NYC Marathon & Other News

I'll begin by saying that my physical therapy on my ITB seems to be going well, although the exercises hurt like hell.... I haven't run since the injury and I'll most likely won't start until after my move on Sunday, I have the Long Island Gold Coast Tri coming up very soon... *gulp*

Anyways the big news!!! -
In order to celebrate my birthday this year, as some of you may know, I am going to be running 3 marathons in one month. The Dublin, the New York City and the Philadelphia. As part of my guaranteed entry I have agreed to raise money for the 'Team with Kids' charity in New York City. It's a fantastic charity that is trying to get kids around the world off their collective (and quickly growing) rears and outside running, playing and being active in general. As part of the generation that will be seeing medical insurance bills sky rocket as more and more people become diabetic, have heart disease, lung disease, etc, it's especially important to me.

And the big news is that I have agreed to raise $2500.00 for this charity in exchange for my entry into the NYC Marathon. Please visit the attached link, http://www.tfkworldwide.org/ to learn more about the organization. If you are able, I would really appricate if you could navigate to the donate page, https://www.nyrrc.org/cgi-bin/start.cgi/mar-programs/nyrrf/team/2008/donations.htm, and donate towards my goal. My Entry # is 232291, and under team name you can enter my last name, Dennis.

Please donate, it's a great cause and if I don't raise enough funds by August, they charge it to me!! *gulp*

Thanks!!!

Oops....

What a weekend of ups and downs in Burlington. I'll begin with the bad news, I didn't finish. That dang knee soreness came out full swing at mile 9 and by mile 14, I could barely move at more than a mild shuffle. But more on that later...

I flew into Burlington on Saturday afternoon and was picked up at the airport by my Aunt's parents. They really made the experience a stellar one, they've been in Burlington for almost 60 years and have been watching the race (they live directly on the route) for the past 20. A quick trip to the Race Expo yielded a pleasant surprise - no line for check in! Just walked right up, got my bib, chip and shwag and even had time to pick up some other race momentos. [I should have taken pictures and forwarded it to the Philly organizers...] I spent the evening in the lap of luxury with my host family and even indulged in my pre-race chocolate cake (if you stop in Burlington, visit Mirabelle's, stuff is a close second to Naked Choc) 

I arrived at the starting line about 45 minutes before the race started hoping to spy Christina but ended up chatting with a group with Jay Mountain Ultra-Marathon shirts on. (check out the link to the right of the post for more on that race, it's incredible!) The day couldn't have been better - clear skies, low 60's at race start and just barely a trace of a breeze off the lake. The race began downtown and did a few loops around Church Street and Battery Park before leaving town around mile 5 and headed up the Beltway (is that right?). I should mention that I was booking at this point, my pace never slowed past 6:45 according to my garmin and I felt GREAT, just flying. My turnover was fantastic and the sunshine and breeze kept me in a very good mood. What a wonderful day and beautiful course to be feeling good. However, by the second pass through church street, about mile 9, my left knee was starting sound an alarm. Mile 11 brought us to the south eastern part of Burlington, around the coast of Lake Champlain.... and hills... so many hills... I was done, I knew it. My pace fell rapidly.. 6:50......7:15......7:45... 

Quote of the race - "Hoh, boy....This one ain't doing aiight..." - Cop at Mile 12 Marker

I pushed it out to the half, 1:30ish... and that was it. My hosts lived at mile 18 so I shuffled, then walked, then hobbled the final 5 miles. DNF, but still a fantastic race in a fantastic city... I'll be back Burlington, you can count on that.

I'm feeling much better now, it seems it's just an ITB flare-up. The good news is that it's not a big problem, I just need to cut down on my miles and take it easy for a week or two. As an added plus, biking and swimming are two of the top recommended treatments to strengthen the injured muscles and tendons. Score...

I'm off...

The final preparations are in place and I feel confident that I'm ready for Sunday's race. My flight is at 2 o'clock tomorrow so I've already packed and I'm forward to getting a long nights sleep tonight. I'll keep this short and save the interesting post for either tomorrow or post race. Wish me luck!!!

 

A Last Hurrah

The final preparations for Vermont are falling into place. A very successful shopping trip yesterday landed me a set of shades, a pair of much needed new shoes and new knee brace. The weather was with me this after work so a quick brick was in order. With each mile I'm gaining more and more conform on the bike, I think I will soon be graduating from the little footy pedals to grown up clips and biking shoes. I followed this up with a leisurely run down on the East River Park as the sun set. 

So, now onto the real point of this entry --- Vermont. My biggest fear is that this left knee 'uneasiness' will grow into something rough during the run. So far it hasn't been anything serious, but I've also been taking it easy to not irritate further. If I can survive Sunday, then I can rest it for a few weeks until my sprint in June, but even that isn't too strenuous. Either way, it'll be a killer time. I'll keep this updated as constantly as I can during the trip and of course, I'll be posting the results.... 

Burlington Marathon

So I'm lying in bed now (this is actually a late night for me) wondering about this weekend's Burlington Marathon. It's going to be a gorgeous race, I know. Burlington is a wonderful city and my Aunt Mary arranged to have me stay with her family who live just outside of town. I'm still a little nervous because in my mind I associate Vermont with mountains and therefore a hilly course, but the race route is all along the lake so I should be ok. 

I suppose my only lingering nervousness is about my left knee, which hasn't been 100% since a long run I took last week to my Uncle Ed's house and back. I really aught to get some new shoes and put a few miles in them before the race. These are the kinds of thoughts that poke into my brain at night as I snuggle down. Will I perform well this weekend? Will my knee give out and leave me limping through the finish and kill my season? Or will my knee give out on mile ten, leaving me no way of getting back to town (or my ride to the airport?) 

I just have to remember that I've trained for this and what the mind wills, the body does.

Thanks for reading, see you around the path....

First Entry

Welcome all. I've created this blog as a means of not only tracking my own progress and racing schedule but also as a means educating my friends and family as towards why I would be pursuing such an insane hobby as foot racing and triathlons. Let's face it, it hurts, I'm killing my knees, and early morning and nightly workouts pretty remove any semblance of a social life. Why would I put myself through such an ordeal? (Or as a friend recently asked, "Seriously, what the hell are you thinking?") .... it's almost a koan...

So why? Well, quite frankly it's a potent addiction. Endurance is a drug and it's effects are visible on the photo I've chosen as my banner. I had just come off the Philadelphia Marathon, my first, and met my family on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum. It was a cold day, I was soaked with sweat and completely exhausted. My legs had totally failed me and walking was nearly impossible. Being the amazing people they are, they thought ahead and brought me a set of gym sweats (which I had neglected to bring) and somehow managed to get them over my convulsing body. 

Standing there with my family in a beautiful late November Philadelphia morning, I could do nothing but listen to the cheers of the tens of thousands of spectators. The mothers, fathers, friends, wives, husbands and coworkers of the runners. It's an event that celebrates the outstanding accomplishment of everyday people. These weren't professional runners, they don't grace the cover of cereal boxes or newspapers; they are real estate agents and students, grandparents and cancer survivors. All pushing the limits of their mental and physical endurance for grueling hours, only to wind up back at the same place they started. 

So there is no gold medal for a 3 hour race, no cash prize for coming in 2nd. Yet the award ceremony lasts for hours, possibly days, in the coffee shops and delis around the city. Runners can still recognize each other a week later by the awkward shuffling up the stairs to the post office. 

But the real addiction lies in none of these. It's in the weeks of 4 am runs and the Sunday afternoons spent doing mindless laps around Central Park. Seeing the same tired faces, breathing the morning air and watching the daily evolution of New York morning life as the roads fill up, the clubbers stagger home, the UES moms bring out their Yorkiepoos and the newspaper venders read the first headlines. And the days definitely don't just fly by, you can't ignore every step, every hour of lost sleep or every 2 minute shower so you're not late to work. 

There are thousands of reasons not to run but only a handful of payoffs to get you out of bed an hour before the sun and for me, only one that's significant --- Standing on the steps of Philadelphia Art Museum in front of well meaning, but misguided cheering fans. The race means nothing. The real event was on a rainy Saturday morning when all I wanted was a warm cup of coffee and a bowl of oat meal. No one cheered for me then and I didn't wear a number, but if you could sum up all those mornings, multiply the hundreds of miles around the same dirt paths and dozens of Tylenol and focus them into the five minutes I stood on the limestone steps you might understand the Why.

Oh, and after running for  One Hundred and Ninety Five Minutes I still finished thirty-six seconds too slowly to quality for Boston. 

Day One

Hello World!