2013 Log 
Running log for 2013: 696 miles. I ran two half-marathons and several 5K's. That number was a big drop from 2012 when I logged 907 and a far cry from 2011 when I logged close 1000. I did not run a marathon as I had planned.

The plan for this year calls for one half-marathon and a fall marathon. I will run the Via Marathon in September. I am also in the lottery drawing for NYC. If I get lucky, I'll run two marathons in the fall.

I logged 378 miles on the bike, mostly on the Fuji but some of that, probably less than 20, was on the unicycle.

Happy 2014!

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New Unicycle 


I upgraded from a no-name 20" to a Torker Unistar CX 24". I had to hack off about 2" from the seat stem so I could lower the seat and freemount easier. The new seat is also not very male-friendly and I now need to wear "core support" when I ride. Otherwise, the bigger wheel allows for me to cover distance a tad easier.

On the second or third day I had it, I went three miles, which was quite a workout!

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2012 Log 
Running log for 2012: 907 miles. I ran two half-marathons, one marathon, and several 5K's. I set PR's in each of those categories as well.

The plan for this year calls for one half-marathon and a fall marathon. My fingers are crossed that I'll into the NYC Marathon this year. If not, I haven't decided on a backup yet.

Add another 361 for velo and that's 1268 miles moving forward; a big drop from 2011 when I logged 975/474.

Happy 2013!

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Philadelphia Marathon 
I completed the Philadelphia Marathon yesterday. Being my second marathon, it was easy to set a PR. I beat my time in the Pittsburgh Marathon by 11 minutes.

4:20:16
9:56 pace
6730 out of 11422 finishers

My goal was a 4:15 and, up to around mile 15 or so, I was around a 9:10 pace and had a good shot at a low 4 finish. I never hit the wall but by mile 18 the feet and hamstrings were beginning to hurt. I didn't walk too much during this one, maybe 5-8 times for under a minute each time.

I high-fived Mayor Nutter at the finish line!

Overall, a well organized marathon; lots of enthusiastic spectators and great volunteers.

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Unicycle 
I learned how to ride a unicycle this summer. It probably took around 15 hours of practice. I still need work on turning and idling. The unicycle in this video is a no-name 20" that cost around $50. I have a 24" Torker on my Xmas list.



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St. Luke's Half Marathon 
1:56:19 - PR - my goal was sub-2. I'm glad to finally get that off my back after a disappointing half last October where I was on sub-2 pace until the side stitches felled me around mile six and resulted in 2:06 and change. No side stitches this time. I ran wearing the Merrell Trail Glove.

From the start, I paced behind the 1:50 group but finally lost sight of them around miles 7-8. The 1:55 group passed me around 10 but I was able to keep them in sight until the end. I hit the halfway point around 55 and change, mile 7 around 59 and change and 10 around 1:26. Once I hit 7 at 59 minutes I knew I could PR if I could run the next 6.1 miles in less than an hour. The hills around miles 7-9 were a b*tch and that's were I did some brief walking. Nonetheless, it was a successful run. Rest week is ahead and then I'll drop back into 10-12 miles a week and try to get more velo in.

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2011 Log 
Running log for 2011: 975 miles. I doubt I'll top that in 2012 even though I am running a half-marathon in spring and plan on running a marathon in the fall. Marathon training, including the grand finale, is around 450 miles. I never added up how many miles are in the half training plan I follow but I would assume at least 200.

Add another 474 for velo and that's 1449 miles moving forward.

Happy 2012!

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D&L Heritage Half-Marathon 
Ran this one this morning; a nice and scenic run from alonf the corridor from Northampton to Slatington. I had high hopes for this and was aiming for a sub-2 hour run. However, it was not to be. I was running a sub-nine minute pace and on track for a sub-two hour finish until side stitches hit me like a ton o' bricks around mile six. Some walking helped and by mile eight the pain was gone but I lost too much time. I finished in 2:06 and change and I figure the side stitches cost me about ten minutes.

After a week off, I'll do some light running for the rest of the year; maybe 10-12 miles a week. Maybe I'll do a 5K or two before years' end but that's it for now. A spring marathon would require training to begin the day after Christmas so that seems unlikely at this point. For 2012, I'll initially plan on another half in the spring and then a full in the fall. I have some races in mind already. Let's see how I feel mentally and physically in six to eight weeks.

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Log 
January through June this year:

Running: 548 miles, approximately 86.5 hours.

Cycling: 202 miles, approximately 18.6 hours.

I'll run a half-marathon in the fall and then another marathon next year.

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26.2 
I ran my first marathon today. I finished 16 minutes slower than my goal thanks to side stitches and a blister on the toe one over from the big on my right foot. Weather was perfect for a run: ~62F with some occasional rain showers. I'm sore as hell but, I can say "I'm a marathoner".

Update - Some rankings:

251/377 in my age group
1711/2643 males
2493/4282 finishers.

Also, according to my log, I tallied 441 miles running during training, excluding the marathon.

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10100 


I did it. I ran twenty miles today in ~3:13; 9:40 pace. Pinnacle of training has been reached and the tapering begins. I feel pretty good, albeit a little sore. It rained, and rained hard at times, for the first fourteen miles. After you've run fourteen miles in heavy rain, it doesn't matter anymore if it doesn't rain for the next six.

I'm glad the big 2-0 is behind me. The marathon will be hard but I'm going to be ready.

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Week 15 
Fourteen weeks of marathon training are in the log and the dreaded week fifteen begins tomorrow. Runs of 5, 10, 5 make up the mid-week runs and then Saturday is the longest run of training - 20. When I first considered whether or not to tackle a marathon, week fifteen was the week that scared me. Now, I look at it and it doesn't look so frightening anymore; dreaded, perhaps, but I am confident I can bag that 20 six days from now. After all, I've already done an 18 and, while that was hard, I did it. It's going to take me about 200 minutes to run 20, but I am sure I can do it.

After this week, tapering begins. Mileage is reduced and runs are more for maintenance. It's funny to look down at a ten or twelve mile run instead up at it.

It is now twenty-eight days until the marathon and I'll be ready.

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