Mike's Marathon Blog

My cousin finally had her baby! Connor James O’Donnell, 8lbs 11oz. He was born shortly after midnight on Wednesday, the 6th. The little guy just did not want to come out! I don’t blame him. He was just eating, drinking and hanging out all day for the past 9 months. Sounds amazing! Now that he’s in the real world, he’s going to have to get a job soon, pay taxes, shovel snow…….it sucks out here man, sorry.

I visited the new member of the fam yesterday afternoon. I even went to Baby Gap before and picked out something for the little tike. Jack was with me. I didn’t go into the Baby Gap alone. I’m not a Level 5 child predator. I felt uncomfortable in there even with Jacky. There’s pictures of babies and kids everywhere and there’s kids music playing in the background. It must be strange to work there. I picked out an awesome little onesie thing that says ‘Handsome Devil’ on the front. I asked if they had one in my size, but they didn’t. I don’t really understand all the hats with ears. Every hat/hood in the store had ears! Do you want your kid to look like an animal? I don’t get it.

An hour later, I was holding my first baby! 27 years, 7 months. That has to be some kind of record. The baby was awesome. He’s a big guy! Huge feet! He was so alert and looking around the entire time. He already had way more hair than I do, which isn’t saying much. My cousin looked great too. She looked like she just went to the mall or something. Not like someone who just had a human being ripped from inside of her the day before.

I was very excited for them. It truly is one of the happiest moments in someone’s life. It’s much different than what you see on TV or in the movies. Everyone in the room was genuinely happy. You don’t see that everyday. And as happy as I was to have a little nephew, I was absolutely ecstatic when they asked me to be Connor’s godfather! I couldn’t believe it! I was so surprised, I didn’t even know what to say. I think I was more excited to have a godson than they were to have a son!

I have been Googling all morning my godfather responsibilities. Apparently I have to rub olive oil on him and spit on him during his baptism. My dad spit on the poor kid yesterday…..when I was holding him! Crazy Greeks. I have to buy him a new pair of shoes every Greek Easter too. I can do that. Maybe some little running shoes?

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I heard a debate on TV the other day about what do you call 2010? Do you say ‘two thousand ten’ or ‘twenty ten’ or just ‘ten’? For some reason, I’ve been saying ‘o-ten’ (like the letter O then ten). I’m not sure if that makes sense, but that’s what I”m going with. 2010 is already shaping up to be a busy and exciting year.

The event I am obviously most looking forward to in 2010 is the marathon. I have been training for about 65 days so far. I have to admit, I have not done anything in 2010 yet! I got up late on New Year’s day, started watching TV/movies on my couch and didn’t really stop till about an hour ago. April 19th will be one of the most memorable days of my life and it’s a day I think about all the time. Just the thought of that day launches me out of bed at 6 am and pushes me out the door into 20 degree weather. The image I have of crossing that finish line is a motivator in itself. And I will need all 104 days that I have left to train to be ready for that day.

I also have 4 weddings to attend this year. Eight of my good friends are all taking the plunge and I am even in one of the weddings. Another friend will be officially out of the Army and will no longer be taking any more trips to Iraq. My cousin will most likely have her baby this week. I am also looking forward to my friends’ bachelor parties, the Senate elections in November, the Winter Olympics in a few weeks, The Three Stooges movie, the Sox season and the 7th season of Entourage.

There are also a few things that I could do without in 2010: the money I will be spending at 4 weddings, Tula continuing to pee all over my house, the top of my head becoming more and more visible, the President spending more of my hard-earned money, season 9 of American Idol, sitting through another Twilight and Harry Potter movie, turning 28 and trying to figure out what to blog about after the marathon.

I also need to figure out what to do with my life. I thought by now, companies would have wanted to advertise on Mike’s Marathon Blog, but no one has contacted me yet. I was also counting on Nike to sponsor me while I run a 5-hour Boston Marathon. They also have not contacted me.

On a more serious note, I do need to raise another $2,500! Please help! You don’t have to pay any money to read this somewhat entertaining blog every few days, at least donate some money to the kids at Children’s Hospital. Click on the ‘My Miles for Miracles Profile’ link on the right side. Every penny helps! Thank you!

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Happy last day of 2009! Of course there has to be a snowstorm to end the year. And, of course, I got caught in it about 3 miles from my house. I actually had my hand in front of my face blocking the falling snow because I couldn’t see a thing. Luckily I was in beautiful Lawrence, where the sidewalks are clear and the drivers are so aware and friendly (sarcasm – a sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark). Today was the 2nd time that I almost got hit by a car while I was running. Where was I the first time? Let me think……oh yah, Lawrence! I tried a new running route today, which was much shorter than I had hoped. I had to do a few more miles, so I ventured across the town border. It’s my own fault for running through that shithole. I’ll stick to my old route from now on.

I just looked at my ‘excercise’ calendar to write this post. I am definitely taking tomorrow off! I think I deserve it. I worked out 28 out of 31 days in December. 18 of the 28 I did at least 2 different workouts (run & swim, Spin & swim, weight room & run, etc).

December recap:

– 73 miles running
– 17 hours in the weight room
– 10 hours at Spin class
– 3 miles swimming
– 2,000 sit-ups
– 1,000 push-ups

I can’t complain about that. December is a tough month too. I think I had desserts for like 6 straight days last week, so it’s probably a good thing that I worked out so much. I am treating myself tonight too! I would love Chinese food for dinner. I can’t remember the last time I had Chinese food. I’m also likely to consume 10 Captain & Cokes and probably 2 or 3 pieces of red velvet cake. Happy New Year to me!

Everyone have a happy and safe night! See you next year!

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Remember the brick from the last post? Same brick, except this time I stared at it for 88 minutes instead of 25. I kept checking the weather all week for Saturday’s forecast. It said rain/sleet mix starting in the afternoon, into the night. Even last night before I went to bed, I checked. Of course when I get up this morning and look out the window, I see snow falling and about a 1/2 inch of the white stuff covering the roads.

I don’t like to run on the roads if they are icy or snowy. I just don’t. I’m all set with getting hit by a car while I’m running. The roads are narrow enough right now with the snowbanks. I’m running on the white line as it is. No one would feel any sympathy for me if I got hit by a car while I was running. They would just say ‘See, you shouldn’t have been running! Sit on the couch and watch TV with the rest of us. Who runs in the winter anyway?’ And so on and so forth.

I decided not to take the chance and went to the gym. Typical of the day after Christmas, the gym was packed! I laced up my new shoes that Santa got me and started running. Thank God for the iPod, Kenny Ches, Michael and Gaga. Yea, I said Gaga. 88 minutes goes by much faster with them in your ears. Of course when I leave the gym, it’s completely dry out and 39 degrees. I should have waited. Oh well, it wasn’t that bad after all. I got to sit in the steam room after, so it was worth it.

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. I ate too much. I had an absolute enormous dinner on Christmas Eve with 2 rounds of dessert, 2 rounds of dinner yesterday and I really can’t even begin to count how many desserts I had. The last thing I ate were 2 gigantic whoopie pies at 8 and I had to throw in the towel.

I realized that the days of cool Christmas gifts are behind me. No more toys, sports equipment, video games, baseball cards. You know you’re getting old when you get things for the house, toys for your dog, shirts and ties, sports coats and hair-loss shampoo. The sad thing is, I needed all of it.

I am unfortunately headed out to say good-bye to one of my best friends. He is moving to the Whale’s Vagina tomorrow. He is having a small 1/4 life crisis and wants to see what the other coast is like. I can’t say that I blame him. Why not, right? The worst part will be getting out there. Three 14-hour days of driving. Ouch. Hey man, if you read this, I wish you all the best. Good luck. The San Diego Marathon is June 6th. Start training when you get out there.

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I am very sore today. My legs actually kind of hurt when I walk. I just ran 3 miles and I’m not sure if that helped or hurt the situation? People always say that when you’re sore, you should do some sort of physical activity to get the blood flowing. Every time I’m sore and I do something active, I always feel like I’m extra sore afterward. Maybe I’m doing something wrong?

I do lower body workouts on Mondays. I usually keep it pretty light, since this is technically my ‘day off’ from working out/exercising. I decided to step it up a notch this past Monday in the weight room. I pretty much doubled the amount of weight I use for squats, lunges, step-ups and the leg press machine. I knew I pushed it a bit too hard when my legs were wobbling on my way back to the locker-room.

I also saw something that I have never seen before in the weight room. I’m typically never impressed with anyone under the age of 45 in the weight room. The majority of people that are lifting a crazy amount of weight don’t come back for a week because they can’t move. They think lifting as much as you possibly can and breaking your form to do it is actually helping them. It’s quite pathetic and almost everyone you see in the weight room falls into this category. There is 1 kid that goes to my gym that is in great shape. He works out right, he never lifts more than he can handle and you can just tell he has been doing it for a long time.The leg press machine is where you kind of lay on your back and you simply push up the weight with your legs. Believe me, I am no Arnold, but just to give you an idea of weight, I usually do 3 sets of 10 with 360 lbs of weight. That is 4 45-lbs plates on each side. I always do this exercise at the end of my workout, so I could probably do 3×10 at 450 lbs if I did it at the beginning. Anyway, this kid jumps on the machine after I get off. He starts with the 8 plates that I had on and keeps adding more every few sets. I forget about him and move on to my next exercise. About 15 minutes later, I glance back over in his direction and what do I see? He has 1,000 lbs on the machine! I actually stood there and counted the number of plates. He had 11 45-lbs plates and 1 5-lb plate on each side! 24 plates in all! He was doing about 8 reps at each weight too. It was amazing. I’m not sure if this is normal, but I sure have never seen it. It was impressive to say the least.

Getting back to my soreness, I went to the gym today to swim. I wasn’t going to run or Spin. I was going to take it easy and just do some laps. I get there and the pool is closed. Of course the pool is closed! I see a sign that says ‘Pool Closed, 12/23 – 12/25.’ Why is the pool closed on the 23rd? I can see the 24th and I can obviously see the 25th, but why today? Did the hot college lifeguards get the day off and there is no one to sit on the bleachers and mock me while I try to stay afloat from side to side? They have no one else that can sit poolside, get paid to gossip with each other, while blatantly ignoring the 15 people in the pool? No one?

I ran on the treadmill instead. For some reason, all the treadmills at my gym face a wall. They are literally pressed up against a wall. I ran for about 25 minutes staring at 1 single brick. Maybe move the treadmills back a few feet and put a TV or 2 on the wall? Hang a poster on the wall, tape the newspaper to the wall – something! Anything! I got back in my car afterward and the temperate read 19 degrees. Maybe that attractive, red, warm brick wasn’t so bad after all?

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11 days since my last post, I know. I apologize. I think people were genuinely upset or at least concerned since many of you contacted me asking why I haven’t posted in so long. To be honest, I haven’t had anything positive to blog about recently, so I just didn’t. There’s no reason to complain around the holidays, especially on a blog! It’s like that old tale about a group of people that throw all their problems in a pot and are allowed to choose different problems. They all end up taking their own problems back.

My friend, who was also on the Children’s Hospital team with me, just got some really bad news. She hurt her leg skiing a few weeks ago and just found out that she needs surgery. I couldn’t believe it when she told me. Now every time I’m about to complain about my ankle or waking up at 6 am, I think of her. I bet she would love to run tomorrow morning at 6. Children’s did honor her number for next year, so she will be running Boston in 2011. Hang in there Meg.

Meg, earmuffs, because I am going to complain about the weather real quick. Last Saturday was cold. This Saturday was amazingly cold! It was 22 degrees when I left my house with a windchill of 15. When a car passed me, my eyes would water like I was watching Game 4 of the 2004 World Series all over again. Renteria grounds to Foulke, Foulke to Mientkiewicz, Foulke and Tek embrace……..I just got the chills. I brought a Clif Bar to eat at mile 5 and when I opened the wrapper, it was frozen solid! I couldn’t even bite into it. I walked a ways while I rubbed the bar between my hands. My hands got so cold from not having gloves on for a few minutes that I pretty much ran all the way home with them in fists inside my gloves. When I got home, they hurt for about 20 minutes.

Even though I ran 9 miles in the frigin cold and was outside with little on (I run in tights, what’s the problem?) for about 90 minutes, I probably could have run for another 2 hours. My mind was racing the entire time, so 90 minutes felt like 9 minutes. I couldn’t even believe that I ran 9 miles. It seriously felt like I went for a quick jog around the block. I obviously wasn’t thinking about the cold, my strides, breathing, etc. My mind was in a million other places and running was the last thing I was thinking about today. I wish I could do that every day! Maybe that’s the secret to all the great long-distance runners? They let their minds go.

I’m glad I ran today since I just saw tonight’s forecast. We are supposed to get 5-8 inches? Hey Andover – please remember to plow the sidewalks! There are a few crazy’s in this town that use them during the winter. Thank you.

Also, last week was my first preg belly, this week was my first time in the same room as a newborn baby! My friends Noel and Jeff had their first baby, Jackson Luke, on Tuesday afternoon. I touched his head. I know that’s weird, but it’s all I could handle at the time. My first baby-hold is right around the corner. Iris – pop that thing out! Let’s go! I am ready to hold my first baby!

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Sunday was the first Miles for Miracles team event. It was at the Marriott Hotel in Newton right smack in the middle of the Patriot’s game. Luckily I missed the entire game. The purpose of the event was to give everyone a chance to meet some of the other runners, the coaches, the staff and some of the patients that we’re running for. There must have been 250 people there. There were different booths to visit, games for the kids and a pretty impressive food display.

I wasn’t exactly sure what to do regarding the food buffet. Normally I see a buffet and immediately put my game face on, especially when it’s free! I think I was at my seat for a mere 5 seconds when my eyes caught sight of the separate room filled with dozens of stainless steel buffet servers. There were so many amazing items to choose from including coconut chicken, pigs in a blanket, mozzarella sticks, cheese and crackers, fruit with chocolate dipping sauce and much more. I grabbed my plate and was just about to load it up with popcorn shrimp when I realized……..I think they’re watching me! This was a test! A test to see which one of the runners is fully committed to this team. Which runner will eat the most fried stuff with cheese? Which runner will cover their entire plate with potato skins and then douse each one with sour cream? Who will dare to actually dip their sliced strawberries in chocolate sauce?

I had 3 small pieces of coconut chicken and some pineapple. I hope they’re happy!

Sitting at our table was a nice couple with their 2 daughters. The dad ran Boston last year and the mom is running this year. I was somewhat confident in telling them that I had a few half marathons and a few triathlons under my belt. My confidence plummeted to the floor once they started listing their athletic achievements. The nail in the coffin was when the 8-year old daughter told me about the triathlons she had completed. The 5-year old even did a few! Who are these people, The Incredibles!?

After about an hour of mingling, a few folks spoke from the Miles for Miracles organization including one of the coaches. Next to the podium were the special guest speakers: Dick and Rick Hoyt. The Hoyts are Boston Marathon icons. They have completed 67 marathons including 27 Boston Marathons. What shocked me the most was finding out they have finished 6 Ironman traithlons! Are you kidding me? To date, they have competed in more than 1,010 events worldwide. Absolutely unbelievable.

They showed about a 5 minute video of clips from many of their races. I’m not gonna lie, I had to fight back a few tears. I included a link to the YouTube version. It’s not very clear, but check it out if you get a chance. It’s probably the most inspirational video I have ever seen. Around the 1:35 mark is where Dick Hoyt swims 2.5 miles and then carries his son to the bike, where they will ride 112 miles and follow that up with a 26.2 mile run. By the way, he’s 69-years old! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUQeUsqQuVc

I have actually been in the same triathlon as them before. It’s almost unbelievable until you witness it firsthand. My dad was talking to Mrs. Hoyt for awhile during the race. He asked her if Dick sleeps all afternoon when they get home. She said “please…..he’ll go home and mow the lawn.”

It was 26 degrees when I left the house at 6:30 this morning. I ran 3 miles and dodged patches of ice the entire time. It was cold. Then I thought…….Dick Hoyt would have ran with his shirt off. Suck it up!

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Today, I’m booked solid. I woke up with a black pug on my face at 6 am. I got her situated and started stretching for my Saturday run. Saturdays are my long run days. I had people coming to my house at 10, so I unfortunately needed to leave the house at 8 in order to get my run in. Today was definitely the coldest weather I have run in so far this year. It was around 37 degrees when I left. I ran 7 miles and felt great. Today was also the first time in a month that I ran without an ace bandage around my ankle. I think it’s safe to say that injury is behind me, thankfully.

When I was younger, my family and my aunt, uncle and cousins had an annual tradition of getting our Christmas tree together. We would always go to a place where you can cut down your own tree.  The tradition eventually died when the kids were at college and harder for everyone to meet at one particular tree lot on one particular Saturday in December. We saw each other last week on Thanksgiving and decided that this was the year to restart the tradition.

Everyone met at my house at 10 am. We went out to breakfast and started the trek to Milton, MA. My cousin’s husband works at a nursery in Milton, so we decided to drive there to see him and also get our trees. It’s funny how things have changed since the last time we were all together getting our trees. Before we would get 2 trees: 1 for our family and 1 for their family. Now we needed 1 for my parents, 1 for my aunt and uncle and 1 for each of the 5 kids. Two of the 5 kids are married, so now there are 2 additional people in the family. Crazy.

The biggest difference is my cousin, who is carrying around the future new addition to the family. He/she will be joining us some time this month (most likely). I haven’t seen her since the summer, when she was barely visible. Now, not so much. She looked amazing and I was so happy for her. I’ve never been up close and personal with a pregger in my life, now 2 in the past few weeks! I even touched my first preg belly! It took me a couple of tries, but I did it.

We spent the afternoon decorating the tree. When I say ‘we’ I mean Jacky. I did the only man-job and put the lights on. Now I am off to Boston for my first holiday party of the year. Hopefully it will be an early night. Last Sunday was a wasted workout since I got to sleep at 3 am that morning. Driving to Boston in a snow storm wouldn’t typically be on the top of my priority list tonight, but at least I’ll be surrounded by a bunch of drunk nurses. I can’t complain about that.

Ran 7 miles, ate a huge breakfast, got my Christmas tree, touched my 1st preg belly and partied with drunk nurses – what a crazy day!

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One month down, four and a half to go. I can’t believe I have already been training for one whole month. I guess it’s a good sign that it went by so fast. Apparently I am not sick of 6 am runs and veggies for lunch every day. November is a good month to start dieting and/or exercising. You have roughly 25 days to hit the gym and eat healthy and your reward is the greatest eating day of the year. What else could you ask for? The same schedule awaits you the following month. Push through 24 days of misery and then you get to stuff your face for an entire day!

My first month of marathon training went very well, although I am happy that it’s over. The first half of the month was painful. I was extremely sore, spent many nights soaking in Epsom salt, sprained my ankle and started setting my alarm clock far earlier than I would like. On the positive side, spending 20% of my awake hours at the gym is definitely starting to pay off. Yes Jacky, I am starting to look more like Team Jacob. Thank you for comparing me to a 17-year old boy.

November recap:

– 30 miles running (took 2 weeks off with an ankle sprain)
– 14 hours in the weight room
– 11 hours at Spin class
– 3 miles swimming
– 3 hours of yoga
– 2,000 sit-ups
– 1,200 push-ups

I was lucky to start training in one of the warmest Novembers on record. Although, I just saw the forecast for my 7 mile run on Saturday: 30 degrees, cloudy, limited sun and flurries. Running in December will be much different than last month, that’s for sure!

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Last night was the 16th Annual Winter Holiday Stroll in Nashua, NH. Their website claims that 30,000 people attend this event every year. The bars and restaurants were jam-packed, but I question the accuracy of that number. The purpose of the event is to kick-off the holiday season. Although, the true purpose of the event is simply an excuse to start drinking at 5. The main purpose of this blog entry is to remind my friends what they did last night because I know their memory is foggy at best.

This was officially my first Designated Driving night since I started training. It could be my last. I shouldn’t say that because it could have been a lot worse than it was. There were no arrests, fights or vomiting in my car, so I really shouldn’t complain. Even not drinking I had a fun night, but getting home at 2 am was definitely not part of the game plan. Although, after 7 bars and probably 60 beers, I think all game plans go right out the window.

The toughest part of not drinking last night was the free drinks. Of course the night that I’m not drinking, we are treated to free beers all night! One of my friends works for a Bud distributor, so we obviously followed him around all night and reaped the benefits of his connections. I was not drinking, however my friends were. When each of your friends is walking around the bar with a six pack, you know you’re in for a long night.

I finally got everyone in my car around 1 am. To make matters worse, I had to pick up two other drunks on the way home. It is somewhat comical to be sober and observe others after a night of heavy drinking. Someone in the backseat was sleeping, someone was drunk dialing, someone was begging to smoke in the car and someone was continuously changing the radio station. After 20 minutes of ‘I love you man,’ ‘stop at Wendy’s,’ ‘I have to pee,’ ‘can I please smoke in your car’ and ‘this was the best night ever’ – everyone was out of my car and I was finally on my home.

Six hours later, I was sitting on a bike at Spin class.

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