Thanks

First off, I'd like to thank everyone for their comments, emails and phone calls over the past few days. I really appreciate the support shown both to our effort here and to Ken and Michelle and their families. Please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they get through this extremely difficult time.

I initially felt a little apprehensive about writing about my running here again. It still isn't the easiest thing to do following these previous couple posts. But the more I think about it, the more I think the best way to continue to do things here is to celebrate Cru and continue to spread the word about SMA. Please continue to pass on the word of our efforts to friends, families, co-workers, neighbors or whoever you think would like to jump in and help us support FSMA. So hang in there while I switch gears to talk about my running, which has sometimes seemed inconsequential in the big picture after the last few days. But running is the vehicle that has given us the means to raise over $31,000 for FSMA, so it definitely has proved to be worthwhile. If you're not up for reading about running at this point, I completely understand. The rest of this post is pretty much related to running.

***
So , I was able to run on Tuesday morning. I went 9 miles and finished at an 8:01 pace. I don't really remember too many details of the run besides getting the miles in. When I am out running, I can really use it as time to do whatever I want when it comes to what to think. Sometimes I try to focus purely on my time and pace. Other times I can use it to think about Tiffany or family or friends. Maybe sometimes I'll think about fantasy baseball or work. Or I can just listen to the music and clear my head. Or it can be any combination of those things while still focusing on what my watch is telling me. Other times I will try to visualize different parts of the marathon course and visualize running through those parts and seeing the wonderful people who come out and support me. On Tuesday I really didn't look at my watch much and just tried to get some thoughts together about Cru. The result is what you read here on Tuesday's post.

Last night, it was time for the final installment of Yasso 800s. The goal was a 3:10. I headed over to the track after I threw some dinner together. Tiffany got stuck at work late, so I wanted her to be able to eat as soon as she got home. Why, you ask? For those of you that don't know, we are expecting our first child on February 14th. So it's not unusual for Tiffany to be pretty hungry by the time she gets home. At any rate, I got to the track around 6:15 and posted the following times:
1-3:03
2-3:09
3-3:09
4-3:05
5-3:11
6-3:13
7-3:10
8-3:12
9-3:09
10-3:03
Average time: 3:08:04

Tiffany and Bosley (the dog) walked over in time to see the last couple 800s. Bosley was freaking out every time I'd run by them. He has a little bit of separation anxiety. When I say a little bit, I really mean it's pretty awful. After I finished my last 800, I grabbed his leash and took him on a lap around the track. We walked until the half way point and I decided to see if he would run with me. Oh yeah, I should mention that he is a dachsund. His legs aren't very long. He started to run after I did and he really started to motor. It was really funny to see. I then took him off of his leash and let him run to Tiffany for the last quarter lap or so. He was really thirsty and quite tired afterwards. I'll put up a few pictures of him sometime down the road so you can get a mental picture of him running around the track with me.

Back to the real run: I was pretty happy with my times. For those of you new to the blog, the Yasso 800 is an exercise where one runs 800 meters (a half of a mile) ten times with 400 meter jogs in between. Your average time in minutes and seconds supposedly translates (within a few minutes) to a marathon predictor time in hours and seconds. So according to Yasso, I am fit to run around a 3:08 marathon right. Um, yeah, that's not going to happen. A 3:08 is way beyond my current fitness/talent level. That would be a 7:10 pace across 26.2 miles.

The half marathon is this Sunday and I will have a good idea of what I'll want my pace for the full marathon to be based on my time this Sunday. I can promise you it will not be a a 7:10. I do have a 10 miler to get in on Friday morning before Sunday's Half. I'll be sure to fill you all in about Sunday's race.

That's about it here. Have a good weekend.

Cru Pics

Sad News

It is with great sadness that I have to tell all of you that little Cru has left the world. Ken and Michelle lost Cru on Sunday night.

It's very hard to put into words what this all means right now, but I'll do my best.

I'd first like to start by saying it is an honor and pleasure to be able to support Cru and his battle against SMA. When I first started this, I did it with the intention of doing anything I could to help Michelle, Ken and Cru and their families.

As of right now, babies diagnosed with SMA Type 1 don't have much of a chance. I felt that if there was a way we could raise money to help the funding of SMA research, we could possibly prevent even just one family from having to go through what Ken and Michelle and their families have gone through and are going through right now. I sincerely appreciate all of your support and your continued support of my running for Cru.

When a baby is diagnosed with SMA Type 1, it's devastating. The joy and happiness that comes with having a baby turns into sadness after learning that the child only has a limited time to live. This beautiful baby which couples have dreamed about forever won't be around very long. Ken and Michelle and their families have shown incredible strength throughout this difficult time. I am amazed every day to find Ken in good spirits. His strength has been unbelievable. It seemed like Ken and Michelle came to terms with the diagnosis and pledged to cherish and value every day they got to spend with Cru while he was still here.

My wife Tiffany and I had the pleasure of meeting Cru one time. As you can tell by the pictures, he's an incredibly cute baby. He was a glowing little boy that day and I feel extremely lucky to have met him. I know Tiffany feels the same way. It really doesn't make sense why this beautiful child had to get this horrible disease.

As more and more money started coming in to help fight SMA, I got the feeling of being part of something much greater than anything I have ever been a part of. The story and love of this little boy has brought people together. You couldn't help but see the growing dollar amount at the top of the firstgiving site and in the sidebar here. You couldn't help but feel like you are making a huge difference, no matter what size the donation was.

I had accepted the fact that while it was too late to really help Cru and his fight against SMA, this is a great cause and no one should have to go through what he has had to go through. In the back of my mind, I had always naively hoped that Cru would somehow get better and there would be some kind of breakthrough in SMA research that would give Cru another shot at life that he deserved so much. I never expected that to happen, but I always hoped.

It's that same hope that drives people and gets people out of bed to face those tough days or to do things that they though they couldn't. While that hope can briefly leave when the awful news comes that Cru has lost this battle, it has to live in everyone else just like Cru's spirit always will.

And it will. Cru may be gone but his spirit and the memories of him will live forever. Rest in peace little Cru. You're in a better place now, you'll always be loved and we'll all miss you.

Please keep Ken, Michelle and Cru in your thoughts and prayers. And enjoy these great pictures of Cru. Thanks again for all of your support.

Thirty Thousand Bucks

This week's wrap up is going to be be short and sweet as the Bears are busy trying to get Chicago's collective hope up by looking decent against the Colts tonight. They are winning 15-13 as I type.

First off, I forgot to mention that we hit the $30,000 mark last week. Thanks to all of you for your continued support. The effort by everyone involved has been unbelievable.
***
The week ended slightly different than planned. I did get 11 in on Friday morning. I ran it at an 8:04 pace. My knee was a little sore that afternoon and night, so I put off the doubleheader. I woke up on Saturday and felt fine, so I ran the 9 miles with the middle 7 at an 7:04 pace. That left me with a longer run on Sunday. I decided to turn the long run into a short easy run. I figured the 7:04 tempo was much more important than the miles at that point. I also figured staying healthy is more important than tacking on the extra miles as well. So, with the half marathon scheduled and more Yasso's scheduled for this coming week, I ran only 5 miles today. It felt fine. I only had some mild fatigue because of the three consecutive days as well as the tempo run yesterday, but there were no major issues.

With five weeks to go and two hard weeks left, I am feeling good and am looking forward to the half on Sunday. It will be a good test to see where I am at and give me a good idea of how aggressive I will set my goal pace to be on October 12th.

Here's what the upcoming week looks like:
Tuesday: 10 @ 8:10
Wednesday: 9 @ 8:10
Friday: Yasso's - goal of 3:10
Sunday: Half Marathon - goal will be in the 1:35 to 1:36 range, which is a 7:15-7:20 pace

I may change the days around to run the Yasso's on Tuesday or Wednesday so my Friday run can be less physically taxing.


Have a good week and keep on rooting for the cooler weather to continue.

Welcome to Seattle?

The remnants of Hurricane Gustav have made it a little tough to run. I worked an early shift on Wednesday and had planned to run last night but something came up. So I was going to push it to tonight. Unfortunately, it hasn't stopped raining here since this morning as the after-effects of the hurricane work its way north.

So, I am looking at three runs in three days or possibly a double header on Friday where I run in the morning and then run in afternoon or evening. This is assuming the rain has let up enough to run tomorrow. I don't even need it completely stop raining, but running in a constant downpour is not really good. Your socks and shoes get wet in a hurry and it can make for a pretty uncomfortable run.

The positive side to this is that my legs are very well rested right now. Probably too rested.
***
Speaking of wet shoes, I'd like to share a few pictures of American marathoner Brian Sell's shoes after the Olympic marathon a couple weeks ago. Sell finished in 22nd place with a time of 2:16:07. He likes to run marathon without socks. Apparently he didn't test them in hot and wet conditions because they didn't look too pretty afterward.






Here's the video of the interview after the race. The pictures are pulled from the 2:23 mark. It's pretty interesting to hear his commentary about his strategy and training. If you have a few minutes, take a look. He does work a nice mustache too.

Tuesday's Run and a Report from the Analytics Team

I pounded 11 miles this morning. Came in in 8 minutes even. It felt pretty good. Started to get a little fatigued at mile 9, but was able to hold on to the 8 minute pace. I ran the first half @ a 7:54 and the second half @ 8:06. On my longer weekday runs, I do have a slight issue with getting water. I'll run north along the river and hit my last water fountain at about the 2.5 mile mark. Today, I had to run 3 more miles north before I turned around and covered the same part of the path. So basically, I have to cover 6 miles without water. In the morning when it's a little cooler, it's not a huge deal. I definitely get thirsty, but it's nothing I can't handle. If it gets really warm, I stop at a gas station at the turn-around point and grab a gatorade.
***
Here are some new numbers on visitors to the blog:

Over the past 30 days:

• 96 unique visitors with 245 visits

• August 27th had the largest amount of visitors with 15

Overall:

• 197 unique visitors with 585 visits

• July 11th has the largest amount of visitors with 24

• The blog has been visited by 5 different countries (the US, the UK, Canada, Italy and most recently, Brazil) and 27 different states.

• The top 10 states are: Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, Michigan, Hawaii, Colorado, Massachusetts, California, New York, with Ohio, Washington and Wisconsin tied for 10th.

• In terms of cities, Chicago has lead the way with 138 visits.
  

• Other cities of note with multiple visits:
  

Spokane, Washington
La Jolla, California
Henderson, Nevada
Littleton, Colorado
Mansfield, Massachusetts
Brooklyn and NY, New York
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commerce Township, Michigan
Bloomington, Indiana
Mililani, Hawaii

• Firefox is the browser of choice of 60.17% of the visitors
  

Cancellare, Take 2

Last week wrapped up on Sunday with an 18 miler. It actually turned out to be a just short of 19 miles - about 18.82 or so. I once again had the pleasure running with Rich Cancellare for the middle portion of 11.32 miles. We rendezvoused at the lake path at Wilson and ran down to Ohio Street beach and then turned around.

Basically here are my splits:
The first 3.75 miles were run at roughly an 8:25
The middle 11.32 miles (with Rich) were run at a 7:43 pace
The next stretch of three-quarters of a mile was probably about an 8:30 or so.
The last 3 miles were also run at a 7:43.

So, it was definitely a very good run. I felt pretty good throughout and Rich is a huge boost to have running right next to me. He set his Garmin to have us run at an 8:20 pace. We slowly started out ahead of pace and picked it up withou much of a problem as we went along. Sometimes you can get in a groove and pace kind of becomes an afterthought. And most importantly, I felt healthy throughout the run. But as Rich said, the true test can be how you feel the next day. That next day was today and I feel good. Just a little regular post long run soreness. So, it was a very good ending to an up and down week.

The week ahead looks something like this:
Tuesday: 11 Miles @ 8:15
Wednesday : 11 Miles @ 8:15
Friday: 9 miles, 7 @ 7:00
Sunday: the original plan is a 20 miler @ 8:15, with the last 9 miles run under an 8 minute pace

I am unsure if I am going to proceed with both the 20 miler this coming Sunday as well as the 20 miler scheduled for September 21st. I am not sure if running two more 20 milers at this point will do more harm than good. I may turn one in a 16-18 miler and focus more on pace than miles. Or I may just do both 20s. I will decide later this week after I see how I feel on Friday night or Saturday.

Only 6 weeks to go! Have a good week.