Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 5K

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 5K was race #15 and was the last race of the first quarter (wall street lingo) of Bob's 50 @ 50. At this pace, I will run 60 races but won't, but it does give me a little room for rest during the summer months if I want.


This was the inaugural for this race and drew close to 250 runners which is a great number for a first time race and this was with an overcast rainy morning.

Briana Jackucewicz, along with Morgan Clark, Nicole Lupo, Courtney Joline, Travey Vill and Chelsea Hancock were the co-race directors. They are all seniors at Colt's Neck High School and put this race on as a Service Learning Project which is a requirement for all seniors. Their goal besides putting on a great race was to raise awareness within the community the importance of safe driving where kids are playing.


I ran with Taugh Lynch today. He ran a solid 21:39 and was first in his age group and I ran a 19:58 which was good for 2nd in my age group and 20th overall. I was extremely happy to break 20 minutes again but wasn't sure if I could do it today. I ran an 8 mile training run yesterday so I was happy my legs responded. My splits were 6:24 (HR 150), 6:35 (HR 161), 6:18 (HR 164) and I really pushed it the last mile. I am thinking I can go 19:25 before the years is out.

Next week I have another 5K in New Hope. I don't mind running the 5K's but like the longer distances. They don't put me in oxygen debt as much.

I have only 5 races scheduled for April, but one is my first relay which I am looking forward to. Taugh, Dale Hoth, John Liptak and Ken White will be joining me at the Jersey Shore relay marathon.

Only One Hill

John Liptak, Taugh Lynch & I found out this afternoon that we were accepted into the Mt Washington Road Race. We had to enter a lottery to see if we would get in. I think this is a bit of - be careful what you wish for, because now we have to seriously train for this race. For those of you not familiar with this event, it is a 7.6 mile run up the toll road of the highest point in the northeast with an average of an 11.5 incline. As race director Bob Teschek would say, "it's only one hill".This will be my signature race during Bob's 50 @ 50 and I thank John and Taugh for coming along for the ride. Taugh and I tossed around the idea of running this race about 5 years ago but decided against it. Now that we are 5 years older it seemed to make sense now. Not sure why. John loves running trail races and last year he ran the Bear Mountain trail run so this wasn't too much of a stretch for him. This race always intrigued me because I have always wanted to hike Mt Washington and I love running, so I figured to just combine the two. Taugh and I have been training in hopes that we would get accepted. We would meet at the NYSC gym on Wall street, crank up the treadmill to an incline of 11.5 and just start running. Our speed is only 4.5 so we are just plodding along but you really can't go any faster unless you want your heart to pop out of your chest. So the hard work begins and I just have to stay injury free. Take a look at some of the pics from past years.

Shamrock 1/2 Marathon

My third 1/2 marathon of the year turned out to be my best time ever at the distance. I ran a chip time of 1:31:33 on an absolutely perfect day for a race. I beat my best time by almost 4 minutes while finishing 6th in my age group out of 201. I was determined to run 7's the whole way hoping to hold that pace till the finish. After starting out with a 7:37 first mile, I ran right around 6:55's for most of the race except for the last mile where I pushed it for a 6:46 for an average pace of just shy of 7. (see splits below) There were close to 6,000 runners for the half marathon and once again it finished up on the boardwalk. I didn't partake in the beers this time around because I was heading home shortly after the race. Amy Frostick who is the race coordinator for the Shamrock Sportsfest weekend did a great job. It was a runner's dream with all the different races and the venue was perfect. Virginia Beach was not crowded so it was easy to get around and all the businesses catered to the runners. I would recommend this race weekend to anyone who loves running.

Today was race #14 and it was the sixth state I have run in this year. (NY, NJ, LA, PA, DE, VA) If all goes well, I will be in a few more before the year is out. On my way home I stopped by the University of Delaware to have lunch with my daughter Leigh. Next week I am running a 5K in Colt's Neck, NJ. Please consider joining me.

splits & heart rate

1 - 7:37 (133) 9 - 6:58 (147)

2 - 7:01 (147) 10 - 7:07 (146)

3 - 6:52 (148) 11 - 6:51 (146)

4 - 6:55 (147) 12 - 7:00 (147)

5 - 7:01 (148) 13 - 6:46 (152)

6 - 6:55 (149) .1 - .45 (158)

7 - 6:57 (148)

8 - 6:58 (148)

Shamrock 8K - Virginia Beach

I was up at 6:15am to get ready for the first of two races this weekend. The 8am start was no problem since my hotel was just a few blocks away. I ran easy (39:06) but I was dying to kick it into gear, but knew I needed to save myself for tomorrow's 1/2. Over 7,000 runners finished the 8K and the start was packed with excited runners. Many of them dressed in green. The post race party was on the beach under a huge tent where you could find the Irish Stew, Yuengling and the band. I couldn't believe I was drinking beer before 9am but by 10am I had 4 Yuenglings. The band was excellent and I met up with the RVRR runners. Mike Dixon, Kyle Spencer, Mike Anis, Bill Hulbert, Lianne Price & Brandis Kemp. Each runner received a few drink tickets which allowed you to get a free beer. The runners who weren't interested in drinking that early dropped their tickets on our table. When they did that, the RVRR gave them a group hug. We met many folks as they dropped their tickets off. Everyone was having a great time. This is a race that you need to do if you feel like traveling. Great atmosphere and great people. The Irish Stew was great as well. I will try to get some rest tonight, but only if I don't try to keep up with the rest of the RVRR runners.

Shamrock Expo

I made it to VA Beach in 6 hours today, arriving at 6pm. I headed over to the expo at the convention center at 7:30 to pick up my numbers to both races. It was crowded but very orderly and the T-shirts are top notch. They also lots of vendors there offering everything from runners jewelry to GU. I tried and bought a can of Verve which promises to replace what I lose after running. Dan was a very effective sales woman. We will see. Grabbed a bite at Murphy's Bar, then headed to the Ocean Sands.

Virginia is for Runners- Races #13 & 14

I am looking forward to races 13 & 14 this weekend in Virginia. Virginia Beach is hosting a huge race weekend dubbed the Shamrock Sportsfest which includes a 5 mile, 1/2 marathon and full marathon. I am doing the 5 mile run on Saturday then the 1/2 marathon on Sunday. My family was suppose to join me but my older son has his baseball fantasy draft and Michael has a Sunday soccer game so alone I go. I am hooking up with a few Raritan Valley Road Runner club members when down there and I'll make some new friends as well. I plan to run the 5 mile race easy and go hard on Sunday. Weather looks to be perfect for both days.

Kelly's Logan House 5K

I hit double digits in races today with #10 in Wilmington Delaware. The 10th annual Kelly's Logan House 5K enjoyed perfect weather for a run. It had to be at least 70 degrees and the sun was out which was a nice switch from this past Monday. This was the first race the whole family would be participating including one of Leigh's friends (Kathy) from the University of Delaware. Bobby and I ran, Leigh and Kathy ran/walked and Michael and Ro walked the course. Bobby finished with a time of 26:46 and I ran a 20:31 while the rest of the group was over 35 minutes. I thought Delaware was flat so I was in for a real surprise when after a slight downhill start, we began to climb a 600 meter hill. It didn't end there as we had more hills to deal with in Rockford Park. I think we finally started downhill at the 1 3/4 mile mark. The fast downhill finish was nice. I placed 2nd in my age group and was about 20 seconds behind the first 50 year old guy. He passed me on the second climb at mile 1 and I thought I might catch him on the flat or downhill portion but i was wrong. The post race party was held at Kelly's which included pizza, pretzels and a free beer. The awards took a while as the guy in charge was doing his stand up act with every runner. He was funny, but we wanted to get going. I had a great time running with the family look forward to another race with them soon. Next up is a pair of St Patty's runs next weekend. Come join me, I am sure there will be beer afterwards and lots of stories.