beautiful day wasted

so last i wrote, almost 6 months ago, i was training for the pittsburgh half marathon and hoping to break 1:40. my race weekend preparation wasn't the best (primanti brothers for dinner and the bucco's game for entertainment) and at the start line i felt i was still carrying some of that turkey and cheese sandwich. the one time i saw a set of porta-johns around mile 6 i strongly debated whether i should stop and relieve myself. while i would have felt much better, i would have lost a ton of time and not been anywhere close to my goal. as it turned out, i finished in 1:41:28 (that's 7:45 / mile pace) and got to see jen and dave twice cheering me on as well as chris and erin in the south side! it was great to run in my hometown city and if i didn't want to run a half in every state, then i'd consider running pittsburgh again.

so this year's fall marathon will be the hampton rockfest sponsored by smuttynose brewing co. in hampton beach, nh. the race is two and a half weeks away, and i think my longest run (and i won't even call it a training run) was 8.1 miles back on july 31st! i've been logging mostly 5 mile runs, but this weekend i'll definitely be doing a 7 miler, along w/ a 3 miler and a 2 miler - all in the same 24 hour period. jen and i were lucky enough to grab two open spots on a relay team that's running the reach the beach relay that takes place in nh. i actually don't think the running will be the toughest challenge. i'm betting that it's all the logistics and situations that occur as part of a 12 person 200 mile 1 day relay!

i've actually wasted away a beautiful boston day. maybe one of the last nice days of the year until may peaks it head out from the 4 feet of snow that boston is sure to see this winter. most of the day has been spent in doors, searching for jobs, though i have been able to get out to move my car from parking spot to parking spot. it's been weighing on me heavily - the fact that i haven't been taking advantage of my time off, and this gorgeous day especially. but, i'm also waiting on a pair of new asics trainers to be delivered by ups (who i did see a job posting for, but didn't apply - it was for a driver!). hopefully my increase to a size 10 gives my foot a little more room as my 9.5's have been tight, and i can get out for a run this evening w/ jen and a couple of others on our relay team.

maybe this relay is what i need to get me started blogging a bit more. and perhaps i'll tweak the content as well, though my blog's name is "runstrong." i'm sure hearing that my last four holes were bogey, bogey, par, birdie wouldn't interest you as much as it would me.

summer in april

this blog has fallen by the waist side. my last post was at the end of december - almost 4 months ago. a lot has changed, while a lot has stayed the same. i'm still in boston; i'm still employed at the same firm; and i'm still running. actually, a lot has stayed the same. same apartment; same cat; same love of upper crust pizza. the major change is a new girlfriend - jen! :-) like i said, a lot has changed, but a lot has stayed the same. haha! more than actually change, i've experienced a lot in the last 4 months including my first time in seats on the green monster at fenway park to watch the red sox, a relaxing weekend in maine with stops in portland and portsmouth, nh; best friends visiting for an awesome weekend; and the annual marathon monday party on beacon st.

in those last 4 months i've continued training, specifically for the pittsburgh half marathon. actually, i wouldn't classify it as training, though i ran a couple of sunday long runs with jen's training team, and did a speed workout as well as a hill one. regardless, i feel pretty good though physically and during my runs my goal of 1:3X:XX seems possible. but i'm still nervous. this is going to be my home race, and while the legend will be there cheering as he's done for a bunch of races, there should be a few more familiar faces in the crowd - or at least i hope so.

last night i did a 4 mile loop that combines a few hills. i ran it at an easy pace, and enjoyed the warm weather (it was in the mid 60's) and crowds of people around the neighborhoods. though at one point, coming down com ave and running near some buildings i imagined myself running in the half and the building the crowd coming out into the street and being right next to me. if the crowd is anything like building, i should feed off them and feel like i'm running on a cloud. a peak at my watch showed a 7:19 pace at one point, and i had to pull on the reigns to slow down and remember this was just a tapering run.

i'll probably go out for one more run on wednesday, and then rest for the remaining days till the half. i usually run pretty well after a long rest, so 3 days of no activity won't hurt - hopefully. ask me that question at mile 12. actually, forget the questions - just shout my name!