Turco Blog

Couple of cycling race locations in Europe...

2012-01-29T16:32:00.000-05:00

This past week I was able to check out a few locations on some legendary (and one soon to be) cycling routes. Two of the spots I visited are each part of one-day races in the "Monuments" of European cycling. Below are some pics I took...

Paris-Roubaix (Hell of the North)

A relatively well maintained section of cobbles located in Gruson, France. (Carrefor de l'Abre)

Marker located on the route.

Cool view of the cobbles.

Velodrome finish in Roubaix.

Final turn into the finish line in front of grandstand.

Liege-Bastonge-Liege

Race passes through Houffalize, Belgium.

Great vantage point of the town (Houffalize, Belgium)

The legendary climb Cote de Saint-Roche. (Link to Graham Watson race shot)

Looking back to the town from Cote de Saint-Roche.

A couple of Schlecks from down the road ride here...

The 3rd cycling location I visited will serve as the site of this year's Grand Start to the Tour De France.

2012 TDF Prologue - Liege, Belgium

The 6 km prologue will start at the Parc d'Avroy

Blvd de la Sauveniere

A few cobblestone sections on the course. (Rue de l'Universite)

Course runs alongside the River Meuse

From the Quai Roosevelt Blvd looking up the River Muese

Race advertisements are up!

Course passes by the Palace in the Place Saint-Lambert

More advertisement of the TDF.

Lego Taj Mahal

2011-01-14T06:59:00.000-05:00

My boy building the Lego Star Wars Imperial Shuttle

2011-01-01T16:17:00.000-05:00

2010 Westfield Airshow

2010-08-23T19:28:00.000-04:00

2010 MMT100 Trail Race

2010-05-15T19:26:00.000-04:00

Mohawk AT Loop Trail Run

2010-04-29T19:24:00.001-04:00

Soapstone Mtn. Hill Repeats

2010-04-11T20:49:00.001-04:00

A run up Lycabettus Hill

2010-01-24T13:57:00.019-05:00

Arrived in Athens, Greece today. Got out for an urban run (with a little bit of trail through some of the city parks.) I ascended Lycabettus Hill to get the heart cranking. It was some steep stuff, but the view from up top was worth it! Some pics from my route:

Lycabettus Hill lurking in the background saying "Come get me Turco."

View from the first peak with the Agean Sea in the distance

Found some trails...

View from the second peak with the Acropolis over my right shoulder

Parliment Building. "Hey, Loosen up bro..."

Temple of Olympiun Zeus

Arch of Hadrian with the Acroplolis in the background

Self pic in front of the Faliro Sports Pavilion (Site of some of the 2004 Summer Olympic events)

A harbor in the Agean Sea

Another self pic...

Standing on Aeopagus hill (next to the Acropolis) looking back at Lycabettus Hill

Back at the hotel. 15.6 miles later. View from my hotel room surveying my run...

One and a quarter centuries

2009-10-05T19:34:00.024-04:00

This past Sunday Mark and I cycled from central CT to central MA, around scenic Quabbin Resevoir and back. Here are some stats:

Miles: 125.7
Time: 8:36
Elevation: 3,840'
Calories burned: 6,452
Crashes: 1
Conversations with the law: 1
Encounters with assholes yellin from their trucks: 2
Views of the resevoir: 0

A little foggy and wet early on

Here comes the sun

Newly painted white line + Water = Crash
50 miles into our ride and cruising along at 20 mph, Mark was crossing a shoulder line to move out of the way of a runner and his bike slid out from under him. He fell into my bike, knocking me to the pavement and slamming himself into the road. We assessed the damage and decided to press on.

Mark's road rash

Enjoying the foliage

Where's the resevior?

Some more of Mark's road rash and tire burn from hitting my bike

Our route

Elevation profile

Speed vs. Time Chart

A Run Around The Block

2009-09-27T07:51:00.017-04:00

Last weekend's trip included a run around Block Island. Shan joined me for the first 5K and Uncle Frank and Keith joined me for the first 10K. I contiuned on, taking in the sights with a counterclockwise 20 mile tour of the island.

Shan, Me, Frank and Keith at the start of our run.

Go Shan!

Southeast Lighthouse

East side shore

Block Island Ferry

Shore on northern tip of island

North Lighthouse

Running along the beach

Dirt roads to finish up the run

Post run chillin'

Elevation

2009-09-15T20:33:00.003-04:00

2,500 feet of climbing in today's ride... Hatch Hill, Rte 195, Old Post Rd., Mile Hill, Dockerel Rd...

Sunday Ride

2009-09-10T23:00:00.000-04:00

Mark and I snapped some pics on our bike ride this past Sunday:

Everyone but the moon is sleeping at the start of the ride

Mark

A Day At The Beach

2009-08-09T19:00:00.010-04:00

Although the weather forecast called for rain this afternoon, we took a chance and headed for the beach. The rain never came and we all had fun in Watch Hill, RI. Shannon got her Dell's lemonade and clam fritters. The kids had ice cream cones, rode on the flying horse carousel and played on the beach. And I got to enjoy the smiles on everyone's faces. :)

Blueberry Pickin'

2009-08-08T12:45:00.000-04:00

Today was a perfect day for blueberry pickin':

Heublein Tower Hike

2009-08-01T18:45:00.000-04:00

Today we took the kids on a hike in the Talcott Mountain State Park up to the Heublein Tower. The kids managed to hike the 2.5 mile round trip plus the 120 steps to the top of the tower. Well, I had to carry Ciara a little bit when she got tired and said her legs had "too much exercise in them." :)

A little picnic at the top

Observation room at the top of the tower

2009 VT 100 Race Report

2009-07-21T23:10:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I competed in the 21st annual VT 100 Mile Endurance Trail Run. I headed up to Vermont on Friday morning and set up camp at the start/finish line. I was the envy of the tenters with my canopied hammock:

Ahhh… life was good. Kickin’ back in the hammock, with a great view of the countryside, sunshine, cool breeze… Soon that would all end and my world would change…

Mark and Bruce arrived in the afternoon and were checked in and weighed. I asked for my horse that I would be riding. I was told I wouldn’t get a four-legger and would have to use my own two. Damn. We hung around and met up with Clint (who was pacing Mark.) We also ran into Emmy, Frank, Bob and Mary. Here’s Mary with myself and Mark:

Mark, Bruce and Clint headed off to dinner with the families while I stayed at the site and ate at the pre-race dinner:

It started to rain in the early evening, which relegated everyone to their tents. Not much socializing going on in tent city. Here’s Mark getting his gear together. You need a lot of crap to run 100 miles:

I was bragging to Mark that my gear was a little more lean. Then he pointed out that I didn't pack a headlamp to run in the night. Shit, maybe I was a little too lean:

Saturday morning we were up at 3AM and ready to rumble. After fertilizing the woods we headed off to the start line. Here’s Mary, myself, Bruce and Mark just before the start:

The race began and Mark, Bruce and I were off to cash in on all of our training deposits:

Here's Bruce and I coming into the 21 Mile aid station (Pretty House):

Here's Mark somewhere in the first half of the course:

A fantastic suprise was to have Keith "The Mayor" Magnus show up to support all of us at this year's race. Here's Keith guiding me into the 47 mile aid station (Camp 10 Bear):

I weighed in at 47 miles only down 2 lbs. Just about halfway through the race and everything was ok:

Beth and Kevin (co-workers) were also at the race to perform some crewing at the stations. They rocked. Along with Keith (shown here spraying on some suntan lotion) I was well supported:

Soon after leaving Camp 10 Bear is my nemisis: Agony Hill. Last year I almost passed out (actually I think I did) trying to get up this hill. This year I managed to plod up without stopping:

Agony Hill still proved to be my nemisis. After getting up to the top my stomach started to boycott the plan. I pushed on and managed to stay on schedule. Here I am arriving at the 57 mile aid station (Tracerbrook):

I moved ok through the next 13 miles and arrived at mile 70 exactly when I was hoping: 7:00 PM. That was the good news. Here I am meeting up with my pacer Matt at mile 70:

The bad news was, I couldn't reign in my stomach and I had not been able to keep up adequate eating or drinking. I was now feeling like all the piles dropping from the horses in the race. I hit a low point. My crew tried to fuel me up at Camp 10 Bear but forcing down food is a weakness. I couldn't consume much. I changed my shirt/hat and headed off with Matt. 70 down, 30 to go:

I labored up the hill out of Camp 10 Bear still feeling awful. I was hoping to get through the crud and recover with some energy. Here I am at mile 75 with the sun almost down:

Shannon and my cousin Kasia were at the mile 76 aid station (Spirit of 76) when I arrived. It was great to see them but I don't think it was so great for them to see me in rough shape. I sat there for a bit struggling to muster some energy and settle my stomach. I popped some more tums and pepto and sipped some coke. Matt and I continued on and eventually rolled into the mile 83 aid station (Cow Shed). My low point had gotten lower. I was toast. Put a fork in me. Done. I was 20 hours into the race. I sat down and planned to never get up:

Matt tried to encourage me to rest for a while then move on. I told him to go to hell. He tried to give me some food and beverages. I spit it out at him. He told me I could finish this race. I told him who cares, I quit. :) Then another runner sittng in a chair at the station says to me:

"Hey, are you vomitting?"

"No" I replied.

"Then what's your problem? I've been dry heaving for the last 3 hours. Did you do this race before?" he asked.

"Yes, last year."

"Did you finish? " he asked.
"Yes."

"It was a fluke! If you don't finish this year, then it was a fluke that you finished last year. You can't call yourself a 100 miler unless you finish this year."

Ha ha... I got a kick out of that exchange. I then agreed to lay down and rest for an hour with the hope of getting up to finish the last 17 miles:

Enter The Rocket:

While I'm passed out on the ground "The Rocket" starts telling me it's not my time to quit. And that I need to get up and move. That I needed to "rally." It struck a chord. I felt like I had no choice. I rose and was going to attempt to make it to the end. While I was getting up I heard over the radio "Did runner 231 drop out?" Shannon and Kasia were worried about me since I hadn't shown up yet at the next station where they were waiting. So they asked the radio guy to try and find me. The reply from the guy at my station was "Yeah, he's here getting some beauty sleep." :) I got to my feet and staggered 5 miles to the next station. Kasia and Shannon were happy to see me and Matt and I were reunited with the Rocket:

I didn't stay long at Bill's and headed back out to finish. I had really stiffened up at Cow Shed with the hour+ rest and didn't want to keep repeating that agony as well. At 91 miles I became roadkill. At this point I really felt like I was beating this course: :)

Quick mediation before the final 8 miles. (24.5 hours into the race):

At least Matt enjoyed a beautiful sky through the night and into the morning:

I was hoping to not see the sunrise (a second time) during this race, but since I did I might as well get a picture:

Plenty of scenery:

27 hours and 20 minutes later I finally crossed the finish line:

I finished just behind Kap'N Kirk Boisseree who was being paced by The Rocket. (Note: Kap'N Kirk is attempting to complete the grand slam this summer.) Matt and I shared with the Rocket and the Kap'N the joy of finally being done:

Matt got his first trail running race experience with this ultra. He endured my struggles and was forced to be out on the course longer than we expected. I was glad to have his support and he ensured I made it to the end. Thanks Matt, and job well done:

Enough with the finish line pics and over to the medical tent for an Iv:

Shan hauled my carcass home in the back of the Jeep:

Another great adventure! :) Thanks again to everyone who supported me during this race. Even Mark's mom was awesome. After the 47 mile checkpoint she jogged next to me a few strides and in a firm, slow, monotone voice said "Scott, you can do this. You CAN do this. Do it." Excellent.

Major congrats go out to Mark and Bruce. Both had incredible races. Mark in 21 hours and Bruce in 23. Got it done. Excellent.

A Run In Belgium

2009-07-16T15:42:00.026-04:00

Last week I was also able to manage a run in Brussels, Belgium. Since I was staying at a hotel at the Brussels airport, I had convenient access to the subway which brought me to the city center in 15 minutes. From the city central station I was able run about a 5 mile loop which took me past many of the landmark sights. A few pics from the run:

A square called Grand Place with cool gothic architecture

Manneken Pis

This place is very close to the statute of the little dude pissing. Hmmm... I don't know if I'd drink that beer.

The door was open so I popped in side quick to snap a few pics

A Run In The Netherlands

2009-07-14T10:59:00.026-04:00

Last week while on a business trip, I was able to head out for a 10K run through the city of Maastricht, Netherlands. The skies were threatening throughout the run and then opened up midway through for a passing shower. Some pics of the sights along my running route:

A quick shower

Back at the hotel...

... which is located on the bank of the Meuse River

Independence Day

2009-07-05T08:33:00.017-04:00

The family gathered at my brother's house to celebrate the 4th as well as my nephews birthdays. Five F's sum it up: Family, Fire, Fireworks, Food and Fun. What more could you ask for!

Family

Fire

Fireworks

Cooking the Food (Steve, Big Papa, Anthony)

Fun

Big Papa and Ciara

"Hey Shirl check out my red, white and blue fingernails."

Runnin' with the Cousins

2009-07-04T13:26:00.006-04:00

This morning I met up with my cousins Anthony and Kasia for a run at the West Hartford Reservoir. Anthony is visiting from California so it was cool to hang with him for awhile and it's always nice running with Kasia. We knocked out a little over a half marathon at 8:15 pace, completing four (3.4 miles each) loops around the reservoir. A great run!

Anthony, Kasia and I after our run

VT 100 Training

2009-06-27T12:24:00.011-04:00

Intermixed with a hectic schedule the past few weeks, I managed to log some great training runs. Today was no exception. I met up with Mark at the Nipmuck Marathon course at 5:00 AM. For this morning's long run we had the pleasure of a "real" trail runner join in on our training: Mary Fagan. She's quite accomplished in the running circles (VT 100 winner, National 50K Trail Champion...). Simply put, she rocks! I was a little nervous when she showed up and was ready to run with just a single water bottle in her hand. Ummm... No water belt with multiple bottles, no gu, no salt tabs, no hat, no gaitors, no tp? Mark and I carry a pantry full of stuff when we run. :) But Mary took it easy on us. We ran pretty steady and she told us all kinds of stories from her races. It was like a live podcast of all things trail running! Thanks Mary for joining us and we look forward to seeing you in Vermont in a few weeks!

Mary and I

Mary and Mark

This past week I had a business trip to Oslo, Norway. I had some time to get out for a 10 mile run through the city. I ran parts of the same route from the last time I was there: A Run In Norway. Once again the weather was perfect and the sights were beautiful. A few pics from my run:

Oslo Cathedral at Stortorvet Square

The Royal Palace

Vigeland Sculpture Park

View of the harbor from the Oslo Opera House

Last weekend I managed to sneak in a half marathon run. The rest of the weekend we hosted an awesome 5th birthday party for Alex and enjoyed Father's day (half of it anyway as I had to fly out to Norway in the early afternoon.)

The weekend prior, Mark, Bruce and I logged a 51 mile training run. Mark planned out three loops (18, 19 and 14 miles) which allowed us to refuel at our vehicles several times. The course had lots of hills and dirt roads with ~5650 feet of elevation. We ran solid and completed the run in 8:40. The only downer was Bruce got his 5 gallon water jug stollen from the route. Who steals water jugs?

Mixed in with all that have been several Happy Hill Wednesday mornings. Mark, Bruce and I have been meeting up at 5 AM to run hill repeats over at Soapstone Mtn.

I hope were ready for VT!

Alex's Birthday Party

2009-06-21T11:28:00.008-04:00

Yesterday we celebrated Alex's 5th birthday. The Critter Caravan entertained the kids and the boa was the highlight of the show.

And of course there are lots of great photos of Alex's party on Lauren's blog . Thanks once again Lauren for taking awesome pics!

Trail Running in San Marcos, CA

2009-06-12T20:15:00.001-04:00

While on vacation last week I was able to get out a few times and run in the San Elijo Hills behind my buddy Doug's house. There's an icredible network of well maintained trails that stretch for miles up, over, through and around the range. It's heaven for me everytime I visit. It's a quick quarter mile from Doug's front doorstep to the trail head. Unbelievable! I've been trying to convince Doug for years that the first hour of his day (every day) should be a run to the peak and back. An incredible 10K workout! Here are a few shots from the trails:

San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon

2009-06-12T20:05:00.001-04:00

This race report is pretty simple:

Felt good at the start.
10 Km split: 46:04 (7:25 pace)
Ouch.
Half marathon split: 1:42:39 (7:50 overall pace)
Wheels started to come off.
21 Mile split: 3:01:30 (8:38 overall pace)
Wheels completely off.
Where am I?
Finish time: 4:09:50 (9:32 overall pace)

I saw a t-shirt which summed up the day very well:
"The marathon can humble you." - Bill Rodgers

San Diego, CA Vacation

2009-06-12T20:00:00.001-04:00

Last week we vacationed in San Diego, CA. We visited our good friends Doug, Tammi, Makena and Melia. It was a great week with all of us having a blast. A few pics to sum up the week:

North Face Endurance 50

2009-05-10T20:00:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Mark and I ran in the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Trail Race. The event took place in Bear Mountain, New York. The race course was truly a challenge. The course had it all: slick rocks, momentum stopping mud, brutal climbs, steep decents, wet roots... It was an intense day of running that beat me up pretty good. 150 runners started the race and less than half (72) finished. I managed a solid finish time of 11:41 (41st place.) Mark finished in 10:33 and won his age group (and took home some cool North Face gear as a result.) An incredibly tough run but satisfying in the end.

Mark's ready to go

Not sure if I'm ready to go...

Headlamps were needed with a 5 AM race start

Race start

The finish line

I'm finally done!

Well earned medals

New favorite drink

Northern Nipmuck Volunteer

2009-04-11T18:01:00.002-04:00

Bruce and I volunteered today for the Northern Nimpuck Trail Race, satisfying one of the qualifications for entry into the VT100 Endurance Race. We had a great time and enjoyed being on the other side of the table. A big thanks to Jim C. for letting us work at his race.

Clint at the registration table

Bruce setting up the aid station

All set and waiting for some runners

Bruce started off the race by identifying to each runner, which drinks were the gatorade, water and soda. I said "Bruce, you're gonna drive me nuts if you say this to every runner in the race. They know the difference between water and gatorade." So he stopped. Shortly after, a runner came through, grabbed a drink and then quickly spewed it out saying "That's not gatorade!" She got it mixed up with the mt. dew. Bruce just looked at me, "See." Ha ha...

Clint with under 4 miles to go.

The aid station was on a dirt road that saw a few cars during the race. Coincidentally it seemed the cars passed by when there were no runners at our station. So to those who didn't know a race was going on, it looked like Bruce and I were out in the middle of the woods selling lemonade. Apparently we never learned about "location, location, location."

Long Run On The Rail Trail

2009-03-28T12:28:00.020-04:00

Another great long run this morning. I met up with Mike, Bruce, Clint and Mark at the Rt. 30 intersection of the Rail Trail in Vernon. We knocked out the first 11 1/4 miles in 1:32 (8:10 Pace). We refueled at a 7-11, made the turn and headed back. When we hit the Valley Falls area, we ditched off the RT onto some single track. We tacked on 7 to 8 miles by completing a loop on each side of the Rail Trail. After the single track, we hopped back on the RT and finished the run back to our vehicles. In the final 5 miles of the run, Mark led us into stupid mode and we pushed it to the finish with an extremely painful sub 7:00 pace. In the end it was a 4:45 run and I'd say at least a 30 miler...

4:55 AM. Mike and the Electric Blue Dolphin Man

Mike, EBDM, Bruce and Clint

Mike picked up some gatorade and pink bunny ears

Hmmm... What to get...

Fueling up for the trek back.

On the Rail Trail

Bruce, watch out for the iceberg!!

Clint, Mark and I at a lookout point along the single track

Trail Run On The Nipmuck Courses

2009-03-21T18:55:00.022-04:00

Mark, Bruce and I hit the trails this morning (5:30 AM) for a long run on sections of the Nipmuck Trail Marathon and Northern Nipmuck Trail Race courses. We parked at the Northern end of the Nipmuck Marathon course and ran south (7 miles) to the start. It was dark and it was cold (sub 20 F), but we were having a good time. We then repeated that section back to where we started to complete the 14 mile roundtrip. We reloaded our fuel and then headed north on the Northern Nipmuck course. We picked up the pace a bit and worked hard as we traversed the difficult trail heading north. Once we reached 6 miles out, we turned back and finshed up our run back to our vehicles. 26 miles in 5:10 on some tough terrain. Excellent way to welcome in Spring.

Bruce is rather happy for 5:30 AM on a Saturday...

...and Mark isn't

It was dark

Mark

Bruce

Me...

... Mark

... and Bruce approaching "two pipes"

"Two pipes"

Me heading up the ridge

Lots of terrain like this on the Northern Nipmuck trail

Mark finishing up the run

Heading home

The Wee Mile

2009-03-15T17:12:00.000-04:00

The kids ran in the O'Hartford Wee Mile today:

A trail run and a parade

2009-03-14T13:55:00.020-04:00

Today's events:

4:30 AM - Alarm went off and I dragged my butt out of bed.

5:10 AM - Met up with Mark, Bruce and Clint at Case Mtn. for a long trail run.

5:15 AM - As we set off for the trail, one of Manchester's Finest pulled up and lowered his window. The ensuing conversation went like this:
Me: "Good morning officer."
Officer: "Hi ya doing fellas?"
Me: "We're headed out for a run. Would you like to join us?"
Officer: "No thanks. I just chased some guys and I'm tired. I'm looking to get some rest. Hey, be careful out there, we had to shoot some.."
Me: "Runners?" I interjected.
Officer: "Ha ha.. last week. No. Some Fisher cats. They were going after some hikers."
Us: "Thanks for the tip. Mark, keep your knife handy."

9:45 AM - Finished up with a 24 mile/4:15 run. Clint guided us through a whole new area for us. Good stuff.

10:15 AM - Arrived back at the house, showered up, changed, grabbed the family and headed out shortly after 10:30 AM for the St. Patrick's parade.

11:00 Am - Got into Hartford just in time for the start of the parade. We went down a one way street that had nowhere to park and the only way out was to drive on the parade route under police guidance. Shannon freaked out. It was pretty funny. We parked, found a great spot and enjoyed the sights and sounds. The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast. Here are some pics and video clips of the festivities:

Cool Alex and his crazy sister...

Hyannis Marathon

2009-02-23T20:06:00.007-05:00

Yesterday I ran the Hyannis marathon. My training has been enjoyably loy key, with a mere 21 miles/week average for the year at a relaxed average pace of 8:59. (Last year I started the year aggressively in order to try and BQ at Miami in January. Then I struggled through the balance of the year with an injured hip. So I'm trying not to repeat that this year. So far so good.) Anyway, minimal training and about 15 extra lbs. on the frame and my expectations weren't too high for Hyannis. I was shooting for a respectable sub 3:45. This year I ran the race with Mike.

Mike in the parking lot pre-race

Mike and I ran the first half marathon pretty smoothly in 1:47 (8:09 pace). As we headed out for the second lap the rain started and the wind picked up. Awesome. The 2nd lap was going to be fun. Mike drifted back a little and we split up. It started to get harder to maintain the pace. It took 42 minutes to cover the next 5 miles (8:28 pace). Not too bad, but fatigue was setting in. Some walking through the water stations in the next two miles slowed me even more and I hit the 20 mile mark at 2:48 (Overall pace of 8:24). If I could average a pace at or under 9:10 for the final 10K, I could get the sub 3:45.... But I couldn't do it. Instead, it was 1 hour and 8 minutes of me walking and shleping through the rain while cramped and frozen, wondering why the hell was I doing this race. I crossed the line in 3:56. Things went about the same for Mike and he finished 5 minutes after me. Had we known we were so close we could've death marched it in together! After thawing out Mike and I grabbed a beer and drank to getting in a long training run. And we toasted our new purple Barney shirts:

Wtf? Who picked the color of the shirts this year?

Time to pick up the training. If I don't, the North Face 50 is not going to be a pretty sight...

Shed A Little Light

2009-02-01T11:03:00.002-05:00

Another run in Athens, Greece

2009-01-28T22:00:00.000-05:00

At the end of my trip, I took another run through Athens and followed a similar route as my first run. However, instead of running by the Parliament I cruised through the National Garden.
I zipped by the Zapion Exhibition & Congress Hall…
...on my way to the Panathinaikon stadium, which served as the finish line for the 2004 Olympic Marathon.
I made my way around the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

And then I ran up to the Acropolis where I was able to get in this time and check out the Parthenon…

And the Temple of Athena Nike which is being restored.

A run in Araxos, Greece

2009-01-26T22:00:00.017-05:00

During part of my trip I stayed in a small town outside the Araxos Air Base. The drive from Athens to Araxos was scenic with continuous mountain and coastal views.

Charilaos Trikoupis bridge (The longest cable-stayed bridge in the world)

I had a chance to get in a quick 5k run around the town. Here are some pics from my jaunt:

A run in Athens, Greece

2009-01-25T08:15:00.036-05:00

This past week, on a business trip to Greece I was able to get out for a run through the capital city of Athens. Here’s how it went:

I started out from the hotel and soon had a view of Lycabettus Hill.

I continued over to Vass Sofias and ran down that street to the Parliament.

In front of the Parliament Building guards watch over the tomb of the unknown soldier.

I cruised through Syntagma Square and the Plaka, an area of restuarants, shops and cafes.

As I passed through the Plaka I caught my first view of the Acropolis.

I continued on to the Monument of Lysikrates (with the Acropolis in the background)

I then made my way up the hill to the Acropolis, along this awesome narrow path that switchbacks through cool houses and provides great views of the city.

I stopped off at Aeopagus hill to quickly take in the view, which was incredible.

Since it was Sunday evening, the Acropolis was closed, so I headed back down the hill through Ancient Agora-Areios park enjoying the sights along the way.
This would be a cool marathon to do…

I then ran back to the Parliament, and retraced my steps back to the hotel. Along the way I passed by the War museum.
I finished up my tour just as the sun was setting. Perfect timing and great run through the city.

2009 Race Schedule

2009-01-15T18:40:00.000-05:00

Here are some races that I’m planning to do in 2009:

2/22/09 - Hyannis Marathon - Location: Hyannis, MA

4/20/09 – Boston Marathon - Location: Boston, MA

5/09/09 - North Face Endurance 50 - Location: Bear Mtn, NY

5/?/09 – Soapstone Mountain Trail Race - Location: Stafford Springs, CT

5/31/09 - Rock N Roll Marathon - Location: San Diego, CA

7/18/09 – VT 100 Mile Endurance Run – Location: West Windsor, VT

9/27/09 – VT 50 Mile Endurance Run – Location: Mt. Ascutney, VT

10/10/09 – ING Hartford Marathon – Location: Hartford, CT

Malone Wedding

2009-01-12T18:10:00.000-05:00

My term as a Justice of the Peace has started, so I was able to marry Sean and Lauren on Saturday. We performed the ceremony outdoors at a local nature reserve just before a snow storm arrived. It was the coolest wedding. Literally. It was cold and we loved it. Lauren's friends sang. The ceremony was short and sweet. It was all good.

Lauren, welcome to the family!! And congrats to the both of you!!

Check out Lauren's Blog for more pics and video from Sean and Lauren's awesome day.

Afternoon at the rink

2009-01-04T18:26:00.006-05:00

A Ride In The Heli

2008-12-21T15:12:00.022-05:00

During the Portugal trip, we took a helicopter out to an Air Force base. We traveled inland on the way out to the base and then down the coast on the way back to Lisbon. A spectacular ride! Here are some pics:

In front of an F-16 at the base

Dependable Pratt power

Here are two quick video clips from the ride:

A Run In Portugal

2008-12-21T13:45:00.001-05:00

Mark and I were on a business trip in Lisbon, Portugal last week and we were able to get out for a run around the city. Here are some pics from the run:

We headed out from our hotel along the mosaic limestone tiled sidewalks...

And then we passed the Marquês de Pombal Statue.

We cruised through Eduardo VII Park...

And ran up to this funky Christmas tree with neon lights.

(We went back to the tree at night to see what it looked like all lit up. It was pretty cool how it periodically changed colors)

We continued our run through the side streets of the city, dodging a few barking dogs and making our way over to the Águas Livres Aqueduct.

We found the aqueduct and thought maybe there was a pedestrian path on it that we could take over to a park on the other side.

No such luck. So we had to navigate our way down through a valley of highways, railroads and construction...

And then make our way up through a low income housing development on the "other side of the tracks". As we ran through, the music stopped and people stared. So we picked up the pace.

When we got to the top of the stairs, I took the camera out to take a pic of the city but the lens got jammed. I couldn't fix it, so I was unable to get any more pics on the rest of the run. Bummer. We made it over to Parque da Serafina which had a cool series of trails around the park. We ran to an observatory at the highest point of the park. Luckily the building was closed and fenced off and we really didn't get that great of a view. Otherwise I would have been pissed that I couldn't get pics because of my out of service camera. So we headed back down and found our way back to the hotel through a different section of the city. It was a great 10 mile run.

Turkey Day Manchester Road Race

2008-11-28T08:52:00.014-05:00

Pics from the 4.7 mile 2008 MRR:

Walking to the start of the race

Ciara doing her warm-up run

Ciara, Kourt, Alex and Me

Starting line

Start of the race (Pic by The Hartford Courant)

Alex & Ciara watching the race with Ron and Lynne

Shan's attempt at getting a pic of me during the race. This is why we need Auntie Lauren to go to the race and take pics. :)

David, Keith, Ciara, Me & Alex after the race

Fox news coverage

Happy Birthday Ciara!

2008-11-22T09:22:00.013-05:00

Ciara is 3! Attached are a couple of video clips from her birthday party at the Lutz Children's museum followed by dinner at a Japanese hibachi grill.

Ciara, who's our new President?

2008-11-15T11:02:00.004-05:00

Lauren captured this video of Ciara:

2008 Stone Cat RR

2008-11-09T09:41:00.017-05:00

Yesterday morning was the Stone Cat 50 Mile Trail run in the Willowdale State Forest, in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Mark and I cruised up Friday night and met up with Keith at the race hotel in Danvers ,MA. While hanging out I informed Keith of his new nickname: The Mayor. Keith is one of the nicest guys you’ll meet. Wherever he goes, he works the room, meeting new people and chatting with everyone. On the trail he’s encouraging and always going out of his way to give some positive words to fellow runners. Everyone knows Mayor Magnus!

Saturday morning the 4:30 AM wake up call got things underway.

4:30 AM at the Comfort Inn

We headed off to the race where we met up with Steve and his buddy Kevin at the registration area. We also saw Frank and Emmy and met their friends Hiro and Yuki. It was nice to chat with everyone as we looked forward to a great day of running.

Mark and Keith getting in the zone

Steve, Kevin and Mark

At 6:20 AM the race started. We (Mark, Keith, Kevin and I) headed out onto the trails and pretty quickly we got a reminder of how much single track trail there is on this course. The plan was to try and knock out each of the four, 12.5 mile laps in under 2:15. That would give us sub 9 hr race. We moved pretty aggressively on the first lap and Mark, Keith and I finished it together in 1:55.

As we headed out into lap 2, we we’re maintaining the same pace. A few miles in I realized a major bonking was awaiting me if I tried to keep that pace. I was already feeling some significant fatigue and it was very early in the race. I was getting worried that I ate too much of my kids Halloween candy!! This was starting to feel like it was going to be a long day! So I dropped back from Mark and Keith as they looked strong and kept on attacking the course. Now I was running alone and trying to find a comfortable rhythm. My bottle belt started to hurt my stomach. My mind was focused on how crappy I felt and I was in a definite funk. I was starting to doubt if I was going to make it to the end of this race… Wtf?! I tried to turn my thoughts to just making it to the end of the lap. I thought if I could just get through this lap, then I could get rid of the belt and go with a hand bottle and that would help my stomach out. I figured I could also grab my ipod and maybe some tunes could re-direct my focus away from my discomfort.

I finished lap 2 in 2:13 and then took a few minutes at the turn to get myself together. Towards the end of lap 2 Kevin caught up to me, so we headed out together for lap 3. We got into a nice steady pace and it definitely helped to run with him for awhile. No belt, tunes and some company was exactly what I needed to get back into doing another 25 miles. I plugged along and completed lap 3 in 2:22. After a couple minutes of refueling, I headed out for the fourth and final lap, 6 hours and 45 minutes into the race. I had to nail the last lap in under 2:15 in order to go sub 9:00. Ok let’s go for it. I headed up the long incline early in the lap at a good clip. It took a lot out of me. My breathing started to get out of control. I had to walk a bit to catch my breath. So I toned it down and figured I’d just try to keep moving steady and maybe pick it up in the second half of the lap. I tried to pick up the pace, but every time I did, it felt like I was redlining. I kept going as best I could and hung on to the finish. I couldn’t muster up a 2:15 final lap. It took me 2:33. I missed out on a sub 9 but I did manage a respectable 9:15 and took a ½ hour off my previous 50 mile PR and now have a new personal best time. I finished in 28th place out of about 150 runners. G.A.C. puts on a great race and the people are awesome. It’s a well supported event that’s lots of fun (except for the part of having to run for 9 hrs. J .) It was an excellent day and a great way to finish off the year of trail running!

How the other guys did:
Kevin finished his first 50 mile race impressively just under 9:40.
Keith rocked the course and went sub 9 with an 8:44! Awesome job brotha!
Steve kicked some butt and was just ahead of Keith.
And Mark attacked the course from start to finish and reached into his soul and pulled out an unbelievable race: 8:07! 10th place! Truly incredible. Remember we’re not runners, just a couple of guys who run…

Mark and I with the Stone Cat

Kevin and Steve chillin after the race

"The Mayor", myself and Mark sportin' the 50 mile finishers jackets

Mark, Frank, Keith and myself

Frank introduced me to Hiro and Yuki. Next month they will run the Hawaii marathon completing their quest for a marathon in all 50 states. Very cool. It’s only taken them a little over 4 years. Awesome and congratulations!

Hiro, myself and Yuki

Halloween

2008-11-03T21:00:00.001-05:00

The Princess and the Knight.

Hay Ride

2008-10-27T21:00:00.001-04:00

Recently we enjoyed a hay ride at Elm Knoll farm:

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-20T21:00:00.003-04:00

We had our annual pumpkin carving picinic at gram's house. Weather was great and the kids had a blast.

Gram with her 4 great-grand kids:

Alex & Ciara's pumpkins looked cool lit up:

We finished off the night with some leftover fireworks my brother had from the 4th of July...

2008 Hartford Marathon RR

2008-10-13T17:05:00.001-04:00

After a DNF at the VT 50, I lost a little steam in my running. In the two weeks between VT and Hartford I ran a total of 28 miles. Basically I had one good workout: a 7 miler at 7:08 pace. The rest of the miles were pretty much just going through the motions. So after two weeks of existing in a junk food eating apathetic state, I wasn't quite sure what to expect in the Hartford Marathon.

Race morning I woke up and felt great. The low key two weeks resulted in me feeling rested and ailment free. While getting ready for the race, I made only one normal routine visit to the bathroom and all things were solid. Looked like there would be no poo issues for me today! Yee haawww!!

I met up with Keith, David (Keith’s brother who was running the half), Mark, and Amy (Mark’s wife who was running her first half). We never did see my cousin Kasia who was running the full. But I did see Steve Nelson (running the half) in the crowd at the start. The weather was incredible. Clear blue skies and temps in the mid 50’s. Perfect race weather!! The race got underway and Mark and I discussed our plan during the first few minutes. We would shoot for a 3:15 finish. So 7:26 pace was our goal. We agreed to keep things under control in the 1st half to conserve and be strong at the end. We weren’t going to go out too fast. First mile was 8:18. Good deal. Mark was concerned we were going to slow. He pushed us a bit for the 2nd mile: 6:56. Ok, let’s throttle back. Mile 3 split was 7:12. As we tried to settle in on our pace, this girl Becky joined us around mile 4. She said she had been running the same pace so she figured she’d join us. It was cool to run and chat with her. In our conversing, Mark and I told Becky how we do ultramarathons. She then told us how her husband is a 2:18 marathoner, Olympic trials qualifier and is going for the world record for the most distance in 24 hrs on a treadmill. All righty then. Sooo maybe we're not as cool as we thought. Ha ha… :)

At mile 9 it was fun to see my kids. They came to watch the race with my parents. (Shannon was waiting for me at the end of the race.) Ciara wanted to give me a hug as I ran by. I couldn’t stop to give her one, so she got upset and cried. Ha ha…

We hit the halfway point at 1:36:32. Right on track. Do the same or faster in the second half and it would be a PR and a BQ!

Miles 14 to 19 were steady, with our pace locked in on 7:22. Mile 20 took 7:35. The first sign of things getting harder. A 7:23 21st mile righted the ship. But then a 7:32 22nd mile brought us back to reality. Mile 23 was hard. It was painful to complete it in 7:36. There would be no more sub 7:30 miles for me from here on in. During mile 24, Becky and I faded back from Mark. He was hanging tough. I was starting to tighten up and could feel the cramps coming. I knew if I slowed it would hurt even more to get going. So I battled as best I could and hung on. I ran the last 3 miles in: 8:04, 7:51 and 8:09. I crossed the finish line in 3:15:28. Not a PR (3:14:46) but a BQ!!! I’ll take it! 139th place out of 1,942 runners.

Note: Mark PR’d with a 3:12:44. Mike finished just under 4 hrs. Kasia finished just over 4 hrs. Keith endured a groin injury and finished just under 5 hrs. Steve smoked the half in 1:25. David finished the half in 2 ½ hours and Amy finished her first half marathon in 3 hrs. Congrats to all!!

Soccer Practice

2008-10-06T20:16:00.003-04:00

Sunday afternoons the kids have soccer practice. I took a few video clips this past Sunday:

PSU

2008-10-05T19:19:00.001-04:00

Corn Maze

2008-10-03T21:10:00.000-04:00

Tonight we met up with Alex's friends at the Foster farm and ran through the corn maze (2.4 miles). A great autumn night to hang outside!

VT 50 Race Report - DNF

2008-09-30T21:15:00.001-04:00

Here's how things went down for this year's Vermont 50 Mile Trail Run...

Saturday morning Mark, Bruce and I accompanied the families to the Cider Mill fun run in Tolland. All the kids were able to run anywhere from 50 yards to a 5 K. Alex and Ciara foreshadowed how the 50 mile run on Sunday would be for me:

Alex before the race

The 50 yard race started, Alex and Ciara took off with the group. But then 10 yards into the race, Alex started crying and stopped. Ciara kept going but then realized her brother was crying so she stopped and started crying too. I think they were the only two to not finish the race...

Alex and Ciara during the race

After the kids races, Mark, Bruce and I cruised up to VT in the rain.

I think this is illegal

To our delight the rain stopped as we approached our campsite, so we had a nice window of dryness to set up camp. Once Keith and Jana arrived, we met up with our buddy Mike (who was doing the Mtn. Bike race) and headed over to the registration at Mt. Acutney.

Keith, Mike, Mark, Bruce, Me

Jana and Keith

After registering, we headed back to the campground for some Buongiorno pasta, homemade Savage bread, and sautéed veggies by Bruce. Some good eats! After dinner we finished getting our gear ready and enjoyed some episodes of Family Guy on Mark's laptop (campground has wireless internet.) We had great accomodations in Mark's camper (except for poor Mike who was staying in his tent at another campground.) We were stoked since it rained all night. A huge thanks to Mark!!

On race day, I woke up about 2:30 AM. I was hungry so I ate a cranberry almond CLIFF Bar. I went back to sleep and awoke to the alarm at 5:00 AM. I downed a bottle of ensure and ate a banana. After getting my gear on I went out to the woods and pooed. Always a great feeling to drop a poo before a race! Before we left the campground we stopped at the bathroom facility and I pooed again. Hmmm, a little odd to have to go again, but the lighter I am the better I thought! When we arrived at the start, I ditched into the woods where we parked and released #3 poo. Uh oh. Pre race jitters or was my belly not doing well? 2 poos not a problem, but 3? While we waited by the start line my stomach was rumbling and I had to ditch into the porta-potty and drop #4 poo. WTF? My bowels were in overdrive!

I hoped that I had cleared my system and that once the race was underway things would be fine. At the start the pace was pretty fast. Not sure what was going on, but there was a big contingent doing well below 8 min pace. Nontheless the 4 of us went with the flow and kept pace. I had trouble feeling comfortable and was looking forward to turning the corner and settling in.

Unfortunately that never quite happened. About 10 miles in I had severe stomach pains and had to relieve myself with poo #5. It took awhile to find a spot to go since we were on a downhill section with a river on one side and a steep bank on the other. That definitely generated some unpleasantries in the stomach. After reaching Skunk Hollow station (12.3 miles) I slowed down a bit to try and reign things in. But I couldn't get comfortable. This race was starting to feel excruciatingly long and painful. I couldn't stomach any food or gels and it was tough to choke down any water. About 20 miles in I faded back from Keith and Bruce and had to ditch into the woods for poo #6.

At this point I was now pretty dehydrated and pretty spent. A few points my stomach would start to settle and but then as soon as I took a sip of anything the misery cycle would reoccurr. I was also white as a ghost and freezing. I shuffled my way into the 26 mile check point and reconciled that I was toast. I had been out on the course for almost 5 hours battling the poo and was losing. Maybe I used up all my willpower in the VT100. I couldn't put together a way forward. So I dropped out. DNF. What an awful feeling to have to quit, but it simply was not my day. Oh well, I guess shit happens! :)

Luckliy, Jana was out on the course crewing, so I connected with her and she drove me back to the finish line where I showered and recovered a bit. Jana rocks!! I was then able to watch Mark, Keith and Bruce finish with great times: Mark in just over 9 hrs (a PR), Keith just under 10 and Bruce just over 10. (Mike finished the Mtn. bike in just over 9 hrs)

It sucked not to be able to finish but it was a great event and I'll just have to get the next one!

Yo

2008-09-17T21:14:00.000-04:00

Lauren reminded me that it's been a month since I last posted. Wow, time flies! My training for the VT 50 Mile Trail Run has been solid. I've averaged 66 miles/week over the last month (264 miles total). Mark and I had a great 34 mile run this past Sunday in the rain. I'm in taper mode now over the next two weeks...

The kids have been enjoying the last of the summer weather. Here's a short clip of some of their activity over the past month:

Run-commute

2008-08-19T22:19:00.000-04:00

Today I went Green and used my feet to commute to work instead of guzzling gas. My place of work is only 7 miles away, traveling on suburban and city streets. In order to get some more worthwhile distance however and make the commute more scenic, I planned out an 11.25 mile route that took me through Wickham Park and along the Charter Oak Greenway bike path (which is part of the East Coast Greenway.) This route also allowed me to get off the city streets and reduce the potential of getting run over. I took some pics along the way and comfortably made it to work in 1:32:19. So I'm confident my commute won't take any longer than an hour and a half in the future, as long as I don't stop to smell the roses. Here are a couple of pics from my run-commute:

Entering Wickham Park

Looking out to Hartford

Charter Oak Greenway

Along I-84

Arriving at work

My run-commute was prompted by my company opening up a sweet new health center conveniently close to my office area. So I now have a place to shower and change. All it took was a little planning and pre-positioning of clothes and the plan fell into place perfectly. I took the shorter, less scenic route home for a total of 18.25 miles today. Not bad for a Tuesday!

Runnin' and beachin'

2008-08-17T09:41:00.005-04:00

Nothing beats a dependable training partner. Mark was on a business trip to the West coast last week and took the red eye flight home from LA on Friday night. He landed here in CT at 6:00 AM saturday morning and then drove right from the airport to my place for a run. We knocked out a solid 22 miles with just under an 8:00 min/mile pace. Now that's dedication.

After the run, the family and I went to the Rhode Island shore for the day. My awesome sister-in-law has some sweet pics and video of our day at the beach on her blog. Check 'em out.

Vacation

2008-08-03T14:22:00.014-04:00

Spent the past week in NH at a cabin on Lake Winnipesaukee. The family had a great time swimming, eating lots of ice cream, fishing and just hanging out at the beach. Some pics:

2008 Vermont 100 Race Report

2008-07-24T20:24:00.012-04:00

Pre Race
Friday night I arrived at the registration and medical check-in with Mark. I weighed in at 168 lbs. and then sat for the blood pressure and heart rate check. As this guy is measuring and noting my accelerated heart rate, he says to me with a concerned look “Are you nervous?” (That would be the first of some memorable quotes of the weekend.) UUmm… shouldn’t I be? Now I was really nervous. Was I the only one who was nervous?

I saw and met Emmy and Frank. That was cool, since I only knew them through blogland up to this point.

We then headed off to carboload at the 1815 House, not far from Bailey’s Mills B&B where we were staying. Heading to dinner and staying at the B&B were 15 of us: Shannon and my kids, Mark, Amy and their kids, Bruce (Mark’s pacer), Aime and their kids, and Keith and Kourtney. Dinner was awesome, except that Ciara got an insect bite of some sort and had a big welt. We’d have to keep an eye on that…

Friday night dinner (Mark, Amy, Shan, Me)

The Race
Mark and I worked up a detailed plan which would have us finish in 22:40. That would give an hour and 20 minutes cushion to hopefully slide in under 24 hours. Things started out great and it was awesome for the race to finally be underway at 4:00 AM. Weee… look at me I’m running 100 miles! Wooo hoooo!! Mark and I had a steady pace going and covered the first 7 mile section in 1:13:52. There were plenty of hills where we conserved by power walking. But as the race went on the power walking wasn’t much of a break as the hills were demanding.

We kept things going and rolled into Pretty House at 7:42 AM, which was 43 minutes ahead of our projected 8:25 arrival. As a result Mark’s crew (Bruce) wasn’t there yet. I saw my crew, Keith and Jana, and they sprayed on some lotion and grabbed me some fluids/gels and endurolytes. Originally Mark and I weren’t going to have a crew. It only developed as a way to give our pacers something to do while they waited for us to get to mile 70. I’m glad we ended up with some crew support because they were a big help. And my crew rocked!!! The first 21.1 miles was pretty smooth and uneventful. However, I was concerned that we were going a little too fast.

We pressed on and continued to get even more ahead of our plan. The last I checked, we were 1 ½ hours ahead of our schedule.

Some VT scenery

Coming into Stage Rd.

Typical aid station

Not too far after Stage Rd. Mark and I split up. I eased back on the pace as Mark was able to maintain. Over the next 17 miles I gave most of the bonus time back and arrived at Camp 10 Bear on schedule, just before 2:00 PM.

Just before Camp 10 Bear I felt a bug on my leg and looked down and it was big, mean looking and had wings. I swatted it, but didn’t quite knock him away. I think I just pissed it off and it retaliated with a hefty sting. Ouch.

At Camp 10 Bear aid station (mile 47) I weighed in and was down 10 lbs. 6% of my body weight!! I was drinking over a bottle an hour (~ 25 oz./hr.) I was peeing regularly. So I felt my hydration was ok. But apparently not. But to my surprise, no one said anything that I couldn’t continue. So I met up with my crew, changed my socks, ate some food and downed some fluids. It was awesome to see my family and friends. It was definitely a boost!

Heading into Camp 10 Bear (Mile 47)

Weight check at Camp 10 Bear. Uh oh. I lost 10 lbs. since the start.

Alex was having fun making faces while his Daddy was dying

The crew took care of me!

I headed out of 10 Bear and had a pretty good pace. I felt like it was a new race. The road was flat and I was moving good. All of the sudden the course took a sharp right straight up a long killer hill. I started up the hill and it felt like somebody ran me over with a truck. I got dizzy and could hardly breathe. My chest felt compressed. Whoa, did things come to a halt quickly! Suddenly I couldn’t manage another step up the hill. I had to sit down on the side of the trail to try and catch my breath. People passed me and asked if I was ok. It was bad enough to be sitting there, but to then have to say “I’m ok” to everyone passing by was annoying. I eventually mustered up enough energy to continue another third of the way up the hill, but then had to rest a second time. After about 15 minutes of catching my breath, I continued on and made it to Pinky’s station at mile 51.

Vulture circling overhead noticing that I'm wounded prey

I sat in a chair and had hit rock bottom. Man did I feel like crap!! A volunteer working at the station came up to me and said “You should drop.” (That’s the second memorable quote.) I guess I didn’t look to good. But I was pissed that he said that. How about a little encouragement? The guy then continued, “I can give you lots of advantages to dropping now.” I didn’t have enough energy to communicate with him, and it’s probably good that I didn’t. I rationalized that I just needed to sit for a few minutes to gather myself. His words annoyed me and even though I thought he may be right, I wasn’t going to drop there at his station. I’ll do it at the next one if I need to…

I continued on, but wasn’t moving too well. I fueled up at Birmingham’s (mile 54) and a downpour occurred. Sweet! It felt great! It cooled me down and allowed me to pick it up and make it to Tracerbrook.

The Tracerbrook aid station (mile 57) provided me with another boost, because Keith was there and he once again provided some much needed encouragement. Also, I saw Anthony and introduced myself. He also had some positive words. Talking with Keith and Anthony really helped to get me out of my funk. So I moved on and convinced myself that all I needed to do was focus on doing another half marathon and get back to Camp 10 Bear. And then I’d have Keith to pace me in the final 30 miles. That endeavor ended up being a little more challenging than I anticipated.

The long climb up Prospect Hill and then to Margaritaville and then to mile 65 was brutal. It really wore me down. I had to really focus on staying positive and moving forward. Along that stretch I heard memorable quote #3 of the race. A frustrated runner slammed his fist down and exclaimed “My f#*cking balls are going to chafe off!!” I felt bad but it was too funny.

After mile 65 I had a lift in energy because I was excited to see my family and friends soon as I passed by Baileys Mills B&B which was a mile before Camp 10 Bear. That’s where we stayed for the weekend and my family was going to be there as I approached 10 Bear for the 2nd time. Unfortunately I ran a little faster than I could handle and on stretch of downhill rugged jeep road I caught my foot on a rock and did my famous superman through the air crash and burn. Luckily I landed in some soft dirt but it knocked the wind from my sails a bit.

I made it to the B&B (only about ½ hour later than planned) only to find my family not there. I looked down the driveway to the B&B and everyone was at the house. I waved at them and they all came running down the driveway. Everyone except Shannon and my kids. What?? I was told they had to take Ciara to the ER for her bite, as it had gotten much worse. Oh man!!! I was ensured that she was ok and they were coming back with her antibiotic. Ok, that’s a little better. As I continued on to 10 Bear, Shannon was driving towards me to the B&B. Cool! She stops and rolls down the window and while crying says “This has been an awful day!!!” (That would be memorable quote #4) If it’s any consolation mine hasn’t been much better! She proceeds to tell me Ciara won’t take her antibiotic and asks me to help. So she rolls down the back window and I tried to feed Ciara her meds. I can only imagine what Ciara was thinking with sweaty, dirty, half dead Daddy coming through the window with a syringe of medicine!! Needless to say she wouldn’t take it from me either. Even in the middle of a 100 mile race, parenting doesn’t stop!!

I finally made it to Camp 10 Bear around 8:15 PM and met up with Keith. I was tired but at that point knew I could finish. Only 30 miles through the night to go! I sucked wind on the climb out of Camp 10 Bear. I struggled with catching my breath and was starting to feel nauseous. I told Keith I would have to trudge a bit until I felt better. Pretty soon though I was able to alternate in some bursts. I was also contending with frequent burning sensations to pee. And my pee was brownish. Not exactly pleasant. But I remembered Steve telling me he had that happen to him in his last 100 so I figured I could deal.

When I made it to West Winds station I was happy to see and talk with Jeff L, who I met last year at the VT 100 while pacing. We talked about the unfortunate cancellation of Western States which deprived him of his first 100 mile shot. He provided some encouragement and off Keith and I went.

At mile 83 I saw Anthony again who was now pacing his buddy Wayne who was passed out by a fire. It looked comfortable idea... but I continued on. The visibility was tough in some sections with the fog. It rendered the headlamps useless much of the time. On the rough trail sections through the woods it was cautious and very slow going.

After hitting Seargant’s station at mile 97.7 I had a surge of energy to just get the race done. I passed a few guys in the final miles. With a mile to go I was determined to finish strong. I covered it in 10 minutes and raised my hands and smiled as I crossed the finish line. 100 miles. 25 hours 19 minutes later. Done. It felt good. It was worth it.

It was long. It was difficult. I almost died. I can’t wait to do it again…

Me crossing the finish

Me and my pacer Keith

Showing off the boring plaque

(There were 266 competitors. 158 people made it to the finish line. I finished in 78th place. Check here for complete Results)

A huge thanks to Keith M. for pacing!! It was like he was a pro! Thanks also to Keith V. for shuttling us back and foe B&B to the start/finish!

Mark amazingly finished right on plan in 22:34. Incredible! Congrats!! And our friend Steve kicked some major butt and finished in 7th place with a blazing, mind boggling time of 18:29! Congrats to you Steve!! Your goal is to train me to get that time next year! Got it?

With Mark and Steve

P.S. Check out some awesome pics Frank took on the course.

Ciara the Patient

2008-07-22T20:05:00.001-04:00

After emergency room visits in two different states, two nights in the children’s hospital, several different antibiotics and Ciara’s pediatrician saying “In my 20 years of practicing, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Ciara is doing much better! The meds given to her at the Hartford Children’s hospital did their thing and the infection has subsided. She came home today and can now walk. Phew!! The most likely cause was a spider bite which caused cellulitis. The only way to try and determine if it was in fact a spider bite, would be to dig into the wound to get a culture. We opted not to torture Ciara with that process. The original fear in Hartford was that it was a mrsa staph infection, which is difficult to treat. But that was eventually ruled out. Ciara was a trooper the whole time. She made the best of it and became friends with the entire staff on her floor!

The hospital is not a bad place to be after running 100 miles

The cellulitis and swollen foot

Having fun in the hospital Getting a ride in a wagon

Vermont 100

2008-07-20T20:33:00.002-04:00

Holy crap! It was tough. But I finished. At some point I'll post some pics and a report. Right now my focus is with Ciara. She's currently at the hospital fighting a spider bite infection. Sucks!! My poor little sweatheart!!

Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run

2008-07-17T17:00:00.000-04:00

The training is done. Now its time to run...

Good luck to everyone running the race this weekend! Extra good luck to: Mark, Steve, Emmy, Frank and a couple of pacers: Keith, Bruce and Anthony!

A Run In Norway

2008-07-12T09:00:00.025-04:00

I was on a business trip in Oslo, Norway this past week. Thursday afternoon, I was able to get out for a great run around the city. I covered about 15 miles and took in many sights of the city. My run was a bit adventurous, as it included some Royal pomp and circumstance, a tense moment at the US embassy and a celebrity sighting. The weather was perfect and many Norwegians were on holiday, so the city was bustling and everyone was outdoors enjoying the sunshine. There’s plenty of daylight this time of year as it doesn’t get dark until 11 PM and the sun comes up around 3 AM!

Here are some pics I took on my run:

Johans Gate – A pedestrian area with street performers, shops and bars that leads up to the Royal Palace…

The Royal Palace – As I ran by, a parade and ceremony of some sort was taking place...

Vigeland Sculpture Park – A cool park with flower gardens and stone sculptures...

Me and the kids

Alex

Shan

As I was running past the backside of the US Embassy, the gate to the compound was opening up to let out a vehicle. It was bad timing, as my rapid movement down the sidewalk was perceived by the guard as activity that was not appreciated. The guard quickly turned his and his automatic weapon’s attention toward me and yelled something in Norwegian while waving me out of the gate area. I don’t think he said ”Hey, nice pace.” I continued on, getting my self out of harms way and was thankful that I didn’t get shot by my own embassy...

Nobel Peace Center - Kind of ironic I almost got shot and then ran by the Nobel Peace Center...

Oslo Harbor – Many outdoor seating restaurants and bars with loads of people hanging out enjoying views of the water and boats...

Akershus Fortress - A place with more great views of the harbor...

Oslo Opera House – I ran several laps up and around the Opera House. It’s pretty cool. It’s a big concrete structure that people can hangout and walk up and enjoy views of the city and harbor...

As I was finishing up the run, I saw a crowd of people around the entrance to a hotel. Curious, I stopped to check it out and apparently Bruce Springsteen was in town for a concert. His band was leaving the hotel and the folks were trying to get a glimpse. I saw Steven Van Zandt…

And Max Weinberg...

I ended the easy paced run, which was perfect for a taper period, back at my hotel...

Another day in the woods

2008-07-11T19:00:00.001-04:00

Bruce sent me some cool pics from a recent hike to another swamp...

I found another swamp and if you look real close in the upper left hand corner of this shot, you will see two large nests.

Two nests in one tree like a blue heron condo.

A dragonfly landed nearby while I was shooting the birds.

As the direction of light changed, I was able to get some silhouette shots.

Statue of Liberty

2008-07-09T19:00:00.000-04:00

After the Yankee game last week, we stayed overnight at Shannon's aunt's place in Hoboken. On the 4th of July we took a ferry over to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Lots of fun!

Yanks Game

2008-07-07T19:00:00.000-04:00

On the eve of July 4th I took the family down to Yankee Stadium to see the first game of a series against the rival Red Sox. Even though the Yanks lost we had a great time visiting monument park, watching the game under the lights, eating cotton candy and ice cream, seeing Alex and Ciara's names on the scoreboard and cheering for the pinstripes.

Sweet Surprise

2008-07-05T19:58:00.001-04:00

An excellent thing happened the other day. I was packing up the jeep to head off to NYC to see the Yanks/Sox game (I’ll have another post on that later) when I noticed a FedEx envelope leaning up against my house near the garage. I grabbed it, saw that it was addressed to me and was from The North Face. “Hmm.. I don’t have anything on order from The North Face” I thought. Very intrigued, I opened it right up. Inside was a letter and something wrapped in The North Face tissue paper with “Never Stop Exploring” ribbon. Nice.

The letter says:

Scott,
This medal is much deserved!

We are thrilled you enjoyed The North Face Endurance Challenge 50-Mile Hartford course you ran a few weeks ago.

You gave an excellent report on your blog. Your epic run, driven by your tenacious desire to tackle the 50-mile course on your own, truly reflects the spirit of The North Face mantra, Never Stop Exploring. Even the moose was impressed.

We hope to see you at future The North Face events.

Congratulations!
Dean Karnazes & The North Face

The letter was signed by Dean and 11 other folks from The North Face. (One of the comments on the letter signed by an employee said “You guys are the inspiration for what we do everyday! Awesome!”) And wrapped up was a 50-Mile race medal.

How freakin’ cool is that! Out of the blue. Simply awesome! What a classy gesture from The North Face. Of course, the letter is framed already…

Tagged

2008-07-02T21:17:00.000-04:00

Emmy (who's a "runner" as opposed to "someone who runs" like me) tagged me with answering these 5 questions:

1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago?
10 years ago I wasn't running at all. I typically spent my free time jetskiing.

2. What is your worst/best race experience?
Worst: My first marathon, which was the 2003 Marine Corp Marathon. I completely underestimated how hard it would be to do a marathon. I was in great cycling shape and figured a marathon couldn't be too bad. I was wrong. It was bad. Very bad. It hurt. A lot.
Best: The 2008 Miami Marathon. I felt great, everything clicked and I qualified for Boston.

3. Why do you run?
I have to have some sort of outdoor activity to expend energy. Many sporting activities have clock/calender limitations and logistical constraints. For example, golf requires a prescheduled t-time during daylight hours at only a few locations in a limited part of the year here in the Northeast. Running can be done anywhere, year round and at all hours of the day. I can adapt it to my family life better. I can get up at 3 AM and run a marathon and be home before my kids even get up!

4. What is the best and worst advice you've been given about running?
Best: When my running partner Mark said "We should try an ultra."
Worst: When my running partner Mark said "We should try an ultra."

5. Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
Hmmm... I'm pretty good at badminton and squash.

I'll tag Steve.

Gymnastics

2008-07-01T21:34:00.000-04:00

Alex was part of a gymnastics class at his school. Last week they had a gig to show off their moves!

Alex's Birthday Party

2008-06-30T21:00:00.001-04:00

We had Alex's birthday party this weekend at the town pool. Sunshine, fun in the water, cake and ice cream...

We concluded Alex's party day by checking out the Coventry fireworks. An awesome summer night!

North Face 50 (Re-creation)

2008-06-22T18:58:00.019-04:00

Last year I planned to run my first 50 miler at the 2007 North Face Endurance Challenge Hartford, CT race. I was excited because the race course was to be on the local "rails to trails" path on which I often train. However, a few weeks before the event, the race was cancelled due to lack of registrants. The North Face sent a t-shirt and hat as a consolation. But in accordance with Bad Ben’s T-shirt etiquette I have not worn the shirt, since I did not complete the event. So in order to justify wearing the shirt some day, myself and Mark (who's in the same situation) decided we should run the 50 mile course on our own some day. Yesterday was the day.

Keith, a guy we met at Stone Cat last year, and who's going to pace me at VT, came down from Boston to particpate in the training run as well. A last minute change in plans had us stay at Mark's house Friday night and head out from there for the 4 AM start. This would be a good thing, as it added some hills and variation from the soon to be somewhat methodical trot down the long, straight, flat rail trail.

Headlamps lighting the way, we rolled through Tolland on our way to meet up with Mike, who was going to run the opposite direction from Vernon and join us for about half the run. However, we never saw him. He ran past where we thought we'd meet him and kept running on a road which wasn't our route. We'll coordinate better next time!

So the three of us pressed on and soon hopped on the rail trail. We enjoyed the cool morning and the sun coming up, shining through the trees. We saw plenty of deer and even a moose! We had plenty of fluids and calories, as we had some water stashed at a few road crossings and there were a couple of convenience stores along the way.

When we got half way, we ended up missing the point we were supposed to turn around and ran a little further down the trail. As a result the run ended up being 52.6 miles. Not a bad thing to get in a few extra miles. We finished the run in a solid 9:50:05. It was an excellent training run and I was stoked to see that my pacer is in top form and ready to go next month! And now I can where the North Face stuff.

Getting ready the night before

We saw a moose!

Birthday #4

2008-06-20T21:00:00.001-04:00

It's Alex's 4th Birthday! He had a party at school with a Lightning MacQueen cake:

And then it was dinner with Mom, Dad and Sis. Next weekend, a party with family and friends completes celebration #4!

Auntie & Keith's Wedding

2008-06-19T21:00:00.001-04:00

Last weekend Kourtney and Keith got married. The whole weekend, from the rehearsal dinner, to the wedding and then hanging out at the hotel the day after was awesome! We all had a great time!

Father's Day Breakfast

2008-06-13T10:40:00.005-04:00

This morning Alex's class at daycare held a breakfast for Dads in celebration of Father's Day. Here's a video clip of three short songs they sang for us:

They did a great job!