Jersey Shore Relay & the Unite 9.53 Marathon

I was really looking forward to this weekend for a number of reasons. I was running two races, one hard and the other long but both with a number of close friends.

The Jersey Shore Relay Marathon is one of the best events put on by the JS Running Club. You get the run and drive along the Jersey shore from Seaside Heights to Asbury Park with four of your best running buddies. This years team consisted of Taugh Lynch, Chris Kelly, Tom Moritz and John Liptak. Tom and Chris were filling in for Dale and Ken. We were defending masters champs and looking to win for the 3rd year in a row. We also wanted to break the 3 hour barrier and with the new new guys, I really thought we could do it this time around. What we didn't factor in was the 30 mph winds whipping off the water right into your right temple. It was also a little on the cool side which made waiting for our team members slightly annoying, but at least the heavy rain that was predicted held off.

Taugh has been suffering with a sore knee, ran a good first 6.11 mile leg (44:12) handing it off to Chris who was our fastest runner. Chris ran the 6.22 mile leg in 42:25 then immediately got on his bike to ride 70 miles home to Somerset in the rain. Tom ran the 4.22 mile Pt. Pleasant to Manasquan leg in 32:25 and then handed it off to yours truly. I was running the Manasquan to Belmar 6.28 leg. Last year I was battling a virus that slowed me considerably, but felt really good this year and ran 36:44 for my leg. My run took me through a park on a gravel road and then through a park on a dirt/grass trail. The wind was blowing in my face for a bit, at my back then hitting me in the side of the head when I got on the boardwalk. I handed off to Johnny who was our anchor this year and at this point we thought we would certainly go under three hours for the 26.2. John's leg was 3.4 and just needed to run a 7 minute pace and we were good. The distances mentioned are from the race website, but are not nearly accurate so we had no chance. John's leg was closer to 4 miles and we finished in 3:03:21. I know my leg was not 6 miles because I knew I wasn't running a 6 minute pace. The drive through the streets following our runners was fun as usual but the third leg was a bit nerve-racking because we hit traffic due to road construction. We just got Tom to his spot before Chris got there.

I think we were a bit disappointed that we didn't break 3 hours but enjoyed the day. John and Tom split right after the race so that left Taugh and I to enjoy the post race food and beer. We met up with Mike W, Mark and Rosemarie Strawn and waited for the results. It was a little deflating to hear that the masters winners ran a 2:57 and we came in second. Oh well, there is always next year. It certainly was another great run along the Jersey Shore and missed the heavy rain by 30 minutes.








The Unite 1/2 Marathon would be my third 13.1 mile run in 5 weeks and I wasn't sure how my legs would feel after running hard the day before. Frankie Trentacoste was taking his zipcar into central Jersey along with his co-worker Katya. Frankie and I planned to run at least 4 halves this year together. This would be our second and we already have the Hampton 1/2 schedule in September.

This is the second year of the Unite 1/2 Marathon and many folks gave it rave reviews in its first year. The race runs through the campuses of Rutgers University as well as Johnson and Buccleuch Parks finishing on College Ave. It was overcast but at least the heavy rain that came on through the night before had finally stopped. It was a blessing but later turned out to be a curse as you will see as you read on.

Frank was running a bit late and I still had to get him his race number but I was happy to mingle with many of the RVRR runners. I ran into Gene who casually said to me "if I was ready to run 10 miles"? I was a bit confused, but he quickly said the course was shortened to 10 because of flooding at Johnson park and the Landing lane bridge. I was immediately disappointed, but then thought 10 miles would be better for me since I ran hard the day before. When Frankie finally arrived he shrugged off the change as "what are you going to do"? He was right and most folks seemed to be okay with it at the start, but that wasn't the sentiment at the finish.

Frankie and I moved as close to the front as we could and went off in the second wave. Since we were running 10, I was thinking I may be able to go at a 7:15 pace. Our first mile was 9:06 due to getting stuck in the initial pack. We picked it up for miles 2 & 3, running 7:20's. It is here where I started meeting up with may of my running friends. Mike W, Brian, & David Brockman. David is the race director of a new race in town, called Hugs for Brady.

By mile 4 my legs seemed to get a bit heavy and the wind was picking up. The course wasn't very hilly although the wind in your face was making it difficult. Miles 4 & 5 were a bit slower and mile 6 was tough as we running up a hill into the wind. Knowing that there was only 3 miles left gave me some confidence to push the pace to the finish. Frank was right by my side the whole way as we battled the wind and we both started picking up the pace.

When we got to mile 8, the course change came into play and mile 9 was over the bridge back into downtown New Brunswick. We were running a 7 minute pace at this point, but it was hard to tell since the mile markers were nowhere to be found. I was a little disappointed not see a mile marker at 9, but knew I was getting closer to the finish. When we hit College Ave, I had about 3/4 of miles to go, but volunteers kept saying that the finish was just around the corner. I hit the tape in 1:11:45, but the last mile was about 3:45 which was a bit confusing. Right after finishing, someone had a Garmin watch that said we ran 9.53 miles. At this point I was really disappointed. I don't mind the shortening of the course to 10 miles but to only run 9.53 was not good. Most folks at the finish were pissed. Frank's friend Katya finished in 1:32 and was not happy as well. Once we got over it, we headed to the food line and to get our bag check.

Frank & Katya headed home after hanging for a bit and getting a ride back to his zipcar. I headed over to the Corner Tavern on Easton Ave to meet up with the RVRR runners. The bar is a real dive but the company was fun as usual.

My thoughts regarding the Unite 1/2, too pricey, not enough giveaways, so-so post race food, too long of a wait for that so-so food, no enough water stops, no clocks at each mile and the course change. It was a Biblical rain so I don't want to kill them for the course change but they really should have tried to make it either a 15K or a real 10 miler. When you pay $85 to enter the race you expect a certain level of detail which I don't think the runners received. As of right now, I won't run this race again unless I get in for less than $40. I think I will try the Superhero 1/2 next year.

Race #500 - RunApalooza & the Rutgers 1/2 Marathon

I am really looking forward to this weekend of running. I will be running race #'s 500 and 501 of my 30+ years of running.

On Saturday, John, Taugh, Chris and Tom & I will be participating in the 15th annual Jersey Shore Marathon relay aka RunAPalooza. We are the defending master's champs and will be looking for our third win in a row. We had to make some late changes to our lineup because Dale & Ken, our anchor legs from the previous years won't be able to make it. Their spots will be filled by Tom & Chris, both very capable of running good times. John will now be our anchor this year, as we had to juggle the lineup slightly.

Taugh leads us off by running the first 6.1 leg, Chris will run the next leg of 6.5, Tom will run the 4.5 mile leg, I will be running leg #4 which is 6.2 and John will finish up with the 3.1 mile leg.

The relay marathon is put on by the Jersey Shore Running Club which organizes many races along the beautiful Jersey Shore. It is a day full of running with a 1/2 marathon option, as well as the choice to run the full marathon by yourself. If you haven't been part of a relay marathon or longer, this is the one to do. The camaraderie is great and there is a real sense of running your best for the team. We also have a blast riding in the car following our team member.

We have been fortunate to have won the masters category two years in a row which is not bad since the average age of the team is about 50 years of age and the masters age group starts at 40. There are mixed teams as well as a category for best costume. Last year there was a team dressed as the cast members of the Jersey Shore. Two years ago there was a high school team of girls dressed as super heroes as well as the cast of Gilligan's Island. I am sure the guys on our team wouldn't be caught dead running in a costume.

They stagger the starts based on predicted times with the hope that all teams finish about the same time, right around 12:30 - 1pm. Our start time has been 9:40 each year and we hope to break 3 hours this time around.

Afterwards there is a huge party at the Asbury Park Convention Hall. The race itself starts at Seaside Heights , hugs the coast and runs along the boardwalk where it can. We were fortunate to have two great days the last two years which makes the day that much more enjoyable. The after party is at the Wonder Bar across the street from the convention hall and full of Jersey Shore history.

On Sunday, I will be running the Rutger's Unite 1/2 Marathon which is in it's second year. I didn't run it last year because I ran the relay the day before, but all my friends said it was a very good race. I probably would not have run it this year because of the relay again, but I entered it before the relay and then realized it was the day after RunApalooza. I am running the relay hard and will run the

first 5 miles of the

1/2 easy and see how I feel. I will determine weather I can run faster than 8 min miles at that point.

I feel like I am in pretty good shape, but back to backs hard at 52 years of age are

not usually good for me.

Many of my friends from the Raritan Valley Running Club will be running it, but Frankie T is coming in from NYC to join me for this one. We ran the Sleepy Hollow 1/2 about 1 month ago together and hope to do the same again on Sunday.

We will also be running the Hampton's 1/2 Marathon in September.

The Unite 1/2 starts at the Sonny Werblin center

on the Rutger's Busch campus and finishes on George Street on the

College Avenue campus. There will be some hills but nothing major and I would have liked to run this race hard but just don't I will have it in me to do so.

Well, there it is,

19.8 miles of running in two days, with lots of friends and even more fun. I can't wait to post from each of these races.

No races, just cooking.

I took this past weekend off from road racing because I have two long runs coming up this Saturday and Sunday in order to give my legs a rest. I recovered nicely after my back to back 1/2 marathons last month, but that was on consecutive weekends, 6 days apart. These races are on back to back days and I want to be as fresh as possible for both.

This gave me more time to spend on my other passion, which is cooking. I have always been a fan of cooking shows going back to the days of the Galloping Gourmet aka Graham Kerr (I run, he galloped) and Julia Child. I was also a fan of Yan Can Cook and Lidia on PBS as well. I watch the Food Network often which usually gets me inspired to cook and eat whatever they are making that day. I especially like Giada, but will watch any Chef if they are making something I like or something I think my family will enjoy.

On today's menu was onion soup with an Italian twist, fusilli with sausage, artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes and a chocolate orange creme filled cookie.

I got back from my training run and was hydrating while watching Giada make these cookies and onion soup so decided to give both of them a try. They both looked rather easy which was important since I was also doing a spring clean up in my yard. I needed to get that done in between courses.

I was making the cookies for my daughter Leigh who is at the University of Delaware and the onion soup for my wife who was out coaching my son's soccer game about an hour away. I figured Ro would like the onion soup after spending almost two hours in the cool air on Sunday.

The fusilli dish was for dinner and I got that recipe on Giada's website as well. I was trying to get away from the traditional red sauce Sunday that my son Mike requested a few weeks back. We did that the last few weeks so I was itching for something different and needed to use ingredients I had in the house. One thing that is certain when I eat or cook, it is to try different dishes. I rarely go back to the same dish twice even if I loved it. I will do occasionally if I thought it tasted spectacular and one of my kids didn't get a chance to try it.

I won't go into the details of each recipe, but I enjoyed making the cookies the most and I think they came out the way Giada's did on TV. The dough was made with butter, sugar, cocoa powder, flour and cornmeal and a little orange zest. It was the first time I added cornmeal to a cookie recipe as you could taste the slight grit in each bite. The creme filling was powdered sugar, butter and more orange zest.

The onion soup went over well with Ro although Mike wanted no part of it, and the Italian twist was fontina cheese on top. Mike was fine with the no red sauce Sunday but shied away from the sun-dried tomatoes.. Mike is the most finicky of my three kids when it comes to food, although his tastes are still evolving.

The races next weekend are the Jersey Shore Relay Marathon on Saturday which the "Sons of Beaches" are the defending master's champs looking for their 3rd in a row. Sunday's race is the Rutgers Unite 1/2 marathon run through the streets of New Brunswick and the RU campus.

More on those races in a later post this week.

Indian Trails 15K

I was looking to run a race before the upcoming Jersey Shore Relay on April 16th and the Indian Trails 15K fit the bill. The main reason I wanted to run was I am approaching my 500th race of my career and I wanted the Jersey Shore Marathon Relay to be number 500. I had heard so much about the Indian Trails run, mainly the hills and the views. Chris Kelly was planning on running and suggested I run also.

I was hoping the weather would be better than the previous two weekends and it was perfect. The sun was shining with a slight breeze with temps in the 40s. I picked up the Senator at 7:15 and off we went to the race. Ken wasn't running but volunteering.

After getting my number and t-shirt, I met up with Chris, the RVRR runners, Mike W & Brian Borden. There were lots of familiar faces and many of the area's top runners. Race started at 9am and it went off on time. Mike W and I ran together for the first mile hoping to hit mile 1 in 8 minutes. We ran a 7:28 first mile which I thought at the time might have been too fast. It was a slight downhill start so that contributed to the fast start. I hit mile 2 in 14:47 and was feeling pretty good so I wasn't so worried about the pace. I figured I would go at this pace until I bonked knowing there would be some serious hills coming up.

The course and views were very nice and the hills were challenging. I slowed climbing most of the hills but picked it up on the downhills so it was evening out. I was hitting my splits at just under the 7:30 pace which was making me happy. At mile 6 I still was on the 7:30 but at mile 8 after a steep long hill I was now slightly over. When I crested the hill at Mile 8, I was breathing pretty heavy, but I knew the rest of the race would be mostly downhill.

I just didn't think it would be really downhill. I had the wind in my face going downhill but it felt good. I ran hard the last mile and finished the race in 1:09:25 which is a 7:27 pace. Not bad for a hilly course.

I was extremely happy with my time and the race. The awards took longer than they should have to be given out. Mike Dixon of RVRR was the overall winner in 49:46 which was a new course record being the first guy to go sub 50 on the hilly course. I was running on the RVRR open team which we came in 2nd behind Sneaker Factory.

Ken and I headed over to On the Deck in Atlantic Highlands with a bunch of other runners for a beer and some food. The place had great views of the bay, but was a bit too windy to enjoy on this day.