What a Year - 2014 in Review

What a year! 2014 is in the books. It has been a year of many firsts...

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We Run 2014

We Run 2014 - Enjoy

While still thinking about writing a year in review post (it is coming), I thought about what would be another good way to recap our year of running.

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Tour de Philadelphia - Rocky Run Part Deux

If you really want to see a city, any city, you got to run through it. Running through city streets allows you to get up close and personal with neighbors, neighborhoods, and architecture. Sadly, not many places offer something like this, but here in Philadelphia, we are blessed. Thanks to a fictional boxer from South Philly, we now have an opportunity to see all the good, but also all the bad that Philadelphia has to offer. Enter Rocky 50k Fat Ass Run.

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Philadelphia Marathon 2014 - Back With The Vengeance

I have been unlucky when it comes to road marathons. While I have excelled at other distances this particular one was my arch nemesis. After several bad road marathons last year, I've decided to make the 2014 Philadelphia Marathon my only real road effort this year (double marathon in Roanoke doesn't count). I wanted to be injury free, and ready to finally break 4 hours that has been haunting me from my very first marathon. I was back with the vengeance.

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Lotteries - The Necessary Evil

Is there anything more frustrating than finding that perfect race, going on the internet to register, only to find out that the race has sold out in 90 seconds? Is there anything more frustrating than putting your name in the hat for the lottery year after year, only to get rejected over and over again? Welcome to 2014 Ultra running!

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Triple Crown or Runner’s World Half and Festival 2014

Oh! So this is Instagram!

Not finishing a race is always hard, but not starting one is even worse! All that training, anticipation down the drain. After last years Runner’s World Half DNS, I vowed to come back this year and set a PR in all 3 races.

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Cruising On Dry Land - Blues Cruise 50K

I zip up my jacket as I get into the car on this brisk Sunday morning. Temperatures are in the 40s which is the lowest its been in a while.  The heat is necessary to get my body warmed up and to clear up the windows. I double-check that I have all my gear ready. Quick Dunkin Donuts stop for some pre-race fuel and I am off toward Reading for the 2014 edition of Blues Cruise 50K.

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What Kind of a Cuckoo Are You? Sloppy Cucko - Half

Is there anything better than a local race? Perhaps. Is there anything better than a local race that takes place on trails? Maybe. Is there anything better than a local race that takes place on trails and it is very inexpensive with great swag? No, there isn't.

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Rethink Running – 3 Steps to Injury Free Running

We, runners, are an interesting lot. We often do not know when to stop. Every day, we go out and run. We follow our training plans blindly, regardless of how we feel that day. If the plan tells us to do a 5 mile tempo run, we go out and do it. 50 mile week even when something is bothering us, sure. We often ignore our body. Little niggle here and there, little soreness here or there, it is all normal, right? We shrug it off and keep running. And then it happens. The I word – the Injury. 

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Where Art Thou Japod Man?

Here we are. It is now mid-September, and I haven't published a new blog post on this site since maybe April or May. Terrible! What have I been up to? Where have I been? In one word, I have been unmotivated.

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Born to Run 100K - Corre Libre

Instead of writing my usual race report on this blog, I was able to publish my Born to Run 100K race report on Trail and Ultra. I have been contributing to Trail and Ultra since the new year and am currently working on more articles. Article link after the jump.

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Married to a runner - Steps to succeed as a runner, father and husband

For this month’s blog symposium Trail Runner Magazine asked: Is it easier to date a fellow runner or a non-runner?

Being a runner with a full time job has its challenges. Add on top of that kids and a wife who is also a runner, and you have yourself a whole new ballgame. I honestly cannot talk about my time as a runner before all these add-ons, as up until few years ago, I really wasn’t a runner at all. Sure, I had bouts of sporadic gym streaks, and I did run an occasional 5k here and there, but I was not dedicated. Hence, I did not have scheduling problems at all. For Amy and I getting into running happened at a somewhat similar time. We both started training for similar races and doing similar distances. Just go back and check our blogs for more if you want to know all about those. At the same time when we started to run together, we had one and then few years later another kid. It would have been easy for us to bump down our distances, or to take some time off from running, or really pick a different hobby, but we thought otherwise. Instead, we upped our distances and our training. We learned all about compromise, scheduling and how to keep everyone happy most of the time.

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The Few, The Proud, The Doublers - Blue Ridge Marathon Double

It was my second low point of the race at around mile 42. Tears started coming out and I was losing it. I was battling extreme doubts of my abilities as a runner. I was looking for excuses to quit…

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Trail Running Commercialized? You Bet

Trail Runner magazine Blog Symposium asked this month: Is trail running becoming too commercialized?

Today, as trail runners, we are bombarded daily, actually hourly, by ads. The latest shoes, gear, bars, gels, gadgets are coming out on a quarterly basis. It is overwhelming. There is always something newer, something better then what you already have. Not long ago, trail shoes were just plain old road shoes with a different sole. Now we have a shoe for every type of terrain imaginable. Welcome to the age of commercialization. Commercialization is defined as:

… the process or cycle of introducing a new product or production method into the market. The actual launch of a new product is the final stage of new product development and the one where the most money will have to be spent for advertising, sales promotion, and other marketing efforts.

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Cocogo Ambassador

I am very excited to announce that I just became Cocogo Ambassador!

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Hat Run 50K or Rollercoaster In The Hills Of Maryland

The sign at the last aid station said “5.3 miles to the finish.” My watch said 5:20 and change, and I knew 6 hour goal was out of the window. 5.3 mile section from last aid station to the end was my second time around, and I knew there was no way I could run that in 40 minutes. Other then my aching quads, I was feeling great and energetic, probably the best I’ve felt in any of my few 50Ks.  Over the last 9.5 miles I have given it a good push, but that was it.  Onto plan B, and finishing strong regardless. As I neared the finish line, I saw Amy and kids, and I took off running. I grabbed Niko’s hand and we crossed the finish line together in 6:42:58. But, let me start at the beginning.

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CocoGo Review

*** The giveaway has now ended. Use code EDEDIC to get 40% off at Cocogo Store ***

I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to test a new hydration drink from Cocogo. At first I didn’t really know what to expect as I have my proven hydration methods. Considering that I am in the middle of training for a goal race, I didn’t want to compromise many of my runs. I thought about it for a while before agreeing to try some product. What I was sent, was a mixed box with all flavors Cocogo offers at this time: Lemon-Lime, Raspberry-Passion Fruit and Grape.

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Thorlo Sock Tri-Fecta

Thorlos clinically-tested padding provides your feet with maximum protection. It helps reduce impact from rocks, dirt and other trail debris, and the shear forces that can lead to blisters and other injuries to the skin and soft tissues of your feet during a trail run. Made of made with our exclusive THORLON yarn and COOLMAX® fiber, Thorlos also wicks moisture away better, further protecting against blisters and other foot conditions that could interfere with your comfort and enjoyment.

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Western States 100 - Old School Race With New School Flair

“Ask not for victory, ask only for courage. In your pursuit, you bring honor to yourself. But more important, you bring honor to us all.” – Ancient Greek saying, quoted in 32nd Place: a Triumph of the Olympic Spirit, Los Angeles Times, June 29, 1984. Recited at Annual Runners’ Briefing, Western States Endurance Run

The original. The one that started it all. The one that brought trail scene in the US to what it is today. There is only handful of races that are synonymous with ultra running. None of them come even close to the original trail ultra, the Western States Endurance Run. It was way back in 1974 that Gordy Ainsleigh joined the horses on the Western States Trail. Less than 24 hours later, Gordy arrived in Auburn and the Western States Endurance Run was born.

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Ice Killing Machine - IceBug Shoe Review

 

Last October while running Runner’s World 10K, Amy and I met Gary. Gary is a US rep for IceBug shoe company out of Sweden. One thing led to another and Gary offered to send us some IceBug’s to test once he got a new shipment from IceBug. IceBug is a fairly new name in the US, and just making their way into the market. 

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Go Gadget Go - I Need You

My legs are tired. I am doing another gel as I know I must keep going. I’ve been going for over 6 hours, up and down Bear Mountain. I know the finish line is near but I am not sure how much further I have to go. The last aid station was a few miles back. I didn’t care to look at their board as I have my trusty companion on my wrist that will tell me how much I have left. I glance at my watch. Shock! Disbelief. The freaking thing is dead. A blank screen stares at me and smiles, as if it’s saying, “Got cha sucker.” Curses in my head, but onward I go to finish my first 50 K (Bear Mountain 50K).

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Drug Testing in Trail and Ultra Running

We all know it is there. Cheating, doping, whatever you want to call it. It is everywhere around us. It is present in pretty much every major sport out there, baseball, football, soccer and yes, even in running. It seems like almost every day there is a news story about an athlete that has failed a drug test. And we all jump in shock, and say “How could he/she? That is cheating?” We all want to believe that our athlete or our sport is immune, but the truth is, it is not.

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Ultra Running Heroes and Foes

Many of us have grown up looking up to current and historic figures in sports or other disciplines. There are certain individuals that we look up to and aspire to be like them, and then there are others that we despise. That obsession or admiration of athletes does not die down with childhood and it continues though out our entire lives. I am not going to dwell into the psychology on why we look up to certain people, and why we aspire to like them. It is part of human nature. 

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