2008:The Year in Photos

Tera's final Xmas with us in 2007.

A March snowstorm. Winter is hanging on.

An icy cold January run.

Some downtime in Indy; checkin' out the RCA Dome before they tear it down.

My crew for the PA State Class AA Final. Todd and Chet are my linesmen.

Opening Day tradition for me and Becky.

Frederick Marathon with Tera and Vee. If only I had their speed.

Goodbye Vee.

Mike and me at Game 6. Detroit hoists the Cup in a few hours, but we had hope, and I had my playoff beard.

In action at Frederick.

Summer in Ocean City, Md.

Sam Adams...the dog.

One of the coolest awards at the Run for the Trail 7k. It's a real railroad spike.

Johnstown Marathon becomes #6.

Back to the beach. This time with the greyhounds.

2008: A Year in Review

Despite it's ending, the year that was 2008 brought me some very good fortune and will be a year to remember. Here are some of the highlights, lowlights and recalls:

• January 3. First run of the year. A four-miler with 12 degree/-6 wind chill.
• February 14 through February 19. I complete an amazing run of refereeing 13 games in six nights. I don't run at all during this stretch and battle through it all while I have a chest cold.
• February 29. I drive to Pittsburgh to referee Game 1 of the College Hockey East Championship, but the game is canceled while I am driving in on the parkway. I stay in Pittsburgh for a one night personal vacation.
• March 2. I referee the High School Open Division Championship Game at the War Memorial Arena.
• March 14 through March 16. I get to go to Indianapolis to referee in the Mid-American District Championships. I see the RCA Dome and construction on the new Lucas Oil Stadium.
• March 18. I referee the Penguin Cup Class AA Final at Mellon Arena. It is the eighth time in my officiating career I am blessed with the opportunity to work in the old barn.
• March 29. I run my first road race of the year (PHCC Sprint to Success 5k). I come across in second place with a time of 20:52. A great start to the racing season.
• April 7. Opening Day for the Pirates! The start of another losing season.
• April 11. I attend Game 2 of round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Pens beat the Senators on this night to go up 2-0 in the series.
• May 5. Frederick Marathon. Not a good day as I finish in 3:45:13 and am humbled by the difficult course. Becky and our two dogs (Tera and Vee) make the trip with me.
• May 11. One week after a marathon I run the Komen Race for the Cure in Pittsburgh. I finish in 20:41. Great performance. I finish 102nd overall out of 2,222 runners.
• May 20. The day I pick up my new car, and also the day we lose Tera. She is put to rest and I lose the best friend a guy could have.
• May 30. I kick off my umpiring season.
• May 31. I attend Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Pens lose this one to Detroit, 2-1 and go down 3-1 in the series. Looks like it's over in five.
• June 4. Hold the phone. Pens win a thriller in Detroit to get it to game six. I'm in the building again and again I see them lose. This time it's for all the marbles and I see the Stanley Cup being awarded live. This may never be possible again in my lifetime.
• June 14. Daily American 10k; a staple in my running season. I do a 42:19 and finish first in my age group, 8th place overall.
• June 15 through June 20. Vacation in Ocean City, Md. Great time of year!
• June 27-28. I attend the Mid-American District meetings of USA Hockey as a supervisor for the first time. First time in Columbus, OH for me as well. Second new city this year.
• July 4. Hollidaysburg YMCA 15k. Slower this year at 1:07:41, but good for third in my age group this time. Another award to add to my collection.
• July 14. Hoodlebug 5k in Homer City, PA. Despite temperatures near 80 for this 6:00 p.m. race, I break 20:00 for the first time ever with a 19:49. A day to remember! New PR and 2nd in my age group.
• July 28. Got to golf at Fox Chapel Country Club in our health insurance outing. Most beautiful course I've ever played.
• August 9. I umpire third base in a AAABA Regional Tournament game.
• August 11. I umpire homeplate in a AAABA National Tournament game for the first time ever. Brooklyn defeats New York.
• August 13. I umpire homeplate in a AAABA National Tournament elimination game between perennial powers Baltimore and New Orleans. Baltimore wins behind the pitching of Kevin Brady, a future MLB pitcher who throws 90-95 mph.
• August 30. I run the Rockwood Half Marathon in preparation for my fall marathon. I PR with a 1:37:46, but I'm disappointed.
• September 14. I attend a level 4 seminar in Youngstown, OH in anticipationo of working in the Midget National Tournament in Pittsburgh next April.
• September 26. I take over as the color analyst for Johnstown High School Football games on WCRO-AM, and work my first game. (like I need more extracurricular activities).
• October 5. Run the Johnstown Marathon. My intention is to use it as training for the Richmond Marathon in November and gauge my progress. I do a decent 3:33:05, and as usual I am disappointed.
• October 10-13. We go to Dewey Beach, DE for the Greyhounds Reach the Beach event.
• October 21. We lose our second greyhound this year when Vee suffers a cardiac condition and dies in our home. It's another sad day.
• October 25. I celebrate my 11th wedding anniversary by starting the day at the Red Cross Vampire 5k. In a downpour, I come across in 20:52, finishing second overall. Despite the slow time, the course was difficult and hilly and I feel great. Possibly the peak of my running this year.
• October 27. While working a high school hockey game I am hit on the left foot. I don't know it yet, but I've broken a bone and my running is all but over for awhile.
• November 4. I turn 38 years old today amid the cloud of an injury that appears to be serious. Like Becky said, "you're not getting any younger." So true.
• November 5. I don't know it yet, but I have my last run of the year. Four miles on the treadmill on a broken foot. My foot is in pain, but I block it out. I have a marathon to run in ten days.
• November 6. I don't know it yet, but I work my last hockey game of 2008 in Altoona.
• November 15. The day I was supposed to run the Richmond Marathon. Wisely, I decide a week earlier that I can't do it. I bike 26.2 miles on the stationary bike in honor of it. I still don't know my foot is broken.
• November 19. After an MRI the day before, I am diagnosed with a non-displaced navicular fracture. I now have more time on my hands than I've had since high school and running and reffing are officially done for the year.
• December 22. After 4 1/2 weeks in a walking boot, I am finally out of it. The bone is healing, but the rehab is just beginning.
• December 29. I have a treatment of Active Release Therapy and within 24 hours I notice that the overall feeling of my foot is better. It continues to heal and I look forward to 2009.

What lies ahead? Who knows. But what I can say is that looking back at 2008 collectively, I had a pretty good year. Sure, there were some ups and downs but isn't that what life is all about? How we react in the face of adversity, how we handle success. It's all relevant and helps build us into the person that we are. This is what I believe, and although I have no idea what the new year ahead will have in store for me, I'm ready for whatever it throws at me. The only thing I can safely predict is that like 2008 and many many years before it, 2009 will bring with it hope, happiness, and no doubt new challenges. It will bring good, bad and indifferent. It will bring with it new opportunities and I'm sure will also remind me of the past. It brings the hope of once again lacing up my running shoes and preparing for and running another marathon. The opportunity to once again get to the top of the mountain and qualify for the Boston Marathon. How can I not look forward to that? Happy New Year everybody.

Walk A Mile In My Shoes

On Christmas morning, just as I had planned, I took a walk. My thought process was to walk one mile. It was going to be a banner morning for me. My first "real" activity besides riding a stationary bike and lifting weights since November 6. That night I skated a varsity game in Altoona and was the beginning of a long slow road. After the surprising loss of my walking boot on Monday I had planned a nice walk on our local middle school track for a mile.

As is typical with me, things didn't go exactly as I had planned. Due to some family circumstances that pushed our normal lunch gathering of family at our house back to dinnertime I was able to go on a walk with Becky and Sam. We headed out just before lunch and instead of walking on a track I was on my streets. The same streets that I have trained on for marathons for years.

It was weird walking at first and despite my enthusiasm I noticed that my calf muscle was not totally up to par. In addition, despite my miles and miles of pedaling that horrible contraption known as the stationary bike, my legs were weak as well on the downhill portion of the walk. Still, it felt great to be outside on a partly sunny but brisk morning.

By the time we reached our half-mile mark I began to get sharp stabbing pain in my heel just under the break area. I panicked at first and wondered if the bone was still broken. I sat on the curb and shifted my insoles around. We turned and headed for home. I was miserable and concerned. I couldn't even walk a mile without an issue. And it's not like I was even walking fast. My wife and my dog had to wait for me. I felt helpless and frustrated. But I knew this wouldn't be easy from the get-go. I would push on and do it again. That day was today.

With temperatures in the low 60's it was a great day to head out the door. While Becky went shopping with her mom I headed out with Sam and we decided to make it a boys day walk. Sam did a great job waiting for me and followed my slow pace. The stabbing pains showed up again and this time within the first two-tenths of a mile. They weren't as bad and I pushed through them noticing that my calf was really sore and weak. No doubt this is a bout of plantar fasciitis. I'm convinced it's not the bone. I'm convinced that is healed. This is about building strength in my legs, and specifically my calves which will strengthen the feet. Today was a better day but was another sign of just how far away I am from running without worry and reaching my goals. Funny how those change with your circumstances. A year ago, the talk was all about Boston. Now I'm talking about walking a mile. Truth be told, I'm ahead of my own schedule of where I thought I might be by now. Boston will reappear soon enough. For now, I celebrate each mile of walkin' in these shoes.

Merry Christmas Everyone

DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in THE SUN it's so." Please tell me the truth; is there as Santa Claus?"

Virginia 0'Hanlon.115 West Ninety-Fifth Street.

"VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except (what) they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole truth and knowledge.Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus? It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existance. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus? You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love,romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world, there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, VIRGINIA, ney, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Walkin'

Like the great Jerry Lewis once penned...."I'm walkin', yes indeed..."

My appointment resulted in the loss of my walking boot which was a bit of relief, but also a bit of terror. How could I possibly begin walking on this thing? That was my thought after Doc nearly put his thumb through the bone that was broken. He was confident enough to let me out of the cursed boot and told me to start walkin'. So that's what I've been doing. Walking. Or some version of it anyway. I still get some sensitivity and pain in the foot, but I'm trusting that he knows more than me and have begun walking. I'm guessing I've got some strength building that needs to take place and even though I have no immediate plans to skate or run, I am walkin'.

So far, it's one of the best presents I've gotten for Xmas. I'm tentative and scared, but in the first 24 hours or so I am gaining millimeters of confidence. It took awhile to heal the bone, and I'm guessing my psyche will also need some time.

My only plans so far include finding a comfortable pair of shoes and the right insoles to wear and to take a walk outside on Christmas Day.

Follow-Up Appointment

Four weeks and four days in the boot. Tomorrow morning I head back to the doctor to find out what happens next.

I have hesitated to post on the blog for fear of jinxing myself as I had read back over several posts and information I shared turned out to be incorrect or false in regards to how I was feeling and what was actually wrong. So I have done nothing but follow doctor orders and tried to stay upbeat, positive and realistic. Of the three, I believe realistic has been the hardest. It's hard to know what is going on with my foot from day to day.

I do know I'm tired of being this way and I hope for at least a sliver of good news tomorrow. However, without an MRI to get a picture of what is going on, I doubt that good news is really possible just yet. In fact, I wonder what tomorrow will really accomplish besides paying another $20 co-pay. The wonders of modern medicine. Stay tuned...

A Game of Wait

To someone with as little patience as me, going through this type of injury is murder. But I have gained some fresh perspectives on running, hockey, and my life in general.

I'm in no way out of the woods, and have hesitated to even write on my blog being the superstitious person that I am. So all I will say is that I definitely feel as though my foot is improving. Is it healing? I won't know for a few weeks yet. But for now, it's something to hang the hat on.

I want to get back to running. I want to get back to skating. But I will not rush back on any kind of timeline. I want to do this right and let nature take its course.

But man, is this brutal....

A See-Saw Recovery

One day I'm up. One day I'm down. It is the reality of where I am right now. It's all about numbers for me at this point:

• 16 days until my follow-up appointment
• 17 days since I was put in a boot
• 40 days since the injury happened
• 1 maddening day after another

I get encouraged by the smallest signs of healing, but at the same time I get discouraged easily by the smallest signs of not recovering fast enough. I don't know what the future holds. None of us do. But it is all of that uncertainty that I cannot handle the most. So I try to take it day by day and do the right things. It's hard to know what that is though.

I am severely disappointed in the medical community. They didn't do this to me, but with all I've learned since being properly diagnosed it is hard for me to believe what any of these doctors actually knows around here.

The frustration will continue and every day is a day closer to an unknown day in the future when hopefully I can be normal again. Five simple words grace my thoughts so much lately. I want my life back.

A Broken Foot, But My Spirit is Fine

It took me nearly two weeks, but I have come to grips with my situation. That situation came as a result of an innocent hockey play that happens hundreds of times a season. A puck that would have done no or little damage had it gone 3 inches to the right or left of where it was. But as it is, it hit me directly in a spot that was perfectly placed and broke a bone in my foot.

My life has been quite different these past five weeks. Looking back I've been through a lot. A lot of it mental. A lot more of it physical. But as I near the two week mark of my rehabilitation I realize how lucky I am and how quickly life can change.

I broke a bone in my foot. I'm not permanently crippled. I didn't lose a limb. I haven't been financially affected so badly that it will cause me irreparable harm. Obviously, those things could have made it much much worse.

As I rode the stationary bike today I thought about some of those aforementioned scenarios and others. What happens to a runner who suddenly loses their eyesight? A runner who loses a limb? An athlete that suffers a career ending injury? It happens all the time. As an athlete I realize that you certainly can't be careful. If you go out fearing all the bad things that can go wrong, you won't be at your best.

After coming to grips with this situation I look forward to getting back to running. I look forward to getting back on the ice and back to normal. But this injury has given me the respect that I know I must give to the fact that things can change so quick. And if and when I get back to some semblence of normalcy I will probably appreciate all that I can do just a little more. We're all getting older. But we can stay young at heart. But we also must stay diligent and realize what we are and are not capable of. I'm certainly not ready to give up officiating. But I do look at my abilities a little more honestly. This incident was not caused by my lack of ability. To the contrary. But I will return with a sense of honesty knowing that I cannot and will not be able to maintain the same level of skating and running forever. And that is why the here and now is something to be more appreciated everyday. Time stops for no one or nothing. Amazing how time gives you more respect for that very thing. Tick tock tick tock...