Monday, April 27, 2009

Do marathons cause pneumonia?

Mark

Hi everyone, here’s what’s On My Radar today...as some of you know, I managed to finish the Boston Marathon last week…just barely breaking 4 hours, that was a goal of mine but I have to admit it was even tougher than I thought! Well, I felt great on the final mile, even managed to pick up my pace as I turned left on Boylston. I log rolled across the finish line in honor of Jon “Blazeman” Blais, and poped up ready to get warm…unfortunately there were literally thousands of other finishers standing alongside and in front of me. We came to a stand still…not a good thing after you finish running for 4 hours straight. Not to mention that it was COLD! The temperature was about 43° and the wind was gusting well over 20mph. Needless to say, I got really cold in a hurry…the coldest I think I’ve ever been, certainly the coldest in a LONG while.

So I cramped up and felt pretty sore for a few days after the run. And if you watched any of the late newscasts last week I’m sure you heard the horrible sounds coming from my mouth! I was getting sick and I knew it…I couldn’t wait for the weekend so I could rest. But first, I had signed up to run in the Scott Carlson Memorial 5k at Goddard Park on Saturday morning. I knew I shouldn’t have run but I was doing for Team Blazeman and for ALS research in general (Scott Carlson was another multi-sport athlete from the area whose life was tragically taken by ALS). About 1/4 of a mile into the run I knew I was in trouble. I said to my friend and fellow Team Blazeman member Matt that he should go on and run a good time, I was shot and just going to jog this one. Being the great guy that he is, he stayed with me all 3.1 miles so we could log roll together.

As you know, it was a beautiful day Saturday so the last place I wanted to be was in the Walk-In clinic on Taunton Ave. in East Providence but that’s where I found myself, for about 2 1/2 hours after the run. Diagnosis…pneumonia! I thought that might be the case based on how I was feeling but I was hoping for a sinus infection or something less severe. Seems my immune system was a little drawn down recovering from the marathon and some germ managed to sneak in there and bring on the pneumonia.

At least the good news is that my voice will be less annoying over the next few days…antibiotics work wonders, don’t they! So needless to say, I won’t be running this week…just listening to my body and resting as much as possible. But I gotta be honest with you, when I thought about how I would feel in the days following the marathon sure I knew I would be sore, maybe sport a few blisters, even shin splints crossed my mind. But pneumonia?? Not in a million years. I know I can’t really blame catching pneumonia on the marathon but how about if I say that “If only if I didn’t have early signs of pneumonia, I would have been right up there with Ryan Hall and the leaders!“? Come on…humor me…I’m sick!   Thanks for reading.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Marathon Weekend Weather

Mark

Hi everyone, here’s what’s On My Radar today…first off, what a day of weather we enjoyed today!! Was that good for the soul or what? 70° F for some inland cities…still 60° F along the coast…finally some “Spring weather” to get out and enjoy!

The weekend will not be as sunny as Friday was…the clouds are already spilling across the area tonight and we’ll have mostly cloudy skies all day Saturday. Temps will still be mild Saturday but will turn cooler in the afternoon as the wind shifts into the northeast, first along the eastern Massachusetts coast then across Rhode Island Saturday night.

A few showers are possible Saturday night through Sunday morning with brighter skies building in later Sudnay. Temps will be cooler by 10-15° Sunday thanks to the return of the dreaded northeast wind! Low pressure will push in from the south Monday but it still looks like the dry air will hold over southern New England through Monday morning…rain will spread in from south to north Monday afternoon and evening.

And, oh, speaking of Monday…it is Marathon Monday!! Looks like near perfect running weather and I cannot wait to run the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boylston Street. I never thought I would be this excited to run that far and I know I won’t be as excited by the time I reach Heartbreak Hill at mile 20 and beyond but I say bring it on. I’m doing this for The Blazeman Foundation for ALS and I couldn’t be more proud to represent this wonderful foundation and help the cause by raising awareness of this deadly disease.

So, if you want to follow my progress Monday my bib number is 24522 and you can track me by Clicking Here.

And for more information on the Blazeman Foundation for ALS Click Here.

Thanks for reading…have a great weekend Mark

Monday, April 13, 2009

One week to go…

Mark

Hi everyone…here’s what’s On My Radar today…yes indeed, it is now less than one week until the Boston Marathon. What’s the big deal? Well, I happen to be running it this year. Got into it sort of late this year. A foundation I am close to happened to contact me in late January, asking me to run on their behalf. I couldn’t say no to the opportunity…1). because it’s the Boston Marathon but more importantly 2). because it’s to support the Blazeman Foundation for ALS.

Jon Blais aka “The Blazeman” was a classmate of mine at Seekonk High School in the late ‘80s. Jon was an excellent swimmer and track athlete who found the sport of triathlon long before it became wildly popular. Tragically, Jon was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, in May 2005. In October of that year he became the first athlete with ALS to complete the Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI. Perhaps some of you saw his story play out on NBC 3 1/2 years ago, it was the most inspiring story I’ve ever watched. My wife & I had tears running down our cheeks as we watched Jon “log roll” across the finish line…a move done with the intention of raising awareness of ALS.

Well it certainly got my attention and that of hundreds of other “Blazeman Warriors” who are committed to raising awareness as well as raising the necessary funds to cure this horrific disease. That is why I am running…is it a personal challenge, absolutely. I LOVE challenging myself to see what I can accomplish and believe me, a marathon is something I have dreamed of attempting but the thought of training was not a pleasant one since I am not a big fan of distance running. But I accepted the challenge in late January because of the Foundation and because of the Blais family whom I have known for quite sometime. I accepted this challenge to raise awareness and raise as much money as I can, to do as much as I possibly can to help find a cure so other individuals AND other families don’t have to suffer like Jon and the Blais family.

What can you do? Well you can start by becoming better informed. Check out the site http://www.waronals.com/index.php and watch the video clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vrjp2P0GlE  of Jon in the 2005 Ironman. Perhaps you too will be inspired to help out. I appreciate your interest in the “cause” and if you care to follow my progress you can log onto the Marathon website http://www.bostonmarathon.org and enter my bib number 24522 and see where I am and how I am doing. I have a “personal time” goal in mind but my overall goal of helping to bring an end to ALS is much bigger…look for my “log roll for awareness” as I cross that finish line…I can’t wait Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Where is Spring?

mark

Hi everyone…here’s what’s On My Radar today…where is Spring?? Did you ask yourself that qustion over the past couple of days? Sure as heck felt like late Fall at times today. I was out raking the yard, getting it ready for the warmer weather but had to put on a hat and some light gloves! The black bottomed clouds had an ominous look to them this afternoon as well…plenty of virga (precipitation falling from the cloud base but evaporating before reachingn the ground)...a testament to how dry the air is.

Well, here’s the good news if you’re hoping for some milder days…we have one on the way for Thursday. Although, in typical early Spring fashion, the mild stretch will not be too long. Temperatures will be at least 10° milder Thursday afternoon than today and in some locations it will be as much as 15° warmer…certainly a nice change from Wednesday’s chill!

Going forward, clouds will increase Friday with low pressure moving into the lower Ohio Valley. Light rain will develop in the afternoon/early evening, continuing into Saturday morning. Saturday’s wind will be out of the northeast as low pressure passes off to our south so temperatures will be cool, upper 40s for most with the best chance of rain in the morning. Drier air will work for Easter Sunday but temperatures look cool…near 50° with a brisk north wind likely all day.

So the mid 60s to 70° weather is still on hold…no sign of THAT type of weather in the immediate future…in the short term just a bit of a roller coaster ride…a couple of days of milder air, then a return of the brisk/cool weather for a few days. This time around, it just looks like the milder air will miss us over the weekend…oh well :(  Thanks for reading!

Monday, April 06, 2009

Typically “Springy” this week

Mark

Hi everyone…here’s what’s On My Radar today…the weather this week will still feature an rather pronounced East Coast trough of low pressure…at least through late Wednesday. This will keep the weather unsettled at least in terms of cloud cover…rain showers SHOULD be limited to our north the next few days. Temepratures will run cooler than normal this week and there will be quite a bit of wind Tuesday as low pressure cranks to our north.

This storm will lift further to the north Wednesday allowing the wind to relax a bit and also allowing a little more sun to work through the clouds. Thursday remains a bit of a question mark right now as there are indications that a piece of energy swinging around the base of the East Coast trough MAY brush our area (especially the south coast) with some thick clouds and rain showers. It is quite possible that this area misses us to the south and we just see an increase in afternoon clouds.

Another storm will form in the trough Friday into Saturday and threatens a good swath of rain into AT LEAST Saturday morning before lifting out to the east in the afternoon. The long range forecast continues to show a series of major storms slamming into the Pacific northwest and moving eastward through next week…a typically active Spring storm pattern. One which will bring abrupt changes in our weather from day to day. I do not see a prolonged stretch (or even a couple of days for that matter) of dry, warm weather through the next week and a half…taking us into the middle of the month. Climatology tells us that the average high will shift from 55° today to 58° by the 15th and all the way to 63° by the 30th.

Sunday’s sunshine and mild temperatures were just a reminder of the BEAUTIFUL weather we have to look forward to…but for this week, at least, that type of weather will have to live only in our memories! Thanks for reading!  Mark

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Could turn out to be nice Thursday afternoon

Mark

Hi everyone, here’s what’s On My Radar today…I guess you could say I am “cautiously optimistic” about the weather Thursday afternoon. We’ll have a damp, cloudy, foggy start in places as the remnants of the dying front sit off to our south & east but indications are that we’ll see brightening skies take shape across inland areas by late morning, spreading toward the coast in the afternoon. Temperatures will stay cool (upper 40s to near 50°) near the coast due to the clouds and southerly breeze but with enough sunshine inland areas will reach close to 60°...so, again, a pretty nice Thursday.

Friday’s rain looks to be heaviest in the afternoon as low pressure passes to our west with a warm front pressing in across the south coast. All indications continue to point to the rain lasting into Friday night then shifting away to our northeast early Saturday morning. Low pressure sitting to our north will likely keep some clouds in the area, especially in the morning, with brightening slowly taking shape in the afternoon. Sunday looks mostly sunny as some ridging (high pressure) quickly builds across southern New England.

The storm pattern will take on a familiar “omega” shape early next week featuring troughs of low pressure along the east & west coasts…high pressure ridging in the middle of the country. This will yield a potentially sustained period of showery weather Monday into Wednesday…the exact amount and duration of rain will depend on where the trough sets up. Typical of early Spring…thanks for reading Mark