Trail Running is Fun

I decided to go for a run after work yesterday.  I thought a nice relaxing trail run would be a good change of pace.  Since I am coming off the half marathon my training plan says I should have done an easy 4 to 5 miles yesterday.  So, I found a route that was about 4.5 miles.  I choose a trail run because I haven't run on a trail in a while.  I was warned by one of my co-workers that I might see a few deer along the way.  Sure enough not five minutes into the run there were two does (that's female deer, not does or does not) staring at me.  They were about 5 feet off the trail, so I was a bit startled to be so close all of a sudden.  They, on the other hand, were not startled.  I guess they are used to us crazy runners in the woods.

I plodded on, working my way up Mt. Joy (aptly named, since I was having so much fun).  This is in Valley Forge Historic Park in Pennsylvania.  I am working out of my company's office down here this week.  I have never run this route before, so it was fun to be exploring a new route.

I continued on to the top of Mt. Joy, only to be greeted by two more deer.  This time it was two young bucks.  I was worried that the bucks might be more aggressive than the does, so I tried to avoid any sudden movements.  They were un-phased by my presence.  I guess they too are accustomed to crazy humans running along in the woods for no apparent reason what-so-ever.

The trail wound down the opposite side of the hill.  I say hill because for all intents and purposes, Mt. Joy is a hill.  It may have the prestigious title of mountain, but it's just a hill.  Now going over this hill required an elevation gain of 560 feet, so it's not tiny.  For someone like me, who does not run over mountains on a regular basis, it's a bit of a challenge, but in the grand scheme of trail running as a sport, it's small potatoes.

I continued on down the opposite side, then up another smaller hill, where the trail narrowed to the point where only one person can pass at a time.  A sharp drop was on one side of me, and a sharp incline on the other.  This was a fun goat trail!

I came to the end and turned around to head back to my car.  After completing the route I felt great.  I wasn't tired, I wasn't sore, and I was having fun.  The sun had not gone down yet and I had plenty of time until sunset.  So I thought to myself, should I do it again?  That would be 9 miles!  Hmmmmm?

So, I turned around, and with a smile on my face, I repeated the joyful journey of surmounting Mt. Joy!  What a joy!

Run Happy!  I sure did last night!

Completed Wicked Half Marathon!

I completed the Wicked Half Marathon in Salem, MA on Saturday (9/22).  I ran it in 1:36:33.  I placed 88th out of 813 runners, and 29th in my age group!  Considering I planned to finish the race in 1:42:00, I'm pretty satisfied with the results.

Thank you once again for supporting my training and racing to benefit the North Shore Medical Center's Cancer Center.  So far I have raised $1,232.40.  While my goal is $2000, I still raised more than last year.  For that I am thankful. 

Now I have more race...the big one!  The Bay State Marathon is on October 21st. 

You can still sponsor me by making an online donation at the link below until October 1st.  After that you can mail in a check to address is below!

Donate here:
http://nsmcgiving.partners.org/nealgrasso

or, mail a check here:

North Shore Cancer WALK/RUN
Development O ce
81 Highland Avenue
Salem, MA 01970

Thanks again!  Wish me luck next month!

A Runner's Prayer

The following was the opening prayer at church a few weeks ago.

Divine Physician, healer of bodies and souls, stretch out your hand and touch us.  Recreate us in your own image, and restore us in Christ, so that we may run the race and receive the prize of everlasting life.

While I realize this prayer has a deeper meaning than running, I couldn't help but adopt this payer as my own running prayer.  The way I look at it I'm doing more than just running.  My prize is not simply a metal, or a personal best time.  My prize is not my own, it's the families that will benefit from my efforts.  The ultimate prize is everlasting life.  I'd give up some of that everlasting life if I could help someone else live a little longer, and a little more comfortably in this life.  It's the least I can do.

What are you doing?  Get out and run!  Do something incredible!

Taking Stock

As of today, September 7th, and since June 1st, I have done the following:

• Run: 264.53 miles
• Bike: 198.03 miles
• Swim: 6.19 miles

This adds up to a total of 468.75 miles and 65.36 hours of training.

Not bad!  Kind of puts this entire effort into perspective.  It will be interesting what this all adds up to once I run the final race on October 21st.  Now, this is still small potatoes compared to what professional athletes do, but it's pretty good for an amateur runner, father of two, with a 40 hour plus/week job.

This is where the training = sacrifice.  It's more than just the three races (which add up to 42.44 miles). It's the whole training program. 

So, if you are thinking about donating, but have not, consider these numbers.  If you have donated, and you want to donate more, consider what all this training is worth, and the ultimate cause...helping families who are struggling to care for a loved one with cancer.  I am training for these families, as well as for those I know personally, who are or have struggled with cancer.  Keep that in mind.  I know I do!

Happy running!

Hard is good

A difficult challenge is hard.  Overcoming a difficult challenge feels good.  Therefore, hard = good.  I can lay it out like a math problem.  If, C = Challenge, H = Hard, and G = Good, then:

C = H

C = G

so

H = G

It's that simple.  I've done some hard workouts lately.  20 miles on Saturday.  A 10 mile bike ride on Monday.  Almost 6 miles yesterday, which involved running 1200 meters (3/4 of a mile) at a sprint pace, four times in a row, with little rest in between.  Finally, a 16 mile bike ride today.  All where hard.  All were good! 

The running was harder than the biking.  But, despite the difficulty, when I was done, I felt great.  I kept telling myself that hard is good.  I kept telling myself 'if others, who face more adversity than I do, could do greater things, I surely can do this'.  It's all about perspective. 

Running 26.2 miles is hard, for sure, but there are those in life who have done much harder things.  I can start listing them here, but this entry would not end if I did.  Suffice to say, if you were to take 5 minutes and think about what could be harder than running 26.2 miles, you wouldn't be finished when your time was up.  I think about this every time I head out for a run, or hit the gym.  You should too next time you face a challenge.  It may be hard, but hard is good!

Running and Overcoming Adversity

Running can teach you ways to overcome adversity.  In fact, I just finished a book by ultra marathon runner Scott Jurek, entitled Eat and Run (a great book, which I highly recommend).  In his book Scott described a four step method he uses for dealing with issues, such as injuries, that come up during training or a race.  This method could be applied to any aspect of life, so I thought I would share it here.

The four steps are:

1. acknowledge how you feel;
2. take stock of your situation; 
3. think about how to remedy the situation; and 
4. separate negative thoughts from reality. 

Seems pretty straight forward.  Lets look more closely.

Acknowledge How You Feel
Are you angry, sad, disappointed?  Is there pain?  Is it unbearable?  It's OK to express how you feel and accept it, no matter how strong or weak the emotion.  The important thing is to recognize your feelings and comprehend them.

Take Stock of Your Situation
Objectively evaluate your situation.  List the positive and negative aspects of your situation.  Assess what you have at your disposal to continue on and reach your intended goal.  This is your opportunity to list the who, what, when, where of your situation.

Think About How to Remedy the Situation
Now that you have acknowledged your feelings, and you have objectively evaluated the facts, you can figure out what to do next.  How are you going to reach your goal?  What is your game plan?  How do you implement that game plan?  This is where strategy comes into play.  The better your strategy the more likely you will achieve your goal.

Separate Negative Thoughts from Reality
A game plan is only 1/3 of the solution.  The other 2/3s are implementation and positive attitude.  Implementation is easy.  You have a plan, now do it.  However, if you have any doubts, you may not be able to effectively implement your plan.  So, you need to eliminate your doubts and move forward with out any hesitation.  If you have effectively done steps 1 through 3, you can tell yourself that the reality is that you have a plan, your are ready to go, and you know you can do it.  Keep those negative thoughts out of your head, maintain a positive attitude, and you are more likely to succeed. 

Running can be so much fun!  Life is like a good long run.  You should enjoy every minute of it...the beauty, the challenge, and the success!  Run happy, and have fun!

Its been a while...

So, it's been a while since I posted.  I've been a little busy, but that's OK.  Allow me to recap:

• 8/15 - Went to Wisconsin for business and ran 5 miles along Lake Superiror.  What a spectacular run!  The mist off the lake first thing in the morning was absolutely stunning.
• 8/17 - Ran 8 miles at a very strong pace.  I was very pleased with my speed and will continue working on that.  I think I may have a decent time in the marathon.  I guess the training is paying off.
• 8/19 - Ran 12 miles like it was nothing.  It felt really good, and once again I ran at a very good pace.

This week, I'm gearing up to run 17 miles on Sunday.  So far so good!


On another note, I've been reading a new book.  Terry Fox, His Story.  Terry Fox was a young athlete in Canada who was diagnosed with bone cancer and lost his leg at mid thigh.  With a prosthetic leg he ran across Canada in 1980 to raise money for cancer research.  He called it the Marathon of Hope.  His path was to run over 5300 miles from St. Johns, Newfoundland to the Pacific coast.  He made it to Thunder Bay, Ontario (3339 miles) before he had to stop for health reasons.  Terry died in 1981 due to complications from cancer.  Since 1981, the Annual Terry Fox Run has taken place across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

The book contains excerpts from Terry's personal diary.  On April 26th 1980 he wrote "I want to set an example that will never be forgotten.  It is courage and not foolishness.  It isn't a waste."

Terry's selfless, relentless, running is more inspiring than you can possibly imagine.  If he can run 3339 miles, in tremendous pain, I'll be fine.  Besides, it's a selfless act that I am performing for others.  It isn't a waste.

Be inspired!  Run and have fun!  Run for someone else!  It isn't a waste!