Music is my Drug

Wow!! I just had a great 3 mile run yesterday . Started out tough again and actually the first mile basically sucked. I could feel my lunch tumbling in my stomach. I am having great difficulty figuring out when to eat before my run. Today I waited two hours after lunch before my run, I don't think it was enough. I will need to figure this out, especially when the training/miles increase.

My music really helped me today. About a mile in, "the way I do" by Melissa Ethridge came on and I could feel myself pick up the pace. I immediately took my mind of the labor of running. Next was "Machine head" by Bush. Now I was Feeling real good and wasn't thinking of my stomach at all. Limp Bizkit's "My Way" was next. This song is so energetic and has a lot of meaning to me. I was on full throttle (Disclaimer: My Full throttle is still real fucking slow). I rarely do this, but I hit the back button again for a double shot of "My Way". I sprinted home. It's amazing the effect music can have if you let it take over. It was like taking a shot of speed during the run.

My weight has started to drop, I was down to 210 on Friday. I played hoop everyday at the gym. The basketball we are playing is crazy. 2 on 2 on full court. It's about an hour of sprinting. But I feel good and strong and it's helping me take the lb's off. I'm down 15 lbs now. I'm actually starting to take people off the dribble for the first time in years. What a difference the lbs make.

We went to an all you can eat Brazilian steak house lat night. I put on a show. I can't believe how much I ate. The waiters were amazed that I kept calling them over. A guy from the table next to us said I was the "beef eating champion of the world". I feel like a big bag of ass this morning, so I definitely will need to go for a run today. I'll keep you posted...ross

Mr Jones...and me

I'm back. Sorry for not posting in a while, it's been a crazy week. The weather hasn't been any good for running. I played hoop everyday this week and played tennis on Thursday. My weight remains the same so I think I'm going to really need to put up some miles to lose some more lbs.
I got a couple of emails from folks who were thinking the beast was winning because I haven't been posting. The truth is, with the way the weather has been, I just haven't focused much on this quest lately, if I did it would only lead to frustration from not being able to run.

I did manage to get a run in yesterday, 2.5 miles with a lot of hills. I felt good, the hills sucked but it was a good run to get me going again. I was planning to run again today but it's only 37 out. I really need the temp to be above 50. The cold air kills my asthma.

When I was running all I could think of was the lyrics to Mr Jones by the counting crows:
"I want to be a lion! Everybody wants to pass as cats .We all want to be big big stars, but we got different reasons for that. Believe in me because I don't believe in anything and I want to be someone to believe!!"

I'm not sure why this beast is inside me, but I know that I need do to this. Maybe it's a self esteem issue, maybe I want to feel like a big big star. It could be that I have mis-identified the beast and that when it's over I'll still have a hole to fill!! I won't know until November 4th, but right now I need to run to bring peace to my life..see ya soon...dave

Fat Weekend

I played my last hoop game Thursday night. We sucked and lost, but it's okay because I was mentally checked out of the league for a few weeks now. Of course we wentfor beers after the game and again I had a tired Friday.

We got hit with a foot of Snow on Friday, work was too crazy to go to the gym. Iy's too cold and nasty out to do anything out side this weekend. So I have been eating my way to happiness. Pizza, Cheese steaks and beer. ..talk to ya soon...ross

Mine Falls

What a great day! My thoughts of running before work did not pan out because my alarm clock (2 screaming kids) slept in. But I still had a good morning and felt very motivated today.

I went to the gym at lunch and lifted for the first time in 2 months. Not a lot of weight but enough with 3 sets of 15 reps. It felt so good.

After work I went to Mine Falls park in Nashua. Those of you from Saugus think (Breakheart). Mine Falls has a great trail run exactly 3 miles long. I started out weak as always, the first quarter of a mile I felt tight and my legs felt heavy. But then I loosened up. The trail was mud soup and it made running tough. My new sneakers now look like they are ten years old. The shady areas still had some ice even though it was 70 degrees. I plodded along slowly and had to pull to the right to let a couple of speedy runners fly by me. Seeing them blaze by brought me down some, made me feel like I didn't belong. But then up ahead I saw a runner running slower than me, so I made it my mission to catch him. I ran like hell and finally caught him, and then I realized the guy must have been 80 years old, it didn't do much for the ego but if nothing else it distracted me.

My music was perfect today, it started out with Jane Says by Jane's addicition. I was thinking that in order to run a marathon, I would need to make running my addiction. That was followed by Jancie Joplin, Rage against the Machine, Bush, Eminem and Kanye West to name a few. All of the music flowed and helped me push through the course.

Mine Falls is a wonderful place. It's a real flat course, easy on the legs. There a lot of people out running walking ect. They always wave hello. This place will be a key for me. I have run this course twice and I think I could do a 3rd lap without boredom setting in. I plan on doing all of my runs 9 miles or less here.

I finished Strong listening to "Mamma said knock you out" on the last leg of the trail. I felt great, I could have gone another mile or two but no sense in pushing it at this point.

Congrats to my brother Bob for making the Suffolk Hall of Fame! You deserve it buddy.

P.S. To the Beast- Fuck You, I'm coming strong, see you November 4th...ross

Crazy day

I woke up experiencing EAS (explosive ass syndrome), Stomach killed all morning. By lunch I was feeling pretty good and played hoop at the gym. I still have a jump shot, but not much else. Was feeling great on the ride home and had plans of going for a run as soon as I got home. That pretty much ended when I walked through the door. My poor wife was suffering from EAS and my kids were completely out of control. It was absolutely pandemonium. That's when it hit me, finding time to train for this race may be the hardest part. Since I couldn't run tonight, I finished my ultra marathon book. This guy ran a 200 mile relay by himself. (If he can do that, I have to be able to run 26.2) Finishing the book got me pumped up and I thought about going for a run at 9:30, but I think it's best I wait until morning..talk to ya soon...ross

Monday Blues

I feel good after yesterdays run. I should, it was a short one!! I played hoop today, 2 on 2 for an hour. Decent workout. I really should have gone for another run but I didn't have it in me after work. I feel a little cold coming on, I think I need a good night sleep.

My weight has really hit a plateau, but yesterdays run help to refocus me on my diet. I had all fruits and veggies today, until I got home. I don't think the Whopper from burger king I had for dinner will do any good, but sometimes you have to say what the hell. I hope to break this plateau and start losing pounds again soon. ..see ya later ross

Carpe Diem

I had a million excuses why i couldn't run today. I was too tired because we turned the clocks back, I ate too much for lunch, It was too wet from the melting snow among a bunch of other lousy excuses. Finally I put my big boy pants on and went for my first training run and my first jog since last August.

I jogged 2 miles around Saugus. I my first gut check came about 50 yards after I left my mother's house and realized I really did eat too many slices of pizza at Chuck E Cheese. After I broke through that wall the rest of the run was easy. I ran a slow pace as always, today was probably slower than normal. I opened up the run with Pearl Jam playing on my Mp3 That was a good sign. My new sneakers felt great. I didn't feel the pounding of the pavement at all. Thanks again to my friends at Runners Alley. Not to mention that it's the first time I've spent more than $20 on running shoes.

Jogging in Saugus always seems so much easier than anywhere else. I have so much history there. As I run past different places in town a lot of memories come to mind and occupy my mind as I run. I realized today how much I miss the place, not the new Saugus with the traffic and the houses on top of each other, but the old Saugus, the one with the small town feel to it. I miss the attitude also, if you are not from the town it's tough to explain but I'll try. Basically, people from Saugus look at everyone they meet from outside the town as an asshole until proven otherwise! Normally, we're right..talk to ya later...dave

Thursday night

I played tennis with the team on Thursday night. A lot of fun but I was out late again. When we get off the court at Midnight we have a couple of cold ones at the club. It makes for a long tired Friday. As I get closer to the race, I will need to stay away from Thursday night tennis.

Played Full court king of the court at the gym yesterday for an hour. I played with two friends that run like rabbits. I was exhausted. I was hoping someone else would show up so I could sub out. It was a great workout though.

I just got back from the only running store in New Hampshire (Runners Alley). They had me try on about 8 pairs of sneakers, finally I settled on a pair made by Brooks. I'm pretty excited about my new kicks, hopefully I will get out there soon. I was surprised, they put me in a size 11, I have never worn a sneaker that big before. They said they need to leave room for swelling, that is scary. If you ever need sneakers, this place was great!!

Hopefully I will be able to run in the next day or two..talk to ya soon..dave

Fifty Fifty

I figure I have a 50% chance of finishing this thing. Either I finish or I don't. There you have it, one of those two things will happen.

I played some hoop yesterday, and going to play tennis now. I can't wait to get running. It's tough getting to a gut check during hoop or tennis. I'm also working on a lifting plan as part of my training. I don't want to get big and carry extra weight around, I have enough already, but I do need to get stronger.

I'm almost done with my Ultra Marathon book about Dean Karnazes. The first part was very inspirational, the second half is down right scary. This guy ran 135 miles in Death Valley during the summer. He's a little crazy! He seems like the David Koresh of running. Any way, it is a great read!! Talk to you soon...ross

242 and counting

Played some hoop yesterday and plan to play for an hour today. I can't wait to get started but the weather is killing me. It only got up to 12 degrees yesterday and today may not be much better.

I bought a book about Dean Karnazes last night. He is an ultra-marathoner. He runs 100 miles at a time, sometimes 27 straight hours. It appears to be the type of book I was looking for. There are a million books on how to run your first marathon, but I've got time before I need to read one of those. Right now I need inspiration!!..see ya soon...d

244 days to go

No major updates today. Played some hoop at the gym, trying to get into shape. My weight is my biggest concern, I've lost 12 LBS since Feb 1st, but I think I need to shed another 30 before race time.

It looks like I'm going to use Hal Higdon's "Spring Training". It's a 12 week program that gets you ready for the real race training. It's basic, but it will fit in perfect time wise. I need to start that around April 1st.

I spoke to Bib today, he went running over the weekend. I can't see myself out there until the weather breaks. I spoke to Ken too, he was having a beer at the sox game!!..talk to ya soon...dave

Time to feed the Beast

Okay, here we go. For the few (very few) who have read this blog in the past, it is no longer dedicated to my political views. I am going to use this space for a different reason for the time being. Don't get me wrong, I still believe in everything that was written here previously.

There are 245 days left to train for the very first Manchester N.H. marathon, and at this moment it looks like I'm finally going to get the courage up to Feed the Beast. The Beast (a burning desire to run 26.2 miles ) has been inside me for years. It has taunted me, mocked me and made me feel weak!

I'm sure over the next 245 days I'll talk a lot about the beast, but for now I just want to let you know that this site will be devoted to my marathon experience.

I have verbal commitments from two terrific friends Bib & Ken, I've been through so much with these guys already, that it seems like a perfect fit to take on this challange with them!!

Talk to ya soon ...dave