2015 Year in Review

As the year starts to wind down I like to look at my goals I set at the beginning of the year, and see what goals I reached and what goals I fell short on. When setting goals I tend to set them almost unattainable. I have this theory that if you set unreal goals then you will work double hard to try and hit your goals. If I come up short on a goal, I don't get too upset because I know it was hard to reach, but it still gets me a little upset because I believe I can accomplish any goal I set.

After I went back and looked at my goals I kind of scratched my head and said "that's it?" I feel like I set goals that were very easy for some reason, which means I need to step up my game in 2016. (goals will be posted next week) So here are the 2015 goals:

STAY INJURY FREE: FAIL- If I had to choose one word that described my 2015 it would be, "recovering." I got a calf injury at the beginning of April and it lingered for a few weeks. Instead of sitting out a half marathon, I tricked myself into thinking I could run through the pain. My time suffered and it slowed down the recovery process. 2 weeks later I had the Pittsburgh half marathon and the pain came back and once again my time suffered. For most of the year I was dealing with shin splints or that nagging calf pain. Knock on wood this past month I finally started to feel like I am at 100 percent.

RUN A HALF UNDER 1:30: FAIL- This one is the one that stings the most. I honestly know I can run this and with the injuries it just wasn't in the cards this year. I ran a total of 3 half marathons this year and only 1 of the 3 can I really blame myself. This one will be back on the 2016 list, and I am saying this with confidence. I WILL REACH THAT GOAL.

DROP 1 MILE TIME: PASS- I only run two 1 mile races a year, so this one is harder than one might think. I don't really train for a 1 mile race. Last year my best time was a 6:01. This year I can say I dropped it by 10 seconds. I found out that on a track I am much better than a road race for 1 mile. I was able to use my old track tricks and let someone else set the pace and use my kick at the end to shoot pass them. I will probably still do both mile races in 2016 but I don't think I will worry about the time as much.

DO MORE OBSTACLE RACES: NEUTRAL -I didn't really fail at this goal and at the same time I didn't succeed at it either. At the end of last season I was all about the obstacle races and I thought they would be my new thing. Then something happened and my passion for running grew stronger and I realized I am a runner. Don't get me wrong I still like doing obstacle races, but I put my road races first. I did 2 obstacle races last year and I did 2 this year. I am already signed up for 1 next year, BattleFrog of course. I just don't make the obstacle races as important as I thought I once would.

My last goal was HELP OTHER RUNNERS REACH THEIR GOALS AND GET BETTER: PASS- I can say when I wrote that I wanted to help other runners I had no idea that I would be getting the opportunity to be the Running Specialist for the Pittsburgh Marathon. Even though it turned out to be more of Dick's Sporting Goods Brand Ambassador, I still was able to help a few people out. Even after the marathon I was having people ask me if I could make them up training plans and help them run a race. I didn't transform anyone into a super athlete or anything like that, but I did help people find a new passion and some people even hit some impressive PR's.  This is the one goal that means the most to me. I love running and I love the running community, I want other people to share my passion and see why it's such a great sport and why the people are so great.

Well I may have not hit every goal but I overall i would give myself a B- grade. Well out with 2015 and onto 2016. Hopefully 2016 turns out to be a year of nothing but high's and little to no low's.

How did you do with your goals for 2015?

YMCA Turkey Trot Recap

WHEN: 11-26-2015 (Thanksgiving)

WHERE: North Shore, Pittsburgh Pa.

SWAG: Long Sleeve Tech Shirt

RACES: Kids 1 mile run
               5K
               5 Miler

COURSE: Both the 5K and the 5 Miler start on the same street, and basically run the same flat course. The only difference is for the 5 mile race you run around Heinz field after the start instead of cutting in front of it like you would for the 5K. Both races cross the Roberto Clemente bridge and take you into town. You basically run a loop and head back over the bridge for the finish. For the 5K you finish as soon as you get back to PNC park where as with the 5 miler you pass up the finish and run to the Science Center before turning around and heading back to the finish. This course is extremely fast and flat, but I warn you that it can be crowded at times.

POST RACE: Nothing really special, or at least nothing that is different than your normal post race snacks. You have your water, juice, and fruits.

MY RACE: When I woke up I didn't feel that good, but my dad and I have made going to this race some what of a tradition. After picking up my father we headed down to Heinz Field to get a parking spot. I know from previous years that you want to get there early because the lot will fill up quickly. I was surprised to see people tail gating for the race, but I guess since we finally had half decent weather for the race you might as well take full advantage. I find my dad a spot near the finish where he could set up his chair and then I headed off for a warm up run and some stretching. After my warm up run I watched the start of the 5K and then headed over to the start for my race. As I was stretching my friend Donnie came over and we discussed what time we were shooting for. We both agreed to start around the 8:30 pace group and then speed up. As the gun fired we both noticed the first mile was hard to pass people, but we were right on pace. Donnie and I ended up staying together the whole race and it made time go by quicker. I like having a person to talk too and keep my mind off the clock. We ended up finishing the race in 41:42.  We both wanted to finish around 40 minutes but I kind of slowed us down for a mile when I had some shin splint problems, rather than that though we both ran a good race and did what we wanted to do.

OVERALL: This is one race that I really enjoy doing every year because it is family friendly. You can run with your dog or you can compete and the competition is always good. The course is flat, and fast and some of the costumes people wear make it pretty funny. If you ever are in Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving I highly recommend this race.

Great Race Recap

 

This recap is a little late, but still one that I wanted to make sure I posted. Sunday, September 27th was the Great Race in Pittsburgh. I have ran this race for the last few years and there are some things I absolutely love about this race and some things I hate. I will explain in more detail as you read along.

SWAG: Long sleeve tech shirt and a virtual bag. I am not really a big fan of virtual bags, but there was some good deals on upcoming races and products. I am more of paper person. I like to be able to hold the coupon in my hand, don’t ask me why but it makes it more real to me.

COURSE: 10K- The course is a very fast course. There are only really 3 up hills in the race and 2 of them are in the first mile. After mile 1 it is all downhill or flat until mile 4 when you hit the third and final hill on Blvd. of the allies. People love to make this hill out to be more than what it really is, it is a gradual hill rather than a straight up and down. Mile 5 is the peak of the hill and from here to the finish it is all downhill.

MY RACE EXPERIENCE: This year I decided to try something new and drive to the finish area in town and take the shuttle to the starting line. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I arrived early. You had to enter a fenced off section and then were told where to stand. I had to sit on a wall since there was still 5K people running late and loading the last buses. The 10K bus was supposed to start shuttling people at 7:15 but didn’t end up starting until 7:30. I was on the first bus and the line was pretty long for people waiting that had come later. I arrived at the starting line just a bit after 8 and was surprised that the shuttle system seemed to go off without a hitch. As soon as I got to the starting area I went straight to the Port-O-Potty because I know from previous years that the lines will get ridiculously long. The starting line bathroom is one thing I hate about this race. I counted 44 total bathrooms for the 8000 plus runners. That is 181 people per bathroom if everyone is there at the same time. A race this big I think they should have a bit more restrooms. This year was the first year the race used the Steel City Road Runners to pace the race, so at the start you could stand where you thought what pace you would run. I started just behind the 7:30 pace group, but as the race got closer to the start it seemed like people who were arriving late on the shuttles just jumped in and stood toward the front.

I ran into one of my friends at the starting line and we both were planning on running the race in 45 minutes. As the gun sounded I was stuck behind a group of ladies that had no business being that close to the front. My friend was able to get around and get some room, I decided to just hang back and see if I could find some room in the first mile. As I passed the first mile marker my time was in the 9 minutes, I was discouraged but I thought that maybe I could make it up on the downhill that is mile 2. I was able to get some room but I still would have had to do a lot of weaving in and out to get around the crowd. As I passed mile 2 my times was just over 18 minutes and at this point I decided to just get into a good pace and put my body of cruise control. I knew 45 minutes was going to be hard to hit unless I really picked up the speed and was able to get some room. With a half marathon coming up I just wanted to treat this race as a practice race. I started to drink water every mile and I started to focus on holding my pace. I ended up finishing the race in 53:04 which is far from my best time, but in a race like this going for time can be really hard. The last thing you want to do is starting weaving in and out of people and adding more miles on just to reach a certain time. After the race I grabbed a bottle of water and some cookies and got out of town before it got too crowded, not before running into my friend Kari and talking to her about her race. She just came off some knee problems and wasn't able to run much this summer, she told me she ran a 56 min. race though. I was so proud of her and now I am trying to convince her to do the half marathon with me in May.

MY THOUGHTS: I like this race for the easy course and so many people I know run it, but I hate it for the fact of how crowded and disorganized the starting area is. I would recommend running this race at least once for the experience, but I wouldn’t come in with pipe dreams of running a PR unless you are able to get to the very front behind the elite runners. Also if you do decided to run make sure you do all your bathroom duties before you get to the start.

Boston Trail Half Marathon Recap

BOSTON TRAIL HALF MARATHON

WHEN: April 18th 2015

WHERE: Elizabeth township, Pa. (Boston Trail)

Swag: Long sleeve Tech shirt, and hat (You only received a shirt if you registered before a certain date. I did not so I did not get one therefore I have no pic to show, sorry.

Distances: 5K and Half Marathon

Course: This is a great course if you are looking to go for a PR. It is on a limestone trail that is all flat. The course is an out and back course with aid stations every 2 miles. Bathrooms are almost nonexistence on the trail (I saw one, maybe two at most) so you will want to use the restrooms before you line up. The trail is only about 7 feet wide so passing at times can be a problem if you get caught in with a group of people. The scenery is a river to your left on the way out and on your right on the way back, with trees on the other side.

Finishers Medal: The medal is nothing to write home about, but for the price of the race you really can’t expect a blinged out medal. They also give medals for top 3 finishers in each age group.

My Experience: Packet pick up was from 7-8am. I arrived a little after 7 and had no problem finding a parking spot. There were people directing traffic which made it very easy. After I picked up my bib number I did some stretching and went for a short run. I recently had injured my calf muscle and neededto see if I would even be able to run. My calf wasn’t 100%, but I felt I could give it a go. After joining some Steel City Road Runners for a photo opt. I headed to the start. NUGO had their pace teams there so I was able to find a spot around the 2 hour time. As I started I felt pretty good and soon was ahead of the 1:55 pace group. (Huge shout out to the pacer for the 1:55 group. He interacted with his group the whole time and really was trying to motivate not only his group but runners that were behind them at the turn around) Around 4 miles is where I noticed my calf muscle just wasn’t getting looser and running fast just wasn’t something that could be done. I slowed down to a comfortable pace behind the 2 hour group and ended up finishing in 2:04.


Overall this is a great race to go for a PR. It’s flat with hardly an elevation change. Most of the course has shade so you never found yourself dealing with the sun too much. They cap the race at 900 runners to make sure the trail doesn’t get too crowded. It’s a cheap race and can be really beneficial to any of the runners using it as a test run before the Pittsburgh Marathon. If you are the type of person that looks forthe big bling and the expo’s with tons of people this race is not for you. I would describe this race as your basic local race that gets a fairly decent crowd and attracts a lot of runners looking to get a PR. For the price this is one race you may want to consider.

A Look Back at 2014

     2014 will soon be coming to an end and it will be 2015. A new year with new goals, but before we start talking about our new goals let us reflect a little on the goals we set in 2014.  I had high hopes for 2014 and you will see some of my goals were a bit extreme but I always say, sometimes you have to make the goals extremely hard so you will work just as hard.  Here is my goals from last year.

1. Run 2 Marathons: GOAL MET -  I ran Pittsburgh in the spring and Columbus in the fall.

2. Run a certain time. I never stated what the time was in last years post, all I said was it would be a BQ: GOAL NOT MET- As much as I wanted to get my BQ this year things just didn't go right. I trained properly, but made some bad decisions. I knew Pittsburgh was going to be a hard one to get it in, but like a rookie I got over excited and didn't drink any water and got dehydrated.  In Columbus I went in armed and ready for battle with a water bottle in hand to make sure there was no Pittsburgh repeat. At mile 16 as I was on pace maybe not for a BQ, but for a great PR I got sick. Boston will have to wait a few years for me, but I will get there eventually. 

3. Run a sub 5 minute mile: GOAL NOT MET- Like I said earlier sometimes you have to set extreme goals. I have not ran sub 5 since high school, so I knew this one would be very hard.  Even though I did not reach my goal, I did almost 20 seconds faster than last year at the Liberty Ave. Mile. I plan on continuing to work on my speed and improving even more this year. One thing I needed to realize was, I am no longer in high school and I am not the runner I was back then. That doesn't mean I can't get back there it just means it will take a little more work.

4. Place in my age group for at least 50 percent of the races I ran this season: UNSURE ON THE GOAL: Before you ask how I can be unsure let me explain. Most races have a 3 person age group. Most age groups are also 5 year increments. If all the races I ran were like this then, yes I think I met the goal. However some races were not like this so no I did not meet the goal.  I will let you decide.

5. Help other runners along their journey: I would like to think I met this goal:  I have met many great people this year and I have talked to so many people that I have never met. I tried to help anyone that may have needed it along the way. Like wise I was helped along the way by some great people too. I am always here for advise if anyone ever needs it. Running isn't about who is the best or who is the fastest. Running is about crossing a finish line and sometimes people need a little help to get them there. This year I learned we are all alike, we want the others to succeed as well.

6. A injury free year: GOAL MET: I was able to run all my races and except for some minor aches and pains I was injury free.  As I get older I have learned that I need to do more to ensure I stay injury free. Hopefully this will carry over into the next year.

2014 was a great year. I tried my first obstacle races and got hooked. I met some great people and got to run for a charity with some friends. Even though all goals were not met I wouldn't change a thing.  Here are a few pics of some of my favorite memories through out the year.

YMCA Turkey Trot Recap

     Normally on Friday I will go on a rant about whatever is bothering me. I am sorry to disappoint you, but this week there will be no rant. I will instead be doing a recap of the YMCA Turkey Trot in which I ran yesterday.

YMCA Turkey Trot

When: Thursday November 27th

Where: North shore of Pittsburgh next to PNC field

Distance:  1 mile 

               5K

               5 miler

               double gobbler- run the 5k and run the 5 miler. Must be able to complete the 5k in under 30 minutes.

Swag: The YMCA is all about being green so there is no goodie bag. All you get is your shirt,bib, and timing chip. If you registered for the double gobbler you received a beer mug as well.

Course: I can honestly say I don't know the course for the 1 mile course. The course for the 5k and the 5 miler both started next to PNC park. You headed toward Heinz field. If you were running the 5 miler you ran all the way around the field. If you were running the 5k you made a right on the road in front of the stadium. Basically both courses ended up on the same road and you made your way down to the Warhol bridge. You crossed the bridge and made a right into town. Once in town you ran what was almost a loop. Up I believe the Blvd. of the allies and went around the block and headed back toward the bridge. Instead of crossing the Warhol on the way back you crossed the Clemente bridge and made a left turn onto General Robinson Blvd. The 5k ran one block and turned left for the finish at PNC park while the 5 miler continued down the road toward Heinz Field. You ran to the back side of the stadium and did a turn around and headed back down the road toward the finish. The course is mainly flat with a few small grades as you run over the bridges. Being next to the river can make it more windy than other races also.

Post Race:  Once finished with the race they had water, Gatorade, muffins, pretzels, and Nugo bars for you to enjoy. 

My experience:  I arrived at race around 8:00 am. Parking was free which was real nice. I planned on asking race officials if it would be alright if I switched from the 5 miler and did the 5k. I was told it wouldn't be a problem but since I already had the 5 miler bib they would just change it in their system.  I decided to just stay with the 5 miler. I didn't want to be that guy who was running the wrong race. I got to watch the start of the 5k and then I headed over to the start to do a short warm up.  The race started promptly at 9:30 am.  I was not sure how this race would go for me. I had all hopes of getting a PR, but I also knew that past few weeks were rough on me. I did a lot of big races or events and then got sick.  I started at my normal pace and when I reached the first mile and looked at my Garmin the time read 6:53. This is also the point I realized that my lungs just weren't up for a PR race. I was disappointed but I knew it would be smart to just slow down and jog the remainder of the race. After I slowed down and got my lungs under control I found a nice pace that would allow me to not break to much of a sweat. I ended up finishing the race in 43:53. I am happy with my race. I haven't ran for a few weeks and I was sick. I was able to control myself and not over do it, and it felt so good to finally get back out there and run.  Today I feel really good and next week I will be back on track with full weeks of training.  

I hate the cold but I like dressing for it. Battle Frog sleeve was even brought out for this one.

24 Hour Run Recap

     It is Saturday, November 1st at 5:00 pm. The sun is already starting to set, the clouds are rolling in and wind is whistling through the air. My cousin Chris and I start running on the track for what would be the start of our 24 hour fundraiser for Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

     We both went into this blind, and by that I mean we had no clue how this would turn out. We were told by so many people that they would stop by and run some laps for us, but you know that old song and dance someone says they will come and they never show.  As we started we both agreed we would jog 1 mile together and then one of us would jump off and the other would start. Before we were done with our first mile people started to show.  My parents were first to arrive and I got to walk a mile with my father and a lap or so with my mom. Soon after that friend after friend was stopping by. Some just dropped by to drop off some coffee before they went to the bar, while some came and ran some laps with us.
     The weather was probably in the low 40's and expected to drop to the low 30's through out the night. Our good friend Tom (@tmcjr412) came in clutch early stopping by with a pop up tent. He and his wife even jumped on the track for an hour.  As it got colder in the night we had to wrap tarps around the pop up tent to make it warmer inside for Amanda who took it upon herself to stay all night and collect donations from anyone who stopped by.  I planned for people to come early in the night and early on Sunday. I figured who would want to come out in the dark, cold night when they could be at home in bed. I was completely wrong. Thanks to our friend Don (@donniebrunnin) who came by after and walked 6 miles with us. Oh and let me point out he was in a walking boot since he broke his foot while training for the Columbus Marathon. After he left our friend Scott showed up. He was coming from a Halloween party so we were not at all surprised to see him dressed up as He-Man. If your an 80's child you know exactly who that is. Scott walked a few laps before heading out. As he was heading out at 1:30 am our friend Shay showed up and stayed for 2 hours. He did an hour with Chris and a hour with me before leaving.  From 3:30 am until 6:00 am was the only time that no one was there.  Chris did an hour while I slept in my car and then I took the next hour and a half while Chris slept. As Chris started his next hour shift he got one lap in before our friend Anna showed up to relieve us for an hour. From that point on though people showed up until the very end. Tom showed back up early in the morning and stayed most of the day taking laps whenever he could.  At one point we had at least 5 different groups of people walking or running on the track. It was awesome to see all of our friends show up and donate. Most of them didn't show up empty handed either. 4 boxes and 4 XL cups of coffee, 2 XL hot chocolates, donuts, cupcakes, candy, and pizza were just a few things brought.  Even though there were so many people that came and donated and offered to run Chris and I never wanted to just over the track. Chris ended up running and walking 20 miles while I logged 35. There was around 140 collaborative miles logged from everyone who showed up. I am still amazed of all the support we got on the track and from people who donated through the fundraising page. I don't have a total yet of the amount, but I can tell you we did a great job.

Chris and I started together and we finished together at 4:00 pm today. We decided to stick to the 24 hour theme and not go until 5.  We already have some great idea's for next year and hope everyone will come show support.  It would be to long for me to list and thank everyone who helped, but I want you to know how much Chris and I appreciate your support.  Some people went really helped out a lot and I would like to thank them.

Amanda Byrne- She was the backbone of the operation today, and stayed through the whole thing.

Don Nehez- 6 miles in a walking boot.

Shay Kelly- 10 miles with us and showed up twice and brought coffee.

Kevin Doyle- Donated twice and showed up in a walking boot to show support even if he couldn't run

Mike Doyle- Showed up 3 times and brought us coffee, or hot chocolate every time

Charlie and Anna Dillon- both ran an hour and brought pizza's and coffee

Tom Mcquade- he was basically our 3rd person and he and his wife ran twice

Chris Smith- without him I wouldn't of been able to do this, he is a beginner runner and still logged 20 miles and worked his ass off.

There are so many others I can name from Alyssa Smith to Val and Aaron Long who took laps and brought stuff.  Or Justin Reardon who was our comic relief for most of the day.  I could basically name every person who came today, everyone was amazing.

THANK YOU ALL.  

One cool thing that also happened during the run was we met some people who told us about a half marathon run this group does throughout or neighborhoods. It's free and they do it a few times a year.  It was nice to meet them and a few of  us plan on running with them.

COLUMBUS MARATHON RECAP

 

When: Sunday October 19th

Where: Columbus Ohio

EXPO: The expo was very organized and finding your way around was very easy. You picked your packet up from the second level and did your shopping on the first level. It was not as big as some of the other expo’s I have been too, but it still had anything you may be looking for. One thing I really thought was different was Goodwill had a section and you could go buy used running clothes or sweat outfits to throw away at the beginning of the race. Genius idea here, just keep recycling the clothes.

SWAG: Nike Tech T shirt and a bag with some coupons and a cliff bar. Compared to other marathons this bag did not have many things in it. However this race is all about the Children, so I ask you would you rather get a bag full of useless things or would you rather see the money go to the charity? I choose charity over junk any day.

PRE-RACE: Corrals opened at 5:45 and were supposed to close at 7:00 for the 7:30 start. I don’t think they ever closed though because it seemed like more and more people kept packing in. There were plenty of restrooms outside the corrals and once you were in the corrals there were more restrooms off to the side. This was nice because I am a person that loves to get into the corral early and no one knew the port-o-potty’s were there, so I was able to go a few times with no wait. Before the race started they sang the National Anthem and shot off fireworks. I was told they did this for every wave start. After the fireworks they played ACDC Thunderstruck and it was funny because one minute we are all standing there silent then the next minute we are all jumping up and down like Mexican jumping beans. I was pumped too from the music so you may have seen my little bald head bouncing around as well.

COURSE: I have mixed emotions on the course. When you sign up for the marathon you will see many things saying “fast and flat course”. Now maybe because I just came off of doing the Erie half marathon which was a totally flat course that I define flat different than the race directors. The course has a crazy amount of turns and I felt like you were either running up a slight grade or running down one. This made it particularly hard to establish a set pace. The towns you do run through are very nice and the fans came out in full force to cheer you on with some clever signs. (My favorite was “run like her father just walked in on you”) One thing I especially loved is every mile is designated to a child who has been helped from the hospital. The child had a big, orange foam hand for the runners to high five as they passed by. It was pretty awesome to see the children cheering us on. Mile 11 through 12 is known as the angel mile. Instead of being designated to one child this mile is for all the children who unfortunately did not make it through their fight. At mile 13 when the full and the half break off the full marathoners go a few miles then head into Ohio State University. Once again a lot of turns, but what was really cool was you run down a tunnel and onto the field of their stadium and out the other side. Even though I am not a Buckeye fan I had to appreciate the atmosphere, while part of me wanted to scream “GO PENN STATE” even though I am a Pitt fan.
The marathons website had a small video going over part of the course and in the video they tell you that most people will probably run their fastest 10k at the end of the race, saying it is all downhill. When I hear this I guess my mind thinks of a big hill that you can drop your arms and let your body carry you part of the way. Well I already knew from the driving the course on Saturday that it was not like this at all. After the race I heard a lot of people saying “I kept waiting for that downhill and it never came.” Was it a little grade downhill? I guess you can say that but honestly I wasn’t able to tell. When you do come up to the finish you can hear the roar of the crowd about a mile out. Then about with a half mile left you start to see flags on both sides of the road and you know you are in the final stretch. Fans lined both sides of the streets and were screaming as we all came in. They even had bleachers for some fans to sit high up and look down on us as we crossed the line.


BLING: This metal may not be as thick as some of the medals I have hanging on my wall, but it is huge. When they put it around my neck I felt like I was Flavor Flav wearing the big clock around my neck

.

POST RACE: Out of all the races I have ever done I think for me this was the most organized for post-race. You crossed the line, walked a few feet and someone put your medal around your neck. You then walked a few more feet and were given your Mylar blanket. You then walked down a fenced in area and made a u turn and came up the other side and were then given water, chocolate milk, cookies, bagels, and bananas. Then before you exited the fenced in area to go meet your family you were given a bag that had some more food in it. If you were one of the lucky people to PR that day you could walk over to the PR gong and bang the shit out of it. It was cool to see so many people with excitement as they banged it. Everything was clearly marked and navigating was very easy.

MY EXPERIENCE: I will save you all the song and dance of me writing about the whole race again since I posted my race on Monday. I will say, this race had a lot of positive things that I really liked about it and a lot of things I could of did without. Overall it is very organized and everyone involved does an amazing job to make sure it goes off without a glitch. I am honestly glad I decided to run it, even if I didn't do my predicted time I still had fun. Plus one thing I will take away is even if it was just a few hours of me running and high fiving a child sitting on the side of the road, I feel like running that race made a difference. And for me that is what running is about, it’s not about the size of the medal or what you got in your goodie bag. It’s about the people you meet on your journey who help you and the people you help along the way. So I suggest if you haven’t ran this race yet and are looking for a fall marathon this is one you want to look into. Class Act is the best way I can describe it.

Battle Frog Race Recap

When: Saturday September 27th

Where: Mines and Meadows 

            Wampum Pa. 

Swag:  T-shirt, bib, timing chip,  and free beer ticket

The shirts are really comfortable and I especially like how the back says SEAL approved.  When I put it on I feel like I accomplished a lot and I earned the right to wear the shirt.  






Finishers Medal:

My Experience:
   
      I woke up at 5:15 am and quickly got dressed. I had my outfit planned out ahead of time and it made it a lot easier than running frantic looking for something to wear.  After dressed I grabbed a nutrition bar and my Gatorade and headed out.  I had to pick up my parents and then drive to my sisters house so we could car pool.  My father who was strictly a road racer has never seen a race like this, so I was happy he would get to experience one.  The ride was just under an hour to get to the parking area. From the parking area you were shuttled via school bus to the race grounds.  I originally signed up for the 15K race, but after some contemplating I decided to do the 5K instead. With Columbus only 3 weeks away the last thing I needed was to injure myself.  The elite runners had just started as we entered the area.  I found a tented area with tables and chairs that my father could sit and watch the finish and not have to stand the whole time.  My race started at 9:00, so around 8:40 I made my way to area you stood and waited until it was your time to run.  As you stood and waited there was a DJ playing music.  At about 10 minutes before your starting time you were given some motivating words from Coach DeWayne Pain.  You were then instructed to get over a small wall and get ready for the start, but first some more words from Coach Pain, he told us not to give up and that the obstacles in front of us would test us but we could not let them beat us.  As I was on one knee listening I looked over at a few of Seals that were there and I couldn't help but to admire them for what they do. We were that day to challenge ourselves on a course with a defined start and finish. These men are in the trenches of war with the unknowing certainty of what is to come.  It really made you want to do your best that day, not just for yourself but for all of those who have fought for us.
    Instead of the normal "Ready, Set, Go start we were sent off with the words "Do Business", and that was what I was hoping to do. The 5K was not measured correctly and was more like 4.5 miles and the 15K was more like 8 miles I was told.  The first part of the race you were in a creek bed running. You had to really be careful because the rocks were wet and slippery.  The first part of the race had your basic obstacles. You had your over, under and through walls, 6 ft. walls that you had to climb over, 12 ft. ladder walls, delta walls with 3 foot spaces in between each step, and of course cargo delta walls.  This course did not have too tough of hills, but it was a very wet and muddy course. 90 percent of the course was in water or mud. The water may be shoe deep or it could be waist deep.  One of the most insane yet awesome parts of the race is when we approached a mine and were given head light lamps and told follow the fluorescent cones. I entered the mine not knowing what to expect.  I quickly realized that the temperature inside the mine was no higher than 50 degrees. At this point in the race a few of us who were in the lead of our heat caught up to people from the 8:30 start. In the distance I could hear people screaming and I knew right away we would be getting into water in the mine.  We rounded a bend and there was someone to hand you off a inner tube. The water was bone chilling cold. we probably only swam 100 yards, but I am pretty sure it felt like a mile. Once out of the mine you headed back onto the trails and were back at more obstacles like the rope climb, monkey bars, inverted walls, and more cargo nets.  At one point a few of us stopped and thought we took a wrong turn and that is when we realized the course was longer than a 5K.  After another mile on the trails you headed for the finish. The finish proved to be the hardest part of the race. First you ran up a warp wall and had to grab a rope and pull yourself up. From there you went down a water slide into a pool of water and then you were faced with a wall with a rope. The wall was wet and muddy from the previous runners so it made it almost impossible to make it up. I tried about 5 times and even got some advice from a Seal who was standing on the side. I still could not get the traction I needed and after a few attempts went up the side with foot boards. Once on top of the wall you went down another slide into another pool of water and then headed for the Normady Jacks. You had to crawl under the wire in the mud and rocks. My knees are still scratched up from it. Once you made it through you were at the finish and were given your medal.
       Inside the finish area was water, banana's, and energy drinks. All I wanted to do though was shower off. They had an area with hoses you could shower off and changing tents were right next to them.  If you needed to get warm there was a fire pit going and many runners stood around and shared their battle stories of the day.
       During the race my sister and nephew got to watch a demonstration from the Seals. They showed how they go in and take over a area. My sister said it was unreal and something that had to be seen.

      I have no negatives to say about this race, the only thing bad I can say is when they posted the results they have me finishing 1st for the 15K. Awesome, except I only ran the 5K. I however did look and I placed 4th in my age and that qualifies me for the National Championship Race next month. I however will have to pass since the marathon is one week before.  Overall this race is top notch and the guys who put it together do an awesome job of bringing good vendors and running a very organized race. I can only hope they come back to Pittsburgh next year. I know I will be doing it again and I will be bringing a crew with me this time to take it on.

  

Gladiator Rock'N Run Recap

When: Saturday September 20th
Where: Steel City Raceway
278 Story Road
Export, Pa. 15632


Swag: T-shirt, bib number with beer coupon attached for post-race party and timing chip
              Now I am very critical of the shirts you get with races, and I have to say this is the most comfortable shirt I have got from race. I highly recommend you take a look at Hylete brand clothing.

Finishers Medal:



Post-Race: Once you finished they had a table with water and banana’s for you to recharge. You were almost guaranteed to be a muddy mess so there was a nice area with hoses that you could clean off. If you brought a change of clothes you could use the changing tents to get into some dry clothing. Once all cleaned up you could watch the later heats take on the course and enjoy a beer and shop the vendors while listening to music provided from a local band.

My Experience:

       My alarm went off at 5:30 am and I quickly jumped out of bed with excitement. After picking out my outfit (I wanted to wear something that when wet wouldn’t get to heavy and hold me down) I grabbed a small nutrition bar for breakfast. As I sat around my house waiting for my friend Tom to come pick me up, the nerves set in. I started to question myself on what I would be able to do. Tom picked me up around 6:45 am and we headed out. It took about a half hour to get to the race sight. Parking was 10 dollars. After parking we walked into the area and started to check out some of the obstacles. There was about 5 obstacles that I could see and tell right away what they were and then there were some in the distance that I could see but didn’t know what we would be doing at them. We signed up for the 8:00 am competitive wave. I may have been a rookie to this type of race, but Tom recently did the Tough Mudder and had an idea of what to expect. Once we got a look at some of the others in our group we both realized we were fish out of water. I mean some of these guys are diesel, and you can tell this would be a walk in the park for them. The ladies look like they could have crush me with their bare hands. Tom suggested we stick together during the race in case there were obstacles in which you would need assistance. We made our way into the starting corral and Dan “Nitro” Clark from American Gladiators came out and made a few announcements and went over parts of the course. Then he sounded an air horn and just like that we were off and running. I will spare you the reading time of me going over every obstacle, but there were a few that were quite challenging. The second obstacle was cinder block burpees. No let’s not do a regular burpee let’s do 25 of them with a half of a cinder block in each hand, while the ladies use one block total. Needless to say I was beat down early in the race. Not much later in the race you come to a 16 foot rope climb. This was one obstacle I was aware of going in and it made me nervous since I had not climbed a rope since grade school. I went up that rope though like I was a monkey getting banana’s from the top of a tree. Besides the obstacles this whole course was on a hill. You are either running up or down, except for the part when you get to slide down a tarp that was about 40 yards long and you ended in a pool of water. I wanted to stay on that obstacle all day. Tom and I kept a steady pace for most of the race. We did walk a bit just to get our breathing back on track. The only obstacle I could not complete was the Monkey bars. Right before you have to do them you swim across a pond, so my hands were wet and slippery. I just couldn’t get my hands to stay on the thick bars. If you can’t do an obstacle you must do 10 burpees. (No cinder blocks) The only other obstacle that gave me any type of problem was what is known as the beast. A slanted wall in which you have to cross water to even get to. Once at the wall you use a rope and pull yourself up the slightly slanted wall. It was a muddy mess and people were falling left and right. I however made it up my first time even though my arms were struggling. When I crossed the finish line after completing all 17 obstacles I felt like had accomplished something. I haven’t had that feeling in a race since my first marathon years ago.



       I will be honest I was one of those people that always put regular road races above the other races. I would laugh when people said they did an obstacle race. Well after running my first I can say I was wrong. It takes a different type of athlete to do these and be good at them. I am still a diehard runner and road races will always be my passion, but I now have a new respect for these races and the people that do them. I can say this, the Gladiator tested me like I have never been tested in a race and it was a real gut check. I look forward to doing it again next year and training for it the right way.



     If you have never ran an obstacle race and want to do one I would say this is a good one. It’s not too long and most of the obstacles are doable even if you didn’t train the proper way. I would not recommend doing that though, train if you can. If anything you will meet some really cool people and I promise you will have yourself a fun time doing the race.

Erie Marathon Recap

     On Sunday I ran the Erie half marathon. It was my first time running this race and this is my recap of the race. I arrived at packet pick up which was located on Presque Isle, Erie.  It was held at the Rotary Pavilion.  I really liked this because everything was there. You picked up your packet and then could browse the few vendors that were there.  Also I liked that the expo was held outside and you had room to move around unlike a lot of the other expo's that are inside and very crowded.  Another nice thing I noticed was if you purchased tickets for the pasta dinner on Saturday it was right there inside the pavilion.  I did not partake in the pasta dinner since I carb. loaded Friday night.

     The packet included your normal swag. A long sleeve t-shirt, some coupons and flyers, a 13.1 sticker, a bumper sticker, a bandanna that was a map of the Isle, and your number and timing chip.  

      I started to get prepared for the race all day Saturday. Starting around 2:00 pm I would sip some coconut water every hour. I made sure not to over eat even though I didn't eat the best meal.  Once in my hotel room I took a hot shower and did some stretching as soon as I got out.  I wore my Zensah Compression socks to bed to help with any pains I had in my legs.   I honestly had one of the worst nights of sleep. I kept waking up every hour on the hour looking at the clock. At 4:30 am the alarm finally went off and I jumped out of bed like it was Christmas morning.  Before getting dressed I ate my Power Bar and had a glass of water. The morning was cold so I was wearing my fleece pants and hoodie over my outfit. We left the hotel around 5 and headed over to the start which was at the same place as packet pick up.  One thing that sucked was how dark it was out. Walking from the car to the starting area was a task in itself.  I ran into some other runners and we managed to find our way. Once in the starting area I waited for my friend Abby so we could warm up together. It was still early and I made the smart decision to use the port-o-potty early before the lines got long.  It was nice not waiting but it was still so dark you couldn't see what you were doing.  I kept thinking to myself this has some kind of accident written all over it.  Luckily I managed to do my business with no mishaps.  

     The full marathon started at 7:00 am so I walked over to watch the start.  After the runners took off I made the smart decision to use the restroom one more time.  This time the lines were a little longer and there were rolls of toilet paper sitting out in front of each unit. I heard someone say "make sure you take in toilet paper because most of them are out."  Thank god I did not need to use the toilet paper.  After relieving myself me and Abby walked to the starting line for the 7:30 half start.  They had people holding signs that said what mile splits so you knew where to stand.  I had no real goal for the race so I started between the 8 and 9 minute per mile sign.  

     

     Like I said earlier I had no time goal for the race, but I did want to run a smart race. My plan was to watch my water intake and just run a comfortable race and see how I felt.  I took some advice from Kristy who said take water every mile even if it is just a sip to stay hydrated.

  

Mile 1- 8:06  I felt good and felt like this was a nice pace to go at. 

Mile 2- 7:55 My shins were hurting, but it wasn't anything to worry about i figured.

Mile 3- 7:53 Still felt really good and my pain in my shins were starting to go away.

Mile 4- 7:45 This was the first time I took some GU. I normally don't take it this early in a race, but I knew that there was some at mile 8 so I figured break the race down into 3 parts. 

Mile 5- 7:46 When I started the race I wore my arm sleeves, at this point I started to get hot and wanted to loose them.  Luckily at mile 5.8 you passed the start and I was able to throw them to Amanda who was watching from the side

Mile 6- 7:35 Seeing people always makes me speed up and I picked up the speed since my adrenaline kicked in.

Mile 7- Somewhere around here is when I noticed my Garmin was not on with the mile markers set up for the race. It was dead on for the first 6 miles then it seemed to be off a bit.  8:21- I know I slowed down because I ran into another runner and broke open my hand held water bottle.  I stopped to make sure it wasn't in the way of any other runners.

Mile 8- 7:54 I was still feeling good, I knew if I wanted to pick up the pace I could, but I honestly wasn't worried about the time. I was still doing everything the way I planned.

Mile 9- 8:01 This mile has the only uphill on the course.  It is a small hill compared to most hills I am used to, so it didn't really phase me.

Mile 10- 8:31 I decided to slow down a bit from here on out. I knew as long as ran under 9 minute miles my time would be respectful. I want to go to Columbus with confidence and this race was giving me just what I needed.

Mile 11- 8:45 

Mile 12- 8:34

Mile 13 and 13.1- 9:34  If you add the times it does not add up with what my official time was.  I finished with a time of 1:46:34        169th overall and 14th in my age group.     

I am very happy with how I did in this race. I set out to execute a smart race plan and I succeeded.  I felt really good and know I could of went faster. This was a great race to build my confidence.

THE MEDAL:

 After getting my medal I got to watch my friend Abby finish. She ran one of her best times and I am very proud of her. 

Overall this was one of my favorite races. The course is super flat and shaded.  Even though we got perfect weather on race day I feel like if it was sunny the trees would of gave us great cover. The expo was small but good and it was really organized.  The race was organized and except for some small things like the toilet paper had no big problems.   If you want a race that isn't too crowded and are shooting for a good time this one is for you.