Baptism run!

Greetings again!

So today is a big day.  It is my son's baptism, so all the grandparents are in town, my wife and I are both off (happens about 1 - 2 days/month) and my best friend, Michele, my son's godmother-to-be, flew in across the country to be here for less than 24 hours so she could be at the ceremony..

It is my only day off in 3 weeks and I have to do a long run today (not that long.. 10 miles; 2.5 mile warm up, 5 mile at higher pace and a 2.5 mile cooldown).

I woke up at 5am and went out for a great run with Michele, who had just flown in last night from California and was a complete rockstar!

It was really a great morning.. Nice and chill temperature (mid-60's) and all the bunnies were out and about foraging!  I've always looked up to Michele as she's the reason I am even running marathons today (she's done 8 marathons so far).  She totally kicked butt, too..  

I love the feeling of coming home and seeing the clock: 7:30am and I've just run 10 miles... What a great way to start the day!

Great day!

Cheers!

Training Sunday with the Family

So I it is sunday, and I had my challenges set out for the run.  I had to run 14 miles today.

The catch..  I worked a 24-hour shift in the hospital from saturday 7am to sunday 7am.. And on top of that, I rode my bike to work (8.5 miles each way)..  So I had to ride home after the shift, get some grub, round up the troops (wife, sister-in-law and son who would join me on wheels - i.e. bikes and stroller-in-tow) and set off running.

Minor details:  

It was hot today.. Base temperature of 85 degrees farenheit, with high humidity and not a cloud in sight.

As soon as I arrived home I found my son to be napping, and he didn't wake up until about 10:30am... So I fed him and got everyone ready to head out by 11am.

The run started out great.. We have a bike-path close to our home so we just ran/rode to it and set off.  

Unfortunately, it was a little too hot for my son, so we had to cut the run short at 3.5 miles....  I had some common sense drilled in from my wife that it would probably not be a good idea to continue running now (as it was 12:00noon with the sun directly overhead, and the temperature rising!)...

So I took her advice, fed my son once more and played with him quite a bit.  After another nap (he fell asleep on my chest while i lay on the couch, so i joined him in his game), I set off for the remaining 10.5 miles at 4pm, and finished in under 2 hours... Not bad for post-call on a hot-humid day.

As an aside, I wore one of my new shirts (happens to be a pink tanktop), and more people said hi to me as I ran past them than any other day... You see, I always make a point to greet any walkers/runners/rollerbladers/bikers on the trail, and usually I get a 50% greet-back..

I'll do more experiments on this and get back to you...

Til the next time.

The Project - Running for Remedy in Style: A guy and his running skirt

This year I was one of the lucky ones to be chosen by the IMG raffle to run the NYC marathon! So amidst working long-hours in a residency program, I am determined to beat my previous times.

Thus far I have completed 2 marathons (Mystic, CT in 2005; Philadelphia, PA in 2007). Both times I hit the wall hard and had to fight the worst cramps of my life to keep going... But nevertheless, I finished both races in under 5 hours.

I am now following a strict training schedule, and best of all, I have a great support crew.. I am able to do one long run per week on weekends, and I go with my son or my son and wife.. The thing is, my son is almost one... So far he has been great company and our longest run together to-date was 12 miles in under 2 hours (yes.. pushing a chariot stroller).. Best thing we ever got.

When my wife can join us, she helps by towing our son on her bike and serving as a pace-bike and portable-watering station! Really, what more could a guy ask for, you say?

Well... I decided that I would raise the stakes a bit more..

This time around, I wanted to make a statement at the marathon.. I need to stand-out somehow, albeit from the middle-to-end of the pack...

So I started thinking back to all the cool costumes I've seen at previous marathons looking for ideas.. Among them:

- at a Boston Marathon in 2003, I saw a guy running with a 2x4 plywood with a USA Flag on it hoisted over his shoulder... he was trucking, too.. I don't think I'm in good enough shape to carry such a load....

- In Philly, there was a guy who ran the marathon in a pink ballerina outfit, tutu and everything... that's pretty cool, I thought.. But i can't copy that..

So after more research and talking to fellow runners at local running shops, it seems that the running skirts are taking off as the way to go for most gals.. And to top it off, there's already guys who claim that they're the most comfortable thing they've ever run on! (read this story)...

So I thought, why not start a fundraising campaign to see if I can help a worthy cause like he did, but take a different spin on it.. I found a great company that also makes popular running skirts (Atalanta Sports also found at http://www.skirtgoddess.com/ they make a fabulous running skirt!)..

After some consideration, I figured what the heck.. Let's see what kind of noise I can make.. I have a super-secret, attention-grabbing idea that will certainly draw eyes (hopefully not in a bad way) on race day..

I will be raising funds to support Remedy, a really cool organization that helps distribute unused medical equipment from hospitals in the US to developing countries around the world.

So the story beging... I'll be training with the commitment skirt, and will run all 26.2 miles in style!

More to come on my training... Stay tuned