Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Passaic Valley Rotary 5K

or "How an old friend made me do a kick-ass 5K"

At four years in a row now, the Harold M. Schumacher Passaic Valley Rotary 5K River Run is not only the longest named race I have ever run, it is also the race I have done the most times. It is a great course, though not without its tough spots (Hello, hill on Riverview Drive in Totowa!). It has a friendly vibe (mostly locals) and it offers lots of prizes - overall placers, age-group placers and raffles. A trophy or a medal is nice, but 25 bucks in the old pocket, well, that's pretty nice, too.

Since the Nov. 27 was the rescheduled date for the race which was supposed to take place on Oct. 30 but was postponed because of a freak snowstorm, I was not exactly prepared to run a 5K that was on par with the three I had done earlier in the season.

For one thing, I had moved on in my training. No longer doing hard, fast repeats on the track to maximize my short game, I was now training for the Rehoboth Beach Half Marathon (Dec. 10). Not only that, but it was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, man! How the hell do you run a speedy 5K after loading up on food for a weekend?

So I decided to give it the old college try. After all, it was not like I was doing nothing. Surely the work I had been doing for the half marathon (800 and 1600 meter intervals, tempo runs, and long 13+ milers) would count for something.

In the gym at the Little Falls Recreation Center, I was getting warmed up when I heard someone call my name. It was Sarah Schillaci, an old co-worker and occasional running partner from a few years ago. I hadn't spoken with her in a while, so it was nice to know she was still running. She had always been an amazing runner. Do a search for her name at some race results web sites and you will see what I mean. She insisted that she was not at her best and was not expecting much from this race. So when we lined up at the start, I wished her luck and took my place at the front, figuring she would hang farther back.

Clearly, I was overestimating my ability and she was underestimating hers because within 30 seconds she zoomed past me. I thought at first that I was running too slowly and needed to pass her, but I couldn't close the gap.

"The hill," I thought, "I'll pass her on the hill." That hill on Riverview is about halfway through the course. Hills are typically where I make my move and pass people. But no matter how hard I pushed, she was always in front of me, keeping the distance. Crossing Main Street on Union Boulevard, and hanging a left into the residential area on the south side of Little Falls to the second mile marker, I realized it wasn't that I was too slow - it was that she was too fast! She was still the same amazing runner I had remembered, which meant that I was probably running a much better race than I had expected by simply chasing her.

Chase her I did. I stopped thinking that I could close the gap and instead focused on not letting her increase the distance. She was just a few seconds in front of me, so if I could keep her right there, I would end up with a great race. Rounding the corner where Second Avenue meets Wilmore Road and First Avenue, then crossing Main Street onto Maple Avenue, it was a matter of sticking it out until the end. I was wiped out, fatigued. But I pushed as hard as I could to stay right behind Sarah.

She crossed the finish line at 18:43 and I crossed six seconds later. I showed up not expecting much, but because of Sarah, I ran one of my best 5K races ever. Thanks, Sarah! You are awesome!

While I didn't place in my age group at this race due to some stiff competition, I did win a special award for being the fastest Little Falls resident. In addition, I won a gift card as a raffle prize! See how it pays to run your hometown race?

John Samra Memorial 5K

Two years ago, I achieved a personal record at this Clifton race. With the colder weather approaching and my body getting worn out from two months of speed training, this was my last real chance to set a new PR and beat that 18:30 from 2009.
The weather was ideal - cool, no humidity, brisk. I made my bold decision to plant myself in the front of the pack and shot out of the gate at the word "Go." I felt like a fireball as the pack thinned along Colfax Avenue and by the time we made the left turn onto Clifton Avenue, I secured a spot in third place.

Pushing hard up the hill as I crossed Paulison Avenue, I had the second place runner in sight and I knew I would overtake him. I could already see him losing steam in the second mile. Turning through the side streets, I made my move and took hold in second place, never looking back.

Back on Clifton Avenue, I bounded down that same hill and worked my way toward Van Houten Avenue. And when I say "worked," I mean it. The police officers on the sidelines could see my determination and the extra effort I was expending, many of them urging me on, giving me encouragement.

I could not determine if I was in PR range but I thought for sure I was in sub-19 territory, so it caught me off guard as I pushed it to the limit around the last turn into the municipal complex and saw the clock already hitting the 19-minute mark. All I could do at that point was try and stanch the hemorrhaging seconds by continuing to give everything I had, ending up with a respectable but underwhelming 19:10.

But hey, second place overall? A quality run? Who can complain?

To shake off the disappointment, I decided to run the course again, this time at a comfortable pace. Sunday was my long run day, so I was planning on running extra after the race anyway. I enjoyed passing the same cops on the sidelines as they asked in disbelief, "Are you running it AGAIN?" When I finished the second time around, I felt good. But that feeling wouldn't last.

For the second race in a row, I came in second overall and was completely overlooked during the awards ceremony. While standing in disbelief and feeling insulted that I would be neglected again, I actually figured out why it happened. The scoring systems automatically separate out the top three overall, expecting that the organizers will give awards to them. The age group awards then start from the fourth place finisher. At both of those races, they only planned on giving an award to the overall winner and then age group prizes starting with second place. But since the standing sheets already removed the top three from the age group list, the third place finishers and I were counted out!

After a couple of weeks of calls with the Clifton PBA, they finally dropped off my medal at my home. They gave me first place in my age group (just as the Cheshire Home 5K directors did). While that is very nice, I feel cheated because, in both cases, someone else also has the same award. Again, I hate to complain, but I should have a second place overall medal. And maybe the people who have awards they do not deserve should be honest and give them up.

I know it sounds bitchy or petty, but the truth is that I am a regular guy that works really hard training for these races, so if I can manage to pull some hardware, fair and square, the award means a great deal to me.

Friday, December 23, 2011

The Halloween run that wasn't

Seemingly out of nowhere, Mother Nature decided to dump a half a foot of snow on the Northern New Jersey area on Halloween weekend. It just so happens that was the weekend of the annual Passaic Valley Rotary 5K River Run.

On Saturday, Oct. 29, the snow fell hard, fast and heavy. And when I say "heavy", I mean "heavy" and not "heavily" (though it was that, too). The sheer weight of the wet snow collecting on trees and power lines wreaked absolute havoc as both came down at an alarming rate throughout the region. Thousands upon thousands of people were suddenly without electricity. Somehow, I was spared. I was supposed to attend a friend's Halloween party in Demarest, but he had to cancel it. His power went out that afternoon (and didn't come back until days later!). I was all dressed up as Ace Frehley with nowhere to go, though I did end up going to another friend's place in Woodland Park.

When I got up the next morning, I was all set to run my first Halloween race. I reapplied my Kiss makeup and headed to the Little Falls recreation center. But when I showed up, there was no one there. The place was locked up. I headed to the local Dunkin Donuts with my iPad so I could get online and see if there was an update. Sure enough, the race was canceled. Apparently, the roads were a lot worse than I had thought, with ice, snow and dangerous conditions with downed trees and power lines.

There was nothing else to do but head out for my usual long run, then. That's when I was truly able to see the severe damage this freak storm caused. Plus, I got to run in my Halloween costume after all.
When I got home, there was a text message on my phone - "I just saw Ace Frehley running down Main Street."

Thursday, December 22, 2011

The challenge of buying NYE tickets

In October, Phish announced a four-night New Year's run (Dec. 28-31) at their home away from home, New York City's Madison Square Garden.

Phish has done shows at MSG as part or all of their New Year's run eight times. They also did two other MSG runs (October 1996 and early December 2009). Of those 19 shows in 10 visits to the iconic venue, I attended eight shows over seven of the runs. So Phish, MSG and I have always gone well together.

Since this year was a big Phish tour year for me, in which I captured some of the thrills of yesteryear by attending 11 shows in spring and summer, to cap it off with the MSG run would be fitting. To that end, I entered the Tickets By Mail lottery requesting all four shows. I got two - the 28th and 30th.
Dec. 30 is special to me. It was the date of Phish's first ever MSG show, back in 1994 and I was there (floor seats!) with my brother, Ben. It is also the date I have seen Phish more than any other - 1994, 1998, 1999 and 2010.

But New Year's Eve is the Holy Grail of Phish shows. Every phan knows the NYE show is the most theatrical, sometimes the best played, show of the year. I was fortunate enough to attend NYE in 1995 and 1997 at MSG, and flew down to Florida for the Big Cypress 1999 show.

Phish went on hiatus in 2000, so there was no NYE show that year or in 2001. Their not-so-triumphant return was NYE 2002 at MSG. No luck getting tickets to that - they went in minutes and were subsequently scalping in the thousands. 2003 was in Miami and not practical for me at the time (I'd do it in a heartbeat now!), and they broke up for good (so they said) in 2004. Reunited in 2009, they did NYE in Miami again, but I was not sure it was worth it anymore, since they were a rusty shadow of the band I loved.

Everything changed last year. Phish not only became great again, they were better than ever. I will always feel like I missed out on one of their greatest tours, summer 2010, because I had been listening to the 2009 recordings and often cringing at the badness. It was autumn before I listened to the summer 2010 greatness, so I hit a few October shows before trying to get those hot NYE tickets. I was able to see the two excellent Worcester, Mass., shows on 12/27 and 12/28, and the 12/30 MSG show, but NYE was beyond reach again.

Something else had changed in the 11 years since I had been to a NYE show - online ticketing. Back in the day before the internet, Ticketmaster sold tickets through outlets at music stores and it was first come, first served. The more you wanted it, and the earlier you were willing to show up, the better your tickets. I was in college at the time, so you bet I was out there, the day before, sleeping outside the store in the cold, waiting for the doors to open the next day. It paid off with floor seats in 1995 and 1997.

But now, the only way to get tickets, in most cases, is at the awful Ticketmaster website. Tickets went on sale for NYE at 10 a.m. that day in October and the website immediately crashed from the enormous traffic. A few lucky people got through and the rest, of course, went to scalpers both legal and illegal who always get the best tickets in this corrupt system.

I'm happy about seeing two more Phish shows to round out the year, but unless a miracle happens, it looks like I will be missing another New Year's Eve with Phish.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Cheshire Home 5K

For my second 5K of the short-race season, I ran the small, but very friendly Cheshire Home 5K through Florham Park and Madison. It was another hilly course - I could tell while driving to the location, but I was still confident that a PR could be in the cards.



Instead of mile repeats, I was doing eight 400-meter repeats on Wednesdays, shooting for 1:28 or better for each interval. Some times I burned up the track with 1:21; other times, it was a sluggish 1:31. But, mostly, I stayed at or beat my goal. Everything was on track (pardon the pun).

I had registered at the Cheshire Home website, but when I got to Madison High School to pick up my bib, they didn't have me on file. Thankfully, and this is HUGE, the nice woman believed me when I told her I registered and already paid by credit card. If she had made me pay again, that would have soured my whole experience. Big thanks to the staff for being so trusting!

With only a hundred or so people, there was no doubt I should be at the front of the pack and had no trouble getting there. The race began with a flat and downhill stretch that turned a right corner onto another flat straightaway. I bolted out in front, but another runner quickly passed me in the first mile. I stayed hot on his trail, though I could not bridge the small but significant gap.

Another right turn sent us uphill and while I pushed up the hill with all my might, the front runner seemed to be as adept with the hills as I. Completing the rectangular course with one more right turn brought some rolling hills. I still kept the leader in sight, always feeling like I had him in my clutches, but never quite able to catch him. I felt like I lost a little steam and never recovered from that earlier hill and I was right. After cresting the final incline, the clock became visible and I could see, as the winner crossed that it was just past the elusive 18:30 that I can't seem to break. He crossed at 18:33 and I was still pushing through fatigue, finally hitting the finish at 18:44.

Am I going to complain about an 18:44? No way. Am I going to complain about coming in second place overall, even though my first-ever win was actually possible? Not a chance. This was a wholly rewarding race. Afterward, there was a fantastic food spread inside the Cheshire Home and people with whom it was lovely to talk.

I will, however, complain about the second instance of being overlooked in one day. When it came time to announce the overall and age-group winners, they completely forgot about me. They gave a trophy to the winner then proceeded to distribute age-group awards.

"Okay," I thought, "they're not doing Top Three overall, which is unusual, so instead of an award second place overall, I'll get the award for first in my age group."
But instead, the Top Three awards in my age group were given to the three men on their 30s who finished after me! They completely forgot about me!

Look, I know it sounds silly, but I am a sensitive guy. I take it personally when I'm neglected like that. Besides, after bringing it up afterwards, they apologized and gave me a trophy for first in age group. Not the overall silver medal for which I was hoping for, but fair and accurate nonetheless. I mean, five years ago, I had never won a medal or trophy for anything ever in my life. Who am I to quibble at this point?

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Brats

A word to the youngsters who want to participate in adult races: Do not start in the front!

Most of the kids who run 5Ks know enough to hang back because the adults up front are way, way, faster. But at some races, there are the little snot-noses who think they're tough (or just jokesters) and they plant themselves in the front of the starting pack with the adult athletes. These brats need to be controlled and, for some reason, the race directors refuse to do anything about it. And that's too bad because aside from the fact that they will cause serious runners extra seconds in trying to maneuver around them, they really can get hurt, trampled under foot.

Still, the little pukes at the Verona race, in front of me with grins that you just wanted to smack, were saying "yes" when the race director asked them point blank if they could run five-minute miles.

I will probably always wonder whether I could've gotten a PR at that race. I may very well have lost four seconds trying to get around those brats. But I know I only have myself to blame for not grabbing them by the ear and personally dragging them to the back.

After the race, I found one particularly offensive smart aleck...and his mother. I said to the mom, "Are you this boy's mother?" She said she was, so I asked her for a word with her son.

"Is it bad?" she asked.

I proceeded to tell her what happened then politely scolded the boy, right in front of his mom. The lying monster actually denied saying that he could run a five-minute mile. But I hopefully set him and the mom straight.

Bad kid, bad parent. Don't let it be you. If you're a kid, get back. You can't run faster than the adults. If you're a parent and you have a kid like that, shame on you. If you are a race director and you're not controlling this, get it together. Some of us take these races seriously because, really, we don't have much else in life. Your kids have their whole lives in front of them. Me, all I have is this. Don't ruin it for me.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Verona Labor Day Classic 5K

Every Wednesday in August, I was at the track doing three one-mile repeats (with a half-mile jog after each, plus a mile warmup and a mile cooldown). Over the course of a mere four weeks, my mile splits dropped from 6:15-ish to as fast as 5:51 (my fastest ever).

Typically, they hovered around 5:56,  which was exactly my target. If I was going to beat my personal 5K record of 18:30, I needed to do consistent sub-6 miles.

In addition to the Wednesday track work, I was doing tempo runs on Saturdays. I'd start slow, build to 10K race pace (or at least what felt like it), and hold that pace for only about 10 minutes.

Let me tell you, I don't like doing this stuff, but I am a believer. If you do this kind of training, you will get faster.

So I showed up in Verona on Labor Day with a great deal of confidence and a healthy case of the pre-race jitters. It was my first race of the new season and my first short race since New Year's Day.



After picking up my packet, which included an excellent polyester technical shirt, I did my requisite warmups of stretching, jogging and dancing to the Phish song "Party Time". There was a great vibe in Verona Park, despite the gross humidity, as I jogged around, checking out the park (which I have run past numerous times but never ventured into) and the people. Finally, we lined up on Lakeside Drive at Bloomfield Avenue for the start.

Once the signal was given, I was shot out of a cannon. I made the mistake (yet again) of starting too far back and had to weave my way around people who should not have been in the front of the pack.

Finally getting into the front, I pushed my way along Lakeside Drive until the right turn into the residential neighborhood and found myself staring up a sizable hill. I bounded up, passing people along the way. Hills, while unpleasant and sometimes painful, have become a strong point for me. While everyone else is huffing and puffing, I'm making my move.

On the other side of the hill, I was definitely feeling it from the work I had done and it was only the first mile marker. Winding through the quiet streets, there were timers calling out the mile splits. The first mile was well under six minutes; the next, just under thirteen. I was on target for a PR, but it wasn't a runaway (so to speak). It would still require focus and speed.

Luckily, I had to go down that same hill. This was no time to hold back, so I sprinted down the hill, mugging for the photographer, and turned back onto Lakeside. The right turn onto Bloomfield led to another uphill and into the entrance to the park. It was the home stretch and I was pushing with all my might. As I approached the finish line I could see it was going to be close as the seconds ticked away on the clock, ever closer to the 18:30 which I was trying to beat.

No dice. I was mere seconds away, finishing at 18:33, my second-best ever. In addition, my result earned me a first place trophy for my age group and a gift certificate to Fleet Feet running store in Montclair. Still, I couldn't help but think that if I had started in the front of the pack, those three seconds would have disappeared. (More about that in the next post.)


After composing myself and cooling down a bit, I jogged back to the hill near the park entrance and cheered for almost all of the other runners, trying to pep talk them into the home stretch. I tried to encourage a woman who slowed to a walk, telling her she could get up that hill while running, but she said to me, "I can't. I'm not a runner."

My reply to her was what I was told more than five years ago and what I tell everyone who is willing to hear it: "Yes, you are! You are here, at this race, giving it your all. Even if just for today, you ARE a runner!"

Friday, November 25, 2011

Running Around Irene

If you think I let a hurricane get in the way of my running schedule, you are sorely mistaken. That Saturday morning was ominous, as Irene began brewing, but the rain hadn't started yet. I finished my six-mile tempo run minutes before the sky opened up. That night, as the winds picked up, I spent the evening with friends in Clifton, driving home in a gusty, torrential downpour in the middle of the night.

In the morning, as news of flooding and damage spread, I waited for the wind and rain to die down and did my 13.1 mile long run, bringing my camera along to take pictures of any damage. There were some downed trees and branches along my route in Montclair and Cedar Grove, but nothing too terrible.


The next morning, I took a walk through downtown Little Falls, its Singac section, and the border of Wayne. The flooding was terrible. Entire streets underwater, property in ruins.




During the course of the following week, I had to take detours from my usual running routes because the roads were still flooded. It took weeks for some roads like Riverview Drive in Totowa and McBride Avenue in Woodland Park to finally open again.

But through it all, I ran, and I am glad I did. When your feet literally traverse the ground through these areas that got hit so hard, you feel a deeper connection with the gravity of the situation that has befallen it. Especially heartbreaking was seeing the ever-so-slow process of getting Memorial School in Woodland Park in shape to reopen in the middle of September to finally begin its school year.

On foot, you simply notice and care more than behind the wheel. Running before, during and after Hurricane Irene provided meaningful context to such a sweeping disaster.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Welcome (back)!


Somehow you've stumbled upon my blog! Perhaps you stumbled upon my old blog, Heart and Soles, and found the link to this new one. Or maybe you are Eric Mullin, the only person that has ever confirmed that he read my blog. For all I know, Eric, you are the only one. Have you started YOUR blog yet?

Either way, I thank you for sticking around long enough to read this. I hope you stay with me and read some more, especially if you're a runner, a Phish fan, or, like me, both. (Or, if you are Mullin.)

For five years, I wrote my old blog, about the adventures of a newbie runner, for northjersey.com. But, sadly, they lost interest in me so I have now moved to my own space. No longer a newbie, with five marathons completed since 2007, I have a new perspective, new goals, and new challenges.

I am also a huge fan of the band Phish. My first show was June 23, 1993, and I've been to 75 shows since then. I did not write much about Phish in the old blog unless I was going on runs while on Phish tour. But here, I'll get more into the aspects of phandom.

Last thing to know about me - I love to travel the United States, so I have incorporated the things I love into my travel goals:
    - Visit all 50 states. I only have 10 more to go!
    - Run a race, preferably a marathon, in all fifty. All five of my marathons have been in different states (read about it in my old blog's archives), but I have raced in four more.
    - See Phish in all fifty...or at least in as many as they play. They have not yet played in a bunch of states, a fact they pointed out at this summer's Super Ball IX festival where they named the campsites after those states.

So that is where I will start for now. In the coming posts, I will backtrack a bit and write about what has been going on since I last posted to my old blog in August. I hope you stick around. Thanks for reading.

Daniel Galioto