Gore Runs a Marathon

For my 2012 New Years Resolution I dedicated myself to run at least 2 miles a day. For 2013 I'm taking on the ultimate goal for a runner. Run a marathon October 13th 2013 I'll be running the Chicago Marathon. This page will keep you up to date with with my training. I've been asked this question a lot, what is the app that I use to track my runs. I use the Nike+ app It is free in the appstore and I think is one of the best on the market.

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2013 New Year's Resolution Complete. Officially a Marathoner.

On October 13th, 2013 at 7:32 am I started my adventure to complete my New Year’s Resolution. 3 hours 18 minutes and 6 seconds later I completed my 2013 New Year’s Resolution.

I’ve run a Marathon. Not just any marathon, but the Chicago Marathon one of the six marathon majors.

It was the most exhilarating, emotional, and exhausting experience of my entire life. The training had paid off and now I can officially call myself a marathoner adding it to the list of triathlete, and half-marathoner.

Packet pickup was a breeze, with all the new security measures in place due to the tragedy in Boston necessary measures were put in place, such as picking up your own packet and checking your gear in a clear bag provided by the organizers. I swiped the QR code on my participant guide and when I arrived at my station they had it all ready for me. Seeing the massive amount of vendors was awe inspiring and I made a few purchases while I was there. The race was just a day away.

I awoke at 4:45 in the morning to little sleep more giddy and excited that the day finally arrived; I hopped in the shower and got dressed ready w/ Jess to meet my parents at the train station. The one sign that my mom had brought with made sure I knew I would see them on course. After meeting them we walked to Roosevelt University to meet with Jake so we could walk, check my gear and get in our last minute prep. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for a fall day and marathon 60 degrees, not a cloud in the sky and no wind.

We arrived at the corral right around 7:20 as they closed. Jake had planned on trying to qualify for Boston, I knew I wouldn’t be that fast so I had made arrangements the previous day to pace with a teammate of mine named Chuck. Unfortunately for me with a TON of people wearing a Neon Yellow tank top it made it difficult to find him in the corral. Just a few short minutes later Jake and I were off and I tried to find Chuck in a sea of people. Luckily for me just a mile into the race I found Chuck! Working with him provided the perfect pace, I knew he was looking to finish around 3:20 and I was looking between 3:15 and 3:20. I got to Mile 2 where I knew Jess and my parents were going to be and saw my mom’s sign ZACH in Neon Green letters ran by them, waived and then went on my way. The first couple miles seemed to go by very quickly.

Chuck and I made the turn to Lincoln Park, onto Sheridan and Inner Lakeshore up to Lakeview and saw my old neighborhood. It reminded me of where I was at last year at the same time, making the decision to run a marathon in 2013. Seeing all the signs, drunk people from the night before, the boys dressed up as cheerleaders, the ROTC members twirling “guns” all of it made this stretch funny and great.

We made our way further south into Old Town where Fleet Feet Sports provided the aid station. Elvis on stage, Dave Zimmer the owner watching along, John Moloznik, Catherine Moloznik and Mark Colpoys all were providing support. John Sliva wearing a Rainbow Afro passing out water seeing other #RunChi teammates helping Chuck and I along the way. We got back downtown and made it to the halfway point. I saw Jess and my family there again blew them some kisses, shot them a smile and was back on my way again.

Chuck started telling me about 16 miles in that if he started slowing down don’t wait. I wanted to be sure to help pace him but I knew he was dealing with a bit of a foot issue. Around mile 17 I starting losing him unfortunately and was out on my own. I finally saw Jess and my parents one last time at Mile 17 before I hit the final 9 mile stretch.

Mile 20 I hit Chinatown. This is an area I would never expect to go to on my own I really felt like I was dropped in Beijing. This is the area where people start hitting the wall and I saw it firsthand. A lot of people stopping the stretch, to walk, and to make sure they could finish. The smell of Dim Sum was in the air and wasn’t what I needed to smell, I nearly felt sick to my stomach smelling that so early in the morning. This was probably one of the coolest places on the marathon course just because it shows the ethnic diversity that one minute you’re in Pilsen a traditionally Mexican community and the next thing you know you’re in Chinatown.

I was anticipating Mile 23 for one reason. BEER! I was informed by two people who had run before to look out for it and take it, you’ll want it. I took advantage and it was what I needed, something a bit different than water, Gatorade, and gels. The one sign I saw that stuck out with me here was one that said “you’re at mile 23.1 just a 5k left” that put it in my mind that I was almost done and what’s another 25 minutes of running.

The torturous part was getting to Mile 25.2, letting you know you have just one mile left. I would almost rather not know what I have left to do, keep my head clear for the finish. I know the course; I know making the turn on Roosevelt and making the climb up “Mount Roosevelt” I don’t have much to go. I didn’t know it but Jess was at Mile 26 with cow bells ringing and screaming for me to go and push for the finish, I wish I would have seen her and heard her! I was tortured yet again with an 800 meter sign, I start clapping and thanking the supporters who have cheered each and every one of us towards the finish. Then one by one the countdown began 400 to go, 300 to go, 200 to go, 100 to go. Finally arms raised, screaming at the top of my lungs I had finished running 26.2 miles.

My next thoughts were how sore I was, but also thinking when is my next one. I picked up my bag, walked to find my parents and Jess. They all had the biggest smiles on their face seeing me afterwards knowing that I accomplished something 2 years ago I didn’t think would have been possible. Jess gave me the biggest hug imaginable and I loved every second of it not wanting to let go. We all hopped in a cab and took my parents to the train while Jess and I walked home, ordered pizza and relaxed.

All in all what an unbelievable way to cap off racing season! What’s next you ask? Only time will tell.  Another marathon is on the list and two major goals. Qualify for Boston and Run the 6 Majors.

Seeing my family at Mile 2

Seeing the fam at mile 23

Mile 17

Mile 17

All finished!! Officially a Marathoner!

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Bib pinned ready to go #CM13 #RunChi @fleetfeetchgo

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One. It’s finally here. Tomorrow I #OwnChicago #RunChi #CM13

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One. CM13 is here.

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Final Countdown. Starting line #CM13 #RunChi

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9 days. The starting line. #RunChi #CM13

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8 days. Weather looks to be perfect. #RunChi #CM14

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Chicago Triathlon Recap

Some people are great swimmers, some great cyclists, and some great runners. What happens when you combine all three and have an individual give it their all in one morning? You have the sport ofTriathlon.

As a young kid I remember watching the Ironman World Championships from Kona, Hawaii on NBC thinking how amazing of an accomplishment it would be to complete a triathlon. I was able to finish my first sprint in 2007 in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. My second sprint in 2012 in Naperville, Illinois. This past weekend I stepped up to the plate and completed my first International distance triathlonhere in the Second City.

I toyed with the idea of completing my 3rd triathlon earlier this year but I didn’t want to do another sprint. I’ve come to this conclusion with running races as well. I’m over running the 5k distance and am growing the dislike the 10k as well. I want to push myself physically and mentally when I’m competing in a race. So finally I signed up for the gem of the Triathlon weekend in Chicago, the Lifetime Fitness Chicago Triathlon.

Preparations for this race came a little different for me. I’m currently in the process of training for the Chicago Marathon so running feels like it’s taking over. I’m not swimming as much as I once since I canceled by gym membership and now that my commute to work is a 5 minute walk rather than a 15 mile bike ride round trip I had to start adding in swims and bikes into my routine. I don’t work until later in the day on Tuesday and Wednesday I decided to incorporate a swim and bike in the morning to get training going.

The running I’ve got down, that is always been my strongest discipline but after a 1,500 meter swim and 40K bike how would I handle a 10K and in 85 degree weather none the less. I arrived at Monroe Harbor around 4:30 am after the transition opened to get my bike settled in and my transition station set up. One of the more unique things about the transition at Chicago is that you don’t have a specific transition station; you just have racks based on waves. I found this different than the other two triathlons I’ve been in. I saw Jake and we racked up right next to each other. The one downside about this triathlon is that amount of time we had to kill between transitions being closed and the start of our wave. Jake and I had just over 3 and a half hours to kill. Luckily for us his wife and some friends were racing in the sprint so we got a chance to see them and cheer them on.

Finally 9:14 am and we hopped into Lake Michigan and treaded water for the next two minutes before the gun went off at 9:16 and we started the 1,500 meter swim. The funny thing about this is that 1,500 meters was going to be the longest open water swim I’ve ever completed, just 5 days before I did a 1,000 meter swim and felt good so I figured I was ready. The swim is usually the weakest event for everyone unless you’re an Olympic triathlete or swam your entire life. I’m neither but I’ve been a decent swimmer. I was able to get through the swim and make the quarter mile jog to the transition area, which was another thing I wasn't used to. The last two I've run the transition has been right outside the swim exit.

I got to the transition and grabbed my helmet and my bike and I was off for the second leg the 40K bike. Now I'm one who will never race w/ new shoes or equipment but I broke my own rule and had purchased a new Trek Speed Concept 2.5 just a week before. I was able to take it for 2 rides before I raced on it. This bike gave me such a better competitive advantage being in a better aero position and being on a bike that was fitted to me. I did run into one issue. I ended up popping my rear tube with just under a mile left so I rode it out rather than change it.

I nursed my bike to my transition and got going on my run. I had a nice little cheering section as I left the run to see my friends Mike, Juila, and Emily but most importantly my amazing girlfriend Jess! I was off for my 10K and had a great first mile at 7:34 but just a little bit later I starting hitting a major wall Being able to see friends Rachel and Jake on course helped me along the way. I started cramping up in the extreme heat and was having issues with my Achilles but I was finally making up to the last straight and finished strong.

I was exhausted. But I was so excited that I finished it gave me a lot more confidence going into the Chicago Marathon in just over a month from now. I'm ready to see how I do in a 26.2 mile race and hopefully finish sub 3:30 for my first. I can only go up from there!

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Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon Recap

Race #4 of 2013 is in the books and I've said it before by a minute or by a second a PR is a PR.

The 2013 Rock N Roll Half Marathon was again another great race on my schedule. After attending the Jason Aldean concert at Wrigley Field last night and donating a pint of blood earlier in the week I wasn't sure how I would react and how well I would race.

My runs leading up to this race have been very sluggish. The heat and humidity contributed to this but I was told by the attending nurse who drew my blood that it can take weeks in order for my blood levels to get back to normal and that I should have waited to donate! Oh well!

Attending packet pickup at McCormick Place was as usual smooth as silk. A lot of products being promoted and new products to try. I wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible since I had a half day at work. 

The one thing I find hilarious about this race is the size of the bib. I mean it is HUGE it takes up nearly all of my singlet, I'm sure they could make it smaller if they wanted to but I can't complain too much it is still a great race and well organized.

After seeing a great concert the previous night my alarm went off way too early at 3:15 in the morning for the 6:30 am start. I'm happy that this race started early in that the temperature was perfect, it wasn't too hot or wasn't too cold. Also on the plus side is that this race will end early for everyone. It makes for a nice rest of the day to relax. 

Starting out in Corral 2 I did my typical thing and went out way too fast. I hate that about myself that I always end up going out too fast and then crash towards the end of the race. Being that it was my 2nd half marathon I wasn't sure how I would do. I didn't go along with any of the pacers because the 1:30 pace group was in the corral in front of me and the 1:35 pace group was in the corral behind me so I was in the middle. I should have dropped back to corral 3 to go along with the 1:35 pace group. Lesson Learned. I'll be ready for the Chicago Marathon. 

The one thing I didn't remember about this course was the amount of inclines there were! This again will get me prepared for the Chicago Marathon in 3 months. The one thing I always do is countdown the mileage I have left in the race this keeps me mentally in check. At the last quarter of a mile I saw a guy who was walking and I knew he needed a pick me up so I told him it was time to get ready to sprint and to keep up with me. I was sprinting the last quarter mile and I'm sure glad I did. 

I finished with a new PR by 5 seconds with a time of 1:37:30. I finished 488 out of 18,755 Runners 76th out of 1171 in my age group and 380th out of 6799 men. I'm ecstatic of my finish. Although I finished 130 places lower than I did last year there were 3000 more entrants in 2013. Although I haven't felt well at all since I finished the race today my stomach has been giving me issues all day and I can't say this makes me too happy! My marathon training continues this week and I'm ready to go!

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12 Runners, Nearly 200 Miles, over 24 hours of straight running, 310 Road Kills (More on that Later) from Madison to Chicago I was part of a team that finished the Ragnar Relay Chicago.

When I saw the finish of Ragnar last year when I was on a run I knew it was a race I wanted to get involved in. Jake mentioned to me late in 2012 how he wanted to get a team together, I told him I was absolutely in. After nearly a year of planning the day was finally upon us to start in Madison, Wisconsin and run to Chicago, Illinois.

Jake and I made the trek out to O'Hare to pick up our two vans that would be our chariots, beds, our table for meals, etc. We got back to his place and Van 1 loaded up and got up to Madison. I was part of Van 2 and we weren't going to be starting our part of the run till later on in the afternoon. 

Van 2 got up to Lake Mills where exchange 6 was, right when we got there we got a little surprise, my first leg initially only 7.4 miles was extended 4 additional miles to 11.4 due to a bridge being out on the trail. My jaw was on the ground.

What can you really do, we were given the option to make a switch of runners out at any point that was something I would decide on course. Once we heard this we made a game plan of what to do while we waited for our #6 Runner Kenny to had off to me. I told my van to meet me around where I would be 8 miles into my leg to see how I was feeling and we could go from there.

I got the handoff from Kenny and I was off. The first portion of my run was on some streets and moved onto a trail which was nice and covered in shade. After Mile 3 I hit the aid checkpoint and made my first road kill (for those who have never heard of Ragnar a road kill is when you pass someone on course). This is where we made the switch to the road that extended the leg. I was battered by the sun and was glad I had my hand held bottle filled with gatorade, I certainly needed it. Once I got to mile 8 I saw my teammates outside the van, I yelled to them all I wanted was a bottle of water and I would be good. It was the best bottle of water I've had in a long long time. Less than 4 miles after that I was done with my first leg. 

We Finished our other 5 legs and handed things off back to Van #1 and were off to our next meeting point. We arrived at around midnight w/ still no sleep luckily I was able to get a somewhat real meal in my stomach which helped a ton for my 2nd leg. A nice hot bowl of spagetti and meatballs hit the spot. I tried to get any bit of sleep that I could which was actually none. I was able to close my eyes for a while but didn't get any sleep. Just a short time later I needed to get up and get ready for my 2nd leg...at 2 am, in 40 degree weather. 

My 2nd leg was actually my fastest and most fun, This took place half on sidewalks and half on a beautiful although pitch black cement trail. I ended up having 9 road kills on my "short" 5.7 mile leg. I felt really good since I don't mind running in the cold I pushed myself hard and finished my leg fast and handed off to Monica for her 2nd leg. After finishing up our legs we made the transition to van #1 again and a beautiful sunrise in Racine, Wisconsin.

Exchange #30 was where I started my last leg in North Chicago my legs were absolutely exhausted and I just pushed as much as I could to finish the last 6 miles of my leg. My times started to get so slow in my last two miles as I gave it everything I had. This leg had the sun beating down on me, insanely hot and I was just drenched in sweat after I finished. I had 8 more kills and sprinted to the last exchange where I passed things off to Monica for the last time. 

Finally we met up with our other half in Van 1 at Montrose beach and waited for our last runner Josh to get on the trail where we would join him to cross the finish line. I called Jess and she was already waiting at the finish with my teammates and I couldn't have been more excited to see her! We saw Josh and we all started sprinting to get one last kill and finish as quick as we could. 

Overall what an experience. Our goal was to finish first and foremost. Having a later start time meant that we were going to be competitive. How competitive we didn't know.

Well we found out our unofficial results today. For team Run Fast I Just Fartlek'd our total time was 24 Hours 36 Minutes 41 Seconds which was 1st for our starting wave. 6th in our division (Men's Open...Note we had 4 women on our team as well!) and 14th Overall of 448 teams.

It was an experience I'll never forget. 

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Happy Memorial Day weekend from Chicago. Race #2 on the year is in the books and the 10th Annual Fleet Feet Sports Soldier Field 10 Mile still is one of my favorite races I'll run. So well organized, possibly the best finishing line of any race that I'll run and such amazing support for our Veterans and current members of the Armed Forces. 

I'm very fortunate that my amazing girlfriend Jess who is coming off an injury was able to run her first race of the year. She hasn't been running in almost a month so she was wondering what the layoff and recovery would do to her injury. I told her take her time, don't try to break any records, and if you don't feel well take yourself out of the race. No sense in trying to be a hero and hurting yourself again.

We picked up Jake and Julia and made our way down to Soldier Field after dropping our stuff off at the Fleet Feet Racing Team tent we were all ready to go one last kiss goodbye for Jess and I and her words of wisdom "Run Fast" and we were ready.

We were off, the one thing I always manage to do is a countdown in my head after the first mile to remind myself how much longer I have to go. Jake took off and Julia and I started pacing each other for the first mile or so and she took off. I wanted to be at a pace of 7 minutes a mile, the first few miles were sub 6:45 pace so I knew I had some time banked if I needed to back off a bit on the 2nd half. After the turnaround I started looking for Jess. I was so excited to see her running down Lakeshore Drive, screamed out her name and gave her a wave and started to go faster. The headwind coming back up north wasn't as bad as last year when I ran it for the first time.

The scenery as always was gorgeous it's always beautiful running south and having the Chicago skyline in your view. Once you see Soldier Field in your view you know the finish is close and it's time to give it all you've got. 

The jitters that I always get running down through the tunnel I started sprinting to made sure I PRed. Screaming and excited I crossed the finish line on the 50 yard line.

After PRing my first race of the year I was primed again to PR for my 2nd race of the year. My goal for the 2013 was to obviously beat my previous record of 1:14:40, I could have beaten it by a second and been happy. I absolutely CRUSHED my PR by over 5 minutes. 

370th overall, 316th Male Finisher, 88th in my Divison. Top 3% of finishers! 1:09:11 and a 6:56 pace! 

After I finished I was able to be waiting on the course to see Jess make her way towards the entrance of Soldier Field and to sprint into the stadium to see her finish! I'm so impressed and proud of her after not running for a month to finish a 10 mile race at a 9:14 pace! 

Post race was made all that much better with a Free 312 from Goose Island and Soul Asylum! Overall this is still such an amazing race. Now it's time for 2 weeks off of racing before Ragnar Chicago!

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Thoughts on Boston

It's now been 3 days since the tragedy that happened at the Boston Marathon. I've been debating since then on how to post about this. It's unbelievable to think that someone would be cowardly to attack an event that contains but multiple religions and international competitors and innocent individuals including the three individuals that were tragically killed.

I had a few friends who were both running and cheering on individuals. One of whom was producing the marathon for NBC and just 50 yards from one of the bomb sites and 100 from the other. Luckily all of them are all safe and sound. My mother also had a friends daughter and her fiance at the site in front of the bar who managed to go inside right as the bomb exploded. The daughter was a nurse and one of the first responders on site whereas the fiance was brought in for questioning and was separated without knowing where each other was at. 

This is such a sad and tragic event, the running community all over the world has banded together in spite of these events to come together for the city of Boston and all runners. I've been asked has this event will cause me to stay away from running the Chicago Marathon which will have close to 1.5x the amount of runners. I've told them absolutely not. This event won't deter any of us from running and we all still run for the city of Boston. I think this motivates all runners to stand strong. I am proud to still be ready to run Chicago for everyone who tragically lost their lives in Boston. 

I had both my mother and my girlfriend's mother getting in touch with me Monday night to let me know that they were thinking of me because of my running and glad I hadn't qualified for the marathon otherwise I would have been finishing right around that same time that the explosions would have happened. I think this event has also motivated me to run more marathons. I'm now going to put my name in the hat for the first time for the NYC Marathon.

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Good Evening from a beautiful night here in Chicago!

Just over a year ago I was racing my first competitive race in over two years. I didn't know what to expect last year I just wanted to go out and run fast. 

2013 brought me back to the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle and the opening of racing season here in Chicago.

This time around I was ready with a full season of races under my belt in 2012, new teammate and friends ready to put up a new PR fully ready with what to expect on raceday. 

I arrived with my boy Jake early Sunday morning to get prepped for the race. We both knew the course, and knew what to expect and were raring to go. Compared to last year when I started in Corral D I had qualified for Corral A just one step below the Elite racers. I was ready to be competitive with some of the best racers in the country.

Although I'm not a huge fan of shorter distance races this is a great one since it's not a short 5K and not a 10K where you need to reserve a bit of energy it's nice to be able to still go all out and fast as you can. I love this race simply for the fact that it's on the streets of Chicago and the great scenery. 

I had a very fast pace to start off this year and I felt like I went out way too fast. I could tell early on that I wasn't in complete race shape. My last race of 2012 was a 10K at a 6:32 pace so I was a little disappointed that my pace was only a 6:44 pace. I know I could have been faster, but for the first race of the season knocking 3:30 off my time last year I can't complain. I just need to top this next year and be closer to race shape. AKA down 10 pounds and consistently running 5 days a week.

This is where speed work comes into play and Fleet Feet Sports on Monday and Wednesday Nights will help out! If you're in Chicago check it out http://www.fleetfeetchicago.com/race-ready--intro-to-speedwork-pages-234.php and check out the Ravenswood 5K where proceeds go to charity and free pancakes!! http://www.fleetfeetchicago.com/ravenswood-run--a-neighborhood-5k-event-77.php Check it out!!

You'll be hearing more from me soon.

In the mean time check out my friends and I from the Fleet Feet Chicago #RunChi team with our 5 on 5 top racing moments. http://ffcheer.posterous.com/runchi-5-on-5-memorable-moments-in-running-95959

Note: First two Photos courtesy of Angelica Guerrero and Lyndsey Marino

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Good morning from a chilly and overcast Saturday morning here in Chicago. After many runs on the treadmill recently It was time to get out and run outside. Even though the weather here in Chicago has been pretty poor. It has snowed the past 3 days and has been making running outside difficult. I knew that today I want to go on a good long run no matter what the weather was. Although it was chilly I was able to get a nice and long 8.25 mile run today.

Since I haven't been running as much as I was last year my pace has dipped a little bit but I'm sure when the weather warms up and I get back down to racing weight I'll be able to get my pace back down.

As I mentioned in one of my last posts I had some exciting news to share. Well now I have that news to share! I've been asked by Fleet Feet Sports to become part of their #RunChi team I'll be posting here more often about events and races at Fleet Feet while being able to promote health and running in Chicago. You can follow along with the #RunChi team by searching for the #RunChi hastag on twitter, or by following my personal twitter account @zrieger2 and Fleet Feet Chicago's twitter handle @fleetfeetchgo. If you would like to meet up with us for some fun runs and some of the events at Fleet Feet's event Calendar here http://www.fleetfeetchicago.com/event-calendar-pages-6.php

Happy Running!

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The first step in running a marathon is registering.

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Guess who's back!

I first want to apologize for the lack of posts I've put here the past month. I took a week off for the beginning of 2013 and after my first run in 2013 in January I managed to get hurt and needed to take another week off now I'm back to running more. I'm not back to the pace and distances that I'm used to but I'm back in the mode of running. I have been out for 3 days in a row now and am going to keep at it. 

The weather has been awful here and I've been relegated to the gym for most of my runs but today I was able to get back out for a run of 4.25 miles although it was cold and rainy it was great. I can't wait for the warm weather of Maui from Wednesday to Sunday next week. I've been dying for some warm weather to run in! 

I've got some exciting news that I'll be able to share shortly once I get the okay. I can't wait to get the race season started here shortly with the Shamrock Shuffle in April and I'm concentrating on more endurance/long distance races this year rather than 5/10K's 

Obviously the major goal for me this year is the Chicago Marathon. But I'm ready for the journey ahead!

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Today I rest...

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December 31st, 2012. It's the day that I've been counting down to since January 1st, 2012. 366 days that have absolutely changed my life. My twelve month marathon is now complete. If you would have told me everything that I've accomplished, new friends that I've met, races I've completed and placed in. I would have told you that you were lying. I'm so grateful for my amazing friends and family that have supported me through this incredible journey. 

By taking on such a daunting task I never would have imagined where my life would go this year. Lost an incredible amount of weight, changed jobs, gained many amazing new friends, found the absolute love of my life, and most of all ran. Ran at least two miles a day for 366 days straight. I'm still going to remember that first run January 1st, 2012 all 217 pounds of me hungover, exhausted, and dreading the idea of going to run. It was the absolute worst run of the 366 days, but it was the start to something incredible.

My final run of the 366 came today. I was so excited to finish with a great 4.2 mile run, which a great pace, I wanted to be sure to have a nice scenic run on the last day of the year which i'm fortunate to have off from work. 

Now the final totals for December and my final totals for 2012. In December I ran a total of 131.47 miles, burned a total of 18,530 calories and run for a total time of 16 hours 25 minutes and 26 seconds. Now the final totals for 2012. I ran a total of 1,707.87 miles, burned 257,243 calories, and ran for a total time of 226 hours 38 minutes and 18 seconds. An average of 1.25 marathons per week or 32.84 miles a week. An average of 4.69 miles per day. My starting weight of this journey was 217 pounds and I finished off weighing in at 165 pounds for a total weight loss of 52 pounds. I feel excelent and I can't wait for what the future brings. 

I want to thank everyone at Asics, Brooks, Mizuno, Under Armour, Saucony, and last but not least Nike for some amazing running products. Also my friends from Fleet Fleet Sports for sponsoring the amazing race team that I'm a part of. Last but not least my friends and family who have shared in this journey I couldn't have done it without you. 

What's on deck for 2013? As you may have noticed I've mentioned a key word a few times in this post. It'll be my biggest running accomplishment to date and I wouldn't be more excited for October 13th, 2013 as I run with 45,000 other competitors for 26.2 miles in the Chicago Marathon! Stay tuned to this page, I'll be changing the name of this tumblr with my training for the Chicago Marathon as well as my races for 2013 including Ragnar, Rock n' Roll Half and many, many more!

Happy Running!

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December 26th-30th