Tuesday, July 2, 2013

June 29 - 19.7 Miles Ran; June 30 - Rest Day; July 1 - 6.7 Miles Ran

So much to share, so little time.  I am sitting in the Weeks Library in Lancaster, NH, stealing a few precious minutes on the only Wi-fi I can find in the Northeast Kingdom.  I am on vacation until Sunday and unfortunately my blog time will be fairly restricted.  Right at the time when the running has been the best!

I completed 19.7 miles late Sat and early Sun morning as part of the One Run for Boston effort (http://www.onerunforboston.org).  I ran 2 legs, from Bridgeport to Milford and Milford to New Haven for a total of 19.7 miles.  As you might expect with a run covering over 3,000 miles split into over 300 legs, the schedule got a bit off and our Bridgeport leg (#300) got going around 9pm instead of 5:30pm.  This was a blessing as it brought the temperature down, but it also resulted in the Milford to New Haven group (#301) finishing at the New Haven green at 12:10am!

The people on the run were amazing and we were even able to get a short blurb on the local NBC news about Race4Chase:

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/One-Run-For-Boston-Set-To-Cross-The-Finish-Line/213726141

I got a little rest and then packed up for a 4 hour ride to northern VT (Lunenburg, above St. Johnsbury) on Sunday.  I was able to crank out 6.7 miles on Mon over the rolling hills in Lunenburg.  My cousin Michael told me it is a 1,400 foot climb from the Connecticut River to Neal Pond where we are staying (though I thankfully did not go all the way down to the river!)  I wanted to get 6.7 in because this brought my total mileage for the year up to 750.

I covered miles 724-743 on the One Run trek.  Len Gutman sponsored miles 724-731 of these miles and the rest were unsponsored.  Thanks Len!  I completed miles 744-750 (unsponsored) on Mon's run. I'd like to get a few miles in today but I've spent so much time searching for Wi-fi that the day is getting away from me!

Today's Line (Sat and Mon):
Date DoW ToD Distance Time  Min/Mile Notes Effort Total Miles

6/29 Sa 9:10p 19.7 3:02:54 9:17:03 78f 6 743.3
7/1 M 10:25a 6.7 55:53:00 8:20:27 70f 7 750.0


Leg #300 led by Kelly Gallagher (far right) and powered by Girls Gone Miles

Self-proclaimed local celebrity Chaz addresses the leg 300 team

NBC 30 arrives to cover the event

NBC 30 reporter George Colli interviews Kelly (George was great, really into the event and all the causes)

George interviews Danny Boy Bent, one of the organizers of One Run for  Boston

Officer Matt provided an escort through the dark streets of Milford

Lastlly, the leader of group 300 made the following video our our leg--thanks Kelly!

Friday, June 28, 2013

June 28 - 4.5 Miles Ran

I made it out a little before 7pm for a nice easy jog before tomorrow's 20 miler.  I tried to run at an 8:30/mi pace to get used to easing back for the long run.  I ran the Day Pond course with 3 laps around the pond and completed miles 720-723, sponsored by Len Gutman.  Thanks for sponsoring these miles Len.  I will cover a bunch more than you've sponsored if all goes as planned tomorrow.

I will be joining a handful of other runners in Bridgeport tomorrow to run 2 legs of the One Run for Boston relay http://www.onerunforboston.org).  Interestingly, at 11:30 pm as I type this, the runners are outside of Port Murray, NJ and appear to be about 2 hours behind schedule.  This will turn my 5:30pm-8:20pm run into a 7:30-10:20 run.  This is fine, but if there are further delays I could be looking at a true midnight run!

Today's Line:
Date DoW ToD Distance Time  Min/Mile Notes Effort Total Miles
6/28 F 6:50p 4.5 39:26:00 8:45:47 70f 5 723.6

Thursday, June 27, 2013

June 27 - 6.7 Miles Ran - Running for Boston this Saturday

I had a good 6.7 mile run this morning.  It was pretty humid but not oppressive at 7am.  I ran the Day Pond and Pinebrook loops.  I tried to run alternating 7 and 8 minute miles after warming up a but hills interfered with the plan.  My laps went as follows:

1 - 9:36/mi (warm up)
2 - 6:49
3 - 8:04
4 - 6:53 (big down hill)
5 - 7:39
6 - 7:21 (medium up hill)
6.7 - 9:32 (cool down)

I completed miles 713-719, sponsored by Matt Colegrove (713-715) and Len Gutman (716-719).  Thanks Matt and Len!

Kris Onofrio, the assistant race director of the Fairfield Road Races, informed me about the One Run for Boston relay race coming through CT this weekend.  Hundreds of runners have carried a GPS enabled baton from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania on the way to Boston as a showing of support for Boston in the aftermath of the marathon bombings.  I have signed up to run the Bridgeport to Milford (8 miles) and the Milford to New Haven (9.5 miles) legs on Saturday.  I hope to put in 20 total miles so I'll have to find another 2.5 somewhere along the way.  Check out the One Run site at:

http://www.onerunforboston.org

Today's Line:
Date DoW ToD Distance Time  Min/Mile Notes Effort Total Miles
6/27 Th 7:05a 6.7 53:01:00 7:54:47 75f 8 719.1

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

June 24 and 25 - Rest Days; June 26 - 4.5 Miles Ran

Mon and Tue were rest days after the tough half marathon on Sun.  I really wanted to get out for 3 or 4 miles on Tue to loosen up, but I was tad sluggish after downing pub fare the night before with my old high school hoop buddies and coach (see pic below).  I was also in full chauffer mode with Shea on her first full day out of school which left no time for running.

I had a great run this morning, however.  Though some soreness remained, I warmed up quickly in the heat in humidity and ran the last 3.5 miles of the 4.5 mile run at about a 7:15/mi clip.  I ran the Day Pond route with 3 loops and completed miles 708-712 which are sponsored by Matt Colegrove.  Thanks again Matt, 3 more of your 20 to go!

Today's Post
Date DoW ToD Distance Time  Min/Mile Notes Effort Total Miles
6/26 W 7:25a 4.5 34:15:00 7:36:40 75f 8 712.4

A full day with my high school hoop buddies--good for laughs, not for running!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

June 23 - Fairfield Half Marathon - 16 Miles Sponsored

I'm under a bit of a time crunch so I will have to keep this post brief and update it later, but I had another incredible day of racing for Chase on Sunday at the Fairfield Half Marathon.  In addition to logging 13.1 more miles on the way to 1,000 (plus an extra 0.4 in the warm up :) ), Len Gutman stepped up again and sponsored 16 additional miles, 3 in recognition of the 5K on Sat and 13 for the half on Sunday.

The half was HOTTTTT!  I ran fairly hard for 5 miles but then dialed back a bit and essentially just ran to where ever there was water on the course (to drink or cool off under sprinklers).  My Garmin watch indicated that I ran close to 13.3 miles, which means that I zigzagged 2/10ths of a mile on my watcher witching journeys.

I completed miles 695-707, which were sponsored by Matt Colegrove (695-700 and 702-707) and Kevin Farkas (701).  Matt and Kevin are part of the Masuk Class of 1983 that has shown so much support for the Kowalski's.  Thanks guys!

More later...

Today's (Sun's) Line:
Date DoW ToD Distance Time  Min/Mile Notes Effort Total Miles

6/23 Su 8:15a 0.4 3:44:00 9:20:00 75f 2 694.8
6/23 Su 8:30a 13.1 1:43:36 7:54:30 85f 8 707.9

Recruited new Race 4 Chase members on the shuttle ride to the race
Finishing the race w/ Chase
13.1 more miles in the bank!



Saturday, June 22, 2013

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

Friday, June 21, 2013

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