Getting My Feet Back Into My Asics

The original title for this entry was " Lessons learned from my Failure", but that is not who I am, that is not what I want to focus on.

After 5 months of training a simple stomach virus and some hamstring pain derailed my run and forced me out of the Buffalo Marathon at the halfway mark . I was crushed yesterday, I was hunched over crying like a child in the middle of Buffalo . I have not felt that much disappointment in a long time. I was at a low point and I am still trying to get myself back up . With the help of my wife, family and some great friends I know I will, but it will take a little more time.

Last night I was having dreams of people mocking me and calling me a loser and that I failed. These are the feelings that I have to get over. Those of you who know me , know that I will get by this and use it as motivation to succeed in the future . I have never like to dwell on the negative parts of my life , but to use it as a learning tool for the future. This event will be no different.

Before the issues started I was running comfortable at a pace that would have qualified me for the Boston Marathon. At first this depressed me, but I was not expecting to qualify for Boston until my fall marathon, so I feel I am already in shape enough qualify for the event . Another positive is that even with me walking and plotting along the last couple miles I still achieved my personal best Half Marathon. There are things to take from this experience that are positives.

So to sum it all up, I will move forward , but not forget this event . I will use it as motivation to succeed in future events. I am going to give my body and my mind a week off from running and get myself back in my Asics next Monday for the Erie Marathon in September. With the continued support of Sheri, my family and great friends , how can I fail?

You Can Do It....If You Want

Too many times we give up....believe things are too impossible to do or overcome. We take the easy way out..we quit or don't even try . We are to afraid to fail and we are afraid of what failure would mean to our lives and what people would would think of us if we do not succeed. What we don't understand that if we don't even try or give an honest effort at something , we have already failed. I can live with failure if I give everything I got to succeed at something and fail, I will brush myself off and learn from my mistakes and get right back at it.

Roger Bannister

I just finished a book called "The Perfect Mile" by Neal Bascomb . It is about three runners in the 1950's who were attempting to break the four minute mile barrier. Many believed that it was physically impossible to do it,but that did not stop Wes Santee,John Landy, and Roger Bannister from giving everything they had to try to break it. Each one had their own reason to achieve the goal.Finally Roger Bannister broke it on May 6,1954. Today the mile record stands at 3:43.13 and it is held by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco. He did it in 1999.

This book got me to think about how sometimes when life puts up a barrier in front of you , whether it was self imposed or it came as a surprise , how we handle this barrier show a glimpse of we we are made of. It is human nature to think that we can't do it , but it is within our own nature to actually try to give an honest effort to do it or give up.

Me Running the 2010 Buffalo Turkey Trot

Don't ever think that you are alone in your quest to succeed,even though sometimes it feels that you are. I believe that there is always there to help you, be there to support you and help you break the barrier or help you deal with any time that you fail.Take stock of the people in your life, I am sure that their are plenty of people to help. If you can't  think of anyone, there are always places you can go to support you.

Running has taught me many things about myself. It has taught me that if I want something , like qualifying for the Boston marathon, I have to work for it. I sometimes have to push my body through workouts that my mind tells me that my body just can't do. I know that if for some reason I don't qualify for Boston , it won't be because I didn't try. I can live with that.

It is not just about fnishing...... I have a duty

The Buffalo Marathon is a little more than three weeks away, this will mark my 3rd marathon and what hopes to be the first of two this year. I have trained harder for this race than I have done in the past, The results so far have been positive. I have broken through many barriers that I never thought I would, which is exciting because I feel that there are many more barriers to be broken.

This time around I have been inspired by reading books about running . I was really inspired by Meb Keflezighi's(winner of the 2009 New York City Marathon) book "Run to Overcome"  , and now I am in the middle of the book "The Perfect Mile" by Neal Bascomb. If you are a runner in need of inspiration , I recommend both . 


I have written in the past that my father was a major inspiration for my running again, I dedicated my first marathon to him. He is a man that has fought and beaten many obstacles in his life and by far is the toughest man I know. However through out my running journey there have been many who have inspired me to lace up my Nikes (now Asics) and get out there .

I am sitting here wanting to name everyone , but I don't want to bore you to death, but I will say that what inspires me is people that don't back down from a challenge. Challenges can come from many angles, it can be self imposed like running a marathon. It can be because you are trying to prove that you can still walk up the biggest hill in town , after you have had tumors removed from your legs. It can be that you stand in the mirror one day and say to the person staring back at you that you have had enough and you are going to change ...and you do. I get inspired by people who reach their dreams , like running the Boston Marathon . I get inspired by the mother of 4 who puts her life on hold so she can be a great mom, but will find the time to run another marathon with her brother...hopefully soon.


I recently received an e-mail from a friend who called me an inspiration, this shocked me a bit. I don't think of my self inspiring anyone. I have felt a little guilty about my running, it is a selfish sport. I try to involve my family in it, but ultimately it is me out there . I got to thinking about what people thought when the saw me running  (one they got past the goofy tights) . Do I inspire them?


I know two people that I do inspire and they are my kids. I want them to see that Daddy doesn't quit and that I will reach my goals, but it will take a lot of hard work.