What is Ryan going to do to stop ME?!?!?!?

So my training has been going really well and I wondered to myself the other day, "What if Ryan wasn't actually OK with me beating his time"? I mean, what if he has this nice guy image but inside his stomach was turning with the thoughts of being called out. He may not really be happy AT ALL about this website challenge. The fact is the he IS going to be "watching" the marathon from the sidelines this year as his brother in law is running the race. I had this thought that if he didn't want me to beat his time that he would stalk me during the race, trying to throw me off of my time at every turn!!

Maybe he'll start with a water gun to the face as I run over the Varazanno bridge !!

If that doesn't work, how about a banana peel tossed oh so carefully at my feet as I am running through Brooklyn!!!

"Damn, Tim Reid is still on pace to beat my time"!!! "Now the heavy artillery"!! he chuckles as I am running through Queens. "How bout this Timmy Boy"!!! "BLOW DARTS"!!

Now Ryan is getting REALLY upset as I head into the Bronx!! "What THE F$%#". SWORDS"!!! Seriously Ryan...get over it. And stop staring at me like that. You're scaring me!!

As I head into Central Park, I feel as though I've avoided all of Ryan's diabolical plans. "WAIT!!! NOT THE BEARD!!! Ryan, put the gun down...this is for charity...you can run for The Michael J Fox Foundation next year and start a website called beatingtimreid.com and raise even more money!!! PUT THE GUN DOWN"!!!

Ok, maybe this just won't happen. But Ryan, remember, I'll be watching out for you and your dastardly plans!

Thanks everyone!! Tim

Night at the Casino

Had a great event last night. Raised over $1300 for MJFF bringing my total to over $8700 towards my goal of $20,000. Thanks to the Harbor Casino Bar and Absolut Vodka for helping to make a great night happen.

Thanks Sherrie for helping out behind the bar. Especially for those fruity drinks that Justin Rowley wanted with the umbrellas.

My beautiful wife Michelle and our great friend Alison sporting their very own beatingryanreynolds.com t-shirts. They were a hit!!

More friends... Kristin, Christina, Cynthia, Becky and my wife having fun!

Sporting their brr.com t-shirts proudly!

Christina obviously having fun along with Becky with their raspberry absolut drinks.

Michelle with Mike and Laura along with Ali and Ken!

Our super fun neighbors Sal and Cynthia joined us for all of the fun!

Justin asking for another fruity drink with his wife Christina

Great picture of Kristin and Michelle!

Before all of the fun started!

18 DONE!!

Made it to Central Park about 7:45 and did my 18 mile run. Basically three loops. But I made sure that I ran the last 3 miles as the same route as the marathon. Total time was 2:41:16 or an 8:58 mile. I felt great the whole time and ran the last 3 miles in 25 minutes. Double click on the image to see the info. It didn't show up that clear. Next week I get to drop back to 16 miles!! On September 13th, I'll do my first 20 miler. I feel pretty confident that I'll be able to handle that.

It rained the entire time and I felt like this!!

Still better than running in 90 degrees and 100% humidity!!

Hope to see everyone tonight at the Harbor Casino event in Jersey City.

RAIN!!!

Woke up, ate my usual pre-run meal of two Blueberry Kashi waffles with peanut butter and banana. It's by far the best pre-run meal that I could think off. After I ate. I finally looked outside and it's raining. Not a hard rain but also not a mist. Checked out the doppler radar and it looks like it might break around 8:00 AM so I'll wait an hour or so before heading out for my 18 miler

check back later

TWITTER! DAMMIT!!

I am now Twittering. I know..it's a sad day for me too. But, a lot of people tweet so I thought it would be a good way to shoot some quick notes out...

here's my link, http://twitter.com/btngrynreynolds

oh, yes, running...I ran 6 miles this morning. The only thing is that now at 5:30 AM, there's still about 20 minutes before the sun starts to show its face. So the first 20 minutes is in complete darkness...no big deal but it's more fun to see the sun right away. Something of note...I was the only person running in Liberty State Park this morning. I guess that means something is wrong with me...

What I Think about when I Run

I guess if I wrote a book, I would write about what I THINK about when I run. I was asked that question during the NY Daily News interview and it took me some time to answer it because most of the time, I kind of zone out, taking in everything around me. That's why Central Park is the best place to run. You don't have to worry about cars at all. Just run in a circle. Well..not a circle... that would make you dizzy and people would look at you. But you run the loop.

The one time that I did think about something, I thought how funny it would be to be on the Conan O'Brien show. My guess is that he would have me on the show and have me run around the building the entire time that he was filming...and he would have this bear chasing after me...I would certainly run fast!!!
Although, my favorite late night talk show would be the Chelsea Handler show Chelsea Lately. She is by far the funniest female comedian in the world today. Maybe, quite possibly, one of the funniest people on the planet.

What I talk about when I talk about running!

So for those of you that do run, check out this book by Haruki Murakami. It's really a great book that takes you through one person's thoughts when they run...a lot!! Note to self...do not run 62 miles...ever!! This book will definitely help you gain perspective and also help you through the last miles of whatever race you run. It's a breezy read for sure!! Enjoy!!

NO PAPARAZZI PLEASE!!!

Well, today is the first day that I was "recognized" by someone other than my friends. This guy working at GNC said, "Hey, aren't you that guy running the marathon. I thought it was you the last time you came in here. You know what?!?! You really remind me of that guy from Smallville...what was his name"? Girl behind the counter says "Lex Luther"!!! Guy said "YEAH, that's it. Freakin Lex Luther"!!! I mean, I guess that was the only option for who I could possibly look like from Smallville. Possibly better than when I was in Mexico for our honeymoon and some of the locals started yelling at me as I was walking across the street. "Hey...It's Mr Clean, Mr Clean, Mr Clean"!!! Then they dropped everything they were doing and started dancing and singing that damn Mr Clean song. Oh well, I guess things could be worse...Mr Clean's pretty damn good looking and also pretty ripped...Mr Clean it is...

FARTLEK!!

OK, you can stop laughing right now. "Fartlek" is a type of interval speed training that runners do in order to increase their race pace. I am starting these on Tuesday nights in order to get my body used to a faster pace. My surname, "Reid", stands for "extremely slow movement or individual where muscles are made up of primarily slow twitch fibers". I'm gonna need a lot of fartlek to get faster.

Here's the Wikipedia definition:

Fartlek, which means "speed play" in Swedish, is a form of conditioning which puts stress mainly on the aerobic energy system due to the continuous nature of the exercise. The difference between this type of training and continuous training is that the intensity or speed of the exercise varies, meaning that aerobic and anaerobic systems can be put under stress. Most fartlek sessions last a minimum of 45 minutes and can vary from aerobic walking to anaerobic sprinting. Fartlek training is generally associated with running, but can include almost any kind of exercise.

seriously...stop laughing...it's freakin swedish!!!!!!!

15 miles today!

Ran 15 miles this morning in 2:19:00 or a 9:19 pace. The goal of these long runs is to get the miles in. Sometime people will say "You ran 15 miles but at that pace, you wouldn't beat Ryan Reynolds' time". For all of the non-marathon runners out there, you can't run every run at your race pace. If you did, you would either get burned out or injured. You are supposed to run your long runs at 1:00 to 1:30 minutes slower per mile than your race pace.

Only 69 days until the marathon!

I managed to work the loops out so that the last 3 miles are the exact last 3 miles of the NYC marathon. I thought it would help with visualization. I also ran those 3 miles at race pace or 8:25. Felt really strong. Here's a map of the last miles. Central park is pretty hilly but running it clockwise seems to be somewhat easier. I'm going to try and make this the finishing part of all of my long runs. By the time the marathon gets here, I will have seen and felt this part 8 or 9 times.

My training schedule for long runs looks like this going forward:

Saturday, August 29th - 18 miles
Sunday, September 6th - 20 miles
Sunday, September 13th - 16 miles
Sunday, September 20th - 22 miles
Sunday, September 27th - 15 miles (in London)
Sunday, October 4th - 22 miles
Sunday, October 11th - 15 miles
Sunday, October 18th - 13 miles
Sunday, October 25th - 8 miles

I'm planning 3 runs of 20 miles or more with two of them being 22 miles. Yikes!!

Have a great day!

Challenges, Challenges!!

So I've come to realize that now I have to beat the 3:50:22 time. With the Daily News article and everyone knowing about it...I have no choice....still no real pressure. This is motivating me to really concentrate on my training and nutrition. I know that raising money for all of the people suffering with Parkinson's will pull me through. Ryan said that is what propelled him during the marathon and I feel as though this well do the same from me.

The below photo is the one that I chose as the front picture on my beatingryanreynolds.com training shirt. Most people looking at this would say that Ryan looks like a goofball here with the expression on his face. That is somewhat undeniable...actually...not even somewhat. He looks like a goofball. However, in showing this photo to my friends at Team Fox, they say that this photo was taken the second that Ryan saw Michael J Fox in the crowd of people. I chose this photo as motivation for me when I am running the marathon.

My other question is what the hell is the huge leopard print something in the upper right corner? I thought animal prints were out of fashion...but I guess not for this person

Big Trade!!

So, with all of the marathon training I am doing, I am just too busy to deal with fantasy football this year. However, I made a great trade the other day. 20 training sessions for 20 massages. Had my first one today and I feel amazing. I don't just have knots in my back...I think my entire back is one big knot. Training sessions are great when you need to get your ass kicked to get back in shape...right now with mileage increasing, the massages come at a perfect time. I'm getting one per week until the marathon.

Running 6 miles tomorrow and then 15 on Sunday morning.

Weight is at 202 right now...so close to 199. I'm gonna need new pants soon as my flat fronts look like pleats right now.

Have a good night!

Feelin Great!

Fully recovered from the half marathon on Sunday. Went to the gym for core workout and weights. Still have to do some lifting but it's all light weights. Have to say, lifting is quite boring compared to running. Everyone standing there...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10...while looking at themselves in the mirrors. I like the people that will do one set of 4 reps and then sit there for about 3 or 4 minutes before doing another set. I always thought the gym should charge them rent for the time they spent on the bench press.

Up to 568 people that have seen my site. That's 315 additional people since Friday. Thanks to everyone who has read the site.

1:47:48

WOW....Hot day today!! I finished the half marathon in 1:47:48...tried for my PR under 1:45 but it was way way hot. Average pace was 8:14 per mile and it ended up being my 2nd best half marathon time. Finished in 1683rd place out of about 10,000 people. So, I was in the top 17%. This would translate into a 3:46:00 marathon. Lots of work to still do to make sure I can beat the 3:50:22. Came home and took a nice 20 minute ice bath. It's really the best recovery practice in the world...however, it's freakin cold.

With a margarita in hand, I am relaxing on my couch.

Have a good one....Tim

Ch, ch, ch, ch, ch, ch, CHANGES...

I remember when I was 28 and just starting to run. I was living in Pittsburgh wearing my pleated khakis and button down blue oxford shirts. I also weighed in anywhere between 230 and 240 lbs. I used to lift a lot...of food that is...lift from my plate to my mouth!! My typical breakfast was a coffee and a bearclaw!! People said I looked kind of like a heavier John Elway (That's when I had hair...now closer to Yule Brenner). When I moved to NY, a friend of mine, Alison, decided to try and help me out. "OK, first...lose the damn pleats!!...next up... lose the button down collared oxford...now...WOULD YOU LOSE SOME DAMN WEIGHT"!! No, she didn't say that...but I knew I needed to...

Running plus better eating really helped me lose the weight. I'm 203 lbs today. Looking forward to being below 200 for the first time since 1997. When I first started to run, 3 miles seemed like a lot. Now, today, I ran 3 miles just to be able to get a good stretch in before tomorrow's race. 3 miles doesn't even seem like a workout anymore...which is good.

It's going to be damn HOT tomorrow morning. Good thing the race is at 7:00!!

have a good one.

Fun day

Yesterday was a pretty fun day. Got a lot of calls from people and a lot of new people took a look at beatingryanreynolds.com. Over 230 new people checked out the site. We received $105 in official donations and I got e mails from people committing another $1000. The donations yesterday came from people that I did not even know. I'm going to need these events to really drive the donations. So, when I have them, invite out as many people as you can!

So far the events look like this:

August 29th - Night at the Casino - Remember, it's a bar/restaurant and their is no casino so you can stop watching the movie "21" and stop practicing your card counting..it won't help.

September - Date/Time TDB - Guest Bartending at "Southern Hospitality" on the Upper East Side. They have the best pulled pork nachos ever!!

October - Date/Time TBD - "Pong for Parkinson's - A Beer Pong tournament in the Village for all of the young and old kids.

Also kicking around a "Comedy Fest" Evening in October.

I'll have to get back to everyone on specifics. I'm going to work everything out next weekend for the Southern Hospitality and Beer Pong event.

Running 3 miles today to loosen up and get a good stretch in. Tomorrow's the half marathon.
Going to be a blast!!

Thanks, Tim

The Big News...The Daily News Article 8.14.09

Hello everyone! Check out the NY Daily News today. There's a great article by Joanna Molloy about my website and my challenge of beating ryan reynolds.

www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/08/14/2009-08-14_life_of_ryan_this_guy_thinks_he_can_do_better

I met with Joanna and Craig (the photographer) on Tuesday, August 4th for a 30 minute interview and then we took photos and a video for about 40 minutes. It was great to be able to tell me story about the website and my raising money for Parkinson's.

Now that this is out, I will be training harder than ever as the article said..."I've called him (Ryan) out on this. So I have to do it". We'll see how I do this weekend at the NYC Half Marathon. I feel great and I am lighter than ever while training for a marathon. Weight is at 204 right now. I'll have to get down to 190 to 195 for the marathon. That'll make the run a lot easier. Every pound you lose is close to a minute off of your final marathon time. Plus every pound is 4 pounds on your knees...add it up...it's tough being a "bigger" runner. When I ran my first marathon, I weighed 235 lbs...that's when I lived in Pittsburgh and ate...well..pretty much everything.

Ok, gotta get ready for work. Tim

Newly Designed T-Shirts

Here's my new beatingryanreynolds.com t-shirts that I designed as give-aways and also for friends to wear when I run. I also had some singlets (that's running tanks to you non-runners) made up for the half-marathon.

5 Days until NYC Half Marathon

Ahhhh, NYC in the heat of the summer. Nothing better than hopping on a train where the AC ran out. Seriously, I know the recession has hit some people pretty hard but deodorant at Target is like $1.49 a stick!!! Sometimes it's actually better to smell under your own arms...at least I know that I like "The Arctic Blast Scent" of my Degree antiperspirant.

Ran a loop at the park today after work...FREAKING HOT!! Not as hot as yesterday but still considerably gross outside. The main reasons why I like to train at 5:00 AM is that it is still somewhat dark (I know...I have a problem) and it is about 25 degrees cooler. I'm running 4 miles on Thursday morning and then just 3 miles on Saturday. The half-marathon starts at 7:00 AM on Sunday! Looking forward to it. All the best. Tim

Ahhh, the early Sunday morning workout

Woke up at 6:00 for a nice 10 miler in Central Park today. The nice thing about running longer runs (14+ miles) is that 10 miles now seems easy. Ran an 8:20 pace today and I am now ready for the NYC Half Marathon next Sunday. I'll be shooting for a PR time of 1:44:00. That would translate to a 3:36:00 marathon and would also give me some time to spare on November 1st.

Even though the temps were cooler, 70 degrees when I started, the humidity is always there in NYC in August. Definitely don't need to hit the sauna as I sweat out pretty much all liquids this morning. Hopefully next Sunday will be nice and cool but I'm not going to count on it. I ran a half marathon a number of years ago in August and it was 92 degrees that day...

b-bye,
tim

First Event

Hello all. Big news coming in a couple days. Thanks to all of the people following my blog...All 6 of you :0)...

The first event will be held on Saturday, August 29th from 6:00 - 9:00 PM at "The Harbor Casino" bar in Jersey City. Even though it has a casino in the name...this is a bar/restaurant only...unless it has a back secret gambling room...it is Jersey ya know. It's a great bar in the heart of Paulus Hook and is about a 10 minute walk from either of the PATH trains in the area

The deal is $30.00 at the door for open bar draft beer and Absolut vodka drinks from 6 to 9. What a great deal!!!!!!!!!!...Also, I will be the Guest Bartender for the evening and all of my tips will go towards my fundraising efforts. What this means is that even if my drinks suck, YOU DON'T HAVE TO...please make sure you tip me well as I will have run 18 miles that morning!!!

We will also have a silent auction for some great gifts as well as free beatingryanreynolds.com t-shirts to the first 25 people through the door. These will certainly be family heirlooms for years to come!!

Talk to you soon. Tim

Surprise!!

I have a big surprise coming up later in the week. Stay tuned!! That's all for now. Tim

Great Week!!

Hello all.

Great week running for me. Total of 22 miles. 6 on Tuesday, 6 on Thursday and then 10 fast miles today. Fast is always a relative term but for me it was 10 miles in 1:25:00. That pace over the 26.2 miles would easily put in under the Ryan Reynolds time of 3:50:22. My new pace time is to push to finish in 3:45:00. That would leave me some time open in case of a minor breakdown...not emotionally of course...but one of a phyical nature.


Anyway, training is going well. If I could ever give up Ben and Jerry's then I would really be kicking some ass. But that damn chunky monkey is so difficult to avoid!! Down to 204 pounds from 217 when I started this journey. Good stuff.

NYC half marathon coming up two weeks from today. I would like to run the race at 199 so I've got some work to do over the next 2 weeks. BTW, running over 8 miles in August is similar to 30 minutes in the sauna!!


Not sure what Ryan is doing lately, but, "Definitely, Maybe" showed up on HBO this month and my wife has already seen it 3 times. That didn't stop from me from having to watch it again. Most guys can recite lines from "Old School" or "Animal House"...I can recite lines from freakin "Definitely, Maybe"....shhhhhhhhhhhhh don't tell anyone!!!