An Official Surprise Arrives

With this being my second Boston Marathon and after completing the Carlsbad Half Marathon a week ago, this is the time of year during training that means only one thing…the legendary race is approaching closer and closer as each week passes. Carlsbad was truly an amazing race and I will have blog post later this week recapping the event which featured an amazing course that was shared with fellow Team Hoyt 2012 teammates.

Last week I got a text in the morning to meet at my office in order to fill out some paperwork. That paperwork turned out to be the 2012 Official Invitational Entry form from the Boston Athletic Association to participate in one of the most renowned races in the world. Our Race Director dropped it off and I filled it out immediately. I started to think about last year when I filled out the same form. All of the same feelings of excitement started to stir in my mind and thoughts of the amazing experience I had last year started to give me goosebumps. This is one of the many milestones that I will encounter along the road on my journey from San Diego to Boston.

76 more days until Monday, April 16th- Patriot’s Day in Boston where I will travel 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston,Massachusetts.

2012 Boston Marathon Invitational Entry

For more information on my fundraising effort with Team Hoyt, please take a moment to check out my 2012 fundraising site here: Chuck’s Crowdrise Fundraising Page

Special Gifts Come in Different Shapes and Sizes

This past Christmas was one that I spent with my close family at my parents house in Oceanside. It was great to be home where I spent my days as a youth. I was able to get a great training run on Christmas Eve along the coast of Oceanside. As I grow older and each Christmas passes on by, I have started to realize how much I love being with my family versus getting tons of presents under the tree. It’s always nice to get a gift, especially one that you aren’t expecting.

I thought this plaque my Mom and Dad got me was the best gift I got this year…

Christmas 2011: Commemorative 115th Boston Marathon Plaque

but the best gift was a $500 dollar donation to my Team Hoyt fundraising page from my Tia Lolita! She helped me break the $1,000 dollar fundraising mark putting me at $1,300 as of Christmas Day! I owe a special thank you to my Tia Lolita who not only has supported my fundraising but has always been there to support me no matter what the circumastances are. I love her with all my heart and she is a sense of inspiration to me; as she herself is a strong woman and cancer survivor for many years now.

Fundraising this year has really been amazing and I’m definitely feeling the love from all my donors this year. Thank you to everyone has supported through their generous contributions thus far.

Donation from my Tia Lolita 🙂

For more information on my fundraising effort with Team Hoyt,please take a moment to check out my 2012 fundraising site here: Donate to Team Hoyt

Happy New Year!

I am a little late on here as my schedule the past 2 weeks has been hectic between work, training, vacation in the Bay Area and a week in Scottsdale at my company’s corporate kickoff event. I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best for happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012. 2011 was truly an amazing year and I’m thankful to have shared it with amazing people along the way.

More blog posts coming, stay tuned.

For more information,please take a moment to check out my 2012 fundraising site here: Donate to Team Hoyt

Training around the Holidays

Training around the holidays can often be a difficult thing to do. The 2012 Boston Marathon will be my third marathon, so over the past few years I have learned how to squeeze in training in the gym and runs in despite a hectic holiday schedule.

This year I opted to do a 10mi “long run” in my hometown of Oceanside,where I spent Christmas weekend at my parents house with my family. It was definitely a little harder to get going than normal since it was Christmas Eve day and NFL games were on all day. I had incentive to get up and log the mileage before my Chargers kicked off at 1:00PM. I love my hometown of Oceanside and have many fond memories growing up there. For my run I opted to park in the Oceanside Harbor and run south to Carlsbad and back. My run included a lot of picturesque scenery along the Oceanside coastline including; the Harbor (picture below), jetty, the pier, and border of Carlsbad… oh and I can’t forget seeing the legendary Charger #55 Junior Seau enjoying his balcony and even going out on a paddle board session. I yelled “hey Junior! Merry Christmas”, to which he replied, “Merry Christmas”, with a friendly wave. It felt pretty cool to see him and see how much he enjoys life. The 10 miles ended up being pretty enjoyable and the photo below pretty much captures a perfect day in Southern California.

As Christmas passed by and I stuffed my face with as much food and treats as possible, I knew I had to get some work done before my flight to Oakland on Dec.30th. My flight to the bay are isn’t all just for fun as I am visiting my friend Leo who is in the hospital recovering from a coma due to an ATV accident and seeing his brother Adrian as well. Leo has inspired me during this marathon with Team Hoyt and I’m dedicating my run to him in April. I can’t wait to visit him. Monday I decided to hit CrossFit PB and hit our legs pretty hard with heavy front squats and a short WOD of thrusters and bar facing burpees. Tuesday and Wednesday I went to CrossFit class and squeezed in two short training runs after class. Needless to say my legs were pretty shot heading into Thursday.

Thursday, I had 6 miles scheduled.Normally I would have run this on Saturday, but due to the New Year’s holiday and me being in the bay area I adjusted the run to earlier in the week. Being on vacation this week has allowed me to run in the morning instead of at night which has been nice. It also doesn’t hurt that it was in upper 70s and low 80s this week…in December! I took my run from house to the boardwalk nearby and went to the jetty and back to my house to log the miles I need for the day and week. The boardwalk was packed as the sunshine and warm weather brought tourists and locals out in full force. I snapped this picture as I took a break from the run. I often think about how lucky I am to train in an area that not only has great weather, but scenery, and a special vibe that is hard to find in other places. Training where I live definitely makes it a little easier to go out and hit the pavement.

Stay tuned for more posts including a fundraising update, a special Team Hoyt gift I received, and how to balance training and working on the road as I travel to Scottsdale next week.

I would also like to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year, wishing all of you the best in 2012!

For more information,please take a moment to check out my 2012 fundraising site here: Donate to Team Hoyt

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas to all of my friends and family wherever you are today and whomever you are spending this special day with. I’m definitely thankful for each and every one of you.

Blog Posts coming up this week including training around the Holidays, a fundraising update, and a special  Team Hoyt gift I received.

Christmas Tree on Mission Bay

2011 Boston Marathon Recap: Guest Blog Post

During my fundraising and training effort for the 2011 Boston Marathon with Team Hoyt I was offered the opportunity to do my first ever blog post by the fundraising host site for our team FirstGiving . This year we are using a different fundraising hosting site, but I want to thank FirstGiving for supporting me and Team Hoyt which helped raise over $200,000 dollars as a team for the Hoyt Foundation . I was able to raise an amazing total of $7,474 dollars from generous contributions from; family, friends, colleagues, and other anonymous donors. The first blog post contained content on how I got involved with Team Hoyt, how running helps me cope with my Bipolar Disorder,background information about Dick and Rick Hoyt, my fundraising video project on my YouTube Channel “Send Chuck to Boston” and the Hoyt’s inspirational message of “Yes You Can!”.

Click here to read the post:FirstGiving blog

It was a positive experience and it really started to peak my curiorsity in starting a blog for my 2012 fundraising campaign. With the help of my friend Alexander, we hope to chornicle the ins and outs of fundraising and training by levaraging social media and trying to juggle work and a social life. I hope to continue to spread awarness of the Hoyt’s Yes You Can! message, raise money for their foundation, inspire those who live with mental health disorders (Bipolar) , and running with a new motivation to honor my friend Leo Martin’s recovery from a coma as result of an ATV accident this past Thanksgiving.

Thanks again to FirstGiving  and Debra Askanase @askdebra for allowing me the opportunity to post a guest blog on the site prior to the April 18, 2011 Boston Marathon.

Stay tuned for more recaps from my 2011 Boston Marathon experience and new posts on my journey to Boston in 2012.

For more information,please take a moment to check out my 2012 fundraising site here: Donate to Team Hoyt

Tuesday Marathon Training

Tuesday’s training was pretty successful as I trained at CrossFitPB for one hour and then ran 2 miles around the bay and boardwalk in Pacific Beach. Traditional marathon training would have had me running 3 miles but instead I opted to go to CrossFit class since the workout involved 200M sprints after every round of work. I feel that it’s good to blend working out with weights, body weight movements, and sprinting/rowing in order to cross-train for marathons. My first marathon in 2010, I did not do a lot of cross-training and my legs felt a bit weak when I got up to  high mileage. CrossFit training not only trains your body physically, but it also prepares your mind mentally for any challenges you encounter in the gym, on the field, or out on the road training for a race.

Here was Tuesday’s “AMRAP”= As Many Rounds As Possible in 20 minutes

“Micalizzi”

AMRAP 20 Min:

2 Muscle-Ups 4 Hang Squat Cleans (155/105) 6 CTB Pull-Ups 8 Pistols 10 KBS (70/53) Run 200M

I’m also looking into doing a blog post series on “Why I Run”…Stay Tuned.

Don’t forget to check out my fundraising site by clicking on the following link: Donate to Team Hoyt

Off Day…well not technically. WOD=Workout of the day in CrossFit.

One of the ways I cross-train for marathons at my gym CrossFitPB:

 

The Long Run.8 miles today.Boston…121 days away.

Who are Dick and Rick Hoyt? Watch this video to find out.

This is the story of Dick & Rick Hoyt, the most inspirational father and son team to race in an Ironman.