50 MILER

This weekend. March 13. Land Between the Lakes 50miler, Kentucky. Let's see what happens!

Post from Julie

Just heard from Dean, he finished his first ultra-marathon (32-34 miles)! past the time cut-off by like 15-20 minutes...still finished though.
The boys and I reluctantly stayed home and I've been clinging to my phone all day waiting to hear from him. So glad he finished.
He will update when he is "coherent".
When I ask the boys where Dada is they say, "Dada running" and then they run in place :)

First Ultra Marathon

OK. Here I go, I'm running the Holiday Lake 50K++ (32+miles) this weekend. I'm building up to 100+ miles, my ultimate goal. I have all the gear, now all I have to do is get in shape.
More to come...

MOBILE,AL... First Light Marathon...

Off again

to Mobile Alabama to run the First Light marathon this Sunday.
This time my "crew" is coming with me.

PHOTOS!!!

Enjoy the photos but don't look at my time, it was horrible, I'm bib #1357. There is a guy in my string of photos that I ran with near the end, we talked military talk on our way to the finish line
And oh, my actual chip time was 4:38 not 4:40, 2 minutes count :)

Photos from the Charlotte Marathon!

Another one down

The Thunder Road marathon in Charlotte was great. The course was one of the best courses I ever ran and the people that I met were very friendly.
I met some great guys in there 70s that consistently run marathons together. They were hysterical and honestly pretty damn inspirational. I think of all the excuses people make for not running and here are these two guys in their mid-70s continually running marathons. And, running them well.

The drive to Charlotte isn't bad but there was some detour on the way home that took me all around the mountain, literally, and ended up doubling my driving time.
Here are some pics that Julie took.
My send off:

While I was gone the boys made me a special treat

Here I am when I first rolled in the door

My feet are torn up from the run but that's the fun of it right???
Finally home and relaxed:I would definitely do this marathon again.

Just 10 days to...

my next marathon.
CHARLOTTE NC - Thunder Road Marathon
Should be a fun time and I feel ready for it since I recently finished the Ocean State marathon.
My birthday is today and I can't think of a better way to turn forty-??? then to run a marathon.
Here's hoping for better conditions than the last one.

4 days and 8 days

It's been awhile since I've written. Lots going on to say the least.
We leave in 8 days to bring home our new son from China. We've been trying to get everything ready. We waited and waited and waited and then all of a sudden - bang- we're packing our bags.

4 days until the marathon in RI. I'm ready. Julie is not running it now to prepare for our travel, shop for FuDa (and whomever else in China), and get our son prepared for having his grandparents staying with him for 2 weeks. It looks like there are a lot of husbands and wives signed up together. Our running bibs are together which would have been cool to have forever. But, like I said... there is A LOT going on right now. I think if the marathon was closer and not in New england we'd all be going.

I'll post my time if it is not too embarrassing. I hear the weather is going to be cold and rainy, just how I like it...

Five Toes Running Shoes

TIME Magazine named Vibram FiveFingers one of Best Inventions of 2007 so of course I had to do my research and check them out. Like I said before I have been doing a lot of reading on ultra marathoning, running, and body mechanics. Well running barefoot has been receiving a lot of hype lately.

They are a great cross over shoe; they help you you go back to a more natural stride.

So what is the hype about (this is from their website):
"FiveFingers footwear deepens your connection to the earth and your surroundings. FiveFingers enhance your sense of touch and feel, while improving foot strength, balance, agility, and range of motion. Because wearing Vibram FiveFingers is so close to going barefoot, you’ll enjoy the health and performance benefits of barefooting without some of the risks."

I have been doing more than researching these shoes, I actually went out and bought a pair. The sizing of the shoe is pretty precise and I bought a size too small at first. I ran 3 miles in them, went to take them back, and they told me NO I couldn't take them back. I got all riled up and they finally agreed. Any good running store knows you need to run in the shoe for more than a jog up and down the street to know if they are the right. Ok off topic. I got the right size now and they are great. Every issue I had before due to my previous stupid running shoes went away: Achilles problem, calves, hamstring, and knee issues. Lack of stretching didn't help so I've been doing eccentric stretching and running in the flat shoes. Those 2 things made everything go away. I also modified my stride so now I do the soft running technique which gives you more turnover and you look like an old person running (but that's ok because a lot of old people pass me in runs like I'm standing still!)

Here I am in the shoes. I know they look kind of funny and I wouldn't necessarily go out in public with them but they do do wonders for your joints and pronation issues.

what do you think?