Scratch that...

Well, the early reports coming out of NYC said the damage overall was light and the city would soon return to normal. As we've all seen over the past few days, that has not been the case. Residents remain stranded, without electricity, and the city's transportation infrastructure is crippled.

I am still doing 26.2 for the pets, still running as a member of Team Animal League, and still running every single inch of the miles I've dedicated to furry and human loved ones. But now that will happen next year as I have decided to defer my NYC marathon to 2013.

There has been a massive outcry from NYC residents who are outraged the marathon is continuing as planned. Regardless of your stance on the organizer's decision, this race will be clouded with controversy and riddled with difficulty for the participants. Ultimately, that is not the experience I want to be a part of.

I want my 26.2 for pets to be a celebration of the animals and people who have meant so much to us. It's difficult to celebrate in a city that is still reeling from a natural disaster. This is not the experience I want, or that they deserve.

Furthermore, I want to enjoy NYC for all I has to offer, and right now that isn't possible. Getting into and out of the city is a logistical nightmare as even cabs are stranded by lack of gas. This is hard enough for a New Yorker, but I have no clue how to navigate a half-operational transit system our nationa's largest city where some people are waiting 4 hours in line for a bus.

In the end, I think this is the wise decision to make for the people of NY and for everyone who has supported me.

You can be absolutely confident I'll be back next year. NYC will be back, as well, and I can't wait to run its streets.

As to the donations to North Shore Animal League America, they could not have been better timed. NSALA is right now taking in pets who have lost their homes and owners in the storm. They are sheltering many pets whose owners have had to evacuate. So the money you gave has already been a huge help in assisting with the recovery efforts.

Keep checking back for updates as I will continue posting updates about training, racing, and preparing to run 26.2 for the pets in NYC 2013!

IT'S ON!

So this has been a challenging couple days watching to see if the marathon will still go on after Sandy. That concern pales in comparison to the people who were enduring it in person and first responders out there saving lives during and after the storm. This includes the people of North Shore Animal League, my chosen race charity, who stayed behind to care for the pets of those who had evacuated.

With the city getting back to normal, there was a big question on whether the race could go on without the usual transportation options. Well, apparently the race will go on regardless. This is good news, but I still have to get to NYC and right now LaGuardia (where my flight is supposed to land) is still not operational. Early estimates look like Thursday evening they will start up again. This bodes well for me, our flight is Friday evening. After that, I suppose we could cab it everywhere if the subway is down...or take some combination of cabs and subway to get where we need to go. And then of course getting to Staten Island for the start on Sunday morning might be an epic journey in itself.

All that to say, IT'S ON, we'll figure it out, and I'm ready!

Mile 23 Dedication: Bill Norman

Mile 23 is dedicated in memory of Bill Norman.  Kate knows Bill's daughter, Jenni, through the horse community.  I asked Jenni to act as guest blogger for this post.  She writes:

-----

My dad, Bill Norman, didn't always wear his heart on his sleeve. As the owner and operator of a community oriented AM radio station in North Myrtle Beach, he was geared toward solutions, not problems. Yet, as driven as he was - as big as his dreams were - underneath it all, his heart was even bigger. 

I often joked that - since I moved out of the house - he grew to love his Dachshund Oscar more than me. This may not have been entirely true, but he loved that stubby-legged little guy almost as much. Oscar was joined a few years ago by Tommy, a short-haired Dachshund from the local animal shelter. You see, Tommy was one of three dogs surrendered to the shelter and aptly used to be named "Three" (he still answers to this if you call him, which is a bit of a cruel joke to play). My dad was always up to date on what kind of animals the shelter was taking in and hosted meetings for the Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach in his office. My dad would often comment on how much cat and dog food the shelter staff went through each week, how many animals were waiting for new homes ("Don't you need another cat?" "How about another dog?"), and how much the shelter could use more support. 

Though I could never picture my dad running a marathon, I can envision him giving advice to Erik, especially in the 23rd mile - so close to home! As I noted before, my dad was always solution oriented. "Just tell me what you need" was always his favorite expression. In other words, don't focus on the tough parts, just focus on what you need to accomplish the task at hand - so for Erik, my dad would encourage him to continue putting one foot in front of the other, despite how tough it gets. He had this dusty old poster in his office - it's been there since I was a baby - and the first words are: Press On. What better cause to press on for than this? My dad would be proud to support Erik's run and cause, and so I say, press on, Erik. Thank you for supporting a cause so close to my dad's heart, and so close to many other peoples' hearts.

------

I am proud to run Mile 23 in Bill's memory and honor such a great man.

Mile 25 Dedication: Noreen Kenney

Having done a marathon before, I know that the last few miles are going to be especially tough.  Mile 25 promises to be particularly challenging, as I will be so close to the finish line, but also incredibly tired and fatigued.  Nicole Kenney, a close friend of mine, realized this when she chose Mile 25 for her dedication.  She wrote, "I'd like to sponsor mile 25 to honor my mom, who runs her own personal marathon every day."  Kate and I got to know Noreen, Nicole's mom, when Nicole moved in with Kate back in 2010.  She is a kind, generous, and talented woman - she did complicated alterations on Kate's wedding dress and saved scraps of the fabric as a surprise for a scrapbook.  Since 2010, Noreen has faced intense personal challenges but throughout, has shown immeasurable strength and persistence.  Channeling Noreen's persistence, I know I will make it through Mile 25.

Mile 3 & 10 Dedication: Cheshire the Cat

Cheshire the cat is so special that he has two miles dedicated in his memory!  Pat Dresner, Cheshire's owner, writes: "In memory of Cheshire, the world's best cat. This will in no way offend our current cat, Grisabella, who would prefer that people not like her anyway. If we can buy a mile, I would like mile #2 because that is about where I would quit. : ) Good luck Erik!!!"  Mile 2 was taken, so I'm giving Mile 3 to Cheshire.  Mike Flanagan, Kate's brother, also wanted to dedicate Mile 10 in Cheshire's memory.

Kate and Mike spent a lot of time at the Dresner family household, and remember Cheshire from when he was a small kitten.  He grew up into quite a handsome and dignified cat who had a fondness for doughnuts (although preferred to only take one bite out of each doughnut!).  He also preferred cat treats to be placed at his feet and not tossed for him to chase.  

Thank you to Pat, Howard, and Ethan Dresner for sponsoring Mile 3, and to Mike Flanagan for sponsoring Mile 10, all in Cheshire's memory.  He was indeed a great cat.

Mile 24 Dedication: David Egan

Finishing this marathon is going to take a lot of strength, both mental and physical.  This means that I am going to need some serious inspiration for those last few miles.  Mile 24 is dedicated in loving memory to David Egan, who passed away in September.  

David was the son of Audrey and Al Egan, who are close family friends.  Although I never had the opportunity to meet David in person, his friends and family always spoke of his personal strength, courage, and positive attitude in the face of adversity.  I am proud to honor David's memory in this way, and look forward to drawing from his strength and courage as I near the marathon's finish line.

Rewarding Workout

So today I did what will likely be the biggest workout of the marathon training schedule. It was 3 hours and 37 minutes long, consisting of 13 miles running then 27 miles biking. Total calorie burn: 3,712

For that reason, this was my dinner tonight at Hammerhead's in Louisville:

Full rack of baby back ribs. This is really why I run, so I can rationalize eating huge amounts of smoked meat!

Gearing up for the biggest workout weekend yet

With about a month to go until the marathon, this weekend is the time for me to do my very biggest workout of the entire training cycle. Since I'm a big fan of Hal Higdon's training plans, I always do my longest workouts on tired legs. So today I ran for an hour at around or below my goal marathon pace (which is 9 minutes per mile) then did some deep water swimming for 30 minutes.

Tomorrow is the big workout. I will run for 13 miles then bike for the same duration of time that took me. The idea here is that I will be spending about the same amount of time doing cardio work as I would during a marathon, except I won't be subjecting my body to the pounding of running that long. So this is going to look something like a 4 hour effort. Wow, it hurts me just thinking about that. I hope it goes well!

The Combo Long Workout

To save wear and tear on my body (because there will be plenty of that come marathon day) I chose to do a run/bike combination instead of a full 20 mile long run this weekend. There's various reasons this is a good idea: aside from reducing the chances of injury, its good cross training and achieves the same benefit as running (so long as I keep my heart rate up during the ride portion). The idea is to simulate the cardiovascular effort of the marathon without having the foot pounding. So, I did a 5 mile race-pace run followed by a 42 mile long bike ride which took about 3.5 hours. Here's me heading off on the bike after the pace run:

I ended up riding almost all of the Louisville Loop River Trail, which itself is 23 miles long and I did 21 of it out and back. Much of this I had not seen before and it was pretty cool to see a new side of Louisville, even if it was mostly levees and industrial parks.

On returning home, I knew I had completed a pretty solid workout when all I wanted to do was lay on the sofa and not move for an hour! I eventually did get up and eat some food but wow...that was a pretty intense effort.

30 miles on a heavy hybrid

Yesterday was a cross training day for me and I've been getting a little tired of being in the gym so I decided to head out on a bike ride. I don't really have a great road bike, mind you. I have a heavy hybrid commuter bike made by some no-name company. Its got a rack and front shocks and all kinds of things that have no business being on a long road ride. But hey, the weather was nice and I wanted to see how far I could take River Road here in Louisville. Turns out, you can take it all the way to Oldham County for a 30 mile round trip. And the ride on River Road is beautiful, right next to the Ohio River and through some very nice parks. Check it out:

Mile 6 Dedication: Gracie

Mile six is dedicated to Gracie who gives much joy every day to her owner, Julie Walz. Here's Gracie sitting pretty and being very well behaved for a picture:

Thank you Julie and Gracie!

Mile 18 Dedication: In Memory of Francia Barksdale

Francia Barksdale was someone whose influence on those around her was already obvious before her passing this year, but now is even more apparent as three separate donations have been given on her behalf. She was certainly well loved by all those around her. From the donors:

Mile 18 has been sponsored by Audrey Egan and Priscilla & Christopher Flanagan in memory of a friend who passed away from brain cancer last month. Francia Barksdale worked as a gifted education specialist in Nashua, NH and founded an award-winning program for gifted students. Francia was also a talented artist, avid reader, and loyal friend.

Francia's former colleagues have said that she always went the "extra mile" for her students, and I will be proud to run mile 18 in her memory. That is typically when I "hit the wall" and feel like stopping, so I will remember Francia's determination to do right even in the face of adversity.

Louisville Exploration Run + Sweet New Running Stuff

This morning's run was an 8 mile semi-planned jaunt through the the industrial areas of Smoketown and Butchertown. My purpose was twofold: to see parts of the city I haven't seen yet, and to try and find places for my running club to meet and run from (we have some silly traditions that involve loud singing that isn't acceptable in most residential areas). So that explains all the offshoots from the main course, as shown below:

There is a lot of land out there just fenced up and going un-used. I hope it gets re-developed in the future...there's no need for urban sprawl when we have all that open space right near downtown.

The other big news today is that I got my running singlet and arm bands from North Shore Animal League! Check it out:

I will totally be rocking the bracelet wherever I go now, and the singlet will get LOTS of use even before race day. I hope the printing makes it through all the washing I'll be doing to it.

And finally, to go with the other awesome new stuff today, I replaced my worn out Mizuno Wave Precision shoes with the brand new model. Behold them in their post-run glory:

Selling my body to the Internet

So it has come to this. With about six weeks left to go before the fundraising deadline, I have been forced to sell my body to the Internet. Well, kind of.

Since hauling my body 26.2 miles through the streets of New York City will be a full-body activity, I am selling sponsorship of each of my major body parts! You can sponsor my upper back for $25, or both feet for $50. In fact, here is a guide I made for specific body-part sponsorship:

If you'd like help my reach my $3,000 fundraising requirement in this way, simply include in the information line which body part(s) you are sponsoring when you donate.

PS: All body parts not offered for sponsorship are already being sponsored by my wife ;)

16 Miles of Unexpected Ups and Downs

After taking a much needed rest day yesterday (forced upon me due to my running watch having dead batteries), I got up at 5am this morning to beat the heat and run the longest distance yet in my training: 16 miles. The plan was to run out to Iroquois Park ~5 miles south of the house, run 3 miles of the loop, then reverse course and run home. There is a water fountain out there, and I figured on my way back I could stop in a corner store and get more water. Also, I expected a nice smooth uphill climb out, then downhill on the way home. Much like this elevation chart produced by MapMyRun.com:

Instead, here is the actual elevation chart as recorded by my GPS watch:

Not smooth at all. I suppose this is what I get for not having driven the course first, but hey, I'm still getting used to this city. And as such, I had no idea that most corner stores did not open until 9am at the earliest. So on the 5 miles back home I was really struggling for some water, or Gatorade, or even a soda. But nothing was open! I finally came upon a water fountain near UofL, and wouldn't you know it, it didn't work. I did eventually make it back home, very hot and dehydrated, and proceeded to drink and entire gallon of Gatorade. I'll likely spend the rest of my day with my legs propped up to prevent swelling and a constant supply of ice water to drink.

But, at least its done. And next week's long run is only one more mile than this. With better planning, I think that one will be quite manageable.

Athletes...athletes everywhere.

This morning's run was 8 miles at projected marathon race pace, which isn't too bad because I did 10 miles last week below race pace. But I'm following this with 16 miles (gulp) tomorrow, so I wanted to make sure I didn't overdo it.

My plan was to run down to the Ohio River, then east along the river trail until I hit 4 miles, then double back. Well, as I neared the water I started seeing athletes. They were running, or biking on very nice bikes, and some of them were walking in their swimsuits still dripping water. It all became clear to me when I got the the waterfront park: thousands of triathletes were prepping for Ironman Louisville tomorrow. I took a picture of some of them getting used to swimming in the Ohio. Apparently, its a lot cleaner than it used to be.

Usually when I go run down by the river, I see 3-5 other runners out. This time, I must have seen hundreds. All kinds of triathletes doing the last runs of their taper period so they can be loose for tomorrow's Ironman race. All in all, it was really motivating. Tomorrow they will swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and THEN run a full marathon. I'm nervous enough about just doing the marathon, much less all that before it! But it was definitely good energy for my run and tomorrow I'll be thinking about them while I'm doing my 16 miles. They will still be swimming or biking while I'm running as those two events will take up their entire morning, but after my run in the morning I think I'll walk a few blocks over to the marathon course and cheer them on some.

Mile 21 Dedication for Priscilla's Parents

Priscilla, my mother in law, grew up in Maine with a house and barnyard full of animals. She is dedicating mile 21 to her parents, who helped instill in her the same love of animals that Priscilla has passed along to my wife.

From Priscilla:
My donation is for Mile #21 in memory of my parents, Russell and Dorothy Sherburne.  They were huge animal lovers.  We always had dogs, cats and horses growing up.  Mom was always donating to the local humane society, and "receiving donations" from the Human Society in the form of various strays that she took home all the time.  Both of my parents would have been so supportive of this marathon run to support the North Shore Animal League!


Read more about my marathon for the pets here!

Mile 1 Dedication: Kate's horse, Prometeo

To help reach my required (and daunting) goal of $3,000, I'm letting donors dedicate a mile to an animal or person who has meant a lot to them. First up is my lovely wife, Kate, who is dedicating mile 1 to her horse Prometeo.

Prometeo aka Pro has been in my life since I met Kate and I've learned that he can do some really impressive things...when he puts his mind to it! He would get jitters before shows and sometimes get distracted, much like I'm sure I'll be doing at the race. So I'll be thinking of how to be like Pro when he had great performances and try to keep my mind in a good spot as I run the first mile.

From Kate: "Pro taught me about a lot of things, but most of all he taught me about patience. As you start the marathon, you will need patience to pace yourself and finish strong! You can channel his Arabian endurance to sustain yourself for the remaining 25.2 miles."

5 Miles by the River

Today's run was a quick five miles down to the river and back. Our house in Old Louisville is about 2 miles from the Ohio River so I ran a little east then north to the river, along the river, then straight south back to home. Pretty good weather this morning, it felt like the low 60s though I'm not sure exactly what it was. Where is this miserable Kentucky heat people told me about? NC was way worse!

Here's a picture of the waterfalls at Louisville Waterfront Park:

Crossfit, ya'll.

Since moving to Louisville is taking me away from my beloved bootcamp class at the YMCA, I am considering Crossfit as an alternative to ensure I get some quality cross training in on my way to the marathon. Cross training is crucial: running is a full body movement which involves having a strong stable form and straight back. Lack of cross training leads to increased injuries as the core and hips become fatigued, form suffers, and what should be a nice floating gait turns into a pounding march that destroys joints and muscles.

So this week I decided to check out Crossfit the 'Ville, a Crossfit gym in downtown Louisville. Crossfit itself is a franchise based on a style of working out that encourages short bursts of a wide variety of exercises to develop strength in all muscle groups. Some routines last only 10 minutes, though classes are generally an hour long and involve stretching and warm up/cool down.

Yesterday and today I had my "elements" classes which go through how to do all the kinds of exercises I might encounter in a class. While some things like burpees were already known to me, I had no idea how to do the olympic weight lifting. Thankfully, my instructor Kelly was patient while I learned proper form. In the end, she was very pleased and said I was coming in with a high level of strength and fitness that should only get better. So cheers to my bootcamp instructor and colleagues: we really can hang with the Crossfit crew!

First long run in Louisville!

I'm up to 14 miles and it feels pretty good! I had to delay my long run until yesterday because of moving to Louisville over the weekend. With the drive on Saturday and the unpacking on Sunday, I went to bed at 8:30 on Sunday night and was up bright and early at 5am Monday to do my run. I first went to the 24 hour grocery store to get some energy gels because I was out. Then I ran through Cherokee Park here in Lousiville which is incredibly confusing. All the roads and trails loop back on themselves and there is maybe one map posted anywhere in the park. Had it not been for my smartphone I may not have made it out! I finished up my run by heading down to the waterfront (Ohio River) before coming back up to Old Louisville where my house is. Longest long run to date! The next one will be a step back to 10 so I can prepare to launch up to 16 in two weeks. Getting within striking distance of the monster 20 mile training runs seems possible now.

Here's a map of my run yesterday:

Slowly Ramping Up

This week's long run was 12 miles, a distance which I haven't run in some time now. This is, for me, when things start to get serious. Including the long run, last week I ran for a total of 32 miles. I haven't done 30+ miles per week since I can't remember, so that's kind of a milestone for me. So far my body seems to be handling it fine. I'm seeing a chiropractor who specializes in active release therapy which has been successful in working out some old injuries to my left calf and right hip flexor. After ART, they haven't been a problem since.

So, yesterday I did 12 miles out on the southern section of the American Tobacco Trail in Morrisville/Apex, NC. I didn't realize why the first 6 miles were such a slog until I turned around and felt the wind in my face. Sometimes it appears still but the wind is blowing with you just enough that you get no breeze and it feels like running in place. That was the worst, especially considering the humidity! Anyways, I made sure this time to drink lots of water and took a few energy gels along the way. Energy gels are magic when you're starting to fade!

Here's a picture of me finishing up my most-mileage training week in years. Notice the sweat dripping off the bottom of my shorts...everything I was wearing was completely soaked in sweat, including my shoes. This is what summer training in NC looks like!

Race Pace Run

My training is roughly following the Intermediate 2 plan created by Hal Higdon. Higdon has been coaching and writing since 1966 and his plans are pretty solid for anyone wanting to run a marathon. One of the signature methods he uses is a race pace run followed the next day by a long run of twice the distance. For me, my goal finish time for the marathon is 3:50 making my race pace around 8:45/mile. Since last week's long run was 12 miles, the race pace run was 6 miles. The picture below is me after finishing it...none to happy with the heat, but glad it was done!

Bootcamp Squared

Every Wednesday morning I get up at 5am so I can be at the YMCA for Bootcamp Squared. Its not even Bootcamp2, it is bootcamp X bootcamp. One hour of all the burpees, sprints, kettlebells, overhead medicine ball slams and every other kind of bodily torture you can handle. I started this in January of this year and it's been a huge help in developing core strength and overall fitness. I'm really hopeful this will help with my endurance in the marathon because I know it is helping me keep good form while running. Plus, it feels great to do a hard workout before most people wake up :)

Here's a picture of some of our bootcamp-ians doing their thing:

No GPS? No phone? Whatever, we'll do it live!

Last Saturday's marathon training run was a 10 miler early in the morning again. The phone was dead and my GPS watch was missing, so I felt kinda blind out there with no idea what my pace or time was. I still had a pretty good idea of distance via MapMyRun, so I know at least I completed what I set out to do. Photo related: these are my running shoes that believe or not need to be replaced. They have about 400 miles on them and for a heavy runner like me, that's plenty. Don't forget to go to the fundraising page! I'm not out here doing this for nothing!

First 10 Miler of the Year

[Don't forget to check out my fundraising page here!]

Last Thursday I ran my first 10 miler of the year, and possibly the first one since sometime last fall. Between an injury and moving to Kentucky, I had kept my long runs reasonable, but the marathon goal is ensuring that comes to an end. I actually attempted to run 10 miles this past Sunday, but lack of any nutrition while running cut my distance to 7 miles. So on attempt #2 this week, I took along a couple energy gels. Totally necessary.

I ran from the house to the Louisville Riverwalk then headed west down the Ohio River. I turned around at the locks, and took the picture below on my way back into downtown.  Click on the picture to see it bigger.