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I  think the blog post title is a song by someone. I was able to hit my third big city marathon this fall – Philadelphia. It was my 5th marathon in ten weeks and I think I have a new favorite one.

When you can run the streets Ben Franklin walked, have friendly Philadelphia police cheering you on, run through the frat house row of one of America’s great colleges, see the Liberty Bell and Constitution Hall, meet a lot of friendly people and end at the famous “Rocky” steps, you’ve had a great day.

Philadelphia wasn’t my fastest or my slowest but it was my most enjoyable marathon experience by myself. Unlike NY, I didn’t have to arrive four hours early. Philly had buses that picked you up at your hotel and take you to the start. It was a great course and a friendly crowd. I absolutely want to do this one again.

If you can make it there you can make it anywhere they say.  I’m running the New York City marathon. How cool is that.

• I was in Long Island on marathon day 1992. I remember because a group of us were heading back to college in Albany and we got delayed because of the NYC Marathon. We all made numerous (negative) comments about the absurdity of running a marathon. Those were pre smart phone days so most of us probably did not know the Marathon distance other than to say it was a long run.

Now, 24 years later my wife dropped me off at 645 am so I could wait four hours to start my run. The NYC Marathon is epic for marathon runners. You run through parts of all five boroughs – starting in Staten Island, before ending in Central Park. You head right out over the Verrazano bridge and you are off.

I had a cold that day but wasn’t going to let that stop me. By the end I was really feeling it. Still, it was THE NYC marathon- the largest in the world. It was a great day.

I had been looking forward to the Chicago Marathon ( https://www.chicagomarathon.com)  since April.  Now, the weekend arrived.  I wasn’t sure how I would do having run a Marathon on September 11 and then just the week before, but Chicago here we are!

Allison and I flew in for a weekend without the kids (sad but also kind of fun).  We stayed at the Residence Inn Downtown Loop – about half a mile from the start.  The race Expo was hard to find but it was a great expo.  We met Deena Kastor (www.DeenaKastor.com) at the expo.  Deena is the American female record holder in the Marathon and won an Olympic Medal at the Athens Olympics in the Marathon – if you’ve got to choose a place to medal in the Marathon, it may as well be where it all started!

The race itself was great.  You run through over 25 of Chicago’s neighborhoods – starting on the Miracle Mile of Michigan Avenue (actually in Grant Park which borders the Michigan).  While the second largest marathon in the United States, I settled in with a nice pace group and talked with a guy from Ireland and numerous other people.

Allison saw me on the course a few times but I only saw her once near the end – although I heard her as well at one point.

I reflected with some emotion about my fall of 2012 visit to Chicago.  It was the same weekend – Columbus Day.   I was nearing my heaviest point.  If you had bet me that the next time I went to Chicago I would either (a) have won the lottery or (b) be running the Chicago Marathon, I would more likely have bet on the lottery.   Seeing some of the same sites that I’d seen four years before, but this time running a marathon was emotional.  That being my 19th marathon you might think I was “used to it” by now.  I’m not.  Not even close.  Running a marathon humbles you in many ways.  Running it in one of America’s great cities even more so.   I am absolutely going to sign up for the Chicago Marathon and hope I get lucky and get selected again.

Marathon running in the summer in New York is not fun – so I generally don’t do it.  Now that the fall has started, I found a small Marathon relatively close to home – about 2 hours away in Binghamton.  The Maine, NY Marathon (Maine is home to the Little League world Champs BTW), was a two loop out and back course with probably 100 half marathoners and  . . . 20 Marathoners.

Marathon link:  http://www.irunforhalfmarathon.com

The organizer of it was a gentleman who was nearly 70 and it was his 100th marathon.  I met another man there who had run over 350 marathons.  Things like this can keep an ego in check fast.  It was a nice course though – the leaves just thinking about changing colors with friendly crowd support.  The local girl scout troops staffed the water stops.  Other stops just had gatorade and water on the table inviting you to help yourself.  There were no bathrooms on the course except for during loops, but thankfully that wasn’t a concern.

The small marathons are nice – very encouraging.  Not sure I would do tho one again, but happy to have done it.

I started walking in the summer of 2013.  Walking was all I could do.  I took my first serious runs outside (meaning more than a few hundred yards!) in March of 2014 in Hawaii.  Nobody knew me so even if I looked downright silly I didn’t care.  By that point I was down about 100 lbs so while still overweight it wasn’t a disaster.

Now, back in Hawaii for my third trip there, I had 16 marathons done and running was a part of my identity.  My flight was around 6 AM out of Newark, direct to Hawaii.  I stayed up all night, got a (VERY) early run in on the treadmill to get part of my steps in, then headed to the airport.

We had a week booked at Marriott’s vacation club at Ko Olina, right in front of the path where I took my first serious runs.  I landed about 7 hours before my wife and kids (who had been vacationing in California for a bit before).  I got the rental car, drove to the hotel, threw my bags on the bed, put on some running gear and went out for a quick few miles on that same path.

One great thing about trying to get a step count and going to Hawaii is you pick up an extra 6 hours in your day.  So I more than finished my step count having slept most of the plane ride, went to the airport and picked up the rest of the gang.  I’m sure there are some places on earth that beat Hawaii, but I haven’t found it yet.

This is beautiful Ko Olina, Hawaii.  The hotel on the right is Aulani – a Disney property.  the jogging path goes in front of the hotels.

The scale doesn’t lie.   For my annual physical, stepping on the pressurized square that read nearly twice that high three years ago, I couldn’t help but smile.  I was pushing to break 145 and did so by .2 of a pound.  d did That meant I dropped just under a pound in the past year, which is fine with or without my weight history (weight stability in your 40’s is an accomplishment in and of itself).  The good news though was that my pants were looser than ever – so that means my body weight is shifting around in a good way.  So it was a good weigh then!

For the second year in a row I ran the Middletown Classic 10k.  This year I finished the 10k in 48:15.  I’m satisfied with the time.  The course is tough for a City race.  Very hilly.  The 10k though was for a time; the reward was the 5k that followed.  Allison (who is much more attractive than the photo above shows!) and I ran the 5k together afterward.  A more relaxed pace but “quality time” with your spouse is never a bad thing.  She did great.  While I joke with her about the speed differences we have, the reality is she lets me (or at least tolerates) run and exercise in order to continue my focus on health and fitness.  I could never have had the health related success I have had without her significant tolerance for allowing me to spend time on exercise.  Plus, running or walking with her is a great joy.

ADDENDUM TO THIS BLOG POST:  For those couples that run, or just those couples who are couples, I strongly recommend reading this column: http://www.runnersworld.com/remys-world/midday-runs-with-my-wife

We last visited Montreal in the mid to late 1990’s.  A lot has changed since then – marriage; two kids; and the ability to “conquer” Mount Royal.  Last weekend, we went back to Montreal and I couldn’t have enjoined our trip to Mount Royal more.

For those not familiar with Mount Royal, it provides sweeping views of the City but it is a hike/run/bike ride up.  17 – 20 years ago when we last went, we contemplated hiking it.  Alas, it was not to be.  While not having yet “achieved” the lofty goal of morbid obesity, I was still not in any shape to hike back then.

Now, years later, I was able to run up the hills to get to the top without even breathing heavy.  Health is liberating in so many way.