To Hell And Back.

Now that is a phrase if I may say so myself.  I became acquainted with it last year while I was perusing the runners expo in the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center in, you guessed it, Buffalo, NY.  I was there picking up my number for my 3rd half marathon when I stumbled upon it.  I nice grey t-shirt with black piping around the collar and sleeves.  Nice I thought.  But, it wasn't until I pulled it off of the rack, that I knew I had to get it.  The front had a small grunge sneaker print with angel wings and the brand name "Asics" under it on the left side (my left, your right).  I had never tried a pair of Asics on but that didn't matter.  I just loved the winged sneaker.  How symbolic.  How cool that was.  Register please, you can put the receipt in the bag.  I had found my go-to running t-shirt for the summer.  But wait, let's flip it around to see if there was anything on the back.  Icing on the cake you might say.  Oh boy was there ever icing, and them some.  There were jimmies, candles and assorted candy pieces that spelled out "Happy Birthday".  You know, the kind that your parents used to put on your cake when you were 8?  OK, it wasn't that exciting but it was the phrase that put it all into perspective "To Hell And Back" at the top with the sneaker and wings below it.  It was rather large and centered on the back.  Up to that time, my farthest races had been half marathons and that is what I related that phrase to.  Little did I know...

My first marathon was in Hampton Beach in October of 2013.  It struck me during that race what the phrase on my favorite running related t-shirt meant.  "To Hell And Back".  Yep, that summed it up nicely.  The physical challenges alongside the mental challenges.  You put yourself through hell.  Teetering on the cusp of the fiery pit.  But you summon all that you have from within and make it to the finish line and all is well with the world again.  The sense of accomplishment washes away any remnants of sulfur left behind by Lucifer's grip.  Figuratively speaking of course. 

As many people probably don't know, I "reward" myself after completing marathons by getting a tattoo as a symbol to myself as to what I can do and as a reminder to never give up.  Well, I owed myself a tattoo for completing the Providence Marathon earlier this year.  I decided to wait until after my races were over in the fall so that I didn't have to worry about the sun on it, not going swimming and so that I could cover up the plastic wrap that you have to put on it (you feel like a left over sandwhich that gets wraped up and put in the refridgerator for the next day's lunch.  How embarrassing!  I fulfilled my reward last week by getting my 2nd running tattoo.  I ended up getting my favorite running t-shirt design on my shoulder, including the "To Hell And Back" script to remind me of just how accurate those 4 words really are.  The funny thing is though.  I keep going back for more.  It is such an addictive thing that is very difficult to describe.  Maybe it is not meant to be understood.  Just something that is done.  All I know is that I will proudly where my Asics t-shirt when I'm not running and a slinglet when I am (to show off my new ink).  Either way, people will certainly know that I have been "To Hell And Back". 

Update on training: I went into Boston on Saturday for a long run so that I could tack on a few extra miles for the week.  I ended up doing 13.15 miles that day for a grand total of 27.6 miles for the week.  It was the first really cold run of the fall/winter training season.  Boy, I didn't really miss that at all from last winter.  Wow.  It did feel good to get those miles in and was able to grab a few pictures along the way (this one is from one of my runs a few weeks ago).

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

Here I Go Again.

I don't know where I'm going
But, I sure know where I've been
Hanging on the promises in songs of yesterday
An' I've made up my mind, I ain't wasting no more time
But, here I go again
Here I go again

Lyrics from "Here I go again".  Such a great 80's song by the classic big hair rock band Whitesnake.  That said, it does have a wicked cheesy video though with its scenes of the band playing on a stage interlaced with Tawny Kitaen doing gymnastics between two cars and polishing them while slithering all over them.  The cars that is.  So cheesy that it makes me think of a couple of other classics.  Cheeses that is: Roquefort with its sharp, sweet and nutty flavor or Parmigiano-Reggiano with its great crunch and deep caramel-y, nutty flavors.  How quickly I get distracted...  It really is an appropriate song in this situation though because "Here I go again".

I told my family that I had met my goal and felt a sense of closure after I completed the Cox Providence Marathon in May of this year.  That I was done with Marathons and would focus my attention on training and improving my half marathon races (which worked as I had both a half marathon as well as a course PR for the B.A.A. Half Marathon last month).  That's the same thing that I said a year ago when I completed my first marathon up in Hampton Beach, NH.  My wife and son know me better than that though and they told me both times that I would run a marathon again.  Well, they definitely do know me too well, because:

Here I go again on my own
Goin' down the only road I've ever known

I'm running the 119th B.A.A. Boston Marathon on April 20, 2015.  However, I'm not on "my own" as I have been accepted as a member of the Boston Children's Hospital Miles for Miracles Marathon team.  This was the team that I tried to become a member of last year but wasn't able to because they filled their team very early on so I am very grateful that I have the opportunity this year.  Being able to support Boston Children's Hospital's critical mission personally means a lot to me as my son has received outstanding professional and compassionate care from this outstanding organization over the years.  I am very appreciative to have the opportunity and to be able to be associated with such a prestigious organization in the health care community.

I have also signed up to be part of the Miles for Miracles Patient Partner program where I will be teamed up with a patient of Boston Children's Hospital.  This is such a great opportunity as we will be able to provide support and inspiration to each other during my training.  I'll provide more information about who I'm partnered up with when I get the details in early December.

My fundraising for Boston Children's Hospital has just begun.  If you are interested in helping me with my goal of $7,000, please visit my fundraising page:  http://fundraise.childrenshospital.org/goto/runner716  Any donation, whether small or large or somewhere in between is greatly appreciated. 

I want to thank my wife and son for their continued unconditional support and understanding of my need to do this.  Training for a marathon takes a lot of dedication, shuffling of schedules to fit in training and a lot of time away from family.  Knowing that they are behind me 100% makes it a bit more manageable.  Thank you and I love you both more than you'll ever know.

I'm going to blog about my training and new products that I will be using as part of my training along the way.  I've already made several trips to running stores and picked up a few new things that I cannot wait to try out.  It's a bit geeky I know.  As I'm finishing up this post, we are getting our first snowfall of the season.  It reminds me of some of my training runs this past winter.  I cannot wait for those days with 2 degree temperatures, whipping winds and snow in January.  Now that is geeky!

An' I've made up my mind
I ain't wasting no more time...

But, here I go again,
Here I go again,
Here I go again,
Here I go,
Here I go again...

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

It Takes Two.

It takes two to make a thing go right
It takes two to make it outta sight
Hit it!

What the frig am I talking about?  OK, I had to stretch it a bit and go back to my DJ days to find a song that would go along with today's post. 

I'm Rob Base and I came to get down
I'm not internationally known
But I'm known to rock the microphone

Back on topic.  Two.  Two updates on past posts.  The first?  Refueling gels.  Back in February/March I compared several different energy gels and rated them.  Guess what?  What Keith?  The first place finisher "Body Glove Surge All Natural Energy Gel- Chocolate", they stopped making it!  Say what?  What?  I love that one.  So much for the influence that my first place nod for it had on the manufacturer.  Oh, well...

The reason why, man, I don't know
So let's go, cause
It takes two to make a thing go right
It takes two to make it outta sight

 

Never fear!  Replacement Gel is here!  A new 1st place winner has been crowned (I used it during the B.A.A. Half Marathon two weekends ago).  It is an all natural product called "Accel Gel Rapid Energy Gel" and which is made by the same manufacturer as the "Body Glove Surge Gel" was.  It has all the same chocolately goodness as the original first place winner but without all the, let's see now, how did I put it before... that's right "texture".  It was as smooth as "(insert your own favorite phrase of choice here- example: baby's bum, silk, glass, velvet, butter, a southern drawl or aged whiskey- just to name a few).  It is a  dry, medium-bodied red, offering sappy black cherry and plum sauce flavors, with dried herb and olive tapenade notes. Balanced, with a moderate finish.  Sorry, wrong blog for that one.  It does however have a mild natural chocolate flavor and pleasant aftertaste.  The Accel Gel has a great consistency and is easy to get down while you are re-fueling mid-run.  It supplied an even and consistent level of energy and is made of all natural ingredients.  The only downside that I have with it?  It only has 20 mg of caffeine versus Surge Gels' 150 mg.

Cause I'm Rob, the last name Base, yeah

And on the mic, I'm known to be the freshest

 

Number 2.  No, not that "number 2".  Boy that stinks.  That's crappy.  Courtesy flush please?  OK, the second update is on the B.A.A. Distance Medley results.  My official results over the three races are:

 

	5K Finish	10K Finish	Half Finish	Cumulative Time	Overall	Percentile	In Age Group	Age Group Percentile
	22:01 (613)	45:41 (522)	1:37:53 (449)	2:45:35	150 / 833	81%	25 / 147	82%

My 5K and Half Marathon times were PRs for me as well as the Half time being a course PR for me.  I'll take all of those stats any day.  And that is no steaming pile of number 2 but it does take two to make a thing go right!

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

That's A Wrap.

What a fantastic morning for a race.  Today was the B.A.A. Half Marathon which wrapped up the B.A.A. Distance Medley for 2014 with a big old blue and yellow bow on top.  What a great trio of races throughout the year.  Starting with the 5K in April, 10K in June and the Half Marathon today.  Great courses and absolutely the best organized and run races anywhere. 

I ran this same half last year so I knew what to expect along the way.  I loved it then and still loved it today.  It is one of the more challenging due to the many hills throughout the course (especially that beauty at mile 11).  Maybe that is why I love this course so much.  Maybe it is the beautiful scenery along the route in the Emerald Necklace.  Maybe it is the throngs of spectators who cheer all the runners on with their cow bells and goofy signs that make us runners giggle as we are pounding the pavement.  Maybe it is all of these things that makes it one hell of a wicked pissah race that wraps its shoelaces around you and makes you run it year after year.  Just maybe.

Race day started with the alarm clock rudely waking us up at 4:30 AM this morning.  How dare it?!  What was it thinking?  Well, if it wasn't the alarm clock, it would have been the alarm on the iPad or the alarm on the iPhone both set for 4:35 AM.  Yes, I am always paranoid that I'm going to wake up late and miss a race.  Always have to have a backup to the backup.  Ah, I totally forgot that I could have set my son's devices too so that there could have been a few more backups!  Darn it.

We got on the road and made it to the shuttle bus location at the Bayside Expo Center in Boston wicked early.  Like seriously wicked early.  Early bird catches the bottle of Gatorade or something like that.  We boarded the bus and made it to the field at Franklin Park next to White Stadium where the finish line is.  Boy (or girl if you prefer) was it friggin cold out this morning!  It was so cold that you could see your breath as you crunched the patches of frost on the ground.  Perfect weather for a run. 

My plan for today's race was to just beat last year's finish.  Plain and simple.  Well, that plan worked out well as I finished with a PR for both a half marathon and for the course as well as shaving 5 minutes 30 seconds off of last year's time.  "Gillette, the best a man can get".  Sorry, "shaving" made me think of that jingle (now it is stuck in my head)!  I'll take that "stubble", sorry, "faster time" and the stats below any day:

Net Time 1:37:53
Pace 7:28
Overall 553/6211
In Gender 451/2682 (Male)
In Division 52/330 (M40-44)

The B.A.A. distance medley was such a great trio of runs to participate in as they were nicely spread out throughout the year, are great courses and well run.  I'll post my final medley time and place as soon as they are posted on the B.A.A. site.

Thank you to my wife Jen for getting up early today to go and support me in the freezing cold!  We both got to listen to "Back in Black" being played over the event speakers while we waited for the race to start!  How appropriate (see my last post before this one)!

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

Back In Black.

I been too long I'm glad to be back

Yes I am

Cause I'm back

Yes I'm back

Well I'm back

Yes I'm back

Well I'm back back

Well I'm back in black

Yes I'm back in black

Thank you so much AC/DC for the intro (albeit a long one)!  That song reminds me of sitting up in the nose bleed section of TD Garden with my son watching Boo-ins/Buffalo Sabres games (as-in boo they're bad- sorry I'm a true blue Sabres fan bleeding the blue & gold).  Love when they crank a little Back In Black while waiting for the puck to drop and game play to resume. It's a hockey staple!  

Wow, I cannot believe that it is October and the race season is coming to an end.  I've run a few races and have continued training since my last post back in May.

• Ran a 5K race in May to help fund Celiac Disease research in Merrimack, NH- First time ever placing in a race. I took third in the men's division. 
• Ran the Lawyers Have Heart 5K in May in Boston, MA.
• Ran the BAA 10K in June in Boston, MA (2nd race in the BAA medley- you know, the "Rice Medley"-  I love that one!)
• Strolled, no, of course I ran the Finish At The Fifty 10K in July in Foxboro, MA.
• Ran the Old Port Half Marathon in July in Portland, ME. This was hands down the best course I've run. Such an experience that I'll never forget. 

Cause I'm back

Yes I'm back

Well I'm back

Yes I'm back

Sorry, that's right, we've already established that I'm back.  "Back in black" to be more specific. 

• Ran in the Thompson Island 4K Trail Run in September on Thompson Island in Boston Harbor in Boston,MA.

It is all culminating in my last race of the season coming up this weekend.  It also happens to be the last race of the BAA "Rice Medley". There I go again.  I meant to say "Rice Pilaf". No, that's not right either.  "Race Medley". There we go. A half marathon winding through the Franklin Park area of Boston on a fall morning.  

I have to go and make sure that I've got all my 80's hair bands in the right order on my running playlist. Heaven forbid if Journey comes up before Loverboy!  

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

B.A.A. Distance Medley

My race schedule this year is starting to take shape. Three more races on tap courtesy of the B.A.A. Distance Medley (5K, 10K & 1/2 marathon).  Registration opened Wednesday of this week at 10:00 AM sharp. I was online at 9:55 AM to check things out. Testing out my browser and making sure that everything was in order to ensure, that come 10:00:01 AM, I would be able to get my spot in this great series.  The Web page was loaded.  Mouse and keyboard were in fine working order.  I completed a couple of finger exercises to ensure ultimate dexterity and to eliminate any potential for my fingers cramping up at the wrong moment.  I felt so giddy, like I was getting ready to buy tickets for a Depeche Mode concert from TicketMaster (yes, Depeche Mode!).  The time had come.  10:00:01 AM.  Registration was open.  My heart was pounding (well, maybe not pounding, but beating at a pretty good clip at any rate).  I answered all of the usual registration questions, entered my expected race finish times and clicked "Submit".  Yes!  Loge 12 Row 7 Seats 5 & 6!  I got tickets.  Oh wait, I mean I got registered for the Medley!  Yes!

I ran the B.A.A. half marathon this past October and enjoyed it so much, that I decided right after that race, that I wanted to run the medley this year.  It truly was the best run race that I've ever participated in.  The B.A.A. definitely has every detail covered in their races and make it such a good experience for the participants and spectators.  I can't wait to see how well they handle the marathon knowing how well they did the half.  I only have 86 more days to find out.

Until next time, keep on runnin'!