Tani's First Half Marathon, The Training

T's 1st 5k Central Park 2009

Two years ago this May Tani ran a 5k at Bear Mountain on Mother's Day just 3 months after giving birth to our daughter. This June she will run her first half marathon, ever! Tani has been committed to staying fit since we have known each other.  Her workouts range from lifting, cardio, kick boxing, yoga, boot camp, spinning and running. She is in great shape and the recent ass kicking she gave me in our little competition back in January is proof.

Running is not something that has come easy for Tani, and only by her sheer determination and will to do this is she about to train for The North Face Endurance Challenge Half Marathon in D.C. this coming June.  It took a lot of courage for her to even start running with knees that consistently bother her mostly from years of competitive soccer when she was younger. I can actually hear them creaking and cracking when she walks. Then just as she began to try and run and even completed a couple of shorter races in NYC she became pregnant. It was not an easy road, bringing her running and working out to a near standstill. 9 months and 60 pounds later our little girl was born and 6 weeks after that Tani was at the gym.

I am so proud and excited for her to go beyond anything she ever thought possible. She has gone from "I could never do that" to "I am going to do that".  Here is a general overview of Tani's workout and training schedule in preparation for the June event. There may be a rest day here and there but for now she does not want to give anything up.

Monday - Vinyasa Yoga
Tuesday - Long Run Day
Wednesday - Boot Camp
Thursday - Vinyasa Yoga
Friday - Hill Repeats or Speed Work
Saturday - Tempo/Easy Runs
Sunday - Kick Boxing

We will keep you posted on her progress. Go get it babe!!!

Peace E

Running Cures Depression?

Running makes me feel good. How about you?

If your answer is yes, I ask the following:

The further we go, the more discomfort that follows, right?

If you go out and run your longest training run, be it 3 miles or 30 miles, what do you feel?

• Tired
• Hunger
• Soreness
• Pain
• Stiffness

Yes, of course those are the obvious feelings. What is it we feel that is above and beyond that?

• Alive
• Fulfilled
• Powerful
• Confident
• Free

I am not sure I really care all that much about the science of it all, as much as the result. I did however come across these 2 articles about running, depression and aging and thought I would share them. They are a couple years old but I do find a particular interest and belief in the depression piece.

Peace

Running Cures Depression
Exercise and Aging

Badwater Acceptance

Last night on the way home from a friend's house with my family we received the following email:

Hello Eric!
Congratulations! You have been accepted to compete in the 2012 Badwater Ultramarathon, presented by AdventureCORPS, Inc. You are part of a select group who will participate in what is recognized across the globe as "the world's toughest footrace."

Well Holy Shit! I am excited beyond description and feel so very fortunate to have been invited to participate in such a truly special event. My entire household is riding high and we will have much to share with you as we work our way towards July 16th.

We still have a long way to go, lots of training and a serious fundraising campaign this year for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation but I must thank all my my friends and family for their support to this point. This has been a goal of mine for quite some time and I look forward to the journey. A particular note of gratitude to Tony Portera for his encouragement and trust as I was his crew chief the past two years. We will be sharing the road as runners this time.

Most of all and I am sure obvious to anyone who actually reads this blog, the biggest thank you goes to my wife and crew chief Tani. She has made great sacrifices to allow me to realize one of my dreams.  I can only hope I have and will continue to do the same for her.

Peace

Streaking!

This is not exactly Will Ferrell's Old School style. Streak running, not to be confused with running naked is apparently extremely popular. Perhaps even more so than running naked. There is a streaking association which has streaking members, a streaking board and rules on how to properly streak. They even require that you have at least 1 year of streaking experience before getting certified to streak and have warnings about the dangers of streaking.

A work colleague dropped a Wall Street Journal article on my desk this week called "In It For The Long Run". Here is the link. The article, written by Ralph Gardner Jr. is about a man named Stuart Calderwood. The senior editor at New York Runner, is the American record holder in the 50-54 age group in the 25k and 30k distances and a streaker who has run every single day for the past 25 years.  What is more astonishing is that this streak according to the article and the United States Running Streak Association is only the 78th longest in the U.S. among current streakers.  The longest is held by Mark Covert, 61, of Lancaster, CA at over 43.5 years.

As much as I run, I still can't grasp this. Even if I never got sick or injured I feel I not only need, I cherish my rest day once a week. That being said, still amazing and I raise my glass of Guinness to you Stuart Claderwood and all your fellow streakers.

Peace

Never Giving Up at The Run Up

Sally on Top of the World

Since I have been involved with running, fundraising and volunteering for the MMRF I have met many amazing people and heard many incredible and inspirational stories. The story I heard prior to this weeks Empire State Building Run-Up certainly falls right in to these categories. When I saw Sally Kalksma cross the finish line 1,576 steps above 5th Avenue this past Wednesday evening I would not have imagined for one second the difficult road she has travelled these last few years. With the chilly winds blowing and the snow falling, her smile out shined the lights atop this landmark and further verified that I was in the right place for all the right reasons.

"Cancer may take years from my life, but I won't let it take the life from my years!" -Sally Kalksma

Read her story here, it may bring a tear but I can't help but smile when I picture her on top of that building.

The Whole Family Is Running

It is not the first time and I don't suspect it will be the last. Usually we all run together but I was told no strollers at the Freezer 5k. Isla and I had a blast cheering on Tani and the boys and we even snuck out the last mile or so to support Kyle as he fought his way to a PR. Come to think of it the whole family PR'd. I did see two strollers in the race so perhaps we will all do the Freezer 5 miler in 2 weeks. More photos of family and friends below.

J&K Pre Race

My Family of Runners



Sarah, Tani, Jacqui and Angela



Noah (center) 18 min, insane!!!

J and T staying together

K stayed strong up the final climb

EricG's Running Tips #31 Read! Read! Read!

The first time I ran a marathon back in 2001, I printed a basic training page and simply went out each day and logged the miles. I ran the same routes depending on distance at the same pace for 16 weeks. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. Ignorance can be bliss as they say. I finished but missed my 3:30 time goal nearly 5 minutes, felt like absolute crap and spent about two weeks limping around. I was scarred and would not run a marathon for another 6 years. I wouldn't blame it completely on my lack of knowledge as there were many other reasons I chose not to run. However I think my lack of education about running played an important role. Fast forward to my 3rd marathon in 2008, I had read several books on training and some other "inspirational" and motivating scripts.  That year I improved to 3:28 and felt great before, during and after and never missed a beat.

There are so many great reads out there and if you are anything like me and many other runners I know, you can't have enough information, things to try or good stories to talk about. Here are a few of the reasons I think reading will make you a better runner (better often means simply being motivated to do it).

1. The more you learn the more things you can try to find out what works for you. And as I always say, the key is to find out what works for you, because we are all different. My favorite training book is called Advanced Marathoning. I have referred back to it many times to refresh or simply to get ideas to change up my routine.
2. Learning new things to try keeps it interesting. If we stay interested we will stay in the game. It also gives you new things to share with your running friends, so you might actually help them too.
3. Reading can motivate you to get you off your ass. I remember reading Ultra Marathon Man years ago after seeing Dean Karnases running his 50 in 50. I told myself and my then girlfriend (Tani) that if this guy can do what he is doing, I can certainly get out of bed and run a few miles a day. Less than two years after that comment I ran my first Ultra.
4. Inspirational pieces like Matt Long's "The Long Run" or Lance Armstrong's "It's Not About The Bike" come to mind. These kinds of books just make me say "Yes". I get goosebumps and just want to get out there and do something cool and fun feeling so inspired by these incredible come backs.

To sum it all up, learning, motivation, encouragement, inspiration and trial and error are all reasons to read. Not to mention there are some really cool stories out there.

Peace