Joy and Pain, a story of 13.1 miles

October 9, 2011, the day I trained 3 months to prepare for had finally arrived.  Today I will be running in my first ever Half Marathon. The NYRR Staten Island Half Marathon.

It was a cool crisp morning at 5:30AM which is about the time I woke up.  Low 60's and cool so dressed in a short sleeve tech and long running pants (Mistake #1)

I ate my usual pre-race meal (as suggested) which was some water and wheat toast with Nutella spread.

Gathered my phone, earphones, bib, scoring chip, and sport beans and headed out the door around 6:30AM.  My wife and I arrived at the lot around 6:45AM, and this stunning shot was taken by my wife.

I met up with some of the members of my local running club, the Richmond Rockets in the lot.  One of the member, Tommy Hart has his party van in the lot waiting to greet all of us as we get there (later on after the race he tosses a really great after party with food/drinks).  This is a pic of me by the van before the race (notice the jacket, I was still cool)

And another shot of the van, its an amazing looking van!

After spending time with my Rockets, went over to the starting area to get ready around 8:10AM, race started at 8:30 AM.

I will honestly say, this was the first time prior to a race when I actually felt nerves kicking in..  Was I really ready for this?  Am I actually gonna be able to complete 13.1 Miles?  Well, I was here, and there was nothing that was gonna stop me now, I WAS going to do this! I actually got a little teary during the National Anthem as I had a lot of emotions running thru my mind.  Gun went off at 8:30 sharp and I was off!

Even though Ive heard it TIME AND TIME AGAIN, do not start off fast, well guess what???  I started off WAY too fast.  I was training my long runs at around a 13:30-14:00 pace with a 3:00 goal in mind but stupidly I went off running an 11:00 pace for my first 2 miles (Mistake #2).  Here I am passing the first Mile marker.

Notice the sweat after 1 Mile??? Yeah, maybe wearing pants wasnt such a bright idea!  This was a HOT fall race, wound up getting to be almost 80 by the time I was done!

My friend David was waiting for me around Mile 2, which I was happy to see, and glad that I knew I had support during the race, not just at the start/finish.

So yeah, I was expecting 1 hill during the run which i was warned about around mile 7/8 (which will be discussed shortly). But I wasnt expecting much else as far as hills, well I was wrong (Mistake #3).  The hills werent that bad, it just wasnt as flat as I had thought it would be.

Most of the run was very scenic, by the water.  Coming around Mile 3/4 was a very nice sight, and I slowed down a bit to take my only picture taken during the run.

This was an out and back run, so I think it was around Miles 4-5 that I saw the leader of the pack, a fellow staten island resident who ended up running the half in 1:08!  I also eventually saw a fellow Rocket, Eugene Saladis, who was actually running for the FDNY and he ended up running in 1:22 taking the FDNY award and 3rd place in his AG!  I also saw my friend Dahlia on her way back!  All of which gave me a good boost to keep moving forward!

Mile 6 my Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law, Kevin and Rhonda were waiting on the side, so went over and gave them a high five and thanked them for being there as I ran by.  The turnaround point was at 6.5 and I heard a volunteer who has been following my progress cheer for me and called my name, this gave me another boost, unfortunately at this point my mistakes had started to cost me dearly, as the cramps started!

Mile 7, Rhonda and Kevin had crossed over and met me there as well which was great!

At the end of Mile 7 was the hill I was warned about and at that point I was already cramping, so I figured at this point I better just be smart about things if I want to finish this race.  No more thinking about a time goal, I just needed to finish because NO WAY WAS I QUITTING!  I walked up the hill, then ran a bit to the next water stop.

Miles 8-10 were hard, but I was still able to mix in some runs, but still did a lot of walking.

Mile 11 I met up with my friends from the NYRR, James and Ann who had already finished and came back to run me in the last 2 miles which to me was a godsend.  I was in a lot of pain and exhausted.  I knew 3:00 was out of the picture, but I could walk in and still finish proudly.  The last 2 miles with James and Ann was mostly a walk with a little bit of a jog here and there.  I even met up with one of my Weight Watcher leaders, and friend, Larissa and her son, who ran a little with us.

James and Ann ducked out with about .25 left, told me to finish strong and they were proud of me.  Thats all I needed, and even though I was in pain I gave whatever I had and ran strong to the finish!

I did it!  13.1 miles!  My first Half Marathon completed!!!  In 1 year of running I went from c25k to finishing a Half Marathon!

Finish time 3:15:36 (14:43 pace)

Splits:
Mile 1-11:38
Mile 2-11:28
Mile 3-13:00
Mile 4-13:39
Mile 5-13:40
Mile 6-13:14
Mile 7-14:40
Mile 8-16:15
Mile 9-15:02
Mile 10-16:46
Mile 11-18:41
Mile 12-17:24
Mile 13-15:53

My Sister In Law Heidi, Brother in Law Steven and Nephew Alan, who were at the finish line cheering!

Me with James and Ann who ran me in the last 2 miles

My beautiful and supportive wife Gail showing off her awesome shirt!

Me with Larissa and her son Aidan (camera shy)

Taking a victory photo

What a difference a year makes! My one year Runniversary.

A year ago I started running by doing the c25k (couch to 5k) program.  I was 380 lbs at the time. I gave this a shot in order to prepare for my first 5k race which was on 11/14/10.

Here I am at my first race ever, 370lbs, 16:52 pace 

Almost a full year has passed from my first race,  I am now 246lbs and ran my first ever sub 10:00 mile (9:53) this past weekend at the 5th Ave Mile.  Im also gearing up for my first ever half marathon in less than 2 weeks.

So in a years time Ive lost 134lbs and dropped over 6 minutes from my pace. 

As happy as I am with the past year, I cant help but look forward to the coming year and what lies ahead!  Marathon training begins!!!!!!!!!

5th Ave Mille - Run Your Best Mile!

Today was the 5th Ave Mile.  Its a 1 Mile dash down 5th Ave from 80th-60th.  Original forecast was for a rainy morning, fortunately no rain was to be seen!  My pace last Saturday at the 4 mile run was a new best of 12:00 miles, so for this 1 Mile dash my goal was 10:00 or better.

My heat, males 30-34 started at 10:15.  

I started out as fast as I could, which probably wasnt so smart considering I was sick with a head cold,  I started to feel dizzy about 1/4 mile in so I slowed it down a lil bit.

There were clocks at each 1/4 mile and I saw I was on pace for a 10:00 after the first couple.  I slowed down at the 1/2 mile marker for just about a couple seconds.  After that I felt a second wind and just gave it my all the rest of the mile.

As I came into the finish chute and to the finish line, i saw 10:00 and thought it would be close.  I checked my GPS watch and it said 10:00 on the dot.

Official result ----- 9:53!!!!! Wooohooo!!!!

Less than a year running, never did I think it possible to run a mile in under 10 minutes!  I am truly happy with the result!

2 Weeks to go till my big race, the Staten Island Half Marathon!

500 LBS = Food for the Hungry!

Tonight, Weight Watchers as part of their Lose for Good campaign, donated $500 worth of food in honor of myself and another member to represent the 500lbs that together we have lost!

There will be a story done in the local paper, the Staten Island Advance as well as online at silive.com

The story is supposed to be run on October 3rd.

Below are some pictures from the photo shoot, taken by my wife Gail.

Fitness: Mind, Body, Spirit 4 Mile Run - Bob Harper/Olivia Ward

This morning was the Fitness: Mind, Body, Spirit 4 mile run in Central Park.  This was number 6 of 9 for my 9+1 Entry for the NYC Marathon.

My last time running a 4 mile race my time was 54:44 with a 13:41 pace.  My goal for this race was to PR with 52:00-53:00 finish time.

Race was at 9:00 AM and we got to the park around 8:00 AM.  There was a pre-race festival area set up.  As my wife and I were looking at the different tents, something caught my wife's attention.

It was Biggest Loser's Bob Harper with season 11 winner Olivia Ward!  I took a moment to introduce myself to Bob and told him my story.  We had a nice discussion about weightloss, running, and he was a genuinely nice guy.

After talking with Bob, we met Olivia Ward, who won last season on the Biggest Loser, she was really nice as well and we had a nice chat!

At around 8:40 AM we headed over to the corrals.

The gun went off at 9:00 AM and we were OFF!

I was feeling good at the start, but I guess I was feeling better then I had thought!  Mile 1 was done in 11:43! 

During the 2nd Mile I started playing leapfrog with a guy wearing a neon yellow shirt.  He would get ahead of me, then id catch up and jump in front and vice versa, we did this for the next mile or so.   

Mile 2 - 11:37

I knew I was going faster than I had thought, so thought I should perhaps reserve some of my energy for the finish, and the guy in neon yellow I was leapfrogging I guess felt the same way cause we continued on thru the 3rd mile.

Mile 3 - 12:52

After we passed the 3rd mile marker, i caught up to the guy in neon yellow, told him was nice running with him, gave him a high 5, and said have a great run, then I was off to the finish!  On the way to finish line I saw my friend Gal on the side, gave him a high 5, and that was all I needed for that last boost to the finish!

Mile 4 - 11:47

Finish time - 48:03

Pace - 12:01

NEW PR!!!!!  OLD PR DESTROYED!!!!!!

13.1 or Bust! Half Marathon Training Update!

First off, Id like to apologize for not blogging as much as usual.  The main reason for the lack of blogging is that I really find myself with little to no free time most days :(

Today I've completed week 5/12 of my training plan.  I'm actually ahead of the plans scheduled miles.  For this week, the long run called for 6 miles, I finished my first ever 8 Mile run!  The reason im getting ahead of the plan is because the plan only has me getting to 10 miles the week before the race.  I would feel a lot more comfortable to be at least up to 12/12.5 the week before the half.  So I'm currently on target to be at 10 miles by labor day with a month to go before the half to work on my pace at the distance.

My 8 mile run went well today.  It was a slow 2:05 total time with about a 15:30 minute pace.  I definitely didnt push myself too hard during this run because I didnt get enough rest and woke up tired, and I also wasnt feeling that great.  So in order to make sure I hit the distance, i took an easier pace.  The course I took was also very hilly.  Overall,  I was just excited to hit the 8 miles and I'm looking forward to upping that to 9 next week.

I've also picked up  a new pair of shoes, hopefully these will get me thru my first half and well into marathon training next year :)

These are my new Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11's Limited Edition

Speaking of BROOKS, there is still time to enter this months free giveaway, which happens to include a couple nice gifts from BROOKS!  So go check out the details on my site.

A Thoughtful and Appreciated Gift!

This past weekend I received an e-mail from a fan of the site, Julie Fulmer.  She wrote me the following poem, which when I read for the first time, it sent chills down my spine.  It really is filled with a lot of emotions, and I really appreciated this most wonderful gift.  Julie gave me her blessings to share it with you here on my blog.  I hope you all enjoy it and appreciate it as much as I do!  Thanx Again Julie!!

Why do I do it? Get up and do my daily run?
Do I do it because I like it, or think it is fun?
No way, my dearest friend! You got it all wrong,
I run because I have to. And I'm getting strong!

I'm achy and I'm sweaty , just running on guts.
My muscles are twitching and I wanna throw up.
My body ïs in hell, but I'm gonna beat my time.
I will not stop until I cross that finish line!

Up in the morning, before my neighbors wake,
Been running half a mile, before the bakers bake.
Rubbing achy muscles, think I have arthritis.
My hamstrings really ache, maybe I've tendinitis,

You'll be hanging with friends or reading your books,
I'll be stretching and running, just me in my Brooks.
I'm used to the pain, getting up before dawn.
My mind is focused on The NY Marathon.