Holy smokes! I just looked and the last time I wrote here? Over a month ago?! Where the heck does time go? I've been super busy with preparing for the big move. As I mentioned, I am in the process of buying a place over in Brooklyn! That's right - I'm moving to that far off land of Brooklyn:-p I'm super excited and now wait for my board interview then the check writing exercise also known as the closing;) So it looks like sometime in mid/end of May I'll be a homeowner! Woohoo!Running wise. I signed up for marathon #6. I'm heading back to the scene of my best marathon: Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC. October 25. I'm finally getting back into the running thing as I've just been swamped at work and dealing with the apartment stuff. I also was burnt out from last fall. But now it's time to go back in and get focused. I don't think a time needs to be mentioned on where I'd like to be as I cross the finish line;-)
I ran a couple of races in the past few weeks: Mudders&Grunters and Cherry Blossom 10 miler. I didn't race either. My time for Cherry Blossom was a respectable 8:19 pace. I never felt like I was hurting and had someone come up to me at the end and say "Great race, thanks for pacing me." See, even when I don't mean to I'm a pacemaster!
I've got the Brooklyn Half coming up on May 30th! Hopefully it'll be a real short commute to Prospect Park;-)
excited
My thoughts: The race was great! I would consider doing this one again! The weather? Non-factor. If you dress right, it's actually quite perfect. Loved the slogan: Kick Asphalt. The shirts are 100x better than Chicago's sponsor crappy one. They should have been better prepared at the water stops with salt but it's easy to play the game after the race. The half/full turnoff should have been better manned as one of my friends running the half ran an extra portion of the marathon before figuring out she was in the wrong race! She had a monster PR until that. She still PR'd by 2 minutes but it would have been closer to a 7 minute PR! Philly definitely has it's own style and I like that. It doesn't try to be NY or Boston, it's just Philly and that's how it roles. 
tired
okay
Whoops! Finally we were off.
Since the last time I've also finished up two more 20 milers and a 55 mile week. One twenty miler is shown on the left. We ran from Columbus Circle, around the tip of Manhattan, over the Brooklyn Bridge to Prospect Park, a lap of Prospect Park before heading back and ending on the LES. As usual, a training season would not be complete with me wiping out somewhere. I managed to wipe out on a sidewalk in Brooklyn and now sport a lovely wound on my left knee (good job by the photographer not to get that knee in the photo!). It was nasty humid with essentially 100% humidity as when we got to the tip of Manhattan you could not see Brooklyn! It was eerie as a cruise ship was coming in it looked like it was coming from nowhere out of the fog. Surreal. Finished that run in a shade under 3 hours. 
complacent
So the run. I got to the race around 5:45 since corrals shut down at 6:30am supposedly. As I left, thunder clapped, lightning lit up the sky and rain fell. Just what you want to enjoy at an absurd hour on a Sunday. Hmm... As I arrived, police were directing people away from trees since there was serious lightning in the area. Little did I know these storms had killed several people in the tristate area! Once the storms left the area, I headed to my corral and ran into RK and JS. We stated our goals and for me, I intended to run well within comfort zone. I also got to briefly meet 
So the race. With between 6 and 7 put in Friday afternoon and another run for Sunday, I knew this was not going to be an all out racing attempt for me. The conditions were less than optimal (and that's being nice!). It says it was 80 with 67% humidity at race start but I'd be willing to say it was warmer. I ran to the start at the 102nd transverse and was dripping in sweat by then. Yikes! LS and MS met me by baggage and we all started together. I figured this would be good so I wouldn't be tempted to race. Plus, our fun colors went together!So the race was pretty uneventful. I never dipped into 7 min/mile pace and stopped for water whenever possible. Fortunately, there were several people out there with hoses which was a touch of heaven. The finish had ice pops waiting for us! I think they should have this at every event:) 
Wednesday, not too shabby! It was right where I wanted to be - I figured somewhere around 8-8:30 pace. 
Around mile 10, my legs started to tire. Unlike road racing where you dont have to worry about picking your legs up, in trail racing it's essential as those rocks and various other things in the ground will get you (not to mention tree trunks!). Anyway, I was running with Julia when all of a sudden my leg didn't pick up enough and I caught my foot on a rock. I fell with a pretty good thud and managed to scrape up my left leg and brush my right forearm. It sounded a lot worse than the damage produced. At this point, Julia wanted to make sure I was OK to which I responded "heck yeah, let's finish this thing." 
sore
So, oh yeah, the race. My attire: bike shorts (I don't want dirt in unnecessary places), a long sleeve top, gloves for gripping, and an old pair of running shoes ready to go to the shoe graveyard wrapped in ducktape. It was 38 degrees at the start which made my legs look just great;-) And not having sun for 6 months doesn't help;-) Anyway, no start gun. Just a simple go. And we were off. I had zero intentions of racing. My only intention was to come out in one piece!
spent with a rather muddy glove and very cold feet.
My legs were caked in mud and my shirt looked like it had been through a war. Never fear as a change of clothes was near. And ducktape - oh that saved my feet! If I could count the amount of times there could have been a sneaker lost on the course...
Marathon weekend. I’ve grown to see it as my favorite weekend in New York City of the year. This year was extra special with the Men’s US Olympic Trials for the marathon the day before in Central Park. However, since I’m just getting back into the fun of running, I opted out of NYC Saturday morning for an XC race in New Jersey. I had no intentions other than to have a good time and scramble up some hills. And holy cow, these were hills that made Central Park look flat. The course was two loops with both hills (one by the name b*stard) within the last ¾ mile of the course! Holy crow, this was one of the hardest races I’ve EVER done. The first lap I ran the flat portion hard which probably was not a good idea but then I went all out on the hills the first time too. Not good. If I had a heart rate monitor, I bet it would have been screaming “what the &*(& your heart rate can’t go that high!”. LOL. The second lap killed me as I felt like huge pieces of concrete were on my legs instead of running shoes. I did pass one girl on the last hill but I’ve never been so happy to cross a finish line! My lungs were burning like after doing the 5th Avenue mile, only it was a 5k! The rest of the day I spent coughing if I started to laugh:-p Seriously though, an absolute blast and I’d do it again in a heartbeat! You can’t beat the rush of adrenaline you get trying to get up hills that. I’ve heard they have this race in the spring and I am definitely going back to tackle these bad boys again!
change my camera battery so I had to rely on the pom poms to bring support to the runners. Along the way, I saw Crazy Bandana and Moz (aww yeah he stopped for a cookie!). While I was getting ready to get more cookies, all of a sudden I heard someone say there’s Pink Monkey and Liz. Apparently my response was “Oh my G**!” I think out of instinct I immediately placed the cookies down and started chasing after them with all clothing on (jacket, long sleeves, shorts, pants on top of the shorts). I had intended to just say hello but they just said “come with us, we need you.” So off I went in more clothes than I’d wear in 40 degree weather let alone 60+. It also should be mentioned all I had was my phone and house keys – no wallet or any of the other items I had brought with me to the stand. The plan originally was for me to be on hand at the TRD booth to run with someone should I be needed. I had run 4.5 miles in the morning thinking I may not run at all! LOL! Pink Monkey and Liz were super strong and it showed in their time: 3:50! Awesome, simply awesome! Sempre Libera joined us on the Fifth Avenue side as I had called her while literally on the run;-) I also took some photos via camera phone which is a lot tougher than one may think. Both Liz and Monkey were completely alert the entire time and as we got to Columbus Circle SL and I bid them farewell and headed off the course. We saw JK, LD, and KR finish before heading to the meeting spot on t he west side. The smiles coming from Liz were so big that words can’t do it justice. She kept wanting to thank me but for what? She ran the race and I’ve always said you can tell someone how to do something but they need to execute the plan. Execution? Oh yeah, they definitely did that. Congrats, girls as you have earned the right to get some serious R&R.
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The rest of the race reminded me more of a funeral procession. There were a lot of people walking, ambulances, etc. :-/ I found out later one of the guys Paul (met through 
to break 3:50 - and honestly didn't care since it wasn't breaking the elusive number I want anyway. As I headed down the hill to the finish line I mustered what I could and passed a few people along the way. Finished officially in 3:50:47. All things considered, I was able to salvage a decent marathon and was only 5 minutes off my PR in extremely horrendous conditions: heat and humidity! By the time I finished it was 77 degrees in Scranton. Eek!
Found 
curious
loop but fortunately I could jump right back into the zone! My dad also has issues with staying in his own running lane. At one point, he ran into this woman, she ran ahead and then we caught up again. At this point I hear her say "oh shoot, not you!" and she sprints ahead! LOL As for me, I keep at least a person and a half distance from my dad to avoid the forearm shiver:-p
accomplished
Around 20 miles in the past 2 days before the race last night. I started to wonder if this was the smartest idea but I figured eh, put in a good effort and Monday is a well earned day off. 
front. I figured I'd start up front just to be able to get an actual run in, not a walk! I caught up with EV at the start and they made us stand there for a good 15 minutes crammed in like sardines. Once the horn went off my stomach started to tell me thaat it wasn't going to allow me to have a good run. I felt really icky and watched as EV took off. I just decided to stick to below race pace and let the pacemaster set the controls. Mile 1 clocked in at 7:33. Stomach still felt like a rock was in it but I was all the way down by the 102nd transverse, no reason to stop now;-) I saw Mugno, a fellow TRD member, running the race around this point. Finally, approaching mile 2, I felt like my stomach was starting to calm down and I started to hit that pace zone. From here, I knew the end wasn't a problem and I could just cruise in. Mile 2 clocked in at 7:30. As I was turning up the east side, I caught up with EV and she was having a difficult race. I tried to have her come with me but she was really struggling:-( At the bridge where I'd normally meet up for Wednesday night speedwork, I saw JS. Thanks for the cheers:-) Mile 3 came in at 7:32. Just beyond here, I ran into fellow speedy beagle,