Joshua Grzegorzewski: the RunningBull Blog

I should just leave the beach to the swimmers/surfers

Joshua G — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:09:51 GMT

While visiting with my father-in-law at the Jersey Shore I decided to combine some time at the beach with my abreviated long run, necessitated by too much time dedicated to driving this weekend, while also practicing running on uneven shifting terrain by logging a 2 hour run on the beach. Maybe it was because I have spent so much time following the Olympic swimming competitions. Maybe it was the result of Usian Bolt blasting through the 100m in World Record time, but I also decided resistance training by running barefoot through the crashing surf. Either way, the abrasive sand in my shorts for 90 minutes quickly paled in comparison to the discomfort caused by the jumbo sized blisters under both of my big toes. But at least I was smart enough to call it a day before they could pop or tear thereby letting sand get under the skin. Now I will just take it easy for the rest of the weekend, enjoy time spent with my wife's family (especially our adorable nieces), and relax before the long drive home tomorrow in time for work at Karma Yoga Studio.

Back to the Olympics. I want to congratulate Michael Phelps for his tenacity, dedication, and incredible mental focus to have completed the amazing string of successes that has resulted in Olympic gold 7 times in 7 days. I wish him and his relay teammates all the success in the world for Sunday but want to focus on his most recent come from behind victory over Milorad Cavic in the 100m butterfly. Unlike the majority of Americans who would consider a silver medal finish by mere hundredth of a second to still be a failure, I consider it an amazing accomplishment nonetheless. Milorad Cavic completed an amazing race against some of the greatest athletes in the world and forced "the greatest swimmer of all time" to live up to his title by giving everything he had to win by the smallest officially measurable unit of time. And if the result would have gone the other way, I would still see it this way because in the end that is the heart and soul of sport and competition.

It reminds me of the famous "Duel in the Sun" between Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley at the Boston Marathon where these titans completely exhausted themselves going back and forth through to the finish with Beardsley refusing to quit, refusing to surrender to his muscle cramps or dehydration, and refusing to give the race to the pre-race favorite. Winning, though important for the awards and rewards from the sponsors and fans, is less important than the knowledge that you gave your best effort in the attempt. Congratulations to everyone who gives it their best effort in chasing their dreams and who inspire others through their efforts.

Training is going well, finally joined the SRR

Joshua G — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:15:50 GMT

I have recently been able to get back into the swing of things with my run training and have brought my weekly mileage back to the positive side of 50. Which is a good thing since today marks the first day of my 16 week training plan / countdown for the JFK 50 Mile Memorial (my first official ultra).

Of course saying that I learned just yesterday of a nice low-frills marathon / 50 mile race not too far from home in Ipswich, MA that occurs two weeks sooner. I am considering contacting the Race Director to see if the 37.5 mile option will be available again this year, as it apparently was in years past. I know, it probably isn't the best idea considering I will be racing the Marine Corps. Marathon two weeks before and pacing two others between now and then, but I am a little anxious about the distance having never run more than 30 miles (in just over 5 hours) before. Combine that with the fact that I have only participated in one race (last Thursday's ++" in which I finished 4th overall, same as last year but with a time 35 seconds faster over the 5.2 mile course) since July 4 and I am starting to get a bit antsy.

Which is why I am glad that I finally took the plunge and joined my local running club, the Somerville Road Runners (www.srr.org), so that I can undertake some structured workouts with other competitive runners - many of which are much faster and more accomplished than me. I have only attended two of the weekly track workouts but am already feeling a better sense of place while also learning better control of my faster paces. Though that is much easier to do on a measured oval than on roads and trails so I am waiting to see how it carries over into my long runs and tempo runs.

Back from New Mexico - time to start training

Joshua G — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:32:46 GMT

okay, truth be told, it is past time to begin training for my next marathon coming up in just under 2 months. Fortunately, I have managed to maintain at least a moderate level of endurance fitness as evidenced by my daily 1 hour runs while attending my conference. Though it was a bit easier even at elevation to run when the temps and humidity were both in the mid-60s as opposed to what I came home to here in the Boston area.

It just isn't fun to get out in this kind of hot soup for long slow runs, tempo runs, repeats, or even jogging to the library and the post office (which I have now done 3 times in the 2 days that I have been back). Obviously, I am just going to have to figure it out and make sure that I can get myself re-conditioned enough to hold a constant 8:25/mi pace at the US Air Force Marathon to fulfill my Pacer duties. After that, things should work themselves out well enough for me to run a respectable 10-miler in D.C. before picking up the pacer tempo in Chicago (maybe running in this heat and humidity IS beneficial after-all) to hit even 8's.

Running 5 miles isn't so tough, it's the 18 mile bike ride that was hard

Joshua G — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:33:48 GMT

If you have been recieving my monthly email updates then you know that I set a new PR at the *POW/MIA Race for F*reedom at the end of June. But what you might not know is that 5 days later I tackled the Concord Minuteman Classic Road Race (5 miler) on July 4th and actually considered chasing after an even better time.

The weather was actually much better for this attempt being in the mid 60s with a misty rain falling. The only problem was that I had just spent the previous hour and 40 minutes biking roads, trails, and deer paths through the woods to get to the race 9 minutes before the start. Not so ideal for someone whose last bike ride longer than a mile was 7 years ago in Anchorage, AK. But still, I felt pretty good having warmed up before the race and was only about 100 feet out of 10th place when we hit the first mile marker...in 5:38. Now to many that isn't all that fast. In fact for me it wasn't all that incredibly fast, but then again the last time that I ran a sub-6 mile I didn't have 4 more to go immediately following. I slowed off the pace a bit to keep from burning out, which I don't think really mattered since I had already likely killed my chances at a sub-31:00 race by biking the 18 miles to the race, and got through mile 2 at 12:11. But as should have been expected, it just wasn't there for the final 1.5, even with a strong final 1/4 kicking to the finish.

Afterwards we recieved 100% Concord Grape Juice from Welch's (which was quite tasty and refreshing) before I faced the 18 mile return trip home. By the time I got home I was physically and mentally wasted. I was sore, tired, hungry, dehydrated, and sore. Yes, so sore that I had to say it twice. And it was then, after I got home, cleaned the mud and muck from the nooks and crannies of the bicycle, and just before setting myself to weeding the muddy garden that I appreciated what happened at that wooden bridge crossing the stream in the field on April 19, 1776; on that same land that I had run through only hours prior men had stood up for their principles, for their rights, and for their freedom. All it had cost me was $15, 5 hours of my day, and 41 miles of exercise. For them, it was so much more. And that was all that I needed to ensure that I properly celebrated my Indepedence Day holiday barbeque with friends to honor the sacrifices made by men protecting their friends and families.

Too bad that it took me 9 days to find the time to write that while sitting in New Mexico for a conference that kicks off in the morning when I should be sleeping. Well, maybe NOW I can get some sleep.

Preparing for Independence Day

Joshua G — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:11:27 GMT

After having taken some time away from my campaign in order to participate in the Blackberry Curve Urban Challenge Grand Finale event in San Francisco (as discussed briefly in my last post) I am ready to get back to my primary mission of the year: Running in honor of our soldiers. Next week I will be participating in two 5-mile races; the 25th Annual POW-MIA Race for Freedom in South Boston and the 4th of July Minuteman Classic in Concord, MA both of which pay tribute to the soldiers who have risked everything for this country.

Since my normal running schedule had been so upset through all of my recent travels, my regular blood donation (every 8-10 weeks), and my first 100 mile week (thanks to the Western States Training Camp) I tested myself last weekend with a local race; the Auburndale Community of Newton, MA "Rove the Cove 5k". This race provided me an opportunity to gauge my current capabilities in a shorter (i.e.. faster) race while also helping my friend Alain promote his series of race events that directly conflict with the POW-MIA Race for Freedom and my work shift at Karma Yoga Studio next Sunday by distributing flyers for the Boloco Heartbreak Hill Grand Prixand wearing his race shirt. It doesn't hurt that I am also a huge fan of the Boloco burritos and smoothies.

Well, I found that I can still run in the low 6-minute range over varying terrain on a hot and humid day so my race performances should be fine next week. Now I just have to figure out how to get out to Concord in time for the start of the race on July 4, since my wife will have the car for her residency at Tanglewood, the Train doesn't run early enough, the buses aren't running, and I don't necessarily want to run the 15 miles each way to race for 5 more. Maybe I can borrow a bicycle.

Blackberry Curve Urban Challenge Finals - results

Joshua G — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:37:39 GMT

I was gently reminded that my previous post related to my Boston experience with this event was technically off topic and unrelated to the larger purposes of this blog. Therefore, I will post my detailed comments regarding this event and my team's finish to my MySpace blog: myspace.com/therunningbull (hopefully before Friday of this week).

Unfortunately, only about 6 of the 28 photos that I took during the event and emailed to myself before turning in the borrowed Blackberry Curve 8330 after we finished actually got delivered to my email inbox. Oh well, that is still 6 more than I had from Boston's event.

Sad to say, we did not Win, Place, or Show in the Finals so my anticipated fundraising efforts for RunningBull's Run took a mighty hit which may impact my ability to fully participate in the scheduled events for this fall.

Inspiration - or - How I spent my Memorial Day Weekend

Joshua G — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 02:17:42 GMT

I can't believe that it has been nearly 2 weeks already but that is what happens when you go away for a week...you have a week of catching up to do PLUS the normal day-to-day life things waiting for you to return. And though I am nowhere near caught up yet, I don't want to let this go too much longer. In a whole chicken/egg sort of way I spent the holiday weekend participating in the Western States Training Camp (thanks to Rodale - publishers of , Montrail, and of course Greg Soderlund the Western States Endurance Run Race Director) paying tribute to the memory of those soldiers who paid the ultimate price in service to this country as part of RunningBull's Run to Honor America's Veterans in support of the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans. The Training Camp consisted of 3 days worth of trail running across 70 miles of the infamous Western States Trail that ultimately cumulate in the town of Auburn, CA.

And though I did not bring my camera along with me on these 3 runs, you can get an idea of the terrain from the photo tour (complete with topographical reference map and course profile) available at the WS100.com site. However, these photos don't quite capture the true experience of our first day spent running nearly 28 miles through a constant rain; constant if you don't include the segments spent above 5700' elevation when the precipitation was actually freezing rain mixed with snow. Strangely enough, running in and out of misty fog banks through mud and puddles, wet pine needles, poison oak, and jagged rocks on a narrow trail hugging the side of a mountain with 2000+ foot drop was an incredibly introspective experience. Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised that my mind found other things to do while I was running/hiking for 5 hours in a borderline hypothermic state.

I found myself reflecting on the experiences of my father in the jungles of Vietnam, of the early colonial militiamen in the deep forests of New England and Canada during the French-Indian War, of the soldiers both Confederate and Union in the Appalachian Mountains during the Civil War, and of soldiers in all the other conflicts great and small throughout our nation's history. I thought about how they might have felt, cold and wet and hungry, marching/running through unfamiliar lands under a constant state of anticipation and trepidation. I thought of how their simple actions helped shape the course of history in creating our nation and how that would allow me the freedom to undertake this opportunity to dwell upon these cultural ancestors of ours.

The Foresthill Bridge is the highest bridge in California, 730 feet above the valley below. I drove across this bridge twice a day traveling between my hotel and the Camp and admit to being unnerved by it each time. I ran down a slope that descended about 100' more than this bridge is high within the first 5 miles of my run...and then the real hills (down and up) began.

Fortunately(?) it only rained that first day. Our second day was bright and sunny and though a bit chilly at the start it quickly warmed into the upper 60's and 70's as we descended from the town of Foresthill to the Middle Fork of the American River on a soft yet firm trail with many many rocks and a couple of minor stream crossings. Unlike the actual 100 Mile Western States Run being held later this month, we did not get/have to ford the river. Instead we were treated to a nice 3 mile long uphill climb under the midday sun to await our 20 minute bus ride back to the base camp. By this time I had logged nearly 50 miles of running over a 26 hour period and in that time I came to realize that I am actually relatively good at downhill running. Of course the alternative being trip, fall, and probably break something (if I was lucky) I had great motivation to become a good downhill runner. The drawback to this of course is that although I minimized the negative effects on my ankles, knees, and feet (from sliding friction in my shoe), I did a tremendous disservice to my quadriceps. On the third day, Memorial Day, I was really starting to feel the cumulative effects of all of this running.

Though you wouldn't know it to look at me at the finish; because my stupid grin doesn't reflect my actual collected experiences from the previous 3 1/4 hours in which I lost the trail twice, slipped and fell for the one and only time (while going up hill), and reached true dehydration. This last came in a revelation with about 7 miles to go as I was running through a charred and blackened meadow and with the scent of the recent wild fire strong in my nostrils and my thoughts still wandering. My head was cold. The sun was beating down nicely on this 70-degree day, but the sweat that had been drenching me for hours was now chilling me. That and my motor reflexes felt about 1/2 second behind where they should have been. Fortunately, the feeling passed after a quick 20 oz of water, a Gu Roctane packet, and 5 minutes with my hat firmly planted on my head. I made sure to take advantage of that final aid station at No Hands Bridge while savoring the scenic views before starting the final ascent 3 miles from the finish.

Thankfully the mud of Saturday became the dust of Sunday and Monday because even with my new pre-release edition Left/Right Technology PowerSox and my pair of Vasque Blurs with the sticky rubber soles it was a tough run with treacherous footing over some truly difficult terrain (trail or not). No, that is not a tan line but a demarcation of where the poison oak stopped carressing my ankles. Happily I can report ZERO blisters, bunions, caluses, or lost toe nails from this encounter.

Thank you again Jim Rigney for your words of inspiration and personal examples of determination and dedication which led me to enter the Essay Contest that made this experience possible. I hope to some day form an Asha'man or Shen an Calhar running team of other like minded individuals to participate in some of the trail relay events in thanks to your contributions and in honor of your brothers-in-arms. You are not forgotten.

And neither are the 4600 American soldiers who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq for our current War on Terror, or the hundreds of thousands who fell in service before them. At least, not by me on this day of picnics, ballgames, white sales, and the like.

I guess I didn't tell everyone yet afterall

Joshua G — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:04:32 GMT

I realized that my email distribution list wasn't as inclusive as I thought when I was asked today about my experience from last weekend's Blackberry Curve Challenge event in Boston. It was hard, it was tiring, it was amazingly fun. And I am not just saying that because my team finished in the top 30, therefore winning a Blackberry Curve 8330 smartphone for my 3 1/2 hours of effort.

I am saying that because the scavenger hunt clues were difficult, the check point challenges were...um...challenging, and the need for speed and efficiency paramount to score highly and finish well; all things that matched well with my expectations of the event and my own competitive nature. Unfortunately, we probably made things harder on ourselves by not taking some time early on to make sure we fully understood all of the directions and all of the clues. But hey, looking back I just appreciate that I was still able to get my hill work in afterall from running up and down 4 times before we solved the previous clue and were allowed to enter the monument...and run up more than 250 stairs to reach the observation platform at the top of the narrow spiral staircase.

Then it was off to visit the planets in the Community Solar System, with a detour through Harvard Square, a tour of the Back Bay, and a trip to the oldest baseball park in America. Then we got to bob for apples in a lobster tank and complete a couple of obnoxiously difficult physical challenges.

But you know what? It was an absolute blast and I am really looking forward to doing it all again in San Francisco as the winners of the Boston competition. Yeah, I know, not the best photo.

Find your inspiration (and keep it handy)

Joshua G — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:06:16 GMT

This past weekend I ran a nice 15 miler in the cool morning fog near my mother's house in northwest NJ prior to visiting with my second youngest brother for lunch to celebrate his birthday. From there, the weekend was a bit of a roller coaster.

I was scheduled to run the NJ Marathon as the 3:30 pace leader, which I did on Sunday morning - finishing in 3:29:34, but Saturday afternoon was absolutely brutal. The temperatures were in the low 40's with howling winds coming in off of the ocean at 35 MPH all accompanied by a persistent misty rain. The pre-race expo was tightly constrained within its big top tent and the crowd was incredibly thick with nervous first timers. I attended the pasta dinner and offered advice and encouragement to a few of those rookies over pasta and salad before a less than appealing hour long drive to the Paterson area where I was staying with my best friend from high school. After 3 hours of sleep, following 2 hours of Gauntlet on the Xbox360, we pointed the car south on the Garden State Parkway and arrived an hour before the start.

Race weather was nearly perfect, especially considering what it looked like just 12 hours earlier, 52-degrees, intermittent breeze off the water, overcast for the first hour. Locking in the pace took about 4 miles while the crowds broke apart and I could corral my group into a relatively cohesive unit so that we hit the 1/2 marathon together at 1:45, right on target. Of course this was while I was battling persistant lower GI pressure that forced me to make a pit stop at the next row of port-a-johns 4 minutes later. Fortunately, I was able to catch up with my group again less than 2 miles later after pushing my pace down to 7:00. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the only time I had to make use of this tactic during the day.

During my second multiple mile game of catch-up I avoided all of the negative thoughts that would have killed my chances of catching up and getting back on the pace to fulfill my mission, to help other runners reach the finish at their target time of 3:30. I focused on the positive experiences from my recent Boston Marathon. I thought of how I overcame the hills, the heat, the sun, the wind, and a much more prolonged period at a similar pace. I focused on my successes and on the successes of those I had met that weekend; from champions such as Joan Benoit, Lance Armstrong, Ryan Hall, and Pam Reed to the countless number of everyday heroes with whom I shared the road that fine Monday morning. I tried to put this into words just before mile 24 for a runner who needed some additional motivation, and a bit of distraction, but I don't think it came across so well while my pace slowly pulled me away from her. Then again, I don't think it is coming across so well here either so I will just end this as I started - Find your inspiration to keep going, to keep fighting, to keep running - and keep it handy because you never know when you might need it.

Got Motivation? - US Women's Olympic Marathon Trials

Joshua G — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:06:20 GMT

Okay, so maybe the motivation and inspiration provided were not to sit behind my computer cropping and resizing digital photos before trying to milk my thoughts into a logical progression so that I can share how the events of last Sunday morning helped me push through to a new PR at last Monday's Boston Marathon.

But I expect that you probably respect me more for getting back out there and running Wednesday night, conducting 5 project inspections Thursday and Friday (including two night time Interstate resurfacing inspections in the wee hours of Friday morning), and putting in a decent 18 on Saturday; pausing for 15 minutes to cheer for the participants of a 5k that overlapped my route than for writing this earlier. And if I am wrong...so be it.

Sunday, April 20, 2008 saw 146 of the best female distance runners in the USA absolutely conquer the 4 loop marathon course through Boston's Back Bay and the East Cambridge waterfront during the 2008 Olympic Team Trials. Though only the top three finishers will be travelling to Beijing in August to represent their country in the marathon competition, 47 of those women qualified for the next Olympic trials with their performances. 41 women ran new personal best marathon times, including 13 or the top 15 finishers.

From the very beginning Magdalena Lewy Boulet, 5th place finisher in the 2004 Olympic Team Trials, took ownership of her own destiny by opening a commanding lead of nearly 2 minutes from the rest of the pack. Her determination to run the race her way on her terms had most of the spectators around me wondering (1) who was this woman, (2) could she hold on at this pace until the end, and (3) what will the other competitors do in response?

Magdalena Lewy Boulet showed no fear of failure, no chance for regret. She went out there and sent a message to the world that the USA Women's Team was not going to be "Dena +2". I can honestly state that I was so impressed and astonished by how easy she made this look that it took a few hours for the magnitude of her accomplishment to sink in.

And some of that was due to the performance of the pre-race favorite 2004 Olympic Marathon Bronze medalist Dena Kastor, shown here making her move to separate from eventual third place finisher Blake Russell (far right). During the final 6 miles of this race Dena overcame a 1:17 deficit to overtake the leader at Mile 23.5, a feat I missed while fighting my way through the crowd 10 people deep lining the course so that I could watch the final 100 meter stretch leading up to and across the very same finish line that I would be chasing after less than 24 hours later.

But I was there to see Dena Kastor brandishing an American flag picked up along the course as she sprinted through the finish to win with a 44 second margin over Magdalena Lewy Boulet.

The crowd exploded in celebration as Massachusetts born Kastor merrily pranced back down Boylston Street to the Lord & Taylor before stopping to accept some congratulatory handshakes, pose for some photos, and even sign a few autographs while the remaining women streamed in to the finish behind her, including 1984 Olympic Marathon Gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson as she broke the US 50+ record with her time of 2:49:08 in her final competitive marathon. Joanie, as she is known far and wide in this part of the world, has never finished a marathon slower than 3:00. Which in an amazing coincidence, I have never finished a marathon faster than 3:00.

Perhaps I should shoot for never finishing slower than 4:00, which is a positive statistic that I currently hold and can feasibly maintain.

I was incredibly inspired by all of these amazing performances, by the sheer emotion rolling off of the crowd, and the determination pouring out of these fabulous athletes racing for pride. As much as I should have been off my feet and resting in advance of my impending marathon, I didn't care. If anything, I am writing it off along with the 16 hours spent on my feet working at the Expo the previous two days as conditioning for next month's Western States Endurance Run Training Camp - my first ultra running experience.

Boston Marathon: remastered

Joshua G — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:51:06 GMT

Now that I have finished telling the recap of my entire day for the 23rd time to my coworkers and immediate family I can write a quick and simple little update for everyone else...Yes, I finished the Marathon on Monday.

I finished it in style too, setting a new personal record (PR) of 3:10:36 which bested my previous PR by 39 seconds and was a 22 minute improvement over my previous best time for the Boston Marathon course. The weather was near perfect for running and the crowds were thick and extremely supportive. The only things that could have made it better would have been to have a tailwind and some cloud cover. But at least my sunburn is mild and only on one side of my body, the benefit of a point-to-point course.

I had one minor muscle cramp episode that did of course impact my ultimate finishing time, but not by too much and fortunately wasn't enough to keep me from qualifying to compete again next year. It happened just after cresting the infamous Heartbreak Hill as I entered the water stop in front of Boston College. I pulled off to the right hand side of the road, reached out for the cup of Gatorade, and quickly pulled up short in a staggering hop between two of the volunteers who were very concerned with my well being (Thank you for that). Fortunately, I was able to quickly massage my left hamstring into a more user-friendly condition and carry on with my down hill journey through Brookline to Boston and the finish line. However, other than that setback, everything went according to plan and my even effort pacing remained right on target from start to finish. I even accounted for enough time to stop and give thanks to the Wellesley Scream Tunnel prior to the mid-point of the race.

I brought a disposable camera with me on the run and hope that at least one or two shots come out useable. I guess we won't know until they come back from being developed. However, I now have these two photos from the weekend of events to share. The first is me working at the Expo on Friday evening distributing Runner's bags (with T-shirts). The second is of me preparing to depart the Athletes' Village for my starting corral at the Hopkinton Common.

Oh sure, my legs hurt, my sunburn hurts, and I have remained tired and worn out for the past 49 hours, but in a good way! I will still be running at NikeTown tonight and giving thanks for the post race massages and Ben & Jerry's they had for us yesterday.

Photos from my Death March Memorial experience

Joshua G — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:12:16 GMT

Surprisingly, my performance in the Death March Memorial Marathon received coverage by my local newspaper, the Somerville Journal. Not so surprisingly, they didn't get all of the details quite right. But that seems to go with the territory.

I finally stopped running around (literally) long enough to sort through the photos from my trip to give a little more insight into the experience. Part of me wishes that I would have had a camera with me while running the race, but to be honest, I don't think my photos would have been all that great. I would recommend visiting the race website and viewing the event photos online.

Upon arriving in El Paso, TX two days before the event, I realized (a) that I had spent way too long crammed into airplane seats, (b) that I needed to get acclimated to heat, the lack of humidity, the sun, the altitude difference, and the terrain, and (c) that I needed to do something fun and educational while I was here. So with that I headed out to the namesake of the missile range and visited the White Sands National Monument the morning before the race. It was about a 120 mile drive from El Paso (the scenic route) and as you can see, the sands are definitely white.

It is also a strangely barren place, which at the time I went was truly devoid of people. During my run along the 4.8 mile "trail" through the dunes I only saw 4 other people, the footprints of whom are seen below. The sand is powder fine and filtered through my shoes and socks and got into just about anywhere on my body that sand could get. Only about the top 3 inches are loose, but that is more than enough to slow a person down dramatically. I was lucky to manage just over 10 minutes / mile and was very thankful for the 44 ounces of sports drink that I was carrying along the way. Fortunately, the sand on the race course was actually much more coarse and therefore easier to run through. I didn't experience anywhere near as much trouble as I did during this training excursion, which is probably how I did so well.

But of course the event was more than just a run on the beach, a beach nearly 1 mile above sea level and hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean; it was a memorial to the soldiers who suffered the horrors of the Bataan Death March through the jungles of the Philippines in 1942. My trip would not have been complete without a visit to their monument in nearby Las Cruces, NM.

I am honored to say that I was fortunate enough to sit and talk with a couple of the survivors of this horrendous chapter from a war full of great atrocities. Eight of these men were on hand to send us off at the start of the race with a handshake and a "hurry back"; an order that I obeyed and used as my inspiration while challenging the 4 mile long hill climb in the middle of the course. I am also proud to say that I was welcomed back by these same men when I crossed the finish line. Below is a picture of Colonel Glenn D. Frazzier and myself (wearing my signature honor flags) after the race. You can learn more about the Death March and Colonel Frazzier's experiences in his book .

I am so truly honored to have been able to compete in this event in honor of these men as well as all who have followed in their footsteps by answering the call to service. I truly appreciate that I can show them all my respect for what they have done and continue to do in the name of liberty and democracy. I also am honored that you have chosen to help support these efforts through your participation in following my progress, in your comments of encouragement, and in your pledges of support for this noble cause to help the NESHV.

And of course, no visit to the White Sands Missile Range would be complete without a visit to the missile museum.

Well...only 7 more days until the Boston Marathon. I know that I am recovered enough to complete the full 26.2 mile marathon distance, but I am unsure of just what pace to set for myself. Especially since less than 2 weeks later I will be undertaking the duty of leading others in their quests to qualify for next year's Boston Marathon by holding the 3:30 pace (8 minutes per mile) throughout the New Jersey Marathon. I intend to better my time from last year and would like to at least finish in under 3:20, but I really want to requalify myself for Boston with a 3:10 or better. Ideally I would be shooting for sub-3:00, but that might have to wait until the fall at the Marine Corps. Marathon, depending on the outcome of my application to pace at a marathon I completed before.

"RunningBull's Run" producing surprising results

Joshua G — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:59:06 GMT

Not so surprising is that I was unable to find 10 minutes this weekend to post this update, but I am getting ahead of myself.

I have to believe that my Tempo Hill run described in my previous posting helped make a difference for the Bataan Death March Memorial Marathon because after months of training in Boston, 65-degree (and rising) temperatures, 5000 foot elevation (see attached course profile), and over 20 miles of loose rocky/sandy trails should have destroyed me. Instead, I was not only able to finish in a time just 4 seconds slower than my Boston Marathon finish from last year, but I finished 1st in my Division and in 5th place overall.

Granted, I will be lucky to finish 5,000th in my next marathon, the Boston Marathon, in just 11 days.

However, I am not going to live too far in the future when I can still savor my recent success and remember the inspirations and motivations that helped buoy me on through the incredible challenges of the course. Did I mention the near constant winds that were in our faces on the inclines? The send off we received from the former POWs who survived the Death March, the camps, the transport ships, and all of the horors that came with each and the knowledge that whatever discomfort, pain, injury, case of dehydration, or other ailment that I might suffer over the course of those 26.2 miles, it would be only a drop in the bucket compared to what they overcame. Putting things into perspective like that helped me to appreciate my accomplishment, but made me give even more credit to the teams that completed this endeavor together and those individuals who finished the event wearing full military uniforms, complete with boots and 35lb packs. Those "heavy" division participants were the reason that I went back out on the course in the full mid-day sun for 3 hours after I finished, rinsed off the sweat and grime, and ate before I finally had to drive back to El Paso for my return flight to Boston.

I am now providing links to my events and results from my campaign pledge page for those who want to follow along with my progress.

There, that wasn't too bad...it just took about twice as long as I expected it would. Now I have to run to catch up with my weekly Nike Run Club.

Taxes are finished, now it's time for some taxing races

Joshua G — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:30:17 GMT

I don't have any good excuses as to why I haven't been able to keep to my weekly schedule posting to this blog, but at least I have been able to stay 90% faithful to my training routine, even slipping in a couple of yoga classes this past week to keep me loose.

My only explanation is that St. Patrick's Day, Easter, volunteering with WGBH TV, and the aforementioned 1040 and Mass Form 1 all received higher priority attention than for a blog which never receives any comments so it feels like it doesn't really matter to anyone (except me).

I just got in from 9 miles of random hill work around Somerville at my tempo pace. I feel pretty good except for some slight twinges in my calves that I expect are the result of partial dehydration and excessive pounding on the asphalt roads up and down these hills in the dark. Oh sure, just because it is going to be about 30-degrees warmer on Sunday for my race in the desert at about 5000 feet more elevation than I live and train is no reason to think that maybe I should rethink my goal time of 3:20. Actually, my goal is to finish in the top two places of my division (light civilian male) to bring home a medal to show my disabled veteran father upon my return. Based upon prior results I will have to knock out an awesome personal best finish to achieve that goal, but you never know what you are capable of until you try.

I must thank New Balance (and the Miami Marathon) for the shoes I was provided in exchange for leading the pace group in January. Those NB 1223 shoes have been great for me on my long runs, on these technical runs, and even for mile repeats on the track. By using these shoes I have been able to stretch the life of my other shoes by rotating through them more often, which means that some shoe retailer is going to be very happy with me sometime around August or September of this year.

Okay, time for me to wrap this up and try to get at least 6 1/2 hours of sleep tonight. I am so glad that I am not crazy enough to even attempt to catch any of the Red Sox opening day game from Japan at 6am tomorrow. Nope, I'm only crazy enough to try running 3 marathons in 7 weeks, when my previous minimum recovery time had been 4 months between races. At least I am smart enough to delay donating blood until after that third marathon.

First 60+ mile week feels remarkably unremarkable

Joshua G — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:39:22 GMT

I didn't realize it until I was filling out my running log after today's long run around the Charles River and through the Back Bay Fens out to Jamaica Pond but I not only surpassed 55 miles in one week, but also passed 60 for the first time. I ran just over 25 miles today which, when combined with my other runs through the rain, sleet, snow, wind, and just general February in New England of this past week bumped me out to greater than 50% more weekly mileage than I had run all of last year. And my muscles and joints are not protesting in the least.

Oh sure, I can feel that I should probably rest tomorrow by just focussing on some weight training instead of running, but my body is actually accepting this increased mileage. Which of course makes me a lot more confident going into the first of my 3 marathons in a five week period, before the real test of my new fitness and ability at the Western States Endurance Run Training Camp over Memorial Day weekend. Running hills through the snow today and Friday has at least given me some idea of what to expect from the New Mexico sands at the end of March, though there isn't much more I can do about preparing for the altitude, heat, and sun in my neighborhood.