My Secret Addiction

As I was looking back over my training totals for the week, it dawned on me that I have been writing this blog for almost 4 months. I went back and reread my entries and noticed that I have not really been talking about my training much at all. Instead I have been subjecting my followers to odd subjects and ramblings of a runner who apparently has a bit of Attention Deficit Disorder.

Today I am going to try and explain why I run. I just finished reading the book Dr. Sheehan on Running published in 1975. Although it is an old book, there were many things that still apply to running today. In fact, it is most likely what inspired me to get back to writing about my running.

I have been running since 1985 when I moved from Las Vegas to Watauga, Texas. I was trying to find something to do to relieve the stress of my job and to try and be healthier. There I was a 24 year old out running in the Texas heat. I have to say it was a bit meshuggah. But, it did relieve the stress and made me feel good.

It wasn’t until about 10 years later and I was living in Arkansas that I realized that I was becoming a bit fanatical about my running. I would go out in all kinds of weather and conditions and run. I remember going out for a long run after finding out that my friend Brent Moore had succumbed to colon cancer. I found myself running to deal with all kinds of emotions, stress, aches and pains. I figured running would make everything clearer and much better than when I headed out.

So here I am today a 47 year old middle of the pack recreational runner who wants to admit to the world that I am addicted to running. Dr. Sheehan wrote, “The addict is not escaping from reality but is trying to find himself. Runners are doing the same thing, but in a constructive, continually satisfying and maturing way.” Luckily for me I found an addiction that has a positive effect on my life rather than a detrimental one.

I guess there is no cure for this addiction. Besides, I am not sure I want to be cured. Alan Sillitoe wrote a book called The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. In it the main character Smith says, “Sometimes, I think I’ve never been as free as during that couple of hours when I am trotting up the path.” I can relate to how Smith feels. My running frees me from all constraints and it is just me, my heart, my lungs, my legs and nature. It makes me feel part of all that is around me and reinforces my obsession with running. Dr. Sheehan wrote, “The obsession with running is really an obsession with the potential for more and more life.” I run so that I can enjoy more and more life and continue to feed my secret addiction.

Here are my training totals for this week. :
Jan. 25 – 8.10 miles (1:15:08, 9:16 pace)
Jan. 26 – 6.00 miles (55:11, 9:12 pace)
Jan. 27 – 3.00 miles (22:48, 7:36 pace) – Speed work
Jan. 28 – 7.20 miles (1:09:02, 9:35 pace) – Light Snow
Jan. 29 – 7.20 miles (1:05:57, 9:10 pace) – Tempo Run

Jan. 30 – 8.00 miles (1:14:16, 9:17 pace)

Total Miles: 39.50 miles

2009 YTD Miles: 172.55 miles

Konley Thomas

Dr. Morris, Konley & Gonther at St. Judes

Yesterday, the world lost another beautiful soul to cancer. My sister Jody works at Pray-Woodman Elementary School in Maize, KS. She met a young student there named Konley Thomas. Unfortunately, Konley Thomas was diagnosed in 1999 with an anapestic ependymoma which is a brain tumor. The last eight years of Konley’s life have been filled with radiation treatments, check-ups, and trips to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN. At Konley’s last check-up in May 2008 the doctors discovered that Konley’s tumor had returned. This time it was inside the brainstem and on the right cerebellum. Things did not look promising.

According to my sister, the people at St. Jude’s were wonderful and did everything they could to try and reverse the prognosis. As you know, cancer is a tough disease to fight. In keeping up with Konley on the Caring Bridge website, I got the feeling that he stayed positive and really tried to fight his disease. Sadly, Konley lost his fight yesterday January 23, 2009. He was 10 years old.

It is unfathomable to understand why G-d decided to take Konley from us at such a young age. But, I believe that knowing that our days on Earth are numbered makes life that much more precious. It makes us value the time we have to spend with loved ones. It is also why when we lose someone so young it hurts even more. Rabbi Joshua Liebman wrote, “I often feel that death is not the enemy of life, but its friend, for it’s the knowledge that our years are limited makes them so precious.”

I believe that our soul leaves us and goes back to G-d where it is nurtured and saved until our family’s souls can join once again and be happy. I also believe that we obtain immortality through deeds of value performed in our lifetime. I know that even a life cut short like Konley’s has a profound impact on so many people outside of his family. He will be long remembered for how valiantly he fought this disease and his positive attitude throughout all of the treatments. While he will be sorely missed, his life will continue to influence those who knew him and be an inspiration to all.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital “is unlike any other pediatric treatment and research facility. Discoveries made here have completely changed how the world treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.” They did everything they could for Konley and continue to help other children like him. And most importantly, all patients accepted for treatment at St. Jude are treated without regard to the family's ability to pay.

As you know, I am running the Boston Marathon to support Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in hopes that through their research they will find cures for cancers like Konley’s. If you want to donate to Dana-Farber for my run that would be wonderful. But, I do encourage you to look at St. Jude as well. Perhaps researchers at one of these fine institutions will finally bring us to that day when there is no cancer left in this world.

I will have Konley’s name on my singlet as I run from Hopkinton to Boston along with the names of my family and friends I lost to this disease. I am sad that I never got to actually meet him. But, I feel like I know him after reading his story and his parent’s journal on the CaringBridge.org website. I know Konley is in a better place now and his pain free and happy.

Here are my training totals for this week. It was a big mileage week this week.:

Jan. 18 – 12.00 miles (1:50:17, 9:11 pace)
Jan. 19 – 6.00 miles (1:01:56, 10:19 pace) -- Snow
Jan. 20 – 3.00 miles (22:51, 7:37 pace) – Speed work
Jan. 22 – 7.10 miles (1:04:05, 9:02 pace) – Tempo Run
Jan. 23 – 6.20 miles (56:04, 9:01 pace)
Jan. 24 – 10.00 miles (1:33:11, 9:19 pace)

Total Miles: 44.30 miles
2009 YTD Miles: 133.05 miles

Art that inspires...

I got up this morning and braved the sub-zero weather to get the paper. When I got it back inside, I opened the paper and looked at the headlines of the Globe. At the bottom of the front page I saw the headline “Andrew Wyeth, austere artist of the familiar, dies”. I wasn’t particularly surprised by the news as Wyeth was 91. But, it brought back some fond memories of Art History class and our family trip to Philadelphia for Spring Break 2006.

As an art major and artist myself, I always enjoy viewing art whenever I get the chance. I was hoping to get the chance on one of my many trips to New York City to get to see the exhibition Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night at the Museum of Modern Art. Unfortunately, it closed Jan. 5th. But, I did get a chance to take my family to a major retrospective of Andrew Wyeth's work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2006 during our Spring Break. Wyeth, along with Edward Hopper, is one of my favorite artists.

I think that art is highly subjective and what one person likes can most certainly be disliked by others. Wyeth was no exception. While he was wildly popular, many art critics felt his work was too formulaic, sentimental and too illustrative. Of course, the illustrative criticism is one of the things I liked most about his work. As someone who wanted to work in commercial art, illustration was something I could relate to and Wyeth’s work spoke to me.

The retrospective we got to see included over 100 of Wyeth’s tempera paintings from his early works in the 1930’s to some of his most recent works. I found that many of the paintings I had seen in books or slides were even more vivid than in reproductions. Wyeth did not want you to be able to see his brush work. So, he worked with tempera and water colors using the dry brush method. Wyeth said that these mediums allowed him to avoid painting “a picture that looks like a painting.”

The Philadelphia museum’s official release on the exhibition when we were there stated that the show “explores in depth Wyeth’s frequently unadorned and often haunting images - ranging from natural forms like rocks and trees and humble containers such as buckets, to stark rooms, windows with curtains lifted in the breeze, bare hills, and people lost in deep introspection. The works which draw upon his boyhood experiences in and lifelong affection for the Brandywine Valley near Philadelphia and on the coast of Maine.”

Our family liked his work so much. Even though his work was so real, they were also abstract and evoked many different feelings and meanings when you viewed them. Each of us felt we saw something different as we walked through the exhibition. We decided to purchase a small reproduction which is now hanging in our front entry hallway as you enter our house. It is titled “The Quaker”. You can see it here. It is a shame he will no longer be able to give us more of his artistic vision. But, we have all of his works to view and contemplate for many years to come. May he rest in peace.

Here are my training totals for this week. It was a tough run on Sunday due to the snow storm. I had to really take it slow so as not to injure myself:

Jan. 11 – 8.25 miles (1:24:19, 10:13 pace) – Snow Day

Jan. 13 – 6.00 miles (57:10, 9:32 pace) – E. Elmhurst, NY

Jan. 14 – 3.00 miles (22:39, 7:33 pace) – Speed work, E. Elmhurst, NY
Jan. 15 – 6.20 miles (56:55, 9:11 pace) – Tempo Run
Jan. 16 – 7.00 miles (1:07:57, 9:43 pace)

Jan. 17 – 6.00 miles (55:04, 9:11 pace)

Total Miles: 36.45 miles

2009 YTD Miles: 88.75 miles

$9,030 and 3 months and 9 days to go...

Today I am 3 months and 9 days away from the race. I started my fundraising efforts early as my goal was a lofty one and I wanted to make sure I had the time to raise the needed funds. My family, friends, colleagues, and classmates have really gone above and beyond where I believed I would be after only 2 ½ months of fundraising. I have passed the $9,000 mark and now only need another $970 between now and April 20th to reach my goal. All I can say is that I am humbled by your generosity and very thankful to have friends and family like you. Thank you.

I am going to keep this short this week as I already posted a message about my 3rd run on the actual course. But, I do want to give a shout out to someone who also was generous enough to mention my blog on his “goofy little podcast” (see Steve I do listen). His name is Steve Runner. You can find a link to his website here on my blog. If you hit the link, it will take you to his website and if you go on the “Home” portion of his web page, you will see his latest podcast link and a link to this blog.

I have been listening to Steve’s podcast for 2 years now and really enjoy it. I have never met Steve even though he does not live too far from me here in Massachusetts. There seems to be a strange symbiosis between us. We are very close in age, middle of the pack runners, practice our respective religions, enjoy a nice wine or beer periodically and have an almost obsessive compulsion to run no matter what the weather. What I like most about his podcast is that it is truly like having a friend to run with even if he is not there physically. It makes my long runs fly by which is always helpful. I am hoping to see him at the starting line of the Boston Marathon this April so I can shake his hand and thank him for being my virtual running partner.

So with that, I will just say that the quick pace of my Sunday long run took a bit of power out of me for my runs this week. That coupled with a sheet of ice I slipped on in my drive way on Monday caused me to run quite a bit slower than the last few weeks. But, I got back on track today with a good marathon pace tempo run.

Here are my training totals for this week:
Jan. 4 – 10.00 miles (1:26:30, 8:39 pace)
Jan. 5 – 6.00 miles (59:11, 9:52 pace)
Jan. 6 – 3.00 miles (22:41, 7:34 pace) – Speed work
Jan. 8 – 6.00 miles (56:06, 9:21 pace) – Tempo Run
Jan. 9 – 8.10 miles (1:18:00, 9:38 pace)
Jan. 10 – 6.20 miles (56:46, 9:09 pace)

Total Miles: 39.30 miles
2009 YTD Miles: 52.30 miles

Running on the course Part 3...

I decided to run the 3rd 5 mile leg of the Boston Marathon route on Sunday. This section would take me from central Natick into Wellesley and to the edge of Wellesley Hills. It is a section of the course that has a few rolling hills. Nothing too steep though. But, it is the first real up hill climbs so far on my running of the course.

I got up early on Sunday to make sure I would be running with the minimalist of traffic. As people in our area know, drivers in Boston are not kind to pedestrians, bikers or runners. It is best to run before they are all out on the roads. Plus there are several portions of the Boston Marathon route that have no sidewalks. The good news was that most of the miles through Wellesley did have sidewalks.

I set out from the 10 mile marker heading east towards Wellesley. It was a nice level run from Natick center up until I started to approach the Wellesley College campus. The hill leading up to campus is not really too steep and I crested it easily. The only difference between hitting mile 12.5 on Sunday versus race day is that there were no screaming Wellesley co-eds cheering me on. In fact, the campus was very quiet. I don’t think the girls were back from Winter Break yet.

Wellesley College is a women's liberal arts college that opened in 1875 and is ranked the #4 liberal arts college in the United States in the 2009 U.S. News and World Report rankings. The college is known for the beauty of its 500 acre campus which includes Lake Waban, woodlands and open meadows. You can see some of it from the road as you run by. Some of Wellesley’s famous graduates are Madeleine Albright, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Katherine Lee Bates (author of the words to the anthem "America the Beautiful"), Nora Ephron, Ali MacGraw, Cokie Roberts, Diane Sawyer, Elisabeth Shue, Linda Wertheimer, and Madame Chiang Kai-shek (former First Lady of the Republic of China).

According to Runner’s World, “For 111 years, the women of Wellesley College have made spectating a sport. On Marathon Monday, it’s tradition for students to cheer on Boston Marathoners who race past campus near mile 13. Thousands of women line about a quarter mile of the course, motivating runners with hoots, hollers, high-fives ...even kisses. The so-called Wellesley Scream Tunnel is so loud, runners say they can hear it from a mile away.” I have to say, I am looking forward to that portion of the race.

From the 12.5 mile point, I headed into Wellesley’s business district. This also took me right past the half-way point. The last 2 miles took me into the Wellesley Hills neighborhood. When I hit the 15 mile mark, I turned around and headed back to Natick. It was really an amazing run. I had sunshine which made it seem like an easy run despite the cold. I ended up finishing in a time that surprised me 1:26:30 (8:39 per mile). I can only hope that I can feel that good on race day.

Running into the New Year

It is 2009. Like most people, I am glad to have the year 2008 end. I have to say personally it wasn’t too bad of a year for me until December when we had to layoff some of our Real Estate Team Members. Why does it always seem to happen during the holidays? However, looking at the headlines from 2008, I can’t say that the world had such a great year.

Here in the U.S. we seemed to have crisis after crisis. The mortgage banking, investment banking, and U.S. automaker crisis’ made it a tough year financially for everyone. U.S. companies laying off thousands of workers making this a time that the former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, called a "once-in-a-century type of financial crisis." World wide, we had to endure the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Mumbai attacks, Russo-Georgian War, and millions of people going hungry due to increasing food prices world wide. Not too nice of a picture for us to look back on.

What I am planning to do is put all that behind me and hope that the future will brighten. We have a new President taking office this month who I hope will do a good job. I still have my own job to go to every day. My family is healthy and happy. So, I don’t really have anything to complain about. This should allow me remain positive and to really focus on my goals for 2009.

Here are my goals at the head of this New Year:

1. Finish studying for the Massachusetts Broker’s Exam and pass the test;
2. Run at least 1,200 miles by December 31, 2009;
3. Run in and finish the 113th Boston Marathon on April 20th;
4. Complete my fundraising efforts for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute by achieving my goal of $10,000; and
5. Find and train for a fall marathon.

I hope that all who are taking the time to read my ramblings on this blog have a very happy and healthy 2009. If you are a runner, remember what I always tell myself before I head out for a run…Run because you can. Finish because you want to.

Happy New Year everyone!

Here are my training totals for this week:
Dec. 27 – 8.00 miles (1:14:18, 9:17 pace)

Dec. 29 – 6.00 miles (52:51, 8:48 pace)

Dec. 30 – 3.10 miles (23:37, 7:37 pace) – Speed work
Dec. 31 – 6.00 miles (51:03, 8:30 pace) – Tempo Run
Jan. 2 – 7.00 miles (1:04:12, 9:10 pace) – Marathon Pace

Jan. 3 – 6.00 miles (54:53, 9:09 pace)

Total Miles: 23.10 miles

2008 YTD Miles: 1,064.89 miles

Total Miles: 13.00 miles

2009 YTD Miles: 13.00 miles