Why You Should Run Pittsburgh Marathon Weekend

Sept. 1st marked the first day of registration for the Pittsburgh Marathon. As the day’s go on the price will continue to increase, so if you want the lowest rates I recommend registering sooner than later. If you have already ran any of the races during marathon weekend then I probably don’t need to tell you reasons why you should run this race. However if you have never ran Pittsburgh then let me give you some reasons why you should put this race on your calendar.

THE COURSE: I will say Pittsburgh is a challenging course even for seasoned vets for both the full and the half marathon, but that is also what makes this race so good. When you finish you will know that you accomplished something. It will not be a walk in the park and you will want to train properly. One thing though is you will have plenty of things to help you along the way as you run. The course is filled with spectators, bands, and cheerleaders to help motivate you.
If you are running the full you will run through 13 different neighborhoods, and each neighborhood has different things to offer along the course. In both the full and the half you will run over 5 bridges, which Pittsburgh is known for.
Pittsburgh is also a Boston Qualifying race.

FAMILY FRIENDLY: One thing I really love about Pittsburgh is that there is something for everyone in the family to do race weekend. The children can run the kids marathon, and you can even get your pet involved with pet walk. You still have the 5k, the relay, the half and the full that people can run as well.

RUNNER OF STEEL: Last year the marathon offered what is known as the runner of steel challenge. Here you run the 5K on Saturday and on Sunday if you compete in the relay, half or full you will receive a total of 3 medals. One for the 5K, one for the Sunday race, and one for competing the challenge. So if you are a person who loves bling this is right up your alley.

 

 

PITTSBURGH: If you are an out of towner and are giving this race a thought there is tons of stuff for you to do in our city. We have a good amount of hotels that are in walking distance from the start, finish and the expo. Our city is also set up that you can walk to many restaurants, theaters, and all of our sport stadiums. If you need to get in a last minute run while you are here, we have trails on both sides of Pittsburgh that are great to run on. The North Shore, Station Square, and Southside are just minutes away and all of have a variety of shops and restaurants.

TRAINING GROUPS: If you live in Pittsburgh and are hesitant to sign up because you feel you won’t know how to train, no worries. There are many different groups in Pittsburgh that train for the marathon and half. Elite runners, Fleet feet, and Steel City Road Runners are some of the bigger ones. I prefer Steel City because the people that run in this group are awesome and are always there to give you advice and help you along your journey, they also have great coach’s that are experienced and can answer all your training questions. They use pacers for most of their runs, so you can get in with a group that is at your comfort zone. If you are only running the half they run different distances on training runs, so don’t feel you will have to run the long runs with the full marathoners. They also have a Galloway group and have introduced a walking group to the club as well. Also when you join Steel City the perks you get on Marathon day make it worth it. Instead of standing outside and waiting in long lines for the Port-o-potty, you will get access to a private meeting place that has bathrooms, pre-race snacks, and you will be indoors not dealing with the weather. One nice thing that almost all the groups do, right before the race they all do a course preview run.

ME: Last and certainly not least you should probably run this race because I will be running both the 5K and the half again in 2016. I mean let’s be honest here who doesn’t want to meet me. Maybe you will be in my corral and we can run the race together, if not you can find me in the post-race area and we can have a beer or a few after.

To register for the Pittsburgh Marathon or any other race during that weekend just click here

A Walk Inside My Mind

Whether you run a full marathon or a half your mind races with thoughts. This past weekend I may have only ran the half but my mind was all over the place. I decided to give you a look inside my head and try to walk you through what was going on inside the old noggin.  Let us begin......

"I hate standing in this fucking corral, what if I have to piss?"
"Would people look at me strange if I just whipped it out and started to piss on the street?"
"This race starts at 7? FUCK I told my wife 7:30"
"Oh look its @pghrunnner standing 2 people in front of me, I should say hi. No I better not bother her before the race."
"And there goes the gun. Time to go to work Shaun, no holding back."
"Jesus it's crowded. I am behind the 1:40 pace group I am going to need to break free and make up some time."
"AHHH why wont these people move and just let me through?"
"Hey I know that guy on the sidewalk, what a dickhead"
"Finally some room, look out people here I come"
"Boom mile 1 down in 7:50, not to shabby!!!"
"I need to hold this pace for a bit.."
"Mile 2...I am still feeling good."
"I hate this bridge, did someone just call my name? hey look it's steph. I better smile and make it look like I am feeling good. She should be running and not taking pictures. Man is she lucky"
"Amanda should be standing here, but since I told her the wrong time I guess she isn't"
"Where did I get 7:30?"
"Mile 4, what the hell is my pace.. damn you Garmin for not working."
"Oh shit I have to piss"
"Finally a port-o-potty, I should invent something that allows you to pee while you run. There goes a minute of my time"
"Look out runners I am fresh out of pee and on a mission."
"Oh shit, wait, yes that is my calf muscle starting to get tight"
"slow down Shaun you can make it up later once the leg gets loose"
"Still hurting"
"Still hurting"
"I should run off the course and hit up that taco bell"
"I hate this bridge and I know my time is way off"
"West end you always get me so pumped"
"So pumped I have to pee again...FUCK!!!!!!"
"Okay Shaun you are down but you are not out"
"There is Station Square, maybe I will see Abby."
"well there goes Station Square and I didn't see Abby, oh well"
"I hate Carson St. so many bars and people drinking and my dumb ass is running"
"There goes my dad, he is probably thinking here comes Shaun.. Jesus does he suck I wish my oldest son still run so at least someone good was running."
"There goes my sister, I need to throw her my water bottle."
"I wish I had something funny to throw at her, like a tennis ball or something."
"Thank God only 2 more miles"
"I hate this bridge, but at least I am almost done. god do I feel bad for people that still have another half to go"
"Beer stop... Don't mind If I do"
"OHHH beer was such a bad idea"
"get up this hill and its all down hill from here"
"what did that group of girls say to me? they said keep going but I heard Damn he looks good. That's right lady's drink it up."
"Finally the top of hill, 1 mile from the finish"
"I should be happy, but I know when I finish I am getting yelled at by the wifey for running a shitty race"
"I like that she gets mad, it motivates me"
"hey that guy is dressed as a Captain America"
"I can see the finish line"
"I am in so much pain, but my body is saying sprint"
"I am going to sprint"
"not yet"
"okay now"
"Thank god I am done"
"give me my medal"
"Where do I get my runner of steel medal"
"What a disappointing race"
"How in the hell am I going to find my wife in this mess, making plans would of been smart"

So there you have what runs through my goofy mind when I am in a race!!!  As you can see it goes all over the place.

The weekend that was the marathon

It has come and gone just like that. Marathon weekend was supposed to be a weekend of all high's. Instead it was a weekend with ups and downs and an old injury coming back out to say hello.
The weekend started on Friday with the expo. I originally was told I would be working the DICK'S booth, but never heard anything from my contacts so I made arrangements to work the BattleFrog race. Friday morning at 8:30 I received a text asking if I was working for DICK'S. Since I was under contract with them I decided to work for them. Half way though the day I decided I wanted to talk to people about running a great race so I ended up going to BattleFrog for the remainder of the day. Saturday morning was the 5K for the marathon. I went down to the meet up at 7:30 and got to talk to a few people, but I was trying to focus on the race and making sure I stayed loose. My plan for the race was just run a easy race and try not injure myself.  As I stood in the starting gate all I could think of was "man do I have to piss." As the gun went off I was hoping it would pass, but it got worse and thankfully in the Northside I passed a port-o-potty and was able to relieve myself. I got back on track and cruised in at a 24:51. I felt great and I ran a smart race. I didn't go out fast and I held back enough that I thought Sunday was going to be the day I PR my half. 

Sunday: Race Day:  I woke up and I felt great. I kept telling myself "today is the day". I got down to the starting area a bit early so I could go stretch and use the bathroom in the SCRR room. I ended up talking to a gentleman that I have ran a few times with. We were both in Corral A and decided that we would pace each other. We both wanted to finish right around 1:30. As the race started I quickly realized that it was going to be hard to get around the crowd of runners. We found ourselves running with the 1:40 pace group for the first 2 miles. On mile 3 we made our move to break free and gain some time and that is when my old calf injury decided to show his ugly face. I felt my leg get tight and I had to tell my running friend to go on without me. I kept trying to talk to myself and say anything I could to make me forget about the pain. Once I hit the West End Bridge I had to walk. I was still holding a 8 something pace and kept telling myself "I am down but I am not out" I tried to get back into a groove but the tightness was getting worse. I ended up just walking a bit and running for the remainder of the race.  I finished in a time of 2:00:46.  Once again not a bad time for running injured, but not what I wanted. I feel like I just wasted 4 months of my best training cycle to have it taken by an injury. I am still okay with how I did and I am happy I was able to finish the race. I am not going to lower my head over this race or beat myself up. Sometimes we aren't dealt the cards we need. Today I got dealt a shitty hand but I made it work for me. finishing the race today was still good enough to get me my 3rd medal of the weekend for the Runner Of Steel Challenge.

I am hoping that my fellow running friends did better than I did. I noticed the weather was giving a lot of runners problems. Someone at the beginning of the race said "these are the perfect conditions for no excuses." Ummm I don't know how you can say that when most of us trained in artic temperatures for most of the training and it just so happens the hottest day to date is race day. The struggle was real. I saw people puking, walking, and just looking beat down.  I have come to realize that Pittsburgh is not the marathon you want to use to define you as a runner. You never know what the hell you are going to get. 

So what is on the schedule for me next? I will take a week or 2 off and hopefully this damn leg will finally get back to normal. I think the first race I am doing is the Gateway Mile in June. It's always a fun 1 mile race that is free, and it lets you see where you stand before the liberty Mile. After that I have a few more that I will post next week at some point. Hopefully I get to see you at one.

If you ran PGH how did you do? was the weather a factor?

My Marathon Weekend Update!!

This post is just a quick update about where I will be this weekend incase any of you would like to come say hi and get a picture with me for the good old blog. So as of right now I still have not heard from DICK'S, and I am assuming this means they don't need me to work the expo. Oh well their loss!!! Friday I will still be working the expo all day at the BattleFrog Race booth. Please stop over and check out this awesome race and me. I am happy I was asked to work the booth for such a great race and a race that means so much to me.  Saturday I will be at the 7:30 am meet up. (location can me found on my previous post) If I do not have to work at any booth I will still be at the expo checking out all the booths and mingling with other runners.

If you are not running any of the races this weekend but still wish to cheer. Here is the outfits I will be wearing for the weekend. Saturday I am going for the comfortable outfit. I will not even be wearing my running shorts. The 5K is just a warm up race for me so I am not worried so much about the outfit

Sunday I will be wearing my under armor singlet with my Just A Short Run Shorts. Since this is a serious race it's time to bring out the BattleFrog arm sleeve and new BattleFrog head band. 

So if you see these outfits be sure to give me a cheer, but be sure to cheer on all the runners. The crowd can be so lifting in a race. Also if you are a runner and you see other runners struggling, please give them some encouragement. Sometimes all it takes is another runner to get you back in the race.

Good Luck to everyone running. A good friend sent me a text yesterday and even though it was a small message it got me pumped. So I share her words with you " Go Fuck That Course Up". I don't know about you but I love hearing someone say go out there and destroy the course or something on those lines. The normal just run your race, don't worry about the time is always nice to hear but sometimes you need to get the blood pumping. So if any of you feel the urge to pump me up Sunday. You have till 6:00 am before I put my phone away till after the race. 

Let's Do This!!!!

The Final Week: It's Time

1 week away from the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, which means this is my last training recap before the race.

The next time I do my Sunday weekly recap it will be me telling you how the race went. If I could title this past week of training I would label it “Put The Record On Repeat”. Like a record on repeat that is how my training went, ice, compression, and stretching. I did not run at all this week because I needed to let my calf muscle get back to 100%. I did however manage to make it to the gym a few days and use the bike. I figured since I couldn’t run I would use the bike and keep my legs loose. I threw in some lifting as well and I feel really good. The pain in my calf is gone and it does not feel tight at all anymore. This week I will test it out with a few short 3-4 mile runs. I will not push the pace or anything stupid like that, I just want to keep the legs loose and ready for next Sunday.

 So this upcoming week has a lot in store Friday I am supposed to work the expo for DICK’S. Notice I say supposed to, there has been some changes and now I may not have to be there at all. Once I find out for sure I will put something on twitter so everyone knows to come see me. After all this marathon stuff I will get around to posting about my experience working with DICK'S for the marathon. Saturday Stephanie has created a meet up/tweet up. We will be meeting at 7:30 am at the intersection of W. General Robinson St. and Mazeroski Way outside on PNC Park. Most of the people will be running the 5K race that morning so it is the perfect time to meet up. I originally was not going to be running sinnce I am “supposed” to be working the expo shortly after, but after some peer pressure from Steph. I have decided to run. If I do have to work the expo on Saturday just follow the stench it will probably be coming from me. I am not going to have enough time to go home and shower so it looks like I will be doing a baby wipes bath. I am pretty happy I signed up for the 5K. I am now eligible for the 3rd medal. The weekend comes to an end with the half marathon for me on Sunday.

So here is my game plan for the race: I have the hydration thing down to a science ever since last year’s marathon. Water and Gatorade Saturday night while I sit at home and rest. I will be in bed early like I do for every big race. I normally set my alarm an hour before I need to leave the house. As soon as I wake up I B-Line to the kitchen and drink a glass of Gatorade and eat a protein bar. After I get dressed, I try to keep moving around the house in hopes I get the urge to use the restroom, never happens though. I bring a bottle of water to drink on the way to the race. I like to get to the starting area early and use the bathrooms before the rush hits. About a half hour before the start of the race I take my GU Chomps, and take my last swig of water. Once the race starts I take a drink out of my hand held water bottle at every mile. I use GU at mile 4 and mile 8. This is how I have trained with long runs all season and it seems to really work for me.

If I can leave you any advice before the race it would be this. Run your race! Don’t let the crowd and the other runners dictate your performance. I know even myself is guilty of this, but don’t doubt your training and your ability. We have all worked way too hard to get here and let it crumble due to doubting ourselves. Believe in yourself. Last but not least when you are on the course and you start to feel tired and the pain starts to take over, start to think about how hard you worked. Think about all the time and dedication you put in too this. Think about anyone who has ever said “you can’t do it”. This is your chance to prove everyone wrong. Set small goals if you have to, but don’t let your mind overcome your body. For me I will remember all the people that made sacrifices along the way with me. My wife who I could of stayed in bed with on a Sunday, but instead needed to get my long run in. I will think about seeing my family along the course and wanting to make them proud as I pass in a good time. We have 26.2 miles or 13.1 depending on what you run to make your mark. Make every person you pass, every person you are next too remember you. Be the image in the other runner’s mind that they remember on race day. This is our day, go own it!!!

28 Days Until RaceDay

HAPPY EASTER!!!!Enjoy your easter because we are only 28 days away until the start of the Pittsburgh Marathon. This is crunch time. Most of us only have a week or two left until taper time. If there is any last minute things you need to work on this is the time.  If you have a long run still to do may I suggest using it as a dress rehearsal. The last thing you want to do is get out on the course and realize something you are wearing is uncomfortable. This week my training was about the same as it's been and I even attempted something very stupid. You will see as you read along.

MONDAY: REST DAY: normally the day after a long run I try to rest and just use it to stretch. I have been using my Pro Stretcher and it is working great. I have noticed recovery time has been drastically reduced.

TUESDAY: SPEED WORKOUT: I went down to Carnegie Mellon University with the SCRR club and did some 800's.  I only did four because my leg was feeling tight and I didn't want to risk injury. I ran with a group that ran 3:20's.

WEDNESDAY: It was my birthday this day. Go figure my birthday is April Fools, fits me perfect. I ran a quick 3 miles doing negative splits. I started with a 9 minute mile then dropped to 8 then down to 7 for the last. I felt really strong and feel like I can go much faster. Anyway let me tell you what I got as a gift. So in 1994 when I really became serious about running I bought a pair of Nike Huaraches. They were my favorite shoes of all time and when I wore them I felt unstoppable. I looked for years to see if I could find them and nothing. A few weeks ago I was searching and noticed Nike rereleased them last year. They changed them from a road flat to more of a trainer, but the look is the exact same. I showed Amanda and she was able to find a pair in the UK. Part of me wants to break them in real quick and wear them for the Half Marathon. I am still toying with the idea.

THURSDAY: Cross Train: I did a lot of push ups, crunches, and leg raises. I used my foam roller on my legs for about a half hour and then used my small roller to get the deep tissue. It felt great!!!

FRIDAY: It was good Friday and I had the day off work. I was laying in bed texting my friends and my cousin said he was going to head to the track for a quick run. It started out as a joke but I told him I would come and he could tape me doing the beer mile. It then turned into a serious thing and at 10 in the morning I was at the track with 4 beers ready to run a mile. Let me give you some advice. First don't just pull the beer out of the fridge. I couldn't chug because the beer was way to cold. Second don't run a slow pace and think it will help, it didn't do anything. Lastly don't bring a person who will make you laugh the whole time. So here is the Video, but the video stopped as I was about to do my third lap. Oh Ya, I only made it 3 laps and 3 beers. It is way harder than I thought. I do intend to try it again after the marathon. This time though I plan on doing it right!

SATURDAY:  I did a 8 mile training run with the SCRR at a 9:00 pace. I felt really good and was having problems with holding back. I wanted to just go and run faster, which is good because I know I am ready. During the run I was talking to some runners and one thing a lot of people are worried about is the weather on race day. We have yet to have a humid day and everyone is afraid on race day it will be and no one would be ready.  Guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

SUNDAY: Happy Easter!!!! I plan on doing a short 4 miles and just relaxing most of the day!!!

Are you where you need to be as far a training?
Are you worried about the weather?
Would you try the beer mile?

Until next time, stay safe!!

5 Week Countdown Begins

We can now count the weeks until the PGH Marathon with one hand. Time has just flown by, and if you aren't ready by now, you may want to get your ass in gear. Most people only have a few weeks left until taper time. My taper won't be a major one, but it will give my body enough time to recover for race day. We can talk about that later though. This week I had a race on the schedule so it wasn't about the miles this week and more about preparing.

MONDAY: In the last few weeks I have been breaking my schedule and doing 4 miles instead of the 3. This week I decided to go back and try the 3 again, but do the run a little different. I started out by running an easy pace to get warmed up. My second mile was all up hill and I pulled back a lot and took it very slow. The final mile was a speed mile and I really kicked it into high gear. It was nice to be able to hit hills and speed in a workout.

TUESDAY: Rest Day

WEDNESDAY: Speed Day- Now that I have a clear track to run on these days have become my favorite. I know most people don't like speed workouts, but not me I feel at home on the track. It makes me think of where I got started. The workout called for 3X1600 at race pace.
My splits were 7:03 first one is always the slowest because It takes me at least one to get going.
Mile 2: 6:49
Mile 3: 6:33 I felt really good, but I kept noticing my form was off, I will be getting this in order over the next few weeks.

THURSDAY: cross train:  mostly stretched and foam rolled, I did throw in some ab workouts and even did a few push ups.

FRIDAY: rest day before race day

SATURDAY: RACE DAY- Friday night I had a gout attack. If you don't know what this is all I can say is pain. I woke up Saturday with a swollen ankle, and I wasn't sure if I would even be able to run. I was scheduled to run the 8.1 mile race at "Just a Short Race" (Review to come Thursday) I tried a warm up run and knew it wasn't going to happen. I decided to drop down and do the 5K. I figured since I paid I would just jog it out.  I ended up running 8:30 splits and still managed to place second in my age group. I am happy because I didn't even break a sweat. I can really tell I am ahead of where I was a year ago.

SUNDAY:  I headed out to North Park to run with Amanda. She was planning on doing 20 miles and I figured I could tag along for a few. I ended up running 12 miles with her.  We ran a nice easy pace and for me it was about getting the miles in rather than the time. It was a really good run and the weather started freezing but quickly warmed up.

How did your week go?
Do you like Speed Workouts?

Until next time stay safe on the roads

Less than 50 days to PGH Marathon

Happy St. Patrick's Day Week!!!!!  I am sure a lot you celebrated on Saturday like myself, but not before getting my run in. So this week I was back to my normal schedule at work. I decided this week was going to be the first week I change up my training plan and fit it a little better to myself.

MONDAY: The normal training plan called for a 3 mile at an easy pace. I decided I would do 4 miles instead.  Even though doing the 3 miles is helping me get faster, I feel like doing 4 will not only get me faster but it will add a bit more stamina. I ended the run with a 8:54 pace and felt really good. At point I honestly felt like I was going so slow and looked down to see my mile split was a 9:05.

TUESDAY: I had to take this day as my rest day since I had some running around that needed to get done.

WEDNESDAY: Since I missed Tuesday I decided to move everything back one day. So today was my speed workout day. I was so happy when I arrived at my local track and saw that the track had no snow on it. I did 8 400 meter repeats with a 200 meter walk after each one. 
splits:  1:32
            1:28
            1:25
            1:27
            1:30
            1:27
            1:29
            1:05  as you can see on my last one I try and see what I have left in the tank and basically sprint.     I was surprised to see how good I felt for the most part. My legs really didn't feel fatigued and I was able to control my breathing for the whole run.

THURSDAY:  Once again I chose to do 4 miles instead of 3. I ended the run with a pace of 9:04. This course was a bit hard and had a lot of hills so I am really pleased to see how I did for an easy run.

FRIDAY: Instead of doing a tempo run I decided to use this day as a whole day to strength train. I did a whole body workout. I know the normal schedule calls for strength on Monday and Wednesday, but I sometimes forget to do after the run or I just do the bare minimum. Adding in one whole day is great for the core.

SATURDAY: I had to be down at the SCRR training run for DICK'S Sporting Goods. It was a benefit to 2 runners who had shoes that weren't up to par.  Our rolls for this weekend were the "Nasty Shoe Police" we gave one lady and one gentleman a gift card for $150 to buy a new pair of shoes. We may be around again for one of their runs again soon. Since I was there and I am a member of the SCRR I decided to go for a short 4 mile run. I ran with the 9:30 pace group since it was raining, and I just wanted to do an easy run.  After getting my run in, I did take in some St. Patty's Day shenanigans. A few friends and I ended up going to a few bars and throwing back a few green beers.

SUNDAY: Today I headed out to North Park with my friend Kari. Kari was having some knee issues and wasn't sure if she would be able to even run at all today. I told her I would run right next to her and let her set the pace and see how it feels. We ended up doing the "Horseshoe" and it was just over 7 miles. Our pace was nothing to brag about but, Kari was able to run the whole way and after the run decided to sign up for the Half Marathon. My training run called for a 90 minute run. We ended up finishing just a few minutes short of that. Next time we venture to the park together we will run at our speed. Today I was more concerned about a friend being safe and not hurting herself any worst.

 

 

How did your week go?  Did you do anything over the weekend for St. Patty's Day or will you do anything on the official day, Tuesday?

 

 

Until next time be safe and have good runs!!!!

8 Weeks Until PGH Marathon

Another week in the books and another week closer to race day. This week we were hit with a major storm and finished the week off with sunny skies. Mother nature is confused to say the least. Overall I didn't have a bad week even though I had to miss more days than I would of liked. I however made up for it in other ways.

MONDAY: This week I was filling in for my manager at work and needed to stay a few hours longer than I normally would.  By the time I got home from work and ate dinner it was time for me to go and take my taxes to get done.  I still managed to get in a short ab workout, but it wasn't anything to write home about.

TUESDAY:  It was raining pretty good when I left work. I kept debating with myself on whether I should go to the gym and use the treadmill for my hill workout or should I just face the cold rainy weather. I decided to brave the elements and run outside. The beauty about where I live is there is a huge hill no farther than 50 feet from my front door. The hill is a little longer than 200 meters and is way steeper than what my training plan called for. I figured what the hell, no pain no gain.  I ended up doing 8 hill workouts. It beat me down, but I was so happy that I chose to run outside.

WEDNESDAY:  Just when I thought the snow was done for the year we were about to get blasted with one of the worst yet. The news wasn't sure what we were supposed to get. Some stations were calling for 1-3 inches while some were saying 3-6. It was already starting to get bad when I left work so I decided to take a rest day. I wasn't happy about this but I made the smart move.

THURSDAY: When the snow finally stopped I would say we were left with around 4-5 inches. I knew running on the roads were out since some roads weren't even touched from the salt trucks.  I headed to the gym to do my tempo run. I started with a 8:57 pace for the first mile then dropped down to 8:00 for the next 2. I finished with a 8:57 for the last mile. My legs were sore when I was done, but I made it through the whole workout without any shin problems. That is huge for me since the treadmill usually gives me problems.

FRIDAY:  REST DAY... The schedule called for a rest day, and I was thinking I might run still since I missed Monday. I however felt a little stomach bug coming on so I decided to just listen to the plan and take it easy.

SATURDAY:  My friend Abby and I headed out to North Park for a run. My plan only called for a 3 mile run, but Abby has only ran 1 day this season and is running the 6 mile part of the Marathon Relay. I decided to let her pace me and we ended up running 5 miles. I was really impressed that we were still able to run a 10:17 pace. Not to shabby for someone who has done little training this season. If you run at North Park you may know that Ingomar Rd. is shut down. I have heard that they are very unhappy with runners going through the construction zone, and are planning to ticket runners. Just a heads up for all you runners.

SUNDAY: When I woke and looked out the window, I had to take a double take to actually make sure I was looking at the sun. It was a great sigh
t to see. I waited until later in the day to go running. I wanted it to be at it's warmest part of the day. I headed out for my 90 minute run and right away I noticed my lungs were going to need some time to adjust to warm weather now. I have no problem letting them adjust to warm weather. I would rather do that than adjust to the cold. My splits were all over the board. Some would go down into the 8 minutes and some were as high as the 10's. I still had a good run, but I am going to have to use this week to let the lungs get back to warm weather running.  The forecast is looking amazing and it looks like (fingers crossed) winter may be behind us.

After the run today I looked at training plan and I have decided this week I am going to alter it a bit. I feel that only doing 3 miles 3 days a week isn't giving my legs the strength they are going to need if I want to PR the half. So this week I plan on doing at least 4 miles on days that call for 3.  Don't get me wrong I can see that doing the 3 miles definitely helped with dropping my casual pace time, but I need to make sure I can hold my fast pace for the longer distance.

How did your week go?
Have you ever deviated from your training plan? If so how did it go?

Hal Higdon Week 2

For once I excited to actually start another week of my training cycle. The first week was harder than I expected, but I could tell the if I kept up the hard work the reward at the end would be worth all the pain and exhaustion. This week was no different than last week except for some minor changes in distance and 1 workout.  I did have to alter a bit of the training this week. I am okay with this because I have an extra week to toy with and I have decided that week will almost be like a catch up week. Just for one week I will make up my own schedule and hit on any points that I feel I need help with. With that being said lets take a look at how this week went.

MONDAY: Mondays are quickly becoming one of my favorite days. It's always just 3 miles with some strength training thrown in.  It was a bit cold out so I headed to the gym and hit the treadmill for my 3 miles. I ran a 8:53 pace and felt really good except for some sore shins.  I realized that the treadmill is what is causing the shin splints not the shoes. DAMN I hate that treadmill. After my workout I did a chest workout.  I am focusing on my reps rather than weight with the strength.  I also completed my squats for the day.

TUESDAY: This was my first speed workout for the training cycle. The cycle called for 7 X 400's, Due to the weather I was forced to use the treadmill. I know how fast I can do a 400 in at full sprint so I was able to set the speed a bit slower and do them. After each .25 miles I would drop the speed and jog another .25.  It was hard at first but I noticed as the run went on it became a lot easier and I felt really good.  I can't wait until the weather breaks and I can actually use the track.  I can honestly say that is where I feel the most at home when it comes to running.

WEDNESDAY: Just like Monday, Wednesday called for 3 miles with strength training. It was cold but I was able to run outside. I ran a nice comfortable pace and even though it is week 2 my confidence is really starting to build up.

THURSDAY: The training cycle called for a 45 minute tempo run. I however was not able to run this day. I worked late and had some running around that needed to get done. Normally I would of been worried and pissed that I missed a run, but with my extra week I am okay with this.  

FRIDAY: REST DAY:  I was thinking I would do my tempo run this day, but once again I had so much running around that I was forced to just use the rest day for what it was.

SATURDAY:  The plan called for a 3 mile pace run. I had to work for the Marathon and was with the Steel City Road Runners Club for their training run.  Sara my co-worker and I decided we would do 4 miles with the group at a 10 minute pace.  We ended up going at a 9:30 pace and ran a bit further than the 4 miles.  It was cold but once we started moving it wasn't that bad.  I really enjoyed running with the group and I am thinking since we will be doing a few runs with them, I might as well become a member. The people I have met are really nice and they all seem to want to help each other.

SUNDAY:Today called for a 90 minute run. It was bitter cold and even the SCRR canceled their group run. I headed to the gym and figured some run is better than no run. I ran 6.5 miles in 60 minutes. Today was more about a mental struggle rather than the run. I hate the treadmill and knew I would want to quit halfway through. I fought through the urges to quit and ran a nice and easy pace. I felt really good actually and even with the treadmill I was pain free. I can't say I was happy with the weather though. This cold front has started to get the best of me and I expressed myself on twitter. 

As you can see I was not happy!!!

Next week the schedule calls for a 5K race and more of an easy schedule. Since there is no race I will just have to go do a race course I know and see what I can do. I am pretty excited about this. I want to be able to see how I progressed from last year to this year.  

How is your training going?  

If you had to run in the cold how are you doing with dealing with it?

Until next time stay safe!!!!

Phase 2; Week 1 of Training

      This week was the start of Phase 2 of training for me. Phase 1 was me building a good foundation of distance and speed. Phase 2 was the start of a 12 week training schedule (Hal Higdon Advanced). On top of the running schedule I am currently in the first week of a 30 day squat challenge.
      Before I go into what I did this week let me first say I really underestimated this schedule. Previously I have been use to running maybe 4 days a week with 2 days of straight cross training and 1 day of total resting. I am now running 6 days a week with cross training thrown in on lighter run days and 1 day of rest.  Needless to say this week beat the shit out of me, but I am up for a good challenge and I am not about to shy away from a little pain and hurting. With that being said let me show you exactly how this week went down.

MONDAY: Called for a 3 mile run in which you could hold a conversation if you were running and strength training.  I ran 3 miles in 28:45, that is a 9:37 pace. I really had problems because I wanted to speed up, but I had to tell myself it was okay that I was running a comfortable pace. For the strength training part of the workout I did my 55 squats, did some burpees, and some push ups.

TUESDAY: This day called for 6 X hill workout. The hill is supposed to be a gradual hill that is 200 to 400 meters long. It was bitter cold this day and the roads were icy so I ended up going to the gym and was forced to do the workout on the treadmill. I started with a 1 mile warm up run then would increase the incline to 12 percent and hold it for 400 meters. My legs were beat down, but I still finished the whole workout. Even though this day didn't call for strength training I still did my 60 squats and threw in a short AB workout.

WEDNESDAY: Another 3 mile run with strength was on the agenda. Once again I was forced to hit the treadmill and felt really good holding a 9:13 pace. For the strength part I did a back and arms workout. At the end of my workout I kind of felt like maybe my shins were a little sore.

THURSDAY: Called for a 40 minute tempo run. I ran my first 15 minutes at a 9:13 pace then gradually increased the speed until I was at a 7:30 pace. I finished with my last 10 minutes being a 9:13 pace again. I had some real problems with this. My shins were on fire and the pain was almost unbearable. I kept saying in my head "please don't be shin splints". I thought maybe it was because I was on the treadmill. I also took note of the shoes I was wearing, my Brooks Pure Flows. Still did my 70 squat though.

FRIDAY: Rest day from running, so i just did 75 burpees.

SATURDAY: With nice running weather I was super pumped to hit the roads again, even if it was only for a 3 mile run. Once again I was wearing my Pure Flows and the shin pain came back in full force. I was forced to do a very slow 3.14 miles. I ran a 33:04 with a pace of 10:32. When I returned home I did my 80 burpees and threw on my compression sleeves to help with my shins.

SUNDAY: Today the weather was nicer than yesterday and I headed to North Park for a 90 minute run. I decided to switch up my shoes and go with my Asics GT 2000-3's.  There was no shin pain what so ever and I felt really good for the run. The run called for a 3/1 which means I was to progressively pick up the pace every half hour. Unfortunately my Garmin battery died 5 miles in and I had to basically guess on the rest. I know I still ran 90 minutes but the distance is a guess. If I had to guess I would say 9 was the least I did and 10.5 was the max.  Either way when I finished I was not out of breathe and I have decided the Asics are going to be the go to shoes from here on out. I plan on going to buy another pair this week to rotate in. I will still use the Pure Flows but strictly on speed days at the track.

I ended this week with around 25 miles. This is one thing I like about this program. It's not so much the miles you are worried about, it's the time you are running.

Next week looks almost identical to this week except for a speed workout rather than a hill workout, and a bit longer tempo run.

How did your week go?

Until next time stay safe on the roads, and don't forget to join #Runchat tonight at 8:00 pm

PHASE 2 OF TRAINING

13 weeks may seem like a lot of time, but i can guarantee that time is going to fly by before the Pittsburgh Marathon.  I changed my training up a bit this week and decided to break the training up into two phases. Phase one was only a 4 weeks. I called it the base phase. all my runs were basically just getting my body ready for phase 2. Phase 2 is a 12 week training program using the Hal Higdon advanced schedule for the Half Marathon.   This past week was the last week for phase 1. I did more cross training and resting than running this week in hopes that my body will be nice and rested for the hard phase 2.
I am a person who likes to run alone. Let me rephrase that I am a person that doesn't like to be coached. I have always felt I know enough that I can make up my own training schedule. Well I was wrong. Can I coach someone? No problem, but when it comes to myself I have noticed that I am winging way to many runs and the runs have become way to jumbled up. Choosing a set method is a great way to have the plan laid out in front of you and you can see what is on the horizon. I looked at a few and got input from a few coaches that pointed me to this method. I even have a few elite runners that I will be staying in contact with to help me with some changes later in the training.

So this week my training looked something like this:
MONDAY:  Cross Train - 80 burpees with an arm workout thrown in.
TUESDAY: 4 miles on the treadmill at a 9:30/pace
WEDNESDAY: REST DAY
THURSDAY: 3.5 Mile run at 8:30 pace followed by a chest workout
FRIDAY: REST
SATURDAY: 6 Miles at a slow pace. I did not time this run because in the Hal Higdon method I will be using, on long runs you don't go for mileage you go by time.
SUNDAY: TODAY- REST DAY from running, but since I am in a 30 days of hell group where we do a different challenge every month, today was day 1 for squats. I did 50 squats.

What I took out of Phase 1 - I am definitely faster this year than I was last year at this time. I did a few runs where I dropped the pace to the low 7 minute per mile and I felt really good and know I can go harder.

I know the Hal Higdon method is a 12 week program and there is 13 weeks left, but I figure I will just double up week 6 or 7. From everything I studied about this method and crossed it with what my goals are I am very confident this will give me exactly what I need to hit my goal time for the Half Marathon.

What this week has in store for me:

MONDAY: 3 mile run with strength training

TUESDAY: 6 x Hill

WEDNESDAY: 3 mile run with strength training

THURSDAY: 40 minute tempo run

FRIDAY: REST

SATURDAY: 3 mile run

SUNDAY: 90 minute run.  (3/1)      the 3/1 means progressive, each half hour I am to increase speed

JANUARY TOTAL MILES= 59.23 This is right where I wanted to be for a solid base. I am going into phase 2 with just about 60 miles of all different types of workouts and I feel really good and most of my runs were successful.

How is your training going? Are you using any training method?

Training Jan. 19th Thru Jan. 25th

TRAINING WEEK JAN.19th THRU JAN.25th

Last week I ran 18.62 miles and set a goal for this week to hit 23 miles. Besides hitting the 23 miles I wanted to get more outside runs in.

MONDAY- I was planning on bringing my clothes to work and run some new courses, but I ended up coming home and running from my house. One thing about where I live is if I want to run from my house you have to go up a monster hill. Normally I drive up the hill and start my runs from the flat ground. I decided this would be the day I really see what my lungs had in them. I started with 2 monster hills before hitting some flat ground. My first mile split was a 10:23 and I was breathing heavy. I however kept calm and got back on track and ran 4.32 miles in 40:12, 9:19/mile splits. I felt really good after the run and was really happy my lungs were starting to get back to normal.

TUESDAY- I had to work a bit late so running outside was tossed out the window. Last year if I worked late I would have probably just skipped the run. Not this year though, this year I am heading to the gym at 9 at night to get in my run. I ran 5 miles in 45 minutes. 9:00/mile splits. Besides getting yelled at by the workers at the gym for wrapping my hoodie around the machine so I couldn't see the time, all went well. When I was finished I noticed my shins were a bit sore. My shins and the treadmill just don't get along.

WEDNESDAY:REST DAY - With my shins being sore I figured this would be a good day to take it easy.

THURSDAY- Another late day at work and another night at the gym. I had every intention of doing speed intervals. The plan was 1 mile at a 7:00 minute mile then drop down to 9:00 minute miles for a half mile. With in the first 2 minutes I knew my shins were not going to let this happen. The pain was almost unbearable. I managed to finish the first mile in 7 minutes and even finished my half mile. I knew doing anymore was out of the question.  Instead of just calling it a night I headed to the bike and did 4.5 miles in 20 minutes.

FRIDAY- I got out of work early and was pumped to be able to run outside again. I tried a new course around my neighborhood. It was mostly flat with only 2 hills. I ended up running 5 miles in 47 minutes. Not a great time but my lungs felt good, and my shins didn't give me any problems at all.

SATURDAY- I had to go to UPMC and give a presentation with some other people on running. I really learned a lot from the other speakers. I believe there is another one in February. I suggest if you go to these. You will learn a lot and meet some amazing runners. I was talking about gear and what you should wear in cold weather.

SUNDAY-TODAY- I was really excited to get up early and head to North Park and run with a few people. I only did 6.2 miles, but I used this run as my first long, slow run. I finished in a time of 58:53 with a 9:22/ mile split. Not to shabby for a slow run. I also was wearing my NIKE Pro Combat HyperThermal shirt for the first time. I am hooked on this shirt. Normally I would be wearing a t-shirt a compression shirt with long sleeve running shirt over it and I would still be cold. Today all I wore was a light t-shirt with the pro-combat shirt over it and I was warm and I stayed dry for the entire run. I don't even care that it was so bright you could spot me a mile away.

GOAL FOR THE WEEK:23 miles

TOTAL MILES RAN 22.1 not going to harp over less than a mile

GOAL FOR NEXT WEEK: 25 miles with a full speedwork 

How did your week go?

What do you normally wear in the cold weather?

Training 1/12 thru 1/18

"TO BE THE GREATEST YOU HAVE TO TAKE CHANCES, TO BE REMEMBERED YOU HAVE TO TAKE RISKS"

This past week was my second week of training, but it was my first full week of really training. I am very pleased with how this week went. I didn't set a goal for the miles I wanted. I wanted to just get
in some good runs and see where I stand for the weeks to come. I will now be able to set goals on the miles I want to hit now that I know exactly where I am at.

MONDAY - I brought my gear to work and decided I would go for a run as soon as I clocked out. I was excited to get out and try some new course. I ran a 3.4 mile course that was pretty flat and took me right into the city. I am planning on every Monday running straight from work this I can have different courses. I felt really good on the run and as I ran I was already mapping new courses in my head for next week.

TUESDAY - By the time I got home from work it was already dark and cold out. I headed to the gym to use the treadmill. I ran 4.6 miles in 40 minutes and did negative splits for the entire run. I know this is not nearly the speed I will be doing my speed workouts at, but since it was the first one of the training session I was quite happy with it.  As I ran on the treadmill there was a younger girl next to me who was also running. I started to notice she had the speed set at 7 miles per hour. She would run hard for a minute and then jump on the sides and stand for about 4 minutes. As she was standing one time I suggested instead of jumping off just slow the speed and run at a slower pace. She said " I am not doing a set workout I am just running." I shut up and kept running. A little later she snaps a photo of her distance and time and I can see she is posting her workout on social media. First yes I was creeping on her. I was interested to see what she was writing. Second she did it and I was able to just look over and see. She wrote just went hard at the gym with the photo of the treadmill. I don't care really that she lied, but when you do things like this you are only cheating yourself.

WEDNESDAY- REST DAY

THURSDAY- I had a busy day so I made this my cross training day. I did some burpees and some body builders. A body builder is a burpee but when you jump down you spread your legs and then bring them back before you do your pushup. They are awesome for core strength.

FRIDAY- I headed out for a 5.5 mile run with some good hills. I will be honest I had a lot of problems. My asthma was making it real hard for me to catch my breathe in the cold weather. I had to take it really slow. I ended up running the 5.5 miles in 57.28.  I am going to have to take the cold outside runs real slow until I get my lungs back.

SATURDAY - In the daytime I had to do an event for the marathon. I got home late and headed to the gym for my run.  It's funny normally on a Saturday I would be worrying about where am I going to be drinking. Now I worry about getting my run in. Like I said in my goals for the year I am setting out too PR the Pittsburgh Half. I ran 5.12 miles in 48:21. A nice comfortable pace. I felt great when I was finished and at times had to stop myself from turning up the speed.

SUNDAY- TODAY- Instead of just doing a rest day, I plan on 60 burpees and 10 bodybuilders.

TOTAL MILES for the week- 18.62
GOAL for next week - 23

HOW DID YOUR WEEK GO?

Training Week 1: Jan 5th- Jan 11th

Week one of training was not the way I wanted to start my training. I was very busy with my normal job and then going to DICK'S Sporting Goods stores 4 nights during the week. Needless to say I didn't get in much training. The plan was to wake up early and go to the gym before work, however I ended up going into work everyday early so that flew out the window. The good news is this week will be the only week that I am that busy, from here on out most marathon related things are on the weekends.

So here is a quick rundown of how my week went.

Monday - Thursday:  I was at a different DSG location. I got to see many familiar faces and got to meet some really interesting people. I was amazed by the one lady who told me she is about to run her 300th marathon in a few weeks. I can only hope I am that lucky.  I did manage to get some burpees in these day, so it's not like the days were a complete waste.

Friday- When I woke up I pinched a nerve in my neck and decided to take this day off from all training. I wasn't happy because I really wanted to get out and run.

Saturday- I was still sore in my neck, but I couldn't wait any longer to run. I headed out in the bitter cold for a 5 mile run. I learned a very valuable lesson that day, just because your ears are covered does not mean your head will be warm. I shave my head, therefore I have no hair to help insulate my head. I was in actual pain on my run. I headed out at night and bought a good hat to wear on runs now. Lesson learned.

Sunday (Today)- I will be heading to the gym and doing 4-6 miles on the treadmill.  They are calling for freezing rain and I do not want to get caught in that, so I will grin and bear the treadmill.

How did your first week go if you are training for the DICK'S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon?

An Invitation From Me To You!!!

Hello Everyone!!!!

The new year has begun and with it has come a brand new opportunity for me. I've recently been named a Brand Specialist for DICK'S Sporting Goods for the build up to the DICK'S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon on May 3rd. For the next four months I will work closely with the brand to serve the Pittsburgh runner in new and innovative ways. That means you will be seeing a lot more of me around the running community at major events throughout the city.

What's most exciting is that right of the bat, my exciting opportunity has provided you with one too. Each night next week, Monday-Thursday from 6-8 pm, we will be hosting VIP Parties at four different DICK'S Sporting Goods locations around Pittsburgh. These nights will include a coupon for 20% off your entire purchase, an opportunity to hang out with me (and our other Brand Specialist, Sara Brunazzi), food and beverages and an opportunity to win a grand prize "Pittsburgh Staycation" including hotel, parking, and meals for you and your family the night before this year's marathon. So skip the messy traffic and come down the evening before for a good night's rest in anticipation of the big day.

All you need to do is comment on this post with your preferred date/location and I'll add your name to the list. Space is limited and we'll be taking people on a first come, first serve basis

DICK'S Sporting Goods Monroeville - January 5th

DICK'S Sporting Goods Robinson - January 6th

DICK'S Sporting Goods Cranberry - January 7th

DICKS Sporting Goods South Hills - January 8th

Hope to see you all there!!!

2015 Goals

HAPPY NEW YEAR friends!!!! I don’t know about you, but I am ready to start this year. Don’t get me wrong 2014 was a great year, but I have my eyes set on 2015. Like last year I set some goals for myself. The difference this year though is I actually sat down and planned out a way to reach my goals. Just like last year I am setting the bar high. Like I said before, you have to dream big, set big goals in order to accomplish big things. I plan on accomplishing some big things for myself this year. So without any further ado here is my goals for 2015.

The first and main goal is obviously to make it through the 2015 year injury free. Now I know that some things are unpreventable, hell even Olympic athletes are not above an injury. What I can do though is take the best measures. I will be stretching more pre and post runs. I will dedicate a few minutes each night to roll out my muscles with my massage stick, and I will use my compression socks to help with recovery time.

Goal number 2 is going to be run under 1:30 for the PGH Half Marathon in May. This goal is the one that I am working on right away. I have come up with a training plan that will help me get faster and help me with my endurance. Starting on Monday I will be waking up before work and going to the gym every day to do my normal body workout, which consist of lifting and using the synergy machine to help with obstacle races. I will start bringing my running clothes to work and I will do runs as soon as I finish work. This is going to give me an extra hour of sunlight and it will give me some new courses during the week. I also have already started a diet. My plan is to drop 15 lbs. before the race and go into it the lightest I have been in years. This goal is very doable for me and I figure it will be my determining factor on how I want to play out the fall. If I hit my goal and go above it, then I am signing up for the Erie full marathon in hopes of Boston. If it is a total failure which I am already saying it won’t be, then I will stick do doing more half’s and working on my speed. I also plan to bump my speed workouts a lot this season. Last season I feel I didn’t give it my all on the track. So this season it is time to go back to the basics of what I know and do the speed workouts from the ground up.

Goal number 3 is to continue to drop my 1 mile time. Last year my goal was to get back under a 5 minute mile. Well I haven’t done that since high school and I need to realize I am no longer in high school. That ship sailed in ’97. However I did manage to drop 15 seconds from two seasons ago to last season. At the liberty mile I finished with a 6:01. My goal is drop at least another 15 seconds this season. I am going to be doing a lot more speed workouts for marathon training and hopefully this will help in this area. One problem I had last season was going to the track and it being full with people and kids on the field. For some reason I would get nervous and hold back on what I was doing. I need to get over that this season and just focus on myself.

Goal number 4. Do more obstacle races. What can I say I am hooked on these races. As a kid growing up I was always climbing and jumping from things. These races are built for me. My running background gives me an advantage on the endurance part, now I just need to focus on the strength part. Once again my marathon training is going to play right into this. I am already signed up for a few races and I even have some friends doing them with me this season, so I am looking forward to that.

Goal number 5 and probably the most important to me, I want to help other runners get better. The main reason I even started this blog was to hopefully inspire someone who may be on the fence about running to at least give it a try. I want to share any knowledge I have from my 20 years of running and help other runners reach their goals. I have already started the year off by doing this. During a #runchat session a fellow runner asked if someone would help her with a 10K training plan. I happily said I would make her up a plan. I plan on checking in on her and making sure things are going good and I will alter the training plan if need be based on her progression. I also was just contacted and I have been hired as the running specialist for the PGH Marathon. I will be able to help many runners from January 3rd up until the marathon.( I will post more details later)I am hoping I get to help a few others this season as well, even if it is just on a run together or something I can tell them to motivate them. If you haven’t set your goals yet for 2015 I recommend adding this one to your list as well. Even if you don’t think you have that much knowledge, you probably can still help someone who has never ran before. Sometimes all it takes is for a person to see someone who used to be in their position succeeding.

So there you have it my five main goals for 2015. I am sure throughout the year I will have a few more goals. I like to set a goal for every race I run. I will continue to share those goals with you as each on comes up, but for now these are my main ones that I am working on. I know this season is setting up to be one of my hardest season yet, and I am more than ready. So I leave you with a quote as we set out on a new year with new goals and adventures.

“IF you plan on taking the hard road, then you have to cherish the ride!”


What are your goals for 2015?

We learn from our mistakes...Marathon recap

     The day after a marathon I always ask myself, why do I put my body though this?  Today I find myself walking like a baby deer taking its first steps.
 Normally it takes me a few days and I am ready to go again, not this year though. I am hungry for another marathon now.  Yesterday was not my day, it was more of a downward spiral.  After thinking about the race I only have myself to blame.  I am pissed I let myself down, but I am twice as pissed I let down my friends and family who support me. Mainly my wife, she is my strongest supporter.  She sacrifices a lot for me to run. Time we could be spending together, weekends waking up to go out to breakfast. The list goes on and on of things she gives up for me to chase my dreams.  I feel selfish today. 
     The morning of the race I felt great. I was nervous, more than usual for some reason. I was in and out of the port-o-potty 4 times. Thank god I got there early and had no line to wait in.  As I stood in my corral and waited for the gun to go off I decided I wasn't going to use the clock. I would let my body tell me my speed. Ummm I don't know what the hell I was thinking here. I train by using the clock and using it to help me later on long runs. So there was mistake number 1.  I went through the 10k mark 4 minutes faster than I wanted too, but I felt great. I started to think this was my year. At around the half mark I checked the clock again and I noticed my time was starting to slow by a few seconds. Still felt great though.       

   I was so excited when I reached mile 16 and realized I would soon be coming up on my family. It gave me a burst of energy to hear them yelling and cheering for me.  I rounded the corner and said to myself 10 miles left.  This is also the point I started to realize I hadn't drunken enough water over the course.  Even in my training one of my problems has always been staying hydrated. For some reason I just don't like to take water. Mistake number 2.
   Mile 17 coming up on 18 is when everything took a turn for the worst. My groin got so tight that it brought me to a complete stop. I tried to ignore it and run through it but the pain was just too strong. I slowed my pace and tried to do a slow jog, but the pain had now moved down my legs to my thighs and was making hard for me. for the last 9 miles I was left with running and walking thrown in to try and suppress the pain.  I also made the huge mistake of taking myself out of the race mentally at the 19th mile. I started to think of the course ahead of me and was actually thinking of places I could walk. The one thing I always tell people not to do I was doing it. Mistake number 3.  I fought through the pain and eventually finished the race. No matter how much pain I was in quitting never came into my head.  I may be stubborn, I may an idiot at some times, but I am not a quitter. The biggest mistake of the race actually came though 2 nights before when I decided to have drinks with friends and my cousin who was mourning his grandmothers death. I wanted to be the good friend that was there for him and what I didn't realize was just me being there was good enough. He would rather see me run the race of my life than get drunk with him. Mistake number 4.  My muscles probably were dehydrated before I even started the race.

 

    I am still proud of myself for finishing though. It just shows that no matter how much pain I am in, I will always find a way to get myself across the finish line.  My family was still proud of me and they all told me not to be discouraged about the race. A lot of my twitter friends showed their support and told me to shake it off and not beat myself up over it as well.  And I thank all of you for that. But now I want to show everyone what the real Shaun can do.  I am making a promise to myself to be a better runner, train smarter, eat healthier and most of all not to neglect any time away from my wife. I will find a way to do both and still get PR's.  I don't need a coach or someone to tell me what to do. I am smart enough and have enough sense to know where I went wrong. Now I fix the problem.

 

    After the race yesterday I was beat and hungry. I don't know about you but pizza sounded like heaven to me, and get this......pizza in a cone, SAY WHAT!!!   yes my friends Pizza Cona in Squirrel Hill has them and they are down right phenomenal.  I guess it was my wife's way of making me feel better. You know what, it worked.

 

 

 

How did your race go if you ran?

 





                                                                

Helpful hints for raceday

     The Pittsburgh Marathon is in 3 days, and I know some people who will be running the race for the first time.  I sat back and thought about the marathons I ran and I came with a few helpful tips that hopefully can help someone.  These tips also will carry over into smaller distances as well.

SHAUNS HELPFUL TIPS

1. DON'T RUSH
     You should know what time the race starts, so plan your morning out accordingly.  Give yourself enough time to dress, eat, and get to the start with time to spare.   The last thing you want to do is wake up and be rushing around and forget something important.  I like to lay my clothes out the night before with all my things I will take with me to the start.  On race day I like to get to the start early and know I have time to stretch and go to the bathroom if need be. 


2. FIGHT THE URGE
      What I mean by fight the urge is, when the gun goes off you will see peoples adrenaline kick in and they will go out way to fast.  Sometimes it is hard to hold yourself back but you don't want to go out at a blistering pace if you're not used to it.  Stay calm and run your pace.

3. DON'T CHANGE YOUR PL4AN
     You have trained for this and I am sure you got yourself into some type of rhythm. Do not change what you have been doing.  If you train with eating something before you run and taking a snack or drink at a certain distance, do it.  Don't decide the day of the race you are going to drink every water stop if you don't drink a lot of water on your long run. I can't tell you how many texts I got this week asking "What should I eat the morning of the race?" I can not answer that for you. Do what you have been doing during training. 

4. DON'T COUNTDOWN THE MILES
     Do not countdown the miles as you run, it will only make it seem longer. Try breaking the race into sections and count sections.  Even if your running the half break it up into 2 halves. I like to break the race down into sections of 6 miles.  Once I reach the first 6 miles I look at the clock and then set my site on the next 6. It makes the race a little more easy to endure.

5. FOCUS ON YOU
     Forget about all the other runners and stay focused on yourself. During my first marathon I kept noticing people pass me later in the race and they were not out of breathe.  They looked like they had just started the race. I later realized they were on relay teams, but it can be a real mind F#CK when you see them go by.  You have to remember full, half and relay runners are all running the same course for at least half the race almost.  Obviously a person running the half is going to be pushing themselves harder early than a full course runner would be.  Worry about your pace and what you are doing.

6. THE CROWD IS YOUR FRIEND
     If you get tired feed off the crowds energy. The fans that come out to watch races are awesome. They will cheer you on, they will hold up signs with motivational sayings, and sometimes even funny sayings.  The crowd wants you to do good and they will be cheering you on for most of the course, let the energy give you that added adrenaline you need to get through any pains and problems.

      Last but not least RUN YOUR RACE!  You have trained for this day. You have put in the miles, the sweat, and the pain. Only you know what you are capable of and how you are feeling on race day. Run your race. Don't let anyone else dictate your outcome. Once you cross that start line you have already won because you weren't afraid to start.  Of course your going to be nervous. You aren't human if you don't get nervous. Just stay focused and give it all you got. Don't worry about the time. Time does not matter, what matters is you had the courage to start. And like I always tell myself before the gun goes off...........DONT BE AFRAID OF GREATNESS! you have a chance to be great every race you run. So shut up the doubters, the people that said you can't, the people who were afraid to start and show them why you are great.

GOOD LUCK MY FRIENDS!!!!