It has been quite a while since I posted here on my
blog. The main reason for my absence was
that I was performing in my first community theater production here in
Scottsdale. I played Lazar Wolf in
Desert Stages Theater's production of
"Fiddler on the Roof".
The rehearsal process was long and we did 19 performances once the show
went up. We were extended for an extra
weekend due to the fact that we had sold out shows for every performance. It was a great experience. But, I kept up with my training regimen
because I knew I had the Ragnar Del Sol coming up on Feb. 21 and I did not want
to miss any training time for the Boston Marathon.
I have been training hard so that I
can try and break 4 hours again in Boston.
I feel like I was robbed in 2012 when the weather was so hot. Even though I had trained hard, I am not
completely sure if I had trained well enough to break 4 hours. The heat was definitely a factor but it
wasn't the only thing that caused me to run poorly that day. This time I have been eating healthier, lost
12 pounds and have been able to run sub-9 minutes per mile pretty regularly in
my training. This hopefully indicates
that I will be able to have a good race in Boston in April. However, I am not naive enough to think it is
that easy. Weather, illness, injury or
any number of things could derail me. Therefore,
I will remain focused and let it happen naturally.
I am going to be participating in
the Ragnar Del Sol here in Arizona this Friday and Saturday. It is another one of those crazy relay
adventure races. I am so ready to go out
and conquer my 3 legs. I am runner #9
and will have to complete a 13.5, 4.7 and 3.1 mile leg. This adds up to 21.3 miles in total and is
the second highest mileage amongst the 12 runners. It will be a challenge for me but one that I
am looking forward to. I think it will
give me some indication of where I am in my Boston preparation.
Then on March 1, I was given a
complimentary entry to the Phoenix Half Marathon. It is one of the races that will be run in conjunction
with the Phoenix Marathon. I ran this
race last year and can tell you that the Half Marathon is a beautiful race
course. The best part is that the route
descends downhill to the Riverview Shopping Center finish line. Based on the route, we will experience nearly
350 feet of net elevation loss in this gentle downhill route which should mean
another good time for me. What I enjoyed
so much last year was the fact that I got to run through very diverse scenery
from the desert vistas down to the beautiful citrus groves.
Finally, I am happy to report that
my fundraising efforts on behalf of Dana Farber have far exceeded my
expectations. As of this writing, I have
raised over $27,000. More importantly, I
have still not received all of the donations that have been promised to
me. I am not sure where I will end up
when the race is over and I collect those final donations. I do know that this has been my most
successful fundraising effort ever. I am
truly humbled by the generosity of my family, friends, and co-workers.
I love inspirational quotes and use
them to motivate me in my training. One
of my favorites is from Steve Prefontaine and sums up why a run.
You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.
I run because I can and because it
gives me a true sense of satisfaction and achievement. See you out there on the road!
Dec. 16 – 6.10 miles (55:04, 9:05
pace)
Dec. 17 – 3.10 miles (23:24, 7:36
pace) – Speed Work
Dec. 19 – 7.00 miles (1:08:07, 9:41
pace)
Dec. 21 – 8.10 miles (1:08:12, 8:27
pace)
Dec. 22 – 8.20 miles (1:14:34, 9:05
pace)
Dec. 26 – 3.80 miles (2:05:53, 33:08
pace) – Camelback Summit Hike
Dec. 27 – 6.20 miles (55:19, 8:57
pace)
Dec. 28 – 8.20 miles (1:11:39, 8:42
pace)
Dec. 29 – 6.10 miles (54:13, 8:57
pace)
Dec. 30 – 6.10 miles (52:28, 8:36
pace)
Dec. 31 – 4.00 miles (32:05, 8:01
pace) – Speed Work
Jan. 2 – 6.50 miles (53:14, 8:13
pace) – Tempo Run
Jan. 3 – 7.10 miles (1:02:25, 8:49
pace)
Jan. 4 – 6.20 miles (51:03, 8:13
pace)
Jan. 5 – 10.20 miles (1:28:19, 8:42
pace)
Jan. 6 – 6.10 miles (53:36, 8:49
pace)
Jan. 7 – 4.00 miles (31:38, 7:55
pace) – Speed Work
Jan. 8 – 6.50 miles (52:44, 8:07
pace) – Tempo Run
Jan. 10 – 6.20 miles (54:27, 8:47
pace)
Jan. 11 – 8.10 miles (1:11:19, 8:49
pace)
Jan. 12 – 8.20 miles (1:09:08, 8:27
pace)
Jan. 13 – 6.10 miles (55:11, 9:05
pace)
Jan. 14 – 4.00 miles (31:33, 7:53
pace) – Speed Work
Jan. 16 – 6.50 miles (52:46, 8:07
pace) – Tempo Run
Jan. 17 – 7.10 miles (1:04:05, 9:05
pace)
Jan. 18 – 12.10 miles (1:47:36, 8:57
pace)
Jan. 19 – 6.20 miles (53:09, 8:34
pace)
Jan. 20 – 6.20 miles (55:22, 8:57
pace)
Jan. 21 – 4.00 miles (31:37, 7:54
pace) – Speed Work
Jan. 23 – 7.50 miles (1:00:47, 8:06
pace) – Tempo Run
Jan. 24 – 6.10 miles (1:05:08, 10:43
pace)
Jan. 25 – 10.10 miles (1:27:15, 8:42
pace)
Jan. 26 – 8.10 miles (1:08:58, 8:34
pace)
Jan. 27 – 6.10 miles (52:57, 8:42
pace)
Jan. 28 – 3.10 miles (23:02, 7:24
pace) – Speed Work
Jan. 30 – 7.50 miles (1:00:44, 8:06
pace) – Tempo Run
Jan. 31 – 7.10 miles (1:02:23, 8:49
pace)
Feb. 1 – 14.10 miles (2:01:09, 8:34
pace)
Feb. 2 – 8.10 miles (1:09:28, 8:34
pace)
Feb. 3 – 6.10 miles (55:10, 9:05
pace)
Feb. 4 – 3.50 miles (23:37, 7:24pace)
– Speed Work
Feb. 6 – 7.50 miles (1:00:41, 8:05
pace) – Tempo Run
Feb. 7 – 6.20 miles (53:50, 8:42
pace)
Feb. 8 – 10.30 miles (1:33:48, 9:05
pace)
Feb. 9 – 10.10 miles (1:26:29, 8:34 pace)
Feb. 10 – 8.10 miles (1:12:47, 8:57
pace)
Feb. 11 – 3.50 miles (27:00, 7:43
pace) – Speed Work
Feb . 13 – 8.50 miles (1:09:13, 8:09
pace) – Tempo Run
Feb. 14 – 7.10 miles (1:04:32, 9:05
pace)
Feb. 15 – 8.10 miles (1:10:13, 8:42
pace)
Feb. 16 – 15.20 miles (2:20:14, 9:14
pace)
Total Miles: 66.9 miles
2013 Total Miles: 1,649.60 miles
Total Miles: 420.2 miles
2014 Total Miles: 420.20 miles
