Team, Squad, Fam, whatever you call it. Why it is important to me

For me, my entire running career has taken place while I have been on a team (speaking of which I should write my Running Origin Story one day).  I started running in High School and immediately joined the track and XC teams and continued my career into College and ran D-1 at Monmouth.  Once I graduated college I completely stopped running for about 8 years until moving to MD.  There is about a 7-month period where I trained without a team until I met Ryan McGrath and joined the Falls Road Running team and that has been my existence of my running.  So, for me when I think of running, I have always thought of it as a team sport (it is).  The things I know about running are all social and revolve around being a part of something bigger than just me.  In High School and College, we represented the school and we ran with school/team pride to do our best (but in reality we ran for each other the most) and now post collegiality I run for Falls Road.  Obviously, I race myself to run a faster time and to improve but I thrive as part of a group for so many more reasons than that.

For all my life I’ve known group runs, track days, trips to races, and pre-race meetings with the coaches.  We were all there together competing against ourselves but we were a family.  If you’ve never raced in high school or college and didn’t get to experience this, to me it was always amazing.  We were all humans we all didn’t get along but we all pushed one another to be our bests.  So, when I started running post collegiality those first 7 months I felt lost.  Yes, it was good to get out and exercise and lose weight but running to me was always linked to this competitive team idea and it was hard to shake it.  Probably one of the reasons once I found Falls Road my competitive fire returned so quickly.  Everyday in HS/College I would grab a group of teammates doing a similar run and catch up on the day, talk about college stuff like which girls definitely weren't going to date me, and we’d talk about our goals.  Every track day we’d line up for interval after interval and grind ourselves to exhaustion together.  We’d pace off one another, encourage one another if someone fell back, and all dread the next interval or worry about what comes next for those scary workouts where coach didn’t tell us the full workout. 

So, post collegiality I was so lucky to stumble upon the Falls Road Running Team because honestly from talking to friends and others groups like this don’t exist often.  This group was founded by some amazing people who took a couple of friends who loved running and made this amazing family (I will continually use this word to describe us) that transcends running.  The reason I use family is because we are all more than just teammates who all race.  This group has been what is always so special about running to me, it’s honest like a second family.  We do runs together, we do workouts together, we go to races together but above all else we know and are a part of each other’s lives (maybe sometimes too much just kidding).  Through the years this group has grown up from 20 somethings with no responsibilities to 30-year old’s who are getting married, to having kids and then finding more and more amazing people to join the group who are now going through all those same life events.  We celebrate birthdays, we celebrate made up holidays because Ryan has made it a tradition, baby showers, random happy hours, or just a random event that Graham came up with to make us drink (50/50/50 next year!).  To all of us who embrace this Fam, it gives back so much to us.  We have a loving running store (Falls Road Running Store) that supports us unconditionally from running to life.  We share our lives, the bad and the good with each other, we are there to help each other on runs but also when we need help in our day to day life.  Our love for running is what brought us all together but that is not strong enough to keep us together forever, and because we embraced this love for each other above all else, we have been able to keep this group going for so long.

This past weekend I got to experience once again the joy that is being a part of this special team as we all shipped out to the scariest place in the world the “Eastern Shore of Maryland” to run the Tim Kennard 10 Miler (or 5k, or Peck Family Relay).  Some of us were running a race, some of us were coming back from injuries, some of us were doing workouts it didn’t matter a race was going to be run and that’s what brought us together but the memories (people hate when I use this word) that were made are what I’ll always remember.  We shared drinks together and caught up on our actual lives outside of our splits during the latest workout, we shared a 10pm dinner that I almost fell asleep during, we slept in bathrooms, and lastly, we ran a race.  This weekend I did not race but did a workout with a friend, but when I was finished I took so much joy from hearing the results of all of my friends.  We won money, sweet mugs, ran PR’s and we did it together.  Then as is our usual tradition we took a group photo and then headed off on our separate ways.  But only so separate because once again this week many of us will come together through running to suffer on a run, but also to share our lives together.

The technical term to describe me would be a Highly Sensitive Person, which basically means I have tons of feelings, so to me a lot of this stuff is extra special/emotional because of what this group means to me.  When I moved to MD, my wife and I had no one we knew down here and this amazing group of runners took us in and became such a big part of our lives and helped us get started down here.  There was no trial period, none of the woman didn’t talk to my wife because she didn’t run, it was immediate love and wanting to get to know us.  Even as my family has grown by 1 my daughter has been embraced by this group like she is just another member of a growing family.  We fight like any family, we all don’t always get along but we all share the same love for what we have created and what we want to see continue to do good for many years.  And I know deep down all of us know how special it is to have an opportunity to be a part of something like this because 10-15 years down the road we might regret not having it if it is gone.  And I think it's important once in a while to take a step back and acknowledge that.  I wish everyone is lucky enough to be a part of Squad like this at some point in their lives.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and if you have any questions or comments don’t hesitate to share with me.  Look for me over at the Believeintherun.com website in the coming weeks as I take my talents to the Shoe Review world.  Hopefully with positive feedback I won’t be kicked off the site the first day!

Recovery post race and starting a new training cycle

My Winter Season commenced on Boylston Street in Boston over 2 weeks ago and ended a pretty successful season.  After any season I think it’s really important to not only look back and figure out what worked and didn't but also take some downtime for various reasons before getting back into running.  For most of us running is just a hobby we do, some more competitively than other, but we all have real jobs and real adult responsibilities we must do in between our runs and strength sessions.  But none the less our goals are as important to us to achieve as any professional athlete because they are things we set to accomplish that have meaning to us (if your goals don’t get new goals).  For that reason I’ll stress the importance of a good break and I’ll kind of walk through what I like to do when I start up a new training cycle.

After Boston I took off 13 days with one short fun run to support my favorite store the Falls Road Running Story sandwiched in there, and this was the longest break I ever took post a marathon.  For me a break is important not just for the physical benefits but also the mental benefits.  I know a lot of people start running 3-4 days post race as soon as their body feels physically ready.  Sure for me four days after Boston all my soreness went away and I could have run but to me the mental break is just as important if not more important.  A break for me means completely shutting down everything to do with running physically and completely mentally.  I don’t force cross training, I don’t force core work, I just lounge around and relax and do things I wish I could do the rest of the year when instead I am deep in training.  This is important for me as it allows me to recharge the battery mentally.  Sure if I want to go to the gym and go on the Elliptical I would do that (Editor Note: I never felt like doing that) but instead I just wanted to go out with friends and spend extra time with my wife and daughter.  The key reason I stress focusing on mental recovery is because when I start training again I do not want to get 6 weeks in and wake up not wanting to train or feeling burned out.  Many times do I see people come back and just flame out mentally weeks before their race, wasting all their specific hard training.   There is nothing you can do to trick your body to recover from a mental breakdown.  Physically when you burn out, you can sometimes come out alive if you focus on recovery but mentally your body will shut down when you need it the most.  Next time you roll through a training cycle and get through your peak race, whether you hit your goal or not remember to focus on your mental recovery too on your break.  Just because you didn’t hit your goal and feel as though you didn’t “really race” your body still needs some downtime before you ramp up again.  Trust me it’ll do wonders for your longevity with running.

So once my break is over and I am ready to start training again here’s what I do to get myself started on the right foot and lead to success months down the road.  Well aside from setting a goal (so you have something to work towards when training gets tough) I do a couple things to make sure my body is starting off on the right foot.  First thing I love to try and do is getting blood work done when I start up a new cycle (I usually only do it once a year but I try and coincide it with when I start training).  This allows me to get a picture of where body is at across all levels heading into training.  One reason this matters to me is a couple years ago I was told I had a very huge vitamin D deficiency, which I thought was crazy I am out in the sun all the time.  Well turns out lots of people are Vitamin D deficient because some people’s bodies just can’t absorb Vitamin D from the sun like others.  Whaaaaa, Science?  This also was around a time when I felt really sluggish for all my workouts on the track, tired all the time and felt worn down.  I started supplementing Vitamin D and it definitely felt like it had a positive influence on my life.  Aside from blood work I think it’s important to assess everything that went wrong with your body leading up to your last race and during it.  Don’t ignore any of the pains you had before, keep a mental note so you can see if they still exist post break.  If two weeks of break didn’t make some of these issues go away, it’s time to focus on fixing them.  Either going to see a Physical Therapist or doing it on your own (You know my choice!) but ignoring it after a break is recipe for a disaster.  You don’t want to start off your new cycle dealing with issues from the previous cycle. It's also important to assess your last training cycle for what went right/wrong.  A training log is key for this, at a minimum it should include daily mileage, workouts specifics and how you felt, so you can go back to it later and remember.  Additionally I like to focus on lifting and general strength training at the beginning of the cycle.  When my mileage is at its lowest point and I am coming back it’s easiest for me to work this in and begin to get consistent with it as I ramp up.  Just like we know all the work you do in running is cumulative  year to year, all the work you do early on in a training cycle paves the way for success as you get to your peak race.  When you are smart about recovery and have a solid plan for when you start up again you set up a foundation that allows your body to handle the workload you need when you training starts to intensify.  Lastly slowly work back your intensity, no need to rush back.

What are your thoughts?  Anything you do to help you with your breaks post running or anything you like to focus on when you start up training again?  I hope you enjoyed my blog as much I enjoyed writing it.

For my summer it’s going to be a focus back on speed and shorter distance races and probably a 50k somewhere because why not.

My goals remain the same:

PR in the 5k 15:52 – been waiting since 2002 for this one to go down

PR in the 10k 33:13 – also 2002 PR

Run a Steeplechase race again – also haven’t done that since 2002

2017 Boston Marathon Recap - No Excuses

The 2017 Boston Marathon weekend was full of fun, excitement, and so much pain but ended up in great joy and this will recap my exciting weekend adventure.  Before I get into that I am beyond blessed for all the support I received from so many people before and after this race.  Running for most of my life was always this solitude thing I did trying to continually hit splits and end up disappointed if I didn’t run to my potential.  To finish my race and have so many people reach out to me I can’t express in words how it made me feel.  I am so lucky to have such an amazing support crew for my running career and I will continue to give back to all of you in any way I can to thank you.

Kelly and I decided many months ago it would be a great idea to bring my daughter Chloe on this adventure to the Boston Marathon so she can meet family along the way!  Welp bringing a 3 month with you on an 8 hour car ride to Boston and all the stuff you need to bring for her is quite overwhelming (Duh!).  Our car was literally packed with stuff, we made many sketchy stops along the way for diaper and outfit changes but we made it!  I arrived in Boston around 2pm on Sunday and it was a million degrees out and I was already stressing a bit.  Still hadn’t gotten my packet, wanted to get in a shake-out run, and still hadn’t checked into hotel.  Ugh, not how I wanted to feel 20 hours out from my race.  Finally got my packet and went for a shakeout run around 4pm(Why?), it was about 85 degrees out and I felt absolutely terrible the entire time.  Awesome, grabbed dinner at an authentic Boston Restaurant, Cheesecake Factory and then got to bed earlyish.

My 2017 Boston at least had me less stressed in the morning since I had done it before, and I had a bunch of teammates all running too which helped so much race morning.  Thom, Chris and I grabbed a Falls Road bus together and off we went.  We got to the village and had a meetup spot which was so helpful for my usual pre-race anxiety.  Having 10 of us hanging around together just talking and joking around kept my mind off the race and kept me focused to the fun of why I do this(Running is fun).  We also got a pretty awesome team photo that I know I’ll love for many years to come.  Finally off we went, Conrad and I linked up and headed to Wave 1 Corral 1.  Which has it perks because the bathroom line was so short, and then we saw some people warming up in a circle and said “Hey let’s do that”.  Jogged around for a bit and then followed Graham’s advice and got in the back of Corral 1 with Conrad and let everyone else cram to the front to get as close to the line as they could.  I finally started feeling relaxed about 5 minutes out and thought maybe this could be my day and then the gun went off.

I’ll start by saying, Yes it was a warm day but you will find no excuses for my performance from the heat in here.  I could have PR’ed today and will not use 74 degrees and no shade as an excuse for blowing up in Newton, there are plenty of reasons I can point to.  As we started off Conrad, Jason and I grouped up and started passing people by the dozens.  I very much forgot how downhill the first couple of miles are, and the pace just felt easy, we settled into 5:45 for the first mile alright cool.  A couple more 5:45’s and Conrad and I were through the 5k in 17:52(same as Chicago in 2015!), I felt much better though.  Our 4^th mile ended up dropping to 5:31 and I bid Conrad adieu and started dropping back a bit.  It was warmer out and I was taking in so much fluid, so I tried to focus on that.  Four cups about each aid station, 1 Gatorade, 1 water to drink and 2 to pour on me.  Around 5 miles Wayne Blas my old co-worker pulls up alongside me.  I was like what are you doing back here and he informed me that he was perfectly on pace and what was I doing?  To be quite honest I had no clue, I didn’t have a Marathon Pace anymore I was just running.  So I hopped on with him and we ran 5-10 together coming through 10 in 57:47 or so.  Until I let him go and went back to running my race.

I took my first GU and had about 4 chewable salt tablets by mile 10(so clutch I had these, definitely helped me with cramping), at this point I was just finding packs of runners and leeching on to them which is something I rarely do.  Hopped onto a pack around mile 10 and just stuck to the back of them from 10-12 until we hit the Co-ed’s at Wellesley.  I decided it was time to ditch my hat, I hate wearing a hat, and so I tossed it up to the young co-eds and let them fight for the honor of catching it.  (Editor’s note: No one caught it and they were most likely completely grossed out by it).  So much energy here and I rolled through the half in 1:16 (which if you asked me before the race that would have been perfect, but why did it feel terrible.  Oh because I ran a bunch of 5:45’s for the first 5 miles then a bunch of 6’s for the next 8 and still haven’t settled into a pace.  I was quite woke, but alas onward I went knowing the last of my downhill miles were in front of me.

Around 14 my usual left hamstring tendonitis started acting up and I started cramping up.  No big deal I have these salt tablets for the cramping, oops dropped those on the ground, and I have this Advil I brought with me on the run for my hamstring.  Oh wait that was in the pocket in my hat I threw to the girls.  FML.  I had one burst of energy as we rolled downhill around 15 but for the most part miles 14-20 I was in the darkest of places.  The first Newton hill decimated me and I reacted with nothing as runners gearing up for this part of the race just destroyed me.  My splits kept creeping higher and higher, my hamstring was torn up.  It was Chicago all over again.  As I reached 20 I had mentally thrown in the towel, I came across at 2:00:02, 2 seconds slower than Chicago and I still had to crest Heartbreak Hill.  I was done, 2:45 would be a miracle at this point I thought.  My 21^st mile was 6:48 and as I hit Brookline I thought of what I would tell people and what excuses I would use.  Hamstring was hurt, it was hot, and training went poorly.  Then all of a sudden the narrative changed.

We have all been there staring at a friend’s Marathon splits seeing them consistently stay even paced or even get faster dreading the moment that they hit the wall and their splits go up 20-30 seconds for the next 5k.  We know that usually at that point there is no coming back from that.  Rarely does someone have a bad 1-2 5k’s in a row and turn it around and with the mental state I was in on Monday I doubted I would buck the trend.  But in Brookline it all changed, I saw this pretty hilarious sign and got a pretty loud cheer as I passed through a group of Boston College kids and then in that moment I took my hands and tried to get the crowd to make some noise.  “Are you not entertained?”, I wish I shouted.  And instantly they all reacted to me and I felt a surge of energy.  I started dropping my pace from 6:40 down to 6:20, and then to sub 6:00.  Every time I felt down or about to let up I either did the Hulk Hogan hand to the ear or raised the roof and got tons of energy back.  I was doing what you were always told, use the crowd’s energy to get you to the finish line and it was working. Miles 16-21 were all 6:20 and above while miles 22-26 were all 6:20 and under with a sub 6 in there.  I had changed the Chicago narrative, instead of giving up and quitting and throwing in the towel I turned it around.  My second ever sub 2:40 marathon was within grasp, maybe even a sub 2:39.  I was passing people left and right from mile 21 on, no one passed me (first time ever) and I must have caught 50-70 people.  As I turned onto Boylston I was tired but I was so proud of myself.  I kept raising the roof and getting people to cheer.  I had entered the darkest of places, had given up but then I didn’t quit.  I think a lot of that toughness came from JFK and HAT.  Two days when I have suffered like never before but never quit once.  I crossed the line in 2:39:18 and watched as several runners who I have never beaten before come in after me.  I missed my pre-race goal Sub 2:37:53 and Top 150 but when I found out I was 171^st place overall I knew that I had run tough on a day when lots of people suffered.  2:39 normally barely cracks top 500.

Splits (pace per mile) for the day

5k – 5:46

10k – 5:45

15k – 5:53

20k – 6:02

25k – 6:05

30k – 6:21

35k – 6:32

40k – 6:10

It’s a very different post-race recap I am writing today if I continued to let my pace climb upwards after 35k.

As I said earlier, I don’t blame the heat or my hamstring or any of that for not running a PR in Boston.  I wrote that I felt a little unprepared and I meant it and the reason I said it was because I did no Marathon Specific pace work. 

https://www.strava.com/activities/946508053

That Strava link is the perfect example of someone who never was able to get comfortable into a pace.  The entire day I just ran what I thought was comfortable at the time having no idea how long I could hold it, I didn’t care I was just running.  Specificity is preached as key for Marathons and looking back I know I could have used some on this day.  That said I am proud of myself and more than that I am proud of my Falls Road Teammates.  We had good and bad days all over the place but every single person was a champion and crossed the Boston Marathon finish line.  Some people suffered a lot, but so many teammates were out there looking out for each other.  Offering words of encouragement, and trying to get others to run with them or just making sure they were ok.  That is why in the end Falls Road Racing Team is more than a team but a family.  And while we were all running in Boston hundreds of our friends/family were home giving us time out of their lives to support us by watching our dots go across a map or writing encouraging messages to us on social media or via text.  I no longer ever feel like I am doing this running thing alone, and on top of that I had my sister, wife, mom and my baby girl all greet me at the finish line.  Despite not being able to really stand, there was no better feeling then holding my daughter after finishing the Boston Marathon.  She will remember none of this but I will never forget. 

Below as always are some fun pictures of my journey, I hope you enjoyed.