Last Sunday, I ran the Boston Athletic Association's half marathon. [Yes the same people who put on the Boston marathon.] It was an amazing experience all the way around.

Saturday after my busride up, I got to have dinner with 2 wonderful women from my online running group. It was my first time meeting them in person which was great. I did not sleep well that night, not actually falling asleep till 3:30 am, but thankfully my good night before and the adrenaline helped.

I had a great race. Waking not too early since I was only 1 mile away from the start and having my breakfast. I headed over to the race start and found ran into my friends as I checked my bag and picked up my race t-shirt.

The race was an amazing experience. Weather cool but good. I got into a groove and really was able to hold my effort level pretty steady through the race in the end. First half was a bit faster due to the downhills. Was a bit worried after mile 8 if I could keep it up, but was running near a couple of women and wound up finish the last couple of miles with one of them. We kept each other going especially through those back uphills in the out & back course through the end. We did get a quick run through the Franklin Park Zoo before the race ended on the track at the stadium. Nice and cushy ending.

My finish time 2:50:17 beat my previous PR by over 20 minutes. I credit my wonderful coaches and training partners with helping me to up my fitness level through the season. Now a few down weeks and then off to Disney for Wine & Dine.

My brother Jonathan and I did our first race ever together back in 1999 the San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon in memory of our mom with Team in Training. For me it was a one time deal back then... for him the start on a running journey. He (and a few friends of his) inspired me to start walking while we all stuck together post Marine Corps Marathon 2012 in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. This led to me rejoining TNT and starting to run/walk, finishing 2 half marathons and a 10k and now signed up for a sprint triathlon and 2 more half marathons.

I am really writing this post to share what he wrote about the last 2 years of his journey culminating in the Lake Placid Ironman this coming Sunday. I can't wait to be there to cheer him on!

"I just got back from an easy 4 mile run. It was surprisingly (to me) emotional. It was my last run in San Diego before I leave for NY for my first Ironman Triathlon.

That triathlon, incidentally, is the culmination of a two year plan i set in place in the summer of 2011. Many of you know parts of my plan, some may even know most or all of it. However, I feel I want to take a moment and catalog it in a journal-style post.

After years of mild weight gain and sub-par performances at several endurance races I decided that I needed to change the way i was doing things. This was not a quick fix but an eventual change over the next two years. I suppose I should mention that the subsequent years would bring me to 40. My plan was simply this: There were to goal races that I wanted to not just accomplish but do so in a fashion that was befitting the capabilities i knew I was capable of achieving. The first race was the Trans Rockies Run last year. The second race was an Ironman Triathlon as a 40th birthday celebration.

Well, starting after Thanksgiving 2011, I went on a bit of a fad diet, but for me it was more of an inflection point. A point in time i could refer to and say, "This is when it all started." I lost almost 20 pounds. My running improved almost instantly. I was able to run farther and faster than i'd been able to in years.

Then I went on to run over 200 consecutive days leading up to the aforementioned Trans Rockies Run. If you missed that it was a 6 day multi-stage running race through the Rocky Mountains. I ran this with my good friend Tom. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life!

After that I decided to throw in a Marathon in October of 2012. I was able to PR (personal record) the marathon by nearly 5 minutes. I backed off my training for the rest of the year so I could have a fresh start in January 2013. I started working with a coach who gave me a weekly schedule to train for the Ironman.

Over the course of 2013 I have run nearly 500 miles, Biked over 1700 miles, and swum over 75 miles, all in preparation for my next race, the 2013 Ironman Lake Placid. For those who don't know, this is a one day event entailing a 2.4 miles swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, followed by a 26.2 mile run, all within a 17 hour time limit.

It's coming to it. I leave for NY tomorrow evening. It's been a long road, but well worth it. I get to share my day on Sunday with my sis Dvora and our friends Corie and the Lapcevich family. For those of you who couldn't make the journey to Lake Placid, I hope you'll still follow me on race day (I'll send more info on that later).

Thanks for 'listening'."

Jonathan Geller

I just finished the Oakley Women's Mini 10K with Team in Training and am back for more. I was a mentor for the short season which I really enjoyed as well.

Why do I stay with Team in Training, because it is a cause close to my heart as I lost my mom to a Lymphoma and the research being done by LLS not only helps those with cancer, but the drugs they have developed are also helping my friends daughter who has JRA.

Teams are made up of individuals. Without them, there is no team.

Come and help me keep helping the good work being done. My goal for the season is $2000 and since that is over my minimum all the extra goes 100% to the cause.

I have a mission-to help find cures and more effective treatments for blood cancers. To accomplish that mission, I’m participating in a sports endurance event as a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. Like the other members of TNT, I will be raising funds to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. I’m improving the quality of my life by participating and with your support, I can help improve the quality of life for patients and their families as well.

Please make a donation in support of my efforts with Team In Training and help advance the research for cures.

Thanks so much in advance for your support!

Namaste,

Dvora