You are YOU and no one else!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

With running season beginning in full force now, Boston Marathon, London Marathon, Grandma's coming up in less than 2 months, I've found myself hearing all of my friends kicking some major butt on the courses with PB's!!!!!!!!:):):):) FIRST A HUGE CONGRATS TO MY RUNNING BROTHER JON-O FOR RUNNING HIS FIRST BOSTON MARATHON!!! AND UNDER 3 HOURS!!!!!!!:):):):):):) ALSO A HUGE CONGRATS TO MY OTHER RUNNING BROTHER PRITAM FOR RUNNING LONDON THIS PAST SATURDAY IN UNDER 3 HOURS!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):):) For those who know marathons, a sub-3 hour is not an easy feat!!! Especially for those who aren't natural runners to begin with!!!!;):):):):):):):)

Not going to lie this past month has been hard to swallow, everyone reaching their goals in a major marathon, running under 3 hours, people who've never ran one before finishing their first!! Which makes me think, I've tried for a Boston qualifier 3 times now, with number four coming up in June!!!! It really puts doubt in your head, am I good enough to even run this fast, can I do this, I've already tried 3 times and nothing to show for it?!?!? Is altitude screwing everything up?!?!

But then I take these doubts and use it for even MORE MOTIVATION!!!! HELL YEAH I'M FAST ENOUGH!!! YES I'M GOOD ENOUGH!!! I WILL DO THIS!!!!!!!! You cannot get sucked in to what others do and accomplish, you are YOU and your body is yours!!!! If I was a twin of someone else, even THEN my body would still be different!!! So many times I hear my students say, I want a body like this persons, or I want to be playing ball like this athlete!! I tell them, so what about working your butt off and being YOUR type of player!! Making a name for YOURself!!! Or having YOUR type of body!!! It's VERY easy to get sucked in to the comparative world, it takes mental toughness and determination to block all of that out and do what YOU do best and that's BE YOU!!!!:):):):):):):):)

I'll get my goal of sub-3, when my body and mind is ready!!! When will that be, hopefully June 20th, if not than another time!! All I know is I'm putting in the BEST AND HARDEST effort that I can right now, especially with a little crazy 2 year old at home!!!!!;):):):):):):):) Would I change ANY of my past failures or current external factors right now, NO WAY TIMES A BILLION!!!!!!!!:):):):) You learn from failures and I love my family to death!!! If being around Aleksia sacrifices my Boston qualifier a couple of more years, than so be it!!! Yes my goal 10 years ago was to qualify for Boston by 2015, however making that goal not knowing what would happen in year 10 changes things!!!:):):):) I will still try and give it my all, but being a father right now is first and foremost!!!!:):):):) BUUUUUUUUUT, who says there aren't fast running new fathers out there!!!!;):):):):)

JUNE 20TH IS 52 DAYS AWAY!!! LET'S FINISH STRONG BABY!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):):):):):):) HAPPY SMILING AND BEING YOU!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift"

A quote taken from one of the bravest US middle distance runners ever, Steve Prefontaine! A man who was never scared to take lead in any race, and in fact was quoted on saying what is the point of winning if I'm not out there giving it my all every single time! How do you "win" a race if you're second the entire race and then at the last second sprint out in front and take it?!

It's been over a year now since I've written a post, but these past 8 months have been the most physical and emotional in the 8 years I've been running half and full marathons, and figured it was time to write again!! A quick thank you to Pritam who is my inspiration for writing this post, who told me I was his inspiration to get into running, so thank you Pritam for pushing me to write once again!!:):):):) It has been too long!!!!

Listen to this while reading, it makes it way more powerful!!!:):)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5FyRZbqfeM 

8 months ago last March I suffered my most fierce and scariest running injury: patellofemoral femoral pain syndrome (commonly known as runner's knee)!!  It was devastating to my running confidence!! Every time I tried to push through the pain while running it shot up through me like someone was driving a nail through my knee!! Walking down the stairs was agonizing during the 2 most intense weeks!! I decided to quit running for the first time in 7 years, and quit I did for 2 solid months!!! It was the most important 2 months of my entire running career!! I've heard WAY too many stories about runners who get runner's knee and can never be without pain again while running, BECAUSE they didn't heal properly!! So I hit the bicycle and rowing machine hard, along with light, rehabilitating strength training with resistance bands, focusing mainly on the hip flexors, IT band, quads, and hamstrings (with of course full body exercises as well)!!

By the end of May I decided it was time to try running once again, and fingers were crossed!!! I started my running again inside on the treadmill, instead of the hills of Mussoorie!! Ran a solid 2 miles at a nice easy pace and was fretting "that pain" coming back every second!! That run went as good as it could have for coming off runner's knee!! There was pain but nothing that I knew I couldn't push through (nothing close to the pain I felt back in March)!! My confidence was shaken still, but this one run boosted it ever so slightly!! Slightly enough to set a new goal, run a 1:24:00 at the New Delhi Half Marathon in November!! They say if you can run a half in 1:24 you can run a sub-3:00, and that is EXACTLY what I need for Boston!!:):):)

The next couple of months were physically and emotionally draining!! Every run I would do my confidence boosted a little bit more, but in the back of my head there was still doubt and fear building up that once again there will be extreme pain!! I didn't even touch Mussoorie outside with my running shoes until end of July!! My first outside run was completely pain free minus running downhill, those parts freaked me out the most!!! It wasn't until mid-August that I was running pain free on the treadmill finally!! Confidence was even higher now and I could feel things were finally going in the right direction!!! My 1 run outside still had some pain going downhills but it was noticeably less than it was in July!! 

September came along and I am running faster and stronger now than I have ever before!! Adding 2 days a week strength training this go around made the WORLD of difference!! Not only were my legs stronger, but my entire body!! Confidence and determination to dominate the New Delhi Half Marathon were at an all-time high!!! I was feeling like this goal could actually be doable in 2 months!!!! By the end of September I added my 2nd run outside and found it completely pain free!!! Now I was feeling confident and ready for the Mussoorie Half Marathon 1st November in the hills!! Not even touching the hills until mid-September, I felt I was ready to push it while running through the rolling hills!!!

Mussoorie Half Marathon came and it felt PERFECT!!!! Absolutely no pain what-so-ever, enjoyed every minute of the run!!!!! Having a hundred plus other runners, running along side of you definitely helps as well, and keeps your mind off the run!!!!  Finishing the Mussoorie Half 5 minutes faster than what I was expecting was the FINAL confidence boost I needed to prepare for New Delhi Half!!! The final couple of weeks were my tapering to give my legs the final rest they needed to be 100% ready for 23rd November!!!

The week leading up to NDHM 2014 was a scary one!! Developed a little bit of a head cold on Tuesday and it carried all the way up through the weekend!!! I was certain the cold would take me out of the race on Sunday!!! However, with my confidence being at an all time high and knowing I needed to run this race, I kept thinking the cold will have to wait until Sunday after the race is done!!! 

RACE MORNING!!!!!!!!

After only 3-4 hours of sleep (normal before a major race) I woke up with a sharp headache, which later went away after moving around, getting ready, and having a light breakfast!! Even though the congestion was still there, I knew I just had to be mentally tough for this one and literally pushed the cold out of my thoughts!!! Got to the race starting point (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium) around 6:15am and had about 45 minutest to get ready!! Was so thankful Aleksia and Shubhra were with me the entire time!!! That also took my mind off the cold!!

7am came and we're 5 minutes away now from starting the race!! Met some familiar faces, had some laughs, but it was game time!! Got into the "zone" and blocked everything else out!! It was now or never, no pain, no cold, nothing but my shoes and the cement of Delhi!!! Starting gate opened and we were off!! The first 3km went beautifully!! My goal average per km was 4:00 (6:26 mi) in the first 10km, and didn't want to start off TOO fast and ruin my pace like I did 3 years ago in Delhi!! Finished the first 3km in 11:57, a little faster than planned but still felt strong!! The next couple of km I knew would be a piece of cake, but it was the 10km-16km points of the race that would test me!! I got half way and still feeling magical, everything was going to plan, my body was in beautiful harmony with each other, I thought I was dreaming!!! No knee pain what-so-ever, cold was non-existent, holy crap this was the perfect running feeling!!!:):):) Once I finished 17km and was almost EXACTLY on the pace I needed to be at I KNEW I had this race!! Any long distance runner knows once you get within a couple of miles of the finish it's all heart and determination from there, any training you've done goes out the window, for it is your heart and the finish line that is battling now!!! Your muscles stay quiet, brain goes into coast mode, for it's your heart that you listen to will guide you the rest of the way!! Finished 17-20km as fast as I could have hoped!! It was the last kilometer now and I KNEW MY LEGS WERE READY TO PUSH IT TO THE MAX!!! I KICKED UP MY PACE, MY ADRENALINE WAS FLYING, I WAS GOING TO DO IT!!!!! I SAW THE 500M SIGN!! I WAS WITHIN 2 MINUTES OF THE FINISH LINE!! 400M SIGN CAME AND GONE!!! 300M SIGN FLEW BY!!!! 200M SIGN (saw Shubhra and Aleksia and knew I couldn't fail now)!!!! TEARS WERE COMING OUT OF MY FACE!!! 100M TO GO!!! TURNED THE FINAL CORNER AND SAW THE FINISH LINE!!!! I FELT LIKE I WAS FLOATING TO IT AS I WAS SPRINTING MY GUTS OUT!!!! I CAME TO THE FINISH LINE.........CROSSED IT......STOPPED MY WATCH...........

1 HOUR 24 MINUTES AND 7 SECONDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):) I felt freakin ECSTATIC!!!!!!!!!! Those 7 seconds were like a cherry on top, yes it would have been nice to finish just under 1 hour 24 minutes, but right now I was so incredibly pumped to finish with this time!!!! My previous PB was 1 hour 26 minutes and 40 seconds, so this alone kicked the crap out of that time!!! I just bent over in complete exhaustion and was thinking did I really just go from nothing to a personal best in 8 months?!?! Tears were continuing and I just couldn't do anything except live in this single moment of joy!!!! I dried myself up, walked through the medal distribution, and saw a familiar face!!!!:):):):) Pritam, who was also running, was extremely pumped with his "effort" as well, can't say time at this point since his watch stopped half way through!! But we were two extremely pleased men right now!!! We had some laughs, met some other runners, than said our goodbyes!!! I walked out of JLN Stadium to meet Shubhra and Aleksia!! On the walk I was still in disbelief of what just happened and couldn't wait to tell Shubhra!!!:):):) I found her and of course Aleksia was fast asleep!! Can't blame her for waking up at 5am!!! I hugged the life out of Shubhra and we walked back to the metro, and from there back to Mussoorie!!!!!!!!!

I finally had some time these past couple of days to reflect on everything that has happened the last 8 months!!! There is no greater ability in life than to come back from failure or an injury!! It is what makes us human and great humans at that!!! To learn from our failures and eventually succeed has no better feeling!!! Yes it would be easy to give up, try something else, and move on, but what are you telling yourself?!? To never try?! To never go for it?! To never feel that over sensational feeling of accomplishment, that you actually did something hard in your life and you FEEL AMAZING!!!! There is not a day I would trade to eliminate that knee injury back in March!!! For if it wasn't for that injury I don't know if I could have ran a 1:24 like I did on Sunday!! My whole outlook on running wouldn't have changed that day for the positive!!! I am truly blessed for having these moments of adversity, and I only hope all of you at one time in your life can face such adversity and find the courage and strength to fight through!!! I know this is nothing compared to some of the adverse situations others face on a daily basis, but I can only deal with what is dealt to me!!! Find your passion in life, don't let fear over take you from accomplishing your dreams, and my God if you fail don't sulk and feel sorry for yourself, you STAND UP!! YOU LEARN FROM THAT FAILURE!! AND YOU GO OUT AND YOU DOMINATE!!!! Always try and eventually you will succeed!!!!!!!

HAPPY SMILING AND DOMINATING LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift" - Steve Prefontaine (1951-1975)

Exercise/Healthy Eating Craze at Woodstock!!!!:):):):):)

For as long as I've been here at Woodstock (my 4th year at the end of June) I have been dying to see exercise and a passion for healthy eating start to take over students!!!! AND IT HAS BEGUN!!!!!!:):):):) I AM SO PROUD RIGHT NOW OF THE STUDENTS AT WOODSTOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):) Well at least 50%!!!!!!! Especially the graduating seniors and juniors!!!!!!!!

The best part of this craze is the HUNGER and THIRST for knowledge!!!!  They aren't just following some crazy, online diet plan, they are actually coming to staff who are knowledgeable about proper nutrition and exercise regiments!!! I mean for goodness sakes, students are starting HEALTHY eating clubs for PASSAGE next year!!! These clubs require students teaching other students (and some staff helping) how to cook healthily and how to ENJOY it!!!!:):):)  Never would I have expected this level of dedication!!!  Well maybe a little, but not to this extent, and it is AMAZING!!!!!!!:):):):):):):)

Coming from the states and the "fried food" kingdom, it is so refreshing to see students learning how to cook with fresh NATURAL ingredients, no packages or store bought products!!! But actually combining ingredients and tasting the texture, etc.!!!!:):):) Using whole wheat flour, fresh vegetables, fruits, all of that!!!!:):):) And then to add on top of that, a regular exercise routine!!!!!:):):):):) AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

So it has been a FANTASTIC year at Woodstock from a physical standpoint!!! Now yes, we are not at every student being this dedicated, but it all has to start somewhere!! And right now it has started!!! Oh and THANKS TO A SALAD BAR to jump start the healthy eating craze!!!!!!!:):):):)

Keep up the AMAZING work Woodstock students and keep up the passion towards a lifetime of fitness and healthy eating!!!!!!:):):):):)

GOTTA LOVE IT AND HAPPY SMILING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):):)

A dream come true!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

September 2, 2003 was the first day of school for my Senior year of high school!!!!!! And this day would forever change me!!!! For the first day of school was my first time doing the morning announcements over the loud speakers!!!!!! And let's just say I had the most fun EVER!!!!! Started off every morning with GOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING SHAKOPEE SENIOR HIGH!!!!!!!!!!! One of my teachers told me that I had a great radio voice and should look into radio sometime!!!!  I told them OH I will one day try and be on radio!!!!!  It is a dream I have!!!!!!

Wednesday, April 17th 2013 will be a day I will remember forever!!!!  It was the day I went live for radio!!!!  A month ago I e-mailed some of the ICT and AV crew staff at school asking if it was possible to do a live radio broadcast, since last year we tried the video streaming and failed horribly!!!  2 weeks before Win Mumby Mike Pesavento (which I'll get to him later) said he has found this site and it looks like it will be possible to do a live stream!!!  At that time Mulan (our 7-9th grade Spring drama) was in full force so I didn't want to overload Mike and cause him a mental breakdown so we would work with this after Mulan was over!!  Well Mulan finished and sure enough he had Spreaker, the same link on the bottom of this post, up and ready to try out!!! Only problem is we had NO games to try it out on before Win Mumby!!! So our first LIVE broadcast would be WIN MUMBY!!!!!

Wednesday night!!!!!! Woodstock Girls vs. Lawrence School, my first live broadcast and a game I would never forget!!!!!!! I was SO freakin nervous!!!  Not sure how I would sound, if I would talk to loud, fast, mumbley, etc.!!!!!!  The great thing about Spreaker is you not only get to go live BUT it gives you the option to record all of your broadcasts as well!!!! So I knew, okay let's get through tonight and I could go back and listen to them and analyze and change things if I needed to!! And man were there things to change!!!! However, first night went AWESOME!!!!!!! It was SO much fun!!!!!! The games seems a THOUSAND times faster when you try and call out every single play!!! I'll get to that part at the end!!!!!;) During the first 3 games that night we were also unsure if anyone would even listen or comment!!! But sure enough we saw listener after listener log on live, AND we even had comments!!!!!  One of the girl basketball player's moms was AWESOME over the 3 1/2 days!!! She would be the first one to comment and would comment multiple times with such inspiring and positive words!!!!!!!:):):)  So I did 3 games on Wednesday night, that was the easy part of the entire tourney looking back!!!!!!!:):):):)

Thursday!!!!!!!!! And I do mean THURSDAY!!!!!!! 7:30am Mike and I set up for a LONG day of basketball!!!!!!!!:):):) Listening the night before I talk with Mike about the things I heard, and both he and I were up until 1am listening, editing, taking notes, etc.!!!! I'll talk about Mike later as well!!:):) So 8am the first of 10 games for the day!!!  Games 1-4 in the morning and 5-10 in the afternoon/evening!!!:):) And between the morning and afternoon there was about a 2 hour break!!!! So really Mike and I were sitting on that freakin wooden bleacher from 7:30am to 9:30pm with a 2 hour break, broadcasting BASKETBALL!!!:):):) You REALLY have to enjoy what you do to do that!!! Which we did!!!!!!!!:):):):)

Friday!!!!!!!!!!! And again I do mean FRIDAY!!!!!!! Same thing, 7:30am Mike and I were there, and 9:30pm we were done!!!!!!:):):)  We had 11 games that day 5 before lunch and 6 after lunch, so break that day was only an hour or so!!!!  And this is where I could tell, okay you best start being smart about your voice, because it was fading a little bit!!!!:):) Of course though, the BIGGEST games of the tournament were that night!!! Both Woodstock teams were undefeated (2-0) at this point and Friday's games would decide if they were #1 or 2 seed in the Saturday fixtures!! So I knew it would be a full house and energy would be high!! No boring broadcasts coming up that night!!!!!!!:):):) Woodstock ladies played Modern School (future Win Mumby champs) and lost, followed by a great victory by the Woodstock boys team over Doon School!!!!!!!!:):):):) After the games my voice was in trouble!!!!:)  It wasn't gone, BUT it wasn't strong either!!! I knew Saturday was going to be 50/50 getting through it!!!!!!!

Saturday!!!!!!!!!! Again got to school at 7:30am ready to go with Mike!!!!!!:):):) Voice took a while to warm-up, but once it did it was decent!!! Not great, but not bad either!!!:):) Decided after the first 5 minutes of the first semi-final game that this was going to be a blow out so would save the voice for the next two games, which happened to be back-to-back Woodstock games!!!!! And being bias towards Woodstock, those two games were FAR more important!!!!!!!!!!!  Ladies played Welham Girls, and let's just say you need to listen to that one to see what the crap happened there!!!! The most bizaar and childish event ever by a visiting coach!!!!!  And sadly that coach was the Chief Official of the entire tournament!!!! So Woodstock unfortunately lost that game vs. Welhams!  But then Woodstock Boys played Modern School and THAT to me personally WAS the Championship game!!!! Back and forth all game, winning score was 83-79!!! Only in the last 1 1/2 minutes was the lead more than 2!!!!!!!!:):):):) And got some EXCITING comments from listeners!!!!!!:):):):)  However then we had a break after 1:30pm and that is when the voice went sour!!! And when I mean sour, I mean like NON-EXISTENT!!!!!!!! I drank some hot tea, an entire liter of water, sat down for the girls game, practiced talking a little bit and thought it might work out!!! Mike gave me the thumbs up and BAM...................... nothing was coming out except some squeaks!! Instantly I knew that the 2 Championships game would not happen!!!! I saw David (another Woodstock staff member) sitting in the far bleachers and we had talked a couple days before how he used to sit at home and commentate during basketball games to his wife!!! So I immediately stood up, tried to wave him down, mimed with my hands to get over here ASAP, and take over!!! My heart sunk!!!! The entire tournament lead up to these two games, the most important games that people want to listen to, annnnnnnnnnnnd I can't even say a simple sentence at this point!!! I wanted to struggle and try it, but didn't want to do that because the listeners would have a tough time!!! So David took over for me and I just filled out my stat sheet for him!!!! Woodstock won the Championship and all was well with Woodstock!!!!:):):):)

Now back to the things I said I would get to!!! Listening to the growth from Wednesday night to Saturday morning was so much fun!!!! From a frozen deer in the headlights with everything moving so fast on Wednesday night, to the feeling of the Matrix when they slow everything down was awesome!!!! I went from saying the visiting teams players numbers only on Wednesday to saying both numbers and names, while writing down the stats of the game!!!:):)  It got to a point I could watch a part of the game, memorize that part, replay the part via radio while writing down the stats!!! It was truly an awesome feeling!!!:):):) And during Win Mumby and my breaks I would listen to different play-by-play broadcasts and memorize their descriptive terminology and use that to paint a better picture on the court!!!:):):) Oh it was the BEST time ever and would not have changed a single moment!!! And holy crap the experience within 3 days was MIND BLOWING!!!!!!:):):):)

Now back to Mike!!!!!!!!!! I don't even know where to begin!!!! The silent hero of it all you could say!!! Even before Win Mumby started Mike was working on this and trying to get EVERYTHING ready to go so once we went "On Air" it would be perfect!! WHICH IT WAS!!!!!!!:):):):) And the fact that Mike sat with me at my side for EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF EVERY SINGLE GAME was a blessing!!!!!:):):):) Without Mike, my dream of doing this was impossible!!! I didn't even know where to start and without his equipment I could have never done it!!!!!  Also, the fact that we got so comfortable as the games went on was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!! I still remember the first couple of games where we were both trying to communicate what was going on, how we had to quickly cut off air to fix things or pause something!! And by the end it was a simple gesture of a thumbs up, or a single finger in the air (without a single word mentioned) and Mike knew EXACTLY what that meant!!! And I could give him cues over the air and he knew what to do right at that moment!!! I would say things and now we have a 1 minute time-up and we'll be back in 45 seconds, which he knew and took that cue as play a song for 45 seconds!!! Then once the timeout would be up I would give a thumbs and I knew he knew what that meant!! He would lower the volume of the song and within 2 seconds I would be in broadcasting again!!! Like I said we were a well oiled machine!!!! And cannot wait for next year!!!!!!!!!:):):):) I would have had no one else except Mike sitting next to me!!!!:):):):)

And of course Shubhra!!!!!!!!!!:):):):) Who when I got home finally on Saturday said, watching you doing the broadcasts and interacting with the crowd like you do makes me think how much I would have regretted not marrying you if something were to go wrong before!!!!  Love is as simple as that!!! I responded by saying "............................................" :):):) Yeah I had no voice to respond!! Just kissed her!! But again without her at my side through all of this, there is no way I could have made it!! Just like when I run my marathons!! Without her, family and friends there, what is the point!!!:):) She is my rock!!!!!:):)

This was such a dream come true that the moment this entire weekend and tournament was over I just burst into tears!!!!!! It was the same feeling as finishing a marathon within my goal time it was THAT amazing!!!! Reasons for bursting into tears, exhaustion!!! Emotions ALWAYS run higher when exhausted!! The boys winning Win Mumby and coming over to me and giving me a big group hug saying thank you!!!  Seeing the girls emotionally shattered after there game hit hard as well!!! And then being so thankful for everything, Mike, the broadcast, my wife, just added as well!!!!!!:):):):)  Which again I have to say to always go after your dreams no matter how hard or easy that will be!!!!:):)

If you would like to check out the broadcasts please check out this link, I did every game except #'s 29 and 30!!!:):)

http://www.spreaker.com/user/kwsm

That is all for now!!!! HAPPY SMILING AND TALKING!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

26.2 Miles of Sadness

Where to even begin with this blog.  If you have not heard already about the Boston Marathon terrorist attacks, and that's exactly what it is absolute terror, the finish line of the Boston Marathon had two back-to-back explosions (within 15 seconds of each other), killing 2 on the spot and injuring more than 130 fans.

It is no secret that the Boston Marathon has been my life's ambition for running, which is why I have taken this horrible event to heart.  To have finished so many times, and to think what the runners and fans must have been going through is unimaginable.  Why Boston?  Why running?  Just why?  What the hell has running done to any political, environmental, military topic (the usual cause for terrorist bombing)?  Why did these runners and fans today deserve to die and get injured?

It was the same reaction I had when a close friend passes and I didn't even know anyone involved this year in Boston.  It was shock for a good hour, followed by an emotional 2nd period.  Again just can't get over this and how for so long I have dreamed to run THE Boston Marathon, and to hear something like this happen is disgusting and makes me literally sick to my stomach.

My heart and prayers go out for all the families and the city of Boston with this horrific event.

From a running perspective I, and all other runners who are aiming for Boston, have NEVER been more determined now than ever to qualify and run Boston! THOSE RESPONSIBLE WILL BURN/HANG FOR THIS, BUT THEY WILL NEVER TAKE THE FIRE AND PASSION OUT OF THE RUNNING COMMUNITY!!!!!!  THIS EVENT HAS GIVEN ME EVEN MORE MOTIVATION AND PASSION TO QUALIFY IN JANUARY!!!!!!!!!!

Rest in peace those who lost runners and fans today.

Never ever thought it would happen!!

There are thoughts that come to mind of my days back in middle school and Jr. High when we had to do the mile run in PE, and of course I was one of the slowest students and had to run/walk almost every 2 minutes it seemed!!  Mile time was never better than 11 minutes and until college my thoughts of ever winning a race was 1 in a billion/non-existent!!!!

Then last weekend something of the unimaginable happened!!!! I WON A MARATHON!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):)  We went to Corbett National Park where RunningandLiving hosts the Corbett Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10km, and 5km races!!!!  Having just finished Mumbai 2 months prior, I basically maintained for the last 2 months and signed up for the full, goal time of 3:15 (record time for the course is 3:16:35)!!!  So I thought since I ran a 3:06 in Mumbai, a 3:15 would be quite doable without putting too much strenuous training!!! Coming off 6 straight months of strenuous training for Mumbai, I didn't want another 2 additional!!!  Needed to give my mind and body a little break!!!!:):):)

Now this Corbett Marathon to me is something special and something of a chip on my shoulder!!!  Last year we went to Corbett and I ran the full marathon and had to quit at mile 22!!!  The heat was too much and I know I wasn't as prepared as I could have been!!!  So finishing Corbett was my ultimate goal, just to say "yeah I dominated it"!!!!  Placing top 3 in Corbett was somewhat in the back of my mind, but more of a bonus to finishing!!!:):)

Day before the race we went to pick up our race packets and of course I looked at the number of runners running the full marathon, and there were roughly 60-70 runners signed up!!  So about 10 more than last year, meaning the field should be a little more competitive!!!  Now between 2009-2011 I really didn't compete to seriously in any marathons so even though I've been running for 7 years, there was a gap that I took off from serious competition (at least in fulls, did many half's)!!!  So establishing a race week and pre-race day routine was something I wanted to do for Mumbai, which I think I have established now!!!:):)  Running the exact same distances and time that I did the week of Mumbai and having almost the exact same meals the day before AND morning of, I was feeling  a LOT more confident mentally than I was last year at this time!!!  It's amazing how much a routine can help settle the nerves of an athlete!!! You don't have to worry about what will negatively effect you because you've done it so many times!!!  Even though this is the second time I did this routine, with my time in Mumbai I know I did something right!!!:):):)

Morning of the race had my granola bars, snicker bar, cup of straight black tea, gatorade, and 2 bananas (my marathon morning meal)!!!!  Arriving to the starting line was a little more hectic than I imagined since they moved the starting line 1.5km's and that meant taxi's had trouble getting to the starting line!!  The guards wouldn't let the taxi past the 1.5 point so I did my begging and pleading, which in India I have found out if you stay persistent enough they will soon bend the rules!! So it worked, we got our taxi (of few) to drive all the way to the start!!! Like heck I and my runners were going to walk 1.5km to the start THEN run an entire full or half marathon too!!!;):):)  Gotta look after Woodstock of course!!!

The race started and there was one runner out in front of me: BENDIX!!!! That made me feel good!!!  Knowing that Bendix was on his way to winning and his pace was slightly faster than mine!!!!:):):)  The course was a down and back (for half), down and back, soooooo pretty much saw the same thing the second time out!!!!  I don't like these types of courses, but hey what can you do!!!:):)  On the way out to the first turn-around I kept pace with these 2 guys from Delhi!!!!  Ironically enough we started talking and one of them graduated from Doon School (the town down the valley from Mussoorie) and I told him I was the CC coach for Woodstock and he said that being an alumni he knows the CC coach for Doon and they were looking for teams to run against!!! I said GIVE WOODSTOCK A CALL!!!!  Having this conversation with these two guys made me solidify my theory that running is by far the MOST competitive-friendly sport out there!!!!  What other sport can you be competing but have friendly conversations, cheering on other runners, and still stay in motion/keep the heart rate up the entire time (said that last part to eliminate golf!)!!!!  I mean the friendly competition you have in running gets beat no where else!!!!  You are mainly competing against yourself, WHILE competing against others!!!  But it's the personal goals that make you bond with the other runners and make you want them to succeed just as badly as you do!!!!  IT'S AWESOME!!!!!!

After finishing my first down and back, things got very quiet!! The two guys I was talking to and Bendix had now finished their half and it was basically me and mother nature!!!!!  Picture a road with trees and bush on both sides, and a small village every 3-4 miles, with NOTHING else!! THAT is what this marathon consisted of!!! There were water stations with some volunteers every 5km, but other than that it was deserted!!!  No groups of people cheering with cowbells and signs, no other runners to give you hope and reminders of why you are this crazy to run a full marathon in the middle of no where!!!!  There was nothing!!! So this was by far the HARDEST mentally full marathon you could do!! You don't have the distractions to make time go by faster, or get that small boost of energy from the crowds!! It is YOU and the sounds of nature!!!

On the final turnaround (31.5km) I was in the home stretch!! The same spot I was in last year, but this time feeling energized and a LOT better and less exhausted!!!  After turning around I made sure I checked my watch and looked for the 2nd place runner!!!! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeah he didn't show up until 11 minutes after I turned around, which means I had a comfortable lead of around 22-25 minutes, assuming he was slowing down!!!  I couldn't believe it at that point!! That is when it hit me that not only am I going to finish this race, but I am in a very good position to actually win it!!! HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):) I got to my spot I quit last year and took a nice big gulp of water and spit it out on that spot, basically gesturing NOT THIS YEAR!!!!!  That alone gave me a huge energy boost!!!  With only 1.5km left of the race, I took my right hand turn into the final and by far HARDEST (literally hardest) part of the race!!! Picture a narrow, single lane, dirt, rock, and puddled road, THEN multiply that by 10 because you have just ran 25.2 miles at that point!! THAT is the pain level my feet were fighting against!!!!

I took a deep breath, sucked it in, told myself SCREW YOU 1.5KM TO FINISH, I'M GOING TO DOMINATE YOU!!!!!!!!!!  I picked up the pace, basically leaping at some points over puddles and rock patches, and got to the Woodstock cheer squad!!!!  There was Owen and Tara about .5km away, THEN my row of high fives about 500mts from the finish, and then Judy and the rest waiting at the finish line!!! WHAT A WAY TO FINISH RIGHT THERE!!!!!  Feeling so pumped and full of life, the feet were not even a factor anymore!!! Finished acrossed the line with a ginormous "YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and flexing double arm fist pump and then quickly sat down exhausted!!!!!!!:):):)  Immediately I was surrounded by my Woodstock running family, and felt a feeling I have NEVER experienced before: winner!!!!!!!:):)

I didn't know what to feel, all that was going through my head at that time was I KICKED THIS MARATHONS BUTT AND I FINISHED FOR MY WIFE, FUTURE KID, FAMILY BACK HOME, ALL OF WOODSTOCK, AND ME!!!!!!!!  First place was a distant second!!!!  With 2 miles to go that is all I was thinking about: wife, future kid, family, and Woodstock!!! There was no way I was quitting that race!!!:):):)  Not after all the talks about never quitting and giving it your all, always!!!  2 failures in a row was NOT happening!!! Winning was not expected either!!!!!!! SOOOOOOOOOO BONUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

Looking back at Corbett and the FUN we had, I think it's these life experiences that only running can bring!!!!  People so often see running as pointless!! Why run from one point to another!! Not even thinking of WHERE running can take you!! Literally!!:):)  With races on every continent, every country, world travelers are made because of running!!!  I would have never seriously considered Finland as quickly as I did if it wasn't for the Turku Marathon!! I wouldn't be talking to people I met in Mumbai, Delhi, and Corbett because of the races!!!  There is SO much more than running from Point A to Point B!!  Friendships, personal goals, connections, world exposure are one of the many reasons why I love running so much!!!!!:):):)

Overall Corbett was ANOTHER lifetime experience I will cherish forever!!!!:):):)  And the students/staff I went with will all have a common bond for the rest of our lives!!!!!:):):) CORBETT 2013 FOREVER!!!!:):)

HAPPY SMILING AND RUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

Monumental 169.4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

I don't know why I did it, but today after my run I had to stop by the gym to pick up some things for basketball practice, which is where I keep the scale now!!!  Not knowing what made me weigh myself, I usually like to do it after a couple of weeks have passed, I stepped on the scale, waited for the scale to give me back my weight and sure enough:

169.4 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

Now granted prior to the weigh-in I ran 11.5 miles and that has a LOT to do with it, HOWEVER, I have weighed myself after runs before and NEVER have I been under 170 pounds!!!!!!!  In fact the last time I have been under 170 was back in 5/6th grade!!!!!  For as long as I can remember (4th grade or so) I have been a fat kid (until Freshmen year of college)!!!!!!!  I was the slowest one in the mile test, least amount of push-ups, a lineman for football, and always the anchor for tug-o-war!!!!!!!!!  My highest point of my weight was around 220 pounds, around 10/11th grade football season!!!!  And no, not all muscle, in fact it was about 30-35% body fat I would say!!!!!!

Stepping on the scale today has really opened my eyes on how far I've come, through my passion of not only running, but eating healthy and controlling/stabilizing a healthy weight once and for all!!!!!!  People ask me how did you do it, what are your tricks????  My answer is simple: PASSION!!!!!!  Every single person that tells me they want to lose weight, I simply tell them, how badly do you want it?!?!  I compare it to something they're passionate about!!  Reading, cooking, teaching, gardening, etc.!!!!!! I tell them, look you have to treat losing weight and exercising the same way you treat your passion!!!!!

If you REALLY want to achieve something, like losing weight, you better be ready to live and breath change and determination!!!!  This is something that doesn't last for 2 months and then you're good to go, this is a LIFESTYLE change that you better be ready to commit for your ENTIRE LIFE!!!!!!  How did I do it, I changed my eating habits, I had self-control (stopped eating out, junk food, etc.), and it also helped that my other passion was long distance running!!!!!!!:):):):)  But I felt and lived obesity for 5-6 years and once I started to change I got addicted!!!!!!! In a good way!!!!!!! I LOVED the way I felt after I would eat a healthy, yet delicious meal, or finish a nice 15 miler!!!!!!!:):):):)  I'm lucky in the sense I have lived both worlds, because it gives me motivation to NEVER, EVER go back to being obese ever again!!!!!  Sitting on the couch doing nothing, eating crappy foods, feeling tired all the time!!!!!! NEVER!!!!!!!  So before you start your journey of losing weight, you need to really ask yourself, deep down, are you ready to do a complete lifestyle change?!?! If not, you better take some more time and really think about it!!!!

For it is not an easy path you are about to take, and without mental toughness and self-control it will be even harder!!! BUT the rewards, if you do complete your conquest, will be ASTRONOMICAL!!!!!!!:):):):):) Take it from me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY SMILING AND LIVING HEALTHY!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):)