Boston Baby!

I did it. I BQ'd! My hard work paid off! I can't believe it! Here are the official results from the 2008 Atlanta Marathon:

Place Name Bib Age Div Place Gender Place Clock Time Chip Time Pace Hometown
25 STEPHEN 332 28 7 M 25 3:06:57 3:06:45 7:08.1 DECATUR, GA

HOLY CRAP!!! 25th out of 552 men, 730 overall!
Official chip time - 3:06:45
7th out of 78 in AG

I still can't believe it! 25th overall!?!?! BQ'd?!?!?!

FINALLY!!!!

Hot Digity! Here were my stats from the race:

39:50
2nd in AG (25-29)
12th overall
11 out of 551 men
12 out of 1158 total

Woohoo!

Week Totals

Total miles this week: 40.1 miles

11.10.08 - 3.1 miles
11.11.08 - 11.5 miles (haha...11.5 miles on 11/11...haha)
11.12.08 - 4 miles
11.13.08 - 4.5 miles
11.14.08 - 4 miles (urgh...I need to get out of this 4 mile rut!)
11.15.08 - 1 mile
11.16.08 - 12 miles

I hate tapering. Ugg...

Week Totals

Total miles this week: 34.4 miles

11.9.08 - 5 miles
11.8.08 - 6.2 miles
11.7.08 - 1 mile
11.6.08 - 1 mile
11.5.08 - 3.1 miles
11.4.08 - 8 miles
11.3.08 - 10 miles

A very low mileage week, but tapered a little for the 10k race on Saturday. The Atlanta Marathon on Thanksgiving is up next:)

CVS Strong Legs 10K RR

I'm not all that good at RR's, so this will be short and sweet.

I got to the race site about an hour and a half before the start time. I had registered later than normal, so I had to pick up my number and all that jazz. It turns out that they HAD mailed me my bib number, but I never got it. So, they just gave me a new number and noted my new number on their sheets. (Apparently this happens quite a bit with people who register later, so they were prepared) Anyway, I went back to the car to stay warm cause it was COLD! It was prolly in the low to mid 40's, but it is supposed to warm up to the high 60's today, so I wasn't prepared. All I had on were my racing clothes and no long pants/shirt. I stayed in my car until about 20 minutes til start time and then headed out to warm up.

8AM - We're off. My strategy for this race was to just stay with the front pack and not let people pass me. As I secured my position, I held it and kept passing people. The course was a lot hillier than I had remembered it being, but it was all good. My shins felt very heavy and it felt like I was pounding the pavement. WTF?!?! No worries, I just kept going.

All in all, I was proud of myself. I kept to my strategy and didn't let anyone pass me the whole race. I passed about 6 or 7 people after it thinned out, so that was awesome!

39:49 Not a PR (off by 15 sec), but I was happy with it. I had raced this course about 4 years ago, and finished in 40:26, so I improved on this course. Plus, I qualified for the sub-seeded group for the PRR:) I wanna say I was in the top 25, but I'll report back with the specifics later on in the week when the results are in:)

Week Totals

Total Miles this week: 41.4 miles - the least I've ran in a while, but I was resting from some longer runs last week and I had a guest in town this past weekend. I know, I know - no excuses!

11.2.08 - 6 miles - short run b/c of house guest at home waiting...
11.1.08 - 4 miles - short run b/c of house guest at home waiting...
10.31.08 - 3.1 miles - on TM after work. Halloween party after:)
10.30.08 - 9.5 miles - breaking in the new Asics
10.29.08 - 6.2 miles - on TM after work
10.28.08 - 9.5 miles - breaking in the new Sauconys
10.27.08 - 3.1 miles - on TM after work. Legs were SORE from 20+ miler yesterday!

Another Race

I just registered for another race. The CVS Stronglegs 10K. I ran this race back in '04 right before I started training for/racing Half/Full Marathons. I decided to do it cause it's for a good cause, a PRR qualifier, and I haven't ran a 10K in a LONG time. Here were my stats from '04 when I was 24:

22nd out of 655 men (1236 overall - no woman had a better time than me)
5th in my AG (out of 39)
40:26, 6:31 pace

So, goals for this race:
-to PR (39:34 on a previous race)
-top 3 in AG
-top 15? overall

Week Totals

Total miles: 57.88 miles!

10.26.08 - 20.68 miles - Gorgeous day! Ran to Stone Mtn. via The Path.
10.25.08 - 0.0 miles - Rest day. Visited the family.
10.24.08 - 3.1 miles - On treadmill after work.
10.23.08 - 16 miles - Ran on The Path, but didn't make it to Stone Mtn.
10.22.08 - 3.1 miles - On treadmill after work.
10.21.08 - 7.5 miles - Just around Decatur.
10.20.08 - 7.5 miles - On treadmill after work.

Great week! Ran my longest run this year. Ran it in about 2:45, so I think I'm on course for Thanksgiving:)

Am I Crazy?

After flip-flopping back and forth on whether to register for a marathon on my birthday, I decided to go ahead and do it. What better way to ring in turning another year older than to do what I love? Most of my friends think I'm crazy, but that's nothing new...lol. Plus, if I don't qualify for Boston on Thanksgiving (which I will! Or die trying!), this will give me another opportunity to. Plus, this race has a high percentage of BQ's!

3.7.09 Snickers Marathon in Albany, GA

Week Totals

Total miles: 55.54 miles

10.19.08 - 8.65 miles - Great fall running weather:)
10.18.08 - 9.26 miles - Same as above
10.17.08 - 6.2 miles - On treadmill after work.
10.16.08 - 14.14 miles - Great run to Carter Ctr and Piedmont Park.
10.15.08 - 3.1 miles - On treadmill after work.
10.14.08 - 9.19 miles - Another good run.
10.13.08 - 5 miles - On treadmill after work.

Spend It While You Have It

I got paid on the 15th. After bills, I had a pretty good amount of extra "play" money, so I registered for some races:)

3.29.09 ING Atlanta Marathon
10.4.09 Inagural Atlanta 13.1 Marathon

Plus, I bought some new running shoes on-line and some GU's. I've never bought running shoes on-line, so we'll see (fingers crossed).

Blech.

Running makes me happy.
Truly happy.
Like nothing else.
No matter what else is going on in my life.
I have running.
It's my sanctuary.
It's my Zen.
It's my "home".
It's my...ME.

...

What happens when I don't have it anymore?
What happens when I can't do it anymore?
What happens to me?
If I am running...
...then what am I when I'm no longer able to run?

(I'm in a depressed mood tonight...for reasons that I hate...the "ex" factor...urgh...so forgive me...)

Marathon Fever

Yup. I've got it. Marathon Fever. Runner's World is not new to me, by any means...I've just recently discovered the discussions part on the website. With all this talk of the Chicago Marathon, it's got me all pumped up for my next marathon: The Atlanta Marathon on Thanksgiving. I can't wait. It's been a year and 6 months since I ran my last marathon - personal reasons/problems/drama/etc. I've got the itch. Will I qualify for Boston this year??? Gawd, I hope so.

After I qualify for Boston...my new goal: to run a marathon in every state before I'm 38. That gives me 10 years.

Here we go.
Enjoy the ride.
I know I will:)

Week Totals

This weeks totals: 51.2 miles

10.12.08 - 15 miles - Great day/run to Piedmont Park and Peachtree, 'lil windy and overcast.
10.11.08 - 6 miles - Horrible run! Stomach issues after a night of drinking...
10.10.08 - 3.1 miles - On treadmill after work.
10.9.08 - 12 miles - Great run to Candler Park.
10.8.08 - rest day - drinks with friends after work.
10.7.08 - 12 miles - Great run to Piedmont Park.
10.6.08 - 3.1 miles - On treadmill after work.

All in all, a good week:)

Rest Days?

"There will be a day when I can no longer [run]...today is NOT that day!"

This is a mantra that a reader sent into Runner's World. I read it and it instantly jumped out at me. It puts rest days into perspective. I'm one of those runners that has to make myself take a day off. Otherwise, I would run every single day. Knowing that rest is good for your body, I know that I SHOULD take rest days...it's just the inner, running dicotomy that is me. This mantra "caters" to my way of thinking. Running everyday isn't bad...cause one day I won't be able to.

I find myself lucky. I've been running for over 15 years and never had an injury.

*knock on wood*

With 15 years already under my belt, I hope that I'll be one of those 60 year olds winning my age group and still going strong. Is this likely? I hope so. But if not, at least I'll know that I ran every day that I could.

So? Take a rest day? Prolly not:) I can rest later.

Running Log for the Week

Total miles: 50.3 miles (one of my longer weeks lately)

10.5.08 - 6 miles - Gorgeous day, ok run. Shoulda rested, but couldn't pass it up.
10.4.08 - 8 miles - Felt great! Gorgeous fall day. Ran to Candler Park.
10.3.08 - 3.1 miles - On treadmill after work. Short run b/c of yesterday's long run.
10.2.08 - 12 miles - Freakin' great! Ran to Piedmont Park. LOVE this weather!
10.1.08 - 7 miles - On treadmill after work.
9.30.08 - 8 miles
9.29.08 - 6.2 miles - On treadmill after work.

Where It All Started

Running is the most natural sport there is. Everyone can run. Everyone does run. From the time we take our first steps, we fastly progress to running.

My love for running started when I was 13. I was in 8th grade. My sister wanted to run cross country, but she didn't want to do it alone. So, being the good little brother that I was, I stepped up and went to the first cross country practice with her. I've never stopped running since. Throughout high school, I went to running camp in the summers and ran cross country during the fall seasons. I don't think I truly loved to run back then like I do now. I liked it, but my love affair with running grew by leaps and bounds over the years. During college, I more or less continued to run just to stay in shape. I would run a race here and there, but not with any regularity. I continued this "routine" through my first years out of college.

Then, after a break-up...feelings of being "lost"...I decided to enter a race in my hometown. It was a small, fall festival race that I had ran in high school many times before. I was 24. I hadn't ran a 5k in years. Probably over 5 years. I was in good shape. I'd run on my own pretty much on a daily basis at this point. I finished 6th overall. First in my age group. A PR of 18:39! What?!?! Was this really happening? Had I just ran the best 5k of my life?! Yes. I had struggled to break 21 minutes in high school. WOW! This is where my true love for running started. Despite all the struggles I was going through in my life, I had managed to forget about it. To run.

From there, I entered a 10k later the next year and got another PR. 39:34! 1st in my age group again! With a 10k time of 39.34, I qualified for the sub-seeded group for the Peachtree Road Race - the largest 10k race in the nation right here in Atlanta. This is the 2nd group after the pros! I'd run the PRR before, but in the back...where you have to weed through literally thousands of people!

What now? A Half Marathon? Why not? I registered for my first half marathon on Thanksgiving Day of 2004. My goal was 1 hr 30 min. I finished in 1:29.16! OMG! I beat my goal! This is a feeling that only runners can understand and appreciate. 13.1 miles of running...to my goal...and I did it!

So, what was my next step? The full marathon the next year, of course! Boy was I naive! I didn't put in the mileage that I should have. During the Atlanta Marathon on Thanksgiving Day of 2005, I was on the pavement at mile 20 with leg cramps like you wouldn't believe. My thighs were spasming. I was in excruciating pain. But I was going to finish. With the help of the blessed volunteers, I got back up and walked/jogged the last 6.2 miles. I finished in 4:02:09. I didn't know what to expect and I wasn't prepared, but I finished. That was good enough for what I had gone through during the race.

Determined to get a better marathon time, I set out to train for next year... With a new goal in sight, I logged longer runs and trained for the marathon like one should. Race day...truth day...here's where the rubber meets the pavement.

Dun dun dun.

3:16:22! OMG! I ran a smarter race. Now, I'm only 6 minutes away from qualifying for Boston! Holy crap!

With qualifying for Boston on my brain, I registered for the inagural ING Marathon here in Atlanta in March of '07. It was a new course, winding through the quaint neighborhoods of Atlanta...and hilly! I finished with a time of 3:33:30...oh well. I felt that that was a good time for the course...for me.

Due to some problems (that I won't go into) that didn't allow me to run the Atlanta Marathon on Thanksgiving in '07 or the ING earlier this year, my sights are set on the Atlanta Marathon this coming Thanksgiving.

That's where I am. That's where my journey has brought me. I'm hoping to qualify for Boston this year. Boston or bust. Run with me while I try to obtain my new goal.

Run With Me

This isn't my first blog.
This isn't even my first blog about running.
But...it's my NEW blog about running.
To know me is to know that running is a huge part of my life.
That I absolutely, unequivocally, love to run.
If I don't run, I die.
It's my "me" time.
It's my de-stresser.
It's the light at the end of my tunnel.
Despite all the things I can't change or control in my life...I can run.
I will run.
Run with me.
Though my life.
Anonymously.
This is me.
Anonymously Running Through Life.
Enjoy the ride.
I sure do:)