The Goofy Run – 2010

My first event the New Year was a double header in sunny Florida to undertake the Goofy Challenge by completing a Half Marathon (13.1 miles) on Saturday morning then getting up on Sunday to tackle the 26.2 mile marathon course for a total of 39.3 miles.


After landing in Orlando I boarded the Disney Magical Express to my resort and began my winter running vacation. Friday morning was chilly but the sun was shining as I made my way to the expo, picking up the packet was surprisingly smooth.

Half Marathon Morning was a completely different story. I overslept until 3:15am so I hopped into the shower, skipped coffee in my room and rushed off the catch the bus to the start. Glad to see I wasn’t the only one in line at 4:09 am! While on the way to Epcot the first signs of precipitation could be seen on the windshield. Before leaving my room I did venture outside to check the weather and if felt like a tolerable temperature to run in shorts. Stepping off the bus it was cold and windy with sleet starting to fall. I never expected these conditions so I was only dressed in running shorts with a throwaway sweatshirt to keep my upper body warm. Unfortunately Disney did not provided ANYTHING for runners while we hang around waiting to begin. My last marathon was New York where there was food, coffee, tea and even a large tent to block the wind in the starting area.

My plan was to target a 2:30 finish time but the run itself was not what I expected. The festive atmosphere of Disney filled with sunshine and photo opportunities that I anticipated never happened… Instead it was dark and gloomy with sleet bouncing off my head in FLORIDA! As I ran the first few miles I couldn’t help but think how poorly the course was designed and was happy my wife didn’t plan to be a spectator. We ran down a 6 lane divided highway with the runners on the right three lanes, a sizeable grass median separated the next three lanes than a temporary fence contained the spectators. At the end of that stretch of road the runners merged into onto a one-lane ramp where they were dumb enough to place the first water stop creating even more congestion, wonder if Dumbo was the course Designer! After a few miles the sleet turned to a light rain and I fell into a comfortable pace to finish a bit ahead of schedule.

Sunday morning at 2:15 am it was time to get ready for the main event. Since I was up on time I brewed coffee, showered and dressed better since the temperature was below freezing. Wearing a sweatshirt and pants to be tossed once warmed up I made my way to the starting area so I’d make it to the 4:30 Tweet up with @maddyhubba @chrissduffy and @marathonchris. After 15 minutes or so we went our separate ways for a final port-a-potty stop before the long run.

It was cold but dry so I was able to snap a photo of the fireworks as we started our journey! I was still wearing my throwaway clothing at mile 10 since it was such a cold day but figured it was time to brave the weather and shed the layer. Course support on the Marathon was much better than the Half. At two locations bananas were handed out and they had mini chocolate bars and raisins at another spot to keep runners fueled. It remained chilly for the entire morning but my body held up fine and I managed to stay on pace for my planned 5:15 finish time. Just after mile 22 I pulled off for a few minutes to check my email and tweet my location so my final time was 5:16:29. The Goofy Run is not an event I’d plan on every year but it is one of the more prestigious challenges that every marathon runner might want to consider.

The first call I received after completing the race was from Pat, my NY running partner, she asked if I felt any different but I'm still the same Goofy guy.

Philadelphia Distance Run - 2009

This was the second time I traveled to Philadelphia for the historic half so I knew the course was pretty flat and since temperatures were forecast to be cooler then last year I had hopes of a PR. My fastest half was in Hartford back in 2007 before I knew anything about training but for some reason I have not hit that single digit pace since in a 13.1 miler.

The race drew a crowd of over 12,000 runners including gold and silver medalist and headliner Ryan Hall the American World Record holder for the Half Marathon.

In an effort to ease congestion in the city streets a "wave" start was implemented this year and it was my first experience with the slow release process. Personally standing in the corral for an extended period is not the way I like to begin a long run. The course went through the downtown streets before looping back near the starting line at mile 4.5 and we were still standing there waiting to begin as the leaders passed. Once underway the race actually felt more congested then "normal" races since I was surrounded by such a high concentration of runners at my target pace.

When I finished the downtown portion of the race and looped by the starting area the leaders were crossing the finish line. Ryan Hall did win with a pace of 4:44 minutes per mile. I chugged along for another hour maintaining my 10 minute miles but fell off pace towards the end and finished 7 minutes behind schedule. Thinking it might be easier to adjust my expectations to a 10:30 pace in the future.

Philadelphia was the start of my busy fall season, in a few weeks I'll be running the Hartford Half and gearing up for the New York Marathon on Nov. 1st. Between race weekends I still need to earn a living so if you are looking to buy or sell a home on the Connecticut Shoreline contact Dan Cummings, The Running Realtor.

Providence Marathon - 2009

On the last weekend before my birthday I wrapped up my Rookie Year as a Marathon Man with my forth finish in Providence. Little did I know last year at this time as I was preparing to run my first marathon in San Diego that I would run so much in my 50th year.

The New England weather forecast waffled back and forth in the week leading up to Providence and I was expecting to see rain but was pleasantly surprised when it held off giving us cloudy conditions with a temp in the 50's. Pretty close to ideal for running.

This was the first time I used a heart rate monitor during a marathon. In the past I have gone out to fast and figured that caused me to slow at the end. I felt good and tried to hold my pace based on my heart beats and ran at a 10 minute mile. Just after mile 6 was my first bout of technical difficulty. My ipod shuffle was clipped to my waist and I perspire heavily even in cool weather so it got wet and failed. Since this was my 4th long run I was prepared and stopped to get my back-up MP3 Player and realized I should keep it in a plastic bag with just the wire of the headphones extending out.

Running the Miami Marathon I blistered pretty bad which led to my slowest finishing time so in Providence I tried out a new brand of shoes. Noticed a little knee pain around mile 9 so I stopped to stretch giving me my first encounter with a friendly runner. She was the type that offers a big smile and words of encouragement along the course.

Ever since I started running I've been a bit of a gadget guy and now in addition to my standard running gear that includes a GPS on my wrist and a music player pumping out a selection of classic rock tunes I carry my cell phone & camera. I only stopped once just after mile 14 for a photo and as I tuned back and snap a shot that friendly smile from mile 9 was in my viewfinder. Over the next several miles we passed each other a few times before my old legs slowed and Deb Jones maintained her pace finishing while I still had a mile to go.

After four marathons I still haven't figured out what it takes to maintain a decent pace and will continue to challenge myself with the long run. So far this year I have two half's on my schedule, Fairfield and Philadelphia plus I signed on for the grueling Goofy Challenge in January 2010.

Miami Marathon Memories - 2009

My Miami Marathon adventure started off on the wrong foot and never really eased into the right pace. The plan was to arrive in Florida a week before the race so I could adjust to the warmer weather after training during the snowy New England Winter. Monday morning we woke to discover unexpected snow was falling. The highways had not been plowed and traffic moved slowly so we arrived just in time to board our 6:30 flight.



Since we had so much snow in Connecticut I didn’t put as many miles as planned on my new marathon shoes. I purchased two identical pairs of Kayano 14’s and used one during training but only had about 25 miles on my racing pair. Marathon morning I was a bit concerned because my left foot had been sore since my last run in my race day shoes and there was a bruise on the topside of my foot.

Shortly after 4:00 am Pat and I were in line at the Miami Beach Convention Center waiting to board the shuttle to the starting line and despite the expected crowd of 15,500 runners it was fairly easy to find Wendy and Frank.

After a half hour of chit chat we all parted ways to our starting corrals. The race itself had a few starting glitches but nothing major. Thought they squeezed runners to the side a little early crossing the bridge at mile 2 or 3 so they could open a lane for traffic and had to pour my own drink at one of the first few water stops but after that it seemed fine and there was more snack food along the course than either of the other two marathons I ran.

My foot didn’t feel too bad once I got going but the later miles were tough. As we ran through a residential area with fairly loose roadways I could feel a pebble in each of my shoes so just after mile 16 I stopped to get them out. By mile 20 the heat on my feet was a pretty clear indicator that I was blistering and my pace dropped to about 13:30 for those last 6 miles as a walked and jogged to the finish.

Memories of My First Marathon

Being a lifelong New Englander I'm an early riser so waking at 3:00am in San Diego to run the Rock-n-Roll Marathon was easy for me. Looking around before the race there were not many smiles at dawn.

Race day is the end result of many training miles. Most participants at the race ran 500 miles or more during the proceeding 4 or 5 months so they'd be ready to undertake the 26.2 Mile event.

The Course started out on the West Side of Balboa Park and we looped around going through parts of the San Diego Zoo on our way Downtown. The city streets were a little rougher than I expected so there were plenty of cracks and pot holes to dodge. Nothing worse then hitting a hole the wrong way and twisting your ankle during an event of this magnitude.

After the first hour I was slightly ahead of my theoretical target time so I pulled out my camera for some photos along the way. As you can see in the photo below the running crowd was still pretty thick. I lost some time over the next several miles due to the congested streets and constantly stopping to take pictures. Suppose serious runners would never think of actually enjoying their time on the course but I typically run races with a camera.

Once we left the Downtown Streets it was time to head out on that highway. At that point I needed to refuel the camera. Anticipating many photo opportunities I did pack spare batteries in my running shorts so I pulled over for a pit stop. Yes... I carry way to much junk!

I did have some technical difficulty and the camera flash starting going off everytime I took a picture. After wasting a few minutes fiddling with settings I decided I better get back to running

As I rounded the bend I saw the second ambulance of the day loading a runner. We were still a few miles from the halfway point. My wife and I had prearranged a meeting spot where the course came closest to our hotel so I snapped a few final photos as I came through the water stop before leaving the camera with her.

My intension was to make up lost time in the second half but things don't always go as planned. Once the cloud cover known as June Gloom in San Diego burned off the sun warmed it up. I could feel the heat on the ball of my right foot. The only other time I'd felt that sensation was during our longest training run of 20 miles. Willpower and determination is not a problem for me so not crossing the finish line was never a concern. I did do a bit of walking durning the later miles so I finished at just before noon with a chip time of 5:15.

Recovery time was very fast. By 2:00pm I was making my way to the hotel's outdoor cafe for a burger and beers... One of my team mates from the Leukemia Society's Team in Training was there with his parents and we discussed the race and events of the weekend.

Simon's father, Peter, was so inspired by the TNT organization and the huge amount of money raised ( $12.5 Million at this one event ) that he is planning to run a half marathon as a participant this fall.

I still have a few more miles left in me so I will be running the Fairfield Half in two weeks and start up again in late September at the Philadelphia Distance Run.

In my spare time I'm available to sell houses. To arrange a private showing of any home listed on the Connecticut MLS that is in my territory of New Haven County just contact me, Dan Cummings, The Running Realtor via email at Dan@CummingsTeam.com or call my 24 hour access line : 203-672-2455

Reaching the Peak with Team in Training

As many of you know back in January I signed on with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's TEAM IN TRAINING. Since I've always been very level headed I took their sales hype about participation being a Life Changing Experience with a grain of salt and fully expected fundraising to be a difficult task. Sunday morning as I drove to our longest scheduled run of 20 miles I was reflecting back on the 16 weeks leading up to this point.

During the early months my time was consumed with raising money. I sent out Press Releases and mailed letters to family, friends and business associates asking for a small contribution. My thought was to encourage 200 people to offer donations of $25 each for a total goal of $5000. I Failed! What I did get was less than 100 donations but the dollar amounts were very generous.

My single largest contribution came from a man I had never met until last week. During dinner conversation he asked if I ever Hit The Wall. I told him our training schedule was designed to have us approach The Wall but hopefully avoid it and our longest test run was coming up...

My first 10 miles were perfectly paced but oddly I started to slow and dropped off a minute per mile. By mile 15 I was feeling tight and thinking cutting my 3/4 acre lawn with a 22" push mower on Saturday afternoon might not be classified as resting before the long run. The coach at mile 17 suggested I stretch a little and that brought on severe leg cramps. He asked if I was running on the sidewalk and coincidentally since this training was in unfamiliar territory I was on the sidewalk most of the time. It was then that he told me concrete is much tougher on the body and whenever possible I should stay on the softer asphalt road. It was to late to salvage that run so I walked the final three miles and will not be running on sidewalks in the future.

Our honored Teammate, Olivia was also up and out of her home early to meet us before the 7:00 am run. After all the reflection of successful fundraising techniques and running miles in the rain and snow the real payback for participation stood before us. Diagnosed at 4-1/2 years old and going through 3 years of treatment she is now a normal 10 year old that is cancer free. Other than the minor inconvenience of having her blood monitored she can live the carefree life of a kid....

What was reinforced by my involvement with the team was something I already knew.... Money doesn't mean shit! There will come a time in most everyones life when they realize that $20 bill they hold so dear will not buy them another minute. If I can offer one bit of wisdom let me say Loosen Up, Give a Little...