text:
Sonic, America’s Drive-In Is Coming To Pottstown

This is a bitter-sweet post.  I am very glad Sonic is coming to Pottstown, however, it’s more border development.  Sonic obtained a zoning change to build on the west side of Route 100, adjacent to Upland Square.

I am happy to see that the idea of some revenue sharing is being bantered about since Pottstown is getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop on all this development.  We all benefit from development but cash strapped Pottstown is the hub of this area and needs to see some benefit other than traffic congestion.

My response to Elwood Taylor’s (Upper Pottsgrove Commissioner) rebuttal of Steve Toroney’s letter about border development, is chill out Elwood.  Steve has a valid point.  Pottstown needs to get a piece of the development pie too.  We still lost other taxes/fees from Giant and other retailers who moved to Upland Square so it’s still less money for Pottstown, even taking into consideration borough employees will still generate Earned Income Tax.  Also border development feeds urban sprawl which is something we are supposed to be trying to control.

This needs to be a win-win for everybody.  That’s supposed to be the point of having a Pottstown Metropolitan Area Regional Planning Committee.  Just sayin’ Elwood.

Party Gate Has A Fall Gal

White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers has taken the fall for the “party-gate” scandal that rocked the White House last year when two fame-whores crashed a State Dinner and embarrassed Barry and Michelle.

Supposedly Desiree is leaving because she accomplished her goal of making the White House “the people’s house” and is going back to doing what she loves…working in the corporate world.

O really?  And pigs fly.

Carly Simon Finally Fesses Up Who’s So Vain

After 40 years Carly Simon has finally revealed the subject of her hit song “You’re So Vain”….it’s none other than record label boss David Geffin.  Simon was evidently resentful that Geffin put more effort into promoting Joni Mitchell.

Thanks for finally telling us Carly.  It’s been bugging me for years!!!

Warren Beatty is off the hook.  I really did think it was him.

Pottstown Shade Tree Commission Meeting

Shade Tree Commission Meeting

February 22, 2010 – 7:30 pm

City Hall, Third Floor meeting room

I attended my second Shade Tree Commission meeting Monday evening.  I arrived a few minutes late.

Commissioners attending the meeting were Thomas Hylton (Chairman), Sherry Sweeney, Jody Rhoads, Kathleen Bortz and Kari Rising.

When I arrived Councilman Rhoads was requesting that the minutes from the last meeting be amended to include some additional information.  He was reading my notes from the last meeting and requested that they be included.  The committee voted to include this information.

There was discussion regarding the asphalt sidewalk project.  One of the audience asked Mr. Hylton if he received the necessary permission from Borough Council to install asphalt sidewalks. Evidently Borough code only provides for concrete sidewalks in Pottstown.  Mr. Hylton stated that he received permission from Ray Lopez, former Borough Manager, Jason Bobst, current Borough Manager as well as the Codes Department.  Mr. Hylton also explained the epoxy coating process that is used to color the sidewalks.  There has been a request made to amend the borough sidewalk ordinance to include the use of asphalt.

Another member of the audience asked for an explanation regarding Tom Hylton’s relationship to Trees, Inc. and the Pottstown Shade Tree Commission.  The question was never really answered.  Instead we had another lengthy rehashing of the history of Tree’s Inc, and the Shade Tree Commission by Hylton.

In the 1990’s Trees, Inc. decided to take care of all the trees on High Street feeling that it would be more cost effective to care for the shade trees in bulk.  A maintenance plan was created, following a 5 – 6 year cycle and running throughout the borough, to provide care for shade trees.  The hope was the $100,000 fund would provide sufficient interest each year to pay for any necessary tree maintenance, replacements etc…  This has not proven to be the case.  Between 2002 and 2008, the Borough of Pottstown gave Trees, Inc. approximately $21,000 per year to assist them financially with tree maintenance.  In 2008 this practice was stopped.  Since then Trees, Inc. has only done “tree triage” and has no money to fund the needed maintenance.  However, it should be noted that $92,000 still exists in the Trees, Inc. fund.

Since Pottstown is no longer contributing funds, audits are no longer being done on Trees, Inc.  Reviews are currently being done on the money coming in and going out of Trees, Inc.  The reviews are less comprehensive than the audits and cost substantially less money.  Since Trees, Inc. is a private, non-profit organization and no public money is being given, they do not feel the need to provide any information to the public on their finances.

Another resident complained that his sidewalk is raised 4 – 6 inches from the curb trees on his property.  The property owner wants to know who he can get permission from to remove the trees.  He was told to call Tom Hylton, they will discuss and then Mr. Hylton will send him a letter regarding the disposition of his tree problem.

Yet another borough resident, a senior on a fixed income, spoke of a Ginkgo tree on his property that poses a huge problem in terms of seeds and the vomit smell the tree gives off.  The gentleman has asthma and can’t even open his windows in the summer time.  The Ginkgo tree is pulling the French drain away from the house, lifting up the sidewalk, clogging the sewer and pushing up the curb.  The street is also sinking as there is a dip in the street.  Hylton stated residents have blanket permission to cut down Ginkgo trees.  The resident stated Hylton refused to give permission to cut down the tree in the past.  Of course, Hylton stated the resident is responsible for the cost of removing the tree and any repairs caused by the tree.  According to Mr. Hylton, Trees Inc. never planted any Ginkgo trees. They were planted prior to the creation of Trees, Inc.

Another resident asked what the average cost of tree maintenance would be.  She was quoted some statistics and left to do the math herself.

Councilman Rhoads stated he is working with the Borough Solicitor to change the tree ordinance.  The new ordinance would make it necessary to plant a tree no less than 10 feet of a utility and 50 feet of an intersection.

Councilman Rhoads also read a letter from a resident regarding a curb tree that had been hit by a tractor trailer 5-6 years ago in the 800 block of N. Charlotte St.  The tree was embedded with a piece of metal and the tree is leaning into the street where it is continually struck by trucks and the sidewalk is raising up.  The resident was quoted $1800.00 to remove the tree by Todd’s Tree Service.  He had to make a choice to remove the tree or pay his property tax.  He chose to pay his taxes fearing he would lose his home.

Councilman Rhoads revisited a tree problem from the last meeting.  An inquiry was done by Councilman Rhoads regarding a tree in the 200 block of N. Keim Street that was leaning into the street, causing a traffic hazard and needed to be removed.  Again, the property owner is retired and on a fixed income.  The property owner was at the last Shade Tree meeting to ask for assistance and was told he would have to pay for the removal himself.  The property owner was told the Shade Tree Commission had no money to pay for the tree removal.  Within two weeks after the meeting, the tree was mysteriously cut down.   The property owner did not pay for the removal.  Mr. Hylton denies any money came from Trees, Inc. or the Shade Tree Commission to pay for the tree removal.  The inquiry response stated that the tree was removed at no cost to property owner.  Who paid for the removal??

The question was raised about the new Trees, Inc. website.  The shade tree inventory appears to have been condensed and is not as comprehensive as it had been in the past.  Mr. Hylton maintained that information was still on the website some where.

Councilman Rhoads asked what criteria were used to determine the 30% estimate on sidewalks damaged by trees.  Mr. Hylton replied that a study was done by a State College firm on what percentage of sidewalk problems in Pottstown is directly related to curb trees.  He estimates 30%.  Hylton stated the block survey, which took 2 years, was never completed and is inaccurate.

Councilman Rhoads also brought up two tree problems from the last meeting that Mr. Hylton stated he would look into:

1. A tree was replanted in the 900 block of High Street four feet from a utility.  Mr. Hylton maintained that since an existing tree was already there, a new one was planted in its place.  He has not looked into the matter as he stated he would at the last meeting.  Councilman Rhoads again asked that this matter be looked in to.

2. A tree was replanted over a storm water arch in the 60’s block of N. Roland Street.  At the last meeting Mr. Hylton said he would look into the matter and has not done so.  Hylton argued with Councilman Rhoads about the size of the storm water arch and the threat this tree posed.  Councilman Rhoads brought up the $400,000 repair on Walnut Street of a storm water arch and that it was a potential liability for the borough.  Hylton again said he would look into the matter.

Councilman Rhoads asked Commissioners Sweeney and Rising to explain to the newly elected Commissioner Bortz what they had done in the last year as a member of the Shade Tree Commission.  Mrs. Sweeney said she attended a meeting.  Mrs. Rising said she takes calls from home owners and she visits locations with tree problems.  She said she had visited 5 – 6 different locations checking out tree problems.  Rising also stated she holds the rod when Hylton measures the trees.  Councilman Rhoads echoed Mrs. Rising’s answer.

Councilman Rhoads brought up Mr. Hylton’s ties to Preservation Pottstown and the property at the corner of Beech and Charlotte Sts. where the European Tree Park was developed with a $60,000 private donation.  This was the site of an abandoned gas station and had become a loitering area for drug dealers.  Mr. Hylton maintained that he stopped attending Preservation Pottstown meetings 5 years ago but was involved with the transfer of the property at the 272 Beech Street from Preservation Pottstown to Trees, Inc. in 2007.  The property owed two years worth of back taxes.  Trees, Inc. paid the back taxes and currently pays the property tax for the European Tree Park located at 272 Beech St.

We were then treated to another tree propaganda speech by Mr. Hylton regarding the economic value of trees.  Specifically that they have increased the property values in Pottstown by 3% of $36 million dollars and so on.

Councilman Rhoads brought up the fact that our tax dollars were put into the Trees, Inc. bowl of money.  He also stated that this Trees, Inc. money is being used to pay the county, local and school taxes, along with the insurance on the property at 272 Beech St.  This money is also being used to pay a subcontractor of Trees, Inc. to shovel snow, pick up leaves, twigs, branches and trash on the property at 272 Beech St.  At this point Ms. Rising stepped in and claimed that donations to Trees, Inc. specified what that money was to be used for.  There was nothing to back this up.

Councilman Rhoads requested all documents showing the discussion, motion and approval from the borough to give Trees, Inc. our tax dollars.

It was suggested that a fund be developed (as other towns have done) to provide assistance to homeowners with tree problems.  It was suggested to Councilman Rhoads that Borough Council spearhead this project.  Polly Weand suggested that money be raised somehow to pay for these problems to help shoulder the burden with property owners.  Councilman Rhoads indicated that Council is seeking $200,000 from Montgomery County.

The meeting was adjourned.

As usual people left shaking their heads in disgust because we heard the same old song and dance from the Chairman Hylton and his bobble-heads on the commission.  There is still a 3 – 2 majority of Hyltonites on the Commission which impedes Councilman Rhoads from effecting more positive changes to benefit property owners with tree problems in Pottstown.

Today’s Snow Storm

Fortunately, we only got 6 – 8 inches of snow from this nor’easter.  The roads are in pretty good shape already.  Going to work at 5:30 am this morning wasn’t a picnic but things have improved greatly since then.

Now if we can just dodge the March 7th 40 inch snow storm, life would be good!

Eagles Dump Westbrook

Brian Westbrook will be cut from the Philadelphia Eagles effective March 5th.  That certainly sucks.  If we are cutting people based on performance….I can think of others would should go before Westbrook.

Of course, Andy Reid is still backing Donovan McNabb so look for number 5 to return this fall.  Another season of excuses and crushed dreams for the fans.  Until the Eagles dump Andy Reid a Super Bowl win will continue to elude us!

Pottstown Finally Takes A Stand Against Border Development

Today’s Pottstown Mercury has an article written by Evan Brandt which certainly makes this resident smile.  Pottstown is finally taking a stand against being skirted by development and having jobs and taxes sucked out of the borough.  Bravo!

Dan Weand and Steve Toroney appear to be the ring leaders in this movement based on the article.  Both are Borough Councilmen (Toroney is President) and on the Pottstown Planning Commission.  Steve Toroney also serves on the Pottstown Metropolitan Regional Planning Committee.

The recent construction of Upland Square in West Pottsgrove Township and the proposed Commerce Corner center in Upper Pottsgrove Township have prompted this stand.  Giant and several other large stores have left Pottstown Plaza and Pottstown Center for Upland Square, thereby taking tax dollars and jobs with them.  Giant also evidently holds the lease on their former Pottstown Plaza site to keep competition out.  I cry foul!  That shopping center needs tenants to fill it back up again.  Purposely keeping that store vacant is just wrong and hurts Pottstown!  People need to know these things so they can make informed decisions about where they want to shop!

The State Street and Route 100 intersection will need redesigned again to accommodate Commerce Corner.  Part of the plan would be to make the entrance into Commerce Corner from Wilson Street.  The entrance would be from Pottstown Borough but Pottstown would not see any revenue, just more traffic on Wilson Street!

Certainly everyone benefits from the jobs created by Upland Square and the potential jobs from Commerce Corner.  However, harming Pottstown in the process is wrong.  This border development places a strain on Pottstown’s infrastructure such as increased water, sewer and police assistance.  Working together regionally is the only way to go.

I hope this movement gains traction and Pottstown can start to benefit from all this development instead of being surrounded by it!  More development is in the works!

Louisiana Woman Sells Children For A Cockatoo And $175 Cash!

Obviously Donna Louise Greenwell of Pitkin, LA has a few screws loose.  She was sentenced to two counts of 15 months hard labor, to run consecutively, for offering to sell two children (ages 4 & 5) to a couple (the Romero’s of Eunice, LA) in exchange for a cockatoo and $175 cash to cover the attorney fee’s for the custody transfer.

Donna Louise stated the children were “abandoned to her care” by the parents and she was unable to take adequate care of them.  The children’s parents could not located (how special).  The Romero’s had their sentences suspended for testifying against Louise.  They would have received five years in prison had their sentences not been suspended for cooperating with authorities.

Donna Louise evidently didn’t know about Social Services and Child Welfare???

Only in America folks!

Berks County Man Predicts 40 Inches Of Snow for March 7th!!!!

This prediction is becoming an obsession in our area.  Evidently a Berks County resident, who is also an amateur weather forecaster, is predicting the mother of all snow storms for March 7th.  Lester Moyer, who writes Moyer’s Almanac, evidently successfully predicted the two major snow storms earlier this month.  He is now predicting 40 inches of snow for March 7th (worse case scenario).

Let us sincerely hope he is dead wrong!  The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a temperature of 52 degrees for March 7th, with no snow.

We are certainly not out of the woods yet, snow wise.  There is a prediction for more snow tomorrow (AccuWeather) with a total accumulation of 5 – 11 inches total.  Snow will be starting Thursday morning with additional accumulation on Thursday night.  However, the National Weather Service is predicting less than two inches for the same period.

We are finally getting the streets cleared and are starting to see people’s yards.  I can see the curb on my street again!

MTV’s Jersey Shore Comes To The View

“The Situtation”, “Snooki” and “DJ Pauly D” paid a visit to the ladies on The View on Tuesday.   The panel was divided….two for, two against.  Elisabeth Hasselbeck wore an “I heart the Situation” tee- shirt, Sherri Shepherd dressed like Snooki, complete with hair bump, while Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar were clearly not feeling the love.  Especially Joy (talk about being misnamed).

“The Situation” had nicknames for the panel….Whoopi is “The Administration, Joy is “The Assumption”, Elisabeth is “The Attraction” and Sherri was “The Duplication” since she was rockin’ the Snooki hair bump.  The ladies liked their nicknames.

Joy went right after Snooki by making the statement they were all not Italian Americans however, Snooki is part Sicilian, although mostly Chilean.  JWOW is evidently not Italian American either.  Joy got in some other digs about the all the sex on the show and asked if they use condoms etc… She was her usual snarky self.

Snooki got a big laugh when she was asked when she realized she was famous….the answer was “pretty much at birth”…..DJ Pauly D was asked if he was surprised by the fame and was he still working.  He responded “yes, I’m still DJing but now my rate went up” which got another huge laugh from the audience.  “The Situation” refused to show his abs despite coaxing from the ladies.  He said he didn’t want to cheapen “the brand”…

Whoopi asked the cast what their long-range goals are…”The Situation” said he would like to try acting.  They all said they are saving their money.  Snooki stated her father handles her money.

All in all the interview was fun, despite Joy “The Assumption’s” “tude”.

Pottstown Under Snow Emergency

Please be advised that Borough Manager Jason Bobst has declared a Snow Emergency as of February 10, 2010, 7:00 a.m. and will remain in effect until further notice. The media has been notified to request that drivers are encouraged to remain off the roads wherever possible. As always, thank you for your continued assistance and cooperation.

More Madness From Tom Hylton

Honestly, this is so played out I am sick of writing about it!

a.  We do not need these damn windows!

b.  We can not afford these damn windows!

c.  The bobble-heads dolls are at it again.

d.  Where does a retired Mercury employee come up with this kind of money?

e.  What does Tom Hylton get out of all this?  A book deal, a PBS special???  There is more to this than meets the eye.  This is NOT an act of charity!  There are always strings attached…

f.  There are certainly far better things for our school board to concentrate on than this madness.  This side-show is becoming an all-consuming topic that has side tracked sensible issues.

This topic has plucked my last good nerve.  If this goes through there needs to be a public revolt.  Some of these people need thrown off the school board and replaced with individuals who possess common sense.

This is sheer madness and reckless spending of public funds!!!!!


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

WARC-Truncated: length

WARC-Type: response

text:
LeBron James Watches Son Bryce Maximus Carve Up the AAU

TheFumblePublished: June 6, 20175 views
Published: June 6, 2017

After watching his oldest son LeBron James Jr. dominate in the AAU despite being only 12, LeBron James' younger son Bryce Maximus has joined the fray. How crazy is that! LeBron took time to watch his son carve up the AAU.

Be the first to suggest a tag

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-164-5-214.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-47
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for November 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
Running Warehouse: Great prices on closeout shoes! View men's and women's selections.

Qualifying for Boston at the Smuttynose Rockfest Marathon: My Race Report

Pete Comparison Three and a half years ago I was overweight and out-of-shape (see picture at left) – my 190 pound body was far more comfortable sitting on the couch and watching TV than clicking off miles out on the road. Yesterday, however, after burning off about 25 pounds from my 5’10” frame (the right-hand picture to the left is from last Fall), I qualified to run in the 2011 Boston Marathon by running a 3:15:21 time at the Smuttynose Rockfest Marathon in Hampton, NH. I knew that if I was going to make it, it was going to be close, and I came in with only 38 seconds to spare – the result was a testament to hard work, smart pacing, and the support of my fellow runners both on and off of the course, on-line and in-person.

Getting to Boston means a lot to me for a lot of reasons. In fact, the Boston Marathon played a big role in me becoming a runner. I teach at a small college in New Hampshire, and every year our college’s cross-country coach (a colleague of mine) trains a large group of students to run Boston. Most of them are not qualifiers, and for most this represents their first marathon and the longest run of their lives. It’s an immense and inspirational accomplishment, and back in 2007 a few students that I knew well were training to run the race. They both successfully completed the marathon, and that put the bug into my head that maybe I could complete a marathon as well. Shortly after our graduation ceremony in May, 2007 (where the “before” picture above was taken), I started to run, and since that moment, I haven’t stopped. Running became a part of me, and I told myself that one day I would run the Boston Marathon. However, I also vowed to myself that I would not do so unless I earned it with a qualifying time – it was a lofty goal, but it kept me moving ever forward, and yesterday I achieved that much coveted BQ.

The experience of earning a BQ was an emotional one to be sure, and for this runner, it was truly a dream come true – I will openly admit to shedding a few tears in the car while driving home. More than anything though, it is a testament to the fact that if you want something badly enough, and put in the necessary hard work, you can achieve what once might have seemed an impossibility. Next April, I will stand at the starting line of the 2011 Boston Marathon knowing that it was my own two legs that got me there, and yes, I will probably shed a few more tears. After trying and failing on 5 previous occasions, the feeling of accomplishment is immense, and I couldn’t be happier.

My Marathon and Racing History

Smuttynose Rockfest was my 6th marathon overall. My finish times in the previous five were as follows: May 2008 Vermont City Marathon: 3:43:38; May 2009 Vermont City Marathon: 3:36:12; October 2009 ING Hartford Marathon: 3:32:35; November 2009 Manchester (NH) City Marathon: 3:35:20; January 2010 Disney Marathon: 3:24:49. The first four all involved a major bonk, whereas Disney was a negative split from the first to second half with a very strong finish. The steady downward progression in times should provide encouragement to anyone going for a BQ – it took a lot of hard work, but I’ve cut almost 30 full minutes from my marathon time in the past 2.5 years.

My 5K PR of 18:51 (October 2008) and my Half-Marathon PR of 1:29:47 (November 2008) both predict a faster marathon than I have managed, but training volume has always been an issue for me given the demands of job and a family with small kids. For an almost complete listing of my race results, check out my race history on Athlinks.

Choosing the Hampton Smuttynose Rockfest Marathon:

It took me a long time to decide on which marathon I would run this Fall. For awhile I was considering running the Clarence DeMar Marathon in SW New Hampshire, but I kept hearing about this new race on the seacoast that was being billed as the flattest marathon in New England – the Hampton Smuttynose Rockfest Marathon. They run a half marathon every year in Hampton, but this was the first time the marathon had returned to the seacoast in quite some time. A few friends started to sign up for it, so I decided to take the plunge even given my hesitation about it being a new race. Turned out to be a great choice – Smuttynose was a nearly ideal race for my BQ attempt.

Smuttynose Marathon Training Breakdown:

As I mentioned in a previous post about my doubts heading into the Hampton race, my training leading up to the marathon was erratic, and this was my biggest source of worry about the race. As you can see in the Sportracks table below, my weekly mileage was all over the place:

Total distance - Week

Weekly Training Mileage Leading Up to the Smuttynose Rockfest Marathon

Although I did manage two separate weeks of about 50 miles, most weeks since last May were under 30 MPW (my son was born in early April). I made up for this somewhat by getting in quality workouts whenever possible, including several hard track interval sessions, and three solid 19-20 mile long runs at relatively easy pace (30-60 seconds above target race pace of 7:28 min/mile). The latter was a bit of a change for me as I have always tried to push on my long runs, despite most resources I have read pointing out that this is unwise and only serves to beat you up and reduce the quality of the rest of your weekly workouts. Running the long runs slowly turned out to be a great approach, and despite the uncertainty that comes along with not running long at near race pace, it seems to have paid off. Quite honestly, I did more slow paced training (>8:00 miles for me) in this cycle than any previous cycle, and it’s an approach I will likely follow again in the build-up to Boston.

Another key pair of workouts that I completed in the lead-up to the race were two 10+ mile race-pace runs. Six weeks out I did a simulated half-marathon in about 1:35, which let me know I that I was at least in the ballpark fitness-wise for BQ pace, and the weekend before the marathon I ran 10.5 miles at 7:21 pace as a confidence booster and to keep the feel of race pace fresh in my mind. The latter was a bit of a risk given the proximity to race day, but it felt relatively easy, and it provided a huge psychological boost going into the final taper week (the psychological benefit I gained from this last workout cannot be understated!). I highly recommend a pace test somewhere in the 4-6 week pre-race period, and the simulated half-marathon worked well for me.

One last training factor that I think helped on race day was that I ran a significant number of miles in the months before Smuttynose in my Vibram Fivefingers Bikilas, building my long run in them up to 15 miles. The Fivefingers are great for 2 reasons – form work and foot/leg strengthening. By the time marathon week arrived, most of the initial calf soreness that people experience when running in Vibrams or after adjusting their stride to the midfoot/forefoot was gone, and though it’s hard to know for sure, I think the calf and foot strengthening gained from my VFF runs benefitted me greatly on race day, and recovery has been going very well so far.

Disney Marathon Action Going into the race I knew that I had a at least one other big thing going for me – I weigh about 7-8 pounds lighter than I did in January, when I ran my previous marathon PR at Disney in 3:24:49. I attribute this mostly to healthier nutrition– not a training factor per se, but perhaps equally important. I also knew that I wouldn’t have to wear the crazy number of layers I ran with in Disney due to the frigid temperatures (see picture to left), which allowed me to run even lighter at Smuttynose. I learned a lot of lessons about how to run a marathon well in Disney, perhaps the most important of which is that smart pacing is critical, and going out too fast is deadly. You can get away with this in a 5K, but blasting out of the gate in a marathon is simply asking for trouble, and should be avoided at all costs. When everyone takes off at the beginning of the race, just let them go – you will catch them later, and passing people left and right in the final 8 miles is a great motivator to keep you moving late in the race.

Pre-Race Week

In the final week before the marathon, I opted to taper hard and only ran a total of about 5.5 miles. I was feeling good after my race-pace 10-miler, and thought the rest time would be beneficial.

I decided to get a room in Hampton the night before the race (thanks to my amazingly supportive wife for taking on three kids for 24 hours in order for me to do so!). Fortunately, I wasn’t alone in heading to Hampton early, and I met up with my friend Alett (@petfxr on Twitter) and her husband Hugh for an obligatory pasta dinner. We talked mostly about running (of course!), and Hugh gave me the helpful piece of advice that sometimes everything just clicks when you least expect it, and you find yourself running a race faster than you could have ever imagined possible (he’s a sub-3:00 marathoner). This was exactly what wound up happening for me the next morning.

After dinner they gave me a tour of the course, which gave me additional encouragement since it was one of the flattest I had ever seen (max elevation was 90 feet above sea-level – see my Garmin-recorded elevation profile below). There were a few ups and downs, but nothing at all steep, and a slightly rolling course suits my style perfectly. The Smuttynose course is fantastic, and the there is a 4-5 mile stretch along the ocean that is simply breathtaking (you hit it twice as the course is a double-loop). Much of the course runs through scenic neighborhoods north of Hampton Beach, and some of the houses (mansions, really) we ran by were absolutely amazing. Word is out that 29% of the marathoners at Smuttynose qualified for Boston, making it one of the top BQ courses by percentage in the country – I highly recommend it if you are planning a BQ attempt next Fall.

Smutty Elevation

Smuttynose Rockfest Marathon Elevation Profile

I returned to my room that evening only to discover that I had no internet access (the horror!). This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as in the absence of the internet, dailymile, and Twitter, I opted to play Angry Birds on the iPad until my eyes began to glaze over. It was a nice distraction from thinking about running. I decided to have a pre-bedtime bagel with cream cheese to top of my carb stores, drank a bunch of water, and went to bed early (8 hours of pre-race sleep was key!).

Race Morning

I woke up on race morning about 3 hours before the start so that I could eat and hydrate completely and let my food digest a bit before the race started. In addition to the lack of internet access, my room also had no coffee maker, but thankfully Alett had supplied me the night before with a packet of Starbucks instant coffee – it was a lifesaver! I generally prefer to not drink anything during the hour before the race in order to avoid an in-race pit stop, and this strategy worked out well in Hampton.

A group of friends from dailymile and Twitter had arranged a pre-race meetup, and I walked down to the meeting spot on what turned out to be an ideal morning weather-wise (high 40’s and sunny at race start). I had a blast meeting people that I have come to know well in the on-line running community (that’s me in the brown sweatshirt in the front row of the picture below). Knowing that many of these folks would be waiting for me at the finish was a huge motivator to get the BQ done, and their support was immensely appreciated!

Team DM-Twitter

The Smuttynose Crew – Pre-Race

I had made plans in advance to start the race with my dailymile friends Brendan and Matt (see picture below) as we were all shooting for a BQ, though mine would require a 5-minute faster time than theirs. Unfortunately, after splitting up for final preparations a bit before the race started, I couldn’t find them in the starting corral (turns out I was in the front and they were in the back), so I had to be content with going it alone (I did line up next to another dailymile friend, Ernesto, but he’s a speedster and was doing the half and would be blazing off ahead of me at sub-7:00 pace).

Me Matt Brendan

Me, Brendan, and Matt before the race

Race Gear

Before I break down the race, let’s talk a bit about gear. I’ve had several people ask me about my shoe choice for Smuttynose – I opted to go with the Saucony Kinvara, as did Matt (of the Run Luau Run blog) and Brendan (mine are the feet in the middle of the picture below). My reasoning was that it’s a light shoe with a low heel (4mm drop), but provides some cushioning. My hope was that the added cushioning would be beneficial in the event of a form breakdown late in the race. I believe that one mark of a good marathon shoe is that you don’t notice it while running the race, and that was exactly my Kinvara experience. No blisters, no hot spots, and felt very comfortable the entire way. Furthermore, it let me keep good midfoot form when I was conscious of it (late race is a bit hazy as I was on autopilot).

Team Kinvara

Brendan, Me, and Matt in our Saucony Kinvaras

As for other gear, I went with my Injinji Socks (great for toe-blister protection), Zensah calf sleeves (I’m a compression convert!), Nike Pro-Core compression shorts, Target running shorts (love the super-cheap C9 gear!!!), a Brooks Podium tee-shirt, Recofit Arm Sleeves (for wind protection – liked them a lot), and my trusty Garmin with a heart-rate monitor. For fueling, I filled a 5 oz Hydrapak Soft Flask with four GU’s and topped off with water, and a filled cheapo travel shampoo bottle with another 3 GU Roctanes plus water. I find that watering down my gels makes them more palatable on the run, and I can sip small amounts regularly as opposed to sucking down the thick paste all at once. I hand-carried the Soft Flask (these things are great!) and sipped about once every mile, then swapped that out for the second flask (carried in a very small Amphipod waist pouch) when the first was empty. It was a risky move going with the GU as I have never used it before, but it worked fine despite the fact that my concoctions tasted like cough syrup (I am not a fan of the Vanilla-Orange GU Roctane, or anything Vanilla-Orange flavored for that matter). I’ll likely be going back to my preferred Carb Boom! in the future, or give Hammer Gel a try.

Now back to the starting corral!

I took off at the starting gun with only one thought running through my head – slow down! I have a tendency to go out way too fast, and I’m pretty sure that this bad habit had contributed mightily to my late-race demise in several of my previous marathons. I kept a close eye on my Garmin, trying hard to keep the pace right around 7:30 min/mile, and fought hard against the urge to give chase to the masses of runners passing by me (quite a few of whom I likely passed later from mile 15 onward). If there is one thing I have learned as a marathoner, it’s that at least for me, smart pacing is critical. If you go out too fast, you burn your energy stores early in the race and have nothing left when it really counts. Hitting the wall is a miserable experience, and it’s one that I know all too well.

For the first 13.1 miles, my sole goals were to run smoothly, stay aerobic by keeping my heart rate between 155-165 bpm, and maintain good running form. I ran for awhile with the 7:30 min/mile Half-Marathon pace group (there were no full marathon pacers as there were only about 500 marathoners total), and was feeling surprisingly good. In fact, the first 13.1 felt almost effortless, and after the midway split where the marathoners left the half-marathoners for the second loop, several of the runners who were continuing on seemed to feel the same way. It really is a perfect, and very scenic, course for a marathon (satellite course view below).

Smutty Course

Satellite Map of the Smuttynose Rockfest Marathon Course

Here are my splits for the first 13 miles: 7:33, 7:31, 7:28, 7:23, 7:17, 7:23, 7:15, 7:15, 7:11, 7:21 7:27, 7:26, 7:28. I finished the first 13.1 in 1:36:46, which gave me just over a minute of banked wiggle room for the second half.

For the second half of the race I ran mostly with a runner named Jeff who was doing his first marathon. We were both feeling really good, and hung together until just after mile 19 when he developed a side-stitch and started to fall back a bit. We were great at keeping each other in check when we started to push the pace a bit too much, but it was incredibly helpful to run through what are typically the toughest miles of the marathon with someone else with a similar attitude. We had fun picking off runners up ahead of us, and to be honest, I was hoping we would finish off the race together. However, it’s difficult to predict what will happen in the late miles, and despite his cramp, Jeff still wound up pulling out a very respectable 3:18. In a bit of a twist, I found out later in the day that Jeff is actually another friend of mine on dailymile, but neither of us knew it while running the race!

As the race progressed, I kept up with my gel sips pretty consistently, and hydrated as much as possible at water stops. If I have one complaint about Smuttynose it was that the water stops were too few and far between -hopefully this will be addressed in future years (I and several others have already emailed them about this and have been assured that this will be addressed). I never felt dehydrated, but the GU got progressively hard to stomach late in the race, and a bit more water and/or Gatorade would have been helpful.

One point I’d like to address briefly is my running form. As I have documented here on the blog, I spent much of this past summer working on a transition to a midfoot stride, and I was wary of how my legs would hold up in the race given that I feel I still have some quad strengthening to do. One thing I found during the race is that I started to play with my stride as I was running. I would alternate from a short, compact midfoot stride to one where I focused more on extending my hip behind me a bit. I even let my foot reach out front and probably heel strike from time to time. Mixing things up as I have done while practicing form work this summer actually seemed to help as I seemed to stress my legs in different ways with each switch. I was not conscious of any form breakdown, but it’s hard to concentrate on much of anything except putting one foot in front of the other late in the race, so who knows! Never cramped or felt any type of pain or discomfort, so I guess that’s as good a sign as any that things were going well.

I managed to sail through miles 13-20 very comfortably, and never was there a moment when I thought that I might hit the wall. Once again, I was shocked that it was this late in a race and I was feeling as good as I was.

My splits for miles 14-20 were: 7:22, 7:12, 7:06 (fastest mile of race – mile 16), 7:16, 7:16, 7:30, 7:33.

They say that the final 6 or so miles in a marathon is when the race really begins, and experience now tells me that this statement is very accurate. I knew that once I hit about mile 21 I’d be back along the ocean with a nice tailwind. The ocean would signal the beginning of the home stretch, so I focused on staying comfortable, and began to go by breathing rather than heart rate as an indicator of effort (my HR was drifting upward and didn’t seem to reflect how hard I was working since I wasn’t breathing all that hard – likely a dehydration effect combined with cardiac drift). I tried to thank any spectators who were cheering on the passing runners (just me and two other guys up ahead at that point) – I find that connecting with people along the course helps keep my thoughts from wandering to bad places.

I clicked off mile 21 in 7:12, shortly after which I turned onto the ocean road and began the 4-5 mile stretch to the finish line. There’s a slight hill just after the turn, but it didn’t slow me down much, and mile 22 passed in 7:30 – I was still feeling remarkably smooth and comfortable. I recall passing an ice cream shop along the beach somewhere along the ocean road and remarking to people waiting in the parking lot something to the effect that it wasn’t fair to have an ice cream shop in that location. Mile 23 passed in 7:23 – all systems go, or so I thought. Shortly thereafter, things started to fall apart a bit. The final 5K is very flat, and you can see the finish area off in the distance by that point. That is both a blessing and a curse, as at that point in the race it might as well be 100 miles away. I calculated that I could run about 8:00 miles and still make it (not quite as it turns out – my Garmin recorded the course about 0.2 miles long, so I had less wiggle than I thought), so I slowed up a little. Mile 24 passed in 7:46 – my slowest of the race.

With about 1.5 miles to go I really started to feel it. I was a bit dehydrated and glycogen depleted I think, and my mind was starting to drift into those dark places that you can’t let it enter that late in the race. “Maybe I should just stop – this is crazy!” “Wouldn’t it feel nice to just lay down here in the street???” It’s amazing how quickly things can turn for the worse in a marathon, an I was starting to get worried. However, I knew the BQ was still mine if I could just hold pace, and the thought that I would have friends waiting for me at the finish was a major motivator to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Mile 25 passed in 7:45 – acceptable, but still 1.2 miles to go to a finish line that still seemed ridiculously far off in the distance. I kept telling myself that all of my training had brought me to this point. All of those runs in the blazing heat of summer. All of those night runs with the dog just to get in extra miles. All of it had brought me to this point – 1.2 miles from realizing a dream, and I wasn’t going to let it stop me. If I could just get close, I could put in a final kick and the BQ would be mine.

Pace HR Smuttynose

Pace (blue) and Heart Rate (red) as recorded by my Garmin

Kick is what I did. Just a bit before the 26 mile marker I must have gotten hit by an adrenaline rush since my pace began to pick up (see pace graph above). Passing the 26 mile marker, I continued to accelerate, and I cruised into the low 7:00 range for a bit. The finish line and clock suddenly came into view, I saw that I was going to make it, and my pace dropped below 7:00 into the high 6:00 range for the final stretch. I crossed the finish line in 3:15:21 – just 38 seconds to spare (see picture below taken by my dailymile friend Jim – I remembered to stop my Garmin)! It was far closer than I had thought it would be during those final 3 miles, but I had done it! It was sheer will and a desire to get the BQ that kept me moving down that final stretch – I desperately wanted to simply stop, but I didn’t. I knew that I would never forgive myself if I did, and it’s amazing how the mind can keep the body going after it has decided that it has had enough.

Smuttynose finish

After crossing the finish line, a big crew was there to greet and congratulate me – honestly was one of the greatest things I have ever experienced. Runners are amazing people, and the crew from dailymile and Twitter deserves a huge amount of credit for helping me to get to the finish line and realize my dream. Thanks guys, could not have done this without you!

Shortly after I finished, my friend Matt cruised through with a BQ of his own. Like me, he has tried and failed on several previous occasions, but this was his day as well and I congratulate him on the achievement!

Perhaps the hardest part of the entire day was waiting for my friend Brendan to come through. Brendan needed a 3:20:59 to qualify for Boston, and he wound up crossing the line just over 30 seconds short of his goal. Brendan is one of the most supportive and dedicated runners out there, and he deserved to get his BQ – I desperately wanted to see it happen. Despite the obvious disappointment of coming up just short, he had a huge PR on the day, and his BQ is going to come soon – it’s only a matter of time. It’s hard to find words to say to someone in the moment, but I want Brendan to know that it was an honor to meet him, and that he is an inspiration to many of us – he will most definitely toe the line at Boston very soon.

Post-Race Celebration

The post-race experience at Smuttynose was fantastic – it’s the first marathon I have run where a large group of friends had also participated (almost all of whom are runners I have met on-line through this blog, dailymile, or Twitter). We shared a celebratory Smuttynose beer, ate ice cream and pizza (my two favorite post-race foods), and waited for Alett and another friend Sandra to finish up (a few of us tried to run in with Alett, but managed to hobble only a few feet as she left us in the dust!). It’s amazing how people who have mostly never met in person can feel like old friends to one another, and the bond among runners developed by shared experience and accomplishment is an amazing thing. Perhaps more than anything else, that is what this day was about. I could have qualified for Boston at a different time in a different place, but it wouldn’t have been the same. I got to share the experience with friends, and that is something that I will never forget – I love this sport, and I love the people I have met through it.

One last thing I’d like to add – four years ago I would have been hard pressed to have run a single mile all-out in under 8 minutes. On Sunday, I ran 26.2 of them at an average pace of under 7:30 min/mile. I’m by no means fast by world standards (elites would have finished an hour ahead of me!), but relative to where I started I have come a long way, and when considering speed, the only comparison I ever make is to myself and my own past performance. I believe that when it comes to pushing our individual limits, anything is possible, and that your current level of conditioning may not be anywhere indicative of your potential. Set lofty goals, work hard to pursue them, and I guarantee you’ll surprise yourself with what you are able to accomplish.

I will probably have more to say about this experience – hard to imagine given the length of this post! – but for now I’ll leave you with a few photos. In the meantime, I’m already starting to plan for Boston 2011 – hope to see some of you there!

Update 10/07/2010: My Buddy Matt’s (@luau on Twitter) BQ race report from Smuttynose is now live – it’s an amazing read:

Matt and Pete

Boston Qualifiers – Matt (Luau) and Me

Smutty Crew

The Smuttynose Crew!

About Peter Larson

This post was authored by Peter Larson. Pete is a recovering academic who currently works as an exercise physiologist, running coach, and writer. He's also a father of three and a fanatical runner with a bit of a shoe obsession. In addition to writing and editing this site, he is co-author of the book Tread Lightly, and writes a personal blog called The Blogologist. Follow Pete on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and via email.

  1. That’s so awesome!!! Congratulations, and thanks for a great race report that lets us vicariously experience your excitement! :) (seriously, I have a big smile on my face right now)

  2. Juliechristinereyes says:

    congratulations! It might take a while bt I hope to be able to qualify for Boston too. One of my dream races =)

  3. Great race and report.
    really pleased for you.

  4. Great post! CONGRATULATIONS!

  5. walt chadwick says:

    I enjoyed that read very much. Thanks. Very best with your recovery and preparation for Boston.

  6. Congrats

  7. Pete – Congratulations! You worked so hard for the BQ and it really paid off on Sunday – you should be very proud of your achievement. Having attained my BQ earlier this year (and, like you, with only a few seconds to spare!) your race report brought back all of the excitement and emotions from that day. I had a rough day on Sunday at Hampton – fell apart in the second half of the race – so reading of your success erases my bad memories of the day. Anyways, congratulations again – hope to see you in Boston – registration is only two weeks away!

    p.s. Any thoughts on running Manchester this year? I’m thinking of running the half just to keep my streak alive, having run the full marathon the past 3 years.

    • Pete Larson says:

      Thanks! I’m already signed up for the full at Manchester! Thinking
      about doing it in Vibrams just to see if I can. I’m also on the
      Manchester streak – have done either the half or full every year since
      it started.

      Let me know if you decide to do it.

      On Wednesday, October 6, 2010, Disqus

  8. Pete – Congratulations! Your excellent post served as a fresh reminder of the hugely emotional moment in my own first BQ – similarly in my hometown with huge support from family and friends. Via a long-time internalization of one’s BQ goal, publicly shared with others in advance of the race, and experiencing the event in front of family and friends all serve as keys in enhancing the likelihood of achievement. I guarantee that your first Boston will be *just* as emotional and exciting, so good luck!

  9. What a great story from start to the amazing finish! You’re hard work really paid off and you are an inspiration. Enjoy Boston.

    Oh, and what is your next goal gonna be? An ultra maybe? Ha.

    • Pete Larson says:

      Thanks so much Britt! Already signed up for a 50k next March, and
      there’s some talk among friends about the VT50 next September. Gotta
      keep pushing those limits and setting new goals!

      On Wednesday, October 6, 2010, Disqus

  10. Fantastic story! Congrats on your qualifying time for Boston. You really are an inspiration for beginning runners like me….will be cheering for you in Boston in April.

  11. I am finding it hard to type words through my teary eyes…

    It was such a pleasure to be a part of your BQ quest on Sunday. Looking forward to seeing you at some of the Boston prep races in the winter (brrr) and cheering for you at Heartbreak hill this coming April.

    This running community, rather running family, is just amazing.

    • Pete Larson says:

      And you are a big part of that community Alett – thanks for being so
      supportive to all of us! It truly meant a lot to me to accomplish this
      goal with all of the Smuttynose crew!

      On Wednesday, October 6, 2010, Disqus

  12. It is amazing how the running experience can be so nice no matter where you are. Fantastic story! I felt like being there with you. And your findings are excellent advices for those training for their first marathon. To make a dream come true is really very good. Looking forward for Boston!
    Congrats from Brazil,

  13. Pete, this is a great story! I am impressed with how far you’ve come in four years. Congrats on your BQ!

    The biggest question I have for you is–how did you do it?? Did you lose the weight mostly by running, or did you overhaul your diet as well? I’ve been running for four years, and neither as fast nor as far as you (I’m training for my second half marathon with a goal time of 2:15), but I haven’t had any sort of body transformation. In fact, I’ve gained 10 lbs. this year, which I’m pretty bummed about. I’m still able to keep the same running pace, but I would be happier and faster with some pounds gone. Did you change your diet at all when you started running, or did all the weight come off from exercise?

    Congratulations to you–you have worked so hard and deserved that BQ!

    • Pete Larson says:

      Annette – I found as the mileage increased I started to lose some weight,
      but it really took paying attention to excess calories to help me make the
      bigger losses. I eat a pretty regular diet for the most part (I never starve
      myself – can’t do that if you want to run quality miles), but try to make
      sure I have something small whenever I get hungry so as not to gorge myself
      with huge meals. I found that using a calorie tracking app like Lose It!
      helped a lot with helping me target and eliminate excess calories – did that
      a few times and it really does help. Also, just trying to be more active
      throughout the day has helped – for example, always walking the kids to and
      from school, using a push rather than self-propelled mowever, etc. Little
      things add up.

      As far as running alone, I’ve calculated that 30 miles in a week is roughly
      equivalent calorie-wise to one pound of weight burned off for me, so when
      I’m running in the 25-35 mpw range cutting a few calories here and there
      makes it fairly easy to take of some extra baggage.

      • Thanks for the reply, Pete. I don’t plan to starve myself :) I’m mean when I’m hungry, and that’s not good for anyone. My two biggest downfalls are portion control and my sweet tooth. I do well at work because I plan out in advance what I’m going to eat for lunch/snack, but when I get home I want to attack the ice cream (if there’s any in the freezer).

        I did lose a few pounds without changing my diet during half marathon training last year (but managed to put them back on and then some…) Hopefully with my increasing mileage I can get some good results.

        I am just so impressed that you went from largely sedentary to BQ in a few years! A nine-minute mile still feels fast to me!

        • Pete Larson says:

          Anette – portion control is the biggest thing for me, and that’s where the
          Lose It! app really helped. Made me realize how easy it is to overeat simply
          by taking to large a portion at meals.

  14. Cthayes267 says:

    Awesome race report, Pete. Big congrats to you for an amazing accomplishment! Sounds like you did everything right. Good luck with your Boston preparation, and may you stay strong & injury free!

  15. Pete,
    Great story and a wonderful accomplishment. Congratulations. As I mentioned to you in my first post to you last week, I did my first race in 18 years the same day as your marathon – the Freedom’s 1/2 marathon. While my goal was 1:40, I ended up with 1:30:50 and am thrilled. I feel like I am back to being a runner after so many years off. Now I am starting to think about possibly going for a BQ myself (I’m 35). I ran in Mach 11’s, which I bought after reading your review and I found them to be perfect for that distance. I’ll probably follow your lead on a marathon shoe as well. Again, thanks so much for the inspiring posts. It’s great to see you a few steps ahead of where I hope to be shortly…

  16. Pete –

    Fantastic story and great accomplishment. I’m so happy that I got to witness the culmination of all of your hard work. It was a wonderful event, and certainly special to meet all of you Dailymile/Twitter folks. I hope someday that I’ll be able to write a similar post. :)

    Anyways – congratulations again, a well deserved BQ!

    Adam (@adamm9)

  17. Outwardlypleasant says:

    Congrats on the BQ!!!!

  18. I am so glad we got to do this together! If I don’t see you before then, I will see you in Hopkinton when we toe the line together! So glad you decided NOT to run with us! :)

  19. Nina Coolidge says:

    Congrats!!! Awesome work…can’t wait to cheer you and the rest of the crew on in April!

  20. Just found out about this. Congratulations Peter, enjoy the Boston experience! I dig the pacing as well.

  21. Runners Passion says:

    Great job with the PR and BQ! This is a very inspirational post for me. Gets me motivated to do some serious training and try for my own BQ! Congratulations!

  22. Congratulations! I’ve enjoyed reading about your progress over the past few months, and reading your thoughts/reflections has been really helpful in thinking about my own training. Anyway, I’m very happy you met your goal!

    • Also, I wanted to ask- how did you break up those 5.5 miles you ran in the week before the race? Did you feel “rusty” at all on race day (doesn’t seem like it, but figured I’d ask!)? I’m running the Chicago marathon this weekend and have been having some slight foot pain, but I haven’t yet decided the proper balance between resting and staying loose.

      • Pete Larson says:

        I ran two short runs of around 3 miles each, one the Friday before the race,
        the other earlier in the week. Because I did the race pace 10 miler the week
        before, I opted to go really easy, and wound up feeling great on race day.

  23. RunningPT12 says:

    Great job, Pete! Excellent write-up as well. Looking forward to meeting you at Boston (as long as I can work out the logistics to get there). I’ve a continuing ed course that’s linked in with the marathon that weekend, so just have to work out the housing to make it affordable.

  24. Daniel K. says:

    Pete, Great Race! And a big CONGRATULATIONS on Qualifying for Boston, I hope you get to do it every year for a very long time.

    I am so curious with your race strategy this time, especially the gear you wore. I hope you don’t mind me asking a few questions.

    1. Injinji socks, did you add any Vaseline or lubricant on your feet before wearing them?
    2. You used the calf sleeves, compression shorts and arm sleeves, does this mean you will no longer be wearing tights or long-sleeve running shirts on future marathons?
    3. Why are you wearing 2 watches? and which watch did you use to monitor your mile splits? also, if you used 2 watches, how did you start both of them at the same time, seems tricky.
    4. No cap at the finish line, was it too warm to wear one during the race?

    Sorry for all the questions, I am running a marathon in December and the weather will be in the 40s, the marathons I’m used to running are usually in the 70s to 90 degree weather… so I want to be prepared with what gear I need to use… thanks for any answers.

    I am still amazed with you hand-carrying your flask all throughout the race, especially with such a good finishing time. Congrats again.

    • Pete Larson says:

      1. I put some Bodyglide on my toe tips and added in a bit of Udder Cream as
      well. Ever since I’ve started doing this with the Injinji’s I have not had
      blisters in a marathon.

      2. Regarding compression – depends on weather. If cold like Disney was,
      definitely tights. If hot, no arm sleeves and a singlet, but probably still
      the Zensah sleeves. I dress differently depending on conditions.

      3. No reason for 2 watches, I just never take my stopwatch off so I throw
      the Garmin on the other arm. I did hit both chronos at the start though –
      used the Timex for elapsed time.

      4. I wore a visor for most of the race, but was overheating a bit in the
      final miles so I took it off to cool down and carried it in my hand. I’m a
      fan of visors while running over hats since they let my hair evaporate and
      cool my head better.

  25. Pete, how’s the wear on the Kinvaras?

  26. Pete-
    I read your report first, then Matt’s. . . your stories are just amazing. Thanks so much for taking me along (virtually) for the run. It was so great to meet you all and I’m truly touched in reading your race reports that you all waited around to see me finish! I guess I should have warned you all that you’d be waiting around for a long time!
    I am so impressed with the determination with which you all approached this race and with your incredible success. Congratulations on accomplishing your goal and best wishes for continued success. I hope we have a chance to meet up again some time (coming back to VCM at all? I’ll be there!)
    Again, thanks for sharing and a BIG congratulations to you!

  27. Rinie Hoogendoorn says:

    BTW judging from your splits, you almost matched your PB on twice during the race. Between mile 5 and 11,2 and again between mile 13 and 19.2 you must have had a 10k split of around 45:09.

    • Pete Larson says:

      Thanks! I’ve only run one official 10K race ever, and it was in my first
      year as a runner. Nice to see I nearly matched it teice in the marathon!

  28. Greg Strosaker says:

    Pete, I am thoroughly impressed with your race performance at Smuttynose. I have to say I didn’t see it coming; you had seemed a bit laid back in training this summer (though I hadn’t followed THAT closely – clearly) and with the new child at home I didn’t think you’d have the energy to be able to fully prepare for and execute a BQ marathon this fall. You have a lot of natural talent as a runner, and your thoroughness in experimenting with and modifying your stride has clearly paid dividends. Congratulations, well done, and look forward to meeting you in Boston in April.

  29. Andy O'Brien says:

    Super desire and will, Peter! You’re so right about how pacing is key in the marathon. You’ve proven that at Disney and at Smuttynose. Tremendous performance! I thoroughly enjoyed your race report. I can’t wait to drink a few beers with you at the HAT!

  30. Dan Caouette says:

    Simply an awesome read, Pete! It amazes me that you have time to write all your blog entries.

    You’re an inspiration. I’m signing up for Mount Desert Island 2011 in two weeks. It’ll be my first full marathon. I just want to survive it. Based on my 1/2 marathon time from two weeks ago in Dixville (1:52), I’d finish in about 4:00 flat… I also need a 3:15:59 for Boston. Not that I have any dreams about using MDI as a BQ race! :) I’ve been running for almost two years but only a “runner” since July. My speed and endurance have improved markedly since then but… Man, right now it seems impossible to run that far that quickly!!

    Again, congrats on the BQ!

    • Pete Larson says:

      Thanks Dan! For a first marathon, just aiming to finish strong is the
      best goal. I’ve learned so much from each successive experience, much
      of which I had no idea about going into my first. You’ll love it, Im

      As for finding time to write – I’m a night owl, which helps since my
      kids are usually asleep by 8:00. Writing is a,so something that I love
      to do, so I find time for it.

    • Pete Larson says:

      Thanks Dan! For a first marathon, just aiming to finish strong is the
      best goal. I’ve learned so much from each successive experience, much
      of which I had no idea about going into my first. You’ll love it, Im

      As for finding time to write – I’m a night owl, which helps since my
      kids are usually asleep by 8:00. Writing is a,so something that I love
      to do, so I find time for it.

  31. Frederic Garderes says:

    As you know, it’s not only about the end goal, but also about the journey.
    Yours is of great inspiration to others. Congratulations on reaching your goal, but most importantly on not giving up along the way!
    From that perspective you are already half way through your next goal, ultras!
    I have small kids too…and I totally understand the difficulty of balancing it all.
    Congrats again!
    …and please keep maintaining that post as you do…this is invaluable information. I guess this is second nature for you, being an educator!

    • Pete Larson says:

      Thanks Frederic – I’m sure you’ll be hearing all about my Ultra prep in the
      next 6 months here on the blog!

  32. Bekah @ runtrackmind says:

    Congrats on your BQ! I ran last week’s Smuttynose too, but just the Half. I set a new PR for myself which I was thrilled about and hope to bring that into next weekend when I run my next full marathon in Newport. I noticed that you’ve run Vermont City too, another great course however I ran the full in May 2010 and crashed and burned. Glad all went well for you and thanks for sharing your story. I love reading things to inspire me prior to a big run.

  33. Pete, you’re an inspiration and I love the data too! I look forward to reading and re-reading your post and planning scrupulously! Well done. It’s been great following your progress.
    Cheers, Adrian.

  34. Congratulations, Pete, on your BQ! Quite an accomplishment. Your name came up yesterday morning in conversation with one of your students, Lauren R., who has been my Team in Training coach (I’m running my first half-marathon at the Nike Women’s next Sunday in San Francisco). We were excited about your success at Smuttynose and very happy for you. Hope you have a good winter training for Boston. Maybe we won’t have too much snow this year…
    Best regards,
    Linda Q.

    • Pete Larson says:

      Thanks Linda! Good luck next Sunday – you were in great hands with Lauren,
      she’s an amazing runner and a great person.

      • Lquimby420 says:

        Thanks for the well-wishes, Pete! My official time at Nike Women’s Half was 2:35:30. I was aiming for 2:30, so I think I did okay for my first half. Lauren’s words of advice were foremost on my mind, and that helped get me through the last 3 miles for sure. Too bad it was raining and cold at the finish; however, that didn’t diminish the SHINE on my Tiffany’s finisher’s necklace! Now, I need to plan my next half…

        • Pete Larson says:

          Awesome job – congrats! Didn’t know they gave out Tiffany’s finisher
          necklaces, that’s pretty nice :)

          On Tuesday, October 19, 2010, Disqus

  35. AshwynGray says:

    Congratulations on your BQ, Pete! You’re an extraordinary runner.
    I’ve actually been waiting until now to read this report, because I knew your description of this recent marathon would be inspiring to me as I’m preparing to run my first. Your practical approach to race strategy will undoubtedly prove helpful to me as the days before my marathon diminish. Thanks for all the work you put into this blog, Pete. It’s a tremendous resource for me.

  36. double.d.310xt says:

    Congrats! I enjoyed reading your race report. I have been following your posts (here and on DM) for about the last 6 months or so and have benefited greatly from your insight. I just finished my first marathon and wouldn’t have gotten there if it weren’t for what you have written. My time wasn’t what I had hoped for by I’ll get there the next time and maybe even BQ at some point. Please continue to provide the insight, motivation and inspiration that you do!

    • Pete Larson says:

      Thanks – I do my best. Congrats on your first marathon! They get better with
      each one, they are all amazing learning experiences.

  37. Naturalrunner says:

    Jeez! Well deserved–hope you made it through today!

Save $$$ On Shoes Gear:
Running Warehouse: Great prices on closeout shoes! View men's and women's selections. 25% or more off clearance running shoes - click here to view current selection.

Speak Your Mind

 Notify me of followup comments via e-mail

You can click here to Subscribe without commenting


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

text:
Thinking Out Loud #12

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Well it’s been awhile since I last blogged and miss it dearly.  I began writing this post while sitting in my hotel room in Huntington Beach California waiting to conduct and interview last week.  It seemed to be a good time to write… especially seeing as Thinking out loud was one of my favourite things to write and after 6 interviews I needed some enjoyment.

This blog idea originally came from the Blog Running with Spoons, an amazing blogger.  Here is the link to her first post if you want to give it shot too!

This is an opportunity in the week to talk about things that are on your mind which is a really cool idea!

  1. I cannot believe Christmas is over! Not only did I not prepare at all for Christmas but I didn’t shop until last minute. Everyone almost got a “I Love California” t-shirt from LAX. Luckily my mom was there to add a voice of reason to that option.  I think my siblings were happy that I took moms advice.
  2. I have decided that I am going to Run the Calgary Marathon again this year and I am determined to do a sub 3:30 Marathon! Started training a couple days ago and so excited for this journey! Its so true when they say its impossible to train for a marathon and not have it change you.  Running makes me feel alive, free and more like myself then almost anything else. So excited for this new challenge and hoping to have as much fun as I did last year!Screen Shot 2016-05-31 at 1.34.31 PM
  3. I don’t usually speak about relationship drama in my blog but I feel like this one is an exception.  I had to end a relationship with a lovely man last night and it was tough but the right thing to do. Our relationship over the past 5 months had been the most eye opening relationship I have had to date.  It may sound weird but he taught me more about myself then any other relationship I have been part of.  He gave me a new perspective on relationships and for that I feel blessed. Every situation is either a blessing or a lesson… this was both.
  4. I love my new job.  I am still with the same amazing company but now I travel around the world as the Manager of Customer experiences ensuring that our customers are happy.  Since October I have been in London England, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Boston, New York, Chicago, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Los Angeles (3 times), Salt Lake City, Madison and Huntington Beach. Exciting right?  I am definitely feeling really blessed.
  5. I had so much fun as a blonde I decide to give brunette a shot.  Well actually all the traveling was making it hard to keep up the blonde so I went back to my natural color! After three years as a blonde I am enjoying the change.
  6. I have a new apartment! Its not perfect but its cozy and I love it.  I have actually had it since October however I have only been home a couple times since then so yes there are still boxes in the spare room.  I am hoping to change that when I am home this week!
  7. My momma just finished her Yoga teaching certification! I am so proud of her and know she will make an excellent teacher!  How cute is she! True Canadian barefoot in the snow lolimg_1289
  8. Finding good candidates in the medical industry is tough.  Anyone have any tips on finding good recruits for sales and applications support in the Cardiac medical industry?
  9. I am going to have to do the majority of my marathon training on the road.  My days consist of site visits, interviews and paperwork.  I am so exhausted by the end of the day but need to stay motivated. Any suggestions? The plus side is that I occasionally get to run on the beach.img_0938
  10. Im loving California.  The sun, the ocean, the beach, the food… I love it all.
  11. Im loving this new book I am reading! Currently I am reading Drive.  Its a book on what motivates people and I just adore it. Definitely suggest it to others to read.
  12. Sleeping on the airplane… I cannot seem to shut down my work brain but would love to learn to sleep on the airplane.  I used to be able to do it but can’t anymore.  Any tips on turning off the corporate brain?

Overall life has been quite the ride over the past six months but I am finally feeling like me  again and loving every minute of it.  2017 is going to be a great year and I cannot wait to get back into writing and take you along for the ride with me.

Remember everything in life, without exception is either a blessing or a lesson.  Enjoy the journey.

I hope you all are having an amazing December and enjoy the holiday season! I miss you all and am excited to hear/catch up with all the happenings in your life! What’s new? Whats happening? Any new races? Any big goals for 2017? Any new PR’s?!

Thinking Out Loud #11

When nothing is certain everything is possible.

This blog idea originally came from the Blog Running with Spoons, an amazing blogger.  Here is the link to her first post if you want to give it shot too!

This is an opportunity in the week to talk about things that are on your mind which is a really cool idea!

  1. Can you believe it is September! It is my favorite month! #1 its my birthday month and #2 I LOVE FALL! It is definitely my favorite season.septembr
  2. The past couple weeks have giving me the reminder to enjoy the journey.  It is the first time since I graduated that I have no rent, no pets, no boyfriend and a job with no limits.  Scary at times yes, especially since I am the Queen of planning but really my life is open to ALL possibilities right now. It is VERY exciting. 13380890_900389693416868_819811945_n
  3. Why yes I want to know a note about Jocelyn and/or what her future holds. Click-bait…..I am a little addicted. Anyone else going through this. Isn’t this this nicest little note! Why thank you Facebook!Screen Shot 2016-08-26 at 4.00.12 PM
  4. I ran a 10k race and got second place! I wrote a recap earlier this week if you want more details but all in all it was a good race. And yes I was super woman!IMG_8889
  5. So if you haven’t guessed from my previous comments I am still without a home. I am staying in an amazing house but I have no home of my own.  I have almost moved into 3 but it ended up not working out. I am looking at a place downtown tomorrow so fingers crossed that one is not terrible.  I may be being a tad picky but at the end of the day I have to live there and I am refusing to settle in any aspect of my life. Step one apartment! I wish I could click my heals and find the perfect place! FYI it doesn’t work.giphy.gif
  6. I am meeting new people all over the place and it’s really exciting! I have some new running friends that live closer to where I am right now which is really exciting. I miss my West Hills running family but am also really enjoying branching out.  I am hoping to see my regular running friends soon 🙂
  7. My new addiction is Aloe Water! To be specific Aloe and Honey…. If you haven’t tried it you need to! 80bdee5e12b00afd160e3c2ac90aae2a
  8. One of my amazing friends, Marc is coming to visit me this weekend!!! I haven’t seen him for about 6 months.  It was also just his 1 year anniversary with his amazing wife Erica.  So happy for them and so excited to catch up with the last 6 months of his life!
  9. I am doing 2 challenge groups this month Abs & Squats and Yoga! Anyone want to join me?  They are going to be great. 2fe8db498c0b9062e6a70acf09535c42.jpg
  10.  I am loving the sunny days at the lake! I’m sad its going to be over soon but really is there anything better then sandy beaches, great company, good books and sunshine!?
  11. Chakra tea is amazing! My best friend Tia got me some amazing tea! Not only does it taste great but it has inspirational quotes on each tea bag.  Loving them! IMG_8863

Being must felt, It cannot be thought ❤

I hope you are all having an amazing week 🙂

Race for Pace Recap

This race was one that brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. For those of you who don’t know about this race it is an annual super hero themed race that raises money for PacekidsPacekids is an organization that supports families and children with disabilities.  It is truly an amazing cause.  I was super woman and my friend Rob was spider man.  I also was lucky to have my best friend and her husband there cheering us on!

The race started with a 1km run/walk they call the “Super Hero Parade.” This year it was not only adorable but heart warming as we watched children who parents never thought they would get the opportunity to cross a finish line with due to disabilities finish.  Tears filled my eyes as this amazing little girl crossed the finish line holding strong to her walker with who I assumed were her parents. She had a big smile on her face as she crossed the finish line.  What a way to start a run! My heart was so full.

As I choked back tears we began our warm up.  This was lead by the Saucony rep, Tyler.  He did an amazing job getting going.  I pulled myself together and got ready to go.  As we began the countdown I tried to get that competitive edge I usually have but my focus was on how full my heart felt.

We took off and I hate crowed so I speed through the arch.  We got some space and figured out our pace. Our goal was to keep a 4:30 km pace throughout.  I wasn’t feeling super competitive or fast but Rob kept us at a reasonable pace, not far off our goal pace. I was really lucky to have him push me along.

Each km seemed to fly by, before we knew it we were at 8km!  It was a there and back so we could see there were only a couple people that were ahead of us.  Rob is definitely a positive dude so he cheered us on and kept me going.

As we approached the last 500m Rob tried to get me to push harder to finish. The crowd started cheering us on, I smiled at Rob and sprinted to the finish line. I guess I found my competitive edge.

My official time was 47:16  and Robs was 47:17. Yes I beat him by 1 second! We finished third and fourth overall and 2nd in gender.

Luckily he was a good sport about it all. I think he may be able to beat me! I won’t tell him that though. I guess we will see what happens at the next race!

It was really a great time and I love having a new friend that I can run with that will also push me and potentially beat me.  What a great race! An amazing cause, amazing friends and 2nd place is always a perk.  Having my bestie also made it just a delgithful day!

If you would like to donate or find out more about this amazing cause check out PaceKids online.

Did anyone else race this weekend? Any amazing causes anyone wants to share? Any upcoming races?

I hope you all had an amazing weekend!

Thinking Out Loud #10

I am a little behind in writing so here is what has been happening and on my mind.

This blog idea originally came from the Blog Running with Spoons, an amazing blogger.  Here is the link to her first post if you want to give it shot too!

This is an opportunity in the week to talk about things that are on your mind which is a really cool idea!

The past couple weeks have been a huge reminder that the first step is the hardest part.

  1. New beginnings are truly amazing! In some sense they are scary but things are really falling into place.  I am feeling blessed. new beginnings
  2. I officially am a Calgary Wedding Planner! I finished my first official Wedding as the wedding planner and although the wedding was questionable the sun came out for the bride and the day was amazing! I also have two new inquiries for my service! IMG_8223
  3. I met a great new friend that runs! He not only runs at the same pace as me but is racing with me on Saturday with a 45 minute 10k goal! We did 6k last night and it was absolutely amazing!  We are doing some speed work tonight which I am so excited for! Running friends rock!IMG_8779
  4. I am loving this daily grateful chat me and one of my best friends have been having daily.  We have been thankful for challenges, lessons, new opportunities, coworkers, friends, family and new loves this week.  All in all a lot of things to be grateful for!
  5. I got an amazing opportunity this week to take some time and write my ideal job description.  I am lucky to have such an amazing boss that really wants me to be happy and is helping anywhere he can.  There are some really great people out there! I also find out if I get my raise and promotion tomorrow morning! Wish me luck!
  6. De-Cluttering is a great feeling.  I am clearing life of all kinds of things and there is something really refreshing about getting rid/doing things you have put off or held onto for too long.  Bamm taking over my world!
  7. The ocean is so amazing. I had the opportunity to go to the east coast and some peaceful time to relax and reflect.  There is something about the ocean that soothes the soul.  I cannot wait for my next trip! I am loving these quotes!
  8. I am addicted to the ocean, lake, paddle boarding and sun.  I have the opportunity to currently live very close to a private beach and I have definitely taken full advantage.  I am a little sun burnt and may have sand in many of my books but I loved every second of it. ocean
  9. I think I am also addicted to traveling! I have decided to go to New York.  I am going either in September as an early birthday present or October for a marketing conference.  I have never been to New York and have always wanted to go.  Anyone have any input as to what I should go see while in NYC?  new york
  10. Apartment hunting continues! Every apartment that I have looked at has been somewhat of a disappointment.  Tomorrow I am going to look at an amazing (based in the pictures) apartment in Tuscany.  I hope it all works out! It is just so pretty, I hope it all works out. Fingers crossed.Screen Shot 2016-08-25 at 3.24.37 PM
  11. My best friend Tia is coming to visit me tomorrow!!! I have no other words really for it except WOOOOO.  So excited to see her.  It has been way to long.

I hope you all are having an amazing week!  Appreciate the moment you are in , good or bad and if you get a chance to run along the ocean DO IT!

Mindful Monday

I woke up this morning grumpy! It was a Monday morning for the books in that sense.  In reality nothing was wrong but I was sun burnt, sleepy and that coffee pot was just not working fast enough. Anyone else have one of those days? I decided that I am not letting this mood ruin my day.

My friend and I share our grateful thoughts each day so we started that way.  I would love to hear about all the things you are grateful for! Lets share some positivity and make this Monday full of love and laughter 🙂

Today I am grateful for:

  1. Good books!

I just finished “As I lay Dying” by William Falkner and am back on my   Jane Austin kick.  I am starting Emma right now.  That book showed up in front of my eye everywhere I went the last couple weeks so I think ill take the hint and read it.

  1.  Good friend!

Everyday my friend Larissa and I share the top 3 things we are grateful for in that moment which has become a great way to start the day on a positive note. She is an early bird too so its nice we do this first thing. I am so grateful for her and really all my amazing friends. I have some amazing coworkers that I spent the weekend with who inspire me and make me laugh on a daily basis.  I also have an amazing group of friends at the running room, I even met a new friend this weekend that is going to race with me on Saturday! He is actually faster than me (so he says LOL) so we will see! We ran 16k and it felt effortless which is bizarre because I haven’t done that distance in awhile! I am truly blessed and so excited about my race!

  1. Sunshine!

A couple weeks ago I spent a week in PEI and it was AMAZING and sunny.  This weekend I spent one day at the farmers market with my coworker, his wife and a new friend of mine.  We walked down to Sandy Beach and had an amazing time in the sun! Sunday it was another beautiful sunny day starting with a 16k run followed by some beach time with some amazing people. We read, relaxed, swam, jumped off the dock, I even played beanbags and didn’t suck! Even though I am a tad red I wouldn’t change a thing. I love the sun!

It is so easy to get into a funk so try it out and have an amazing Monday.

What are you grateful for today?

Stuff… Who needs it?!

My goal for August is DE-CLUTTERING.

Over the past couple weeks I have realized I have a lot of things I do not need.  I am sure there are many others in this boat. Honestly, I have no idea why I hold onto half the stuff I do… I am taking care of this now so in 20 years I am  not buried under a pile of junk.

Here is my game plan:

  1.  Drop off all clothing I have not wore in 6 months to a consignment store.
  2. Socks that do not have a match HAVE TO GO.  I may need to go shopping because for those of you who don’t know me I have an issue with wearing matching socks… The issue is I can never find matching ones.
  3. Any clothing with holes/rips HAVE TO GO
  4. Donate ALL older bedding to the Humane Society. I’m sure animals will appreciate my love for soft blankies!
  5. House coats that have holes in them need to go PERIOD
  6. Donate ALL books that I am not going to read again to the public library.

I encourage you all to have a look at you material items. Do you need a De-cluttering initiative?

This year is my year to be upgraded, shiny and free.

Let the  De-cluttering begin!  Wish me luck! Also, any tips or tricks with De-cluttering is greatly appreciated 🙂

Thinking out loud #9

Great things have never come from comfort zones! This is my theme for the week! Everyday I did something that scared me a little and as little as each act was it felt so amazing!

This blog idea originally came from the Blog Running with Spoons, an amazing blogger.  Here is the link to her first post if you want to give it shot too!

This is an opportunity in the week to talk about things that are on your mind which is a really cool idea!

  1.  Apartment shopping is ANNOYING and fun actually!  I had my heart set on one apartment and well it didn’t go as planned.  On a positive note I saw a really amazing place this week so as long as I can make it work its mine.  It is everything I would want besides the location.  What is more important location or everything else? I mean this place has hardwood, walk in closet, jet tub, heated underground parking… Did I mention it is a new building and I would be the first to live in it.  Let’s hope I make the right decision! Isn’t it pretty!Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 9.24.59 AM.png
  2. The Bachelorette was intense. Yes I am one of those girls that just loves this show however, I am not sure that she made the right choice. Robbie was such a sweetheart! Who am I to judge though. Do woman always go for the bad boy? Love can be a confusing thing though, Hang in there Robbie!
  3. I love RUNNING! Now that I am training again I am just loving life! It feels so great working towards a new goal! IMG_8054
  4. I am also so proud of my running girls! We did an amazing 3km Race pace run Monday and a tempo run Wednesday! AMAZING! This Saturday is our goal race! So excited! RACE WEEK! Can you feel my excitement! IMG_8147
  5. I never run in sports bras. It seems silly but it was something that intimidated me.  I did it this week and felt great! Do any of you run in sports bras or have a similar intimidation to it?  If you do give it a shot it feels great!
  6. I found a new amazing hairstylist! His name is Anthony and he is AMAZING! Plus he is delightful company! He made me a little more blonde than usual but I feel great!
  7. IMG_8100Addicted to this show that my lovely sister showed me “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmit” this show is so funny.  It seriously is hilarious and that’s about all I have to say about that. giphy
  8. I have been so grateful all week long and my amazing friend Larissa has been doing the same! This week we were so thankful for all the amazing opportunities in our lives, friends, family, books, laughter and of course coffee.  All these things came up multiple times in the week. I am so grateful for where I am in my life.  So exciting for all the amazing things coming up in my future.affirmation-gratitude
  9. I AM GOING TO PEI! I am so excited that I am going to get to go to visit my family in PEI! Plus I am going to get to run on the beach and paddle board in the ocean! My mom has already perfected it so I need to step up my game! Look at her go! Downward dog on a paddle board… I feel like I need to challenge her so anyone have input on what pose I should aim to do?  Keep in mind my flexibility is -200% lol. Lot 42-20160725-00315
  10.  Holy rain! It has been the craziest rainy week ever! My vehicle was almost door deep in water the other day! Luckily a neighbor came and saved the day otherwise baby jeep may have floated away! IMG_8179
  11. I tried paddle boarding and I stood up on my first try!  I love paddle boarding! That is all.giphy.gif
  12. My sister has let me know that I somehow agreed to go skydiving.  I am terrified of heights.. we will see how this goes.
  13. Loving this quote and loving the sun today!  Yes I am still on a crazy positive zen kick! Turn-your-face-to-the-sun-and-the-shadows-fall-behind-you.-Charlotte-Whitton

How was your week? Do anything that challenged you?

I hope you all are having an amazing week!! One more day until the weekend!

Enjoy each day and defy your limits!

Half Marathon: Let’s Do This!

Since my marathons in May I have got myself in quite the running funk.  To get out of this funk I have decided to get a PR in the Harvest Half Marathon or Okanagan Half Marathon in October. I am pretty excited because one of my best friends is going to do one of these with me!  She didn’t know this until a couple days ago but luckily she is really excited too! Heck maybe I can get my dad in it too.  I don’t want to push my luck though!

What I learned from my last endurance run was that consistency and cross training are key. My friend at the running room commented on how amazing Hal Higdon’s training program is so I am going to give his Advanced Half Marathon Plan a try!  I usually make my own plan but I feel like I should trust those who know best so here is the plan!  The only changes I made was incorporating cross training into the plan. I will be starting on week two since I essentially have done the first two weeks of training already however my pace will be a work in progress for the next couple weeks.

Cross training activities include yoga, barre, kick boxing, zumba, paddle boarding and swimming.

My goal time is 1 hour 35 minutes and my friends goal is 1 hour 45 minutes

A very knowledgeable man/runner (John Stanton) told me to picture my goal and it will be possible. I can see it and I know I can do it.

Race Plan

Here are my pace goals: (min/km)

  • Easy run pace: 5 minute 17 seconds
  • Race pace: 4 minute 30 seconds
  • Tempo pace: 4 minutes 24 seconds
  • Speed work pace: 3 minute 40 seconds
  • Long Slow Pace: 5 minutes to 5 minutes 59 seconds

Monday I started with 3 km’s. Today I will do  7 hills, 3 miles Wednesday, 30 minutes tempo run on Thursday, Paddle boarding  and yoga Friday and a 10k Race Saturday! I am really hoping to get adjusted to these pace guidelines by mid August. I haven’t exactly disclosed how much training or the paces we are going to be doing to my friend yet but will definitely note her response when I send her the workouts.

So here we go!  This is going to be an amazing journey and I will share it with you all as I go. As always tips and comments are appreciated.

Wish me luck 🙂

Thinking Out Loud #8

So I am a little behind in posting because WOW is life busy!

This blog idea originally came from the Blog Running with Spoons, an amazing blogger.  Here is the link to her first post if you want to give it shot too!

This is an opportunity in the week to talk about things that are on your mind which is a really cool idea!

  1. I love hills!  My 10k clinic ran a hill that intimidates all the runners in the SW… At the running room we call it “The Beast”.  Our goal was to complete four and we finished with five hill repeats! Feeling VERY empowered today and so proud of my group for completing this challenge!IMG_8076
  2. Sooo In love with my bestie Jade’s baby girl Aria! I don’t think the world knew perfection before her.  Her parents are really amazing so I guess she was destined for greatness but on a daily basis this little princess brightens my day.IMG_7967
  3. I ran the 10k Stampede Road Race.  I had very little sleep the night before and didn’t get to do my favorite traditions (laying out my outfit, pasta dinner, warm bath before bed ) which resulted in a very poor performance in the race. I ended up finishing in 50:23 which is not terrible but one of my longest 10k’s in awhile. I saw some amazing people at the race though so that was my highlight.53CFF847-8658-46D5-9994-5A6DE7CF0169
  4. I have a new love for lime green! A couple Wednesdays ago it was the Running Rooms 32nd anniversary so there was a 20 minute challenge accompanied with great people and bright green hats! To top it off the rain started AFTER we finished running.779E75AF-EE70-4701-A45D-0AD593578C38
  5. My parents are in PEI and offered me a trip so I am definitely planning to go! How cute is my mom! She is improvising her workouts while away.  Paddle boarding and Yoga on the RV! Way to go Momma! You Rock!IMG_8081
  6. I finally got in with the allergy specialist! I have been waiting six months so this is a plus.
  7. GILMORE GIRLS IS COMING TO NETFLIX! I do not think this needs any more explanation but needless to say I am excited! giphy
  8. So Pokemon Go…. Is this really something everyone is doing?  I have never been into this sort of thing so the idea of searching for Pokemon throughout the city is bizarre to me.  Anyone want to explain the draw here? I am however quite amused by the funny gif’s that are associated with it. 4cec0c501e4c21470247bd9b476153ea
  9.  I made a vision board! I love waking up each morning and be reminded by this inspiration!

  10. How much coffee is too much coffee?  My friend Chris is cutting caffeine out and suggested I give it a shot.  I have 2-3… sometimes 7 cups of coffee a day and feel this is fine but apparently cutting a little caffeine out of your life poses many benefits. Anyone have any input here because in my opinion lots of coffee is what I need  not the opposite.VlAGm
  11. Obsessed with audio books right now! I am powering through one a day and it’s delightful! Anyone have any books that are good ones to read?  I am open to fiction, non fiction, autobiographies, self help and really everything.
  12. I am giving paddle boarding a shot… I lack balance on the ground let alone on a board… on water.  We will see how this goes but I am over the top excited to give this a try! My mom did it on the ocean this past week so I am hoping to channel her through this experience and maybe stay dry lol IMG_8080
  13. I have decided to sign up for a half marathon, potentially the Harvest half in Calgary.  Anyone else doing it?  I am going to start training right away and am so excited to get my time down with a goal of 1:30!Screen Shot 2016-07-28 at 10.41.19 AM
  14. A couple of my friends are having a rough go at life right now so everyday we say the top three things we are grateful for.  It is such an amazing way to start the day! If you are having a rough time or have the summer blues give it a shot! I am thinking of starting a blog linkup for Everyday grateful.  Posting Every Friday of all the things I was grateful for. Anyone else up for this? today-i-am-grateful-half-banner

The world is a beautiful place sometimes you just have to look to see the beauty around you… Yes I am on this crazy positive zen kick right now you should join me 🙂

I hope you all had an amazing week and enjoy the long weekend!

Thinking Out Loud #7

Life is flying by lately,  I cannot believe its Thursday already.

This blog idea originally came from the Blog Running with Spoons, an amazing blogger.  Here is the link to her first post if you want to give it shot too!

This is an opportunity in the week to talk about things that are on your mind which is a really cool idea!

  1.  So Calgary stampede is starting.  Many people are excited however, I work in an office next to me is a beer tent….. I am not excited.
  2. I signed up for the Stampede Road Race on Sunday! Its my first race since my marathon, at the end of May.  It was my fastest 10k last year so I am really excited to see how it goes! Wish me luck!Screen Shot 2016-07-07 at 10.10.31 PM.png
  3. I got another new office! It feels like I am playing musical chairs at work which is driving me crazy but I have a great open space to work with now. IMG_0602.JPG
  4. I am looking to get some short distance race shoes?  I tried the Mizuno Sayonara and liked them! Anyone have any tips on light, short distance running shoes?Screen Shot 2016-07-07 at 10.11.43 PM
  5. What is the difference between lying and leaving out details?  Is there one? If the intention is to leave info out as to not hurt someones feelings is that better than telling the truth and hurting their feelings?  I don’t think so but would love input?
  6. My running clinic did their first set of hills! We aimed for 3 but they ended up doing 3.5 plus the big hill at end! So proud they all did so amazing! Over 4 hills total! It was challenging even for me but I had a blast because of the great company!IMG_7811
  7. My parents have been gone for less than a week and I miss them already! It looks like their pit bull Pudgie has settled in quite nicely though! How cute is he!IMG_7819
  8. I want to go to Italy! I have this lovely friend Federica (who lives in Rome) and we made a deal that I was going to teach her run and she is going to teach me Italian. I am working on writing her a training plan. I have it all written out but am even more excited for her to teach me Italian and having a running buddy in Rome!13524305_10208625670586408_943470169875597494_n
  9. I have officially gone one week without biting my nails! They say it takes 30 days to create a habit… 23 to go. IMG_7818

Hope you all are having an amazing week!