Coach P is Running Again (Not For Office)

Six and a half months after my pacemaker surgery it was good to go to the starting line of a race today at the 11th Annual Haddon Township Turkey Trot.  Debbie and I have been a proud sponsor of the race for at least six years after she ran into race director John Foley at a nail salon one stormy day back in 2011.

This year I planned to train more and build up to running the full 5K without walking, improving on my 2016 time of 37:28.  (Keep in mind that back in the day my PR was 21+ and I would warm up for a 5K by running 5K.)  I was building up on mileage on the treadmill, until one day my heart stopped for about 5 seconds and I was diagnosed with a bradycardia (slow heartbeat). 

Next thing I know I was flat on my back at Virtua Hospital feeling great but with a temporary pacemaker that prevented me from moving for two days until the surgeon was available to do the procedure.  The cardiologist recommended not running for six weeks, which I stretched to seven, but I kept walking during that time.  Very gradually I began running a bit with the walking.

I did not run a full mile until this past Wednesday.  At my age (71) six months without training requires about six years to get back to baseline.  So I wasn't sure what to expect when I went to the starting line today.  Fortunately the weather was ideal - low 40s, manageable humidity, no wind.

I hit the first mile in 11:07, walked/ran the rest of the way and finished in 40:17 - not great but I'll take it.  During my first New York Marathon in 1980 I remember crossing the 59th Street Bridge at 16 miles and hearing people say Al Salazar had won.  Today, sort of like that on a much smaller scale, I was thinking early in the second mile that the winner had most likely crossed the line (he had) and at 20 minutes - when I still had half the course to go, I expected my son Scott had finished.  He had - after being uncertain whether he could break 20 minutes, he came in at 19:33, good for first in his age group and 24th overall.

After the race we posed for our traditional picture in front of the Pour House sign.

Running for Our Girls

TABERNACLE, NJ, May 1, 2010 -- We're here because four girls died.

Today on an unseasonably hot morning at Seneca High School was the 12th Annual Run For Our Girls, supporting the Precious Gems Foundation in honor of Amanda, Megan, Shana and Angela, who were killed by a drunk driver in North Carolina on April 6, 1999. Amanda's parents are among my closest friends and she played on a Medford rec league soccer team with my son Scott way back at age 7.

I ran a lousy race (5K), but who cares. We're here because four girls died. If you knew any of them or their families, it's impossible not to shed a tear when their names are read just before the start.

I was pleased to see another good turnout for this event, which benefits the foundation as well as substance awareness programs at Shawnee and Seneca High Schools. Shana's sister, Erin, is a teacher at Seneca and all of the girls were current or former students at Shawnee.

My good friend, Bob Ellis, who is three years older than I am, continues to defy age and beat me by more than three minutes while my son, Scott, ran a 20:05 on the slow course, good for 5th overall and 2nd in his age group. But times don't matter. We're here because four girls died.

Five years ago, when the race was run at Shawnee H.S., I caught up with Cara, at the time a girl on my Medford Strikers Xtreme team, in the first mile. No way a 9th grade girl on her high school track team should be running behind a guy in his late '50s, as I was then. We had a game that night, so as I ran by, I told her, "Cara, if you don't beat me, you're not starting tonight." She passed me at the 2-mile mark and finished comfortably ahead of me. (See post-race photo, right.)

It was a good race, and everyone had fun, but then, as today, it didn't matter. We were there because four girls died. Honor their memory.