At a Plateau,But I Can Still See More to Climb

There comes a point in every runners competitive life that you start to see a decline in your performance . It becomes harder to set personal records and harder to reach goals that you have set for yourself. This usually comes even though that runner gives his/her all during training , but nature just takes over.

I am not sure if this applies to my situation or not. I have run four races and have had disappointing results in all 4. Yes I have won awards in 3 out of the four, but my times are much slower than I had hoped . I have tried to attribute these to many things , such as health issues, haven't done enough speedwork and things like that. But this could be the beginning of my decline.

If it is how do I accept that?

Honestly, if I do accept the fact that I am starting to decline and showing my age, that means that I am giving up. I think I need to continue to train hard and let the chips fall where they may. I think that if you give something everything you got and don't achieve your goals , then you can live with yourself , if you give up before trying or use something like getting older as an excuse then you will have a hard time looking at yourself in the mirror.

I still see much more peaks that I need to climb . I may not succeed at climbing all of them, but I know I won't succeed if I don't try.

The World of Running is Forever Changed

I have felt it.

You can not line up at the starting line of any race without feeling the world of running has changed since April 15, 2013. There is a certain fear for both participants and those who watch , what if it happens again? I have to say I have been thinking about this frequently lately.

The bombings at the finish line in Boston at the marathon have forever changed the way organizers plan for races. There are new rules that are in place, more security measures and just a different feel to races . I have ran three races since then and you can definitely feel the change . The mindset of the runners and spectators have changed as well.

The best example I can think of was this years Buffalo Marathon. I have run larger marathons before and there was always security , but not like this. There were helicopters flying overhead, several Coast Guard Boats in the water and police and security at every turn . You knew there were eyes everywhere, I felt secure, but I still worried , not for me but for the spectators , particularly my biggest fan , my wife.

She was downtown , in with the crowds , if anything like Boston were to happen in Buffalo then it would most likely happen there. I was a moving target, she was stationery . Although I knew that the chances of anything happening were almost zero, it still doesn't erase the fear or put the thought out of your head.

On Monday July 15th I start training for the biggest race of my life , the ING New York City Marathon. I have always dreamed of running this race since I put on my first pair of running shoes  . Although I am super excited I do worry about my wife , my sister and my sister in law, who will be watching me and my brother run the five boroughs of New York. Am I putting them in harms way because I am being selfish?

I know the answer to that is no. They are grown adults who make their own decisions . Also I know that New York will be the most secure place on the planet that day, but again it doesn't stop the fear of something happening to them.

Then this morning I read an article about Bill Iffrig. 

Bill Iffrig

He is a 78 year old runner from Washington state. You know him as the man in the orange tank top who was knocked down by the blast at the finish line in Boston. He got back up and finished the race. 

I guess that is what we runners do, we press on. We fight through many obstacles such as weather, injuries and other environmental challenges just so we can experience running across that finish line again. The people who watch us give everything that we have to cross that line want to experience that with us  , that is why they are there. It is a relationship that should never be torn apart by fear of something happening, because if it does then the terrorists have won.

What is Going On

It seems like life has slowed down a bit for me lately so I figured I would try to catch up posting my thoughts on a few things lately here. As my many (tongue in cheek ) followers can tell I have changed things up on the way my blog looks. Tell me what you think!

The Colors Riley will be wearing in the Fall


• My son Riley has joined the Cross Country team: This was his own decision, I did not push him into it , but I am excited about it . We have been training and he has been improving . My biggest worry is that he only joined to try to please me because I run. I am just proud of him because he is trying something new, and for the most part he is giving his all. I can't wait to go to his first meet and cheer him on ! (Although he will be wearing black and gold.... yuck!)

Me on the Jumbo tron @ Ralph Wilson Stadium

• Update on my running: It feels good to be back on track after many issues that caused me to have a sub par Buffalo Marathon and before that a not so good 5K in April. Comparing last year and this year , I came pretty close to my time at the  half marathon from last year, so it looks like I am back on track and I hope to build on that as I move through the summer season and into fall. I start preparing for the Ing New York City marathon on July 15th, I hope to keep you updated on my progress preparing for that.

• Moving Forward: It is never too late to turn things around, I always find it inspiring when people fight addictions and can overcome them. I have someone in mind right now and I am very happy to see that the "Polish Hammer" is turning things around. I am sure it is a fight for him everyday, but I am sure it is one he will continue to win. Whether it is alcoholism, quitting cigarettes, losing weight or the many other challenges that people overcome, those who are successful at it have to take ownership to the challenges they face and go from here. Those who blame others for their personal challenges, usually end up not winning.  Get help, but remember it is ultimately you who decides if you win or not.

• For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, you may have noticed that I have not posted anything political in a while. This is because I am pretty fed up with all of politics right now and honestly am just going to let my voting do the talking from now on. Starting a war on Facebook doesn't solve anything .

Well I guess that is it for right now, as always please feel free to comment below. Have a great day!

I am excited so THAT is why I am annoying!

In 1985 I started running , in fact I remember my first run . It was with my brother Tom and he schooled me that day. He would run far ahead of me and then let me catch up to him only to pick up the pace and start the process all over again. He said it was to make me work harder to catch him and to improve my speed. I have always remembered that run , in fact I drove part of the route that we ran and decided to write this.

Around the same time I read the paper and saw a math teacher at my High School was running in the New York City Marathon and I remember thinking , maybe someday I could do that as well. Throughout my high school years I got better at running and kept thinking about the New York City Marathon , I knew I was getting closer to running it, but it still seemed so far off. I would watch it on TV and picture myself running along side of the leaders and finishing the race in central park.

After Graduation of high school I pretty much stopped running. I did pick a college to go to only because it had a cross country team and the other ones I was accepted to did not. I even met with the cross country coach, but that same day I got the lead in a play ( I was a Theatre Major) and was not allowed to participate in sports for fear of injury. I always promised myself I would get back into it.

Just like running with my brother, I caught him and then he sped up.

While at college I discovered the wonders of alcohol, I never drank at all before I was 21. That is the truth , but I made up for lost time from the years of 1991 to 2009 . My stress relief was beer, I don't know if you would call me an alcoholic but I was on my way to achieving that title and because of that the NYC marathon was quickly becoming a dream that I would never fulfill.

I have told this story many times, but in 2009 my life had changed for the better when my sister called and invited me to run with her in Corning NY in the Wineglass Marathon . I was very drunk when I had this conversation and did not remember that I signed up ( while inebriated). I discovered my confirmation e-mail the next day and it said "No Refunds" . I was committed to running.

I finished the race and have run 4 more marathons and countless other races since , including the Buffalo Marathon this past Memorial Day Weekend. I have not come close to qualifying for New York , but have been getting closer to qualifying for Boston, so I have been concentrating on that  . In fact I blogged about it earlier this year. My goal was to qualify for Boston after the Erie Marathon, New York was quickly going off my radar again.

I have in other years try to get into NY by way of the lottery, I have been told several times that the odds of making it in this way was extremely hard. I decided to enter the drawing again this year , but figured since there were many deferments from last year's race (which was cancelled and entrants could defer their entry to this years race) , the odds were even more not in my favor.

So on May 29th I sat in front of a computer , waiting for my rejection notice as I have done in years past. It was a long day, I was at work checking it all day. I left work not getting an answer , and I figured since it was taking a really long time , I wasn't in and was fine with that. I will start my training for Erie and move on as I have done in the past.

But then I came home to this:

I have been on cloud 9 since!

Now to the point of all of this rambling , I keep bothering my brother Kevin, who is also running this year with a bunch of silly questions about the race. I think I might be annoying him, as well as another friend who is running it this year. I just want to apologize in advance for my annoying behavior. If you want to block me out of your lives completely , I understand. 

It may be a very long 5 months for everyone around me , I am sorry! 

A Few Thoughts On A Rainy Thursday

Life has been busy since the last time I wrote here on April 12th, my life has been extremely busy and it is hard to sit down and express my thoughts on what is going in world today. Here we go , in no particular order.

• I am reading "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown. I have to say I am really enjoying this book. It really really has brought few thoughts to my mind. 

1. The first is what if there are more Gospels that the Bible , would it damage the image of Christ or enhance it? If he was married to Mary Magdalene and had a daughter, would this be a bad thing? I am not saying that I believe that this to be true  , but the history of the world is written or rewritten by those who have claimed victory in wars that have been fought . Without giving too much of the book away, the Romans did make Christianity the official religion of the empire, and had to sell it to the people they governed. It is possible that a few edits to the Bible were done.
2. I guess if your faith and what you believe in is questioned , you would be upset. But if your faith is strong you should not waiver , or become upset when it is questioned. You should defend your views, but let me ask you this,how many Christians have read the book? If you haven't , how do you know what you are defending against?
3. Finally, this is a fictional story that was well researched by Dan Brown, you must not lose sight of that.As I have stated before I do not believe the points to be true, just something to think about I guess.

• My heart goes out to those in Oklahoma, I can not imagine what they are going through after a massive tornado . When I was a kid one of my biggest fears was losing my home to a tornado, to see this happen to so many people is so heartbreaking. Any time something like this happens, whether it is a storm, a crazed nut shooting people or a terrorist attack , I just want to gather those around me who I am close to and hug them and never let go

• We need to get this straight, Obama is untouchable, he can (hypothetically) beat up a grandmother in in the middle of a crowded football stadium live on national television and claim that he had nothing to do with it and get away with it. The press will believe him.We have so many "scandals"  going on that our government is involved  in that it is hard to keep track. None of these scandals can be traced to Obama and he claims he had no knowledge of them. I tend to believe that . A good leader needs to be involved in everything that the organization the he or she leads is doing. Obama is not concerned with being a good leader or these scandals would have been known by him and his administration before the press have found out about them. 

• I am looking forward to the Buffalo Marathon this sunday, I am not in the best shape for it due to many issues I have dealt with that have interrupted my  training, but I am going to go and enjoy it. I am not planning on qualifying for Boston this sunday or even getting a PR, but I am looking forward to just going for a run. 

That is it for today, as always please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!

Two Dollar Bill

The following story is not mine, I copied it from Facebook, so I have no idea who the original author is. Just makes you think if this story is true...

Remember these?

On my way home from work, I stopped at Taco Bell for a quick bite to eat. I have a $50 bill and a $2 bill. I figure with the $2 bill, I can get something to eat and not have to worry about irritating anyone for trying to break a $50 bill.
Me: 'Hi, I'd like one seven-layer burrito please, to go.'
Server: 'That'll be $1.04. Eat in?'
Me: 'No, it's to go.' At this point, I open my billfold and hand him the $2 bill. He looks at it kind of funny.
Server: 'Uh, hang on a sec, I'll be right back.'

He goes to talk to his manager, who is still within my earshot. The following conversation occurs between the two of them:

Server: 'Hey, you ever see a $2 bill?'
Manager: 'No. A what?'
Server: 'A $2 bill. This guy just gave it to me...'
Manager: 'Ask for something else. There's no such thing as a $2 bill.'
Server: 'Yeah, thought so.'

He comes back to me and says, 'We don't take these. Do you have anything else?'

Me: 'Just this fifty. You don't take $2 bills? Why?
Server: 'I don't know.'
Me: 'See here where it says legal tender?'
Server: 'Yeah.'
Me: 'So, why won't you take it?'
Server: 'Well, hang on a sec.'

He goes back to his manager, who has been watching me like I'm a shoplifter, and says to him, 'He says I have to take it.'

Manager: 'Doesn't he have anything else?'
Server: 'Yeah, a fifty. I'll get it and you can open the safe and get change.
Manager: 'I'm not opening the safe with him in here.'
Server: 'What should I do?'
Manager: 'Tell him to come back later when he has real money.'
Server: 'I can't tell him that! You tell him.'
Manager: 'Just tell him.'

Server: 'No way! This is weird. I'm going in back.

The manager approaches me and says,
'I'm sorry, but we don't take big bills this time of night.'

Me: 'It's only seven o'clock! Well then, here's a two dollar bill.'
Manager: 'We don't take those, either.'
Me: 'Why not?'
Manager: 'I think you know why.'
Me: 'No really, tell me why.'

Manager: 'Please leave before I call mall security.'
Me: 'Excuse me?'
Manager: 'Please leave before I call mall security.'
Me: 'What on earth for?'
Manager: 'Please, sir..'

Me: 'Uh, go ahead, call them.'
Manager: 'Would you please just leave?'
Me: 'No.'
Manager: 'Fine -- have it your way then.'
Me: 'Hey, that's Burger King, isn't it?'

At this point, he backs away from me and calls mall security on the phone around the corner. I have two people staring at me from the dining area and I begin laughing out loud, just for effect.

A few minutes later this 45-year-oldish guy comes in.

Guard: 'Yeah, Mike, what's up?'
Manager (whispering): 'This guy is trying to give me some (pause) funny money.'
Guard: 'No kidding! What?'
Manager: 'Get this. A two dollar bill.'
Guard (incredulous): 'Why would a guy fake a two dollar bill?'
Manager: 'I don't know. He's kinda weird. He says the only other thing he has is a fifty.'
Guard: 'Oh, so the fifty's fake!'
Manager: 'No, the two dollar bill is.'
Guard: 'Why would he fake a two dollar bill?'
Manager : 'I don't know! Can you talk to him, and get him out of here?'
Guard: 'Yeah.'

Security Guard walks over to me and......
Guard: 'Mike here tells me you have some fake bills you're trying to use.'
Me: 'Uh, no.'
Guard: 'Lemme see 'em.'
Me: 'Why?'
Guard: 'Do you want me to get the cops in here?'

At this point I'm ready to say, 'Sure, please!' but I want to eat, so I say, 'I'm just trying to buy a burrito and pay for it with this two dollar bill.

I put the bill up near his face, and he flinches like I'm taking a swing at him. He takes the bill, turns it over a few times in his hands, and he says, 'Hey, Mike, what's wrong with this bill?'
Manager: 'It's fake.'
Guard: 'It doesn't look fake to me.'
Manager: 'But it's a two dollar bill.'
Guard: 'Yeah? '
Manager: 'Well, there's no such thing, is there?'

The security guard and I both look at him like he's an idiot and it dawns on the guy that he has no clue and is an idiot.

So, it turns out that my burrito was free, and he threw in a small drink and some of those cinnamon thingies, too.

Made me want to get a whole stack of two dollar bills just to see what happens when I try to buy stuff.

How is this Hurting Anyone?

For the people who have a religious point of view on gay marriage , please put that aside for the moment and ask yourself this question , how is it hurting you? 

Most gay marriage laws do not force churches to marry homosexual individuals, so that it doesn't infringe on your rights to believe in what you want to believe in. I also assume that most gay marriages are entered into willingly by both individuals , they are not being forced into a marriage. 

So why is this a problem?

I understand that people think that it is wrong, and no one is asking you to change your beliefs that it is wrong. I also assure you that most gay couples know about the views that some of you hold, but isn't really up to each individual to determine what makes them happy and if it is not hurting anyone else then why shouldn't people pursue what makes them happy? 

Doesn't it say in the Bible that those without sin can cast the first stone? Who are we to judge other people, doesn't the final judgement fall in God's hands? 

There is just too much hate in this world, and some of it comes from those who are supposed to be preaching about love.