Looking Back on 2014

Wow! 8 marathons and hopefully, another Boston qualifier with the Rehoboth time (80 seconds to the good).
174.8 miles this month, the most miles in a month in over 5 years. The most total miles since 2010.
I had fun and I am in the best running shape I have been in many years. Thanks to massage http://themassageschool.org/, Roll Recovery http://www.rollrecovery.com/R8/ , Rumble foam roller http://rumbleroller.com/, Anatomy for Runners http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Runners-Unlocking-Potential-Prevention/dp/1620871599 and extra time off from Fleet Feet http://www.fleetfeethartford.com/ . Thank you Nancy (and Steph and Carrie).
Happy New Year! I hope to accomplish a 50K and a 50 miler.
What are your goals?

Updates

I ran 42.5 last week and 42.9 this week. I'm on schedule to run more miles this month than any month this year. Massage once a week, the Roll Recovery and the Rumble roller are helping me and the "Anatomy for Runners" is awesome! 50+ for at least 2 weeks next month!

I Feel Great!

I took 3 days off and then started running again after Rohoboth. 11 miles last week and so far 14.7 miles in 2 days this week. I am trying to make 20 miles feel short in my mind so that 31+ and 50 feel natural to run long. This is the most miles I have run in one year since 2010. 8 marathons run and I feel stronger now than I did in January.

Rohoboth Marathon

First, I had a great time again!
I started off by talking to a couple of Maniacs, I think #36 and 25??.
The day was cool and I worn Ice Breaker long sleeve. My bottles of Nuun/orange juice slipped right away and I had to carry the bottles in my hands for 6 miles. But I was determined to run under 3:55.
I talked to several people and ran with a women running her second marathon, her first in Hartford 2014.
We ran together until about mile 16 and then she pulled away. I had to use the porta potty but I knew if I did my chances of running sub 3:55 were slim at best. I kept going. At mile 23 I was trying not to slow down. At mile 25 I was trying to keep it under 10:00/mi. pace. I succeeded. I was totally spent at 26 but pushed to the end for a 3:53:40. A Boston qualifier but I know I can do better.

A Lot Going Forward

Ran the 78th Manchester Road Race in Manchester CT on Thanksgiving. 4.787 in 36:57, 21st in my age group (M60-64). Very crowded for the first 1.25 miles. I had to run close to 7:10/mi. for the last 1.5 miles to keep my U40 place. Nice day, nice race and I had fun!
Saturday is the Rohoboth Beach Marathon. I'm ready and I think I can run a Boston qualifier. But
I also signed-up for the Rock The Ridge 50-Mile Endurance Challenge, http://www.mohonkpreserve.org/rock-the-ridge
I need to fund raise $250 so if you would like to donate, https://www.crowdrise.com/-individualparticipants/fundraiser/keithalmeida
I have never run 50 miles so it will be a new challenge for me.

Rainy and Cold

I bought a Nike light rain cover or something like that about 7 years ago and I felt hot when I ran and it seemed to cause me to sweat more so I hung it up until today. I worn an Ice Breaker top under it and it was perfect! I was dry and warm but not hot and I did not sweat! 8.2 miles and I felt great! I feel much better running since I have increased my mileage, but I have to run in the dark a lot more. 40+ miles 3/4 weeks.

Colder but nice Weather

6.2 miles today after 13.1 yesterday. It was colder but I felt good and i ran well. Over 1200 miles for the year and I just purchased the AFX ankle foot maximizer. I've read it will help stabilize and strengthen my foot/ankle and it was only $99 so I will take the chance. I'll let you know in the next 2 weeks how it it is in helping my stability.

Increasing Mileage

I ran 40.9 miles last week and 29.6 so far this week. I ran 14.3 miles on Sunday but I was tired from working on Saturday so it took 2:10:50. Monday 2.2 miles with an off day yesterday, I was exhausted! Today I had off from work and I stayed in bed until after 8:00. Felt better and ran 13.1 miles in 1:53:56. 9:09/mi. Sunday in Saucony Ride and 8:41.8/mi. today in Hoka Conquest. Walking around today in Saucony Cortana.

NU Hartford Marathon Part II

They did correct my time for Hartford. I am happy that it is probably spot on now. I pushed so hard to be under 4:00 and I had accomplished it just to have it taken away. It almost seemed that the 3 was dropped for my start time when I saw that my daughters time was 8:03:25 vs. my time of 8:00:24. We had all stood together before the start gun. It was not a Boston qualifying time but a time to build on for Boston. This is my local marathon and I want to run it forever so it would have left a tough feeling in me if it had not been corrected. It just shows how great the people of the Hartford Marathon Foundation are to go the extra mile to understand the runners feelings.

Update: Hartford Marathon Understanding

They listened to me and gave me a time which I feel I earned. It did move me up to 15/63 in age group (up 1 place) but otherwise it did nothing but give me the time I deserved. No Boston qualifier time so no controversy there. This is my hometown marathon and I will now feel happy running it as long as I can. Thank you NU Hartford Marathon!

Hartford Marathon

First, the metal and shirt are great. I had a shirt on that said "Father of the Bride" for my daughter Kelly's wedding next month to Zach Glazer. Along with my daughter Tiffany, one of her maids of honor, they all ran the half.
I liked running in the rain and the temperature was cool and perfect except for my hands.
I started way back because I wanted to go slow at first and finish strong. I started behind the 4:30 pacer.
I was on a 3:55 pace and  I noticed the the 13.1 mark reflected the the gun time which it should.
But my official results now reflect the gun time only for all splits and the finish. I hit my watch after crossing the finish and it showed 3:57:58.
I am certiainlyglad I did not shoot for a Boston qualifying time. Again I had to use the porta potty at about mile 22.
Overall, a fun day.

Random Thoughts

The rolling registration is over for the 2015 Boston Marathon, and this year it appears you needed to beat your qualifying time by 62 seconds to get one of the 23,546 qualified runner entry slots. This is slightly closer than last year, when the cutoff occurred at 1:38 below the qualifying time.
Runner's World had an article which discusses "Runners with More Training Miles Finish Marathons Faster."
No surprise, I always felt I needed to run at least 40 miles to qualify for Boston and the article substantiates this thinking.
Hoka Clifton's are helping me get to 40/wk.

Awesome Day to Run

I got out of work at 2:30 today so I was out running just after 3. 8.1 miles in Hoka Clifton in 1:11 about 8:46/mi. just what I need for 26.2 to definitely qualify for Boston even if they go back to 25k entrants.
I signed up today for Boston and was #25845 at 10:40 this morning. So maybe if I got on-line at 10 I might have been under 25k but it would have been close.

Back to Running

I took only 4 days to recover from the LVHN Via Marathon. I ran 2.7 miles yesterday and 4.1 today. I ran in the Hoka Clifton today. I had them on before the marathon but decided at the last minute not to wear them. I hope to qualify soon for Boston 2016 so I can run in the Clifton's in a marathon without worrying how fast I run. No massage this week student was sick but acupuncture (needles) and lots of Roll Recovery and Rumble Roller. I feel great!

Via Marathon

So OK I missed posting in August. I seem to have 6 things left to do at the end of my day, every day! I have so much to do and running is not always #1 ;(
The Lehigh Valley Health Network Via Marathon was fun. It had it's positives and a few negatives but overall I accomplished what I wanted to in running it. I did not like the long down hill near thew beginning but I loved the trails! I felt good after recovering from the hill (mile 6) and I felt strong at the finish, no cramping. I took 4 salt capsules, S!Caps before mile 7, 14, and 21. 6 gels and OJ w/o Nuun (ran out); mostly water Gatorade just 2Xs.
Finished in 4:01:19 because I had to use the Porta-potty at mile 18 for about 3 minutes :( I find it tough traveling and finding the right food to set myself up for the race.
Hoping for a 3:50 in Hartford October 11.

163.4 miles Later

Yes, I almost missed writing in  the month of July. Many Roll Recovery http://www.rollrecovery.com/ , Rumble roller foam roller, http://www.rumbleroller.com/ and massages later I ran 131.2 miles in July which was my best total miles in July in 5 years. Thanks to all the students at The Massage School, http://themassageschool.org/?gclid=CNTDp_C58L8CFSsSMwodm0IAEA I could not run as well as I do without your help. It's funny but most of the students don't really know what their massage does for me. I am so blessed that there is such a quality massage school so close to me. Thanks Tika and Robin for all the great appointments!
I have three marathons in the Fall, the first is the Lehigh Valley Health Network Via Marathon in early September. Another marathon in PA. The Erie Marathon at Presque Isle is still on my list too.
A 8.0, 10.2, 16.3 and a 20 miler this month.

Update June 2014

The Vermont Marathon went well but I ran out of gas between mile 21 and 22. I finished in 4:05 when I was on a 3:55 pace most of the race.
It has been tough coming back but running in the Hokas I have gotten back to over 25 miles and I have increased every week since VT. Hopefully, I will break 35 this week. I have only had 2 days off in past 24 so I am a little tired.

Nutmeg State Marathon

Running around a park 12 times? Surprisingly a very enjoyable marathon which I will run again. I ran with a friend, Nick Platsis, for the first 14 miles which went by fast. Even after Nick too off the park itself was very pleasant despite the increasing humidity. 4:16:45 was a little slower than I wanted to run but VT City is 10 days away so I'll take it! There was a hill which of course repeated 12 times which did slow a lot of people down. Also this was the 4th day of 5 marathons in a row for several of the runners. God bless them! I believe they are crazy, but this was my 4th marathon this year which probably would have several people saying the same thing about me. Shirt and metal were nice and the volunteers! WOW!

Thursday Marathon

The Nutmeg Marathon this Thursday is my first Thursday marathon. My legs are tired from Boston. I came back too fast after Boston and I need to take it easy in Goodwin Park because I am running the VT City Marathon on the 25th. It is a day off from work, only the second day off since Boston. I had needles Monday with massage on Wednesday and Friday since I am "running" a 5K, the Pineapple run, for charity on Saturday.

118th Boston Marathon

I had a good time riding the Hartford Track Club bus. Sat next to Mitch and met several people who have been on the bus before but I never got a chance to talk to in the past.
The village had tight security and the staging areas had smaller sets of corrals to control people at the start.
I ran as slow as I could the first 4 miles and then I set a good pace. At the 15 mile mark the people were again grilling next to the road ;)
I took the hills in Newton at a good pace; I had carried orange juice/Nuun mixture and since it was hot (my Wave went off @ 11:00) I started drinking it @ mile 10. I drank Gatorade only once and took 5 gels.
After Heartbreak I felt good and pushed a little harder. I realized at 22 that I could break 4:00 if I kept pushing. I finished in 3:59:15. People on my bus came in 3:03 and 3:13 but many had slower times than they expected.
I saw a survivor from the bombing at mile 23 with one high tech leg she looked strong but tired. Several blind runners and other amputees and a few wheel chair racers. It was inspirational with more music than in previous years.

Holy Thursday

The last time I ran the Boston Marathon the day after Easter Sunday, I ran a PR, my first Boston. This time I hope to have an uneventful race and just have fun. It will be very emotional starting on Saturday at the Expo. I hope they do not make it difficult on the runners. I feel the history when I run Boston and I feel a small part of it. There are not a lot of things you can do in life and feel that way with all the stress and emotion of a marathon. You never know but it could be my last Boston even though I have a qualifying time already for next year. I hope to run about 3:52 but I hope to capture the awe I had in my first Boston.

Two Rivers Marathon

First, Mark, the director did a great job! I ran well and came in third in my age group, 60-69. The person finishing just in front of me was second. I was 48th overall  in 3:46:52.
This is a great course, although not closed to traffic, with the last 7 miles a gentle down hill.

Update a Long Time Coming

I worked every day since the marathon until last Saturday so I have been a little tired and busy. Two of my daughters have just gotten engaged and I have had to add more activities to my calendar.
I'm looking forward to the Two Rivers Marathon and I hae tried to increase my mileage. I have been reading the Hansons' training and I realize that I ran much better when I ran 45-55 miles/week.
I tried the Boost Glide but it is a little too soft for me.
I tried the Hoka Conquest and even though it is 4 mm it works for me and I hope to be able to increase my weekly mileage by 10-15 miles. I hope to run a full marathon in them in May.
My Sciatica flared up for about 2.5 weeks but I used heat, a firm seat in the bus, and holding some stretches for 2 minutes to hold it at bay.

Louisiana Marathon

Awesome!
I had a great time, my son and niece Gina ran the half. A little too warm but warm and sunny in January!!!
Had to use the porta potty and I stopped to tie one shoe but the heat got to me at mile 24-25 and I had to walk up one concrete overpass. Still my 3:58:50 was nice and the the Food and Bands and the VIP Marathon Maniac tent, WOW!
I ran with about 6 Maniacs throughout the race and saw some awesome wildlife. Definitely one to run. Only drawback is the concrete roads but you get them throughout the South and you just have to suck it up.
Roll Recovery, http://www.rollrecovery.com/ helped after the race and the past two days. My legs definitely feel better than usual.
New Orleans was amazing too. Red Slipper and Bull Dog just two of the great places we went to to eat and have a brew. Hopefully, I will run it again. Loved Baton Rouge and the River Road back to New Orleans.

Six Days to Go!

Looking forward to the Louisiana Marathon. My legs feel a little tired today so I took the day off. I would like to run between 3:55 and 4:05 in the race and have a lot of fun and just enjoy running in Louisiana. I feel I am prepared with needles last night and a 2 hour massage tomorrow. Looking forward to a long run, my legs usually feel better after the long run (marathon). I'll be running 5 marathons in 5 months with 2 in May 10 days apart. I should be fine, I just want to have fun in 2014 and I hope to run as many marathons as I feel good physically and that fit the family's schedule.