The Rowe Family Blog

In the last couple of weeks I ran two half marathons.  The first was the inaugural Flower City Challenge.  The second was the Grand Island Half Marathon from the Greater Buffalo Track Club.  One went pretty well and the other one did not.

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For the fourth year in a row I participated in the Spring Forward Distance Run. It’s a hilly 15k road race. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a few weeks since the Shamrock Run but I wanted to write about it. I think I’ve reached the point in my running that I wanted to avoid. I care far too much about my race times. Going into this race I had high hopes but I couldn’t help but feel disappointed during the race when I saw that my mile splits were not what I had hoped for. This is an 8k race and I was hoping not only for a PR but to turn in a time that would impress me. Instead my average pace was slower than my performance months ago at the 2009 Rochester Half Marathon. I would love to say that I wasn’t giving it my all but that would be a lie. This was a race and I put forth a lot of effort. It is a true gauge of my current ability.

I did earn an 8k PR and I was happy with my performance relative to other participants. I’m worried about being overly critical of myself. Getting faster was easy at first — it just happened by itself. Now I have to work at it. The trouble is that I expect the year to year gains that I have been seeing. I won’t be seeing gains like that unless I significantly increase my training. Most importantly I need to keep things fun.

My time was 32:27, an average pace of 6:32.

Yippee!

For the past three years I’ve made a trip to Florida to hang out with my sister and friends.  While there we’ve participated in the Miami Marathon and Half Marathon.  For the previous two years I ran the half marathon.  This year, having achieved my goal just 2 months prior I decided to change things up.  I upgraded to the full marathon with the intent of running 100% stress free.  I wouldn’t worry about my time.  I wouldn’t worry about what I was eating before the race (within reason of course).  I wouldn’t worry about anything!  …And that’s what I did.

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As I mentioned briefly in my race report for the 2009 Las Vegas Marathon I ended up spending a night in the hospital following the race.  I feel obligated to post a few things about that event.  I don’t want anyone that comes across this blog to be discouraged by what happened.  After you read this post I hope you’ll agree that it was just a big misunderstanding and that I didn’t really need to be hospitalized (but I blame no one for what happened).

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I’m having a lot of trouble starting this race report. I have so much I’d like to say and so much I could say but that would be too long and boring for everyone but me. This race wasn’t just a race. It was the bookend of a long and difficult but fulfilling chapter in my life.

The race is less than 1 week away. Training is over. All that I can do now is try to rest my body as much as I can to be in the best condition I can be for Sunday. Almost every other variable is out of my control now. As hard as it is I have to give in and accept that I can’t control everything. I’ve trained hard and endured a lot on the road and off the road. What I’ve endured this year is worse than what I’ll endure on Sunday. I have no doubt about that. Read the rest of this entry »

Today, for the eighth year in a row, we hunted and killed a Christmas Tree at Stokoe Farms. Cassie was awake this year, but barely. She and I went down the slide together. It was a fun day with lots of family (“both bamma bampas”). Follow the link for a couple of videos and pictures.

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Back in August we went back to the island!  This was only possible due to the generosity of the Ghidiu clan.  First because John Sr chose not to use his timeshare this year, and second because John the lesser invited Mary, Cassie, and I to tag along.

The first time we went to Hawaii we dreamed of returning but we never thought we’d be able to go back so soon.  This time around it was a lot different primarily because we had Cassie with us.  We spent a lot of time at the pool and didn’t really explore the island as much.  I’m not complaining.  Maui is paradise. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything.  Training for this marathon has been a real challenge.  The mileage hasn’t been much of an issue but it turns out that I managed to end up with “iron depletion.” Read the rest of this entry »