​This year I ran over 665 miles (according to Strava). While I did not explicitly set a mileage goal for 2018, I was hoping to get over 500 miles and I sailed clear over that.

So to make 2019 more interesting for me, I’m going to now set a goal to run 1000 miles.

One. Thousand. Miles.

Since I already covered 665 miles this year, I’m sure a bunch of you are thinking, “What are you stressing about? That’s just a little more than what you ran in 2018.”

If you’re thinking that, you would be right. In pure mileage terms, it isn’t that much more. For me, the main block is more mental than anything else. I’ve never run that much in my life and who knows that might happen to me or my body in the coming year. It might be easy for some but to me, it’s still a metaphorical mountain.

On top of the unknowns, I’m trying to balance my time with other training such as swimming, cycling, strength training and plyometrics. More importantly, I’m also first a husband and a father. That’s a lot of balls to juggle in the air and more opportunities to drop something.

But then again...

I never ran 665 miles in a single year and I did it this year.

I never ran a half marathon and I did two of them this year.

I never completed a duathlon and I did two of them this year.

I could not swim the length of a pool and now I can swim over 1000 yards without stopping (albeit poorly).

I did this all while being a husband and a father.

This year has been a year of firsts for me and as long as I keep setting goals like this, I’ll keep pushing myself to be a better me.

Thank you 2018, you made me a better person. Let’s do this 2019.

Right around when my New Balance Zantes started to hit about 300 miles, I figured I should start looking around for a new pair of sneakers since running shoes tend to have a limited lifespan. It had occurred to me that I should just buy another pair of the New Balance and call it a day, but with an almost limitless number of choices and options out there, I figured it would be worth it to try out a different pair.

Oh boy were there a lot of choices...

I decided to narrow down the candidates to shoes that fit (snicker snicker) the following criteria:

1. Lightweight
2. Supportive midsole
3. 4 to 6 mm heel-to-toe drop

So that limited the choices down to about a million pairs of shoes... sigh...

Image courtesy of Boston.com 

I had narrowed the choices down to Brooks or Hoka based on reviews and feedback from other runners and was about to call it until I read an article about Meb Keflezighi who won the 2014 Boston Marathon... in a pair of Skechers...

Whaaaat....?

I never ever associated Skechers with performance of ANY kind. In fact, the only notable thing I recall of Skechers is the company getting sued for false advertising on their shape up shoes. However, after looking into their Performance brand, it sounds like their Skechers Performance department warranted a consideration.

I poked around Amazon (which is something I do 5 times a day) and actually found a pair of GoMeb performance running shoes for $45. This made the decision fairly easy since, if they stunk, I could still use them to mow the lawn and not feel so bad about it (I’m looking at you Under Armour HOVR Sonic).

I have to say, I was very surprised by these shoes. They are extremely lightweight and supportive enough for a half marathon distance. They have a 4 mm drop so it helped me with my heel striking. I was impressed.

It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns though. The laces that came with the shoes were essentially twine, I couldn’t remove the insoles and replace them with my own, and 13 miles is definitely their limit in terms of support and comfort. Those shortcomings though were more nit picky than anything else.

The only knock I have against Skechers as a brand is that their naming for their performance shoes is terrible. It seems like they have two major performance models; GoMeb and GoRun. However, if you look under those models, there are so many sub-models (?) that you can’t really make heads or tails of it. GoMeb Speed 5? Razor 2? GoRun Ride 7? Helicopter turbo jet Optimus Prime 2?

One of those may have been made up...

Naming goofiness aside, I’m sold on Skechers Performance shoes and, as long as I can figure out which pair fit my needs, I will consider them first when I need to buy my next pair.

Although if they did name a pair called “Helicopter turbo jet Optimus Prime 2” I would probably buy those just because...

When I first started with my fitness journey, my goal was to get healthy. Drop the weight, lower my blood pressure, get off my path to diabetes, and all other issues I’ve been dealing with. However, after a lot of the weight starting coming off, the goal started to slowly shift away from health and more towards vanity.

I wanted abs.

The shift in my goals were very gradual and I didn’t even notice it at first. My pants went from being too tight to fitting better to fitting great and finally being too loose. Once new wardrobe started coming into the picture, my eyes start shifting to aesthetics. My gym routine started to change to focus more on abs, arms, chest - all of the general muscle groups that are associated with looking fit.

It wasn’t until I participated in my first duathlon where I realized that my training wasn’t as ideally tuned for my goal as it should have been. I finished, but it was a struggle. That’s when I started to ask myself - what am I actually going to the gym for?

To stay healthy.

To prevent injuries.

To be around for my children.

To grow old with my wife.

Abs won’t help me with any of that. My wife already finds me attractive (for some reason) so why focus on anything else other than keeping myself healthy? No reason, that’s why. So back to core, compound, and legs.

Now, this was very specific to me. I won’t go and make any generalized comments for everyone on the same fitness and health journey as I am. This is just a reminder that sometimes your goals may change and that’s okay - just make sure it’s changing for the reasons you really want.

Viva Las Vegas!

I capped off my year of endurance events with the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas. I was lucky enough to have my mother watch my children, which allowed my wife to join me on this mini vacation.

Do you still consider it a vacation if you have to run 13.1 miles?

This was a very different event from the Martha’s Vineyard half marathon that I ran back in May. The obvious difference being the size difference between the two events. I forgot how many people ran on the vineyard but I’m sure it wasn’t 40,000, which was how many ran in Vegas. Having a race with this many people was extremely intimidating to me. Where do I go? When should I get there? Which color group am I? Which wave in my color group do I belong to? WHERE ARE THE BATHROOMS?

With over 40,000 participants, you tend to get a different answer from each person you ask these question.

So how did I feel about this race? Well, let’s start with the good.

For an event of this magnitude; it was fairly well organized. I can complain about the size all I want but in the end, I did find out where I was supposed to go. Me feeling intimidated is more of an issue with me rather than an issue with the event itself.

For large sections of the run, it was extremely entertaining. The strip was closed down and runners were able to run right in the middle of the street all the way from the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign to downtown Las Vegas at Fremont Street. The main section of the strip that everyone is familiar with was all lit up.

The run itself was fairly easy. The course only had about 200 feet of elevation total and the roads for the majority of the run were in very good condition.

Now for some of the challenges...

I’m a morning runner so shifting my long run to the evening was a big change. When do I eat? What do I eat during the day of the race? Do I try and sleep before the race or just stay up the whole time? All of this was exasperated by the fact that I was still on Eastern Standard time and Las Vegas is in the Pacific Standard timezone. Although to be fair, this is not the fault of the event either - I could have planned this better.

Another element I did not plan well for; the weather and climate. Running in New England, cold temperatures were something I knew I could run in without an issue. However, what I did not plan and train for was the desert humidity - or extreme lack of humidity. I woke up everyday with a dry and sore throat. My lips were chapped by the end of the trip. This changed my hydration approach the days leading up to the race and during the race. Again, something I should have planned for more.

I should have brought some chapstick…

My last challenge with the Vegas half marathon was gaps of Rock and/or Roll through large parts of the course. Realistically there’s no way the organizers can light and entertain every stretch of the 13.1 mile course but the event certainly tried to make it sound like it was like that. The reality of it was that after you got past the Mandalay Bay hotel heading south, there’s not much after that until you hit the Las Vegas sign and then turn around. The same can be said when heading northbound on the strip too; after Treasure Island it was fairly quiet and dark. In fact, certain parts were so dark that, if you weren’t careful, you could have stepped on another runner.

This blog entry is getting a bit long winded and I don’t want to seem like I’m rambling (even though I am). Despite what it sounds like, I really did have fun. This is not something you can do all the time and I certainly recommend runners to give it a try at least once. If you’re a fan of Sin City, then this may be something you’ll want to do on a regular. For me though? Once is enough. I learned a ton from it, I hit my personal best, and I got a mini vacation with my wife - I’d say that is a good event.

Hi, I’m Pete and I’m an Apple fanboy. Whew. Glad I got that out of the way.

It’s no secret that I love gadgets and when Apple announced their Apple Watch, I jumped right in and got one… and I wasn’t really that impressed.

Wait, is a fanboy even allowed to say that…?

I think my expectations of what the watch could do and what it actually was capable of were a bit too far apart. The apps that were written for it were tethered to the phone and it was extremely laggy and slow. I stuck with it like any good fanboy would and hoped that subsequent software revisions and hardware updates will improve it.

I had been researching for a while on what fitness watch I should get. Fitbit, Garmin, etc - I wasn’t really that impressed with any of them. I had a few requirements that none of them really fit:

1. Wirelessly connect to bluetooth headphones (I hate wires…)

2. Store or stream music

3. GPS

4. Fitness and heart rate tracking

5. Doesn’t need the phone

6. Can place and receive calls

None of the devices I looked at so far could really do any of those things together. Some did some of the things very well, but none of them did them all. The ability to place and receive calls was the toughest feature that very few fitness or smart watches had at the time - so I was ready to resign myself to taking my phone with me on runs.

Fast forward to the Apple Watch Series 3.

This watch pretty much checked all of the boxes so when it was announced, I ordered one right away.

Have I mentioned that I was a fanboy?

Now I won’t get into the nitty gritty details of the watch; you can get much better reviews from professional technology review sites. I will say that I was able to pair my headphones with it, store my music, pair my heart-rate sensor with it and Strava worked on it - done deal.

The killer feature for me though was the ability to un-tether from my phone when I’m out for a run and still be reached. Why would I want someone to get ahold of me? Because with two little children, you never know if or when you need to get your ass back to the house as soon as possible. For example, one time during a run, my wife called me and told me she had a really bad migraine and needed me to get home. I was able to answer the call and turn around and get home in less than 10 minutes. 

Worth every penny.

An added bonus is that my wife could track me if she wanted to in case she was worried about me on my long runs. 

It’s not all rainbows and unicorns. The battery life isn’t great (lasts about a day). The notifications during my runs can be distracting. I’m not a huge fan of the interface. Not all of the apps work well on it or can be run without the phone nearby.

At the end of the day, as a workout and fitness companion, it more than gets the job done for me. It worked for me but your mileage may vary - just go with what works for you. In the end, just get out there and have fun, gadget or not.

I’ve enjoyed road biking to an extent prior to my recent fitness lifestyle change, but I was never really GOOD at it. I bought a respectable entry-level bike back in 2010 and used it off and on throughout the years. At my previous fitness level, I never really got the level of enjoyment I saw other Lycra-wearing peers of mine did from their road bikes.

At least until recently.

After the Vineyard half marathon, my legs (and really my body overall) fought back hard and just did not want to continue training. Truth be told, I felt that I over trained for my half marathon and the rest period after the race dragged on longer and longer. I decided that I needed something else in the mix to change things up a bit before I settle back into a more sedimentary lifestyle.

I dug my Giant Defy 3 from storage and started riding. A few miles here, a few miles there, and then I started realizing that I really enjoyed it. I guess the stamina and endurance that I have built up from my running translated to better cycling performance too. This eventually lead to longer and longer rides.

One of my challenges on the road bike was sustained climbs. Little hills here and there I can handle, but a mile stretch of road at 9% gradient? No thanks. So I would purposely plan routes that avoided hills as much as possible. However, as I spent more time cycling, I’m realizing that climbs aren’t as bad as I made them out to be when I first started cycling. 

The downside of cycling is that, compared to running, this activity will take up as much time and money as you have. One or two hour bike rides? Sure why not? $500 for new (insert bike accessory here) - you betcha. It just goes on and on...

This makes spending $130 on a pair of running shoes look like nothing.

Now, I still have a lot to learn since proper mechanics of cycling is still very new to me. My hope is that this keeps my body (and mind) fresh and not get too bored of any one activity.

One question that I get asked a lot is, “How did you do it? How did you lose the weight?”

I think people are interested in this because there’s always a hope that there’s a silver bullet or a magic pill that will help you lose weight, lower your cholesterol, or make you look like Fabio.

Fabio is still sexy right...?

I can understand the desire to get to your ideal weight quickly. There’s a lot of pressure to look your best. Truthfully, I was looking for the same before I started but I figured out what any thing you can do quickly can, and likely will, undo itself just as quickly.

For me, there was no shortcut. Just a long winding road filled with potholes... 

Basically, any road in Massachusetts. 

When I first started down the path to get fit, I tried to cut out all liquids that wasn’t water or coffee (no way in hell would I have been able to give up coffee). This meant all juices and sodas. I didn’t drink alcohol anyways so that was really easy for me to do. It was challenging at first and for a while I would find myself drinking a can of seltzer here or there if I found the need to have something fizzy.

Over the course of a few weeks I eventually learned to just drink water and coffee. There goes my first five pounds. 

Next were the sweets. As much as I profess that I only like savory snacks - I do catch myself craving something sweet once in a while. Now giving up all sweets all of a sudden is unrealistic for me - some people can do it but not me. Instead, I started bringing fruit with me to work and when i craved something sweet, like a mini snickers from a coworker’s candy bowl, I would eat oranges, grapes, or berries instead. A few weeks down that road and there went another 5 pounds. 

I could bore you with the details but the trend is very similar for the next year. I would figure out the next small life change I needed to make and try to get to it slowly. I understood that there would be setbacks and tried not to get discouraged. 

Here are some of the other lifestyle changes I did over the course of a year:

Add a small salad to dinner -> then a big salad -> then a salad at every meal

Start by running a mile -> then 2 miles -> so on

Find creative ways to substitute breads -> then cut out bread altogether

The list goes on and on and honestly, for each person, it’s going to be a bit different. You might not like running but you enjoy swimming. You may prefer tea over coffee. The main takeaway from this is to just focus on one small thing and make it a lifestyle change. Make it a part of your regular routine. Make it a part of you. Once you’ve mastered that, them move on to the next thing and the next and the next.

Just remember, it takes a long journey and SHOULD be a long journey.

Watch out for those potholes.

After the Vineyard half marathon, I took a bit of a break from running. The training did a number on my knees and hips and it probably was a good idea to back off from running for a bit at least. However, the thought of going back to a sedimentary lifestyle was terrifying to me so I decided to fill the running void with biking. I dusted off my old road bike and started focusing on riding for a while.

What I didn’t realize is how much i loved being on the bike. Personally, there is a certain freedom while being on it that I don’t get with running. As I put more and more miles on the bike, the thought of a triathlon kept creeping into my mind, except there was one problem...

I FREAKING HATE SWIMMING

Call it an irrational fear, I don’t care; it’s not my thing. I gave it a try and failed. With practice and training, I’m sure I can get over it but I’m not a fan of it right now. So this basically killed any thoughts of a triathlon until i found out that some triathlons also have a duathlon, which is just the running and cycling portion of a triathlon. 

Perfect.

My first attempt at this was on July 29th at the Whaling City Triathlon/Duathlon and let me tell you, it was a blast. The race itself was a ton of fun and it was a beautiful course that went along the coast of New Bedford centering on Fort Tabor. It was well executed and had a ton of friendly volunteers. My two cents; do this race at least once. It’s just a sprint length so none of the legs of the course was overly long. Heck, I even saw an older lady with a RENTAL bike do this. 

As for my thoughts on my first duathlon; overall I felt less prepared for this than I was for my half marathon. The whole running + cycling thing was really just a recent thing I’ve been doing so diving right into an event felt a bit rushed. 

During my training, I focused on running and I focused on cycling but doing them back to back really only happened about 2 weeks before the race itself. These “brick” workouts should have been more of a focus in my training. During the 5k part of the race, which followed the cycling part, my legs felt like jello for about 1.2 miles until they started to feel normal again.

I was also nervous about the transitions (the staging area between events) but I was prepared for that. I read up on all of the USAT rules so i pretty much had that down.

Overall, it was a great event for my first duathlon and I’m pretty hooked now.

Personally, I’ve never been a fan of manufactured holidays like Father’s Day.

Don't get me started on Valentine's Day...

I believed that you show respect to the father-figures in your life as often as you can and you don’t need a special day to do it.

But then I got older, busier, and had a couple of kids of my own…

As a father of two, the vast majority of my free time is spent with my children. My fitness plans always revolve around their sleep schedule. Run or bike before they wake up and hit the gym after they go to bed. Everything in-between is either work or family. And as a result, I forget to reach out to the important father figures in my life - so a reminder may not be such a bad thing after all.

Just, no gifts…

If you’ve been wondering why I keep using the phrase “father figures” instead of just “father” - it’s actually because my father and I are not close. In fact, we haven’t spoken to each other since 2001 for various reasons that I won’t bore you with. As a result, many men stepped up to fill that gap in my life.

These guys have shown me how to be a good husband to my wife and good father to my own children and you know what? A single day in the calendar dedicated to “fathers” is the least they deserve. 

So happy father’s day to all of the great men out there who have helped children (their own or someone else’s) to grow up and be great parents of their own.

I'd raise a beer for you... but I don't drink alcohol... it'd just be a waste of a perfectly good beer...

One of the things I learned that I loved about running was that I can be by myself. I know that this is not a very popular opinion and many people love running in groups but I’m personally not a fan of it. My big hang up with running with other people is that on days when I want to slow down or speed up, I feel like I have to keep a certain pace for the other person.

I mean, I could just ignore them but then I would look like a jerk… 

But I can’t deny that during my long runs it can get a bit boring. When I’m left alone with my thoughts, I can start dwelling on things and I’d rather not worry about these things when I’m running or biking. This is why music plays such a huge role in my fitness life. I can be by myself but still have something to distract me from the millions of thoughts running through my head.

First things first; I freaking hate wired headphones. I have lost track of how many times my arm catches the wire(s) and either yanks the headphones out of my ears or, worse, pulls my phone/device out and flings it across the floor.

Bluetooth headphones are my jam.

I don’t claim to be an audiophile so if you’re not into bluetooth audio and all of the tradeoffs that come with the technology, then read no further.

In hindsight I probably should have led with that… sorry…

My daily driver for running, biking, and general working out is the AfterShokz Trekz Titanium headphones. This model is an open ear headphone that works using bone conduction. I don’t know how much of that is legit and how much of it is marketing lingo but the main feature that I was looking for was the ability to listen to music while hearing my surroundings and this handles that use case without any issues. Being able to hear my environment is incredibly important for my safety - you never know when there’s a car turning the corner or someone in the gym carrying something heavy and needs to get by you.

These headphones are very light and stay put even with the most intense workouts. They are a behind-the-back style so nothing gets in your way as you’re working out. I’ve personally never had an issue with battery life either; I’ve gone a solid week without charging them and never ran into an issue. They are also IP55 certified so they can handle your basic sweaty athlete and rainy weather without any issues.

I paired them with my Apple Watch Series 3 (more about this in another post) and use the watch to play music through the headphones. This always worked for me without fail. The only thing that has not worked for me well is when I get a phone call through my watch and I try and answer it with the headphones (it has a built in microphone). Each time, the call quality was either terrible or the caller had trouble hearing me. However, to be very honest, I don’t know how much of that was the headphones or the watch. Since this is a very infrequent use case, I never really followed up on it and it never really bother me - your mileage may vary.

One major downside of the open-ear headphones is that loud noises can easily drown out any music playing through them. Once on a particularly windy run, I just turned off my music because I could not hear anything over the wind noise and I didn’t want to turn the volume too high. Another downside of bluetooth headphones is that you can only pair them to one device at a time (unless you’re using Apple’s fancy headphones). This means that if I wanted to use the headphones with my phone, I would have to go through the pairing process again, which I don’t bother doing.

As a self-proclaimed nerd, I usually try and get the latest and greatest tech as soon as I can justify replacing an existing item. With these headphones though, if I ever had to replace them, I would get the same ones again.

All products in this review were purchased with my own money and no one has approached me to do a review for them. My thoughts on the products are my own and do not reflect the thoughts or opinions of anyone else.

Links to products may be associated with an affiliate link.

After completing the Martha’s Vineyard half marathon, the question that I was asked the most was…

“What are you going to do next?”

Aside from taking it easy for a bit, the answer was actually pretty easy; the Las Vegas Rock 'n’ Roll Half Marathon.

To be honest, I thought this race was going to be my first half marathon. I didn’t think I would be ready by the time the vineyard half came around. This just goes to show that you never know what you’re capable of until you try.

However, one thing that didn’t sit easy with me about running the Vegas half was that taking the time and money to fly out there just to run a race seemed a bit selfish. This was going to cost a fair bit of money and my wife and I would be leaving our kids at home.

I don’t care what people say - Vegas is not a child-friendly vacation spot.

I was actually going to pass on it until I saw that I could participate in this race raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This was what I was looking for, this was my next goal. This gave me the chance to take something that I enjoyed doing and doing something good with it. 

This made my running more than about me.

So now I’m asking the readers of my blog to take a look at what St Jude has done for countless children and their families and see if there’s any amount you can spare to help me raise money for a worthy cause. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart - http://heroes.stjude.org/runningofthenerd

First and foremost I want to thank the great people working on Martha’s Vineyard during the weekend of the half and full marathon. Everyone I met was so helpful and polite. I understand that this is a tourist spot and their livelihood depends on their hospitality but the people I ran into there genuinely went out of their way to help me when I needed it.

Pre-race day.

I arrived on the island the day before the race to pick up my bib and swag. The tent for this was at Waban park, which was also the finish line of the race. There was a single tent with different sections based on your bib number. You had to find your number by looking at this giant printout sheet on a separate table. My suggestion to the organizers is to email the numbers out beforehand to reduce this overhead for some of the runners. After figuring out your number, getting your bib and swag was easy enough - no drama there.

Morning of the race.

Transportation to the starting line from Oak Bluffs, where I was staying, was easy to get to and there seemed to be more than enough buses to shuttle the runners from Oak Bluffs to the high school. Once at the high school though, things seemed to get a bit chaotic. Everyone was packed into the cafeteria or hallways and there seemed to be people standing in lines but not entirely sure why they were in line. Since this was my first race, I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to go next or do next. Luckily everyone there was very nice and I was able to get some pointers from some more seasoned runners.

I headed outside about 20 minutes before the race to warm up and get ready. I wasn’t really sure where the gear drop off was - cue me asking around some more. After finding the truck and dropping off my bag - I was good to go.

The race was broken up into 3 waves; fast runners up front, medium paced runners in wave 2, and yours truly in wave 3. The waves and their pace range were clearly marked so you knew somewhat where you were supposed to be. There were also a ton of pacers with signs there too so you could just find the one with roughly your time and hang out there.

The issue I had with the waves was that it really wasn’t a wave. It seemed as though once the race started it was just a slow push forward to the starting line. It felt a bit like cattle being herded towards an opening in the fence.

Moo….

The race itself.

The race itself was pretty straight forward. Aside from some initial confusion of where to actually run (jogging path or the actual street) everything was clearly marked. There were a ton of water stations staged throughout the course and some of them gave out some gels too. I did notice only one first aid station though but maybe there were more and I just didn’t notice any other ones.

One major annoyance that I found out after the race was over was that the tracking for the runners was not working. I don't know what was wrong but my wife and family weren't able to track me at the designated checkpoints.

At the finish, everything again was clearly marked and there was a ton of food, drinks, and first aid at Waban park. No complaints there. All in all, it was a fairly well organized race.

So would I run it again?

I thought about this long and hard and decided that I would not run this again if the logistics remained the same.

Don’t get me wrong - this is a great race and I would recommend it at least once to other runners because running on the vineyard and along the coast is breathtakingly gorgeous. However, the race is scheduled very early in the tourist season and the weather is likely going to be a game of chance every year. Also, from what everyone tells me, the island doesn’t get to 100% operational capacity until memorial day weekend. At least half of the stores or restaurants had signs saying that they won’t be open until late May.

Now if you’re there to just run the course and go home, then this will probably be fine for you. However, I wanted to make a weekend out of it so I left the island feeling a bit disappointed. I get it though, at the height of tourist season, the cost to block off hotel rooms and other logistics will probably be prohibitively expensive for many people so they had to get in early, which is why I don’t fault the organizers.

However, for me, I ran it and checked off a bucket list item. I don’t think I have a need to run it again myself.

If you haven’t subscribed to my instagram account yet, please check it out to see some of the sights and food I had while there.

Places I would recommend on the vineyard if you do go:

• Martha’s Vineyard Surfside Hotel (Melissa there is awesome)
• The Cardboard Box (amazing dinner and drinks)
• Martha's Vineyard Gourmet Café & Bakery (late night donuts and giant apple fritters)
• Slice of Life (great food and awesome desserts)

Since this blog is called runningofthenerd - I decided it’s finally time to turn the nerd dial up to 11. It’s time to use my agile certifications and hold a retrospective on my first race. Oh yeah - it's about to get nerdy up in this joint.

(cue action music)

In all seriousness, I thought about how I should approach talking about the Martha’s Vineyard Half Marathon and ultimately decided that really there are two topics; my first race and the marathon itself. I felt the best way to go over my first race is to do what I do at work, which is to hold a retrospective on it. 

If you don’t know what this means - consider yourself lucky…

What went well?

I think the easiest thing I can say went well for me was the Hal Higdon training I followed for the past 12+ weeks. I can honestly say that, while the run was tough, I didn’t feel like I couldn’t do it at any point. My body was use to this and fell into a rhythm as soon as the race started for me.

I also felt like I dialed in my nutrition correctly for the race too. I woke up early and had some chia seeds soaked in water, a banana, some pecans, and (of course) a cup of coffee. I didn’t feel hungry or tired at all during the race and I also didn’t feel bloated or uncomfortable either. I’m sure if I had to run more than the 13 miles, I would have had to refuel but I got by without any issues.

Lastly, I felt that my practice run the week before was key in figuring out the logistics for race day. What to wear, which pair of shoes to run with, what to eat, when to eat and other minor details were all ironed out before the day of the race.

I could go on and on about other minor things that worked but these were the major ones I wanted to hit.

What could have gone better?

Right out of the gate, I should have made a list for packing after my practice run. Work got the better of my time and I packed on the fly. This resulted in me forgetting a bunch of stuff and left me feeling a bit grumpy. Luckily, I was able to find the things I forgot to pack at a grocery store, but it was some unnecessary stress that could have been avoided.

Another thing I didn’t plan for was running on anything OTHER than pavement. There was a stretch of the course (about 1/3 of a mile) that was completely sand. I managed to muddle through it but it was something that should have planned for - I mean it’s the vineyard for crying out loud.

Finally, for my next race, I want to look into training programs that incorporate speed and hill training. While my pace was steady, I would have liked it to finished a bit faster. I think I handled hills well but I’m sure I could still use some work in that area too.

What I learned.

A lot of brides to be decide that they want to spend some part of their bachelorette party running a half (or full) marathon. More power to you ladies - I certainly would not have been able to focus on the running with a wedding looming over the horizon but for at least 3 bachelorettes that were there, they were able to knock it out of the park. 

While I didn’t use pacers, I did find the pacer that was roughly my time so I could at least start off with the right tempo. When the race starts off, my adrenaline was naturally trying to push me into sprinting mode and I found that uses the pacers to gauge where I am useful. After the first mile (probably even before then) the crowds start to separate and I was able to start running at my own tempo.

Not everyone tackles hills the same way so if you’re pretty close behind someone, make sure to give yourself some room when a hill comes up. Some people can maintain their tempo but the majority of the people I was behind slowed down significantly and I found myself almost stepping on them. Give yourself some room to pass if necessary.

Drink if you need it. Just become there’s a water stop doesn’t mean you need to get something. Grabbing the water and trying to drink it will likely interrupt your momentum so make sure to use those water stops wisely. During my training I would only stop to get water once and I should have done that too rather than the multiple stops I did during the race. Trust your training young padawan. 

Conclusion

For my first race since the fall of 1999, I have to say it wasn’t bad. I definitely felt like I could have done better but at least I was able to finish, which in the end was my ultimate goal. 

Now, on to the next…

The other night, my wife and I joked about how my goal to lose weight and get in shape has actually increased our grocery bill significantly. She laughed it off and said it helps her stay in shape because now she has to carry more bags from the car.

In reality though, this is a real challenge for a lot of people. Foods that are meant to keep you healthy are not cheap. It’s very tempting to get a combo meal from a fast food restaurant for under $10 but if you wanted a nice salad with some grilled salmon - that’s likely going to cost more than that combo meal. This is probably another post for another day…

My point is, my wife has never once complained about this. She’s actually happy that I’m enjoying eating vegetables and says that this is setting a good example for the kids. Roasted Brussels sprouts are the bomb. 

Do people still say “the bomb”…?

The spending increase isn’t limited to just food. Any fitness area you want to get into usually has some startup cost. Running needs shoes, biking needs a bike, general fitness needs a gym membership and the list goes on and on. And if you’re like me, I don’t just dabble in something, I go full throttle.

Take running for example, I now own 4 pairs of shoes that I swap around for various usage just for running alone. Then there was cold weather running gear and warm weather running stuff, GoPros and… well… you get the point.

Much like the food situation - my lovely wife never made me feel bad about any of this. Every once in a while with the gear she will ask “do you really need that?” but never forbade me from buying anything.

She’s funny… do I really need that… like that’s even a question.

My journey so far has been paved with nothing but support from her. Any time within the last year she could have put her foot down and said “enough is enough” but not once did she ever do that.

The support didn’t just come from her either, I received tons of support from my family and friends. Each time I hit a milestone and shared it with them, they would always respond back right away with words of encouragement and pride. This may not sound like a lot but, I’m telling you, this is what I needed to push to the next mile… drive to the next goal.

The support doesn’t stop at money and praise; just allowing me the time to do the things I needed to do is support. I’ve lost track of how many times on a weekend when I’ve had to go out for a long run which took close to 2 hours. Those 2 hours could have been spent with my family. But instead, my wife would just say “have a good run and stay safe”.

My children, while they don’t really understand what is their dad doing, they show your support in their own ways. When I get back from a run, my daughter will ask me how far I ran and if she can see the map of my route. She’ll write me little notes of encouragement, which I proudly display on the wall of my office. My son will say things like “I want to run like daddy”.

This is support and I’m blessed to have this in my life.

Not everyone is so lucky and when you hit those speed bumps on your journey, it’s much easier to dust off and get back up when you have this kind of support.

If you find it, hold on to it. Don’t take it for granted. It will fuel your passion and drive (better than Brussels sprouts).

No, it wasn’t the Martha’s Vineyard half marathon that I signed up for - that’s next week.

No, it was my own half marathon. Today I ran 13.1 miles to prove to myself, and my body, that I could.

No cheering spectators on the side of the road.

No closed off roads; I had to share it with cars.

No other runners with the same goal.

No finish line.

No medal at the end.

Just me.

I did this because my nearly year long training has taken me from couch potato to running the longest distance I have ever ran in my life.

I did this because who knows what might happen between now and 5/19 (the date of the vineyard half).

I did this because who knows that might happen during the actual race on the vineyard itself.

My body wanted to quit at mile 10. My mind started to quit at mile 11. But my heart pushed forward.

And I finished. In my mind, I won and nothing can defeat me today.

Except going up and down stairs... stairs are evil...

Man, 13.1 miles is far...

We’ve certainly come a long way in shoe technology compared to the old sandals they wore in Ancient Greece. At least I think they wore sandals... movies are historically accurate right?

I have been trying to find my perfect pair of running shoes and, while nothing I have tried so far has been perfect, they’re still worth taking a look at.

Brooks Men's Ghost 10

This was my first pair of running shoes that I bought when I started to take running more seriously. It’s a neutral shoe with a 12 mm heel-to-toe drop. Overall, I think it’s a really good shoe for the casual runner. It’s very cushiony, which I personally like a lot, and the upper is very breathable. I especially love the roomy toe box which gives my feet a ton of room to spread out.

The reason this pair is no longer part of my everyday running gear is because it’s a bit too heavy for me now and I’m used to running with slightly less of a drop. Again, if I were a bit more of a casual runner, I would think these would be a great pair of shoes. Definitely worth a consideration if you’re looking for a new pair.

Under Armour Men's HOVR Sonic

When the HOVR line first came out, my YouTube feed blew up with reviews of this shoe. At $100 (at the time of this post) it was definitely worth taking a look. It’s a neutral shoe with a 8 mm heal-to-toe drop and was relatively light (compared to my Brooks). I, personally, loved the design of the Sonic and the upper was extremely breathable. In fact, there were days when my feet were a bit too cold because this shoe let in so much air. UA’s big marketing push for this shoe was the energy return and I will admit that it lives up to the claim - it’s definitely very springy.

I’ve put about 120 miles on my pair so far and I really want to like this shoe but the biggest drawback for me is its width. For some reason, the shoe is just really tight on my feet. I’ve played around with the laces and used alternative laces but it feels like my feet sometimes goes off the sole a bit. The toe box is cramped compared to the Brooks (although to be fair you can park a Buick in the Brooks) and has led to some very uncomfortable distance runs. I’ve checked the website and have not (at the posting of this blog entry) seen an option for a wide. My verdict; if you have narrow feet, go for it but otherwise it might be a bit too uncomfortable on longer runs.

New Balance Men's Fresh Foam Zantev2

I actually picked up the Zantes on a whim because I was looking into a pair of shoes with a lower heel-to-toe drop. I swung by my local running store and they had this on sale because it was last year’s model. At first, when I tried to run in them, my reaction was that I didn’t like them because I felt it lacked the cushioning that I’ve grown accustomed to with the Brooks. However, now that I’ve put about 200+ miles on them, I have to say they’re probably closest to being perfect (for me of course). 

They’re light and the upper is very breathable. There’s a lot of flex in the sole when compared to the other two pairs and the toe box didn’t feel as cramped as the HOVR. The foam in the sole could use a bit more energy return but that is probably more of a personal preference than anything else. With a 6 mm heel-to-toe drop, this is the most aggressive offset pair I have to date.  I don’t have an issue using these for long distances so I’m likely going to use this pair for my 1/2 marathon in May.

All products in this review were purchased with my own money and no one has approached me to do a review for them. My thoughts on the products are my own and do not reflect the thoughts or opinions of anyone else.

Links to products may be associated with an affiliate link.

I'm sorry Dave Pete. I'm afraid I can't do that...

I found the best way to motivate me to keep going and stay in shape is to set goals. So in a moment of weakness I decided to sign up for a half marathon in May. 

What did I do…?

At this point, the most I’ve ran in one session is about 5 miles so the thought of running 13 seems borderline impossible. But I’m signed up… they already charged my credit card… no turning back now.

After the reality of the situation set in, I realized I needed to get on a running plan to build up my stamina and run longer distances. I asked around and the common running plan that kept coming up was the Hal Higdon marathon training plan (http://halhigdon.com).

The thing I liked the most about Hal’s training plan is that there are a series of different training options for both a half and full marathon. The plans range from novice to expert.

Available training plans from http://halhigdon.com

I originally thought about using one of the novice plans but since I was able to run 5-ish miles already, I thought those options might be a bit slow for me. Another concern I had for the novice plans is that it had fairly low miles for the majority of the 12 weeks and then in the last few weeks of the plan, I would suddenly be hit by 10+ mile runs. I eventually went with the “Intermediate 1”, which seemed to fit me the best.

Now, this may be just my personality, but once I was on this plan I became a bit obsessed with following it. On days when I wasn’t able to complete the distances or if I didn’t have the best times to run, such as late at night, would end up causing me anxiety - which is the opposite of what I needed out of running.

It wasn’t until about 2/3 through the plan when I realized that it’s okay to miss a day here or there or to replace running with something else like riding my bike. Every once in a while, my body needed a break and I had to listen to it rather than blindly following a training plan.

I think these kinds of plans, whether it is Hal Higdon or any other plan, are great guidelines but they cannot be your only plan. You need to listen to your own body.

Pete, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

The Hal Higdon program was recommended to me by several runner friends. They are not a paid sponsor and my thoughts on his program are my own and do not reflect the thoughts of opinions of anyone else.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first - fitness does not equal athleticism. Someone who is fit does not mean that they’re great at throwing a ball.

Running, in my opinion, was the simplest of my choices.

Note that I said “simplest”. I would never ever say that running was simple. While the barrier to entry could just be a pair of running shoes, in the end, if you want to get serious about it then there is a lot to running that makes it far from being simple.

I actually ran cross country in high school so this contributed to my decision (some may say delusion) to try and challenge myself with running again. I mean, how hard could it be? Hard… really really hard (and pretty ugly too).

Yeah you read that right; 12:37 mile. I’m pretty sure there are many people out there that could walk that pace... on their hands... 

My chest was burning, my stomach had cramps, and I stopped several times. But I finished.

1 mile done.

I wish I could say it got easier the next day but it didn’t. It took a while but eventually did get easier. The more I ran, the easier it got and eventually it got to the point where I know I had to upgrade my gear and, while runnings shoes aren’t cheap exactly, it’s still cheaper than the other things I could have decided to challenge myself with..

So, why running? Because in the end, it’s just me and the road. I can listen to music or just be lost in my thoughts. It gives me an escape from my hectic life.

I think we all need something like that in our lives.