Back in the boro

While on vacation I was able to go back to Murfreesboro for a few days. This is where I started running back in 2010. I have not been back in three years so it was great to go back and see how much has changed in the fast growing southern city.  The first morning I was in town I headed out early in the morning to go for a five mile run across town and through the Stones River battle field (Civil War battles of Stones River took place there). After being in such a different climate and terrain for the last three years it was amazing to me how different it was to run in the boro.  The air is damp and thick with humidity. The heat is already climbing by 6:00AM and the roads are flat, newly paved and wide to accommodate runners. I miss those roads but I don’t miss the heat and humidity. It was extremely nostalgic to run there again. The other thing that came to mind while running back where it all started is how much I miss my training partners. I will never forget how Jeff showed up early on a Sunday morning to run the last 10 miles of an 18 mile long run prior to my first ironman. It was a great boost at the time.  I hope someday to return in October to run the Middle Half. My favorite half marathon ever!

Race Report: Challenge Quassy Half Ironman

There are good days and bad days in every job, sport, and life. Triathlon is no different. Challenge Quassy is known as the beast if the northeast because of its massive hills on both the bike and run. I had been training heavily leading up to the race and with a good taper and I felt strong on the morning of the race. I was joined by Kevin Grimes and one other member of the Race 4 Chase team at the race.  

The swim went great and I was exactly where I thought I should be getting out of the water. The water in Lake Quassy is clean, calm, and perfect for a long swim. I got out of the water and raced through the CMAK volunteers working the aid station and headed into T1.

The bike course started out with a long fast downhill stretch and then the pain and suffering began. By the half way point on the bike my legs were screaming and my mind was getting weak. I started to consider dropping out of the race. In five years of racing I have never once quit a race. I just couldn’t see myself heading out to run a half marathon in the state I was in getting off the bike. Its time like these that I remind myself what Chase’s family goes through every day and they don’t get the option to quit. I decided to start the run and see how I felt.

The run course starts out with 4 miles of fast flat road. As I came out of transition feeling awful I saw my family on the side of the road. I was not expecting them to be at the race so this was an immediate lift to my mental state and of course the legs soon followed. Now that the kids and Kim are here I can’t quit. I was now in the run for the long haul.

I held a nice pace for 6 miles and passing the half way point I was starting to believe that I was going to pull out a decent run. Soon after I was suffering big time and every step was more painful than the next. I got to mile 9 and in front of me was a huge hill.  I find it hard to believe that even the pros would run a hill like this. It is a ridiculous obstacle to put on a triathlon course. The hill was mentally and physically crushing. From that point on the run became a death march for the next 4 miles. After a long slow run/walk/shuffle/crawl to the finish line I finally arrived. All of my kids were eagerly waiting to run across the line with me. This was a great way to finish a long hard day.

There are good days and bad days. I cant wait to forget this one and move on to a good one.

 

Race Report : Newtown Wingathlon

It’s always a good day for a home town race. That day is made even better when the weather is perfect and the whole family gets to participate it’s a great day! This event was a charity race for another Sandy Hook charity, Dylan’s Wings of Change.

This was the first time I have ever raced a duathlon (run-bike-run) and it was a great experience. The race also featured a 5k run/walk event so while I was duathloning the rest of the family was off and running.

 The race started off with a 5k around Fairfield hills and into my own neighborhood. I was focused on keeping a good pace knowing that I still had a 15 mile bike ride and another 5k ahead of me. I was able to finish the run with an 8:00 min per mile pace.

 The bike portion of the race took me down more familiar roads and up a few steep short climbs. I averaged almost 20 mph on the bike. My plan was to push the bike hard and try to pass the pure runners who had gotten a good lead on the run. This actually is my same strategy for triathlon, I let the swimmers go and reel them back in.

 The second run was fast and painful.  On the out and back section I could count the number of men that were ahead of me, there was one competitor that was just in front of me who was in 9^th place. I made the decision to stick with him and try to hold on for a top 10. As we climbed a long hill at mile 2 I decided to push past him and see if he would respond. As we reached the top of the hill I appeared as though it worked as he didn’t seem to have an answer. I was wrong, on the ensuing downhill section he was able to get back to me and I again let him take a one step lead. Heading to the finish line there was one last small uphill so I decided that I would make a move at that point. I gave every bit of effort I had but in the end he passed me just a few feet before the finish line.

 I ended up 1^st in my age group and 10^th overall male. It was a fun day and I was total exhausted meaning I left nothing in the tank.

 As I finished the race the Kim and the kids were waiting at the line. I was informed that Josh was 19^th In the 5k and ran the whole race and Misha finished 2^nd overall in the 5k.

 It was a great day, I love being able to ride my bike to and from the race.

 

Race Report: Woodruf YMCA Tri

Hard to believe but I had not showed up to race a triathlon in over 18 months. It almost felt strange pulling up to the race but as soon as I had my bike on a transition rack I was feeling the mixture of nerves and excitement that only the start of a triathlon can provide me. The race was a sprint triathlon which is the opposite of the ironman. The idea of this race is to go as hard as you can for a short distance (about an hour or less) and see if you can hold on. Unlike an ironman were you need to pace yourself and worry about nutrition, in the sprint triathlon it is just go fast and hold on.

 

The race started with a pool swim of 300 yards. This is a great swim for me because it is so short that I am not completely out of the race by the time I leave the water (I am a terrible swimmer). I actually swam the race about 15 seconds faster than I have ever covered that distance before. I was out of the water in 5:45 and running towards the bike.

 

It was a chilly 48 degrees and I was wet from the swim so I needed to put on a long sleeve shirt and socks before I could ride the bike. This slowed my transition time down a little but in no time at all I was jumping on to my bike and cranking my legs out of the parking lot. On the bike course I started to quickly pull the fast swimmers in one by one. Although I never caught the lead group on the bike I was able to get up to the fourth spot in the race before I headed out to run. My average speed on the bike was 20 MPH which I was pretty happy with.

 

The run course was empty, which I am not accustomed to so I needed to find my own pace and push it by myself. It wasn’t until a half mile remaining in the race that I was passed by the eventual 4^th place finisher. I knew that he would get me eventually so I was not surprised by him. As I made the run back into the parking lot I was surprise to see another racer coming up hard behind me. I immediately pushed as hard as I could to counter his move but there was no way for me to react. I had burned myself up to get to the end of the race so I didn’t have a lot of kick left in my legs.

 

I finished the race 6^th overall and 2^nd in my age group. I was very pleased with the results. It was great to race again and remind myself why I get up early and give so much of my body every day to do this.

New Look for 2015

Special thanks to the CMAK foundation and the Kowalski family for providing me this sharp looking race kit for the season!  I am extremely proud to race in the foundations colors this year and to get the chance to represent Chase.  The best part is that anytime I need motivation during a race I can just look down and find it.

Please check out this brief write up about me in this article from the Newtown Bee: http://newtownbee.com/news/features/2015/04/03/top-mountain/260048

Please be sure to visit my donation page and help me reach my goal of raising $5000 for Chase this year.

Race Reprt: Danbury Half Marathon 3/29/15

It started as a chilly morning at Rogers Park in Danbury but the sun was shining and it soon warmed up after the race started.  I was excited to race for the first time in over a year. Prior to the race I was able to meet up with Kevin Grimes who is the director for the Race for Chase Program and a very accomplished runner/ triathlete.

 

I had a soft time goal for the race of averaging a 10:00 per mile pace or a 2:11:00 time for the race. My strategy was to hold a good pace until I got the hills and then hold on until mile 10. The final 3 mile stretch I would try to hold a good pace for the last 5k.

 

The race started with an easy rolling loop around the park for about 2 miles then headed towards Bethel (the town I grew up in). The course was relatively flat and fast for the first 7.5 miles. I was on pace to run a much faster time than 2:11:00 so I adjusted my plan accordingly. I was feeling strong five miles in and decided that I was going to run 9:30 miles until the hills. At mile 8 I was dead on to that pace. 

 

The hills were crushing. I watched my watch as my pace dropped off to 10:00 minutes per mile. Lots of volunteers on the course assured us that the hills were almost over but they all seem to have miscalculated there assessment of the course. Finally after mile 10 the hills broke and I started a long fast decent back into Danbury.

 

I finished the run strong at 2:09:39. Not a PR or a great time by any stretch but I meet my goals for the day and I got back into racing again.

Saying Goodbye

3/24/2015


As previously mentioned....

Back in 2009 I was in terrible shape. I was horribly overweight and making awful life style choices. There was one person who had the courage to be honest with me and challenge me to better myself. I am so glad that I listened to her.

Ida was born on March 23 1925 at the start of the great depression. She saw more in her 90 years of life then I could even imagine. She started in a world that had little to offer anyone and made sacrifices everyday just to survive. She also lived through World War 2 and again made sacrifices for the good of her country.

Her whole life she made sacrifices and was committed to her family. She worked hard to keep lots of great Italian family traditions alive and to keep Kim's family so close.

I first meet Ida in the fall of 1998. I was always so impressed by her kindness and her matriarchal role in her family. My own grandparents lived out of state when I was a child so I saw them only a few times a year. Kim had an amazingly close relationship with her Grandmother. Ida almost immediately insisted I call her Gram (almost as quick as my now mother-in-law forbade me to ever call her Mrs. Cohen again!).

It was clear that Gram had seen a lot in her life and had an awesome honesty in her words. She was never afraid to tell you what she thought (I am so jealous). I watched her battle arthritis and shingles and never complain about things that had to be very painful for her. Like many people in her generation she was tough. Even in her last days she would hold on and fight to the last second.

Kim and I shared a wedding anniversary with Ida and her late husband Bernie (May 15th). This was the benchmark that we had when starting our life together. Pretty awesome role models!!!!

At Christmas 2009 Ida challenged several of us to make better choices and take better care of herself. She was always concerned about these things (and was until the time of her death). I believe she wanted me to take care of myself not only for me but to make sure that Kim never had to go through what she did when she lost her husband at a young age.

Shortly after this conversation I made a commitment to her and my journey began. In 2011 I ran the New York City marathon. The next day I was up early, grabbed my finishers medal and went to see her. I was so proud to show her the medal and thank her for the chance that she gave me. When I got to her room she told me that she watched the race on TV and couldn't find me. She aid it was very confusing because all of the runners looked alike but none looked like me (this is of course because the TV coverage of the marathon shows only the race leaders, all of whom come from Kenya and Ethiopia).

Last Friday Ida was called home to be with the lord. We will miss her greatly. She will continue to keep me moving and inspire me. Next weekend when I run my first race of the year I know she will be right behind me, The way she always has been!

Update on fundraising....

in the first five weeks I've had the first giving page up I have raised over $1,000! That is 20% of my goal. I appreciate everyone's support of my efforts.