One Year

There's no way to articulate how special the last year has been for my wife and I. It's late in the afternoon on October 16th. One year ago I was returning from a business trip to Houston. It was a very exciting time. The Indians were on the verge of making it to the World Series... every game was incredible to watch. Teresa was on bedrest in the hospital, meaning the twins could come any moment. It was fall. The weather was perfect. The air smelled of crisp leaves.

By noon the next morning we were officially parents of beautiful baby boys. The first six months were rough. Caring for and getting used to the needs of the babies was never an issue. We managed perfectly. Since I tend always to squeeze something running related into my posts, seven months after they were born, I ran a 3:02 marathon. Amazing to think I pulled that off at the same time I was doing the 4AM feedings.

The last six months have been a whirlwind! Rolling over, sitting up, holding bottles, teething, crawling, first haircut, furniture walking... It's been amazing to witness. Their interaction with each other is incredible. So indepedent but so very aware of the others presence. I cannot wait to see what's in store for the next six months and beyond!

The pic below was taken on October 9th at Portrait Innovations in Avon.

Accepted

With the twins birthday rapidly approaching, I prepared a list of everything that needs done around the house prior to their party. About four seconds later, I delayed starting training for Boston until next week when things are a little less hectic. I need to get it goin' soon though because the following showed up in my inbox last week...

Your entry into the 113th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 20, 2009 has been accepted.

Woo hoo! I'm looking forward to Boston for so many reasons. Last week Teresa and I discussed taking a trip to either Plymouth or Rockport. Also, we may have an opportunity to visit a friend who lives near Bristol, CT and works for ESPN.

2008 Erie Marathon

This one's hard to summarize... My final time of 3:33:24 is my slowest marathon since May 2003. I knew I wasn't in good marathon shape and anything even close to a 3-hour marathon would be asking an awful lot of my body. However, given my 3:02 at Cleveland in May and how I felt during my long runs over the last 6 weeks, I felt 3:10-3:15 to be realistic.

Race morning... Yikes! 80 degrees, humid from the rain that passed through the day before, and a little on the windy side. I thought to myself how I've never been warm prior to starting a marathon. That's just the kind of day it was, a day of firsts. I was shirtless by mile 8 (a first) with my race bib pinned to my red split-leg shorts (another first). I had to stop for at least a minute to make this happen (not at all concerned about time). About a mile later I shoved some ice down my shorts (not only a first, but also a last!). I can't figure how I was on pace to run a 3:10 through the half because the contingency strategy was in effect since mile 7 (i.e. finish in one piece). I know more than the average bear about how hard the body must work to stay cool on a hot day and I wasn't about to make it work any harder.

It was a fun race nonetheless. Highlights include (in no particular order): running a mile with the winner of the '85 and '95 Erie Marathon, helping and being helped by others over the last 6-8 miles, very nice volunteers, not stopping to walk despite cramping quads, running faster miles 22-26 than miles 18-22, crossing the finish line, and last but not least, shaking the hand and talking with a 90-year old who ran the 1/2 in 3:04, a world record (see picture below).

I was sad Teresa had to work. She knows more than anyone what running means to me and understood my desire to squeeze this one in despite her not being there with me. She also understood how much it meant for the twins to be there with me despite the forecast of rain. I believe they were both awake at the finish line this time!

The sleeves were definitely not needed... could have ditched the shirt as well

Age group world record, Henry Sypniewski, 90 years young

Finish line in site

Happy to be done.. and proud to be an American : )

Me and my homies

Not Sure What to Expect

T-minus 3 days and counting. Marathon #12 is sure to be an interesting one. I'm predicting I blow up somewhere on the course and have to drag myself through the final miles. The devil on my shoulder is telling me to go out at my standard marathon pace and see what happens... the angel is urging me to take it easy, run a nice even pace consistent with your current fitness level. I think I'll lean the direction of el diablo for the first ten miles or so and rely on the lighter side of my conscious to bring me home in one piece. The weather is forecast to be nice... a little rain perhaps, but mild temps. Wish me luck!

Me and my little buddies - early August

The 26.2 Mile Experiment

In case anyone wonders how effective a training program is that consists primarily of long runs on the weekend, say hello to your guinea pig. I'm guessing my post marathon blog will read one of two ways. Either I have a good race and am raving about how long runs trump high weekly mileage... or, I blow up on the course and am swearing never again to neglect the tried and true training programs. Either way, I'll learn something.

Took video of the boys playing together... the smile on Cole's face (on the left) about halfway through the videw is so damn cute.

Kick-Off

Tonight is the kickoff meeting for the winter Team In Training season. I will be co-coaching for the Disney and Rock'n'Roll Arizona marathons. I've met so many great people through Team In Training and am excited about getting to know another group of runners focused on accomplishing a common goal. Once again, the experience level of the participants is as diverse as the people themselves. I'm always impressed with the experienced marathon runner who uses their abilities for a higher purpose. It's impressive enough to run a marathon for yourself but to run one for someone suffering from a life-threatening illness is beyond impressive. I try very hard to convey to my runners how they will be viewed in the eyes of the average spectator, not to mention the eyes of a young child affected by leukemia. How often in our lives do we have the opportunity to be a hero?

My training is going so-so. I've managed to squeeze in long runs of 16 and 18 miles the past two weekends, respectively. Have also managed some medium long tempo runs, hills workouts, track work, etc. I don't know what my gameplan will be come race day. Part of me is already looking forward to Boston '09, which will be marathon number 13 and mine and Teresa's first trip (of many) to Boston with our family.

Back at the Track

Dropped in to see some old friends ar the track in Independence last night and surprised myself by running consecutively faster 800m/400m repeats. My 4th and final 800/400 split was 2:38/1:09. Felt pretty good throughout and afterwards. Legs are pretty fresh from a relatively light schedule of late. Also helping my cause were my super lightweight Brooks T4 Racer's. Running fast is a must when wearing such flashy shoes.

After my final 400 I realized my pace (4:36 min/mile) was just a tad bit faster than what Haile Gebrselassie ran for a full 26.2 miles last fall in Berlin (4:45 min/mil). I couldn't have run 20 more feet at that pace and he rocked a full marathon at that clip!! Unbelievable. Too bad he's not running the Olympic Marathon.

Lighthouse Tri

Just finished a sprint distance triathlon in my hometown of Fairport Harbor. Finish time of 1:11:10 was good enough for 4th place in my age group. With a little more work in the pool I may actually place in my age group next year. I was as impressed this year with the organization of the race as I was last year. Hard to believe the race costs only $20. I've gotta get in marathon mode real soon as my next race is six weeks (and change) away. You know my silly butt will shoot for another sub-3, so I better get at it so as not to crash and burn!

On another note, watched Running on the Sun last night. This is a movie documenting the journeys of a dozen or so participants of the 1999 Badwater 135. I've since learned that a local runner placed third in that very race. The challenge of such a race is intriguing as hell, but it's not for me. I need to work out my mental issues with the marathon before even thinking about something as nutty as that.

Caden has a cold and had a rough time last night. Their room now smells worse than a nursing home (I should know, I visited one recently). Talk about Vick's Vapor rub overload. Poor little guy. He's doing good tonight.... so far!

Daryl and I getting ready

Exiting the swim in 11:26

Exiting the bike (20.9 mph average)

My support crew, sans Teresa : ( you were with me the whole time

Le Tour

I've been watching as the tour de France makes it's way through/up the Alps. Unfortunately, so has the spin instructor at the gym. This morning we climbed for 40-minutes non-stop. Nothing I haven't done before. It's just been a couple of years since the 12-mile climb at Ironman France. I followed it up with 3 progressively fast miles (6:47, 6:26, 5:56) to get used to the feeling of running off the bike, which I will do this weekend at a sprint distance triathlon in Fairport Harbor. I finished 6th in my age group last year and hope, at the very least, to equal that this year. If only I could cut a minute or two off of my swim time. It's nice to dream : )

My Eyes Burn

Why do my eyes burn? Because I swam this morning without goggles. I woke up with an urge to get in the pool and by the time I arrived at the gym, realized I forgot the one piece of equipment really needed to swim. It took about 5 minutes, but I got used to swimming "naked" and ultimately had a really good 20-minutes. I guess I'm paying for it now!

A couple recent pictures... You'd never know it from the picture below, but Cole has been feeling a little under the weather of late (ear infection). Caden is probably a month away (maybe sooner) from crawling. Watch out!

Caden (AKA Spanky)

Cole chillin w/ Dad

Milestones

Had a great 4th of July weekend! We spent a lot of time outside eating grilled hamburgers, playing bocce ball and constantly avoiding UV-B rays. Thank god for SPF-50! Teresa and I get loads of comments on how "good" Caden and Cole are, which is nice, but it makes me think of the thousands of good babies that have a hard time being out-and-about and would be labeled as "bad". We're doing a good job as parents but we're also very lucky in that our little guys have settled into a schedule that many parents only dream of.

I was recently asked by a friend what milestones the boys have hit and I didn't have a real good answer. It seems like every day they're doing something new/different but nothing that can be easily described or summed up in words. I mean, how does one explain the silly new faces being made or goofy laughter or puckering of the lips resulting in a funny noise. So many little things... Caden has started to sleep on his side... Cole likes to shake his head when he's had enough food... In the last month or two, they've both come to enjoy bathtime (except when I give them a bath and forget to put the bath pad down). The major milestones, other than sleeping through the night... they've been doing that for 2+ months, are right around the corner. Crawling, walking, talking, feeding themselves, etc.

I've been slowly working on a scrapbook for each of the boys and have a goal to finish by the 15th (one week from today). I enjoy scrapbooking but tend to get carried away, spending way too much time on one page.... which is why it's taken me so long.

Smiles for Sophie 5K

I'm hoping to do a 5K on the 4th of July in memory of a local girl who lost her battle with brain cancer last October. I came across the flyer on Tuesday and was immediately drawn into the what this little girls family must be feeling just a few short months after her passing. I want to reach out to her Mom and Dad and let them know I feel their pain and showing up as a complete stranger and running in her memory is perhaps the best way to do so short of giving them a big hug and crying with them. This is the first of what will be an annual event and even though each 4th of July (her birthday - 7/4/03) will bring with it the same heartache, I'm hoping memories from these races will bring joy to their lives and give them something to celebrate and look forward to each year.

http://www.smilesforsophieforever.org/events.asp

Fun in the Sun

Took some great pics last night of Caden and Cole playing in what will eventually be our dining room. The room is sun-bathed in the evenings and they had fun discovering their shadows, rolling around, laughing and being silly with each other. We had fun just watching them take everything in. Cole in blue, Caden in red.

Landscaping

Making progress on the landscaping. All the shrubs/plants in this picture now have a home in the ground. All except for the two junipers in the back. We're going to exchange them for some more golden cypress.

Friday the 13th

I haven't run since last Friday morning and am feeling no need to get back on the roads just yet. Although I'm thinking of racing the Shot in the Dark 4-miler, which I believe is sometime mid-July. I want to match my sub-24 from 2005. Yeah, I think 4-weeks of hard running will do the trick. It's actually a relief to think about training for something other than a marathon. Something a lot less gruelling. Something that requires less time!

I'm about 75% done with my landscaping project and am 100% pleased with how things are shaping up. It's a lot of hard work and I've had a lot of help, especially last Saturday. Our yard was littered with wheelbarrows, shovels, and babies (our two, our 10-month old niece and my friends 3-month old). The day was capped off with a great dinner. Teresa whipped up two huge dishes of yummy pasta like it was nothing, followed by strawberry shortcake w/ ice cream!

Other than all that, babies are still the most incredible things ever. Cole is very much a Daddy's boy. Teresa says he's my mini-me. Caden is still our crazy guy. He went through a 3-4 day phase of laughing like Woody Woodpecker.

I'm infected with the melodic tunes of the new weezer album. They (Rivers Cuomo) never fails to please. Hope to catch them on tour this summer/fall. Going to see the new M. Night Shyamalan movie tonight with a friend. I've avoided seeing the trailer, so other than seeing the movie poster and knowing who the lead male actor is, I have no idea what to expect, which is great. I'd love to walk out of the theater feeling like I did after seeing The Sixth Sense.

Cowboy Rivers... almost as good as bearded Rivers

5.5-Mile Twinterval Run

Interval run + twins = twintervals! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get out for an evening run with the boys given the 80 degree temps. Headed over to the Black River Reservation, which offers a nice 3 mile all purpose path wide enough for the double jogging stroller (officially nicknamed the "Twinnebago"). I was excited to finally be out with the little guys and pushed the pace early. The thing about running with them is that they're always beating me : ) Hit the turnaround in 19:10, grabbed some water and headed back into an unexpected headwind. It wasn't until I hit the 5 mile mark that I heard Cole voice his displeasure/boredom. I ran the last 1/2 mile hard, despite the wind and finished the return trip in 19:15 for a total run time of 38:25. This was in addition to a 3-mile push-up run this AM.

My Landscaping Project

I started to prep what will soon be the flowerbeds at the foundation of our house. This is a project I hope to have complete by the end of next weekend. I was contemplating having a professional landscape outfit do the work but this past weekend changed my thinking. First, I met a guy who owns a landscaping company on the east side of Cleveland who offered to let me use one of those long flat pull-behind trailers in the event I want to load up a bunch of shrubs, trees, etc. from one of the many nurseries in northern Ohio. That same day, I visited a friend who happened to be in the middle of a project similar to the one I'm now planning.

Loaded with all this information, I feel a lot more confident that I can do the job myself (with a little help of course). My first step was to mark the beds using some 6" nails and household twine. Teresa and I decided on a curved pattern similar to the shape of the sidewalk leading to our front door. The engineer/nerd in me drew up the design in AutoCAD in order to get exact coordinates to use when placing the nails in the ground. The nails were probably enough for me to visualize the curvature of the bed but the twine wrapped around and between each nail takes the guesswork out of it. I then mowed down the grass/weeds that fell within the newly marked off area and sprayed it with RoundUp. The grass should be dead/browned in 7-10 days, at which time I can rake it all up. In the meantime, Teresa and I are going to steal some ideas from our many neighbors whose beds are already planted. I'm also planning to have approximately 12 cubic yards of topsoil and 6 cubic yards of mulch delivered next Friday. Still have to work out the details around getting the shrubs, trees, etc.

Cleveland Marathon Pictures

Making sure I didn't forget anything Lined up and ready to run Just past mile 11 - overcast and rainy
Feeling cruddy but looking decent at the finishHappy to see the twins at the finish

2008 Cleveland Marathon

Woke up Sunday morning at 3:00, then again at 4:00 with my alarm. Showered, gathered all my gear and was out the door by 5:00 to catch a 5:15 carpool to the race start. Part of what woke me up throughout the night was the constant rainfall outside the window. I kept thinking that it's better now than in a few hours. After parking in a nearby lot, we headed to The Galleria for shelter as the rain was showing no sign of letting up. I can think of a handful of changes I'd like to see on the marathon course, but the start location is definitely not one of them. For those that know about it, and it seemed like plenty of people did, The Galleria is a blessing. Having somewhere to stay dry and warm with plenty of room to stretch, relax or even run laps (the second floor) is a great thing. With about 15 minutes to spare, I ditched my sweats, threw a garbage bag over my head (still amazed I remembered to pack one) and headed to the start line. Once there, I warmed up a little with some 50 meter strides, made sure my watch was in chrono mode and surveyed the field, taking note of the local running talent. Still raining, the horn sounded and we were off.

Mile 1 (6:06) was either short or I went out way too fast. I know 6-minute pace and it felt way too easy for that so I assumed it was short and kept the pace steady. The rain was steady as well. Passed through mile 2 in 6:18, which seemed right given the downhill section on E. 9th heading towards the Rock Hall. The climb up W. 3rd came in mile 3 and I was fortunate enough to fall in behind one of the most consistent sub-3 marathoners I know of, Steve Godale. He backed the pace way off and I made sure to hold back as well (mile 3 - 6:50). For the next 4 miles I paced off him and another guy and averaged 6:33's, each mile within a few seconds of each other. Mile 7 may have been slightly faster than the rest as I was anticipating seeing my family and friends for the first time. Took my first gel at the mile 7 water stop (Vanilla PowerBar). It was there that I lost Godale, but this was a good thing as he went on to run a 2:49. The rain had let up a little by mile 6 but was coming down again at mile 11 or so. I was well ahead of sub-3 pace at this point but wasn't feeling too confident. Someting about the weather and the occasional headwinds caused my mood to be off. Plus, as usual, I found myself in no-mans-land, having no one to pace with and/or keep me going. This is where the mental toughness built up during long training runs comes into play. If I was lacking one thing heading into this race, it was this.

My half-marathon split was 1:27:08 (2:54 pace). I mentioned a handful of changes I'd like to see on the marathon course and the stretch down Chester Ave. is one of them. The half marathoner's peeled off at mile 12, leaving a very desolate field. Not too spoil the ending of this entry, but placing in the top 50 in a race as small as Cleveland means a lot of running solo. Running alone in the rain down what was essentially an abandoned street got to me a little and caused for a slow miles 14 and 15 (6:58 and 7:09). Teresa was waiting for me at mile 16 with the babies, which was enough of a pick-me-up to get me back on pace (mile 16 - 6:39). My plan to clock a few fast miles leading up to mile 20 didn't exactly play out but I managed to average 6:53 over miles 17-20 and was still on 2:56 pace heading into the final 10K.

In the back of my head, I didn't feel I was prepared to run a sub-3 marathon. I just kept thinking to myself, there's no way 25-30 miles per week over the previous 4 months would cut it. My fast start allowed for a few slower miles on the back half, but I couldn't afford any more than one or two miles over 7:10-7:15. Mile 21, 7:27. I knew then to refocus on finishing consistently and as strong as possible. My focus showed up in the form of my good buddy Lou who helped pace me through to the finish. Lou kept me upbeat and helped supress the negative thoughts that wanted so desparately to do me in. Given how I was feeling at the time, I'm surprised to see that I averaged 7:47's from mile 22-26. Even managed consecutively faster miles 24-26. In hindsight, this was a small victory. So too was the finishing kick I laid down the last 385 yards (0.2 miles for those keeping score at home). Official time: 3:02:22, good enough for a top 50 finish at Cleveland for the 2nd consecutive year.

I'm very grateful for my family and friends who came out to support me. Teresa especially as she made it to three spots on the course (not easy with twins in tow). The finish line of a marathon is one of my favorite places in the world. Finally being able to hug and kiss and talk to everyone makes it all worthwhile. This year was especially amazing as my twin baby boys were there to greet me. Caden was awake and smiling at the sight of me. Cole must not be a big fan of distance running as he was passed out. I can't wait until they're big enough to cross a finish line with me!