Non Running Related - Life is Fragile

Its been a long time since I posted anything here.

Very busy at work and trying to get things done around the house etc always thinking I never have enough time to get all I NEED to get done...do I really NEED to get some of these things done??? Yes and No...

Then a dose of reality hits and then hits again....I am sitting here knowing where I am going with this and as a result I somewhat down ...but I really have it pretty good overall..especially compared to what others are going through everyday and for some an especially difficult time. Some of you may have heard the news or read the paper today and saw that an Ar gentian man ...32 years old died while doing the swim leg of the NYC Triathlon on Sunday...some swimmers said it may have been due to jellyfish stings...leading to cardiac arrest.. an apparently healthy man dying while exercising....I am not writing this to scare anyone or discourage you from doing a tri...they are alot of fun and I really encourage everyone to try them out.....just pointing out the fragility of life......

Then my main focus here...it is coming up on the one year anniversary of the death of Christopher Barron....some of you know that name immediately ...some may recognize it but can't place it immediately... others have never heard that name...Christopher was a 9 year old boy from Glen Rock, NJ who battled ALL from the age of 3 and eventually lost his battle to AML last July 23rd...he was an eldest son to Richard and Suzanne Barron...an older brother to Ryan...a grandson to Anthony and Colleen and to his paternal grandparents...a great friend to countless kids...a cousin to at least 7 people including his best buddy Jake....a nephew to many aunts and uncles including our coach Melissa Muilenburg...a Mets fan through thick and thin and an inspiration and hero to alot of people...including me...I unfortunately never met Christopher before he was taken from us way too soon...but I feel like I knew him just a little...I heard the many stories both good and bad....heartbreaking and some of hope from Melissa, on the run and while sitting down just talking about Christopher...I worked for his grandfather while in law school so I had a connection there.....

Christopher was a hero to the end...he was a young boy who had a very special spirituality and inner peace...he apparently never complained or asked "why me?"...he was concerned with how his family members were doing as they watched him battle everyday...he was concerned that they were going to be ok....I have heard the stories of how he had a very special bond with his Mom......I remember last year when Melissa was setting up a Bone marrow Drive to help find a match for Christopher and she was hoping for a few hundred people to show up and get tested....as I pulled into the parking lot at the Glen Rock Ambulance Corps I saw the line of people out the door and down the steps...and the banner that Christopher's classmates made with their hand prints all over it asking people ..."To Help Their Friend Christopher"....seeing TNT alumni including Christopher's teacher who I had coached at RNR Virgina Beach..its a very small world....friends of Christopher's parents...people from Glen Rock...strangers who just saw the request of the signs and showed up to help a fellow human being...I may be off in my number but my recollection is that over 1200 people signed up to be tested at that drive and a couple of others as a direct result of Christopher and his Aunt Melissa...Christopher was working his magic already!

At the Chicago marathon last October it was unusually hot...93 degrees give or take a degree during the race...hundreds of people passing out ...sub 3 hour runners...4..5 hour runners it did not matter...Christopher's Aunt Melissa was there and called on his magic to get her through and he got her through...her strength had a lot to do with it too!!! I flew down to Houston last January because of Chicago's heat my attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon did not go as planned....no one but Melissa knew i was down there and she only knew just in case I needed some help back in NJ for something....as i was running and passed the halfway mark....I was on pace feeling good....I took a hammergel and it immediately came back up...this had never happened before...I was in a panic..was my race over??? I had Christopher's picture on the back of my race bib...and I had a St Christopher's medal that his Aunt Melissa had given me pinned to my shirt...I rubbed them both and asked Christopher for his help...I calmed down and realized that I was on pace...I was going to be ok and with an angel on my shoulder I was able to get back to race pace and crossed that finish line and was headed to Boston....yes I had put in the miles and the hard work but running is at least 50 % mental and Christopher was with me every step of the way...not to get preachy or religious (and I am far from that) but I talk to him at least once during every race ...thanks Christopher!

And this past weekend...we were running in Mountain Lakes..Aunt Melissa's hometown...she did a wonderful heartfelt Mission Moment and as she was speaking (and I thought I was the only one that noticed) a tiny rabbit (bigger than a baby but not yet an adult) hopped into the group and stopped..he/she hopped away when Melissa was done...I saw that as a sign and then later Jill Hague asked me if I had seen the rabbit...I am reading into things???? Maybe.....I am a big Tigger fan (because he's the only one!!!) and for those of you that know Winnie the Pooh...remember his friend's name...Yes that's right...CHRISTOPHER RABBIT...coincidence??? I think not....

And when you are faced with a tough moment in your life or during a run ask for Christopher's help and I am sure he will be there on your shoulder to guide you along

I know how I have been affected by this special young man and I know for a fact that others have been also....I know I could not hope to convey how special he is to me and I can tell you this was both one of the easiest things I have ever written and at the same time the most difficult....I hope those that read this can gain some insight into this special boy and take something positive and also please keep the Barron, Andora, Muilenburg etc families in your thought and prayers especially this week...it is a very tough time for them and I can not imagine how they have coped so well in the face of such a terrible loss...I know they all miss him terribly ..... Thank you for reading .............

More Lessons Learned

Well, they say that you are never too old to learn and i am living proof of that since I am older than dirt and still learning something almost every day.

Last night I thought I was running in Montclair with a few other people I was wrong....MISTAKE #1...I was informed that one friend was doing the corporate Challenge tonight in NYC and had to pack for a weekend away in California so she could not run and the others apparently just bailed.

So what should I do...run alone in Montclair?...run alone somewhere else? try and find someone to join me at the 11th hour?? I decided I would run alone but in Ridgewood at the Duck Pond so when I finished I would be closer to home and in the words of a great philosopher...would create less stink in the car which can at times smell ? dirt dirty? So I changed in my office and away I went to Ridgewood...

Jumped out of the car with absolutely no motivation to run 9 miles by myself although that is usually something I enjoy tremendously....two gels in my pocket...hit the car alarm, stuff the car key in my shorts pocket and I am off...for those that know the Duck Pond...I went under the first bridge and headed towards the .2 mile marker when it hit me...go to the bathroom Bill and just get it over with...so I went into the office building to the side of the running path...real bathrooms...soap...toilet paper ...the works...and off again....the sky was dark and it looked like rain but that's OK I love to run in the rain...it made some of the path eerily dark almost like it was night and I was not seeing anyone else out there which is very unusual for the Duck Pond... jumping some puddles on the path from the previous nights storm...trying to get into a rhythm...passing the 1.5 mark and thinking 1/6 of the way done...finally see a couple bikers who must be fantasizing that they are leading a stage of the Tour de France and they are barreling down the path pedaling as quick as they can without regard for the fact that I am on the same path...no harm no foul and they are gone....turn right after the bridge and head towards Glen Rock...still seeing very few people...a guy on a bike passes me and says "almost done!!!" I am thinking yeah right I'm already 2 miles into my run WOW!!! only 7 or so to go...or was he talking about himself..still not sure...around the pond and back towards the bridge...pass the bridge heading into Dunkerhook park and I feel the urge to hit the bathroom again (big surprise huh?)...so head to the bathrooms and in and out quickly...pull a gel from my pocket and back onto the running path and up and over the bridge...3.8 miles down...start my calculating and realize that I have to go to the 3.8 mile marker so i can avoid going back around the Glen rock pond again so I can get my full 9 miles.....down the only hill and starting to feel a few raindrops...out into the open and see two guys kicking a soccer ball...boy i was more accurate than them when I used to play and I was not great by any stretch of the imagination but at who knows how well or if I could even kick a soccer ball anymore...it is now pouring and thunder and lightening ... pass the Keyhole (as David Leech used to refere to the loop just before the wobbly bridge)..over the wobbly bridge and I am totally soaked...3.6 mile marker almost there...finally...3.8 mile marker and now just 3.8 to go back to the car...it sis really thundering and i am counting in between the bolts of lightening and the claps of thunder...one! two! BOOM....one! BOOM!!...only 3.7 to go and now I am hoping that I am not struck by the almost continuous lightening...it is really poring and I am thankful for the trees to break it up a bit....did I say i love to run in the rain??? yes...I still do but concerned about the lightening..shut up Bill and keep running....Was it supposed to thundershower? I remember hearing something in the morning about that...MISTAKE #2...run in the rain NOT in Thunder and Lightening...I should know better...oh well...what are my are my choices stand still or keep running...Easy decision....still concerned but now 2.7 to go...2.3 and no one around not even the park guys who I thought would be driving the paths to close the bathrooms...they are obviously brighter than me and have gone home...Dunkerhook and turning for the bridge...up and over and decide at the 1.5 mile mark i am going to pick up the pace ...this was not supposed to be a hard timed run but since I ma picking up the pace might as well see how I am running..hit the watch and I speed up...the mile markers are not passing quickly that is of sure...can I run faster...yeah probably but do not want to just trying to run steady...1.2 and almost to the second to last bridge...huge puddles now and really running through some puddle almost continuously now...under the bridge and 1.0 to go ...see the blue house and remember that a guy was redoing the roof yesterday..boy just in time or they would be seeing the rain inside....3 tenths to go and under the bridge...AHHH finished and no lightening strikes...reach for my car key to unlock the doors and WTH!!! Where is my key???? must have just gotten stuck in my shorts pocket...search both pockets...NOTHING!!! Dang ( for the innocents that may read this)...no one around my cell inside the car and 3.6 miles from home (I ran home on Sunday from our run so yes I know how far it is now) MISTAKE #3 pulling a gel out of my pocket and probably the car key with it..OH one car...run over to the other side of the lot and I scare the daylights out of a young woman..i think she was changing and I startled her...she then pokes her head out and asks how she can help..she lends me her cell and I have a spare key on the way ..she leaves and I am all alone in the pouring rain standing in the parking lot with absolutely nothing to do but wait for Andrea to bring my spare key...she arrives ...I am in the care and decide to go look for the key...no luck...head home and into dry clothes...so boys and girls...in a matter of an hour and 15-20 minutes I made at least three mistakes on what should have been an enjoyable run....I survived and feel good today...longest run since Eagleman...I love running in the rain....

Second Triathlon of my career

Not much to report...weather was hot and humid BUT there was shade and the race was only a sprint tri so I knew I would be on the course less than 2 hours (or I hoped). A bit nervous Friday afternoon, kept thinking I was forgetting something...never remembered what it was so it could not have been that important....went to a friend's son's 1st Bday party Friday evening..it was fun and it took some of the tension away...no alcohol but plenty of water and gatorade....left the party about 9:45....home at about 11PM...ran around for at least a 1/2 hour checking my stuff for the morning and making up my water bottles...off to bed...finally feel asleep at about 12:30 or so...alarm off at 4:25 AM...begin my prep..out the door at 5:15 and arrive at the race site at about 5:30...I love local races!!!...unpack the bike...pump up the tires and off to transition...rack my bike...lay my towel down and set up the cycle and run shoes. etc...see some friends and BS a bit...its time to put the wetsuit on and get down to the water ...waiting for the start...elite wave is off...I am wave three ( last week I was wave 6 so I like this better)...a bit nervous due to lack of swim training but hey its seven tenths less than last week..we're off.... try to get into a rhythm quickly...doing ok but its so crowded can't get a good flow...hit the first buoy and a couple guys cut to the left of the buoy...not much distance but they saved time because it was so bottle necked...same at the next buoy and I am headed for shore...feeling the lack of swim training but feel much better than last week...actually not last in my wave and passing a few of the prior wave swimmers....out of the water and off to the bikes....long run to transition and trying shake off the swim...SWIM SPLIT 18:06 for 1/2 mile (278th out of 754)...very slow out of transition 3:25 but now on the bike and trying to get rolling....1 mile and turn right ...starting to work the gears and feeling ok....first big downhill and hitting over 30 mph ...then have to jam on the brakes for a 90 degree right turn that in the past has been the scene of many pileups (according to friends some of whom have done this race 20+ times)...now heading uphill but doing ok....hit the flats and going past transition area.....moving well and have a sharp left coming up...one guy just in front and one to my left...guy in front turns and I hear BAMMMM!!!!!..his back tire blows out..he goes straight into a guardrail and falls back into some grass but his arm falls into the road and I just miss running it over....working up hill again knowing that the downhill is at the top...flying again ...passing more people than are passing me..one guy on a Cervelo P2C keeps flying my me and then without any increased effort I blow by him again and again (he was annoying me..I know that's a petty annoyance )....make a left and now heading up the final long stretch...flat and then two steeps climbs...out of the saddle and the first hill is done...the second is right after it and is longer and steeper..tougher time..legs burning...hit the top and heading downhill...want to fly but remember some advice.....ease up in that last two miles to rest the legs for the run...final left coming BUT the cars are still driving thru the intersection!!! Just several of us hit the turn traffic is stopped....1 mile to go!! (did not worry about that turn but it turns out that a friend and the guy who would have won my AG...was about to make that turn earlier but a cop pulled out in front of him and he ended up in an ambulance...bruised shoulder but otherwise ok...turn into transition and run(???) my bike back to my area..BIKE SPLIT 46:00...19.6 MPH....#168/754....could not get my laces tight but I am off ...feeling ok...one runner comes flying by me maybe 1/2 mile into the run ...probably on 6 min pace....one woman passes me but no one else until a 1/2 mile to go...passing people although not pushing with the big hills coming up..no mile markers made it tough to pace myself .....up the longest steepest hill and feeling ok.....up a cul de sac...two of these kind of kill your momentum but its the same for everyone...make the turn for home and realize its shorter than I thought so kick it in and pass one guy just miss the other...would have kicked earlier knowing I was so close...apparently alot of people were surprised by the shortness of the last stretch...DONE.....finish time 1:45 ...finished 157 out of 754 ...ok but know I can do better...RUN SPLIT 36:09...7:14 pace...only split that really disappointed me...maybe the heat and the distance of the previous week took more out of me than I thought...not sure..enjoyed the race and looking forward to more tris in the future...definitely need swim and transition practice...very slow in transition....it was great to see so many TNT triathletes out on the course...87 participants I beleieve.....and thanks to Andrea for getting up early and cheering her lungs out for me and everyone else before running off to a supermarket fundraiser in the hot sun and to the TNT Staff out there...Jessica, Sandra, Melissa B and Gail and CONGRATS TO LYNN B FOR A GREAT FINISH IN HER FIRST TRIATHLON....so thats a wrap!!!!!

First Triathlon...Lessons Learned

Well here it is......

First: I FINISHED!!!

Second: NO Results for me...apparently my chip malfunctioned so I have no finishing time or splits

Third: IT WAS HOT!!!!!!!! Over 100 degrees and no shade whatsoever or any breeze

Very nervous Saturday ...went over to the Choptank River to do a short swim with a friend ...water was perfect although we could not practice sighting at all since the fog was so thick you couldn't see more than 100 yards...nice swim maybe .4-.6 of a mile...then went back to the house (my friend has done Eagleman 10 years and rents a guest room next to a garage...set of bunks (got the top as the rookie) and a full for 4 guys...$80 total for the weekend..thats split 4 ways..how great is that?? especially since it is one block from the transition area.....then went out a rode the run course....went to Expo and then hung out and went to meet a bunch of other friends for a pasta dinner...could not sleep and laid in bed listening to the thunder and seeing the lightening....that ended by morning...up at 5AM and head to transition area to set up...sweating just walking one block....my wave went off at 7:32....sweating even worse in my wetsuit...we're off...my lack of swim training was evident (this should not happen since I was a competitive swimmer most of my life)...got through it, lost my cookies slightly about 1/2 way and actually beat a few of my wave out of the water and thank god that the river did not live up to its name it was almost mirror like although the first leg was into a current, the second a lsight or so they said tailcurrent and the final leg to land had a cross current that was pushing swimmers to the side...wobbled to my bike and took my time...so hot, all bets are off for a time goal...made sure I put a refresher layer of sunscreen on (of course missed a few spots) and I head out get on the bike and here we go...legs feel ok not great ...but starting rolling as best as I could...VERY NAUSEOUS ......well, mile 25 passes and I am riding alone...all of a sudden a brown blast flies from my mouth to the right (thank god I was alone and it was to the right...pull over and proceed to puke two more times......start riding again and feel better...WORD OF ADVICE...DO NOT drink Ensure between swim and bike in 100 degree temps UNLESS IT IS STORED ON ICE...very stupid on my part, was obviously was not thinking straight.....keep rolling through the blast furnace...kept drinking water and gatorade...because any thoughts of taking a gel were not pleasant ...did not eat anything the entire race just took fluids ......heading towards the bike finish, I am passing more people than were passing me...into transition and off the bike....again took some extra time to up the sunscreen and off to the run...legs feel good, moving steadily, not sure of pace but moving quicker than most......at mile 4 caught one of the Team in Training Tri coaches and she was really hurting so starting run/walking with her since time was not an issue today.....did so and picked up another woman who we encouraged to join us...felt good enough to run more than they were able to but since Sarah (Tri coach ) was hurting I stayed with them...a bit frustrating but could not just abandon her.....the blast furnace continued but the aid stations were awesome...cups of ice...ice water and gatorade with ice...and later cups of flat coke with ice...the volunteers were fantastic...and EAGLEMAN'S RACE DIRECTOR should call Carey Pinakowski and offer to do a seminar on preparing for an abnormally hot raceday.....they had those ice coolers that you see in the supermarkets for the bags of ice......finally could wait no longer needed to finish this race...so asked Sarah and the other woman (from Bethesda) if they were ok..they said yes...so I took off at mile 10...started my watch just to see what I could do the final 5k in.....passed 51 people over the final 5k......including two woman within the final 5 yards....I was done!!!!!! grabbed my medal and walked through the finish...spotted two friends, one took 3rd place in his AG..22 yo...great triathlete..turned down a KONA slot and then remembered to stop my watch...watch time 26:15...(8:27 pace without factoring in time from finish to stopping watch)...very happy with that pace.....back to the house...showered...hydrate, a banana... chilled out literally and figuratively in the AC....packed up...in the truck off to dinner..had some great crabcakes sandwiches which were devoured in short order and then on the road back to NJ..arrived home at about 12:30 am......feel great this AM except for the fact that I have no splits or finishing time...but I finished .......I can only estimate that I finished between 6:25 and 6:40...again very happy and I believe I will be back....now this weekend do a sprint tri.....Do I have this backwards??? First Tri = 1/2 IRONMAN ....second =Sprint....thanks everyone for your encouragement and thanks Lance for the tips....I was thinking of your race when I passed a guy from the prior wave hanging on one of the buoys and hoping he was alright!

Thanks to all of the TNT folks and all my friends and family that offered words of encouragement or had periods of concern because I was not coming up in the athlete tracking online...

Bill

REPEAT LESSON LEARNED....No warm Ensure!!!!!!! This prevents vomiting

This past weekend they ran the Indy 500 ( the biggest and best open wheel race in the world) and the Ridgewood Run....obviously these events are on much different scales but both present an opportunity to shine....most of us will never drive an Indy car let alone qualify for one of the 33 spots in the 500 but all of us ( with few exceptions) can have the spotlight for a few moments. I watched the 5k and the men's and women's mile races on Memorial Day in Ridgewood....I have run the 5k and 10 k several times over the years but was just a spectator this year. Thinking back on the day...it was a great scene...people were lined up along Linwood Avenue coming up to the finish line...I saw people I knew and who had obviously run the 10k or just had finished the 5k and stayed to watch and cheer for the other runners, there were family members looking for their favorite runner and probably people who did not have a family member running but came out to watch on a beautiful day...how cool is that????

When you're running, and you pass trees or bushes that hang over into the road, do you high-five them and imagine the branches are really fans' arms hanging over the barricades cheering you on? I do sometimes.....Do you envision yourself running hard to the finish line of the Nike marathon? the NYC Marathon...making that final right turn by Columbus Circle and heading back into Central Park and up to the finish line? Or seeing the finish line and the race clock and knowing that you are about to set a new PR...or qualify for Boston....or break 5 hours or 4 hours for the first time or YOU ARE ABOUT TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING NO ONE CAN EVER TAKE AWAY......FINISHING A MARATHON!!!!!! I have and still do

Running is possibly the only sport (and more specifically road racing as opposed to track running) and maybe the only event that people like you and me can perform on the same stage and hear the encouragement of the same people along the course as the best in the world. I can tell people with total honesty that I have run the same races on the same courses as Haile Geberlaisse ( has set about 17 world records in distances from 10k to the marathon), Deena Kastor, Meb, Paul Tergat, Paula Radcliffe and even Lance Armstrong....so I did not beat any of them but I ran the same distance they did and my medal is the same as theirs. So fill out those entry forms and come out and hear the cheers as you run by. Come out and feel just like that...the star of the show. Few people will ever get to feel that feeling. Some of us can feel it a few times a year. I wonder if those that are cheering realize how special they make us feel....whether they do or not...I want to say thank you to them and to the volunteers that give their free time to allow us to hear the cheers.

BTW, try volunteering at a race...a local one or for a NY Road runners race...its a great feeling and you will understand what it takes to put on a race and will appreciate it the next time you run a race.

New Adventures

I have been running for so many years it is really second nature to me and I don't put alot of thought into getting dressed and going out for a run...that may be why I love working with newer runners and seeing them catch the bug and be excited as they hit each new running milestone...whether that be an enjoyable run in the rain or snow...hitting double digit miles for the first time..completing their first race...1/2 marathon...full marathon.

Now that I have started training to do my first triathlon...I am back on the other side of the road....I am the newbie...I am enjoying hitting those new milestones....learning something new witrh every workout...I did not know that they hand you water bottles at the bike aid stations..I thought i would have to stop and grab a cup of water or sports drink...water bottles sounds much better...riding my bike more and more miles...doing my first 20 miler...30 miler ....and this weekend a 60 miler followed immediately by a 45 minute run...after doing each of these combo workouts...they are aptly named "bricks"... that is exactly how your legs feel for the first couple miles....they hit but they hurt so good!!!! You know that you have been working hard during and especially after you finish...my quads have NEVER hurt they way they did this weekend....but I kept walking and did an intense workout on the muscles with "the Stick" and felt much better.....

Then yesterday another awakening moment for me....riding back from the Ridgewood Run (just watched did not run)...we ( I rode down with Andrea) reached the final hill and I had to clip out of my pedals because of the traffic light...two failed attempts to clip back in and two falls...the second worse than the first...a skinned and sore knee and elbow together with total embarrassment created a new adventure on the bike...some of the adventures and milestones are positive some negative...some embarrassing...but all are lessons learned...and then being a former competitive swimmer I thought the swimming would be a piece of cake...WRONG...a 1/2 mile swim in my new wetsuit was a learning experience and a wake up call...I will be slower than I thought in the swim leg....

What is the new lesson and adventure...only time will tell and that may be today..may be next week...who knows???

New Season !!!!

Last weekend we had the Fall Season Kickoff in Parsippany...always one of my favorite days involving TNT...alot of excitement, nervous energy from the new participants and of course the motivatation and emotion of the Honored Teammate speeches...Jake and Doug did an incredible job and I know caused alot of tears to flow...I was stopped later that day by an employee of one of our Friends of Team in Training and his words were "Great event and the best way to start off a saturday morning crying my eyes out!" If that does not say it all nothing does. I know I am not strong enough to stand up there and tell a story like theirs having lived through the ordeal that they did and get through it without breaking down.

Now, we are preparing for another great event...the FIRST GROUP RUN of the Season...alot of fun for everyone and will help alieviate many of teh fears that the newer runners have that they are not fast enough or can't run far enough or that they will be running all alone or that they are the only ones who do not know anyone.....

Every season brings something new to the table and I am wondering what it will be this season.....

See you on the roads,

Bill