Joshua Grzegorzewski: the RunningBull Blog : Tags : boston

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.

0 Comments Permalink Tags: 5k, veteran, san_fransisco, boston, training

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.

2 Comments Permalink Tags: boston, blackberry, running