Pleasant Prairie Tri

 Very painful but fun race at Pleasant Prairie on Sunday. My heel/plantar fascia has been really messed up since duathlon nationals and it kills to run! Need to take an extended break from running. 

Duathlon Nationals, Omaha NE

Successful Duathlon Nationals in Omaha. Very hot and hilly race, with temps hitting 90 degrees on the bike. Went out way too hard, trying to stay with Paul Greenberg, then cramped up on the bike. But somehow despite the cramps, I didn't lose too much time on the ride. At the top of every hill (and there were a lot), my calves seized up. But in the last few miles of the bike, the cramps subsided. Then the 5K felt ok. Go figure! The most fun part was hanging with Paul and Jim Vernon and dinner afterward at "Modern Love" at vegan restaurant.  We sat and talked for almost 3 hours!  

Mik home for the summer

 So great to have Mik home for the summer!  We picked her up from the airport last night. 

Just too bad that Lance isn't home as well or it would really feel like a family reunion.  But he's coming home on Saturday for Memorial Day, so that will be awesome.  

Successful Boston Marathon

Crazy, difficult, fun, challenging, and awesome race!  Way slower than hoped for and way more difficult than expected, but also such a unique and exciting event.  I'm just so happy to have made it. Had my doubts early on when I didn't feel great, even at 6 and 7 miles in.  But readjusted my attitude and goals and decided to make it about surviving and enjoying the day.  Thought a lot about my mom, my brother, my life 40 years ago the first time I ran this race, and about all that has happened since!  So lucky to have an amazing wife, wonderful children, a supportive family, and a great life! 

Boston Marathon, 2024

 It's only 10 days away from the Boston Marathon!  This will be an exciting and also emotional return to Boston for me.  While I've been back to Boston quite a few times since I moved away from there in 1985, doing the marathon will really mean I've come full circle!  When I lived in Boston from 1981 to 85 (not entirely sure about dates) my life was going nowhere. I worked various crappy restaurant-related jobs as a cook, busboy, and waiter and my life consisted of living in broken-down apartments or worse, in scary neighborhoods, getting drunk and high, and that was about it.  A friend challenged me to run the Boston Marathon with him even though neither of us was much of a runner at that time. I recall we started training in the late fall and ran longer runs through the winter on weekends, taking the green line further and further west and running the course into the city from there.  I think we got as far as Newton, about 13 or 14 miles for our longest run. 

The morning of the race, I think it was 1983 or 84, even though we weren't registered, they let us take the bus out to Hopington for the start.  They even gave us numbers that said "back of the back", but we had to wait until all of the official runners had left the start area before they let us start. That was the first race of any kind I ever did! It was a blast, even though we weren't official. We were so far back that it was more of a party than a race. I recall running down the main street through Ashland, MA.  We had cousins who we were close to growing up but I had lost touch with them by that point. I knew they lived in Ashland since we had visited them many times, but I didn't realize they were right on the race course.  As I ran by, they were all out in the yard cheering on the runners. I'm not sure who was more surprised to see each other, them or me.  We waved and they cheered for me. I also recall going by the Wellesley Women's College (I think it's just Wellesley College now) and having beer spilled on my head by partyers in the crown. It was literally only wide enough that we had to run through, single-file.  

Maybe the best part was finishing at the Prudential Center (or was it the John Hancock building back then?) and seeing my brother, Kim, and his partner Dennis, waiting for me.  

That was '83 or '84, so I'm sure a lot has changed. Now I have an amazing coach, I'm in far better shape even at 66, and I actually have a life with people who depend on me! It won't be the same race at all, but still, that race marked a huge turning point in my life!  I owe a lot to that friend, Jim. I tried contacting him. He worked at Tufts University and I found his email and phone number and tried both. But he never replied. That's ok, it wouldn't be the same and likely he doesn't attach the same significance to me or that race. I'll definitely be thinking of Jim, looking for my cousins' old homestead when I run through Ashland, thinking about how my life has changed since 1984 as I run, and looking forward to seeing my brother at the finish line!   

    

New Years 2023/24

 I'm never really sure how you label the new year: is it named for the last day of the old year (like you're celebrating New Year's Eve) or the first day of the new year? Anyway, its December 29th, 2023 and I'm thinking about 2024 and what lies ahead.  I'm so down right now. I just can't find the motivation and not sure I want to be around for next year or the one after that.  Its great having the kids home for the holiday and I enjoy their company, but for some reason, that's not enough.  I just feel it's all pointless... Need to regroup and find something to hang on to.  I have racing goals, like the Boston Marathon and Duathlon Nationals. But somehow those don't mean much now.  Will have to see if I feel different in the new year.  

Twenty One

Lance and Mikaely turned 21 last week... so hard to believe they are actualy adults! I know, I've had 4 years to accept that since they turned 18, but it's still so hard! We had a really fun weekend in Tampa, FL celebrating their 21st and it is only hitting me now that this is it: they are no longer "kids" in any real sense. They are adults with the ability to make their own decisions, control the course of their lives, and make all of the mistakes that we all make in this thing we call life. I'm so proud of the people they are: kind, considerate, smart, athletic, determined, and respectful! It just sucks though that life goes so fast, that you never really appreciate the moments and stages of life while you're actually living them, but only afterward. 

They are amazing people!

Chimarathon 2023

Was this #20? I'm really not sure. I can't find resutls for me past 1994 but I think this was 20??? It went "ok". I probably had too high of expectations, given earlier success this season in duathlons and some triathlons. Finished 7th in my age group. Given I was 3rd in 60-64 a few years ago, I thought that in 65-69 I had a real shot at a top 3 finish. But looking back, that race in 2021 was when international travel was still resticted due to Covid, so the competition was likely significantly reduced.

Of course, I've got lots of good excuses this year: COVID in late August with lingering cough, bike crash in mid Septermber, and slipped and fell on my back one week before the race on last run. But, I actually felt good in the days before the race and went into it thinking I had a shot. Oh well, maybe next year, as they say!

Looking back on Tri Season 2023

This was such a fun triathlon season.

Had my best swim in a tri in the last decade and actually kind'a enjoyed swimming (well, sort of). I really have to thank my coach, Liz Waterstraat for that!  She had me focus on the things I could change, like relaxing, swimming straight, sighting, etc and allowed me to ignore the things I couldn't control like my kick and low power.  Her advice to carefully check the swim course paid off because I was able to cut to the inside on a turn where many swimmers held the line of bouys.  My run was also really good at Tri Nationals. Now focusing on completing my 20th Chicago Marathon in just 4 weeks.

L & M Back at School

Both Lance and Mikaely made it back to school, but not without a few bumps along the way. Lance's car broke down in OH as he and Diana were driving it to school, and Mik got banged up in a scrimmage at the end of her first week of preseason. But both appear to be doing ok. Really misss them and its a very unsettled feeling without them home.