A Run In The Netherlands

Last week while on a business trip, I was able to head out for a 10K run through the city of Maastricht, Netherlands. The skies were threatening throughout the run and then opened up midway through for a passing shower. Some pics of the sights along my running route:

A quick shower

Back at the hotel...

... which is located on the bank of the Meuse River

Independence Day

The family gathered at my brother's house to celebrate the 4th as well as my nephews birthdays. Five F's sum it up: Family, Fire, Fireworks, Food and Fun. What more could you ask for!

Family

Fire

Fireworks

Cooking the Food (Steve, Big Papa, Anthony)

Fun

Big Papa and Ciara

"Hey Shirl check out my red, white and blue fingernails."

Runnin' with the Cousins

This morning I met up with my cousins Anthony and Kasia for a run at the West Hartford Reservoir. Anthony is visiting from California so it was cool to hang with him for awhile and it's always nice running with Kasia. We knocked out a little over a half marathon at 8:15 pace, completing four (3.4 miles each) loops around the reservoir. A great run!

Anthony, Kasia and I after our run

VT 100 Training

Intermixed with a hectic schedule the past few weeks, I managed to log some great training runs. Today was no exception. I met up with Mark at the Nipmuck Marathon course at 5:00 AM. For this morning's long run we had the pleasure of a "real" trail runner join in on our training: Mary Fagan. She's quite accomplished in the running circles (VT 100 winner, National 50K Trail Champion...). Simply put, she rocks! I was a little nervous when she showed up and was ready to run with just a single water bottle in her hand. Ummm... No water belt with multiple bottles, no gu, no salt tabs, no hat, no gaitors, no tp? Mark and I carry a pantry full of stuff when we run. :) But Mary took it easy on us. We ran pretty steady and she told us all kinds of stories from her races. It was like a live podcast of all things trail running! Thanks Mary for joining us and we look forward to seeing you in Vermont in a few weeks!

Mary and I

Mary and Mark

This past week I had a business trip to Oslo, Norway. I had some time to get out for a 10 mile run through the city. I ran parts of the same route from the last time I was there: A Run In Norway. Once again the weather was perfect and the sights were beautiful. A few pics from my run:

Oslo Cathedral at Stortorvet Square

The Royal Palace

Vigeland Sculpture Park

View of the harbor from the Oslo Opera House

Last weekend I managed to sneak in a half marathon run. The rest of the weekend we hosted an awesome 5th birthday party for Alex and enjoyed Father's day (half of it anyway as I had to fly out to Norway in the early afternoon.)

The weekend prior, Mark, Bruce and I logged a 51 mile training run. Mark planned out three loops (18, 19 and 14 miles) which allowed us to refuel at our vehicles several times. The course had lots of hills and dirt roads with ~5650 feet of elevation. We ran solid and completed the run in 8:40. The only downer was Bruce got his 5 gallon water jug stollen from the route. Who steals water jugs?

Mixed in with all that have been several Happy Hill Wednesday mornings. Mark, Bruce and I have been meeting up at 5 AM to run hill repeats over at Soapstone Mtn.

I hope were ready for VT!

Alex's Birthday Party

Yesterday we celebrated Alex's 5th birthday. The Critter Caravan entertained the kids and the boa was the highlight of the show.

And of course there are lots of great photos of Alex's party on Lauren's blog . Thanks once again Lauren for taking awesome pics!

Trail Running in San Marcos, CA

While on vacation last week I was able to get out a few times and run in the San Elijo Hills behind my buddy Doug's house. There's an icredible network of well maintained trails that stretch for miles up, over, through and around the range. It's heaven for me everytime I visit. It's a quick quarter mile from Doug's front doorstep to the trail head. Unbelievable! I've been trying to convince Doug for years that the first hour of his day (every day) should be a run to the peak and back. An incredible 10K workout! Here are a few shots from the trails:

San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon

This race report is pretty simple:

Felt good at the start.
10 Km split: 46:04 (7:25 pace)
Ouch.
Half marathon split: 1:42:39 (7:50 overall pace)
Wheels started to come off.
21 Mile split: 3:01:30 (8:38 overall pace)
Wheels completely off.
Where am I?
Finish time: 4:09:50 (9:32 overall pace)

I saw a t-shirt which summed up the day very well:
"The marathon can humble you." - Bill Rodgers