (hooray). It was still painful and I still wasn't going hard or even doing anything at a pace that could honestly be called a "workout", but it felt good to get back in the water and give my legs a rest, especially now that we're getting closer to race day (18 sleeps away - yikes).

I have never actually put myself through a taper before, so this is somewhat of a new thing for me. In the past, my taper has usually been something along the lines of - run today, then take off, maybe swim and bike, then take off another day, run two days in a row, have an easy bike, race day. Not the most conventional of tapering plans, nor were they laid out in any kind of actual order. It was really just as haphazard as my training plans have always been. However, with this whole marathon thing going down, I figured this summer I better buckle down and actually come up with some kind of "master plan". After I run Philly (yes, I'm still signed up to the run the Philly Marathon - two weeks after New York. Like this article says, triathletes are masochists.), I am going to sit down and look back at my training for the summer and see how well it went compared to previous years. I know you all are dying to know how that expose will turn out, but anyway, more on that when I have the time and my legs (and liver, cause lord knows I'm gonna drink like a sailor on leave those first couple weeks after the season is over) have recovered. So stay tuned.

But until then, keep checking back for more fun things in the land of training and not drinking so much. It's Homecoming this weekend - let's see what kinds of crazy things I get into when I'm back at college, generally behaving badly.

Weekly Wrap-Up: On a Sunday?

Finally! I'm writing a weekly wrap-up at the end of the week! I'm even surprising myself with how spot on I am right now. Geez, what other amazing things can I do this week? Oh wait - I know! I can run 18 miles and finish the final three with a bad-ass sub-8:00 pace. Boom! Talk about being on my A-game this weekend.

I worked all day yesterday so I opted to do my 10 mile race pace run yesterday after work and then do my 18 miler today after I got done with fire department training. This whole "marathon training" thing has really put a damper on my football-watching activities this fall - and by "activities" I mean drinking beer and eating wings. It's hard to enjoy yourself at the bar when you know that you have 18 miles of fun hanging over your head. So I skipped the bar - and thus avoided watching my Baltimore Ravens totally shit the bed again on offense (seriously, Flacco, we gave you a great contract and this is how you repay us? By totally sucking?), so I guess that was a semi-bright spot. They might have sucked, but at least I didn't have to watch it.

But it could be worse, I could be a Giants fan. Zing!

So anyway, I had big plans for my 18 miler today as this will be my last longish run before the marathon in three weeks (holy shit!). I wanted to make sure that I finished feeling strong and like I was holding myself back for the run, rather than slow and lethargic like I have on a few of my long runs. Coming off so many miles from last week's Ragnar, I actually had no idea how my legs were going to feel. I've had a pretty good week training-wise, so I wasn't worried about this run, per se, but I also wanted to make sure that it was a good one just for the mental factor.

It. Was. Great.

I picked a relatively flattish route that had a few undulating climbs that could mimic some of the marathon course and set out at roughly an 8:45 pace. I wanted to keep it as steady as possible throughout the run and then pick it up towards the end, rather than start too fast and fall off pace - every marathoners worst nightmare. I still have a hard time keeping a steady, consistent pace - I always find myself speeding up or slowly down for no apparent reason - but for the most part I stayed pretty consistently between 8:35 and 8:50.

As you can see, I sped up a little bit after I hit the half marathon point, which was intentional. I knew I was more than half way into it, so I wanted to see how my body would react to a little bit harder pace each mile. I was feeling absolutely awesome by mile 16 so kicked it up even more. As you can see by the above chart - I kicked some ass on my final 5k.

Hell yeah.

The only crappy part was that upon my arrival home, A) SJ wasn't home (because she is having a girls' night in Astoria so stop being selfish) and, B) THERE WAS NO BEER ANYWHERE! This could have easily been rectified had SJ been home (again, stop being so selfish!) but instead I went to the store in my still gross sweaty clothes and bought adult beverages to celebrate (by myself) my amazingness.

Side note: If you guys look outside right now you'll probably see my head floating somewhere in the sky, that's how big it is right now.

Now, on to the wrap up!

Total Running Miles: 52. This is strange, because I am supposed to be in a taper but for some reason I am now running more miles than I have in previous weeks. However, now that my last long run is done I will actually be going down in mileage, so look for this number to be somewhere in the 30s next week.

Total Miles Driven in My Car this Week: 54. So that means that I drove only two miles more in my car all week as I did running. Wow.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. There were a lot of races going on out there - so I hope everyone kicked some serious butt in whatever they did!

And I would also like to give a HUGE shout out to Brad and Laura for their Baltimore Marathon finishes!  Great job guys and congrats on your first marathons. This whole marathon thing must run in the family (ha!).
And also a big congrats to Laura's mom, Martha on her marathon finish! It was a big weekend for Robinsons/Schertles in Maryland!

Other Things I Train For

You might just think that all I do is run and bike and (occasionally) swim, but for those of you new to this here little blog or just unaware, I am also in the Huntington Manor Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter. I applied last year just about this time and was sworn in this past March. There is usually quite a long waiting period to join HMFD, but for some reason there have been a number of people that have either dropped out or left or moved, thus opening up spots for new members to come in.

Let me burst your bubble up front - for those of you that watch shows like Chicago Fire and Rescue Me, fire departments are rarely filled with that many good-looking people. I'm not gonna say that no one is good looking, but I will say that to have one Engine/Ladder/Hook Company filled with that many gorgeous people is highly unlikely. You know that Firefighters of the FDNY calendar? The one with all the hot firefighters? Yeah, no one in my department looks like that. Now, obviously the FDNY has a plethora of people to choose from - more than the 130 in my department - but for the most part, you won't find them all in one fire house. So that right there tells you that tv never actually gets it right.

As for the "realness" of the shows mentioned above - well, let's just say it's television and they have reasons for what they do. Is it 100% accurate - no. But any doctor can tell you that Grey's Anatomy isn't always factually accurate when it comes to the work place. TV shows are meant to be dramatic - and that's what these shows give you. Just don't anyone rush out and join their local fire department or think about a career in the FDNY and think it's going to all be a bed of roses - and that your abs will instantly look like theirs. Trust me - they won't.

As a volunteer, we are broken up into companies purely for social reasons, unlike the FDNY or the Chicago FD or any other big city department where their members get paid. This also means that we are responsible to know everything about what each different company does. I'll break it down a little bit for you now:

Engine (Engine Company) - this is the type of truck that most people call a "fire truck", although that terms actually refers to a different type of apparatus. Sometimes engines are referred to as "pumpers", because of their ability to "pump" water. Engines usually carry a crew of three or four firefighters (the "company"), and contain a pump, water tank, and hose of various lengths and sizes. They also carry ground ladders, emergency medical equipment and various other tools (halogens, axes, hydrant wrenches, spanner wrenches, etc.) The Engine Company's job at a structure fire is to hook up to the hydrant, pull the hose, enter the building with a charged line and extinguish the fire.

Ladder (Ladder Company) - More commonly referred to as a "truck" and "truck company" across the US fire service, however, since I live in NY and the FDNY refers to their departments as "ladder" and "ladder companies", that is the term I will use. Anyway, ladder trucks are also referred to as "fire trucks" (see above), and have a long aerial ladder on the top, usually stretching 100' and sometimes with a platform at the top. There are also an assortment of "ground ladders", what you would consider your basic ladder (but built better). Some ladder trucks have a pump, but they do not usually carry water or hose. Ladder Companies usually consist of one or two more personnel than the Engine Company. At a structure fire, the Ladder Company's job is to set up ground ladders to any (or all) accessible windows, raise the aerial ladder (if necessary), ventilate the roof, and enter the building for search and rescue operations.

There are various other types of apparatus (quints, heavy rescue, brush trucks, etc.) but for the most part, when you think of firefighting and structural fires, these are the two most common pieces of equipment.

Like I was saying earlier, because you never know who will be at the call, volunteer firefighters need to be prepared for both engine and ladder responsibilities, unlike a career firefighter who is usually assigned to one company or the other and generally works under specific duties. (This does not mean that they don't know how to perform the duties of the other company, it's just not something that is always necessary.) This means that we go through a lot of training - and then we go through even more. Because you never really know what you are going to be up against, and how many people will be available, everyone in the department is responsible for literally knowing everything.

This means that we train - a lot.

This past Wednesday we went out to Yaphank to train at the Suffolk County Fire Academies tower. In our district we don't really have a great deal of high rise buildings, but we do have a few multiple story office buildings, as well as a mall and various large stores (ie: Target), so understanding the intricacies of a large, multiple story tower-type structure is necessary.

Usually when we go out to Yaphank, we do three evolutions (what it's called when we run through the entire process) and after each one the chiefs bring us in to discuss the good and the bad. Yaphank is really good for those of us that are junior members (especially probies) because it allows us to actually get our hands dirty. Because we aren't allowed to enter an actual structure fire until we are off probation (typically one year), we don't get much in the way of experience. However, the academy lets us enter buildings just like everyone else because, for the most part, it's a controlled scenario.

During the first evolution, I was on the first due ladder truck - which meant that we were responsible for setting up ground ladders and deploying the aerial ladder to get to the roof, as well as search and rescue. Once the ladders were up and we had a team on the roof, the rest of us helped the engine company guide the hoses up the stairs while they put out the fires on the second and third stories. This is what you look like in full turn-out gear:

It's not exactly the easiest thing to maneuver around in, especially hauling a charged 1 3/4 inch hose. At 55lbs/50 feet of hose - and the typical fire will see anywhere from 200'-250' of hose being used, that's a lot of hauling.

In second evolution, my team was switched to be Engine 2 - this meant we were in charge of the second hose line that was stretched to fight the fire(s). After the first team was in and had established their position with the fire on the second floor, we went up to the third floor to hit that one. My job was to support the knob - basically take the brunt weight and force of the hose so that they guy actually holding the nozzle could direct the spray and put the fire out. This is hard - I don't care what television makes it look like. At 220 psi - this thing is like trying to hold onto a toddler after he's had 45 Pixie sticks. My arms were literally ready to fall off.

The third evolution was just for the junior members. Those that had more time in were given the jobs that normally go to the officers (lieutenants and captains) and then those of use with less time were just regular firefighters. In this one, I was the lead person on Engine 1, which meant that it was my teams job to go in with a charged line and actually put out the fire. We had the fire on the first floor, so we waited at the front door until the fire room door got popped and we headed in. Once we turned the corner, the Academy chiefs ratcheted up the fire (in this case, they used what is essentially a very large grill apparatus to make the fire, but sometimes we have live fire, too) and we went to work. I had the knob this time, and my other probie Dave had the job of supporting me. The idea is to hit the ceiling of the room and just start making huge circles to hit all sides of the room. It's hot. It's messy. There's smoke everywhere and you can't see straight. You're breathing is about 100 breathes a minute and I feel like I'm sprinting. And it's the coolest thing in the entire world.

After we were done, I was pretty much the sweatiest person in the entire world. I have a high sweat rate on a normal day, but put me in bunker gear and a flaming room and you might as well just throw me in the pool. I literally have to bring a change of clothes with me to training because I am that awful. Everyone is, but I think I just happen to be worse. And I smell. Really bad. Seriously, SJ hates that I do this - not because of the danger factor (I think she actually likes that, wink wink - ooh, sorry dad) but because I smell like the inside of a hockey bag for days on end. And she's right. 

I admit it, it's not my best feature.

But anyways, so I don't just train for triathlons and marathons and other endurance events. I also train to save lives (doesn't that make me sound brave?!). So when I miss a workout, don't hold it against me!

P.S. - It's Friday kids. Go out and enjoy happy hour and have a great weekend. Happy training. 

Fish Out of Water, and a Belated Weekly Wrap-up

I did it. I finally got in the pool. I officially started tapering on Monday, so now some of my workouts read like this:

5 miles -or- cross train

Seeing as how riding would have been just as hard (if not harder) on my legs than an easy 5 mile run, and three weeks out from my A race (and a marathon, at that) isn't really the time to start trying out new exercise programs, I opted to take this as a sign for me to start working my way back into the pool.

It. Was. Painful.

Seriously. I have done some really spectacularly difficult/exhausting/hard swim workouts, but nothing compared to what this swim felt like this morning. Anyone watching me struggle through the 2000 yard set would think that I am relatively new to swimming. The frequency and duration of the rests I had to take clearly indicate that I am one out-of-swim-shape puppy. However, I did it. And just by getting my ass into the pool and doing something - anything! - I know that it will only get easier.

Even by the end of the set, if you can call it a set considering I really just swam every interval at the same pace, I could tell that my arms were actually remembering how to do this and that my breathing wasn't quite so labored. Maybe by next week I won't look so much like a drowning dolphin trapped in a tuna net for the first couple hundred yards. I'm sure the lifeguard thought more than once that she might have to go in after me.

Weekly Wrap-Up (from last week)

I know this is coming almost half way through this current week, but I figured that a belated wrap up is better than no wrap up at all, and I also gave you some pretty good reading material with my Ragnar recap, so don't go all "what have you done for me lately?" on me.

Obviously, much of last week was geared towards Ragnar on Friday and Saturday, so even though I wasn't quite in a full taper, with 24ish miles looming over my head, I also didn't go super crazy. I did squeeze in a hill workout, which you can read about here if you so desire, as well as a couple of shorter, easy pace runs. I needed fresh legs going into Friday morning.

Friday and Saturday saw me run a total of five times in roughly 24 hours for a little over 26 miles , so when Sunday came around and the 8 miles that I had planned for didn't actually come to fruition, forgive me for not feeling guilty. We had a longish van ride home from Washington D.C., and when I woke up on Sunday morning the first thing through my mind was not, "Let's go run", but rather, "I want bacon". This might have been because, directly after those 26 miles were completed I drank roughly 26 alcoholic beverages, however that's neither here nor there. I was just trying to hydrate.

Total Running Miles: 37. This actually isn't as high of a number as it could have been. I took both Tuesday and Thursday off completely, and then didn't run on Sunday after Ragnar, so what should have really been a 45ish mile week came up a bit short. However, this was offset by the fact that running as much as I did on five separate occasions is nowhere near as easy as it sounds. I would gladly run 26 miles all at once than broken up over multiple legs. Oh wait, I guess that's what that whole marathon thing is about, huh?

Total Miles Driven for Ragnar Washington D.C.: Close to 1,000. It took us about 350 miles to get to Cumberland, MD, plus all the miles that we drove to different exchange points and to cheer on our runner (plus, I had to turn around at least 12 times because we weren't quite sure where to go), and then the drive back to New York from Washington is another 300. That's a lot of miles.

Total Alcoholic Beverages Consumed by Ragnar Teammates: Oof, that's not even a number I want to think about. I would say, "sorry, Mom", but you were in on it, too, so you're just as much of a culprit as the rest of us.

Number of Karaoke Numbers Performed by Ragnar Teammates: No less than three.

Number of Tequila Shots Shanpet Took: 1 1/2.

Number of Times the Word "Shartle" Was Used in a Sentence:  At least 37.

I think that just about does it for the wrap-up. If you haven't yet read the Ragnar Washington D.C. race report, then click here for the review. And next time, get your ass onto a team so that you can say you've done Ragnar, too!

Happy training, everyone.

Race Report: Ragnar Washington D.C.

This post could also be titled, "Ragnar Washington D.C. - The Government Might Shutdown, but We Don't". Or, "Ragnar Washington D.C. - We Run Faster Than It Takes the Federal Government to Pass a Budget". Or, "Ragnar Washington D.C. - If Congress Ran Ragnar, They'd Never Get It Done".

Thankfully, Congress doesn't run Ragnar and the Federal government has nothing to do with our relay - we might never have even started had that been the case. However, they still managed to butt their annoying Capitol Hill issues into our race by causing course re-routings and cancellations, as well as providing us runners with some seriously good government-related van postings (I wish I had a dollar for every "Honk if you hate Congress" sign I saw along the way). 

Pre-Race

We arrived in Cumberland sometime around 12:30am on Friday morning, meaning we essentially took a nap before meeting up with the DC van in the lobby at 5:30. We wanted both vans to be at the start to see Gina kick start our trek to DC, as well as to help decorate the vans and have a few laughs before splitting up for our various legs.

We went through the safety briefing and gear check without a hitch and got all of our race paraphernalia that we would need for the duration of the relay.

Our start time was 7:00, so a little before, we all wandered down to the starting line so that we could cheer Gina and the other racers on as they started their first legs.

The Course

At just under 200 miles longs, the Ragnar DC course takes you from your starting point in Cumberland, MD through the back hills and mountains and state parks of western Maryland, through the outskirts of Frederick and then down into Virginia and over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to the finish at the National Harbor. Because of the government shutdown, one of the legs on the course was altered and another three were cancelled completely, thus shortening the course to just over 180 miles in total length.

Looking back over the course, there really weren't any easy legs. Even if it happened to be a low mileage leg, there were significant climbs with hundreds of feet in elevation gains and losses. Here is the overview of the entire course:

You can tell from the elevation chart that we start at a pretty significant height and slowly make our way down through the duration of the course. However, what it doesn't show in this version are all the little bumps and rollers that are scattered throughout. Even though there was a net elevation change of -1,175 feet, we still climbed roughly 15,500 feet in total over the course - those are some serious hills.

If you want a complete breakdown of each leg then click here. There is way too much going on for me to go through each one, so if you feel like procrastinating at work and looking at each individual leg, feel free! And you're welcome.

The Relay

We split our team up into two vans of six runners. After Gina passed off to Liz, those of us in van 2 piled back in to head back to the hotel for a quick nap, shower and to get our stuff ready to go for the day. We met up with van 1 again at exchange four and cheered Denise on during her tough climb, as well as some other runners from various other teams. That's the best part about Ragnar - it doesn't matter who you are, you'll get cheers from everyone. You could be the slowest person on the course or you could be the fastest, but either way, you'll get supported by everyone. Because they all know exactly what you are going through and what it takes.

Van 2 got the hand off from Roger around 2:00pm and we were off on our own journey for the day - a tough 40 miles total for the van, with some significant uphill climbs. Van 1 went off in search of food and a nap to get ready to take over sometime around 7:30 while we ran on - and on and on and on and up and up and up.

After we handed off we took a drive to my Uncle John's house where we were able to lay down for a few hours nap before meeting up again at 11:45pm to start running through the night. We ended up passing directly behind my uncle's house - where van 1 had gone to so that they could get some rest - no more than 200 yards away. Running through the night is a pretty interesting experience. For some reason, I always seem to have my best runs during the night legs of the course and I look forward to them every time we run.

Shannon handed off to Gina around 5:00am and we headed to one of our teammate's houses for a quick nap (again) and a shower before heading out to meet up for our third and final legs. This was the first time I have done a Ragnar where I have had the luxury of actually sleeping in a bed and having a shower during the relay. Usually we are fending for ourselves in sleeping bags or trying to curl up in the back of the van to get some shut eye at one of the exchange points, but it just so happened that this course took us close to where we knew people, so we jumped at the chance to get a few decent hours of sleep. And it definitely made a difference - even if it was only for a few hours, a bed was so worth it.

Three of the final six legs were cancelled due to the government shutdown (apparently we were supposed to be running on federal property that was technically closed during the furlough - even though roughly everyone and their mother was continuing to use the trails) so we had to double up on runners for the final legs. I opted to run all three of the final legs, including running over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge with mamadukes to bring us home to the finish.

We crossed the line sometime around 1:00pm on Saturday afternoon - roughly thirty hours after starting. Our overall time was amazing and everyone did an awesome job. It was one of the toughest courses out there and we conquered it one step at a time.

Post-Race Party

If there is one thing that Ragnar does well, it's post-race parties. Considering that 50% of all team names have something to do with beer or alcohol in general, it's no surprise that you get your fair share of drinkers at the post-race party. Combine that with the fact that you just ran a significant distance on little sleep and you've got yourself a collection of some seriously tired, hungry and thirsty people. Thankfully, the race directors know that a Ragnar without beer and food at the finish would be one that not many people signed up for.

After we crossed the finish, we had our team picture taken and got our medals and then headed over to the beer tent. Another great thing is that there are always people that don't want/don't use their free beer coupon and are more than happy to give them away to those of us looking to consume more than our fair share. Thankfully, we found a few of these good souls so we ended up with quite the assortment of booze at our table. The race directors were also awesome in providing a good variety of beers to choose from - but one fail is that there were no gluten-free options, which meant Shanpet had to go boozeless. Had we known we would have come prepared with a bottle of vino - or maybe a tequila shot?

We hung out at the National Harbor for an hour or so before wrapping up. Since we had so many locals on our team, there were only a few of us staying over in Alexandria, so we all said our good-byes and farewells in the parking lot while we sorted out the vans. There is always the inevitable, "Who's shirt/hat/shoe/sock/belt/light/charger/etc. is this?", that occurs when you spend too much time in a car so we had to figure out where everything belonged and then we hit the road to the hotel for an epic night of debauchery - and karaoke.

Wrap-Up

I debated back and forth about how much I was going to breakdown each leg and I came to the conclusion that I don't want to spend that much time going into detail about everything that happened during the relay. As you can see from the shortness of the above recap, for a race that took thirty hours, I didn't give you too much insight. However, I think that Ragnar is one of those things that you have to experience for yourself before it will actually make sense. I could use all kinds of flowery words and nimble phrases to paint you a pretty good picture, but it still wouldn't be the same.

Until you have actually sat in a van for hours at a time, cheered on your fellow runners (even if they weren't part of your team), asked strangers in vans for water because you seriously didn't know if you would make it to the next water stop or exchange point without collapsing, peed in so many porta-potties you actually lost count, and just generally displayed behavior over the course of a weekend that many would consider insane - you just won't understand.

There's something about running in the middle of the night that is both terrifying and exhilarating. There's something about getting out and cheering for random strangers as they run through your "tunnel" of glow-lights at 3:30am in the backwoods of some far-flung city or town or state. There's something to say about people that willingly choose to lead a life of little sleep, few showers and lots of miles over the course of thirty-some-odd hours. There's something about "the wet seat" in the front of the van that only people who have experienced Ragnar would understand. When you go to ridiculous lengths to make sure your van is decorated in a way that only kindergartners - and other Ragnarians - would think was cool. When you get so delirious from too much running, too little sleep and way too much junk food that you think what you're doing is actually normal and you can't understand why other people don't "get it". When you are already talking about what your next Ragnar is going to be, and you haven't even finished the one you're doing.

Until all of those things make sense, there's not really any point of me going into massive amounts of detail about this weekend. Because it won't really make sense to you. Those of you who have experienced Ragnar will just know, and those of you who haven't won't. You'll read the words and you'll get the picture, but you won't feel it. And, in the end, Ragnar is all about feeling it, whatever it is for you.

It could be the thrill of doing something you never thought you could do. It could be making it to the top of a climb that you never in your right mind thought you would reach. It could be the feeling you get when you cross the finish line with your teammates and know that you've just accomplished something bigger than yourself. It could be doing something you never though you would - or could - do. It is the feeling of relief that you're last leg is done, but the sorrow in knowing that it's over.

There are many people who run Ragnar and decide that they will never do it again. And then there are those people who run a Ragnar and are already planning their next one before the dust has even settled - or the van has even been cleaned. I fall into the latter category. I have the bug.

It's not because I'm a glutton for pain - there are far harder things I could be doing than Ragnar if that were the case - and it's not because I like running all that much. I think it's more about the sense of adventure, the fact that there are 11 other people relying on you to do your share and pull your weight and run to the best of your abilities. It's not about the competition - it's about the camaraderie. It's about being part of a team and having fun and cheering people on, even if you don't know them. It's about meeting new people and making new friends.

And if you can get past the long hours in the van and the lack of sleep and the distance and the pain - if you can get through it all and then go back home, go for a run or go to the gym or just go out somewhere and see someone else wearing the Ragnar symbol and give them a shout, then you'll finally understand.

Race Report: The Stephen Siller Foundation Tunnel to Towers 5k

As far as races go, this is probably one of the biggest 5ks around. I can't think of another 5k that would attract upwards of 30,000 people of all shapes, sizes and abilities. I also can't think of another 5k that means so much to so many people.

Background Info
 
For those of you who don't know anything about Tunnel to Towers, have you been living under a rock for the past 12 years?, it was started as a tribute to Stephen Siller, a New York City firefighter who ran through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel in full turn-out gear in order to reach the towers and to hopefully meet up with others from his firehouse, Squad 1 in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He never made it back through to the other side of the tunnel and each year, in his honor, thousands make the same trek through the tunnel and up to Tower 1.

Pre-Race

We were up and at 'em early to meet up with the others from Manor who were headed in for the run. Upon piling into the van, we made a beeline for Manhattan and arrived in record time. It's amazing how close the city seems when you leave at 5:45 in the morning. We parked down in lower Manhattan to take the ferry back over to Brooklyn and the start of the race. It's easier to park in the city and take the ferry in the morning, rather than after the race when thousands of other people are trying to do the exact same thing. Since we had so much time to kill and I was supposed to be doing 15 miles, I left the others at the ferry and ran my way over the Manhattan Bridge and up to Prospect Park. I did a quick loop of the park at race pace and then headed over to Red Hook to meet up with SJ and mamadukes before the start of the race.

Because I wasn't actually there for race check-in and all that jazz, I can't really comment first hand. My Captain (oh Captain!) had picked up our race numbers prior to that morning, so I was all set to go, but SJ and mamadukes had to get theirs the morning of. According to them, everything went smoothly. They had to check their (giant, clear) bags on the Manhattan side because they wouldn't let any bags on the ferry, but picking up their numbers was a breeze. This could have been because they were there roughly 9 hours prior to the start of the race, or just because it's not the first rodeo for the Stephen Siller Foundation so they pretty have this thing down to a science, but either way, it's always nice when things go smoothly.

I made it to Red Hook around 8:45 and met up with a few of the guys from the department. Mamadukes and SJ had managed to wiggle their way somewhat towards the front of the pack, so I had to figure out the best plan of action to get up to them. I met up with them around 9:00 so we had thirty or so minutes to kill before the race would officially start. In a sea of firefighters and runners, they were able to find this guy:

Greg and his girl, Katie.

Unbeknownst to me (because I wasn't there yet), cadets from West Point had already run through supporting the wounded warriors that were making the trek. Now everyone else was just milling around, waiting for it to start. As far back as you could see behind us, there were just masses of people lining the streets. It's a pretty cool thing to see. I can imagine it's not unlike what the NYC Marathon will be like in November.

The Race

I use the term "race" extremely loosely in this report, because, with 30,000 people lining up in no discernible order, there really was no "racing" going on. There was a chute towards the front where, if you were able to run a sub-6:00 pace, you could line up so that you could race it, but other than that, it was generally a free-for-all. I debated whether or not to weasle my way up to this chute, but having just run 12ish miles, I didn't really feel like trying to bang out another three at a 6:00 pace. Thanks, but no thanks.

When the horn finally sounded, the only reason we knew it had actually started was because we could see everyone on the big screen running towards the tunnel. It took a good two or three minutes before we even started walking towards the start line and when we got there, it was so congested that there really wasn't any other option than a light trot. We bottlenecked at the sharp turn going towards the toll booths (lucky for us they included the toll cost in our registration because I totally forgot my EZ-Pass) and then again once we entered the tunnel, but I figured this would be the case. The tunnel is only two lanes wide, and shoving 30,000 people into it was never gonna be easy.

SJ and I did the best we could, weaving our way through people and trying our best to keep a somewhat steady pace. Every now and then, there would be some space to pick it up, but it was few and far between so we just rolled with it. To add insult to injury (literally for some people), the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel has lane dividers to keep cars from changing lanes, and more than a couple were laid out by them.

Kind of like these, but without the yellow dividers on the bottom.

So not only were you weaving in and out of people, but you also had to be aware of the cones. Excellent!

The tunnel itself is about half the run, so when you exit they weave you around the bottom of Manhattan and then up towards where Tower 1 used to stand, and where the Freedom Tower is now. Right at the exit, there is an honor guard lined up along the side with the names and photos of every firefighter that didn't make it back from the towers that day. Under their name is the department they were out of and the number 343 to represent the 343 firefighters.

Thankfully, we had been relatively close to the front of the crowd of runners, because this is what it would have been like had we been anywhere further behind:

 

SJ and I crossed the finish line in who-knows what time (I didn't bother keeping time) and headed over to grab our stuff and wait for the others. We didn't quite know how far back mamadukes was and had absolutely no clue where any of the guys from my department were, so we just figured if we went to the meeting place and hung out, eventually people would find us.

Post-Race Party

The post-race events were pretty good, but unfortunately there were just way too many people there to actually enjoy anything. Think about a concert where it's a standing-room only venue and everyone is trying to get to the front and that's pretty much what it was like. The streets are pretty narrow down in the financial district, and even though they were blocked off from traffic, there were vendors on either side of the street, which made the street even narrower. And with limited access on either side because of the buildings, everyone seemed to mill around right by the front. Remember, 30,000 people were doing this event and one block in Manhattan isn't exactly that huge of a space,especially when half of it is taken up by tents selling all kinds of things. We ended up meeting up in an alley that was off the side of the main street where the festivities were occurring and just popped in every now and then to grab food or a beer or pick up our t-shirts. 

This was actually somewhat of a bummer because I would have loved to have been able to hang out and enjoy the atmosphere surrounding the event. SJ had done this race before and has always talked about how amazing it was, but even she wasn't really feeling the vibe. Obviously, seeing how many firefighters were running in full turnout gear and the Marines running in fatigues and the cadets in their athletic uniforms was a unique and special experience, but everything else was just sensory overload. Just the sheer amount of people running made it almost impossible to say it was amazing. Overwhelming, yes. Amazing, not really.

Wrap-Up

Because of my connection with the fire department and the story behind the event, T2T is an event that I will probably do every year. However, it won't be because I particularly enjoyed it or because I love it. It's more because I appreciate exactly what Stephen Siller did by donning his gear and running to help. It wasn't because he had to or because he was supposed to - it was because he wanted to. While there are literally thousands of 5ks out there that benefit one charity or another (cancer, heart disease, arthritis!), I don't know that there are many where you can literally retrace the footsteps of a hero - and I will gladly put with 30,000 other people who are willing to do the same.