The Oregon Trail

Commuting in a 10yr old Honda Civic w/138k miles and worn out struts to work 35-40hrs a week and running 100miles in that same week, is tiring. Yes, I put out another 100mile week (103 to be precise), but I have to admit, it will likely be the last one for the year. With the remaning races and roughly 8 weeks in the calendar yr, I'll have to start cashing in the chips soon. This is not to say, "I've found my limit", rather, "I'm in a good place and know I shouldn't push beyond it for now". Keeping things in check around 80-85mpw would be wise.

Last night, with my GSTC teammates, Ken Goglas, and Steve Mennitt I prodcued an effort in a workout that was unprecidented in any of my previous training.  I know we were battling a bit in this workout.  Or maybe it's only in my head, because I'm the one battling to stay close to them.  Our team is deep and figuring out who will be part of the A team, B team, and perhaps C team for the Club National 10k XC Championship in Bend, Oregon will be a series of tough decision. I'm working on making those decisions more difficult for our Captains and Club President.

Behold my lack of graphic desgin abilities! Or some 3rd grader's attempt at a history project. Note: Currently the members of GSTC are searching for the Oxen, as it appears they have wandered off during last night's interval workout.

2 miles at T pace-10:22-this felt smooth, no lie.
4x1k at 8k race pace-3:00, 3:02, 3:02, 3:01-too fast, oops.
4x200 at mile race pace-30-32ish-yea, oops again.
Still, I feel good today. Onward ho!

The trail to Oregon is long. The pace has been grueling, if our flights are delayed, we might have to ford the river...

No Fluke, Crushing the XC

We all "pop" a good one, now and then. Well, some of us do. It has always seemed to me that I seldom do. But, I've been running well this yr, and people are taking notice. Post race conversations with competitors have been a bit longer than usual. It's nice to get some recognition for your hard work.

Far Left to Right: Sean Donohue, Ted Doyle, Paul Matuszak, Matt Eder, Me, Ken Goglas, Mike Fonder. There are a couple other people in this photo, identify yourselves! This was just before the end of loop 1 at the 8k nj xc champs race. Note: Like me, Paul has a beard, he beats most others due to his beardpower.

Oct 20th-On a course that was claimed to be short(and I honestly don't care if it was I still ran fast as hell), I "popped" a 15:35 for "5k", finishing 4th.  This was remarkable to me. I felt strong through the whole race.

Oct 27th-Before anyone could recover from the shock of seeing me beat some well accomplished runners the previous week, I ran 26:00 for 8k. I'll admit, my case was overstated, but not by much. Ken Goglas beat me by 16 seconds (coincidentally the same gap he beat me by in the previous week's 5k race), and Mike Fonder just ran away from us in the last lap (25:20)  Let's not ignore, I ran 26:53 on the exact same course last yr. I am pleased with this result.

Putting things into perspective: the past three months I've been like a ticking clock with my training, I expected 25:30-40 for the 8k if I felt good. Honestly, I felt weird. Not bad, just not all that good either.  If 26:00 on a rough day is what happens, I can live with that...for now. Anyway, I finished 3rd, and I'm stoked about that. In both races I beat guys that I figured I wouldn't.  After the 5k, I stepped onto the starting line for the 8k telling myself, "I can win this race"! I don't frequently feel that way. Confidence can do a lot for you in racing! Am I satisfied? Not exactly...no.

As I've said before, there is more honor in the fight than there is in the win. Some may have been surprised, and some may doubt it, but results don't lie.  Cross Country is my thing, and I'm crushing it.

Mid-fall Update on Training, Racing, and staying Inspired

At the midway point in the USATF-NJ 5k XC Open Championship at Deer Path Park in Readington, NJ. There are 6 runners pictured here, look closely, and you will see an extra foot/lower leg.. From L to R: Mike Dixon, Will Griffin, Eric Dubois(piece of his leg and head anyway), Mike Anis, Steve Mennitt, Ken Goglas

So, it's October 23rd.  The Club National 10k XC Championship is now less than 8 weeks away.  I ran the Paul Short XC Invitational on a hot day in 26:36. This is slower than what I produced on a chilly day in 2009 by 9seconds. Two huge factors here, heat and density of field. It was about 78 and rising when I started, probably 80 when I finished. This Open race had 516 runners in it, the majority of which were Collegiate guys, and they always start fast. It's only natural at a huge race of this sort that people start out hard. Well, I didn't exactly. My opening mile was 5:18, probably slowed by taking the turns wide to avoid getting tripped and pushed and others runners who were already redlining and settling after 1000m.  The results page has mile splits, a very cool thing to have in a race like this.  So, apparently, I was in roughly 350th position. I finished 87th. Take a look at this excerpt from the results below:  full results from Open race here

67        Peter Drews, Sr                 5:14    26:27    5:20  Williams College     
68        Matt Hassett                    4:57    26:27    5:20  Georgetown R C       
69        Elias Howard, So                5:11    26:29    5:20  Dickinson College    
70        George Oliver, So               4:54    26:29    5:20  Cornell              
71        Ryan Lee, Sr                    5:12    26:29    5:20  University of Richmon 
72        Sean Leighton, Sr               5:00    26:30    5:20  University of New Ham 
73        Pat McLaughlin                  4:59    26:30    5:20  Unattached           
74        Andreas Kellas, Jr              5:15    26:31    5:21  Army                 
75        Connor Strynkowski, So          5:06    26:31    5:21  Cornell              
76        Stephen Keith, Jr               5:01    26:32    5:21  Lehigh University    
77        Ryan Cooney, Fr                 5:02    26:32    5:21  Lehigh University    
78        Joe Beveridge, Sr               5:11    26:33    5:21  La Salle University  
79        Ryan Chiesa, Fr                 4:55    26:33    5:21  University of New Ham 
80        James Beacham                   4:55    26:33    5:21  Unattached           
81        Daniel Salas, Fr                5:01    26:33    5:21  Dartmouth College    
82        Michael Lederhouse, Fr          4:48    26:34    5:21  Georgetown University 
83        Tucker Hamilton, Fr             5:06    26:35    5:21  Brown University     
84        Kirk Webb, So                   5:06    26:35    5:21  University of Pennsyl 
85        Tyler Erhard, Sr                5:08    26:35    5:21  Bucknell             
86        Louis Saviano, Sr               5:00    26:35    5:22  University of New Ham 
87        Michael Anis                    5:18    26:36    5:22  Garden State Tc      
88        Alec Brand, Fr                  5:05    26:38    5:22  Shippensburg         
89        Jason Hartman                   5:28    26:38    5:22  Unattached           
90        Robert Biro, Fr                 4:55    26:38    5:22  University of New Ham 
91        Ed Sheridan                     5:09    26:39    5:22  Unattached           
92        Zachary Simmons, So             5:12    26:39    5:22  Dickinson College    
93        John Corona, Sr                 5:06    26:40    5:22  University of New Ham 
94        Dan Swain                       5:12    26:40    5:22  Una                  
95        Matthew Lutcza                  5:08    26:42    5:23  Unattached           
96        Victor Allen, Jr                5:12    26:42    5:23  University of Pennsyl 
97        Michael Kurvach                 5:03    26:43    5:23  Unattached           
98        Connor Clark, Fr                5:01    26:43    5:23  Dartmouth College    
99        Stephen Schelander              5:04    26:44    5:23  Sstc                 
100       Noah Williams, Fr               5:17    26:44    5:23  Williams College     
101       Tyler Scheving, Fr              5:09    26:45    5:23  University at Buffalo 
102       Mike Garrity                    5:08    26:45    5:24  Unattached           
103       Austin McGinley, So             5:06    26:46    5:24  Shippensburg 

67th was 11 seconds ahead of me, 103rd 10 seconds behind. This is the sort of competition that you dream of as a post-collegiate athlete.  Having done some more runner-nerd math, I calculated that I passed a runner on avg every three seconds from the 1mile mark to the end of the race!  Yep...I think that is cool.
 

More recently, was the USATF-NJ 5k XC Open Team Championship. GSTC, ran the show, we took the first 5 spots on the Men's side!  Individually, I finished 4th in 15:35! I beat some guys who whipped my ass at the Liberty HM, really it was just the sort of thing that I would never expect.  I've been traning and racing with some of these guys for years. When you keep getting beat by the same people again, and again, you might start to believe, "Well, he's just better than me." It is hard, but we have to remind ourselves that this is just a defeatist rationalization for a lack of hard work and patience.  Every dog has its day. So when you finish a race with someone in your sights that historically has left you in the dust, it gives you renewed strength!

Anyway, I figured I was fit enough to run at least 16:05, 15:55 if I ran a smart race.  This was a huge breakthrough race for me. My previous best XC 5k race was 16:22(RVRR summer series July 21, 09'), and my best on the Deer Path course was 16:23(2012)! More runner-nerd math: 16:22-15:35=47seconds.  At age 32, after competing for 18yrs.  I know a lot of runners that have run for many yrs; none of them ever told me about the time that they ran a 47second 5k XC pr when they were 32.  I can go, faster I'm sure of it. Sidenote: Yes, I heard the course is a bit short, but I'm comparing times on this same course, so it's a solid case for analysis.

Workouts and general aerobic runs: have suddenly gone off the charts, 8k worth of intervals are often totalling somewhere around 25:00-25:20. In previous yrs, this sort of workout I would perhaps at best have totaled 26:00 and with longer recovery times between each interval.  I go out of my way a bit to run with Chris Croff, Jacob Edwards and Chris Johnson in Summit or the Watchung Reservation, a lot of days I feel like somone is pulling me along a touch faster than I'd like, but those are the days you get a little better. Also, I never felt good enough to go and run doubles the day after workouts.  This bodes well for the upcoming USATF-NJ 8k XC championship on Sunday. 

Inspiration: I love running, watching African's win marathons is cool.  But I also enjoy watching boxing.  Welterweights and Middleweights most of all (140-147lbs and 151-160lbs) currently seem to be where the best guys are to watch.  Recently, I have watched Ruslan Provodnikov fight Timothy Bradley(a fight he very narrowly lost by majority decision) and Mike Alvarado. Alvarado was in two brutal fights against Brandon Rios(who is now slated to fight Manny Pacquiao on 11/23).  Provodnikov is the type of fighter that "takes two shots to give one". I identify with this sentiment. Early on, Alvarado was throwing more punches and landing at a better rate. But as the rounds wore on Provodnikov's heavy shots took their toll on Alvarado, who went down twice in the 8th and was nearly down again the 10th. He did not come out to answer the bell for the start of round 11.  

Provodnikov beating the tar out of Alvarado. photo courtesy of usatoday.com

As a runner, I don't fancy myself to be too slick.  I just grind it out, like Provodnikov. I train hard, and I stay focused on hitting the target, even if it means I take a pile of punishment in the process.  I'll keep coming at you, hurt and tired, that's the only way I know.

This is what it looks like when you've won a fight against Mike Alvarado, no one said it would tickle. Photo from boxingnews24.com

Consistent Mileage Increase

 60, 68, 64, 73, 80, 62, 59, 71, 74, 85, 74, 86, and already this week 73miles(haven't run today yet and still have tomorrow).  Those numbers represent how many miles I ran in each of the last 12 weeks.  The highest totals in 5yrs. If you've been reading, you may recall the mention of a 100mile week recently. That was a Wednesday to Wednesday stretch. The Sunday to Saturday 100 is coming soon, I mean hey; this past week all it would have been is getting my ass out the door 7 minutes earlier and keeping it rolling for an extra 7mins. Had I done this, the 100 would have happened.

OK, so what happens when you run 100miles in one week? Somewhere from unseen speakers, a wicked guitar verse begins to ring out in the distance. Perhaps "Getting Strong Now" or "Going the Distance", or something embellisingly dramatic that has nothing to do with running? Nope, back to reality.
What about 120, 140, 160, etc? I mean, I have been saying I'm going to run to work(nearly 14miles away from home), and like so many other things in my life, I've procrastinated on this. But here I am writing about it, so I think this is the cry-wolf moment that I can't back down from. It looks like I'll be saving some money on gasoline very soon.

Of course, you don't want to run yourself to a breaking point. Rest/recovery and nutrition are paramount in all this.  But there is much to be said for consistently putting in time that you haven't committed to something ever before. 50miles with 3 quality efforts per week could be more effective than 100miles with 1 quality day. However, 100miles with 1 or 2 "quality" effort is subjective the idea that one should be acquiring fitness at the most accelerated rate for readiness for frequent competition. To have more patience in this would allow for a large build up of the aerobic system for greater endurance. I am comfortable with this idea, and not feeling pressured to run "hard" 3-4 days a week any longer.

There are 13 weeks left in this yr, I would like to run no less than 60miles in the last two weeks of the yr, in each week previous to that I figure on an avg of 85 from here on. I'll need to do some exploring to make this happen no doubt. Thankfully there are plenty of great trail systems in NJ that  I have yet to get into.
 
Convincing myself that running 40-80mins, sometimes twice per day, is a doable thing; has been a surprise. A yr ago, I would struggle to convince myself to run for 70mins at the end of a day. Getting out the door before work, was just hard. I love to run, but what can I say? I was struggling mentally, and often. Personal circumstances were just making running half a chore. Many have joked about running "being my mistress", well if it got in the way of some things. Then damn some things! I like running...I like it... a lot.

Running, yup.

 I believe much is possible. I can commit more to running. She is good to me. So I will.

the image above is property of mrwgifs.com

The Terrible Unicorn is Slain! Let the training...continue.

Anis-1 Unicorn-0.  If you'll be in Hopkinton on April 21, 2014, I will see you there, and we'll go for a run to Boylston Street in Boston. Beers to be had somewhere downtown afterward.

For those who enjoy a retelling of a mythical tale(with "historical" reference!):
 Well, while it may not have been written in the history books; it is well known that George Washington was faced with a difficult decision on December 25/26, 1776. Cross the Delaware and attack the Hessian troops qaurtered in Trenton...or find the Great Unicorn of the Delaware River. So, his choice is well known, and perhaps was the best choice for that day. But, the Unicorn has mocked us with it's carefree magical frolicking ever since. Life is hard, and darn it that Unicorn has been just making it seem a bit unfair! That is until, it met the challenge of the bearded one!

Cleverly diguised as a "marathon", the hunt for the Great Unicorn began on the morning of August 18th, 2013. Roughly 130 brave souls lined up armed only with gps watches and energy gels. The Unicorn watched from across the river grazing on local greenery, amused by what appeared to be a bunch of silly wanderers with numbers written up on paper which had been pinned onto their shirts. What a curious sight for this beautiful and terrible Beast!

Once the runners began, in 3 separate waves spread 30 seconds apart; a strategy employed by General Santa Anna in the slaying of the Chupcabra in the days following the battle of the Alamo Feb 23-Mar 6, 1836.  The Strategy might have proven successful, if not for one man's unrelenting surge to the front! Mike Anis! For the first time in its existence, the Unicorn felt the sick pain of fear, and all that it could do was to run for it's life. The Unicorn could never have expected a negative split run, and eventually was caught! Anis' beard reflected the piercing rays of the sun back into the eyes of the Unicorn! Now blinded, it could no longer run. It knew its time was at an end, and thus it accepted its fate and burst into flames! Then handily winning the race, Anis hauled the broiled carcass back to finish line and shared in the bounty with all in attendance!

Ok, so story time is finished. So, for real, recently training has been pretty darn good. I've run more miles in the past 7weeks than at any point since Sept/Oct of 2008. More miles do not always equal gains, but the truth is many faster runners than I have done a lot more mileage than I have. How much faster or stronger can I get? There is surely one way to find out, run more.

Recent Highlights:
Aug 18-Win the "Chasing the Unicorn Marathon" in 2:37:05, got the BQ. 3rd fastest marathon among 8, 1:19:13/1:17:52 splits. Felt good, recovered in a few days.
Sept 4-11-Ran 100miles in 7 days for the first time in 18yrs of competitive running.
Sept 17-Had a great workout, the kind that lets you know a PR is coming and no one can stop you
Sept 22-Newport Liberty HM, finish 10th, time of 1:12:15, this is a PR by 42seconds(Shamrock 08'), my GSTC teammates also produced some impressive performances, inspiring stuff.

Cruisin' on the towpath in PA! Gettin' after the Unicorn and taking home the W!

Supplemental training: standing fearless in the face of a waterborne Rottweiler!

Start of the Newport Liberty HM Sept 22, 2013 pictured all clustered up here: Chuck Schneekloth, Sean Donohue, Kyle Price, Dennie Waite, Jon Lindenauer, Mike Anis, Stephen Comanto, Will Griffin, Ryan Johns, Peter Schaeffing. Sorry if I missed anyone here. All fine competitors!

Winning a marathon is a special thing, a true thrill. I surely didn't look at a calendar on Jan 1st and say to myself "This yr, I will win a marathon. Yup, I'll just go and do that then." I mean really, who wins a marathon? How often does that happen in life? I can always say I won it, and no one can eeevvver take it away from me. The five friends who came to see me race were better support than if I had thousands of screaming maniacs every step of the way. Rob Decarlo, Tiff Schwartz, Erin Higgins, Jeff and Hardina Blough; I can not thank you all enough for being there on that day!

The month between the marathon and the Newport Liberty half was a solid block of patient miles with some ambitious workouts. I can't say what the workouts were in detail, spies could be reading this! Or perhaps I've decided this post should not revolve around "nerd stuff" like workout statistics.
 So I knew this HM would go well. And while I didn't feel terrfic on this particular race-morning, I know I can't complain too much, as runners say, "a PR is a PR"! But I think I'm faster than this race has shown. I'll just have to be patient for the next racing opportunity.

One thing is for sure, after about 4miles of letting us beat him Will Griffin ran away from me like I was going backwards. Also, Sean Donohue is hard to catch, couldn't do it this time, give me another 13.1miles and it could be interesting.  More importantly, I've been very consistent, and I'm excited about running all the time now! About getting together with other dedicated runners that I know, about hard workouts and solid long runs! About the planning and the recovery, and just tuning my body for going far as quickly as I can make it go!

Next up: 5k XC!

The Div I hit list and the Hunt for the Great Unicorn

I'll be hitting the big 3-2 on Aug 28th. 32yrs...old? Naaah! 32yrs strong is more like it! It's prime time baby! The best yrs of running are ahead, and I've been doing it a long time, and I'm ready for another push.  There is often a pile of focus on young talent or the older folks who seemingly defy logic and stay fast way longer than most.  But here I am, 10yrs past collegiate running and faster than ever.
     I recently ran the Westfield Pizza Run(which has changed its name a few times). I think it used to be called the Downtown Westfield Pizza Extravaganza, and now it's just the Downtown Westfield Pizza Run, or maybe just Dowtown Westfield 5k.  Marketing...snore!  I had decided to skip this race after they cancelled it 10mins before the start in 2007 due to passing lightning. I had run it 2005 and 2006, finishing 17:37 for 33rd and 17:02 for 20th. The regularity of me finishing in the top 20, 10, 5, or 3 of fairly competitive road races has increased over time, but the thrill of each finish has increased only a marginal amount at times.
Anyway, things change, working in town and getting a free entry(peanuts for the Elephants) makes it easy. So, I ran the race.  An element of excitement about a race like this is that, there are talented HS and college runners nearby; and with 2800 runners, you can expect it to be a bit more competitive up front.  Still, these years later, I didn't expect to feel left in the dust and alone finishing 6th. In 2006 I dreamt of what it would be like to finish 6th in race like this, and thought, how much of a badass I would feel like if I could do that. There are compliments here and there, and being modest about this with people I don't know well is an odd thing to handle.  I mean, I'm not getting paid to do this anyway right? These aren't diamond League races.  But I just want to kick ass and take names!
From my perspective, many local fall and spring road races tend to lack depth at the front of the field. Mid-July is a time when the collegiate studs are home and in a base phase of training, the time when I strike like a Cobra!
Tuesday night 7/23-RVRR summer series XC race #4*-Christian Gonzalez NJ/NY TC-Rider U/Franklin HS-1st, Stephen Mennitt GSTC/formerly Rowan Univ/Edison HS,Mike Anis(me)-3rd, Darrel Gooding-FDU/Franklin HS-4th

Finishing 3rd, gettimng the AG record, yes I knew I had it, and so I reached for my watch. Steve is fast, and beats me all the darn time!

Wednesday night 7/24 Downtown Westfield 5k-Won by the speedy Chris Heibell-Loyola/Immaculata HS-1st, followed closely by the work horse Chris Croff-formerly of Southern Conn St, DJ Thornton-Nortre Dame/Union Catholic HS, Ryan Scrudato-Marist College/Westfield HS, Andrew Kirna-Bucknell/Westfield HS, Mike Anis 6th, John Kirna of Bucknell-/Westfield HS 7th, Robert Marczydlo XX univ?/Westfield HS 8th, Ryan McGann-William and Mary/Cranford HS-9th, Alan Eke-Oklahoma Univ/Union Catholic-10th

That's four Div I kills this summer alone, I also beat a couple of Div III guys(guys I know and like), but of course, I'm not going to brag too hard there, the Div I guys are the ones that you would expect to walk all over me.  Tell me I 'm racing and no one else is, eh, perhaps to some degree.  If I look back this yr, I might be over 5 already. If I can get 5 in a single race, I think that is the same as a fighter pilot's "Ace" status. I think the shot comes once this yr, the Paul Short XC Run on Oct 5th in the Open Race. I don't care if those guys are "JV" or "walk-on" if they wearing the singlet of a Div I school, and I beat them...they just got hit! Don't get me wrong here, I know all these guys a bit, I've done casual running most of them here and there, they are quality runners.  Part of the fun this time around was going on a warmup and cooldown with these guys, it's nice to make nice with everyone, ya know? All of them are fun guys and I appreciate running and working with them at the store, they are just as passionate about our sport as I am. But I'm still psyched about outrunning them(in season or out). It feels good to place well against quality opponents.  So the hit list will grow, because...

"That's what I like about college dudes. I keep getting older, they stay the same age! Yes they do, yes they do!"

Also: Long runs have been 19, 20, 21, 18, all with dashes of 5:50-6:10pace mixed in them, this Aug 18 marathon could be good, I'm gunning for the W. If I do, it will be my first win in a marathon.

I will chase this guy, and if I catch him, I will slay him and eat him. Unicorn blood+beards=invincibility!

*Gonzalez sets course record in 16:15, I finish in 16:25.52, setting the much sought after 30-34 AG record! Women and children rejoice across Middlesex county! Men nod in approval and offer hearty hand shakes amidst a triumphant slow clap, beer flows like wine and peace is achieved between fans of opposing afterwork sports teams.

Catching up, moving on through pain, getting faster and having some fun

Club National XC Championship 2012, the last time I toed a starting line with Andrew Capizzi.

It has been a little while since I've posted up here. Yes, my lower back still sucks and hinders me to whatever point, but lot's has happened and I'm running well enough. I lost a teammate, friend, co-worker in June, that took the wind out of my sails...it did for a lot of us within the running community throughout New Jersey, surely I'm understating. Most of you who might be reading this, already know the story, so I'm not going into that again.  When I stop and think for a moment, I realize, we raced the Track East Region Club Championship six days after Andrew's passing and then the club National Championship two weeks after, it amazes me. Especially in the case of Kyle Price and Ken Walsh, my incredible teammates and fellow Ramapo Alums. Kyle, Ken and Andrew are best friends, and it pains me to know they are now separated by life and death. The bond they had as teammates and friends is one that I understand better than any other.  Kyle pressing on and training and racing through the pain was if nothing else, inspirational. Ken, like me, is a smoldering volcano, and this will boil inside his heart for all time, and it will push him to greater accomplishments as a marathoner.  I mean, it's all we can do.  You know, it's said that a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link, well Andrew was a strong link.  Do we see the chain as broken? Mending this is difficult, but we band closer together, and we remain strong.  And I know we all feel the same, in that we hate the thought of stepping onto a starting line together without Andrew there.  His spirit will run alongside us in Oregon this December, I'm not done with this whole running thing yet. The feeling we got from being Ramapo Roadrunners doesn't have to stop since we've graduated or left, and the same goes for any other runner. That is one big reason that I race with Garden State Track Club, because it's something many of us understand. The pursuit of a dream, the pursuit of excellence and victory!

And the show went on:
Regionals: 3k sc-10:07. And we win the Regional title!
Nationals 3k sc-10:08-8th overall(1pt scored!) and we win the National Title!
July 2nd-19.1mile run, last last in 6:15 in some serious heat, thanks for the company Steve Mennitt!
July 4th Firecracker 4mile in Cranford-21:41-4th overall....got outkicked by a 17yr old kid(that'll happen), but finish well ahead of Mark Del Monaco, love you Mark!
July 9th RVRR Summer Series XC 5k race #3-16:38, 2nd to Mike Dixon(16:32). Will expand on backstory here, this is a good one.
July 10th-Beer Mile-8:33, not a fast time, but a win. And winning in Beer Mile is more rewarding than most bullshit road races! I've got a belt and a jacket and neverending glory!

Knock Knock. Who's there? Orange. Orange who? Orange ya' glad that the liner of my shorts isn't worn out? Club Nats 3k sc, not a fast race for me, but 8th counts, and 8th I was!

Me, Dixon, and Tony Lopez, three guys who ran for the same team and drank a lotta' beers together a long time ago. Still running!

It was like this for 2miles, but Dixon got the best of me...again!

I fought for it the whole way, it felt like a good day to rip it up

Once again National RVRR Beer Mile Champion! Invite me to your birthday party, and you will be a National Birthday Champion by association!

The Summer Series XC story: These races have been under the radar for 25yrs I believe(maybe 30?) We have returned to the original location of Donaldson Park, and although the course has changed; and in my opinion it could stand to have some tweaks to make it better. It is damn good to be home. For 6yrs we raced in Beuchluch Park in New Brunswick, a faster course, albeit a quasi-xc course(run on a cinder path where about 15-20% of the race is on paved asphalt). Skipping some boring details, we're back to Donaldson, where I began my XC racing career! With the new course due to park "improvements", comes new course records.  The first two races in the series were won by un-inspiring performances in the high 17min range(17:46 I recall).  I decided, I'll have none of that. While I couldn't reasonably compete in the those races with track club nationals approaching, I planned on showing up for race#3 to smash this soft record to pieces...but so did Mike Dixon.  So, we had a good battle out there. He ran 16:32.5, I was 16:38.  He can't go the next race. You gotta' be in it to win it I always say! So, in two weeks I'm getting after it, running a smarter pace early on, and I'm going to get a hold of that record, which by default will be mine until next June! So, there's some heat in the kitchen now. Anyone want that record? Wanna' race? Come n' get it!

Up next: buncha' long runs, Summer Series race #4 "The quest for the record", another beer mile, and "Chasing the Unicorn" Marathon on August 18th to qualify for the B.A.A. Boston Marathon in 2014, my birthday(Aug 28th), there might be some wild shenanigans in the works...grillin' chillin' and Beer 5k?