What an AWESOME event today! The Philly Get Your Rear in Gear hosts a kids run, 5k, 10k, and 2 mile walk. Funds raised from the event will help local efforts to raise awareness of colon and rectal cancer and positively impact screening rates. I chose to do the 10k race and as my stream of consciousness hits the day before this race, it goes like this:
'Wow, I did my first run race in 2002 - it was a 10k and I ran 38:51. A long way coming and my "goal" for this race is to run in the low 34 minute range. What a sense of hard work and improvement over the years.'
'I started a non-profit foundation two years ago with the goal to help cancer patients and their families (no matter what type of cancer) and I'm trying to do my best at getting others involved and helping as many people as we can, collectively. Running in this event, racing alongside thousands of other people passionate about the cause - how is this going to feel? I may be overwhelmed.'
'The event wants to use the funds to raise awareness of colon cancer and positively impact screening rates - I recently had my screening last month and I feel empowered to carry similar goals and objectives with HCM, but I struggle figuring out the best and most effective way to increase colon cancer prevention and it frustrates me. I hope I can figure this out soon.'
'My Dad died of colon cancer at such a young age and never had the chance to see me grow up. I wish he was around to see all I've become - whether it is running, the foundation, etc. But the crazy thing is that if he was here - all of that stuff might not be.'
'And lastly - events and races of this nature put a good amount of focus on one day - getting people pumped and fired up to do big things. We try to do that at our HCM events! However, the real work gets done day in and day out by remaining focused and putting your nose to the grindstone and never letting up. I want to use this race as a way to get me pumped up so I can continue to have that intense drive and work ethic I have with the foundation - this moment in my life is the most motivated I've been in a long time.'
Ok - well lets get on with the race. I get there and walk over to the art museum to pick up my race number and t-shirt. All these people here - some holding signs, some wearing t-shirts that honor who they are running or walking for - it made me stop and look around. It's history right here. All these stories - peoples' lives and their ability to touch others enough they are now doing something in their memory/honor. It amazes me. And of course I sport the new HCM run singlet - I don't look at this piece of clothing as a way to honor my Dad - I keep that in my heart and mind - I look at our uniforms as a way to show I am part of a TEAM that is collectively trying to make a difference in our community. The people on the HCM Team are down right amazing. Genuine would be my word to describe all of them and the relationships being built are going to do some really good things this year and further years.
Ok - now I will really get to the race, ha! It was in the mid to low 40s but the sun was shining very bright. So I wore shorts, t-shirt, hcm singlet over shirt, and light gloves - PERFECT conditions. I did about a 2 mile warm up and 5 or 6 pickups just before the start and mingled with a few of the other runners (always nice to catch up and meet new people). I recognized Patrick Hager (winner of 5k today) from the Quakertown race so we said a few words and he introduced me to his buddy Eric, who was running the 10k and also shooting for a low 34 time! Good stuff!
So we start and it was hard to know who was running the 5k versus the 10k because we all started together. I knew I wanted to hold a 5:30 pace on the way out so I tried not to get wrapped up in the speed early on and held my own pace. In the 10k, there was a guy way off the front - then Eric and another guy, Steve (who I've done a few training runs with), were together a few steps ahead of me. By mile 2 they started to separate and Eric held his pace strong. I ended up catching up to Steve and tried to encourage him to keep running with me because we could feed off each other and keep it going. I hit the turnaround (at the 5k mark) nice and steady feeling good - the first place guy was still way out front, Eric was about 15 sec ahead of me, Steve was about 10 sec behind me, and then there was a line of guys maybe 30 - 45 sec behind Steve.
Eric simply smoked that second half of the course - he was looking strong after the turnaround. No way I was catching up to him. So I just wanted to continue running my pace the best I can, finish on the low 34 min range, and stay in 3rd place. After the turnaround, it is so cool because you get to see everyone who is in the race. Soooo many cheers were coming my way. Things like - "Cmon - looking strong, you are in 3rd place, keep it up." What a rush. In the last mile and a half we come up on people finishing the 5k and also all the incredible folks doing the walk. This was AMAZING! People in the walk wearing those shirts, holding signs, so many stories beaming brightly throughout that 1 mile stretch. It gave me energy! There was a moment I had where I was running through these thousands of people thinking, 'ha, I am running as fast as I possibly can, I am in 3rd place in a field of 800, and I am running through about 2,000 other people (doing the walk and 5k) - it was a crazy feeling and one I have never experienced. Those are always the best! I was trying to soak up every second and certainly every footstep I took!
So I ended up finishing with a time of 34:28 and placed 3rd overall. The pace I ran averaged out to be 5:33 which is very close to my goal pace of 5:30 so I will walk away happy with the effort I put in! Here is a link to the results: http://www.lin-mark.com/results/gear10k2011.txt
You know - for a guy who absolutely loves running, lost his Dad to colon cancer at a young age, and started a cancer foundation two years ago - this day was an AWESOME day for me. Although, I continue to go back to one of the points above - It's great to have these days, but it's also important to continue the day in and day out hard work we are all capable of whether it is in running, our jobs, raising our children, treating people well. It is important to make sure you have an awesome day every day!
Thanks for reading and I hope to see you soon :)
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The Quakertown 10 Miler
Wow - What an awesome day for a race!! A bit of overcast, low 50s, and a rolling/hilly course!!
I've really been making an effort to get my running fitness back to where it was two years ago and this race definitely made me feel like I'm making progress! It took me about 40 - 45 minutes to get to where the race was being held. Whenever I have a drive like that I try to think about how I want my day to pan out. Here are some of the things that were rolling around my head on the drive:
Try to encourage the other people running - before, during, and after the race. Thank the volunteers when I can. Enjoy the weather. Get in a decent warm up run. Don't start out too hard. Work the hills, recover on down hills, try to run the second half faster than the first. Stick around the finish line after I cross to congratulate some people as they cross. Go for a short warm down run. Eat food. Stick around for all of the awards. And then head home.
Those were my goals for this race and it actually turned out pretty well! I really enjoy the local race scene - there are so many great folks involved - many are friends of mine and there are always new people to meet too! It is all good! I always find it interesting to talk with people before - we are all a bit anxious nervous. Then after we all finish, everyone is relaxed and I love hearing people's recap of their race!
On to what happened in the race. Mike Carriglitto, Sam Snukis, and I headed out for a 20 minute warm up run. I did a few pick ups and we were ready to start!! I ran this race last year so I knew the layout of the course. I didn't feel I had the fitness to go out super hard on this course because of the hills and my plan was to actually hang about 10 - 15 yards behind the front group for a bit.
So as we start and we run that first mile - WOW - the front group had like 10 - 15 people in it!! I cross the first mile marker in 5:40 and that was great - not too hard/not too easy. But I was thinking - that front group is running like 5:20 and that is going to hurt once we get in the hills!!
Once we hit that first mile I started to work through the front group and a few of the guys started coming back and another two of the guys in that group turned left to follow the 4 miler course. So we turn right to follow the 10 miler course. Now ahead of me is Mark Jones, Mike Carriglitto and three other guys. Right as we hit the 2 mile mark, I am with Mark. What a great guy he is! We chat for a few steps and the course continues to head downhill for a bit.
We continue on and turn left which this is when the madness starts - HILLS HILLS HILLS!! I didn't push the first two miles very hard and so when we started to get in the hills my goal was to run very hard UP the hills and recover DOWN the hills. I thought this would allow me to get over the hills quickly but conserve some energy for the last half of the race. I end up getting a few steps ahead of Mark - Mike C. and another guy are about 30 - 40 seconds ahead and the other two guys are about 40 seconds ahead of them.
So sticking to my strategy - hard on the uphills, recover on the downhills - I actually catch up to Mike C. and the other guy just before mile 4. It took a lot of effort to catch back on. When I caught back up it was in the middle of the second last big climb. The guy that was with Mike started to fall back. I do some training with Mike and we often do some of our hard weekly runs together so when I got up to him I asked him how he was feeling, hoping we could just keep it relaxed and stay at this pace. Haha, Well we were at about 24 minutes at this point and he says to me, "I'm going to wait until 25 minutes and then I'm going to go." So we hit 25 minutes and he says, "C'mon - time to go." It was a move like I've never seen before. He put about 30 seconds on me in a matter of 10 seconds, ha!! He crushed it!
So we continue on and at mile 5 we hit the last beast of a hill. We get over that and Mike C. is about 30 seconds ahead of me, then there is a guy maybe 30 - 40 seconds ahead of him, and another guy 20 - 30 seconds ahead of him. I was feeling pretty good at this point and my goal was to try to keep Mike in sight and just use him as a marker to make sure I'm not slowing down (no way was I catching up to him, but just didn't want to slow too much.)
Mike made such an incredible move, he ends up catching the 2nd place guy and just keeps it moving!! When I saw this at mile 6, I thought maybe I can get him too but it will take a bit of effort. So I really dig in pretty hard on this flat section. We turn left and as we hit 7 miles I catch up to him and continue on. So 3 miles left and now I am in third place, Mike C. in 2nd about 30 seconds up, and the 1st place guy about a minute up on Mike.
WOW - mile 8 is a scorching downhill!! This was actually a pretty hard section because I knew the last mile is uphill. I didn't have much left at this point, but the guy I just passed was not really that far behind so I still needed to keep the pace I generated in order to catch up to him. This was tough!!
We hit 9 miles and make a right hand turn going uphill and with a half mile left I give it all I had!! By the time I crossed the finish line, I thought I was going to lose my breakfast!! So I come in and end up finishing 3 place with a time of 58:14 on this super brutal hilly course. Aaahhh, what a great feeling to reach the finish line!!! Mike C. grabbed 2nd place in 57:40 and the 1st place guy ran a mid 56!
http://pretzelcitysports.com/userfiles/file/11%20quak%20rotary%2010M%20res.pdf
This race is certainly one of my favorites - Bill T. does a great job directing and there is such a cool atmosphere at this race. It gives off a really cool vibe. I was happy to see many of my friends out there running and I also met some new friends. Running has soooo much more to offer than what we see in our paper results. I walked away today more fulfilled from listening to other people tell me their story about their race - how they felt, their results, what races they have coming up. It is all so great and I look forward to another day out there racing!
I've really been making an effort to get my running fitness back to where it was two years ago and this race definitely made me feel like I'm making progress! It took me about 40 - 45 minutes to get to where the race was being held. Whenever I have a drive like that I try to think about how I want my day to pan out. Here are some of the things that were rolling around my head on the drive:
Try to encourage the other people running - before, during, and after the race. Thank the volunteers when I can. Enjoy the weather. Get in a decent warm up run. Don't start out too hard. Work the hills, recover on down hills, try to run the second half faster than the first. Stick around the finish line after I cross to congratulate some people as they cross. Go for a short warm down run. Eat food. Stick around for all of the awards. And then head home.
Those were my goals for this race and it actually turned out pretty well! I really enjoy the local race scene - there are so many great folks involved - many are friends of mine and there are always new people to meet too! It is all good! I always find it interesting to talk with people before - we are all a bit anxious nervous. Then after we all finish, everyone is relaxed and I love hearing people's recap of their race!
On to what happened in the race. Mike Carriglitto, Sam Snukis, and I headed out for a 20 minute warm up run. I did a few pick ups and we were ready to start!! I ran this race last year so I knew the layout of the course. I didn't feel I had the fitness to go out super hard on this course because of the hills and my plan was to actually hang about 10 - 15 yards behind the front group for a bit.
So as we start and we run that first mile - WOW - the front group had like 10 - 15 people in it!! I cross the first mile marker in 5:40 and that was great - not too hard/not too easy. But I was thinking - that front group is running like 5:20 and that is going to hurt once we get in the hills!!
Once we hit that first mile I started to work through the front group and a few of the guys started coming back and another two of the guys in that group turned left to follow the 4 miler course. So we turn right to follow the 10 miler course. Now ahead of me is Mark Jones, Mike Carriglitto and three other guys. Right as we hit the 2 mile mark, I am with Mark. What a great guy he is! We chat for a few steps and the course continues to head downhill for a bit.
We continue on and turn left which this is when the madness starts - HILLS HILLS HILLS!! I didn't push the first two miles very hard and so when we started to get in the hills my goal was to run very hard UP the hills and recover DOWN the hills. I thought this would allow me to get over the hills quickly but conserve some energy for the last half of the race. I end up getting a few steps ahead of Mark - Mike C. and another guy are about 30 - 40 seconds ahead and the other two guys are about 40 seconds ahead of them.
So sticking to my strategy - hard on the uphills, recover on the downhills - I actually catch up to Mike C. and the other guy just before mile 4. It took a lot of effort to catch back on. When I caught back up it was in the middle of the second last big climb. The guy that was with Mike started to fall back. I do some training with Mike and we often do some of our hard weekly runs together so when I got up to him I asked him how he was feeling, hoping we could just keep it relaxed and stay at this pace. Haha, Well we were at about 24 minutes at this point and he says to me, "I'm going to wait until 25 minutes and then I'm going to go." So we hit 25 minutes and he says, "C'mon - time to go." It was a move like I've never seen before. He put about 30 seconds on me in a matter of 10 seconds, ha!! He crushed it!
So we continue on and at mile 5 we hit the last beast of a hill. We get over that and Mike C. is about 30 seconds ahead of me, then there is a guy maybe 30 - 40 seconds ahead of him, and another guy 20 - 30 seconds ahead of him. I was feeling pretty good at this point and my goal was to try to keep Mike in sight and just use him as a marker to make sure I'm not slowing down (no way was I catching up to him, but just didn't want to slow too much.)
Mike made such an incredible move, he ends up catching the 2nd place guy and just keeps it moving!! When I saw this at mile 6, I thought maybe I can get him too but it will take a bit of effort. So I really dig in pretty hard on this flat section. We turn left and as we hit 7 miles I catch up to him and continue on. So 3 miles left and now I am in third place, Mike C. in 2nd about 30 seconds up, and the 1st place guy about a minute up on Mike.
WOW - mile 8 is a scorching downhill!! This was actually a pretty hard section because I knew the last mile is uphill. I didn't have much left at this point, but the guy I just passed was not really that far behind so I still needed to keep the pace I generated in order to catch up to him. This was tough!!
We hit 9 miles and make a right hand turn going uphill and with a half mile left I give it all I had!! By the time I crossed the finish line, I thought I was going to lose my breakfast!! So I come in and end up finishing 3 place with a time of 58:14 on this super brutal hilly course. Aaahhh, what a great feeling to reach the finish line!!! Mike C. grabbed 2nd place in 57:40 and the 1st place guy ran a mid 56!
http://pretzelcitysports.com/userfiles/file/11%20quak%20rotary%2010M%20res.pdf
This race is certainly one of my favorites - Bill T. does a great job directing and there is such a cool atmosphere at this race. It gives off a really cool vibe. I was happy to see many of my friends out there running and I also met some new friends. Running has soooo much more to offer than what we see in our paper results. I walked away today more fulfilled from listening to other people tell me their story about their race - how they felt, their results, what races they have coming up. It is all so great and I look forward to another day out there racing!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
What did you have in mind?
I got a call the other day right smack in the middle of the day. It was a number I didn't recognize and when that happens I always try to answer the phone no matter what I'm doing simply because it's more efficient (rather than them leaving a voice mail then I have to call back, etc.) It was a day where my mind was racing, ideas were popping in my head, and I was running at full speed!! So my phone rings, I don't recognize the number, and I decide to pick it up.
The caller is a gentleman who wants to inquire about the HCM Foundation College Scholarship Program. He tells me that his daughter fulfills the requirements to apply and he was calling to get more details. So right away - things slow down for me. My mind stops going full speed and is now solely focused and interested in this family's story.
I am not going to go in depth with the details to their story so I can keep it private and maintain the integrity of the scholarship program, which is run by a committee. But I will go on to write that this gentleman's daughter has a VERY similar story to myself and hearing him describe it to me REALLY made me slow down even more. As he tells me their story he is also reflecting back on his life and expresses to me some of the difficult times they had.
As the conversation is coming to an end I say to him that I am very grateful our paths have crossed and I encourage his daughter to apply for the HCM Scholarship. Then I also go into telling him just a brief rendition of my story and what the scholarship committee is really looking for when we sit down and review/score the applications. I think he was a bit taken back by my story because it is so similar to his daughter. I believe it was a very cool moment for both him and me - two people who have never met in person, talking on the phone, engaging about the similar hardships of our past, blessed moments in the present, and endless opportunities for the future.
So now for the rest of that day and most likely for the rest of the week I will be thinking about this conversation. What this conversation did for me was take me back - it took me back to what I had in mind as I was driving in my car 2 years ago and said to myself, "I'm going to create something that will help families and their children who are just like me - who went through similar things and have similar capabilities for the future."
You know these last few months a lot of my energy has been put into organizing future fundraisers and doing a lot of the administrative side to HCM Foundation. Not that I have forgotten my original mindset when I created it, but it are scenarios like this conversation that are so vital to staying true to yourself and your original intent.
It made me feel good to talk with this gentleman. And our conversation - yea, it certainly makes me go back. Makes me think about my Mom, my brother, me - the loss of an important family member. Hearing stories like this one is what keeps me motivated to keep things moving. The ability for me and the HCM network to give families like this help and hope. The hope means more to me. Hope is always stronger.
So as I continue to push on this week and things are racing a gazillion miles a minute - as I lay in bed at night trying to get some z's, I will think of these stories and continue to be amazed by the incredible people who cross my path each day.
Always remember where you came from and "what you had in mind!" It will make your hope stronger!
The caller is a gentleman who wants to inquire about the HCM Foundation College Scholarship Program. He tells me that his daughter fulfills the requirements to apply and he was calling to get more details. So right away - things slow down for me. My mind stops going full speed and is now solely focused and interested in this family's story.
I am not going to go in depth with the details to their story so I can keep it private and maintain the integrity of the scholarship program, which is run by a committee. But I will go on to write that this gentleman's daughter has a VERY similar story to myself and hearing him describe it to me REALLY made me slow down even more. As he tells me their story he is also reflecting back on his life and expresses to me some of the difficult times they had.
As the conversation is coming to an end I say to him that I am very grateful our paths have crossed and I encourage his daughter to apply for the HCM Scholarship. Then I also go into telling him just a brief rendition of my story and what the scholarship committee is really looking for when we sit down and review/score the applications. I think he was a bit taken back by my story because it is so similar to his daughter. I believe it was a very cool moment for both him and me - two people who have never met in person, talking on the phone, engaging about the similar hardships of our past, blessed moments in the present, and endless opportunities for the future.
So now for the rest of that day and most likely for the rest of the week I will be thinking about this conversation. What this conversation did for me was take me back - it took me back to what I had in mind as I was driving in my car 2 years ago and said to myself, "I'm going to create something that will help families and their children who are just like me - who went through similar things and have similar capabilities for the future."
You know these last few months a lot of my energy has been put into organizing future fundraisers and doing a lot of the administrative side to HCM Foundation. Not that I have forgotten my original mindset when I created it, but it are scenarios like this conversation that are so vital to staying true to yourself and your original intent.
It made me feel good to talk with this gentleman. And our conversation - yea, it certainly makes me go back. Makes me think about my Mom, my brother, me - the loss of an important family member. Hearing stories like this one is what keeps me motivated to keep things moving. The ability for me and the HCM network to give families like this help and hope. The hope means more to me. Hope is always stronger.
So as I continue to push on this week and things are racing a gazillion miles a minute - as I lay in bed at night trying to get some z's, I will think of these stories and continue to be amazed by the incredible people who cross my path each day.
Always remember where you came from and "what you had in mind!" It will make your hope stronger!
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