Gil Can Run!A blog on Running and all the crap that runs through my head while doing it

Oct 10th Episode 18 happened tonight!

Yes, I PR’ed in Hartford, and by a wide margin, and I talk about it a lot! 3:53:31, it’s a big deal. This is actually all running, there’s PRs and chafing and friends helping me out, it’s all running, the whole episode, even the political stuff! So enjoy.

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Oct 9th Hartford Marathon Eve

So blood is drawn, EKG done, blood pressure tested, urine sample given. Kit is packed:

Originally, I was going with my MMR tech tee, but they gave me a Quinnipiac singlet, and I had to rep the Q river valley! It’s a medium, so it’s a little tight in the moobs, but I’ll be fine.
So my friend is pacing another friend for just under 4 hours. So I’m going to try and find them before the start and keep with them because she’s a really good pacer, plus I’ll be better with people I know, as I will be more comfortable. Believe it or not but my chattiness and friendliness is actually a symptom of my extreme discomfort in social situations. I know, common wisdom would have one expect the opposite, but for some reason, it just makes me blab on and on even if I don’t think anyone is listening!
That being said, I’m all ready to go. Good luck to everyone running this weekend, I have a bunch of friends in Chicago running this weekend, and even more in Hartford, some in Providence and elsewhere, best of luck to all of you! Have fun, keep running, and remember if Gil can run, then so can you!

Oct 8th Going to be late on this week’s episode

I will wait to see what happens on Saturday and fill you in, I’ve decided to run with the 4 hour pace group and see what happens. If I feel strong at the end, I’ll push for the last few miles and try and hit something a little faster, maybe 3:55, and if I’m not feeling it I will be able to slow down and not be dead tired the rest of the way. Let’s see what happens. I got my packet, and some swag. Can’t wait to get the medal and I realized something: I’m going to make money on this race! not a lot, but considering my entry was free, thanks UTC, and I’m getting paid for participating in this Quinnipiac University study, I’m actually coming out ahead on this one! How cool is that? Technically speaking, this is a professional race for me. Although, I do have a lead on a new job, which I need, even if it’s temporary, or for a relatively short time. I’ll keep you posted on that mess. Tomorrow, I get my gear ready and head up to QU Medical to get blood drawn.
Have fun, keep running and remember, if Gil can run, then so can you!

Oct 7th We’re signed up for all the races we are going to run for the rest of the year!

Yes, I signed up for Philadelphia and the Christopher Martins 5k. So I am registered for all the races I will run in 2015. It is a relaxing feeling, I know what I have left in front of me. I will get it done, so very close to finishing this year. If I had more money, I would have run more races that’s for sure.
Beyond that, nothing exciting today. I did mostly nothing. Tomorrow I pick up my packet for Hartford, and have some other errands to run. I may be able to do the whole backsplash for the kitchen tomorrow, I do hope so. Keeping it sort and sweet tonight, have fun, keep running, and remember if Gil can run, then so can you!

Oct 6th One last run before Hartford

So I decided to just take one more little jog around the neighborhood. I took it a little slower and a little easier today. Don’t want to risk an injury and my knees and ankles have been feeling a little iffy the last couple days. So just a little stroll, and shut it down until Saturday.
It’d be nice to get paid to do this all the time, run and talk about it. But I’m not fast enough for that to happen. While I know I could be faster, I’ll never be fast enough, I’ll never BQ or do any of the “exciting” things people get paid for in this sport. I’m just a guy, out on the road, with way too much on my mind at any given time. It can be interesting just letting your mind go when you’re out there, and it’s a good time to let it happen, because once the running stuff is automatic, what else can you do but sort shit out?
Today, I just kind of relaxed. Thought a bit about insecurities, we all have them, some deal with them better than others. The only thing I am secure about, is the fact I can be insecure. It’s strange though, because I don’t feel like I don’t measure up to my goals and ideals and whatnot, I feel like the people I care about feel I don’t measure up. And there’s the problem, I shouldn’t and generally don’t give a crap about what people think about me personally, unless I have to deal with them on a daily basis and they are someone who I should care about, family, close friends, and that’s pretty much the whole list. When they make me feel I’ve failed them, it kind of hurts.
But it was a great day to run, cool, sunny, not humid at all. I’ve been putting in really good times all week, for the past couple weeks, and I do feel strong and ready to go on Saturday. With just three more months to go, and so close to my goal, I feel like I’m pretty much through the woods, and the other side is looking pretty nice! So have fun, keep running, and remember if Gil can run then so can you!

Oct 5th 5 more days!

Hartford Marathon coming up. I may run a little tomorrow. Weather is looking a little iffy for Saturday, but it may be alright. If it’s a good day, I think 4 hours is possible. I will start off near, or even with the pace group and see what I can do. Yes, I have decided to use a pace group and see how that works for me. I’m excited and nervous and I really want this race to go well.
They have some vegetarian options at the meal the Quinnipiac Medical study is having, so I will eat there. Things are looking up, and that’s great.
Meanwhile, I’ve been looking at a lot of scholarly articles. Thinking about the implications of things. I really need to study more, there is so much great stuff out there to learn! I think what i want to impress is, find something you’re passionate about and go for it! Until then, have fun, keep running, and remember if Gil can run, then so can you!

Oct 4th What an interesting day

I ran, and I started out fast and I ended fast. Before that I watched the worst 20 minutes of football I’ve ever seen in my life, seriously United looked like a team headed for relegation, not a team fighting for a spot at the top of the table, it was horrible and painful, and I don’t ever want to think or talk about that ever again. Then there was a lunch for my aunt, whom I had never met before, my grandmother’s sister-in-law was in town and wanted to have all the family get together, as she hasn’t been back to Connecticut in years. The first thing she said upon meeting me was that I looked just like my grandfather. Which most folks pick up on the Salerno side of things immediately, and most never comment on how much I really look like him instead. That hit me right in the feels. So we had fun and everyone told stories and bsed the afternoon away and ate. Then I came home, and at first I was just sleepy, but decided to run.
I thought a lot about grandpa, but I also thought about how my cousin read a letter from Rep. Rosa DeLauro about how a memorial plaque was going to be put up in Fair Haven Middle School to honor the 6 Salerno Brothers who served in World War 2 (5 of them) and Korea (1). Even though I believe all wars to be wars of imperialism and that they all can be avoided, it’s still pretty cool. Then I thought about how my father’s family goes all the way back to the founding of the first European settlers of New Haven Colony, and then about how I have a genetic test showing I have Native DNA as well, and considering the Hitchcock side of my father’s family also settled the New Haven area early on, and how that’s the only side where it is possible the Native DNA came from, there is a very good chance that DNA would link me to the Quinnipiac tribe, or at the very least another Algonquin tribe. So very much, my history is well entwined in the New Haven area, pretty cool. Still, I think I need to go teach English to kids in Southern Italy, I think they need it, and I think I could really be great at it, and it would give me a feeling of satisfaction. As much as I love New Haven, I also love Il Regno delle Due Sicilie. Particularly BT, Puglia.
That’s what happened, that was my day. So it wasn’t a bad day, even though it got off to a terrible start. But just because something starts badly, doesn’t mean it will end that way, you always have the power to turn it around! Remember that, and have fun. Also keep running, because if Gil can run, then so can you!

Oct 3rd My Garmin didn’t work

For the first time ever my Garmin completely failed me. Didn’t fail me at the start, or for a little bit, it failed for the entire run. It was working for the first .61 miles, and then died. Luckily I noted my time at the start and time when I finished, and I know how long my route was, so it works out. I actually ran really fast.
I was preoccupied today anyway, so I ran and got home and showered and had lunch and took my niece to the Red Bulls match v Columbus. Red Bulls won, stayed on top in the East. I’m telling you it’s always a good time and if you have a chance definitely go to an MLS match. It was a good day, and the rain stayed away, and looks like Joaquin is going out to sea, so one less thing to worry about. So things are good here, I’ll get some miles in tomorrow, and then maybe one run during the week before the Hartford Marathon.
Well, it’s been a long day and I’m sleepy and so I will bid you adieu. Have fun, keep running, and remember, if Gil can run then so can you! See you all on Sunday!

Oct 2nd Don’t know what to say

Didn’t run today. I’m on target with my yearly goals, with 1149.87 mi (1850 km) so far this year, so only 350.43 mi (564 km) or 116.81 mi/month (188 km/month) for the rest of the year!
But my excitement and pride in my accomplishments, have been eclipsed by more tragedy. Look tragedy happens every day in this world, but the fact is that shit like Oregon needs to fucking stop. We need actual regulation, we need to not have loopholes and bullshit. More guns do NOT make us safer, if they did, this would be the safest nation on Earth, and we’re not. I’m tired of the bullshit NRA talking points and everyone talking about their “freedoms”. Freedom at the point of a gun, or more appropriately behind a gun, is not freedom at all. Freedoms come from within each of us, and is not granted by ANY external force. So stop. No more guns, all firearms are produced, distributed, and purchased legally at some point. So something has to change with the law.
Every day that passes that we are responsible because we don’t do anything to put an end to this shit. It’s on us. Simple as that, we are all just as responsible for the dead as the people pulling the trigger. So let’s get moving on this finally, let’s put the excuses aside. Have fun, I guess, keep running, because, you know the rest, I don’t feel like saying it today.

Oct 1st Episode 17 is live!

Rock on kids! I killed it today in my first long-sleeve run of the season. I actually talk about passing the whole Wilbur Cross track team who were out on a training run. Hilarious. Definitely feeling good, we talk about being a pig-headed distance runner basically, and how it’s not conducive to protesting in the middle of. Remember, if you enjoy it, share, and definitely if you have anything to add, join in!

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