Volunteering at a Race

     On April 6, 2014 Riley and I volunteered, with our friend Nick, for the Yukan Run Fool's Dual in Gloucester, MA. This was a first for both of us, but something we were looking forward too. The funny part about this volunteering assignment was we were sent to three different water stops throughout the course.

     One of the coolest part of volunteering for this race was the people we were able to meet. I know from my experience, I met runners of different levels. One member of my team ran ultra marathons, while another was waiting to have knee cap replacement surgery so she could continue running. It was awesome to hear the experience of other runners. Turns out a few of us had run the same races and it was great to hear how others thought the race went.

     Now on to what volunteering actually entailed. My water station was the water stop for both mile 5 and mile 8 of the half marathon. We had Gatorade, Water and some of the GU energy packs to hand to runners. It was interesting to be on the other end of a water stop. It can get pretty hectic and you want to make sure the runners are getting what they want at the stop. Handing a runner a cup that they think is water only to find out it is gatorade after they dump it over there head would be awful. To avoid this we called out what we were holding and runners grabbed their drink of choice. The GU energy supplements went pretty fast as well.

    If helping out you fellow runner or fellow human being by volunteering is not enough, when you volunteer at YUKAN Run events you are given free entry into one of thier events. You can pass this on to someone so they can run the event you are volunteering at or save it for a later event. Also, you received a pretty cool light-up jester hat as a volunteer as well.  So there are rewards on top of the rewarding experience of volunteering.

    This experience was awesome. I cannot wait for my next experience volunteering and luckily I do not have to wait that long. I will be volunteering in the Power Bar, Finish Area of the Boston Marathon. I expect this to be a lot crazier than this experience, but it will be absolutely amazing.

Louie

 

Hyannis Half Marathon 2014

Last year Riley and I ran The Hyannis Half Marathon and it was the first half marathon either of us had run. This year I decided I wanted to try and tackle it again. The race was on February 23.

The registration, number pick up and expo went just as well this year as I last year. I picked up my number and did some shopping at the expo on Saturday and showed up to run the race on Sunday. Even the weather was cooperative this year. Last year it felt like we were running in a monsoon. 

Now to the race itself, it was a beautiful day to run on Cape Cod. With the nicer weather this year, it's no wonder there was such a great turnout of runners. With the nicer weather it was a lot easier to appreciate the scenery around the course. If you want to run a great half marathon, I highly recommend this one. 

As for my performance on the day, I set a  new personal record by finishing in 1:52:05! I'm pretty excited to say the least. 

Louie's Very Delayed Hartford Marathon Review

It's been almosttwo and a half months since Riley, Nick and I completed the Hartford Marathon. I considered skipping doing a review for this race. At first I did not want to write a review because part of the experience was bad. I will get into that later. Then I debated skipping this review simply because it has been so long since the event. Now to state the obvious, I have decided to write a review or well more of a recap.

Waiting at th starting line. Photo Credit to Riley.

The events of the day before the marathon. We headed for the marathon around 6 o'clock and this was the start of this going badly. We ended up hitting rush hour traffic on the way to Hartford and barely made it to check in on time. Upon getting to get in, Riley and Nick recieved marathon relay bibs in place of the official marathon bib and I received a generic Hartford Marathon Foundation bib. There check in was strange in that they did not have numbers assigned to pre-registered runners and instead you were given whatever number they reached for during check-in. 

After checking in, it turns out that they had run out of the official t-shirts. We were asked to write down our name, which race, address, and shirt size as they would be mailing them to us.  As of this post , we have not received our race shirts. We were informed that the order was placed the end of November and we would have them in four to six weeks. 

So next up is the race itself.  For the race itself, I have nothing but good things to say about the course and the volunteers.  The course itself had a lot of great scenery and whether it was running on water or through downtown Hartford, it was beautiful. The first six or so miles were run with those running the half marathon and then from there we split off onto our own course. The marathon course was lined with both spectators and volunteers water stops were frequent enough. They averaged about every other mile or so. 

Crossing the Finishline!

Physically, the first half of the marathon went pretty well. Having ran a few half marathons this year I was prepared for that. I came into the marathon with a sore ankle and after the halfway mark it started to act up, but I just kept running. Eventually, it turned into a run then walk then run routine, but even so I managed to finish the marathon. That was all that counted. 

Crossing the finish line was amazing. We were greeted with water bottles and what we call "space blankets". What we were not greeted with however were the hard earned finisher's medals. They had run out of them as well. Once again we were asked to put our name, event and address on a sheet of paper as it was going to be mailed to us. We have all received them in the mail. It is easily the coolest finisher's medal in my collection. 

Note: That is not the official shirt. It was one I purchased at the race day expo.

A few fun and random notes from the race:

1. Riley and I started singing Livin' on a Prayer at mile 13. "Ohhhhh, We're halfway there."

2. The highest elevation we had to climb was at mile 25. 

3. It was inspirational to see many of the runners who also achieved there goal of finishing a marathon. It can see like a daunting task.

4. The Cracker Barrel has the greatest bacon cheeseburger and apple cider ever.*

*This could have just been my hungry self making me believe this. 

Louie's ING Hartford Marathon Preview

In about twenty-four hours Riley and I will be running the ING Hartford Marathon. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous. It is a pretty daunting objective. 

When we first started this blog the timer on the side said 200+ days. Now it is down to hours. We have experienced a lot since starting this. Two half marathons, an obstacle race, a 10k and training runs. These are what will see us to the finish line. Anything you put your mind to you can achieve. 

Also, these really cool finisher's medals help! 

What I've Been Doing

It's been a while since I've written on the blog. Riley has been picking up my slack like a champ. I wanted to check in and let you know how training is going and how a few of the races I've done were.

First, this summer was pretty rough fro training. I felt like if I was not injured then I was sick, but that did not keep me from doing some running throughout the summer.  I did do enough training to feel prepared for The Hartford Marathon, which was the goal when this blog was started.  As part of the training, I have run my furthest distance which was about 15 miles. In my preparation for the marathon, I have learned that while 20 mile long runs may be productive, they are not completely necessary.  If you can complete a 16 mile run heading into the marathon you should be okay. this is an opinion that was shared in more than a few articles.

I've, also, managed to get in some fun races as well.  Riley wrote the review for the Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50 so I won''t go into too much detail about that. I will say that it was an awesome event and was slightly more difficult than when I ran it last year.

The week before the Finish at the 50 race, I ran the Warrior Dash in Barre, MA with my friends Nick and Danielle.  This was a 5k obstacle race. All in all, I think it was a pretty fun race to run too. As far as obstacle races go, it was not the most difficult one that I've run. I'll get to that one in a minute. It was, however, challenging enough where someone with experience running them may still have a challenge, but it is not too daunting for new runners.  Some of the obstacles were a barbwire crawl, cargo net climb, wall climb, and up & overs.  One of the coolest things about it is that the finisher's medal doubles as a bottle opener.

The Finisher's Medal

Posing after the Warrior Dash

On September 7th I ran the Super Spartan Race in Vernon, NJ.  This race was hardest race I've ever done. It is 8+ miles and 15+ obstacles. The terrain was probably the biggest obstacle of the entire race. It was on a ski resort. For about the first two miles we had to go up the mountain. this was brutal.  The obstacles were many of the usual ones including a barbwire crawl, up and overs, rope climb, sand bag carry, and spear toss.  One of the unique twists was that their cargo net was a vertical cargo net as opposed to the angled ones that make a pyramid.  This was the biggest test of will I have done to date. The sense of accomplishment after was indescribable.  

Sandbag Carry

the Fire Jump.

Accepting that I'm about the catch a shot to the stomach and seeing the finish line.

Celebrating with a post race PBR.

Well, that's what I've been up to since my last check-in. What have you, our readers, been up to?

Race Review: B.A.A. 10K

On Sunday June 23, 2013, Boston Athletic Association hosted it's first race since the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Parts of the pre-race ceremony were used to pay tribute to the victims as well as the heroes who acted on that fateful day. This event drew 5,436 participants. Many of the runners were sporting a shirt in support of Boston.

The Starting Line

It turned out to be a great event. It was helped greatly by my friend Lauren running the event with me.  As part of registering, runners received a B.A.A. 10k Adidas tech shirt and a finisher's medal.  The course itself was beautiful with flowers and the architecture around Boston. The race started and ended at The Commons.  The rest of the course is sort of a blur because I was so focused on completing the race, but I can say that it was mostly flat and there were plenty of water stops along the course. These were extremely helpful because it was a hot day even at 8 AM.

Race S.W.A.G.

Lauren really helped to push me to continue at a pace. A big part of running is mental and because it was such a rough month, I was a little worried about my ability to run.  We finished in around an hour which was fine by both of us because it meant we average less than 10 minutes a mile, but this race was also about more than our finishing times.

The experience of running this race was more than just challenging myself. It felt more like a therapeutic exercise for many involved. The running community is great and to see the support within this group was amazing. There were the elite runners, including Lelisa Desisa the winner of this year's Boston Marathon, recreational runners and even runner's who were inspired to start running to honor the victims.  It was a great display of camaraderie. It was easily one of my favorite races I have run.

A few interesting things that happened on Sunday.  Adidas had their Boston Stands As One shirts for sale both before and after the race. A few of the sponsors where Marathon Sports, Powerbar, Poland Springs and Adidas. Lastly, and the most important detail I have not said yet, is that Lelisa Desisa post race decided to give his winners medal to the City of Boston as a sign of solidarity.  It is a very touching measure and means a lot to many.

Lauren rocking the race S.W.A.G.

The set-up on the Commons

Race Review Round Up: Navigant Credit Union Running Festival, Boston Fund Run, and Tough Scrambler

It's been a while since I've reviewed any of the recent races I have completed. I have done three races since my last review. The three races are the Navigant Running Festival Half Marathon in Pawtucket, RI, Boston Fund Run/Walk 5k, and Tuff Scrambler 5k Obstacle Run. These are just quick little snapshots of what I thought of each of the races.

The Navigant Running Festival Half Marathon was on May 5th and started at 8 AM.  Needless to say, this start time was a bit rough. I saved a little time by going down the day before to pick up my bib number and race t-shirt.  Part of the pre-race ceremony was a moment of silence for the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings.  There were also bracelets given out that said Rhode Island runs for Boston. 

Overall, I was a very nice race. It had some great scenery while running as the end portion took you through a part filled with cherry blossoms. The course itself had a few hills nothing too challenging compared to the Great Bay Half Marathon. I ended up setting a half marathon PR with a time of 1:56:25.  It was a pretty great feeling to do a sub 2 half.

Next up was the Boston Fund Run/Walk 5k was organized by a local race organizing company, Northeast Race Management, LLC.  The race itself was free. They asked that you make a donation to One Fund Boston. It was a great community event. I was really excited that I could participate and the best part was that it helped raise over $3,000 towards the cause.  

The participants for the Boston Fund Run

Lastly, I ran the Tuff Scrambler again. It was my second time as I ran it last October as well.  It was a different race as they added a few new obstacles to the course. the two most obvious additions was a new mud crawl, climbing stairs and under wooden walls. It was still as fun of a race as I ran in October and I got even muddier than last time. I still highly recommend this as a beginners obstacle race if you are in the area. It is a great introduction.

Me, a Runner?

It is now May 11th and I have not written a post for VS. the Road since April 10th. I have been doing a lot of thinking about running and what it means to me. It might seem like a strange thing to say but I have always resisted considering myself a runner.  I have never thought I was good enough or running enough to be considered a runner. Well this all changed five days after my last post. The Boston Marathon became the target of a terrorist attack and everything I had thought changed.

I saw a community come together and rally. I saw runners on a day that they had worked so hard for become selfless. Many had continued on after the marathon and ran to to nearby hospitals to donate blood. Many of the images that have come from that day are inspirational. Marathon runners, volunteers, first responders, and even spectators ran to help victims without a second thought. They show that people are selfless that in the darkest moments, you can always find the light.  Something to check to out is Boston Magazine's story behind there recent cover: Boston Magazine Story

So, how does this relate back to the title of this article. Well, it was after this that I finally realized I was a runner. The running community is amazing. On top of the examples I have already stated many races have embraced One Fund Boston and have pledged to donate part of the proceeds from the races to the fund. This past Sunday, I ran the Navigant Credit Union Half Marathon. We were given bracelets that said "Rhode Island Runs for Boston" and a moment of silence was held before the race for the victims as well.  I am, also, doing a 5k Fun Run/Walk next week that is free and is asking for donations instead of a registration fee. It's amazing the way the running world has rallied.   It truly is an amazing community.I cannot fully express in words what it means to be a runner. I think the only way to completely understand is to run, but what I do know now, and will never again question is:


I am a RUNNER!

Spotlight: Charity Miles Running App

So, recently I was told about a great App, by my friend Brianna Strunk, for anyone who walks, runs or bikes.  It's called Charity Miles. The premise of the App is that due to it's initial corporate backing they have $1,000,000 do donate to charity.

The way it works is 25 cents is donated for every mile you walk or run and 10 cents is donated for every mile that you bike. These may not seem like a lot of money, but every little bit counts.

The app itself keeps track of the time and distance of each run as well as the amount of money you raised by being active. For example, my first run was 3.142 miles and it raised 79 cents so you do not have to complete full miles as it will credit even portions of a mile.  It does require you to log into the app. You can create an account with Charity Miles or log-in using Facebook or Twitter. Also, you are allowed to post to social media to help get more people involved in the causes and generate awareness for the charity you are running for.

The app has a wide range of Charity options as well from the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society to the Wounded Warrior project. There is a cause that anyone can support. My cause of choice has been Stand Up to Cancer.

As far as the tracking of time and distance is concerned, you may want to run a second tracking app such as Endomondo or MapMyRun along with Charity Miles if you are interested in tracking your splits, calories burned and other statistics as it does not get into that much detail for it's tracking. Running the second tracking app does not interfere with the using a second one.

I highly recommend this app to anyone. It's a great way to generate funds for great causes by simply doing what you already do! Please give this app a try and leave feedback on it in the comment section.

Welcome Back Beautiful Weather!

Now that the weather is getting nicer, I wanted to take some time to just quickly write about how weather influences my running. Last Tuesday I set out to do an easy 4 mile run. This served two purposes. The first was to get in a few miles in preparation for The Great Bay Half Marathon. The second was the try and break in my new shoes.

What started out as a 4 mile run ended up being a 9 mile run. This is where the weather comes in. This was the first time in quite a while the weather was so great for running after I got out of work. Once I started running I just wanted to keep going. It was so nice to be free of the treadmill.

I have already run a few races outside this year, but running a race and running to train are completely different for me.  When I am racing, I try to improve my Personal Records. When I'm running as part of training, I tend to take in my surroundings more. I go at a lighter pace and focus more on just getting the distance in than on running faster.

Tuesday was the first time in a long time, I remembered why I love running so much. It may sound lame or corny, but as I was running I did not have care in the world. It was all about running. It was me vs. the road. I think 9 miles was great for a random run, unfortunately the road always wins though. A person can only run for so long but the road continues.

Happy Race Season!!

Race Review: James H. Lamb Memorial Scholarship Road Race

Race season is officially in full swing. With my third race in three weeks it's great to be back at it on a regular basis.  The race this week was the James H. Lamb Memorial Scholarship Road Race.  It was a 5 mile course in Taunton, MA.

So for the registration and fees concerning the event. Pre-Registering it was only $16 and Day of Race Registration was $20. This was great pricing for a race of this distance. Usually they are more expensive.  The lower price however did not affect the S.W.A.G. (Stuff We All Get) bag given out to runners. Included in the bag, was a long sleeve t-shirt, sun glasses, a water bottle, a stop watch, and a few other items. It was surprisingly impressive for a race that only had a total of 79 participants.

As for the course itself it was a nice loop that started and ended at Coyle & Cassidy High School. The course went passed Hopewell Park, down towards the old Leonard Elementary School, a left onto Fremont St. and then down some strides and back past Leonard Elementary school and back the way we came. There were two water stops and every mile was marked and had a timer. The course itself had quite a few hills and some were steeper than others, but overall it was a great course to run.

The best part of this race was the after racing in many different cities and towns in Massachusetts, I finally manage to run on in my home town! It was a great feeling to run it and feel a certain sense of pride to race in the city I grew up in. I finished the race in 43:06 which is a personal record for 5 miles outdoors.

I am taking this weekend off from racing,but I will be back to racing when Riley and I conquer the Great Bay Half Marathon.

Race Review: New Bedford Half Marathon 2013

Yesterday, I ran the New Bedford Half Marathon in New Bedford, MA with my friends Arianna Magee and Joe Nusca. For them this was their first half marathon. For me, it was a follow up to the Hyannis Half Marathon with the hope that it would good much better than that one.

The day of the race was already much better than it was for the Hyannis Half Marathon. Instead of it being raining, windy and cold it was sunny with wind gusts. A much better setting to be running a race in.

There were 3135 runners in this race, but even with this many participants parking was not an issue at all. They planned for the large crowds and had ample parking spaces available.  The biggest pre and post race issues for this race were the lines for locker rooms (pre-race) and the festivities (post-race).

Before we discuss post-race though on to the race itself. With such a massive crowd and a highly popular event this race was amazing. Part of the course took us by the beaches and harbors in New Bedford.  It made for a very scenic race at times. With it being in a decent size city this view did not last for the entire race, but it certainly made it better when I got to see it.

However, the two toughest spots for this course are stated in the course description itself. There are two hills that are rather long and up the level of difficulty for this race. The first hill is at mile 3. It is by no means the steepest hill a runner will encounter, but it tends to be a long hill with a steady incline. The second big hill comes in around mile 12. This was a rather difficult hill due to fatigue and soreness in my legs, but I managed to conquer them both.

Another really cool aspect to this race was the crowd turnout. New Bedford takes a lot of pride in this race and you can see it with the spectators who are there cheering on the runners. It was easily the largest turn out fro spectators I have experienced yet.

All-in-all, this was probably my favorite race so far. Between the crowds on the street, my time and just the overall feeling at the end, I have never felt more accomplished when finishing a race. When I crossed the finish line I yelled "Yes!".  That's the only time I have have ever done that.

In the my resulst were a chip time of 2:13:24.  This average of to a minute per mile time of 10:11.  This was 12 minutes faster than my time for the Hyannis Half Marathon. Such a great improvement and now, I am looking forward to the Great Bay Half Marathon on April 7th.

Race Review: Ras na hEireann U.S.A. 2013

     Last weekend I ran the Ras na hEireann U.S.A. in Somerville, MA. This was a fun 5k to run that was made even better by running it with my friends Brianna Strunk and Nick Fernandez. There was a very big turn out for the race as well. It was easily the biggest turn out I have seen for a 5k yet. It turns out there were 4435 participants.

     Even though there were that many participants races day went smoothly. This was aided greatly due to the fact that race bib and t-shirt pick up were made available during the week leading up to the race. While I did not personally go to pick up my bib and t-shirt, Brianna had picked them up, I was told it was a rather smooth process and that is a good sign for a race.

     Now, back to race day.  We arrived in Somerville at around 10 o'clock and headed to the starting line around 10:30 with the race starting at 11.  It was a very St. Patty's Day themed crowd.  At one point while waiting for the starting gun, we were hitting a beach ball around.

     Now for the race itself.  Having run a race in Somerville last October, I was not to surprised by the course. It was very similar to the previous race with the starting and ending points only a street away from the previous race.  The course itself is a relatively flat course with only two hills that may cause issues for some runners.

My results for this time was a 28:15 with an average minutes per mile of 9:06.  As for where I placed within the group itself I was 1595 out of the 4435. Overall, I was extremely satisfied with the finish of this race. It was a very fun run with a good time.

     Part of finishing this race included receiving a finisher's medal and specials at some of the local bars in the area. We tried to go to a one of the bars that had the specials the lines were outside the door and they did not seem to be moving fast at all. We did find a nice little pizza place to eat though. The Davis Square area does not lack for restaurant options.

I highly recommend anyone who likes running to do this race next year!

A Transformation from the Inside Out

I sort of explained that I was not much of a runner before I graduated, in my about me section, but there is more to the story than simply not being a runner one day and being a runner the next. That is the really simplified version of the story.

became

I graduated from Lasell College in May 2011. Finding a job right out of school was not going well and the end of a relationship that was almost a year long led me to decide that I needed something I could control.  I decided I was going to run. I bought a pair of shoes and that was just the start.

I started running on September 14, 2011.I know this due to the app on my iPhone I used to track my run. My first run was 1 mile in 14 minutes and 16 seconds. I was really excited. First, I wanted to complete a mile. Second, I wanted to run the mile in under 15 minutes. I accomplished both goals.

After running the first mile, I would eventually push to be faster and push to go further. It has turned into a way to test my limits, but I started out running because I could. I wanted something that I did not need to depend on someone else for. It was also time where I could be focused on running and not worry about anything else. It is still that today.

I will say, when I started running I was extremely nervous and well extremely out of shape. I started running on the paths in a cemetery. I know that is probably a strange place to start, but there was no one around to judge me or for me to feel uncomfortable around. When I started running I weighed over 200 lbs.  I do not know the exact number/ I was too embarrassed to actually see the number on a scale even if I was the only seeing it.

After, I started running I decided I was going to start paying attention to what I ate, especially the portion sizes.  That was very important. This was a big part of me changing.

That is where I started.  Where I am now is worlds different.  I now weigh around 145 lbs.  I have an average mile below 9 minutes. I have run 17 races of varying distances and I am planning to run a marathon!The cemetery and those extra 50+ lbs seem like they belong to a different person.

 I have learned quite a bit along the way. The biggest thing though, is that nothing is really impossible. Hard work and dedication are the keys to achieving anything.  I went from feeling helpless and lost to knowing I am the person who decides what my future holds.

Music for Running Review: The Heist by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

      The connection between running and music is an interesting one. The type of music I like to listen really depends on the mood I am in when it comes time to run. Some runs I prefer dubstep. Some I prefer more of an alternative rock. Acoustic rock has made it's way into my music choice and even just a run with nothing but my thoughts happens occasionally. I thought it would be a cool feature to look at some artists and how I felt while running and listening to their music.

    For the first review on this topic I decided to do The Heist by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. There were a few songs on this album that I thought were great for using during a workout or running and others that were not the great for either. When I workout I tend to look for songs that are upbeat and energetic and my choices reflect that fully:

The songs I really liked to workout to:
1. Make the Money
2. Thrift Shop
3. Thin Line

The songs that I didn't like working out to:
1. Neon Cathedral
2. Cowboy Boots
3. BomBom

    This is by no means an indictment of the album in general. In fact, I actually really liked the entire album outside of working out. It's a great album with a lot of great music. I would recommend anyone who likes hip-hop to get a hold of it. It's worth a listen and has a great message throughout many of the songs.

Let me know what you think about this.

A Little More About Louie

Hi! I'm Louie. I'm 23 years old, almost 24. I'm an avid New England Revolution fan and running enthusiast. Okay, some may say I'm crazy when it comes to my running, but I really like it.

As for what got me into running, it was a combination of things. My post-graduation life was not going the way I had thought it would. I was struggling to find a job and had recently gone through a break up.  I decided to go buy a pair of running shoes because at least that was something I could control. I could control whether I got up and went for a run.

I started running pretty slowly.  I was excited about a 15 minute mile and being able to run more than a mile.  Eventually, I decided to start running races. Well, I was talked into it because I had no plans to race. I was not comfortable with my ability to run, but still signed up for my first race. It was a the Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50 10k on July 3rd.  I have been addicted since. I have run 5k's, 10k's, 5 milers, a Spartan Race, and other obstacle races. I plan to continue to run them and I hope you enjoy the reviews and other posts.