5K time posted

0:30:17


For comparison:
2008's 5K time: 0:33:08

Pete and i

Moments before the start. Hopefully updates will follow.

It's go time!

Race day is here!

We spent last night at Colette's house in Staten Island. She is
dropping us off at the start. More to you......

At the finish

Do we even still need to run?

Central Park late afternoon

I've run by this lake several times and never noticed it before.

The weekend plan

Pete and I will be heading to NYC shortly. First stop is the Javits Center to get our bib numbers and timing chips and whatever goodies they give us for a $185 entry fee. Then we'll park my car in parking garage near the finish line and then head down to Staten Island via Subways and the ferry. We are staying at someone's house near the finish line. It should prove interesting.

Tomorrow we're up and heading to the start. Pete is in the 10:10 wave, I'm in the 10:40 wave. Mary and her friends will wait for me somewhere on First Ave. for a quick visit hopefully around 3PM. Then I finish and we dog pile into my car and drive home.

Seems simple, doesn't it.....

NY Marathon training complete

Basic 3.5 mile treadmill run finished up training for NY. This gives me 760 miles for the year. The forecast for Sunday is perfect for me. 50 degrees and sunny. I will blog Saturday at the expo and in Staten Island and the morning of the race. Lauren will blog for me during the race unless it goes badly and I end up blogging myself. My goal again is to break 5 hours.

Training update #1 - 9/21/10

So I've run over 18 miles in the last 3 days.

Sunday was 8.2 miles, took it easy. Ran well for 5 miles, sort of ran down the last 3.

Monday - I went out for speed training which I did for 3 miles, then ran into a friend and ended up running a very slow 3 miles with him. The pace was very slow but I felt I could do it for a while and it would get me under 5 hours in the marathon.

Tuesday - I had no plan. Just went out and ran into my friend again. We did 1.5 before he quit, then I did another 3 by myself and just experimented with the slow easy pace.

I'll take tomorrow off and resume on Thursday.

NY Marathon 2010 Goal

In reading my 2007 wrap up blog, I typed the following - " I'm going to break 5 hours in this goddamn race if it kills me." I've run NY 3 times and my best time was 2007 in 5:25. So this year I'm going to break 5 hours in this goddamn race if it kills me.

There I said it. 4:59:59 or bust.

New York Marathon - 7 weeks from today

Here we go again. The marathon is Nov. 7 and my training has been, well..... disappointing. Mostly due to the heat but somewhat due to a lack of motivation. However this week I picked it up. Ran 28 miles ending with an 8.2 today. If I can do a 10, 12 ,14 and 16 in the next 4 weeks I should be good to go.

I'm formulating a different race strategy for this marathon, I'll post it when I have it finalized.

This week's goal is 30 miles. Stay tuned.

NJ Marathon Wrap Up - The Good

Amy letting us use her condo as our base of operations - just awesome.
Mary for being there, helping out and being there.
The race organizers for ensuring there was plenty of fluid stations, first aiders and in general just wonderful organization on a dreadful day.
The volunteers who distribute water and other supplies. They were tremendous.
The people who lived on the course who were hosing us down with water - thanks everyone.
The hot dogs at Max's after the race. Hmmm Hot Dogs.
They had enough water and gatorade on just a dreadful day - 'nuff said.
And finally we didn't die.

NJ Marathon Wrap Up - The Bad

The heat and sun - just brutal.
Loop courses - I understand all the reason for it but no thanks.
The banner near the finish that really said - finish ahead which was probably another tenth or two away.
The heat and sun, in the words of the great, late 20th century philosopher, Beavis - " Huh huh, the sun sucks"
But really that was all that sucked

NJ Marathon Wrap Up - Loop #2

After my ten minute break at Amy's I soldiered on and started feeling better. Of course this stretch was on the boardwalk and there was a very welcome cool breeze. When I got to the start/finish line I knew I was continuing. I actually started running better, miles 14 and 15 being much better than the previous 6. Soon enough I was back in survival mode again but I was ok with that. I just wanted to finish and I didn't care how long it took. I hooked up with other runners, we ran together for while and then there would be someone else to run, walk or chat with. Everyone I talked to was operating in the same mindset which was - OK, this will be my worst marathon time ever but dammit, I'm gonna finish. So finish I did in 5:36:54. This is almost exactly an hour slower than my fastest time and you know what. I don't care. I finished and didn't die. Mission accomplished!

NJ Marathon Wrap Up - Loop #1

It was hot, 87 degrees hot. I knew early on that this was going to be a long day. I let G Money go ahead and slowed my pace between mile 1 & 2. By mile 3 I was already up to a 10 minute pace and it just got worse from there. This was a loop course, in other words you run the same course twice for a marathon. This meant seeing the mile banners for 17, 18, 19 etc when you were at 4,5 and 6. It was impossible to believe that I would be running this loop again. I thought many times of the cardiac event last Aug and was determined not to duplicate it. So I slowed, walked, drank water at each and every water stop. If I felt funky, I walked. I tried taking pictures and blogging but it became impossible. The iPhone touch screen was not responsive to my sweat and water logged fingers. So I just gave up on the blogging. Mary met me at mile 11 with Powerade and other supplies which was a huge help. I stopped at race headquarters (ok, Amy's condo) for a bathroom stop and a general opportunity to assess my condition. I told Amy and Mary I had no intention to run the marathon, I was gonna finish the half and call it day. Of course, I didn't.

Well I didn't die

Just got home,absolutely brutal day out there. I was going to quit after the half, I have no idea what compelled me to run the 2nd loop. But I did it and G Money did too. I'll throw up a summation post later after I get a shower and relax a bit.

Slow going

Already in big trouble

Way too hot

The start

At the start

Race Headquarters

Race Day is here

6AM, coffee and Captain Crunch the breakfast for all serious marathoners.G Money will be here at 6:30 and then we'll head out to Long Branch and set up the command post at Amy's. A quick check of the weather shows a high of 85 degrees for today, I just hope the ocean breeze makes it feel much cooler.

Lucky number 13

This will be my 13th marathon. In order they are..

Jersey Shore Marathon (now known as the NJ Marathon) - 2002
Philadelphia Marathon - 2002
New York Marathon - 2003
Philadelphia Marathon - 2003
Ocean Drive Marathon - 2004 (Set my PR 4 hours 37 Minutes)
Philadelphia Marathon - 2004
Detroit Marathon - 2005
Philadelphia Marathon - 2005
Marine Corp Marathon - 2006
Calgary Marathon - 2007
New York Marathon - 2007
New York Marathon - 2008

Number 14 will be NY this Nov and maybe #15 in Philly a couple of weeks later. But I have to get through this one first.....

Quick Weather Update

The official Almo/G Money race headquarters is at my friend Amy's condo. Amy's condo faces the boardwalk at miles 12 & 25 (it's a loop course) so we'll run right by there twice. Anyway I just talked to Amy and although it's a zillion degrees out here in Robbinsville, she says it's almost chilly at the boardwalk. So maybe there's hope yet for tomorrow.

New Jersey Marathon

OK, I haven't blogged in a long while nor I have I run a a marathon in a while. Both streaks end now.

The NJ Marathon is tomorrow - njmarathon.org - and G Money and I are running it. Both Gary and I are ready. I've run 326 miles in 2010, probably the most I've ever trained for a marathon. Gary is in tremendous shape. I would expect both of us to set PRs tomorrow except.... the forecast is for mid to upper 80s. If that is truly the case then the race becomes a survival test. I'm not stressing about it, it will be what it will be.

My bib number is 1609 - Gary is 529

So stay tuned tomorrow as I blog, send pictures and report on my/our progress.

Day 3 - going home

Day 3 began with some excitement. My roommate's heart rate spiked up to 190 and it seemed like half the hospital came in to deal with him. I was so tired however that I fell right back asleep. It turned out he was OK but this episode meant he was going to have to stay at least another day and he was looking forward to leaving.

A cardiologist showed up, talked to me a bit, discharged me and Lauren came and took me home. Long story short, they don't know what caused the event but they know there was an event. So I now have a prescription for some sort of cholesterol lowering medicine. I'm not allowed to do anything strenuous, so marathon training is now on hold. Looks like next week will be spent at various doctor offices. Ugh.

Well the good news is I dodged another bullet. The bad news is we don't know what kind of bullet it was.

Day 2 in the hospital

Day 2 was all about the cardiac catheterization. Had a liquid breakfast and I'm not talking the fun kind. I had a 2 PM tee time in the Cath room but got pushed back an hour. I had to sign a bunch of papers before hand and entered some trial program so that if there was a blockage the hospital could take some sort of action. Stent, Angioplasty or worst case a bypass. I know I expected them to find a blockage and I think they did to. Alas, my veins turned out to be wide open and clear. I know this is supposed to be good news but for me, it didn't answer the question of what caused my cardiac event.

If you ever need a cardiac catheterization here's one thing they don't tell you. After the procedure you have a hole in your groin where they run the probe up. I ended up on my back with a 10 lb sand bag holding a plug in my groin. That sucked big time.

The day ended with me passing out and awaiting a conversation with the cardiologist Friday morning.

The ER

On April 3rd this year, a girl lost control of her car, hydroplaned across the grass median strip of Rt 295, right into me. I was taken to RWJ in Hamilton. I ended up in ER room #3 and Marcy was my nurse.

It's now Aug 12 and I am in ER room #3 and Marcy is one of the 5 people working on me. Oxygen, EKG, blood test, they wheeled in a X-ray machine to take a chest x-ray. I had an IV installed and at least felt like I had a fighting chance. Somewhere along the line I called Lauren and told her where I was. She was on her way and arrived a short while later. What a way to spend her 24th birthday.

My initial blood work looked good as did the chest x-ray. But the EKG did not. It was decided I needed a CAT scan of my chest. After this was done the cardiologist stopped by for a long chat. He wasn't sure if I had an actual heart attack or not but I definitely had a cardiac event. He told me he thought that I was lucky to have survived this. 3 lives down now, 6 to go. Yikes.

Analysis of my cat scan showed some calcium build up and it was determined that the next step would be a cardiac catheterization - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiac_catheterization - this meant I was staying the night. I was eventually moved up into a room that was the staging area right before ICU. They monitor you 24 hrs but it's not nearly as restrictive as ICU is.

Marie and John both stopped by for a visit, Marie took Lauren out for a quick birthday dinner as John and I hung out. They all went to my place to pick up some clothes, a book, my phone charger and my iPod. I talked and texted with quite a few people and I'd like to thank all of them for their concern, thoughts and prayers.

I went to sleep confident that a blockage would be found tomorrow, it would get fixed and we'd be done with this nonsense. Alas, it was not to be.....

Drive to the Hospital

So after talking to my brother in-law I talked to my daughter. She also insisted I go to the ER. I said I would.

Instead I decided to get a shower. Maybe that would help and besides I was disgusting after the run. The shower actually convinced me I needed to go to the hospital. I quickly dressed and went downstairs to my car. By now it was pouring out - in fact it rained a full 4 inches in about an hour.

The trip to RWJ is only about 10 minutes but because of the rain and flooding it took 15-20. Halfway through the drive I regretted it, I was in big big trouble and I knew it. Somehow I made it to the hospital and the emergency area but by now was in great distress. I could barely breath and had shooting pains down both arms. My chest felt like it was in an ever tightening vise.

I couldn't find parking close and ultimately parked a couple hundred yards away. As I walked to the ER it occurred to me that I was going to drop dead right here in the parking lot. The pain got much worse and it was obvious to me I was in the throes of a full blown heart attack. I was scared and really expected to just collapse.

I made it to the ambulance entrance and banged on the glass doors. A few nurses came running out and could tell I was in distress. They immediately put me in a room in the ER. Maybe I had a chance after all.

... to be continued

The Event - 8/12/09

After last week's horrible run, I ran on Sat and Monday with no problems at all. In fact on Monday I felt like I was coming around. Played golf on Tuesday in the heat and was fine, so fine in fact I actually considered playing more holes. Woke up Wed and decided to go for a 4 mile run. The run was fine, I felt good and again, felt like I was making progress. Finished the run, did a cool down walk and went to stretch. This is when the fun began...

When I got to the car to stretch I immediately knew I was gong down. I quickly threw my towel on the ground before my knees hit and put my head down. I quite possibly blacked out for a second or two, but I was clearly in trouble. I could feel my chest tightening and was extremely light headed. I have never experienced anything like this before.

Every attempt to sit or stand resulted in me back on the ground with my head nice and low. I was in trouble and knew it. But I had no phone and none of my neighbors were home. If someone would have come out or showed up I would have had them call 911, that's how bad this was.

After 15 or 20 minutes it started to drizzle and this helped a bit. Then it started pouring and I had to do something. I got in my car. Just sitting in the car for a couple of minutes helped and I decided to get in my apartment. I made it and spent a few minutes on the floor but really felt no better. I heard my laptop alert me of an IM, it was my sister. I couldn't sit up to type back so I called her and told her what was going on. Without hesitation she told me to call 911 and I said I wanted to give it a few more minutes. Her husband called me and told me to get to the hospital either an ambulance or have a neighbor drive. I said I would.

.... to be continued.

Today's run sucked

It's several hours after today's run and I'm still wiped out. Managed to complete 4 miles but it wasn't easy or pretty. The first 2 miles seemed fairly normal but then somewhere in the 3rd mile it started degrading. Eventually I switched to survival mode as if I was in the last 10 miles of a marathon. Run - walk - run - walk, hope to get hit by a car... stagger in.

It's obvious to me that I have to stop running in this heat & humidity, at least until I drop a few pounds and get closer to being in shape. The run today knocked 4 lbs off me, I know it's all water weight but jeez still. So either tomorrow or Friday I am going to try running very early in the morning to avoid the heat.

Golf league last night

Finally hit the ball beautifully last night. Hit 7 of 9 greens in regulation and shot 39 despite 4 3-putts. Greens were pretty crappy after all the rain so I'll blame it on that.

JD and I split the match last night which I'll take considering one of opponents had a 27 net. Even Tiger isn't beating someone with a 27 net.

After hitting the ball so well last night I am really looking forward to playing later this week.

Marathon training officially starts

With the annual bus trip behind me it's time to start. Ran a very slow 3.1 miles today. Not surprising considering I'm carrying 198 lbs.So the immediate goals this week are to run at least 15 miles and try to get down to 195. These are very easy and attainable goals.

Longer term goals are 30-40 miles per week and my weight down to 175.

FYI for future posts the running week starts Monday and ends on Sunday.

World of Almo is back

Between Twitter and Facebook it's become difficult to post all three places. However since I'm currently jobless with plenty of time on my hand I'm going to try to update this more often. Of course there is another Marathon looming on the horizon so the training has begun, there are still concerts to report on and I really need to start putting up some Music reviews.

Keep checking back.

NYC Marathon 2008 - Wrap Up

This picture sums up perfectly the marathon for me. I had a blast. Didn't worry about my time, just concentrated on having a great time. People yelled my name and showed the Phillies lots of love. It was a great experience.
I went out nice and easy and as a result didn't suffer too much during the run. I had a blister on a toe blow out around mile 23 but that was only painful for short while. Other than that everything was fine. Looking at my splits later I realized I actually got faster from mile 21 on, each mile being faster than the previous. That not only surprised me but has energized me to get back in shape and do this again. I can't wait...


Postscript - it turns out I ran the NY Marathon with not one but two hernias. The legend grows.....

2008 ING New York City Marathon Alert Notification

Event Information:
Event:	The ING New York City Marathon
Runner:	Al Moulder
Latest Results at 03:52:05 PM:
Location Time Pace/mile 5km 0:33:08 10:39 10km 1:05:49 10:35 15km 1:39:53 10:42 20km 2:17:07 11:02 Half-Marathon 2:25:41 11:06 25km 3:02:11 11:43 Mile 16 3:10:21 11:53 Mile 17 3:21:24 11:50 Mile 18 3:34:54 11:56 30km 3:43:59 12:00 Mile 19 3:49:09 12:03 Mile 20 4:03:27 12:10 Mile 21 4:18:01 12:17 35km 4:29:31 12:23 Mile 22 4:32:46 12:23 Mile 23 4:46:47 12:28 Mile 24 5:00:53 12:32 40km 5:11:58 12:33 Mile 25 5:13:56 12:33 Mile 26 5:26:38 12:33 Finish 5:29:13 12:33

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from the NYRR Automated E-mail Notification System. Please do not reply.

Sincerely,
New York Road Runners

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Closer ......

Getting closer.....

2008 ING New York City Marathon Alert Notification

Event Information:
Event:	The ING New York City Marathon
Runner:	Al Moulder
Latest Results at 01:44:16 PM:
Location Time Pace/mile 5km 0:33:08 10:39 10km 1:05:49 10:35 15km 1:39:53 10:42 20km 2:17:07 11:02 Half-Marathon 2:25:41 11:06 25km 3:02:11 11:43 Mile 16 3:10:21 11:53 Mile 17 3:21:24 11:50

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from the NYRR Automated E-mail Notification System. Please do not reply.

Sincerely,
New York Road Runners

You receive alerts because your e-mail address was added to our notification list by a runner or yourself.

2008 ING New York City Marathon Alert Notification

Event Information:
Event:	The ING New York City Marathon
Runner:	Al Moulder
Latest Results at 01:33:13 PM:
Location Time Pace/mile 5km 0:33:08 10:39 10km 1:05:49 10:35 15km 1:39:53 10:42 20km 2:17:07 11:02 Half-Marathon 2:25:41 11:06 25km 3:02:11 11:43 Mile 16 3:10:21 11:53

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from the NYRR Automated E-mail Notification System. Please do not reply.

Sincerely,
New York Road Runners

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2008 ING New York City Marathon Alert Notification

Event Information:
Event:	The ING New York City Marathon
Runner:	Al Moulder
Latest Results at 01:25:04 PM:
Location Time Pace/mile 5km 0:33:08 10:39 10km 1:05:49 10:35 15km 1:39:53 10:42 20km 2:17:07 11:02 Half-Marathon 2:25:41 11:06 25km 3:02:11 11:43

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from the NYRR Automated E-mail Notification System. Please do not reply.

Sincerely,
New York Road Runners

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Mile 15

Time to cross the 59th St bridge. Feeling grovy.

2008 ING New York City Marathon Alert Notification

Event Information:
Event:	The ING New York City Marathon
Runner:	Al Moulder
Latest Results at 12:48:33 PM:
Location Time Pace/mile 5km 0:33:08 10:39 10km 1:05:49 10:35 15km 1:39:53 10:42 20km 2:17:07 11:02 Half-Marathon 2:25:41 11:06

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from the NYRR Automated E-mail Notification System. Please do not reply.

Sincerely,
New York Road Runners

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Halfway done !

2008 ING New York City Marathon Alert Notification

Event Information:
Event:	The ING New York City Marathon
Runner:	Al Moulder
Latest Results at 12:39:59 PM:
Location Time Pace/mile 5km 0:33:08 10:39 10km 1:05:49 10:35 15km 1:39:53 10:42 20km 2:17:07 11:02

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from the NYRR Automated E-mail Notification System. Please do not reply.

Sincerely,
New York Road Runners

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2008 ING New York City Marathon Alert Notification

Event Information:
Event:	The ING New York City Marathon
Runner:	Al Moulder
Latest Results at 12:02:45 PM:
Location Time Pace/mile 5km 0:33:08 10:39 10km 1:05:49 10:35 15km 1:39:53 10:42

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from the NYRR Automated E-mail Notification System. Please do not reply.

Sincerely,
New York Road Runners

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2008 ING New York City Marathon Alert Notification

Event Information:
Event:	The ING New York City Marathon
Runner:	Al Moulder
Latest Results at 11:28:41 AM:
Location Time Pace/mile 5km 0:33:08 10:39 10km 1:05:49 10:35

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from the NYRR Automated E-mail Notification System. Please do not reply.

Sincerely,
New York Road Runners

You receive alerts because your e-mail address was added to our notification list by a runner or yourself.

2008 ING New York City Marathon Alert Notification

Event Information:
Event:	The ING New York City Marathon
Runner:	Al Moulder
Latest Results at 10:56:00 AM:
Location Time Pace/mile 5km 0:33:08 10:39

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from the NYRR Automated E-mail Notification System. Please do not reply.

Sincerely,
New York Road Runners

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Yeah we're running over this

Less than hour to go.

Gary and I

Drinking coffee at the staging area an hour or so before the start.
Everything is going perfect so far.

Race Day!

We drove to Manhatten yesterday, went to the Expo and then parked the
car a few blocks from the finish. After a late lunch at Micky Mantles
on Central Park South we took the subway to the Staten Island ferry
and then a short cab ride to the Staten Island Hotel where we spent
the night.

So now we are ready to head to the start ready to go.

More to follow.....

Sent from my iPhone

On the way to Staten Island

So far all is going according to plan.

At the expo for the NY Marathon

2008 ING New York City Marathon Alert Notification

Thank you for subscribing to the 2008 INGNYC Marathon Athlete Alert. You
will receive alerts at the start, all 5k splits and from mile 16 to finish.

Have a great race day!

New York Marathon

is 5 days away. I am NOT ready. I am NOT mentally prepared. I am NOT looking forward to this.

Yet...

I WILL finish. I WILL have fun. I WILL probably do this again.

Man, I am stupid.....

Philadelphia Olympic Triathlon

Me - Jerry - Steve - Gary

My goal was to break four hours and not die.

Mission accomplished!

Catching up with Almo

With the Philadelphia Triathlon this weekend and the possibility of live blogging, I think it's time to catch up on all Almo doings.

Let's See ----

4 day Ocean City Golf trip
Van Halen at Madison Square Garden
Circle of Fire at the 8X10 Club in Baltimore.
Iron Maiden at Camden
2 Day golf trip with PQ, Ralph and Steve
Phillies game - Luxury Suite - Sweet!
Golf League started
Dragon Boat Race
Saw Iron Man - Awesome
Saw Indian Jones - Underwhelming
Turned 51

That's all for now

Birthday party time

At the Moulder-McCombs

Jersey Shore Relay 2008

The falmo team was Billy, Vinnie, myself, Pete and JD
The Lards of Fitness was Gary, Jerry, Steve, Chris and Frank
The Chickolita's was Gina, Tammy, Tara. Jen and Lauren

That's a picture of Lauren and I after the race.

Circle of Fire

Live at the Brass Monkey in Baltimore.

The final run

As BMS gym members. It was a blast

Top 20 of 2007

#1 - The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army - Within three days of discovering this it became my favorite release of 2007. Of course seeing them live didn't hurt as it was one of the greatest shows I've ever seen. Just awesome. On first impression I thought of old ELO and they are actually that and more. Very symphonic rock/pop, uplifting, joyous, fun.
#2 - Rooney - Calling the World - Pure power pop, again a lot of fun and great driving music.
#3 - Rush - Snakes & Arrows - Come on, this is my favorite band ever, what did you expect.
#4 - Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet - Another solid effort from one of my favorite bands.
#5 - Velvet Revolver - Libertad - As with their first release, an album I love and really can't explain.
and the rest in no particular order. Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos, Dug Pinnick - Strum Sum Up, In This Moment - Beautiful Tragedy, PC 69 - Intensity, The Red Button -She's About To Cross My Mind, Circus Maximus - Isolate, Crunchy - Loserville, Symphony X - Paradise Lost, Queens Of The Stone Age - Era Vulgaris, The Click Five - Modern Minds and Pastimes, Fish - 13th Star, Megadeth - United Abominations, Iced Earth - Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Pt. 1, Gotthard - Domino Effect, Rob Zombie - Live

NFC Championship

At the Puleo's. Guess who won?

Happy New Year

After a so-so 2007, 2008 is off to a positive start. Murph, Frank and I ran The Hamilton Hangover today and I finished it officially in 47:09, my watch time was 46:43. But the big news is I defeated my nemesis this year by 15 seconds or so. After my humiliation last year it was sweet revenge. It's also rather pathetic that I'm celebrating a victory over someone 25 years older than me but a win is a win and I'll take it!

Frank took some pictures, hopefully post one soon.

Happy New Year!

Flyers vs. Canadians

Great seats, hanging with keith, Steve and frank.

The Polyphonic Spree - Rooney - Redwalls

Redwalls were a surprise, a up and coming band. Rooney were excellent. The Spree were quite simply - fuckin awesome. One of the greatest live experiences of my life. Wow. I'm really at a loss for words, it was that good.

They're playing Sat night in Baltimore. Hmmmm...........

What you do the day after

A marathon. Go with 3 buddies to a Monday Night football game in
Pittsburgh. And drink like a fish.

Official Results & The Next Day Blues

Al Moulder 50M USA 5:17:43- finish 12:07 - pace

I'm only happy that A - I didn't perish, B - I beat my 2003 time by ten minutes and C - I felt like I finished strong. Other than that I have the usual day after desire to get better. Through 7 miles things were going my way and then it started going bad. Not really anything major like blowing out a knee or hamstring, just a pair of legs that refused to cooperate. I really struggled from miles 8 to 16 but managed to find something after 16 and felt like I stepped it up a bit.

Bottom line is this race is very very hard. The logistics of getting yourself there wipe you out and then you're faced with a course that is surprisingly hilly and tough.

Yet, I still think I suck. After my surgery in a couple of weeks I am really gonna get my ass in shape. I'm going to break 5 hours in this goddamn race if it kills me.

The human train wreck

Finished in 5:17:49, ten minutes better than my previous time, so I'm
happy. Now it's time to rest.

New York Road Runners Alert Notification

Event Information:
Event:	The ING New York City Marathon
Runner:	AL MOULDER
Latest Results:
Location Time Pace/mile 5 Kilometers 0:30:29 9:48 10 Kilometers 1:01:41 9:55 15 Kilometers 1:34:25 10:07 20 Kilometers 2:09:26 10:24 Half-Marathon 2:17:46 10:30 25 Kilometers 2:51:00 11:00 30 Kilometers 3:36:46 11:37 35 Kilometers 4:19:15 11:55 40 Kilometers 5:00:47 12:06 Finish 5:25:55 12:25

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from the NYRR Automated E-mail Notification System. Please do not reply.

Sincerely,
New York Road Runners

You receive alerts because your e-mail address was added to our notification list by a runner or yourself.

2 common lies

Heard during a marathon.

1 - You're looking good.
2 - You're almost there

Neither of these two things are remotely close to being true. Just
once I'd like to hear the truth. "Boy you look bad and you have a long
way to go. I just don't see you making it."

Maybe it's better they lie.

8 to go

Legs simply won't work. Tourist time

Sent from my iPhone

View down first ave

Off the queensboro

WOW!

New York Road Runners Alert Notification

Event Information:
Event:	The ING New York City Marathon
Runner:	AL MOULDER
Latest Results:
Location Time Pace/mile 5 Kilometers 0:30:29 9:48 10 Kilometers 1:01:41 9:55 15 Kilometers 1:34:25 10:07 20 Kilometers 2:09:26 10:24 Half-Marathon 2:17:46 10:30

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from the NYRR Automated E-mail Notification System. Please do not reply.

Sincerely,
New York Road Runners

You receive alerts because your e-mail address was added to our notification list by a runner or yourself.

It's go time

In a line of thousands heading to the start. Anybody seen the bridge?
Cannon just fired, here we go......

Sent from my iPhone

Ready to rock n roll

Baggage drop area

Was a nightmare. The good news is my yearly prostate exam has been
conducted. Several times......

Sent from my iPhone

One of the many runners

At the start

Just got here at 8:40. An hour and a half to the start.

4:30 AM - The Journey Begins

But yesterday this would have been 5:30 so all in all, not too bad gettting up. Now (after a quick cup of coffee) it's off to Jersey City where I will park and then take the Path to WTC. Then the 1 or 9 subway to the end, hop on the Staten Island Ferry for the short journey to Staten Island. Finally there are supposed to be shuttle buses taking us to the start.

After all that my reward is to run 26.2 miles. Yikes!

NYC Marathon - tomorrow!

Tomorrow's the day. Running clothes are ready, chip is attached to my shoes and my bib number is attached to my shirt. Can't imagine what I could screw up now but with me, you never know.

There are several stages involved with running a marathon, at least on my part. Currently I'm in the anxiety stage. Did I train enough, am I forgetting anything, how am I getting there and it goes on and on and on .... Every little ache and pain is maginified by a thousand. Did I just roll my ankle? Man, why is my lower back sore today? Careful, watch that step.

This stage ends tomorrow when I am finally surrounded by 38,000 of my closest friends, most of whom have probably had the same thoughts, fears and concerns leading up to the race.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Cause it's freakin' cool, that's why!

The Kid and G Money

Visit the big city. We went to the expo at the Javits Center. I picked up my stuff while Jerry had to defer in person due to a hamstring injury.

NY Marathon Expo on Friday

G Money, Kid Weber and myself are heading to the Javits Center tomorrow where the Expo is. I have to pick up my bib, runners bag and cheesy shirt they give out. Seriously, considering they try to market themselves as the race to run, the shirts we get are really crappy. 3 days til the race and I'm whining already. It'll just get worse.......

Edited 11/3/07 - Whoops, turns out we got a really nice dri-fit running shirt this year. Sweet.

Marine Corp 10K - Almo and Joe

Marine Corp 10K - Raj and Stacie

Marine Corp 10K Results

Here's how we finished ---

E-Man - 00:52:22 chip time and he finished 389 out of 2692 runners. WOW - Emmaunel ran a tremendous race especially considering our first mile was a slow 10 Min due to heavy traffic and the dreaded walkers and this was his first race.

Almo & Joe - 01:00:42 chip time. We finsihed 1000 and 1001. Joe's first race and a great one at that. He had a great time and is looking forward to his next race. I can't wait to run the next one with him.

Stacie & Raj - 01:03:23 chip time, they finished 1199 and 1200th. Also Raj's first race and he did great as did Stacie.

Stacie's boyfriend Rich, was on hand to offer moral support, he won the 2000 Marine Corp Marathon in 02:25:50 - yikes!

We all had a great time, it was an excellent day weather wise and I think we'd all do it again. My experiment with the blogging was a success, I definitely will do this in NY. The belly pack also worked out fine and for me, this was a nice tune-up for the NY Marathon. Obviously I won't keep a 9:46 pace for 26 miles but maybe, just maybe I can break 5 hours.

I guess we'll find out Sunday.

The gang

Me, Raj, Joe, Stacy and E-Man

Marine Corp 10 K

5:58 on the way to the train station. Slept pretty well. Ready to go.

Sent from my iPhone

Shikky B

Thsi is Bill Shikrallah who has helped me figure out some things with both the iPhone and also with audio editing on my Mac. Thanks Shikky B!

Attempting to blog from DC this weekend

The grand plan here is to blog from the NY marathon in 10 short days. Since I'm running the marine Corp 10k with my friend Joe this weekend, I will test this out.

Based on the test messges, it should work.

We'll see ........

This is a test from my iPhone

It seemed to work just fine.

May 2007 Golf Update

May was golf month. There were boatload of tournaments, the golf league,other outings and of course the infamous Ocean City Golf Trip. A quick summary follows -

We had charity events at Pine Barrens in Jackson - an excellent course and one on which our hero played extremely well, Cream Ridge - a 2 man scramble, Ralph and I played very well but couldn't make any putts and finally an event at Trump National - an awesome course that will someday host a US Open.

The Ocean City trip found us at Newport Bay - good start to the trip, Lighthouse Sound - maybe the best course in OC (don't call it that) but unfortunately the weather was dreadful, Rum Pointe - errr ..... whoops - I mean War Admiral at Glen Riddle. We thought we were booked at Rum Pointe, our trip schedule confirmed this but something went awry behind the scenes. Worked out fine though as War Admiral was very good and Ralph and I managed to thump the lefties and avenge our defeat last year. I needed a bogey on 18 for a 79 and of course - doubled, D'oh. Finally we ended the trip at Eagles landings which quite frankly did nothing for me this year. Of course I finished double double for an 83 so maybe that's why I was unimpressed.

Frank and I ended the month in first place in our division in the league - npgl.thecore.com - for those of you interested. Our goal is to simply make the playoffs and we seem to be well on the way.

Finally the month concluded with a golf date with Lisa at Mountain View which was a lot of fun and an event at Jasna Polana for which I have a whole new appreciation for. Plus we won the event so it was a great day.

Wow - June has a tough act to follow.

Upcoming Race Schedule

June 9th - Princeton Fete (10k) - www.princetonhcs.org/page3633.aspx - This will be my last race in the 45-49 age bracket. If I survive I will turn 50 a mere 4 days later. remember boys and girls, 50 is the new 35.

July 8th - Calgary Marathon - www.calgarymarathon.com - Yes Calgary dammit, I'll be there why aren't you. This will be my first race is the now legendary 50-54 age bracket. Asses will be kicked. Probably mine....

July 22nd - The New Jersey Triathlon - http://www.cgiracing.com/ - Tune is as our boy attempts his first sprint Tri. For those of you new to this insanity the Sprint Distance is a 500m swim, 13.5 mile bike and 5K run. As of today not a lap of swimming has occured. Lifeguards will be on duty.


and that's it until the training for the New York Marathon starts in the fall. Yes folks, I'm in NYC this year. Woohoo!

It's Go Time!

Ok, the World of Almo has been very slack. However now it's go time. Calgary Marathon in 6 weeks, my first Tri in 8, trips to the US Open, Las Vegas and Clagary coming up. Turning 50, John graduating High School, Lauren going to Jamestown VA for 6 weeks, Lauren and I seeing Rush - the list appears endless. Stayed tuned for details on these and other exciting Almo activities.

Almo's day in court

Well almost 5 months after the big crash my legal obligations are behind me. I had received three tickets - DWI, careless driving and not wearing a seatbelt. Well the DWI was a no-brainer as I knew my blood alcohol level ws .02 - well below the .08 legal limit. I also thought the seat belt ticket was a no-brainer as 1) I was wearing one and 2) without one I'd be dead and that should be pretty obvious to anyone with a brain.

After waiting several hours I finally had my chance to talk to the prosecutor. He readily agreed that the DWI was moot however he threatened to take me to trial and persue an aggresive stance on the careless driving charge if I did not plead guilty to the other two charges. I was to say the least, pissed off. After a shouting match with the prosecutor I came to my senses. This was going to require another day in court and probably a lawyer. I decided to cut my losses, pony up and end this nonsense. $241 later I left free of legal debt, disillusioned by the process and pissed off at the township of Howell. Somehow I don't think they care.

CD of the Moment - Poison

As promised my first CD of the Moment. We lead off with Poison - Best Of - 20 Years of Rock. Really not much different from their previous greatest hits package but it was a good excuse for me to rip all my Poison CDs and shuffle play them in iTunes. Not the first hair band but one of the best and certainly the most flamboyant. A good solid greatest hits package to throw on your iPod.

CD of the Moment

Lot's of blogs I've visited have a CD of the day. Frankly that's seems like too much damn work. So I'll just post one when I want to highlight a particular CD and also have the time. Look for the first entry ASAP.

RIP - Arrested Development

Well you know the saying - all good things must come to an end. But how about truly great things like Arrested Development? Last night was the last 4 episodes of this incredible show and while I'm sad/disgusted/pissed off that a show of this brilliance can't find an audience, I take solace in the fact that it ended as brilliantly as it started. I can’t wait to download these and watch them again. Then I’ll buy the DVD and watch them again and again and again …….

In my opinion, the greatest show in the history of TV.

Return of WOA

This post serves as notice of my intent to resume - The World of Almo. Where'd I go? Well, last spring I got sick and poof, there went my race schedule. Then golf took control of my life for several months - as it should. This was followed by varicose surgery in the fall - my 30th high school reunion - 2 marathons and finally The Big Crash. More on all of these exciting topics in the days ahead - almo