June 21 - Rest Day; June 22 - Fairfield 5K w/ Race 4 Chase Team!

I took Friday off from running (and work) purportedly to rest up for the weekend's races, the Fairfield 5K on Sat and half marathon on Sun.  Of course, these days a free day at home doesn't lend itself to much rest!  I spent half of Fri cleaning the inside of the house followed by several hours of yard work.  As a result, by the time I left for Monroe (around 5:30pm) I was pretty worn out.  However, Fri night was a great night, as I joined my buddy Greg Ruel at the Kowalski's for a pre race dinner.  It was nice relaxing with Greg, Becky and Steve (although Becky did less relaxing as she did all the cooking!)

The 5K this morning was a huge success.  I got to MC the pre-race activities and introduce some special Race4Chase teammates, namely Charlie Clayton and Mickey Simmons who came all the way from Florida for the 5K, and Michael Compare, a police officer and triathlete who completed a triathlon in Chase's honor and gave a moving speech about his connection with Chase and commitment to the Race4Chase cause.

The weather was nice with a steady breeze coming off the Sound, and the course was flat and featured lots of supporters, bagpipers, bands and a very welcome sprinkler spraying cold water onto the course at mile 2.  Including warm up and post race jogs, I completed 4.7 miles.  After I finished the race I ran back on to the course and accompanied my sister Beth and then Becky K over the last quarter mile of the race.  Neither are regular runners and I am pretty amazed that they can just crank out a 5K on demand.

I am tempted to list the Race4Chasers that I saw finish or chatted with before and after the race, but I don't want to leave anyone out, so I just again express my gratitude to the entire team.

I completed miles 690-694 (unsponsored).  Matt Colegrove, who sponsored miles 181-190 back in early February, sponsored another 20 miles at the race.  Matt, thanks for your incredible generosity--I will assign you miles 695-700 and 702-705 (Kevin Farkas has mile 701).  I will be great to run today's half marathon covering these miles.  Matt's donation increased the sponsored mile total to 465.

Lastly, to renew and strengthen my commitment to the Race4Chase cause, I announced the following goals at the yesterday's race:

1) If the sponsored mile total reaches 500 (35 to go), I will commit to running 26 miles with Jason Lester on his way from New York to Sandy Hook.  This means I will join him 26 miles out from Sandy Hook and run to the finish with him;

2) If the total reaches 750, I will run the Boston Marathon, either by qualifying (as long as it takes) or by gaining entry as a fundraiser;

3) If the total reaches 1,000, I will continue my running beyond 1,000 miles and go on to match Jason Lester's total (3,100).  I will target 12/31/14 as my completion date, meaning I will cover the distance in two years.  Please note that this is NOT a commitment to run across the country a la Jason or Forrest Gump.  I am not a professional ultra-marathon runner or shrimp boat entrepreneur so I need to hang on to my job!  So if I'm running in Nebraska or Iowa, it will be because I'm on business there, not on a cross country trek!

It's now up to you as sponsors to determine how much running I need to do--have fun with it and let's keep working on making Chase's Place a reality.

Today's Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

6/22	Sa	8:20a	0.7	6:30:00	9:17:09	72f	5	690.4
6/22	Sa	8:30a	3.1	20:14:00	6:31:37	72f	10	693.5
6/22	Sa	9:00a	0.9	11:30:00	12:46:40	72f	2	694.4

The Runnin' Bresnahan's after the 5K

June 19 - Rest Day; June 20 - 4.7 Miles Ran

With the effects of the 18 miler last Saturday still lingering, I took a day off on Wed.  Old-man-itis continued Thu; I was able to get out for 4.7 miles but I had no energy and really just slogged through the run.  I was okay with the easy pace though, given the upcoming back to back races this weekend.  I would like to run both pretty hard--we'll have to see what's in the tank on Sat and Sun.  Right now I would be happy with 6:30/mi for the 5K (20:11) and 7:30/mi for the half (1:38:13), though I don't know how much a hard 5K will impact the half marathon time.  

I ran the Pinebrook loop on a beautiful late spring evening.  The weather was perfect for a slow jog--mid to high 60's with light winds.  I completed miles 686-689 (unsponsored).  

I'm looking forward to the Race4Chase team turning out for the Stratton Faxon races this weekend.  It should be a great event.

Today's (Fri's) Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

6/20

Th

6:00p

4.7

39:05:00

8:18:56

68f

5

689.7

June 18 - 4 Miles Ran

One vote for the UB Kids on the Block--that may be enough for the upset victory!

I got out at lunch and ran 4 miles through Glastonbury Center yesterday (Tue).  It was pretty muggy and surprisingly I was still pretty sore from the long run on Sat.  I started off very tight, but loosened up after about 1.5 miles and put in a very fast final mile (6:34/mi).

I completed miles 682-685, with mile 683 sponsored by Robin Wildman.  Thanks Robin!

Today's (Tue's) Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

6/18

Tu

1:15p

4.0

29:38:00

7:24:30

78f

7

685.0

June 16 - Rest Day; June 17 - You Asked for It (Or Maybe Not)

First, the running.  I had to wait until after 8pm for the skies to clear but with the long days near the summer solstice I was able to get in 4.5 miles before sunset.  I ran the Day Pond route with 3 loops, covering miles 677-681.  The miles were unsponsored but Robin Wildman's mile 683 is just at short jog away.
...................................
Today's (Mon's) Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

6/17

M

8:20p

4.5

39:05:00

8:41:07

65f

5

681.0

...................................

OK, now for the results of the 48 and 18 or 18 and 48 poll. (see June 15 post).  Drum roll, please.....

<nervously opening envelope...seal broken...eyes on card...looking up even more nervously...and>

Er, no one voted.

I may have confirmed that I am Forrest Gump before the followers joined him.  This raises a philosophical question (which I hope does not become a practical question): "if a Brez falls on a jog and no one is around to hear him, does he make a sound?"

Despite the radio silence, I remain undaunted, both in my running and blogging.  I'm even going to up the ante on the polling questions:

Favorite 80's Boy Band:

New Kids on the Block

versus

UB Kids on the Block

(me and my UB housemates, circa 1985)

June 15 - Blog Poll Question: 18 and 48 or 48 and 18?

I turned 48 today and celebrated with an 18 mile run.  To goad the masses of blog followers out of their recent silence, I ask the following philosophical question: would you rather be 18 years old with 48 miles to run, or 48 years old with 18 to run?  There aren't many Jason Lester's out there (see
www.r-u-n.us) so 48 miles would be a daunting task but after your done, man your 18 again!  I know I'm not giving you many ground rules so there will undoubtedly be unanswered questions (mine would be, do I have wear my cheesy 18 y/o mustache the entire time?  See pic below for an unfortunate reference point) but just wing it and let's see what responses we get.

Back to running....I'm ecstatic that I got the 18 miles in but it was a difficult run, especially the last 3 miles.  I planned to run a warm up mile, then 8 miles at 8:30/mi, then the next 8 at 8/mi and a cool down mile.  I felt okay through 15 miles, running right around an 8:15 pace overall.  However, when I reached the big hill on Levita Rd. at 14.3 miles, I started to hit the wall.  I recovered a bit to close out mile 15 but for 16-18 I was in my classic wall posture: blank stare, head tilted a bit a la Rain Man, and choppy old man steps.  After 15 miles at an 8:15 pace, the last three were at 9:35 or so.  Better to hit the wall in a training run than in a race, I suppose.

Fortunately I am recovering quickly and should be able to allow my loving family to lavish me with birthday surprises.  Or at least blow out some birthday candles.

I completed miles 659-676, passing the 2/3 mark.  I hit mile 665 which was sponsored by Robin Wildman back on March 11.  Thanks Robin!

Today's Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

6/15

Sa

10:50a

18.0

2:32:58

8:29:53

72f

8

676.5

The archive shows that the 'stashe survived at least to my junior year at UB-yikes!

June 14 - 4 Miles Ran

Got 4 miles in at lunchtime today.  After a rainy morning, the weather was perfect early this afternoon.  I really tried to take it easy with an 18 miler coming up this weekend, but even dialing back the pace was pretty quick.  This will come back to bite me in the 14-16 mile range tomorrow.  Oh well, carpe diem, I guess.

I ran the Griswold-Prospect-side street run for 4 miles, completing miles 655-658 (unsponsored).

Today's Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

6/14

F

1:15p

4.0

30:46:00

7:41:30

70f

6

658.5

June 13 - 8 Miles Ran, 2 Miles Sponsored

Thank you Tom Jones!  Tom broke the streak of unsponsored miles by sponsoring 2 on Wed.  This the fifth time Tom has sponsored miles (1/29, 2/1, 2/15, 4/12 and 6/12).  I really appreciate this donation, because is evidences Tom's commitment to support the Kowalski's over the long term.  One of the main reasons I chose a long-term goal was to make sure that my offer of support was not a flash in the pan.  Chase's sweetness and zest for life need to be remembered for the long haul--I truly believe the best way to honor him is to capture some of his pureness of spirit and carry it forward each day.  So, again, thank you Tom for your generosity and commitment.

I assigned Tom miles 647 and 648 which I completed as part of my 8 mile run yesterday (Th).  This run was my best training run of the year.  I ran the hilly Rt. 149, Cato Corner, Rt. 16 route and felt strong all the way, even on the huge hill on Rt. 16 at the 6.5 mile mark.  My overall pace of 7:25/mi is pretty close to the pace I was running this distance in last spring when I was in great shape leading up to the Cox Marathon in Providence.

I completed miles 647-654 on Th's run.

It's raining this Fri morning as I type so I will have to get today's run in at lunchtime.  I am going to take it easy as I have an 18 miler planned for Sat (which is my birthday-nice present to myself, huh?)

I can't wait for next weekend's races in Fairfield.  The Daily Voice ran a brief article (http://fairfield.dailyvoice.com/sports/runners-fairfield-races-can-help-foundation-sandy-hook-student)
about the Race4Chase team's participation and the race organizer's offer to donate $1 for every mile ran by a Race4Chase team member.  If your interested in joining in the weekend's events (5K on Sat. 6/22; half marathon on Sun. 6/23) check out the Race4Chase event page on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/events/462968913782262/

Today's (Th's) Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

6/13

Th

6:45a

8.0

59:23:00

7:25:22

58f

8

654.5