Sandy Runs

Just like I did a Holiday Running Streak last Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day, I decided to do a Patriotic Running Streak from Flag Day to Independence Day. This latest streak isn’t that long in duration, but my intent is to get my butt out there and run more frequently, especially in the hot, sweaty summer weather. And I picked a fine time to start this new streak on a week when we’ve had heat indices into the 100F range. Still, I’m three days strong in my streak. If I hadn’t set this as a goal, I would have used the hot, muggy weather as an excuse to stay in the air conditioning. What’s it like to run in a sauna? Awful, in my opinion. I know several people who actually enjoy running in the heat. I am not one of them. My body does not like to run in extreme temperatures of any kind. In bitter cold, my muscles have trouble warming up and I feel tight and heavy, never quite getting into a groove. In heat and humidity, I never feel like I get enough fresh air into my lungs, and...

My friend David recently posted a blog entry describing his favorite races . He has a few different ways to classify races to narrow down to his favorites, and there are several races that he returns to again and again. I was recently asked what my favorite marathons were from my 50 states quest. It was a difficult question to answer because there is no single favorite, and depending on the person asking, I might give a different answer. I responded that 2014  Chicago Marathon was probably my favorite urban race, and 2013  Madison Marathon in Montana (throwback blog post coming soon) was my favorite for scenery. But choosing only those two as favorites doesn’t feel right. I have run a lot of races and many of them were wonderful, but often for very different reasons. Instead of choosing to return to my favorite races, I usually opt to run new ones. That makes it even more difficult to select a favorite. Heading to the finish at 2014 Chicago Marathon, my friend Rachael ...

Once it became clear that Oregon would be my 50 th marathon state, I needed to decide which race to run in the state. Scot ran Portland Marathon in 2012 and I’d heard good things about it, but I didn’t want to wait until the fall to finish my states. I considered Eugene Marathon (too close in time to state #49), the Vineyards Marathon (it would have been OK, but I just wasn’t wowed by it), and Crater Lake Rim Runs (a tough course and I didn’t want there to be any doubt of my finishing). I settled on the 5/30/15  Newport Marathon because it was earlier in the year, but with enough time to recover from New Jersey, it was a reasonable drive from Portland, and it looked beautiful. Scot and I left DC to drive to Philadelphia for a good airfare, but we had a flat tire before we even got out of DC. Thank goodness my car has a full size spare that was in good condition. Scot changed the tire and we were on our way, but then we were stuck in traffic and just barely got to the a...

I did it! I finished a marathon in all 50 US states. My first marathon was in the state of Louisiana in 2005, so you could say this achievement took me 10 years. But also I repeated all my early states more recently. Between May 2012 to May 2015, I ran a marathon in all 50 states at least once. It was a crazy, accelerated pace to do such a thing. I never expected it to happen that way, but it did. Needless to say, an undertaking like this is difficult in many ways: physically, mentally, financially, logistically. I could not have done this without a ton of support. I’ll soon post my race report for the 2015 Newport Marathon in Oregon. But first, I’d like to thank quite a few people for supporting me in some way throughout the last few years as I achieved this remarkable feat. Just colored in Oregon and it's the end of a major quest My family . They supported my marathon training from the very beginning, never doubting that I could do it (at least not that I knew about...

My 50 th state marathon is fast approaching. I’m scheduled to run the Newport Marathon in Oregon on May 30 th . Not only will Oregon by my 50 th marathon state, but it will also be the 50 th state I’ve visited. I’ve never been there. It’s a long flight across the country, and I’m not taking a lot of time off work, so Scot and I will need to plan our sightseeing wisely. There’s so much to see, but we’ll limit it to Portland, Newport, Salem (the state capital, done as a drive-by), and the Pacific Coast Highway along the Oregon coast. Both photos: credit to www.newportoregon.com I’ve run 64 marathons and 33 half marathons. So, why am I a little nervous? My nerves should have been reserved for New Jersey, my nemesis state , which I conquered last month. I have no issues with Oregon…just that it represents this awesome milestone of finishing a full marathon in all 50 states. I’m not injured. I am under-trained, but what’s new? I’ll finish this marathon. And it will be beautif...

You’ve seen me write on this blog about training, or my lack thereof. I followed a regular training plan when I did my first few marathons. Then I set a training plan and largely followed it for my return to marathoning after a few years off. And then I started running multiple races close together in time. I found that I could always go the distance, even without consistent training. Not that I was fast, mind you…I could simply finish. I also sustained a few running injuries that had me cut back on my training mileage in order to “save myself” for my planned races. With one exception, my DNF at 2013 Atlantic City Marathon , I finished those races. But I always knew I could do better if I trained more consistently. Last year's Friends & Fitness training program shirt; I'll be running with them again this year I tried to set a plan for training over the past fall and winter, and at first I did OK, but then illness and then bad weather derailed me. If I’m honest with...

In late March, Scot and I ran the Marine Corps 17.75K . We ran this one in 2013 but our experience was different this year. Still, it was a challenging course and had a great reward. All finishers of the 17.75K are guaranteed an entry into the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM), which is becoming harder to get into each year. Like many big-city marathons, there is greater demand to run the race than there are spots for runners. After a few years of a record-fast registration sell-outs, MCM went to a lottery entry. That means that not everyone who applies is accepted to run. The 17.75K as a way to run MCM has now gained in popularity. The odd distance is a reference to the year the Marine Corps was founded: 1775. This translates to just over 11 miles. Front and back of my guaranteed access ticket I already knew that I had an entry to MCM, but Scot did not. Three days before the 17.75K, we found out that Scot was not selected in the lottery, so he would need his guaranteed entry. I ...