When Considering a Goal.

As training continues I'm beginning to think more about setting a goal time in which to complete the marathon.  I'm no Meb, so its something I need to be realistic about.  In my heart of hearts I want to finish in a time that starts with a "3."  But as I track my progress and I continue to run 4,6, or 10 miles and my pace is consistently in the mid- to high-9 minutes, I begin to question how realistic that may be.

In order to run a sub-four hour marathon, one has to run under a 9 minute 10 second mile.  From where I sit now, this seems like a lofty goal, but when I look back at previous times I have some hope. In 2010 I ran a half-marathon in 1:54:34.  That's a pace of 8:44.  I could add 20 seconds to that pace and run a sub-four marathon comfortably.  Trouble is getting back there...

Athlinks is a great website I used regularly when I was running with greater frequency (2009-2011).  It allows you to claim and log your personal times from an enormous database of online race results. You can view my results on the webpage. Some of my better times include a 7:28 5k in Montclair and a 7:33 showing at the Ashenfleter 8k in Glen Ridge.  I am certain that I couldn't post these times now (I was in pretty damn good shape between running and Jiu Jitsu back then), but I am also confident that given enough effort I could get back there.

All this factors in to if and when to draw a line in the sand and declare a goal for a marathon finish. I am not ready to do so yet, but I do believe in setting discrete goals for myself and therefore I likely will do so. One of my greatest fears is being average.  Thus I will almost certainly choose a time that is better than the average (mean, median?). From some (kind of sketchy) information I found online, it appears to be about 4:08 for my age class at the NYC marathon. We'll see.

I have a lot of running yet to do and thus a lot of time to meditate on just such a quandary. I'll keep you posted.

Speaking of goals, in my last post I stated that I would love to reach $5,000 before the end of July. Check. Thanks to a slew of new donations we are now flirting with $6,000 raised and currently the Team Boomer fundraiser leader out of 39 individuals.  Thank you so much for your support. Please continue to spread the word.

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Page Views: 1000. Miles last week: 0.

I was a bum last week.  Apparently the obscene amount of seafood that Sarah and I gorged on in Maine was enough to knock me off my wave from the week prior in which I achieved a new high mileage mark.  I was just simply unmotivated and did not want to run.  Team Boomer had its first conference call last week and one of the things that Coach GP (he's the official coach for all those signed up for the team) said resonated with me.  He said that a greater proportion of those who set out to run a marathon don't make it to the starting line compared to those who make it to the starting line but don't make it to the finish line. After last week I believe him.  It's perfectly clear to me now that the real challenge of a marathon takes place in the weeks and months prior to race day.  And so much of it is psychological, not physical. So admittedly, I struggled a bit. That's the bad news.

But there is good news too.  I put the unproductive week behind me with a 35 mile bike ride on Sunday. This spurred on by my friend Steve. We took a ride to Willamantic, Connecticut, rode our bikes for 3.5 hours and then gorged on nachos, burgers, and beers at a crowded brew pub set in a beautiful old post office.  It was a great day and an excellent, sustained workout.  My legs were a little sore the next day - that's a good thing. I hadn't been on my bike for some time and the ride served as a great reminder as to the intensity and just plain fun of a good bike ride.

And there's more good news - I'm headed out now to get a few miles under my belt before the sun sets. Also this blog has reached a milestone of sorts by recording its 1000th view as of today.  Not bad.  If you've been thinking about sharing with friends, please do so.

Lastly, I caught a delicious bass this morning from a kayak.  Seriously, I ate it.  With taco seasoning.  It was delicious.  Does fishing count as cross training too?

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Fundraising update: current total raised is $4,190.  Wouldn't it be nice to get to $5,000 before the end of the month?

Feelin' Good.

So the 5k that Sarah and I thought was taking place this morning, actually took place yesterday.  So, yeah, apparently we didn't quite pay close enough attention to details on that one.  Nonetheless, while I didn't get to push myself against the official clock of a road race, I did surpass my goal of running 5 consecutive 5ks this week. My normal pace is somewhere just north of 9 minutes, but when I'm feeling good and its not too hot (damn this heat slows you down), I've run some consecutive sub-8 minute miles. Weekly total miles came to 17.15.  That represents a new weekly high and its also the first time I've run for five consecutive days.

I'm just about where I wanted to be at this point. That's good. I think Team Boomer is going to begin reaching out to runners and provide access to their coach beginning next week. I'm looking forward to having some additional input.

This week was auspicious with respect to health news as well.  I made the early trip up to Boston to see my CF doctor at Mass General Hospital on Tuesday.  Its only the third or fourth time I've visited them, but I've already established an excellent level of cooperation with and respect for the team.  I met a new member of the team this week, Mathew - a physical therapist, who specializes in working with folks with CF.  He was an outgoing, well spoken guy and explained to me that I'd be doing an exercise test.  Essentially throwing me on an increasingly challenging treadmill and monitoring my physiological vitals.  Apparently all this exercise is paying off because (I don't think this was hyperbole) when we finished and he took a look at the numbers he told me that I was probably in the top 1% of patients with CF with respect to cardiovascular function. He was especially thrilled with how quickly I recovered (pulse rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure). A veteran of 8 Boston Marathons himself, he had encouraging words for my efforts and gave me a great deal of confidence that I would actually be able to do this. 

From here it was over to the clinic office where I performed my obligatory pulmonary function test (PFT). A PFT is a hallmark of all CF doctor visits and consists, essentially, of blowing as hard as you can into a long tube attached to a machine that monitors things like volume and rate of air flow. PFTs produce a metric that nearly all CF patients (and their health care team) place above all others when monitoring the progress of the disease - the FEV1/FVC.  FEV1 stands for forced expiratory volume in one second - the absolute maximum volume of air you can blow out of your lungs in one second. FVC stands for forced vital capacity - the total amount of air you can forcibly blow out in one breath (measured during the same hulking gasp and exhale as FEV1). The ratio you produce is compared to a regression curve of what is considered normal for one's age and body mass index and reported as a percent.  What is considered normal depends on the patient and who you ask, but anything below a 70% is usually considered problematic for someone with CF (at least that's been my personal perception). My last time at the doctor's (March) I had blown the lowest FEV1/FVC of my life (~63%). Not a good thing, but not terribly shocking as the disease progresses with age.  This time around I had some additional, albeit tempered, good results.  I blew a 68% (pre-albuterol) and a 70% post-albuterol.  This is a step in the right direction, but certainly something I look to improve upon as I continue training.

So with the completion of this morning's (almost) 4-miler, a midst this relentless heat, I'm feeling good. And now a little celebration. Sarah and I are hopping in the car and headed north along the coast to Portland, Maine. Lobster anyone?

Road-trippin'...

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Five 5k's in Five Days. And a Moving On.

As I write this I'm sitting on the floor in what has been my (most consistent) bedroom for the last 11 years.  My parents are selling the house in West Orange and are under contract to close mid-August. Joscelyn and I just loaded up a rented Budget Truck destined for Rhode Island with the few real pieces of furniture that are mine, including my bed (read: mattresses) and (garbage picked) desk.  Thus the floor.  I'll probably only be back here one more time before they move.  I've moved around an extraordinary amount since my family moved from Glen Ridge to West Orange shortly after I graduated from High School.  I've occupied for significant periods of time more than 20 bedrooms during my 20s - that's no exaggeration.  Despite the fact that this is my family's house of longest occupancy since I was born, I've never felt the same attachment to this place as I have other houses we've lived in (i.e., Sunny Lane in Ballston Spa and Belleville Ave in Glen Ridge).  But nonetheless it is with substantial pause that I reflect on the experiences had under this roof...  my parents without exception open door policy; life's milestones marked with parties of so many family and friends; my mother's late evening dinners; Christmas mornings with my grandparents; getting to know my sister's husband Spencer; BBQs on the back deck or patio; Yankee games and Rutgers games on the couch with my father; bunkering down during Sandy; Sunday parties; the in-between post-college suburban doldrums; all-night studies during my master's; love had; love lost; love found again.

This place, not by design, has emerged as the place where many of the pivotal events of my post-adolescent lagged maturity have taken place. Where I entered as a boy and leave a hesitant adult.  A cocoon of sorts - not to be missed, but not to be under appreciated either.

Looking forward now.  My weekly mileage has been up to about 12 miles. Until this passed week where I really slacked.  Granted I did a little rock climbing and a little surfing, but I did not get out and put shoes to pavement to the degree I know I should.  It is with a ever-so-slight ping of urgency that I want to get back on track.  And therefore a commitment made before the strange public place that is the internet - starting today, I'll run a 5k each day for the next five days.  This will culminate with Sarah and I running a sanctioned road race in Rhode Island on Friday.  I'll post my results once official.

In 2009 and 2010 during some personally trying times, I ran from this house with regularity.  All the way along Pleasant Valley Way, passed West Orange High School, through the Jewish neighborhoods often smiling or excusing myself as I ran passed folks on their way to temple on the narrow sidewalks.  Past Eagle Rock Avenue and finally all the way down to Verona Park where I would touch the lamp post on Bloomfield Avenue and turn around.

Time to lace 'em up one more time...

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