My Grandpa

My grandpa passed away one month ago today. I wasn't as close with him as I would have liked, but he was always a giant figure in my life. In the days that followed his death, I was able to learn so much more about him and some of his heroics as a police officer, including the following article, written by the chief of police in Willowick, OH.

Heroes are not born but are ordinary men who are placed into situations that require extraordinary actions. A Willowick hero died last month. He was Sgt. George Duncan who retired from the Willowick Police Department in 1981 after a 27 year career. Although I never had the opportunity to work with George, we got... to know each other when he would come by to visit his police comrades, particularly his son Duane, who retired in 1999. George’s easygoing manner and smile were a trademark but as the years went by and other officers he worked with retired, his visits were less frequent.

At his wake, his accomplishments were on display, in particular a “Blue Coat” award given to him in 1976 by the Knights of Columbus. Although he was deserving of this award for many reasons, the one that he is most remembered for is an incident that occurred in the winter on Lake Erie near the old E 330 St beach area that is virtually gone now. A report came in of 3 male juveniles who had fallen into the water when ice broke up. Along with Ptl. John Germ (former Police Chief) and the other hero of this story, they walked through ankle deep slush, and were able to rescue 2 of the 3 boys. The 3rd boy was too far out and hit by ice and they lost sight of him. At one point, the 2 officers literally made a human chain out onto the fragile ice to effect the rescue. Yet George’s wife, Myra, said that as he came home soaked to the skin, he was bothered by one he couldn’t save.

As George Duncan was laid to rest last week, I know one fallen hero was welcomed home and told that his life was a job well done.

#18 - Bring it On!

CLE2012 will be my 18th attempt at 26.2... and hopefully my 18th successful 26.2 as well. I set a new PR at CLE2011 and I'm well ahead of where I was last year at this time from a fitness standpoint. Assuming I can continue to train with relative consistency, I can't think of a good reason why I wouldn't aim to improve my PR by a minute or two. I've got plenty of benchmark type workouts to gauge my progress and should have a real good idea of what to shoot for on May 20.

Extreme Makeover - Boys Bedroom Edition

In the spring of 2011, I redid the boys room extreme makeover style. It was a lot of work (roughly 3 weeks) but I learned a lot and now with the benefit of hindsight, feel as though this project was my foray into the world of DIY and becoming a little more handy.

The first stage (or demo stage) included; ripping out the carpet and padding, prying off some chair rail, painting/priming over the old paint scheme, scraping off the pointy plaster stuff on the ceiling (there's a good reason for this), and installing a new receptacle for an overhead light. Fun, right? Lot's of destruction!

Stage two involved making the vision in my head a reality. This involved; laminate installation, crown molding, wiring overhead light to a new switch, wallpapering, and last but not least, skim coating the ceiling. Count your blessings if you don't know what it means to skim coat a ceiling. That's all I've got to say about that!

A couple before pics...

Nursery was Baby Pooh themed... great for a newborn.. lame for 3-1/2 year olds

It was definitely time for a change!

I really has no idea how long this project was going to take but I envisioned letting everyone get one last look at the old room, closing the door and opening it a few days later to everyone's utter amazement. Well, unlike the real Extreme Makeover, I didn't have a team of re-modelers ready to pounce.... so, it took a little longer. But I was able to enlist the "help" of a couple eager little boys...

Once the room was gutted and the ceiling was skim-coated to my satisfaction, things started to move pretty quickly... First the wiring, then the new paint and wallpaper (brick), then the molding, and finally the laminate floor.

Almost done...

I dropped the crown molding about a foot down from the ceiling to function as a tray for rope lights that I snaked around the room's perimeter. The ropes and outlet are completely hidden from floor level. It's only when you turn off the lights and flip the new wall switch that you see this...

It's much cooler in person...

Overall, we wanted the room to grow with them and I think we accomplished this in that different "themes" can be realized simply by accessorizing with the boys favorite thing(s). In June, when I wrapped things up, they were into Cars 2. Perfect, since we already had a bunch of stuff from the first Cars movie!

The finished product...

Oh yeah... the reason I "had" to scrape off the pointy plaster stuff from the ceiling was so I could stick glow-in-the-dark stars up there! Definitely worth it in the end!

Daze Gone By!

I'm surprised I remembered my password to get into Blogger. Damn I'm a slacker! Crazy thing is that I had a million things I intended to blog last year but kept putting it off.... I don't know if this service will be around forever (probably not) but I like to think I will at least be able to capture it in a format that will allow me to look back on it many years from now. In that sense, I think of my blog as somewhat of a journal (the manly word for diary ; ) At this point in my life, I really appreciate the value of capturing the little things in life as they tend to be whizzing by at a feverish pace.

2011 Cleveland Marathon - 2:54:42

I arrived at the start line with about 5 minutes to spare and had a chance to mingle with a few other runners. The court announcer from the Cavaliers was there to pump up the crowd and give the official start. It was a smooth start… no jockeying for position, etc. I kept my eye on a group I knew would be running 6:15-6:18 for the first mile and distanced myself far enough back hoping to lock into my target pace. Mile 1 was up W. 3^rd and onto the shoreway (heading towards Edgewater / Lakewood). I felt a little winded early and wondered if I had gone out too fast, but in hindsight I think it was a combination of the early climb and my body adjusting to the brisk pace after standing around all morning. I also started to feel a little warm in the early miles and considered shedding my arm warmers, but decided against it because I knew the temp was going to drop slightly and the rain would continue. My mile splits stayed pretty consistent through the first half with the slowest mile being a 6:46 mile 11 (over the bridge against a headwind). Figured I was around 2:51 pace at the half, which is pretty much right where I wanted to be. I knew I was not likely to run the second half as strong as the first but I set myself up for a very realistic chance at running 2:55, and was almost certain to break 3:00.

The second half of the course brought with it two new challenges… isolation and unfamiliarity. Isolation is by far the greatest challenge but knowing my family was waiting for me at mile 17 made the first four miles bearable. At that point, the course became a little more familiar (very familiar actually) as we descended north on MLK towards the lake, but this is the most isolated part of the course by far. A couple strong runners passed as if I was standing still and I watched them slowly but steadily increase their lead, leaving me to wonder whether I was slowing or they were surging. My splits for mile 18 and 19 were 6:42 and 6:38, respectively (dead on pace), which made me feel better. By the time I hit the lake, I was starting to feel it in my legs… nothing was cramping but that all too familiar feeling of pain and discomfort was present and it’s at this point when my natural response is to do whatever is necessary to ease the pain, which in most cases means slowing down. This is also the point I train months for (both mentally and physically) so I tapped into my favorite mantra “You earned this pain” and my thoughts and inner dialogue were with a dear friend who passed earlier this year. Mile 22 was slow (7:32) but I knew it was due in large part to the hairpin turn coming off of marginal and the climb up E.55^th towards St. Clair. Also because I walked through a water stop for water and a gel. Fortunately, I was encouraged by a runner just as I was starting back up after water, which really helped get me back on track. Unfortunately, he was moving too fast for me to go with him, but it was just the right amount of motivation to keep me from fading. At this point in the race, motivation in any form is welcome and I received it once again somewhere between 22 and 23 when another runner was on my heels and passing. This time, I urged myself to go with him. Looking back, this was the most critical moment of my race. Had I let him go, I would have watched another dozen or so other runners go by, having no energy or confidence to go with them. We silently urged each other on until just before mile 24, when he suddenly stopped to stretch. I had no idea he was hurting because he just looked so damn strong to me. I was running alone once again but was less than 15 minutes from being done and starting to surge knowing sub-3 was a lock and 2:55 was still on the table. Miles 25 and 26 were 6:59 and 6:56, respectively.

Earlier in the morning as I headed down E. 9^th towards Brown’s Stadium, I saw mile marker 26 and it was practically falling over backwards given its position on the steep descent towards the lake. Pretty much right at mile marker 26, I spotted Teresa and the boys off to the left. I remember yelling, “I’m doing good!” and “I think I’ll be around 2:55!” The homestretch was incredible as always and I crossed the finish line in 2:54:42! I really wish I could be a spectator at my own race because it would be interesting to see how I look on the outside knowing how amazing I feel on the inside. My guess is that I probably look like a pile of garbage! My finish time is a new personal best and was accomplished on about 8 weeks of training with next-to-no running in the second half of 2010. During my training, I think the following things worked in my favor:

1. Perfect mix of training runs (i.e. tempo, speed, LSD, etc)
2. Quality over quantity... 35-40 miles/week except for the last week before taper (70 miles)
3. Did not over-train (i.e. peaked at just the right time)
4. Lots of core work (P90X - Ab Ripper X)
5. In bed by 10PM most nights
6. Took a full year off between marathons (plenty of time to put running/marathoning into perspective)
7. Support of my family! This is a constant, but I'm eternally grateful for their love.

Together Forever?

Our boys have/are growing up so quickly. It makes me sad to think that one day they may go to separate colleges, live/work in different cities, etc. I wish they could stay together forever! These pictures are priceless and mean so much to Teresa and I. Hopefully as time goes on, the idea of them separating (both from us and each other) becomes a little easier to accept.

Do I Have To Say The Words?

Tree and I had a surprise date night last night.... well, it was a surprise for her anyway. About 2 months ago I caught wind that Bryan Adams would be playing an acoustic (Bare Bones) show at the State Theater in Sandusky. After some thought, I decided not to tell her until the day of the show (I'm good at keeping secrets). She's got a photographic memory when it comes to music - this dates back to the countless hours she spent singing in dancing in her room as a child - so I didn't feel as though she needed advance notice to "prep" for the show. I was right. As he stood up there singing and playing his acoustic guitar (accompanied on some songs by a piano) I could hear her singing along with every word and knew she was enjoying herself.

For some reason, I'm still amazed to this day how much of a Bryan Adams fan she is (and always has been). We first met at a time when "grunge" rock and "gangster" rap were mainstrseam and my impression of her was that she was like me and every other kid in their late teens at the time. Not so much! I guess she's an 'old soul' in that sense!

Goal Setting

It's never too early to set goals for the new year. In fact, some of the goals I have floating around in my head can be accomplished before the new year and some are more long term and will not come to fruition until 2012 and beyond. However, as is the point of any goal setting session, the important thing is getting them out there so I can formulate a plan of attack. Here goes:

• Ironman #2 - probably a 2012 and beyond goal, but I have to keep sight of this and continue working in the pool and on my biking.
• Build a playroom and indoor workout area - Our recently flooded basement has inspired me to make the most of the space we have (there's tons of it). Certainly more to come on this.
• Run another sub-3 marathon - Spring 2011, Cleveland.
• Organize garage, including priming and painting drywall, building shelves, etc.
• NYC Marathon - This one is definitely 2012 and beyond as I want to wait until the munchkins are old enough to take on the big apple.
• Office/Study Build - Our home came equipped with an office/study... well, everything except the desk, chairs, computer, etc. So much of our house is filled with old furniture left over from our college days and this room is in sore need of a more grown up look (and feel). I'm thinking laminate floor, suede-textured walls, a two-person desk, wall space for our diplomas, etc.
• Outdoor Patio - The plan is to do all the legwork (i.e. line up contractor) by spring of 2011 so it's complete in time for the warm weather.
• Finish Books - I have trouble reading a book to completion. Mostly because my interest level has dimished by the halfway point and it's a real bore going from page-to-page. I guess my goal should instead be to find more compelling books ; )
• Start collecting a Gregory Peck movie library - and to go along with it, a collection of all the novels his movies were adapted from.

2010 Greater Cleveland Triathlon

My path towards the 2010 Greater Cleveland Triathlon started sometime mid-to-late 2009 when a little bird told me that it would be included in the summer 2010 Team In Training schedule. I have been a run coach with TNT for the past 3 years but have been wanting to fundraise again and since I've already done a marathon with TNT, I figured a triathlon (especially a hometown triathlon) would be perfect.

The day turned out to be great! Competing while wearing TNT purple is like nothing else. The course was littered with cheer squads (scream teams) wearing purple and urging, not just us, but everyone on (props to Mentor High cheerleaders for ditching the red and donning the purple).

SWIM - What can I say about the swim? Yikes... really. I am a horrible swimmer. I can't figure how I have a god-given ability to run and can hold my own on the bike, but am so incredibly slow as a swimmer. For some silly reason (more mental than anything) I decided not to wear a wetsuit. Who knows how much time I lost because of this but I was 10-15 minutes slower than my previous swim times would have predicted. Oh well. I didn't drown and I wasn't the absolute last person out of the water so... on to the bike.

BIKE - As much as I want to get-up-and-go on the bike, I am still fairly winded from the swim. Plus, and maybe it was just me, I felt a fairly strong headwind when heading south on the bike course. Still, I have a lot of fun on the bike. I did good negotiating the hills and a few of the more technical sections of the course and managed just under 18 mph as an average speed.

RUN - Normally I love hitting the ground running. It's my chance to pass everyone who treaded over top of me in the water. Not on this day. I was looking for any excuse to rest at T2 and was fortunate to find 1/2 cup of Gatorade next to my bike. Three seconds later I was out of excuses and was on the go. My average pace was consistent but slow for me. I knew this would be the case as I've run only a handful of times since the Pittsburgh Marathon in May. Plus it was really frickin' hot and I hate running in hot weather.

FINISH - As I neared the finish line I saw my family, friends, TNT posse, and my honoree, Page. I took my medal and put it around her neck for keeping. Her bravery and spirit over the years is enough to warrant all the medals in the world.

Afterwards, I hung out on the beach with the family and a high school friend of mine and her family. An amazing day all around.

Woot, Woot!

Results are in from the Pirate Triathlon and I'm really surprised I did so well. The modified/shortened swim really helped but I figured my lack of training over the past 2-3 months would catch up to me by the end and I'd fall apart late.

The mass swim start combined with the modified course and the fact that I was able to keep up with the pack (for the most part) made for a rough swim. I nailed the bike (I think). I still don't have a computer to know my pace, but it felt fast and I was doing a fair amount of passing. Had a decent run... got passed by a 13 year old very early who made me (and many others) look silly. Finished strong and somewhere in the top 10% overall!

All in all, another great experience in my hometown. This race has grown in numbers almost every year since its inception way back in 1994. Soon it will be May and time to register again.

Team In Training Video - In Honor of Page

I created this video as a fundraising tool and to tell my story of how I came to run on behalf of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Enjoy.

Update

Triathlon training is going like this....

Swim: Hitting the pool with some regularity. Jumped in the lake once about two weeks ago. All in all, I feel really good in the water.

Bike: Now, in addition to my fancy bike that is rarely used, I have fancy new tires! Gotta schedule some time for a few 20-30 mile rides!

Run: I injured my left knee about 2 weeks ago playing flag footbal and haven't been able to run since. It's just now starting to feel good enough to run. Soon I will ramp up the mileage in order to run a solid 10K at my August 8th triathlon.

P90X Week 1

Day 1 - Yikes... I just got my butt kicked by the chest and back (+ ab ripper x) DVD, which is the very first workout in the 90-day P90X cycle. It's basically a mix of push-ups and pull-ups - with a splash of dumb bell exercises. I don't really feel like explaining the structure of the workout at the moment as the simple act of typing is anything but simple. Suffice it to say, it's a bitch of a workout. And then when it's all done... SURPRISE, 15-minutes of ab ripper x. I couldn't keep pace with TH and his posse, but did at least 75% of the reps.

I'm gonna scour the house for some protein and then go to bed. Gotta wake up early to swim... bet that will feel good!

Day 2 - Day 2 is Plyometrics, and from what I've read it's considered to be the "mother" of all the P90X workouts. I was more afraid of falling on my face as it consists of lots of jumping and twisting and other airborne antics that requare some degree of rhythm/coordination. All in all I had a pretty easy time with it. Definitely worked up a good sweat and felt the burn in my legs at times. For the next three weeks, I will welcome it as a break between upper body resistance workouts.

My body is still SCREAMING from Day 1! Every part of my upper body hurts and now it's becoming difficult to sit/squat from Day 2. I know this is the initial "shock" but I would never have guessed it to be this bad (bad as in good... sort of).

Day 3 - Shoulder's and arms. This one is definitely for the "beach" muscles, or "marathon" muscles for a guy like me. The structure of the workout was simple. Five "blocks" of exercises for the shoulders, biceps and triceps. Run through a block once and then repeat before moving on to the next block. I found some of the exercises to be too easy (too little weight) and some to be too hard (too much weight) so I ordered some resistance bands for next week. Even though I was still incredibly sore from days 1 and 2, this workout felt great. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being 'check your ego at the door', this one was about a 6... really not too bad. The focus was on form/technique rather than high heartrate or max reps.

Day 4 - Yoga X. I'll never forget the first time I did Yoga X... not because I've never done yoga before or because I'm completely inflexible, but because I "pushed play" minutes after the Cavaliers monumental collapse against the Celtics. 90 minutes of deep breathing/meditation was the perfect remedy for a frustrated Cleveland sports fan. My form on some of the poses was probably way off but they felt great and I pulled most of them off... except for the crane! I will consider this program a success if I can eventually hold this pose for more than half a second.

Day 5 - Legs and Back. Lot's of squat-type exercises and plenty of pull-up/chin-ups for the back. Similar to Plyometrics, this one burned at times, but my legs are in pretty good shape from running/biking. The hardest exercise was single leg wall squats. Oh, and pull-ups are always tough!

Day 6 - Kenpo X. After doing this one, I may opt to skip it in the future as I just don't see a whole lot bang for the buck. It's more cardio than anything and my time would be better spent running for an hour instead. Plus, this one requires even more coordination than plyometrics. It's just not for me.

Day 7 - Rest or X Stretch. I chose to rest... will try X Stretch next week.

Weeks 2 and 3 are identical to Week 1. Week 4 is a recovery week (i.e. no resistance stuff).

Ready to Run

Wrapped up my training today with a 2-1/2 mile easy run around Huron High School's track. I used this time to contemplate my race strategy for Sunday's Pittsburgh Marathon. As Ryan Hall said pre-Boston, I'm going to run "free" and let the day dictate my pace. Rain/thunderstorms are in the forecast, which may be a good thing because temps will be in the 60's (would they cancel a marathon due to lightning?) .

I'm ready to run and proud of myself for whipping into decent shape over the past 8-10 weeks. I love to run and the challenge of running a marathon (especially to a father of twin toddlers) is no less daunting than it was prior to the first time I ran 26.2 seven years ago.

T-Minus 2 days until marathon 16

12 Days and Pasta!

Twelve days remain until the Pittsburgh Marathon and I'm feeling good about both the quantity and quality of running I've done over the past 6-8 weeks. An additional 2-3 weeks of focused training would be ideal as it would add to my confidence... but since I'm out of time, I have to trust in my intuition as a runner to tell me where I stand fitness-wise. So next week I'll probably have my race strategy worked out, along with my race outfit, pre-race dinner plans, etc. Teresa has a friend who lives in Pittsburgh whose Dad is "famous" for his spaghetti. Call me selfish, but I would love a homemade pasta dinner!

And just like that...

...I'm back to swimming again and having an indoor track to run on. The YMCA opened on Monday so Teresa and I took the boys up there last night to get our membership cards and take a look around. They offer child watch so we got the little dudes checked into the play area (which is pretty awesome) and took our time walking through the brand-new facility highlighted by an aquatics room featuring a family pool and a competitive 8-lane pool. The second floor has all the exercise equipment and the indoor track. The indoor track is not the best as it has only 2 lanes and half of it runs through the exercise equipment. There are a ton of treadmills though (all equipped with TV's) so if it's crummy outside and crowded on the track, there's always plan C. As a family, we will take full advantage of all the programs available, including kiddie swim lessons, spin classes, 'Mom-and-Me' Yoga, etc. The new Y will definitely bring a better quality of life to those who make the most of it.

This morning I hit the pool for 20 minutes, ran 2 miles and squeezed in 25 minutes of strength training.

Spring Running

My fitness level is gradually improving. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I know enough about the physiology of running to understand why it's been difficult to complete certain training runs I was doing with ease last year at this time. The good news is, at the current rate and with just over 6 weeks remaining until Pittsburgh, my fitness will be much improved and at a relatively small cost. Following Pittsburgh I will focus primarily on triathlon training and completing a P90X cycle. Then it's back to a month or two of base building before 3-4 months of intense marathon training with the goal of being back in sub-3 shape in time for the Miami Marathon on January 31, 2011. By then I'll have the option to run indoors at the new YMCA (18 days and counting!).

In a side note, and to follow up on a previous post... I've been running a lot at lunch time. Huron High School's track is about 2.5 miles from where I work, which makes for a nice warm up... then I can hit the track for 3-4 miles of intervals or tempo running... followed by a nice 2.5 mile recovery run back to work. It's great not having to worry about waking up early to run and/or run later in the evening after the munchkins are asleep.

Goodbye Morning Running

I think it's officially time for me to accept that morning running just ain't working anymore. Ever since last summer, one thing after another has kept me from getting out before sunrise on a regular basis. I've used about every excuse in the book. Some legitimate and some not so legitimate. Nonetheless, it's time for me to let go and figure out a better time of day to run. At the moment, since I no longer have the option to run indoors, the snow is making it difficult to run regardless of the time.

Fingers crossed, the new YMCA will open mid-March and I'll have roughly 4 weeks to squeeze in certain workouts that are best done on a track. Until then, I have to suck it up, stop being bitter, and head out at lunch or late in the evening after the smallzies are in bed. My lack of training since last winter/spring is reflective in my most recent marathon times and I do not want the trend to continue! Time to walk the walk!

2010 Calendar

My 2010 training and competition calendar is starting to fill up, which is a good thing. I need to get my butt back in shape. First up will be the Pittsburgh Marathon on May 2nd. If I shape up (literally) I should be able to run a solid race that I can walk away happy with. Next up comes triathlon season with at least 2 races scheduled. The first being the Pirate Triathlon (500m swim, 20k bike, 5k run) in my hometown of Fairport Harbor on July 25th. Second is the Greater Cleveland Triathlon (3/4 mile swim, 23 mile bike, 6.2 mile run) at Mentor Headlands State Park... another old stomping ground from my childhood. I will be completing the GCT with Team In Training... this time as a participant! Following GCT, I'll be ready to get back to marathon training and will consider a fall marathon. If I choose not to run a fall marathon, I'll focus my efforts on a fast half-marathon.

Girl Informed Me

James Mercer is collaborating with Danger Mouse on a new project called Broken Bells. Good stuff but looks as if The Shins are a flash in the pan. No more "You gotta hear this song. It'll change your life.". No more obscure Sportscenter references comparing Lew Ford to James Mercer. Even if they launch another album, it'll be a different cast of characters... just not the same. Oh well. I'm a proud owner of three of their albums. And besides, my taste in music is ever expanding thanks to my ultra-cool wife ; ) Lady Gaga (Lah-D Gaga as I like to say) is fascinating to me... and I totally dig The Ting Tings! I mean, at least the two songs that are always played. And I still listen to Metallica, my old school fave, all day at work. You gotta have balance. There's nothing like creating a diverse playlist of 20 songs all approximately 3-minutes in length and alternating between easy and hard running for an hour.