Yesterday was the 100 day warning for the 2014 New York City Marathon. Last week was also the start of the 16 week training programs for that race, which starts at 9:40 a.m. on November 2 (wave 1). As I found out earlier this year, I was picked again during the lottery (which worked out so well in 2012). I should be getting super excited and motivated to go back and try again, but it’s been a rough go so far.

First off, I really want to take the whole family, but airfare and hotel costs are ruling that out. In fact, I don’t know if I can afford for me to go solo. I’m working a few angles, though – there are a couple friends that offered up couches and I’m about 2,000 Delta SkyMiles away from a free ticket (anybody have any extra they’d like to gift?).

Second, the Minnesota weather hasn’t exactly been cooperating. Spring took forever to arrive, then lasted about four days. Summer has consisted of trail-flooding rains, high dew points and way too many flying bugs. That has translated into lots of summer treadmill time, which also unfortunately means a reduction in miles. I’ve kept up the 100-mile per month goal so far, but a few of those were cutting it close.

Lastly, I’ve just haven’t been motivated to run the past few months. I think part of that is due to general aches and pains that I’m assuming are due to aging (since I’ve been training continuously). It’s tough going out when every time feels like I’m starting over from scratch. I’ve been reading a little bit on hip flexors and wonder if the new pain I’m feeling there is caused by that. My running partner also moved across town, which makes it harder to get off the couch (especially with less-than-prefect weather).

There are a couple of things in play that could help change course on motivation. First, I need to get my weight back in check. It’s been inching up for months and really needs to drop at least ten pounds. Distance running isn’t generally a weight loss tool for most, but it has been for me as I build mileage and cross-train.

Second, I’d really like to get that BQ before I jump to the next age group in four years. That means a 3:25:00 (7:49 pace) if I want a mid-April trip to Boston (April 20, 2015; April 18, 2016; April 17, 2017 or April 16, 2018). This would be an aggressive goal – I need to cut about 18 minutes from my marathon PR – but it might be exactly what I need this year. Plus, how cool would it be to BQ at NY?

My next confirmed race is the Minnesota State Fair Milk Run 5K (7:45 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24). It would do wonders for my confidence if I can PR at that race and get an age group ribbon (need to beat 21:42 to be in contention).

Thinking ahead to 2015, I’d love to do the spring 50K Superior Trail Race in Lutsen and then run the 50 mile in the fall (I need the former to qualify for the latter). The spring race is May 16th and the fall date is TBD (September). I had that dream about running a BQ at Grandma’s, so I feel like I just *have* to run that in 2015 (7:45 a.m. on Saturday, June 20). I also still want to run the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon (June) and Des Moines (October), but those will probably have to wait at least another year.

Now I just need my body to cooperate and hold on for a few more years…

Funerals for first responders are incredibly powerful and emotional. Yesterday I attended the memorial service for Eau Claire Fire Department engineer and paramedic Denise Waterman, who passed away April 30th after a short eight week battle with cancer. Denise was married to my wife’s cousin Greg, whose family we have visited in Eau Claire many times over the years.

Forty-eight is way too young, but as Rubén Rosario wrote in a recent Pioneer Press story, cancer is a growing problem for firefighters. These brave men and women serve their community by fighting fires and conducting rescues, only to face even more danger from exposure to cancerous agents while in the line of duty. The local Eau Claire TV station WEAU had nice coverage of the event here.

When I arrived at the Plaza Hotel, the front parking lot was full of red fire equipment, including two ladder trucks that formed a memorial arch. Several hundred firefighters attended the service, which included an honor guard that changed every ten minutes, a single file procession past her badge and uniform with salutes, a bagpiper playing Amazing Grace and flowers from fire departments across Wisconsin and Minnesota. The service itself included several friends and colleagues sharing memories, a ringing of the bell (three sets of three), the presentation of a flag and other awards to Greg and a final farewell from the dispatcher that was too much for me to handle.

The Eau Claire Marathon was last Sunday and the local newspaper reported on a special tribute:

Also participating in Sunday’s marathon were several members of area fire departments who ran in full gear that weighed up to 30 pounds. The firefighters ran in memory of Denise Waterman, a 16-year veteran of the Eau Claire Fire Department who lost her battle with cancer Wednesday. The firefighters ran with Waterman’s photograph taped to their air tanks. “You lean on each other, and you support each other, and this was a great event to lean on each other and support our brothers and sisters,” said Tony Biasi, a member of the Eau Claire Fire Department. Eight firefighters ran the relay marathon and four ran the full marathon.

Colleen and I did not know that Denise also went to UW-Madison, studying art and creating beautiful paintings, many of which were on display at the memorial. After the ceremony, the room was flipped to serve dinner and celebrate the life of a very special person. It was the party she wanted and it was an honor to be a part of it.

All these crazy Arrowhead 135 athletes have me inspired to set some goals for 2014 and start to seriously decide on races for the year. I’m currently only registered for one race right now – the Get in Gear 10K on April 26th. I’m also in the New York City Marathon lottery, but will likely email them to take my name out (no money for a full-blown New York trip this year).

So what do I want to do? Registration for the TC 1 Mile opens Saturday and I’ll sign up and try to make it four in a row versus Megan. I’ve got the ultra bug and probably should’ve signed up for the Superior 50K, but that race just filled. Both of their fall races (the 50 and 100) require a previous trail ultra, so those will have to wait. I’m seriously considering the Zumbro 50 that Megan did last year, but it’s coming up soon (April 12th) and I’m not sure I really want to run much outside the next few weeks. Oh, I’d like to do this sometime too…

I still really want to run the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon in South Dakota on June 1st, but that would require at least one hotel night expense. I really missed Grandma’s last year and have a place to stay for that race (June 21st). The other benefit to that race is that since it usually doesn’t fill, I can wait until the last minute and still register.

With New York likely out, my fall marathon spot opens up and I’d kinda like to check Iowa off the 50-state list by running the Des Moines Marathon on October 19th. I’d miss Twin Cities, but those two races are always too close together, so maybe I’ll take a year off from the hometown race.

Decisions, decisions…

When runDisney announced the inaugural Dopey Challenge, I was intrigued. The “old” Goofy Challenge of running the half marathon Saturday and the full marathon Sunday was on my bucket list, but I was just too nervous to pull the trigger and try it (even though both my brother Brian and my running partner Megan had Goofy medals in their collections). The new Dopey would add a 5K on Thursday and a new 10K race on Friday, for a grand total of 48.6 miles in four days. Sold!

This was an expensive race entry ($495 early bird), but a lucky slot machine in Kansas justified a one-time splurge (at least in my running-deranged mind). The 7000 Dopey slots filled rather quickly and both Megan and Brian missed out. My brother decided to go Goofy again for the second time, while Megan signed up for the full (her tenth).

The expo opened at 10am on Wednesday and was expanded this year to include the baseball stadium (in addition to the HP Field House and the Jostens Center). There was a separate line just for people who wanted to buy the limited edition New Balance runDisney shoes, which I heard started to form at 4:30am. The Field House had the usual packet pickup, along with most of the race shirts and a new runDisney merchandise shop. Jostens Center held all the rest, including the runDisney booth where I stood by Jeff Galloway again and listened in on a few conversations. With all of the shirts, I left Wide World of Sports with a pretty heavy race bag.

The Family Fun 5K event on Thursday had the latest start of the week, with the fireworks going off at 6:15am. It was fairly warm and humid for the first three races, with a wonderful cold front moving through on Saturday night before the marathon on Sunday. The last three races all started at 5:30am and I’d say getting up so early four days in a row was probably the hardest part of the challenge for me (2:45am on Sunday was just brutal).

I ended up semi-racing the 5K and 10K and dialed down the pace for the last two. Given my relative lack of training the previous month, I was very happy with all of the times:

• 5K – 24:27 (7:52 pace)
• 10K – 51:09 (8:14 pace)
• Half – 1:58:04 (9:00 pace)
• Full – 4:11:49 (9:36 pace)

My brother helped me pick out the cool Pirates of the Caribbean costume for Sunday, while the giant mouse hands and ears made a return appearance in the half. Megan ordered a Duffy costume from an Etsy vendor online and the crowd response was awesome (especially from cast members) – pretty sure she was the only Duffy in the field too.

Spent a little time in all four parks while I was down there, but for the most part, I just hung out with Brian and his wife Patti while soaking in the non-Minnesota winter weather. Thanks for the kind hospitality you two!

Only one other confirmed and registered race entry right now in 2014 – the Get in Gear 10K on April 26th. Lots of others I’d like to do, but we’ll see how much I can budget for entry fees this year…

Well, that was fun. Marathon number 22 is in the books (ninth TCM) and it was the fastest one for me yet. I’m terrible at calculating times, but Google says I actually ran my first reverse split in a marathon. Here are the main stats:

• Official chip time: 3:43:32 (8:32 pace)
• 13.1M split: 1:52:46
• Overall: 1932/8849
• Age group: 216/692
• Garmin splits: 9:13, 8:46, 8:40, 8:46, 8:49, 8:44, 8:59, 8:00, 8:15, 8:14, 8:14, 8:10, 8:19, 8:11, 8:04, 8:17, 8:15, 8:33, 8:24, 8:26, 8:21, 8:32, 8:42, 8:33, 8:44, 8:34

I’m not entirely sure how accurate those watch splits are, as the Garmin was off at almost every mile marker. It also said I ran 26.38 miles – I know I’m sometimes bad at running the tangents, but that seemed like a lot.

This was a great social day. My former neighbor Tim stopped and visited at the Metrodome before the race, where I also met Megan and her dad. We walked with Yaniha to the start and I ran the first seven miles with Megan. She was diagnosed with asthma earlier in the week, but still finished under 4:15. Congrats to all of the people I knew running the full:

• Megan – 4:14:55
• Tom – 5:06:53
• Yaniha – 4:06:36
• Tim – 4:32:57
• Deb – 4:01:25
• Kris – 3:40:00
• Elizabeth – 3:46:43

Congrats also to Twitter friends Kat (@kljwm) and Kristi (@lifeisfunner), who had great runs during the TC 10 Mile today too. And big shout outs to my only spectator Renee (@twindependent), as well as finish line security volunteer Marc (@WDWGolfer).

Overall, I felt pretty decent right after the race and walked down to United Hospital to get a ride back to my car at the Fort Snelling park and ride. Since I got home, the main pains have been my left ankle and (strangely enough), my neck. Not a big deal, though – should be fine by tomorrow.

While I’m very happy with the PR (which knocked nearly two and a half minutes off the old time), it still highlighted just how hard qualifying for Boston will be. Even with the extra time for getting older, I’m still more than 18 and a half minutes away.

Dang, now that’s fast.