#5/10 Seaside Heights Half Marathon - Jersey Shore, Sunday, October 18th, 2009

So I woke up to a rainy Sunday morning (do you remember it?? it poured all weekend!!!) and hit the turnpike to Seaside Heights for thier 32nd annual Half Marathon. The rain slowed me down, a wrong turn sure didn't help, and I found myself searching for a parking spot as close to Sumner Ave and the Boardwalk as I could manage. I found a spot at 9:59, the race was supposed to start at 10:00, so I expected I was in trouble but hoped the gun would go off a few minutes late because of the weather. As I jogged to the boardwalk I was soon disapointed when I saw the field of runners pass by up ahead. (Yes, I was late to the start of a race that started at 10:00) I figured I would skip race number pickup and when I made it to the Boardwalk I hung a right and just kept on going.....



The tail end of the field of runners up ahead running by....

There they are up ahead.... I have some catching up to do. Maybe I should stop taking pictures and start chasing them??

I caught up to some of them at the booths (closed for the winter) of Funtown Pier.

The race heads South on the boardwalk to the end of the Seaside Heights section, then goes out to Route 35 and into Island Beach State Park.

Once in the park, the majority of the race runs along the access road through the State Park. Despite the rainy weather, I was warm and running at a decent clip. Years of running at the beach told me to expect a much different experience coming back to other way. A cold headwind was coming...

I love small hometown races. The lead vehicle was a guy from the Ocean Running Club on his mountain bike.

A nice and simple turnaround. Out and back runs can be a bit disheartening when you hit the halfway point, simply turn around, and still have to do it all over again.

Check out this fox up ahead....

There he is.

Back on the boardwalk along the dunes.

And back to and past Funtown Pier.

We finished on the boardwalk overlooking the ocean.

Quite a different outfit than the t-shirt and shorts I wore just 7 days earlier in Staten Island.

# 4/10 Staten Island Half Marathon - Sunday, October 11th, 2009

For my 4th race, I drove up to Seacaucus, NJ, to pay a long overdue visit with Ronc and Christine. I arrived Saturday Morning, we caught up for a few minutes, and then Christine dropped Ronc and I off at the train station and we headed into the city for packet pick-up and some catching up.....

Ronc and Christine at thier place in Secaucus, NJ



Just an 8 minute train ride to Penn Station, right under the Garden.

Subway Uptown.....

to packet pick up at the New York Road Runners Building on East 89th street just a block away from Central Park.

The Met. Ronc and I are big fans of post modern art, but unfortunately we had a busy afternoon ahead of us and didn't have a chance to stop in.

One of the Upper East Side's finest establishments.





Stuffed Burger. Delicious.

Beer Pong on Saturday = Slow Half Marathon Time on Sundee.

Brother Jimmy's BBQ. This place was awesome.



They had a Ski-Ball Machine.

I couldn't believe Mister Softee was driving around the middle of New York City.



Empire State Building....

We took the trains back to NJ, where Christine picked us up, and we went out for a delicous pasta dinner at Lorenzo's.

I had to wake up bright and early in order to catch the train from NJ to Penn Station once again... and took the subway to South Ferry Avenue in order to get the 7:30 Ferry to Staten Island.








A good view of the Statue of Liberty from the Ferry. I know my camera doesnt take the best landscape pictures... but if you look really hard in the background, you can see Liberty State Park and the bridge I ran over in the Liberty Half just 14 days before I took this picture. Check out the blog entry from that race to see the picture I took from the other side of this view.




Wait, what I am doing in New York Again? That's right, the Staten Island Half. The run was well organized and we had great weather. It starts at the Richmond County Minor League ballpark... and is nice and flat as it goes along the water and heads toward the Verrazano Bridge, where the hills start to sneak up on you a bit. It loops around through the neighborhoods of Staten Island before heading back to the ballpark.

A view of the Verrazono bridge from Mile 3. We still need to run all the way to this bridge, a few miles past, and then all the way back. BYM was going to run over it this November for the NYC Marathon but that's ok she'll be back for it next year....

I told you we had to run all the way to this thing... here's a view right before we run under it and head back to the Stadium.

Almost home... a view of the finish area from the walkway above.

The Staten Island September 11th Memorial with the NYC skyline behind it.

Check out this Police Dog working at the Ferry Station! BYM says we can't pet dogs while they are on the clock so I didnt stop to say hi I just waved and took a quick picture.

A view of the bridges on the Ferry ride back...

Thanks to Ronc and Christine for a great weekend. Although its been a ton of fun so far, I'm Looking foward to my first non-overnight weekend in a few weeks with the Seaside Half this Sunday.

# 3/10 Hands on House Half Marathon, Lancaster, PA - Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

I don't mean to start diving into earlier in the week for these blog entries, but I have to tell you that I went to Phillies Game on Wednesday, and saw them clinch the NL East , and it was awesome.

So Moving onto the Half, I took the 4:45 Keystoner from 30th street to Lancaster, where Todd picked me up and took me to a great pasta dinner thanks to his friends Andy and Sandy. We made a quick stop at the Lancaster Brewing Company for a pint before heading to his folks house to stay the night.

30th street station, Philadelphia

Just a 75 mile train ride to Lancaster Brewing Company



Milk Stout and Octoberfest

Despite warnings of rain, the morning cleared up and by the time we arrived at the race it was sunny and clear. The race helps raise money for the Hands on House Children's Museum, "a not-for-profit educational center whose mission is to create and provide interactive learning opportunities for all children and their families".

We meet up with Andy and Sandy once again since Andy was also running, got loose, and went to the start.

The gun went off and before long I was pleasantly surprised that I was moving along at a decent clip without too much effort, despite the fact that I was slowing down to take pictures of other runners, scenery, cows, horses, and a dog who also ran the half. The scenery is great, but let me tell you, its miles of rolling farmland with very little distraction. Its a mentally challenging run. The other challenge came after the turnaround when I realized i was moving along so well on the way out because I was in fact going downhill. The uphills are steep at times, but really just long slow gradual climbs. This is a tough race, but well worth the effort. I'm hoping it helped to put some strength into my legs for the halfs ahead... Congrats to Andy for placing 2nd in his age group and to Todd for finishing 4th and crushing his time goal despite all the hills on his comeback race after fighting a tough battle of his own over the past year.

Me, Todd, and Andy

Running past Lancaster PA cornfields


and Cows.

Check out this guy.

Dog running the half. He beat me.

Lancaster Farmhouse. Check out the runners in the foreground.

Todd and I headed back to Philly and before too long I found myself back where I started....at the Ballpark, for Fan Appreciation day and the final regular season game of the 2008 World Series, 2009 NL East, champs.

Subway to the Ballpark

CBP. Man... what a weekend.

How come the poor Phanatic always loses his clothes on fan appreciation day???