Why every season is my favorite to run!

As the weather changes and we're experiencing cooler weather, especially in the northeast, we all start to look forward to the major race events like Chicago, Marine Corp, Philadelphia and NYC Marathon, as well as the numerous half marathons, 5Ks and 10Ks throughout our neighborhoods.

So as I sat back and reflected upon the excitement and how we look forward to the fall running season, it also made me realize that we all look forward to each season -- and for different reasons.

Here's what I came up with

Hey, it's that guy running again...

Have you seen this guy?

You know, the guy you see running every day. The one who's running but may not look like the fastest runner. 

But you see him every day.

Rain or shine.

Freezing temperatures.

Snow.

Or hundred degrees. 
You see him out running.

When I see this guy on some mornings, I can't help have pangs of guilt for not getting out and running that morning. Because their dedication and discipline is enough to motivate you, to want to go out and be a better runner and more consistent. 

Now that the weather is getting cooler and mornings a little colder...I still see him. (Today he was wearing gloves, since temps were just in the 50s) -- but he was still out there.

Are you "that guy" to your neighbors?

Warrior Dash -- for real?

These 'mud runs' seem to be the trend in the last few years, with every kind of obstacle you can think of. There's a whole host of them and while I've not made a great effort to run one of them, I did embark on my first one this summer.

Friends of mine rallied together and decided that they would be doing the Warrior Dash, run at Windham Mountain, in Windham, NY.

While I was a bit skeptical at first, I decided that if I can do Hash Runs through major metros and in the back woods of NJ-PA-NY and rather sketchy areas of the NYC and Atlantic City, then I could certainly handle the Warrior Dash.

So here we were.
Feeling very much like an Arlo Guthrie lyric, we had a great night out the night before the event -- so we all looked and felt our best!

Tragedy at the Boston Marathon

As I sat down to write a blog post for this year's running of the Boston Marathon, I thought it would be a great idea to share some of the historical significance of Patriot's Day.

But it seems that a different kind of history was written during this year's Boston Marathon.

Ask any runner and there's only one place that we would want to be on Patriot's Day. And that's in Hopkinton, at the start of the Boston Marathon. Regardless of how fast or far we run, we all think and dream about running Boston.

As the morning unfolded, it seemed like the 117th running of the Boston Marathon was complete. The turn of events that happened that afternoon was not anything that anyone would have expected.

With all the press coverage of these events in the last few weeks, I do not want to continue to rehash the day's events ...so instead I focused on the healing. I've started to gather a few links and images of the race tees and organizations supporting Boston and raising money for the families affected.

Donate Today!

The senseless tragedy of these bombings continues to weigh on the families and the community of
running and our thoughts and prayers are with family, friends and colleagues running and spectating at the Boston Marathon.
And while it is scary to consider such an event happening as you're crossing the finish line, I believe that the runner in each of us will not be deterred from running again.
So keep running.

BOSTON STRONG

Boston Strong from Flying Pig

Cafe Press Long Sleeve T

Celebrating with Green Beer and a 5K

There are a few times during the year, in which runners feel more than capable to run a (5K) road race ...regardless of their training. Among those are a New Year's run, the Fourth of July and St Patrick's Day.

Usually this can be attributed to the knowledge that the reward at the end of the race -- can typically be found not in age group awards or medals; but typically a pint or two at the local pub after a tough run.

So whether your goal was to get out to start your spring training or your goal was to run this morning's #NYCHalf13 to accomplish one of your goals -- Cheers to you!!
and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My New Year's Resolution to Running Consistently

We all go through highs and lows in our training. And some weeks are DEFINITELY better than others.

But the goal that we all share is to "run more consistently". Not just in the number of days we run in a week or a month, but more consistently in pace/time...which will come naturally if we put it the right amount of time and effort.

It has been a challenging start to the year. And I've found myself traveling for business, a lot more than I have in the last  few years. So much so, that I decided to look at the number of check-ins on Foursquare to validate my assumptions....here's what I discovered:

Great group run!

It can be so challenging to get motivated in the winter months. Rather than running a local 5K or traveling far to get a race in, we decided to check out @CityRunningTour (www.CityRunningTours.com)




They were leading a group run in Hoboken -- our old stomping grounds and the town where both my wife and I were living, when we met. The 5 miler starts and finishes at the Pilsner Haus.

Resolution update: Run More Races....

In an effort to continue to run more consistently AND to run more races (Resolutions #1 and #2), my wife and I took to searching the web for new races....and races that were close by so that we can continue to run at least one race per month.

During our search, we were dismayed to find an increase in race fees, which are not offering anything particularly unique -- and in some cases, not even a t-shirt?! Who wants to pay $45 for a race with no t-shirt, especially when the proceeds are NOT going to charity.

But we did find a unique race event, that while it did not offer t-shirt swag; it did provide you a token for a Free Beer at the Brewery or Beir Garten.

The phenomenon of guided tours is not uncommon. There are walking tours all over the US, so it's not surprising that running groups have taken to a guided running tour of key metropolitan areas, which gives you a different perspective: complete with a workout, some culture and a finish at the local watering hole. This is how we found CityRunningTours.com (@CityRunningTour)

Locally, in NJ and NY there are tours happening every week. So, this month's race challenge may very well be a @CityRunningTour event.

Also check out groups in Austin, Boston, Charleston, Chicago Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and DC.

My (Chinese) New Year's Resolutions....

An overwhelming 88% of New Year's Resolutions fail. Most people give up on their resolutions before February. I didn't want to fall into that group of people so I thought long about what I can do that is achievable, manageable and still stretches me as a runner. 

So I thought I'd take advantage of Chinese New Year-the Year of the Snake, to restate my resolutions.  I figured I'd put them all out there and blog about them each month, to keep myself on track.
Here they are:


1. Run More Consistently

New Year -- New Start (or Restart?)

Each year as we  hit January, we often get focused on starting over and back to square one of our training.
"Starting January 1, I'm going to start training again"
...or...
"this year, I'm going to really start to eat healthy".

Wouldn't it better to focus on continuing to the right things? Keeping up with your running -- instead of starting over?

So now that it's February - how many people stayed with their New Year's Resolutions?

I don't want to be a downer, but 88% of New Year's Resolutions fail. Why? Mostly because people are not realistic or too far-reaching. Being runners, we all are disciplined, to some degree. But the difference in keeping our resolutions can often be to approach our resolutions in phases or steps, in order to help us succeed.

What are your resolutions?

2012 Year in Review - by the numbers

Last week I posted a review of 2012, which did not talk about miles logged; races run; PRs.

So this week, in looking at my stats on DailyMile.com, thought I'd share my progress. I'm happy to say that my miles in 2012 were higher than 2011, but still want to be more consistent. 

 By the way, I am digging the number of "Donuts Burned" metric...good indication of progress!

What a year!

As much change we experience in our lives; we've all found comfort at one time or another in the common thread and consistency of running.

Weddings. Funerals. Births. New jobs. New homes. Change schools. Working overtime.

You name it, we've experienced all of these life events at one point in our lives.

I can write about how many races I've run. The miles I've logged. But I won't -- not in this post....
However, in 2012, it was a year, not unlike other years has been filled with change. In the past year,