2010 Race Season - May events

I have compiled a listing of races I am interested in running next May. As you can see there are a fair number of races available in May. My wife will have completed her first semester of classes the first week of May 2010. It will be tough to pick one race out of this list to run, but I will perform better if I train for one race a month next year.

May 2010 races
May 1st - Dash for Diabetes 5K @ Middletown PA
May 2nd - Broad Street 10 mile run @ Philadelphia PA
May 2nd - Pittsburgh Half Marathon @ Pittsburgh PA
May 2nd - Kessler's Nittany Lion Franks 5 mile run @ Harrisburg PA
May 8th - Run for the Children 5K @ Palmyra PA
May 8th - Kennebunk Beach Classic 5 mile run @ Kennebunk Maine
May 15th - Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon @ Fredericksburg VA
May 15th - Broad St Rerun @ Lansdale PA
May 16th - Rite Aid Half Marathon @ Cleveland Ohio
May 16th - Run for the Red Marathon @ Pocono Mountains, PA
May 22nd - River Run 5K @ Columbia PA
May 23rd - Millersville Mile @ Millersville PA
May 23rd - Race to Stop Extinction 5K @ Portland Maine
May 30th - Red Rose 5 mile run @ Lancaster PA

No Turkey Trottin' This Year

I went for a run today to see how well my legs would hold up. I intended to run four miles, but came up lame with a groin issue about about the two and a half mile mark. I can't underscore how much the marathon drained me physically. Every ounce of energy I had was drained and every muscle in my legs was as sore as could be.

A benefit of this level of exhaustion is I had no residual tension in any of my muscles due to the stresses of everyday life. My muscles were too sore to be tense.

I have logged about 478 miles of running this year. I would like to run the remaining 22 miles in the forty days left this year. As far as I know there is no runner's 500 mile club, but I will start a local chapter.

I have no desire to race on Thanksgiving because I have done so many five kilometer races this year and feel I have posted my best time possible for this year, 23 minutes and 11 seconds. Over the course of the year I shaved three minutes and forty-seven seconds off of my initial five kilometer time. I think I would be lucky to break twenty two minutes for a race next year, a minute and eleven seconds off of my current personal 5K record.

Because my lovely wife will be attending college next year, I anticipate running only six or seven races in 2010, about one race per month. This way we save money and I can train longer and more effectively for each race. This year I ran so many races I did not have a substantial amount of time to train for each one.

To Turkey Trot or Not Turkey Trot

There are two local 5 kilometer races next Thursday on Thanksgiving day. The first is called Sticks and Bones Thanksgiving day 5K and is run in my hometown of Palmyra. The proceeds benefit Palmyra's ice hockey program. The second race is in New Cumberland and is called the Turkey Trot 5K. All proceeds from this race will go to the Vickie’s Angel Walk FOUNDATION to help provide financial assistance for local families fighting cancer.

Pretzel City sports will be timing the New Cumberland race. I enjoy running Pretzel City races because you are ensured the race will be well organized. Another bonus is the race results are posted online within a day or two.

Each race is charging $25 to run. We are in the midst of saving for both Christmas and my wife's resumption of her pursuit of a college degree. In addition, running the marathon has really drained my running motivational level. In a way, I have climbed to the proverbial mountain top and now I am resting before I begin another climb. I would like to achieve my last goal of running 500 miles this year though ...

Still Recovering from Marathon

I have been suffering from both a cold and very sore legs since the Harrisburg marathon last Sunday. Yesterday the temperatures were in the high 70's and so I decided to go for a run on the uncharacteristically hot mid November day.

On a normal day I need to run about a mile before I get warmed up and my muscles begin to work more smoothly. I was not able to kick in to my warmed up gear. The entire run was laborious. Near the beginning of mile three my knee soreness which originated from the marathon flared up.

Assuming I have roughly a three foot stride when I run, it would take me approximately 1760 strides to complete running a mile. Multiply this by the 26.2 miles associated with a marathon, and now you are taking over 46,000 strides in one day. That's a tremendous amount of stress to put on your legs and it appears my knees are my Achilles heel or weakest link.

The issue behind my feet searing at the marathon beginning around mile ten appears to have emanated from friction between my socks and my forefeet. The skin on each foot appeared to be one big blister spanning from one side of the foot to the other. It appears the unique combination of my sneaker, custom insole and sock caused excessive friction during my running cycle. If I would have run less than ten miles, this issue would not have materialized.

Five Hundred Mile Year

I have kept track of all of my runs this year using my Garmin Forerunner GPS watch and uploaded them to the Garmin Connect website. I have documented runs totaling 460 miles this year. I would like to complete training runs at a leisurely pace to attain the five hundred mile mark.

I always rested a day or two prior to a race this year in order to be as fresh as possible on race day. Since many of the races were run on Saturdays, I did not do very much running on Fridays this year. In many cases, I did not run the Sunday after a race because I was either tired or hobbling from some injury.

I am looking forward to running for the sake of running for the next several months.

Harrisburg Marathon Stew

I have a cataloged additional observations and comments relating to this past Sunday's Harrisburg marathon.

At the beginning of the race there were cheering crowds lining the Market street bridge onto the first turn at Front street. I imagine this cheering section was a microcosm of the experience you would have at a larger marathon, such as the Marine Corps or New York City marathon. I was inspired by the crowds. If there were crowds at the last few miles of the race I would have been embarrassed because I was running so slow. I believe my shadow passed me at one point in the race.

I remember seeing one woman with a thin wooden stick, maybe an inch square and three feet tall, which had a half dozen cowbells mounted upon it. To ring the bells she repeatedly bounced the stick on the ground. She was making the noise of an entire bleacher section at a local high school football game.

A woman was standing on the road between miles two and three in direct line of my running path. I initially wondered why she was standing on the race route. I then noticed she was guarding a water drain on the road I would have most assuredly twisted my ankle upon had she not been there.

The weather could not have been more beautiful for a November day. I believe the temperature at race end was in the low 60's and no wind.

The course was very flat except for miles seventeen, eighteen and nineteen through Wildwood park. Overall the course was a very fair course, i.e., level and fast. I have heard some people gripe about running through an industrial complex around mile thirteen, but c'mon, not every mile will look like a picture postcard.

I had never been to the HACC campus in Harrisburg prior to this race. It's a beautiful campus. I was very impressed by the buildings, parking availability, and the overall layout of the campus. I met my family here at the designated spectator area at around mile fifteen.

At around mile twenty I was overcome by a desire to eat about a half dozen hamburgers. I was snacking on the little Gu - brand electrolyte gel packs throughout the day. After I expended a couple thousand calories for the first twenty miles I needed something a little more substantial to eat than a tablespoon of paste. I felt weakened thereafter because my blood sugar level was deficient and I had no way to rectify my problem until I finished.

This race requires running along the Susquehanna for about six miles in total. The finish consists of running over the Market street bridge over the Susquehanna river to a finish line adjacent to the baseball stadium. Crossing the river you had been straddling for several miles is a neat way to end the race.

I am very envious of people who can run this distance competitively. In an unorthodox way, you have to be tremendously strong to be able to withstand the rigors of a race of this length. I have always had respect for marathoners, but as a result of my marathon experience, my level of respect is much more profound.

While I was disappointed with my finishing time I now have first hand knowledge of what is required to complete a marathon. If I ever decide to take up a marathon again, I will ensure I am sufficiently trained for the task.

Marathon Bucket List Item Accomplished

My pre-race meal consisted of a bowl of oatmeal, a banana, a bag of Raspberry flavor Powerbar Gel Blasts and a 16 ounce bottle of strawberry citrus flavored Clif Quench sports drink. The sports drink maintains it has the proper balance of carbs and electrolytes. I would not classify this beverage as refreshing due to high levels of palatable sodium. I force myself to finish the Clif Quench sports drinks because it's my hope they will be of some benefit during the race.

Harrisburg is only a thirty minute drive from my home. Sunday's commute went very well as I was able to get to City Island without any issues. The forecast was for sunny weather and while the morning temperatures were brisk at about 43 degrees, there was no wind to contend with.

I arrived at about 7:30 am, an hour before the race was to begin. I was able to park in the lot adjacent to the baseball stadium. If you arrived anytime later than 7:45 am you had to park within a lot on the southern side of the Market street bridge.

The pre-race packet pickup was well organized. This race was unique in that a jacket with the race logo was given to each runner. I was race bib number 830 for this race. Since the weather was a tad chilly, I hung out in the car until 8:00 am. I then made my way up to the Market street bridge. The bridge was closed down at 8:20 am for the start of the race.

I believe there were on the order of 900 runners at the starting line for the 37th running of the Harrisburg marathon. It's an exciting time at the beginning of a race with all of the mass of humanity standing around waiting to unleash all of their collective energy bundled up inside. I wanted to have a clock time that was clock to my net time so I inched up to about the sixth or seventh layer of persons behind the starting line.

For the sake of brevity I will not go into a mile by mile description of the race. My family was at the mile fifteen mark and my eldest son was holding a sign reading 'Go Jeff'. The 'Go Daddy' sign slogan was nixed due to the trashy television commercials by the company of the same name. I'll always remember the visual of Dylan holding the sign because he was so proud of his creation.

I had trepidations regarding my ability to complete a marathon. The longest race I had completed before the marathon was only twelve miles. I had not trained as diligently as one should for a marathon. In retrospect, I believe if you haven't completed a marathon training run of twenty miles then you should not attempt to finish a marathon in a competitive time frame.

Resting for the week prior to the marathon enabled myself to garnish as much energy as possible in reserve for the race. Miraculously, I did not suffer any cramps, muscle pulls or any other debilitating ailments because my legs were fresh at the onset of the race.

My only equipment issue was with my sneakers. At about the ten mile mark, the balls of my feet (forefeet) began burning up. It felt as though my socks were scrunched up underneath them. Every step I ran thereafter felt like I was stepping on small hot pebbles with my bare feet. I had run with these sneakers on a seven mile training run so I was caught off guard when I was ready to discard them for a new pair mid way through the race.

Running as a sport is very unique in that your training is usually very highly correlated to your performances. My marathon training was very poor, most would regard it as non-existent, and as a result my performance was poor. My stated goal for this was to finish, and finish I did.

If you have ever been at a gym and have done leg press repetitions until you can't do anymore and then attempt to get off the machine and walk, then you know exactly how my legs felt after the race. Aside of my knees feeling stiff to the point where they felt like the tin man's knees in the Wizard of Oz, I was in decent shape for traversing 26.2 miles. I also caught a cold sometime during the day. I was sneezing on the entire drive home.

There are two classes of accomplished marathon runners; those who are genetically predisposed for completing long distances such as a marathon and those who are phenomenally trained to accomplish running this distance. An elite marathon runner would be a member of both classes. Unfortunately, I was not in either class.

Do I have any desire to run another marathon ? At the moment, I have none whatsoever. A half marathon is as far as I would like to run in the future. I can train for the two hours necessary to complete a half marathon, but really do not have the time and desire to complete three plus hour training runs necessary for a marathon. In a similar vein, I enjoy playing nine holes of golf for a couple of hours. When you play eighteen holes of golf, you are engaging in a four to five hour afternoon on the course.

Overall I had an enjoyable experience. It was a great day for exercising and I was able to eradicate a longstanding desire to finish a marathon. I received a finisher's medal which will most likely be the only marathon finisher's medal I will ever be awarded.

Preparing for Race Day

There are several housekeeping issues I need to address before I awake on race day morning. At first glance, a runner merely needs to assemble shorts, a t-shirt, socks and sneakers for a race. There are a couple of other items I need to organize before race day.

The issue which is causing me the most anxiety is starting the race when the temperature is 42 degrees and windy only to find myself at mile marker twenty with the temperature in the low 60's and no wind. I have a low cold temperature tolerance threshold. I am not enamored with the prospect of standing at the starting line in shorts and a t-shirt for 15-30 minutes waiting for the start of the race while people are walking up and down the streets of Harrisburg in parkas and ski caps.

I don't have many shirts I can wear and just discard on the race route, but I guess I will need to find one if I don't want to start the race as a popsicle.

I will be wearing a road id band on my left wrist. This band contains important information about myself in the event I need medical attention and can't speak for myself. On the other wrist, I will be sporting my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS watch. I have already configured the watch to record my split times in half mile intervals. I will also be wearing an elastic band about my chest to record my heart rate throughout the race via the GPS watch. The watch will be fully charged. Only time will tell if the battery can hold a charge for four and a half hours for the marathon.

I would like to record 4:20 half mile splits for the first 8 miles, 4:40 splits for the next 8 miles, and 5:05 splits for the last 10.2 miles. This would translate very roughly to about four hours and twenty minutes. Realistically, I will record times commensurate with what my body tells me I can record. I am setting the split paces as a rough gauge of where I expect my pacing to be throughout the run. If my body tells me I am only capable of running 11:30 minute miles for the last five miles, there is not much I can do.

Another equipment dilemma I am struggling with is where to carry my three Powerbar Gel electrolyte packs. Most of my running short have one very small pocket large enough to carry a credit card and a key. I am not sure where everyone keeps their stash of gels while they run. I do not want to harness on a waist belt because I am concerned about items jiggling within for several hours as well as potential skin irritations. I have a pair of running shorts with pockets, but they are very long shorts, almost resembling basketball shorts. In order to avert chafing issues, I will need to wear compression shorts underneath my running shorts.

I will be wearing Brooks Ghost sneakers with brand new Dr. Scholls insoles. I opted to go with this shoe as I do not believe my normal racing shoe, the Mizuno Ronin 2's, will provide enough cushioning. The Brooks sneakers have a fair amount of cushioning and should thereby help alleviate some of my anticipated shin splint issues. The sneakers are relatively new, with only about forty miles on them to date.

In terms of head gear, I do not believe I will be sporting my USA flag bandana. Since I am follicly challenged, I need to be concerned about sunburn on my dome in the summer. I don't believe this will be an issue on Sunday.

My last issue is which socks to wear. I have a pair of Darn Tough Vermont synthetic sports socks I ran with during the USA 20K national in New Haven Connecticut in September. I don't have another pair I would like to wear which I feel are better than these nor do I want to risk making the wrong sock choice.

Marathon Week Training Regimen

In the weeks before you run a marathon conventional wisdom dictates you gradually lessen or taper your workouts in an effort to not be physically exhausted on race day. I have not run since last Saturday's five mile race in York and will not complete a run until this Sunday morning's marathon.

I have been nursing a very sore shin-splint in my right leg since last Saturday. It had been hurting to the extent I had been walking with a limp. It feels fine today, however I am not sure how it will hold up to a training run this week.

So I find myself caught between the desire to run a couple of miles this week to keep sharp and the suspicion I need to rest in order to avert re-aggravating my shin splint injury. At this point, I feel I will sacrifice a couple of minutes performance due to not training this week rather than face the prospect of running with a very sore shin splint for several hours. I would really like this run to be a test of endurance as opposed to a test of pain mitigation or pain threshold levels.

I am very excited the weather is forecasted to be a sunny and warm day on Sunday. I have run a couple of days in October where it was a sheer joy to be outside and running. I am getting a sense the same will be true for this Sunday's Harrisburg marathon sponsored by the Select Medical Corporation.

Celebration of Running

I believe I need to go into Sunday morning's marathon run with the mindset it will be a celebration of a season of running. I will not qualify for the Boston marathon this weekend. No one is pushing me to run a sub four hour marathon. The weather is forecasted to be warm and sunny on Sunday. Finishing this race should become a day to remember for the rest of my life.

My sons are too young to have any regard for this potential accomplishment, but I am hoping some day, if I am able to garner enough respect and admiration from them as they grow older, they will follow in their dad''s footsteps and beat my time. Both of my son's already have an athletic build, only time will tell if they will have an athletic mindset.

I find it amazing their exists about 800 other crazy people who are carving this Sunday morning out of their lives to run and walk 26.2 miles in Harrisburg.

Select Medical Corporation is the primary sponsor for this race. I used to work for a manager named Bruce Shearer who at one time worked for SMC. He could still be there now, maybe I will see him again Sunday.

Pre-Race Jitters abound

I am going through a maelstrom of emotions as race day approaches. Running a race of this length will test both my physical endurance and my mental toughness to a degree I have not been tested in my entire life. I have to be extremely careful to be aware of how my body is responding to the miles as they pass by and take the appropriate action. This event is intended to represent the pinnacle of my running this year. Getting carted off in an ambulance and incurring thousands of dollars in medical bills would place a major damper on the day and for months to come.

I intend to wear an mp3 player for the race. I have always been a big fan of listening to music. Listening to music while I run helps divert some of my mental focus normally centered on the pain I am incurring to somewhere else. A mental game I am going to engage in during the run is to pretend I am an explorer of sorts running through the town of Harrisburg for the first time and take in the scenery and enjoy myself as much as humanly possible. My normal running style is to lock my eyes down the road 50 yards and run. If I am to be running for four and a half hours I will need to look around to stay alert.

I looked back at the 20K (12.4 mile) run I completed in September and I was running at a 9:15 per mile pace at the end of the race. (I averaged 8:54 per mile for the entire race. ) That's a respectable pace for me after 12 miles. If I can finish the last mile of this marathon at around a 10:15 per mile pace I will most likely have recorded a great run.

One concern I have which emanated from my last five mile race is how to handle the temperature swing from the beginning of the race until the end. It may be in the mid 40's in the morning in Harrisburg and climb to the 60's by the afternoon. I am contemplating wearing an old T-shirt for the beginning of the race and then discarding it once I become warmed up.

In a nutshell, if I do not suffer from severe shin splints, a tight calf muscle, groin pull, etc. I am confident I will have both a fun and good run.

2009 Harrisburg Marathon - Initial Thoughts

I am not sure where or when my desire to run a marathon originated, but I do know it's a desire at least a dozen years old. Way back in 1997 I went on a running and racing avocation kick for a year and I remember wanting to accomplish running a marathon.

I read both the Running World and Running Times magazines on a monthly basis. Within each issue there are several marathons which are featured in full page advertisements . I find myself imagining running within a marathon in Texas, or in Louisiana, or more generally in states I have never been too. I like to travel and so does my family. The current limiter is finding the finances to get my family to these destinations and still meet our normal monthly financial obligations.

Running a marathon is compounded by the logistical efforts necessary to get you to the starting line on race day. Most of the marathons are located in major cities hundreds of miles away. Add a couple of nights for a hotel and you are looking at a budget of about $400 - $500 for every marathon entered. The major appeal for me in running the Harrisburg marathon is I have a 30 minute commute and do not require overnight accommodations.

A marathon is about as misaligned a running goal I could have for my athletic skill set. I am more comfortable sprinting for short distances. If you look at my catalog of personal records, they are more respectable at shorter distances and less respectable at the longer distances.

This race will not be a measure of how fast can I complete the course, but rather can I complete this course. I believe this will be a test of my ability to manage pain. I am currently nursing a shin splint. Running 26 miles on a sore leg will not help to alleviate the pain. I have confidence I can complete 13 miles as I have done this recently in early September. My primary concern is how much pain will I have to run through to get to the finish line.

One comforting aspect of this race is my familiarity with the Harrisburg area. In many races I am relatively lost at sea in terms of where I am in relation to where and how far away the finish line is located. I should have my bearings throughout this race.

This is a smaller marathon, on the order of 800-900 runners. As a result, there will not be a great amount of communal energy derived from running within large crowds. I will most likely be running solo or in a very small group for a large part of the race.

I am under the impression I can finish this run in four and a half hours. The race begins at 8:30 am. What I want to do is keep my chicken legs in motion until 1:00 pm. My first marathon goal is simple - finish.

York White Rose 5 Mile Race results

I woke up around 5 am Saturday and immediately checked the weather. It was very warm, around 58 degrees and there was no rain nor was there rain forecasted for anytime in the morning. I takes about an hour for me to get to York so I set out for the race a little before 7 am.

The trip route I had printed from Google maps appeared as though the route was a very easy one. The race venue was only a couple of miles off of Route 83. Well the route was easy if you turned right (towards York city) coming off of exit 83. As I read my trip instructions, I was to take a left turn off of Route 83.

Fortunately the instructions stated I should be at the Sovereign Bank stadium within two miles of exiting Route 83. After entering a town called Emigsville and driving through the entire town I decided to ask for directions. Ironically North George Street spans from York right into Emigsville, i.e. the house numbers do not start over in Emigsville.

I was told I was about three miles away from where I needed to be and it was about 8:05 am. On race day I am typically a litttle nervous about running, having difficulties getting to the race exacerbated my already elevated anxiety level.

I arrived at about 8:15 at a jewel of a baseball park. The Soveriegn Bank stadium appeared to be a brand new ball park and there did not appear to be a bad seat in the house. I look forward to taking my eldest son to a ball game here next year.

The race start was a block or two away from the stadium. I migrated there after doing a minimal amount of stretching. The temperatures were now in the low 60's, but there was a wind to contend with. In retrospect, I had dressed much too warmly for this race. I could have worn shorts and a t-shirt, but I had on running pants and a long sleeve shirt.

The mayor of York, John Brenner, appeared for a few comments at the start of the race. He seemed like a very down to earth guy, not your typical snake oil salesman politician type.

Aside of a grueling hill between mile one and two, I do not remember much of this course. I had overdressed for this race and I was burning up for a majority of the race. I witnessed one smart runner shed a shirt while running to alleviate their thermal distress. I had not dressed in layers so that was not an option for myself.

I had set up my watch to give 1/4 mile splits and I wanted to post sub two minute splits throughout the race to post a five mile time under forty minutes. I was able to post my goal splits for a large part of the race but could not get it done for the last four splits of the race. The finishing stretch of the race was along the side of the ballpark on a walk towards the entrance. I finished with a time of approximately 40 minutes and 35 seconds. While I did not break forty minutes, I was generally pleased I did not break down during the last mile and run a nine plus minute mile. I set a PR for five miles. I finished 117th out of 293 runners and 14th out of 23 male runners aged 45-49.

After the race I was talking 'shop' with a man named Jim who had run several marathons, including the Boston marathon. His advice to a first time marathon runner? Start slow and finish slower. Many newbie runners, myself included, get caught up in the adrenaline surge at the beginning of the race and begin races at a pace which is not sustainable for their fitness level. Adrenaline, at least in my case, is not a long term energy source.

My new Dr. Scholl insoles worked like a charm. My Mizuno Ronin 2 running shoes have minimal cushioning. Adding the new insoles served to make my feet much more comfortable throughout the race. I noticed two other runners sporting the distinctively orange colored Ronin 2's.

My next race? Would you believe a marathon? I signed up for the Harrisburg Marathon on Sunday November 8th. I have run over 450 miles this summer. Time to try and add 26.2 more miles to the running log.

The ING New York City marathon is today. I hope to see some of it on TV today. It will be interesting to see where the American favorites Kara Goucher and Ryan Hall finish.

Mile paces:
1 - 7:23 pace
2 - 8:01 pace
3 - 8:03 pace
4 - 8:23 pace
5 - 8:26 pace
Overall - 8:07 pace