Carnation Instant Breakfast

One of my favorite post-run recovery drinks has always been chocolate milk. After drinking water and sports drinks for a prolonged period of time, the taste of something rich is refreshing! "Runner's World Magazine", has a segment in the July 2009 issue. The article said, "drinking chocolate milk post-exercise speeds up recovery and increases the time it takes to reach exhaustion during a subsequent exercise session better than sports drinks."

Recently, I re-discovered "Carnation Instant Breakfast". I had tried it many years ago, but not as a recovery drink. I compared the nutritional values of low fat chocolate milk with the "Carnation Instant Breakfast". All of the nutrient levels in the "breakfast" were higher than the chocolate milk. For example; Sodium 120mg, Potassium 260mg, Total Carbs 27g and Protein 5g. Another factor to consider is cost. I paid from $1.29 - $1.79 for a single portion of chocolate milk. The "Carnation Instant Breakfast" costs about $ .50 per serving, plus the milk. Still about half the price of the chocolate milk. Yes, you do have to mix it yourself and it must be kept cold. I have a small cooler that works fine for the sports bottle and two ice packs.

This "endorsement" is given as a suggestion for your post-run recovery. What have you tried?

A Time to Reflect

This post is a running story with a "twist". The couple in the photo are Jorge-Luis and Aileen. Aileen is a member of our marathon running group. Jorge-Luis is our "Fan #1", who has been a spectator and cheerleader at several of our races. We hope to "persuade" him to run a half marathon in the future.

This month Aileen will start the summer session of our training program, while Jorge-Luis will be deployed to Iraq for a second tour of duty. We had a going away party for him on Saturday evening. We had a great turnout of friends, good food and a few liquid refreshments.

Raymond started the party off with a prayer and blessing. The mood of the evening was jovial , although each of us knew why we were there. We may be runners, but the strongest bond is that we are "family". We come together when times are good and assemble when the unfortunate realities of life pay us a visit. We will have another party for Jorge-Luis and Aileen, that will be to celebrate his safe return from Iraq.

For all who read this post, please say a prayer for Jorge-Luis' safety. Remember and pray for Aileen who will need support during their separation. God Bless them both. God Bless all of our military personnel who are serving our country.

God Bless America!

Vini, Vedi, Vici

Hey, I'm back! Still running, mostly training miles, until my journey to Syracuse, NY.

I'm going with the "Roman" theme seeing how Syracuse has been compared in some ways to Rome. It must be the fact that the city was settled by Italian immigrants and the city is very hilly.

If you are a follower of this blog, you know I have written a few posts regarding hills. I refer to myself as a "flatlander", residing here in Central Florida. Only appropriate I would travel to Central New York for a race. Actually, my father, sister and brother-in-law reside in the Syracuse area and the vacation included the run. Can't leave out my niece Eileen, who unfortunately couldn't be there for the race, but was there for the expo on Saturday and post-race!

The race was the "Mountain Goat" 10 miler. The name of the event gives you a quick insight as to the course. This was the 31st year the race was held and I must say it was extremely well organized and fun. For the first time in the history of the race they had over 2,000 registered runners. We started in downtown Syracuse at "Clinton Square". The start was very orderly and the runners courteous as we moved out of downtown. The first mile and one-half is deceiving as it is relatively flat, just a slight roll to the roadway. Just as my body and brain were relaxing, thinking this was going to be easy, we reached the first hill. At one point I looked at the street sign and it read "Summit", another clue to the contour of the course. I was looking for any sign with the word "valley" in it, no luck. After reaching the summit, we made our way through a very nice neighborhood of beautiful homes. This was also the first time since leaving downtown, we had a large number of spectators. This area also leveled off and in a few areas we had some downhill runs. As with earlier in the race, just when you thought the course wasn't too difficult, here comes another hill, or two, or three!

I wasn't sure how to pace myself for this race. I knew what I could run on the flat portions, I had to decide on hill tactics once I got there. I had a time goal of between 8:00 and 9:00 minutes per mile. I reached mile one in 7:40, comfortable on the flat course. I reached mile marker two at 15:45, ahead of my pace and into the hills. Mile three was at 24:20. Not to bore you with all the splits, my first five miles were at 40:30 and the final five miles at 40:51.

At the eight mile point in the race you reach Thornden Park, high above the city. In the summer they have a beautiful rose garden in full bloom. Today the overcast skies and cool temperatures covered the dormant rose bushes. The spectators inside the park were terrific. I saw groups of school aged kids maybe girl scouts or boy scouts with signs and cheering us on. The final uphill was manned by supporters who "pulled" you up the hill with their encouragement. Someone had written slogans on the roadway to help motivate us as our heads drooped with fatigue. Exiting the park it is a two mile downhill run to the finish. I was not familiar with the streets of downtown Syracuse. Of course there was the spectator yelling encouragement that the finish was, "right around the corner"! Not sure how many corners I turned before I could see the finish line ahead of me. One last charge down Salina Street to the finish. It was over!

The results were posted quickly and I located my finish time of 1:21:23, a bit quicker than I had actually anticipated. As I scanned the results, I could only locate one other runner in my age group ahead of me. I walked back to the car with my sister and brother-in-law to change shirts and get my half-gallon of chocolate milk. Returning to the finish area, I confirmed that I had in fact finished 2nd in my age group. Later I learned there were 33 runners in our group.

Thanks to Rick from Pennsylvania who I ran with for about four miles before he dusted me on the hill at mile seven. Also, Matt Mulcahy, from the local television affiliate, who I met after the race. Matt writes a blog in Syracuse and often his topic is about running. Thanks to the people of Syracuse who came out and supported all of us and all of the sponsors. I'm looking forward to running again next year!

Vini, Vedi, Vici............. I came, I saw, I conquered!

Chasing Bill Rodgers

If you are reading this blog you should be familiar with the name Bill Rodgers. If you need a hint, he is the 4 time winner of both the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon. If that's not enough he was also a member of the U.S. Olympic team and world record holder at several distances.

In July 2008, I did a posting where I talked about how friendly and approachable I have found runners to be. On Saturday, February 14th, I was at the expo for the "26.2 with Donna - The National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer." As I was leaving I saw Bill Rodgers coming toward me. I said hello and we engaged in a conversation. I had met him previously at the Disney World Marathon and the Boilermaker 15K.

At one point in our conversation I asked him if he was running the marathon on Sunday. His response was "no, I'm running the half." I was registered to run the half-marathon and I was sure that he was approximately my age. In a discreet manner I asked him how old he was. Without hesitation he answered "61", I am 63. Oh no! I now have to compete with Bill Rodgers. He asked me if I had run the race last year and I responded "yes, I placed 3rd in my age group." He congratulated me and said he'll have to look out for the "tall guy". I assured him it would be me who was looking out for him.

Race morning came and I scanned the crowd looking for him. I was situated near the front of the race a spot I am not too familiar with. After the pre-race ceremonies, we were set to go. The start of the race was complete with an explosion of pink paper confetti. It reminded me of a New England snowstorm, except it was 58 degrees.

The start was very orderly and we moved out toward the first turn at approximately the half mile mark. As I settled in and felt comfortable with my pace, I saw Bill to my left and he acknowledged me once again as "tall guy". I moved to within a couple of feet, careful not to get too close following my elbowing incident with Jeff Galloway several years ago. There was no way I was going to "assault" Bill Rodgers. What was funny as we ran along talking, he does like to talk, was not many people recognized him. So there I was stride for stride with an icon of running.

The mile markers and time clocks came and went, one mile, two miles, three miles and he and I were locked in another "Duel in the Sun", except is was overcast. At the four mile mark I was slightly ahead of him, could he be tiring? Had I run him into the ground with my pace? No. At mile 5 we came out onto the sand of Jacksonville Beach. As we turned north up the coast he began to pull away. Most runners would leave you in their "dust", he left me in his "sand". I wasn't disappointed because he was ahead of me, I was going to miss his conversation. I accepted the reality that our "duel" was over. I was ahead of my pace by a few minutes. I had let the thrill of running with him distract me from the split times. I had reached the 5 mile mark in under 40:00 minutes, a fast pace for me.

As I exited the beach and headed south toward the finish I felt very comfortable. I was aware of my pace and how I was feeling. The weather conditions were very good, favorable temperature, light breeze and an overcast sky. The crowd support was terrific, I was doing OK!

I had set a time goal of 1:50:00, not a PR, but this course is moderately difficult. As I saw the time clocks at 8, 9 and 10 miles, I knew the time goal was within reach. I always like to see what my final 5K split is when running a half-marathon. I reached the 10 mile mark at 1:23:45, an easy time to remember. There is one last long hill on the causeway around mile 12. I needed a strong finish to ensure a time of 1:50. As I made the final turn and could see the finish tower ahead I knew all I had to run was approximately 400 yards. At about 100 yards I could see the red numbers on the time clock moving, but I wasn't able to clearly see the time. The first clear view showed me at 1:49:40, I had to dig in and go. I saw the clock at the finish reading 1:49:57. With an adjustment for "chip" time, my official time was 1:49:46.

When the results were posted I had finished 3rd in my age group. Who finished 2nd, you guessed it Bill Rodgers. Can you imagine the thrill I felt seeing my name one line below that of Bill Rodgers. I mentioned to someone it was like the MasterCard commercial, "running with Bill Rodgers......PRICELESS!"

Please visit my other blog the "Pink Bandanna" for details of the "rest of the story", featuring the comeback run of Donna Nelson and a post about the race founder Donna Deegan.

How Cold Was It?

It is often said that everything is "relative". Well for me and hundreds of runners here in Orlando, it has been COLD! I guess I can look at it and say, well this is our annual one week of winter. In fact as I am writing this, it appears that our warm temperatures are returning.

Despite the cold temperatures, several mornings in the 30's, it did not deter me or many of my fellow runners from getting out there and logging some miles. If you dress properly in layers and for me my hands need to be warm. If my hands are warm I'm fine. After about a mile the body adjusts and comfort is restored.

On Saturday, I ran the "Season's 52" road race in Winter Park, how appropriate to hold it in "Winter" Park. The distance was adjusted from the standard 5K. Since the primary sponsor is the "Season's 52" restaurant, we did 5.2K. The race organizers, Track Shack, did provide a time clock and "Champion Chip" timing for the 5K distance as well.

It was a perfect morning for a race. The temperature was just above 40 and calm. A group of us did a 3 mile warm-up run to the race. We timed it so that we arrived at the start with time for a potty break and ditching the warm-up clothes. We lined up and were off before our bodies could cool down.

I felt very good in the first half-mile so I knew that I would have a good run. I settled in with two runners, Darla and John. John is in my age group and for the past 3 years he has always beaten me, but I've been getting closer. Darla is a breast cancer survivor who at best I manage to stay with for 2 miles, but today would be different.

At mile 1 my time was 7:00 minutes even, at mile 2 it was 13:50. I was now "stalking" John running just off his left shoulder at a safe distance not to impede him or the other runners. Darla was to my left and slightly ahead, but still in sight! As we approached the 5K mark I moved around John. We ran shoulder to shoulder across the 5K and the finish line. Because it was a "chip" timed race I had a 2 second cushion on John. When the results were posted I had finally beaten John by a mere 2 seconds. Darla was still ahead of me, but it was by 1 second, look out Darla!

I finished with PR's in both the 5K and 5.2K. My 5K time was 21:53, the first time I have run under 22:00 minutes. I placed 2nd in my age group out of 36. Overall, I finished 179th out of 2,407.

The photo was provided by my sister and brother-in-law who live in Central New York.

My Goal is the Boston Marathon

2009 is going to be the year I "officially" pursue the goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. After almost 5 years of running, I believe I have achieved a point where I can realistically consider a "BQ". It will take many miles of training, good health, avoiding injury, some luck and the many, many friends, runners and non-runners, who will motivate me toward my goal.

I have selected the Mohawk-Hudson Marathon on October 11, 2009 as my qualifying race.

Please visit my new blog "My Goal is the Boston Marathon". Just click on the title for the link.

"Fountain of Youth"

Sunday morning the group pictured above and about 300 others ran the 25th annual DeLeon Springs Half-Marathon and 5K. It is a nice, no frills race, held about 50 miles north of Orlando. The "Springs" are named for the famous explorer Ponce DeLeon, who searched Florida for the "Fountain of Youth".

Having gained six pounds over the Christmas and New Year holiday, I wasn't sure what to expect with my run. Mentally I was prepared and physically I had been training, but at a slightly heavier weight. The ride to the race took about one and one-half hours. Bob aka "Sponge Bob" was the designated driver who picked me up at my house then we picked up Jennifer and Denise. About six miles before the race location we stopped at a Wal-Mart Super Store for bananas, coffee and a potty break.

We arrived at the park and picked up our race packets. No long lines, no ID required. Being the 25th anniversary race, they had black long sleeved "tech" shirts with silver lettering, nice! After meeting other runners from Orlando, we relaxed, then warmed up. The temperature was in the high 50's and it was overcast, slightly damp. It was an 8:00am start, so we knew that as soon as the sun rose the temperature would likewise rise. We managed to get to about the 10-11 mile mark before the sun broke through the overcast. At that point it didn't matter.

The race course goes through a rural section of central Florida that does not resemble the "postcard" views. There are large stands of pine trees and cattle ranches. There were no spectators along the route except for the water stops and the cattle, who seemed to be less than interested in our race. Twice the Amtrak train between Orlando and Jacksonville went speeding past us.

I felt good from the sound of the starters horn. It is a "Champion Chip" timed race, but it is a "gun" time result. I doubt if it takes the last runner more than 30 seconds to cross the start line. I remember seeing the clock at mile one, 7:25 a bit quicker than I expected. Two miles, 15:30, three miles 23:23. I was concerned about averaging a sub 8:00 minute pace, but I continued to feel great. At six miles I was at 47:45. At nine miles I caught up to Erin from my training group, we passed nine miles at 1:13:00, just above an 8:00 minute pace. Although I had not told anyone, my time goal was 1:50, I was ahead of the pace necessary to achieve that. I took mile 10-11 a bit easier in order to have a strong finish. I reached twelve miles at 1:40, I had 10 minutes to run 1.1 miles. I ran strong and started a kick with about one-quarter of a mile left. I passed under the finish line clock at 1:48:45 a new PR, I had met my objective. I placed 3rd in my age group out of 14 and 49th overall.

Maybe I had found the "Fountain of Youth"!