Photographic Sunday Run!

Simply put.... Fall is my favorite time of the year. Simply breathtaking. Serenity. Peaceful. Relaxing. I put on my running shoes this morning. I ran 15 miles. I didn't even want to think about time. All I wanted to see the beauty the world has to offer. At the end of the run, I have taken 75 pictures. It was a tough choice to make. I have picked out the top 10 pictures that I took along the way. Enjoy the pictures. Sit back and drink up your Pumpkin Latte.

Starting Point !

Near Sickles Park

Long and winding road...

Nice to have the whole road to myself at some point.

Sea Bright BeachSecond Man on Moon. Opps !! You got that right.. Settled in 1667 ! My sweet hometown!Near Little Silver CreekLittle Silver Nature Trail

Wrapping up my run for the day!

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15 miles run covering Little Silver, Fair Haven, Rumson, Sea Bright, Monmouth Beach and Oceanport.

Nor'easter 1 SeeTedRun 0

Before I go any further, I wanted to tell you guys how much I appreciated your terrific help with the contribution to the Epilepsy Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania. The total is $1,320.00 !!! Wooooooo!!! You have no idea how thrilled I was to see this !!! I'm loving it !!! THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!

Ok, it's time for me to spill the beans ! It is not exactly the kind of news I want to deliver. All I can tell you that it was a heart-wrenching experience for me. I had to swallow a bitter pill. This was my first DNF. I would never dream in a million year to see a DNF in my record book. I had to bail out. With all due respect, I was ready to go. I was mentally, physically and emotionally ready for the game.

• Arrived safe and sound in Newport last Friday.
• I had a very romantic dinner with my wife at 22 Bowens Wine Bar & Grille. It was sensational. It was a welcome "parental" break for me and my wife. If you ever go to Newport, I would highly recommend you to go. I had filet mignon and a couple glass of red wine. J. Lohrs Cabernet Sauvignon ! Just SENSATIONAL !
• Stayed at Hyatt Hotel on Goat Island with a remarkable view of the Narragansett Bay and the Newport Bridge.
• Rested fully on Saturday with a very short 3 miles run. The weather was phenomenal on Saturday. Sunny, partly cloudy, 50 degrees ! Glued to Weather Channel about the upcoming Nor'easter storm.
• My wife and I had a terrific dinner at Pasta Beach. Kathy and I had gnocchi and pizza. Outstanding ! A perfect pre-race meal !
• Woke up at 3 a.m. with lots of nervousness and excitement.
• Open the curtain and it looks like a washing machine.
  
• My first word of the day... %^&*^%$#@(*&^ !!!
• Torrential downpour, high wind and chilly at the starting line.
• Wore short, one technical t-shirt, rain jacket & cap
• Approximately 3,500 to 4,000 runners. It seemed smaller to me.
  
• At the start of the race, it was tight packed especially on Thames Street.
• Less wind while running in the neighborhood but more wind by the coastline.
• Started out very slowly in the beginning as part of my strategy.
• Wind was very STRONG (20-40 mph) while running through Ocean Drive State Park, Goose Neck Cove and Sheep Point Cove. (see map below)
• Rain came down heavy at times. Rain came sideway at some point. Lots of headwind, sideway, and back.
• Started to shiver at the start of 10 miles. Trying to run harder to stay warm but I was 1,000% soaked. I hate chilly rain. Don't get me wrong, I love running if the temperature is like in the 60's or the 70's. BUT NOT IN THE 40'S WITH WIND CHILL FACTORS IN THE 30'S.
  
• My grade for running outfit in the rain: F-
• It was kind of weird. My nose was running like a faucet. I wasn't sure if it was the pouring rain that makes my nose act like a overflowed gutter or the rain has filled up my nasal cavity. Just weird sensation of having a miniature Niagara Fall under my nose.
  
• Made a critical decision on whether to continue another 2 hours in downpouring chilly rain or bail out. For my own health, I bailed out!
• The minute after I bailed out, tears came streaming down. I have put so much training into this !
  
• I had a tearful reunion with my wife and felt that I have made the right decision to bail out.
  
• There will always be another marathon.
  

To be honest with you guys, I was crushed. I have put a lot of effort into my training for the past several months for this big event. I have worked my ass off !!! Period. I was truly looking forward to this. My hat off to those runners who have braved those "miserable" elements and got the job done. I have tremendous respect for those who have completed the half and full marathon.

Before I go, I was reading a little bit of Providence Sunday Journal newspaper before the race. I was kind of impressed. I have made a beeline to the weather section of the newspaper. I was kind of surprised to see a cool feature in the weather section. It has running index and I think it should be in every newspaper around the country. It is pretty neat. It combines the current temperature, air quality, UV index, wind speed, humdity and past weather condition to provide a scale showing the overall quality for running outside. Pretty cool !!! Look below...


To me: “Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.”

Before I go......

Before I leave for Rhode Island, I wanted to tell you guys how much I appreciated your TERRIFIC generosity. It is so unbelievable. I am such in AWE with the fundraising. With two days left to go till Amica Newport Marathon, you have pitched in an unbelievable $1,300 dollars for the Epilepsy Foundation. To be honest with all of you, I didn't think it was going to get this far. You have made it happen and I THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. I am quite emotional about it. Very emotional ! Thanks to all the names below that have contributed to the Epilepsy Foundation.

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As a way of expressing my heartfelt thanks to all of you, you are going to be in for a surprise.

I have asked Erin to do the modeling with the t-shirt that I will wear this Sunday.

The name of those who have contributed to the EF.

(close up)

As of Thursday evening, the weather forecast for Newport, RI for this coming Sunday.....

Oy oy oy !!!! Looks like its going to be a soakin' Marathon !!! I am not too thrilled but I will suck it up. It is with the fact that you have done so much to my fundraising, I am going to get the job done by getting to the finish line.

BRING IT ON !!!!

Fundraising Update / Little Silver 5K Report

With less than a week to go into my seventh marathon, the Amica Newport Marathon, in Newport, Rhode Island, I wanted to extend my gratitude to those who have contributed to the Epilepsy Foundation. The total so far is $735.00 which is 74% achieved with 26% to reach the goal of $1,000.00. The only YOU have made the differences for the people with Epilepsy. Just to come to think of this, you are definitely helping to improve the lives of people with Epilepsy. I cannot tell you how much I am so grateful for your terrific contribution. I do get emotional and wanted to say THANK YOU. Please do spread the love if you know anyone who wants to make the contribution. Thank you so much ! Be sure to check the fundraising website by clicking here.

(click above to enlarge)

Now here's comes the fun part.... My two girls and I had a wonderful time yesterday with the participation of Little Silver 5K race. My oldest, Erin, ran the 220 yards race and Sarah ran the 100 yards. Hat off those the two girls for running on a big day!

The Start of Little Silver 5K Race

Sarah (center) in pre-race mode.

Sarah taking off for the 100 yard dash.Proud Mom and Sarah.

Erin taking off the 220 yards run. (Third from left in white shirt)

Erin runs like the wind!

Erin and her friend, Brady.
Dad completed the 5K with a new PR: 21:04 (6:47 pace)

My splits was: (1) 6:51 (2) 6:44 (3) 6:50 and the last .10 in :39. This was my first 5K in New Jersey since I've moved from Colorado. My last 5K was in July 23, 2005 (four years ago) with a time of 29:48 (9:36 pace). My very first 5K was in Lakewood, Colorado back in July 2000 was 35:07 (11:09 pace). That was 9 years ago folks ! I cannot imagine going from a time of 35 minutes to 21 minutes in 9 years period.

6 more days till Newport, Rhode Island...... As my sistre, Michelle of Ms. Running Down a Dream, said to me "Rhode Island IS YOURS" !!! She emailed me a cool video about Last Minute Tip on Marathon. Check this out...

Last Minute Marathon Tips: shot with Nikon D90 from Mike Kobal on Vimeo.

Have a GREAT week to all of you!

Last Day of Summer !

Bye bye Summer !! Hello Fall !! I have realized that I haven't blog for a few weeks. I have reminded myself to give my fellow RBF a good update. Ready for the recap for the month of September in bullet-style points??? Drum roll please.....

• Less than 4 weeks till Amica Newport Marathon. My seventh marathon. October 18, 2009. Goal: 4:15 or less (that would be awesome!)
• Revised my fundraising goal from $2,500 to $1,000 with four weeks to go. I will be emailing to my families and friends this week. I am truly happy that I have raised $155.00 so far. It helps! Thanks to those who have contributed.
• I just turned 45 years old on Sept. 12th. You know what that means? I have moved up to a new age group. I should rock !
• MANY THANKS to Michelle of Running Down a Dream for presenting me a cool running technical t-shirt and a book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougal.
• My 3rd Blog-Anniversary tomorrow!
• VFF KSO ROCKS !!!
• Ran in 10 miles Rat's Race last Saturday (trail running). My garmin posted 10.26 miles in 1:38. Saw two runners ran in VFF.

I am still waiting for the pictures to show up on the race's website. I am hoping to see a picture of myself running across the creek which is a FIRST. I do hope the photographer took it. *crossing fingers*

Before I go, there is one thing I wanted to share this with you. Before I turned 45 years old, there was one goal that I have been working hard this summer. I don't want to believe that when you get older, your timing does get slower. I wanted to rebuke the "aging" theory. All I wanted was one friggin mile of under 7:00 pace. Just one friggin mile. Just one. Just one. All summer long. All I wanted was anything like 6:59 or lower before I turned 45. Then one beautiful glory morning of September 7th.....


One simple challenge. Winners must have two things: Definite goals and burnin desire to achieve them.

On a beautiful cool morning of September 7th, I was so determined just to get it under 7:00. Set my Garmin. I know it's unofficial. Weaving through traffic. Upward slope Downward slope. Railroad tracks. Potholes. Traffic lights. I don't care. Just get it under 7:00 ! Period.

Here I went...9/7/009....

• Mile 1 - 07:48 Felt discouraged. Forget it. Wait. Wait. This is just a warmup.
• Mile 2 - 07:21 The hell with it. I have done everything I could. Wait wait.. just push it. PUSH IT PUSH IT PUSH IT.
• Mile 3 - ????? Come on baby... Come on baby. Push it. Push it . Push it.
  
• Mile 4 - 8:01 I was on CLOUD 9. Turned off the engine. Slowed down. Enjoyed it. In my mind, I was pretending million of people cheering on me. I was waving like Queen Elizabeth on a horse drawn carriage.
  
• Mile 5 - 8:11 Reminding myself how life is so precious and how we must take for granted !

Care to know what my split was at mile 3 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 6:56 !

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED !

Feels good to be a kid again!

You got that darn right! It feels good to be a kid again. When was the last time you ran in barefoot? You probably have childhood memories of running in the backyard with the water sprinkler going on. Chasing dogs with no shoes on.

This is a brand new controversy going on in the running communities. It's all about barefoot running. Only you, the only you, will have to make a decision whether you want to run or not. You can try. You don't have to try. I had the option of trying and I think I am going to get the hang out of it.

As you know, I have purchased Vibram Five Fingers! It's still too early to say but I think it rocks.

It is still too early to say whether it will be a problem. I went out for my first run this morning. After reading so much about it, I have decided to run in VFF very slowly. I started it out only by running half a mile. I will soon be increasing the distance. It was truly incredible. It brings me back memories of running barefoot as a kid.

Keep this in mind, I noticed my stride has shorten while running in VFF. I have also noticed that I landed mid-foot instead of the on the heel. Most running shoes are designed for heel striking which is not too good. Bad habit of mine. Check the video of what it looks like when landing.




There are a lot of stuff you can read about VFF.

• Check out the blog about Barefoot Ted
• Check out the blog about Tim Ferris.
  
• Check out the blog about Michael B.
  
• Check out the blog on Birthday Shoes.

There is really no empirical studies on barefoot running. I do believe that running barefoot has a lot of benefits. Christopher McDougal wrote a book called "Born to Run" and I am sure you have hear of it. Click on his name and read the interview.

I am confident that this will be the next craze. It is still too early for me to tell about my experience. I will be able to share with you my experience as I will be logging in more miles with VFF. I am sure I will have some highs and some lows when it comes to running with VFF.

It is just a start..... I would encourage you to research it. There are a lot of bloggers out there writing about their experience.

Even Steve Runner of Phedippidations is becoming a born again (barefoot) runner....




Have a safe Labor Day weekend!

Fall preview!

I think this is going to be an interesting post. I think Fall is in the air. This is definitely a sneak preview of fall weather. However, I am positive that we will probably a few more HOT days before Autumn arrives. Here's the lastest recap for the month of August.

This week's weather preview...
Attended Shoreturtle's Summer Pool Party on August 15th. I had a wonderful opportunity to meet Shoreturtle's wife, Redhead, and his mother in law. My daughter, Erin, had a wonderful times especially meeting with Progman2000's children.

Mr. Shoreturtle

Shoreturtle's pet - Shoreturtle, Jr.

Shoreturtle's Pool Party

I did my 20 miler last Friday. It was cool and rainy. It was GREAT. Keep in mind, I did this in 9:1 (9 minutes run, 1 min walk) ratio the entire time. I took about 5-6 minutes break halfway at Quick Check (like 7-11 store) in Middletown to use the restroom, grab a bottle of Gatorade and wrung my soaked t-shirt. Overall, it was a very good run.

Head over to Mix My Granola and get a discount using the code: MixIt10 for a 10% discount. This is the second time I've ordered this....



What's this ?????

Ugh oh !