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