Yesterday I flew up to New Jersey in an attempt to finally finish what I started in November. Spoiler alert – mission accomplished.

I had my concerns though. I was flying American and I kept getting weather alerts warning me of what was to come. I decided to just proceed as planned and hope the universe had a different outcome this time.

I got to DFW after a 1 hour lightning delay. And then…

…celebrity sighting! Turns out…celebrities are just like us and fly commercial (except not like me because he was in first class, and I was not). Most of you probably recognize him from football, but I’m a big fan of his work in the movie Failure to Launch (huge Sarah Jessica Parker fan). No idea why he was headed to New Jersey, but thought it was kind of cool.

Once I landed I grabbed my rental car and headed to Asbury Park. I checked into my hotel and then grabbed dinner at a place called The Iron Whale. Since it was a Friday during Lent (plus being on the coast) seafood was a perfect choice.

I then walked around the boardwalk a bit before deciding I should head in for the night. The people watching on the boardwalk was great, but the crowd got a little spicy so figured I should be safe and excuse myself from the drunken festivities.

I didn’t sleep well before the race (the hotel was also hosting some type of party) but the race didn’t start until 8:30am, which is fairly late, so wasn’t too bad.

The weather wasn’t amazing. Temp in the 40s, but strong winds and rain made the real feel in the 30s. I asked one of the volunteers if they ever canceled the race (ptsd from attempt one) and they said no, other than lightning.

The gun went off and I got myself going. Now, my training hasn’t been good. Prior to today my longest run in 2025 has been 4 miles. But, if nothing else, I’m mentally strong, if a bit physically stupid.

The goal was the get across the finish line without any injuries AND to finish in enough time to get a shower before my hotel forced me out.

I did really well with my pacing for 9 miles, then I started to suffer. And at mile 10 the rain really started coming down. I freaked out for a bit hoping the storm wouldn’t intensify (worried about lightning canceling the race) but luckily all it did was make the boardwalk nice and slick. And the wind coming off the ocean wasn’t fun.

Finally I reached the end. My time wasn’t my best (2:28/11:20 mi pace) but I really don’t care because I’m just so happy to have another state completed!

After the race I grabbed my swag and then hustled to the hotel to get a really hot shower. My fingers were so numb that it hurt.

After checking out, I headed to a Wawa to get gas and a diet Dr Pepper. As I pulled up to the gas pump, a gentleman walked up and started pumping my gas. I asked him what he was doing and he said that’s just what they do in NJ. Mind. Blown. Now, I’m super loyal to QuikTrip (shout out to Dietrich – GM of my local store!) but it was pretty awesome to have someone pump my gas. AND they had ONE bag of Reese’s mini clusters, which is one of my favorite candies ever, so overall, a very successful gas station stop.

From there I went on the search for lunch, but there wasn’t anything exciting on the way to the airport so I decided just to grab something after security.

I went to a place called The Office. No Dwight sightings, but got a good dish and a beer, which really hit the spot. From there I just paced the airport, trying to keep the lactic acid from building up in my legs. My flight kept getting delayed so my step count is pretty high for the day.

Just boarded the flight to DFW….and guess who is on it? My good buddy Terry Bradshaw again.

And this time I’m in first class with him! (Thanks to a free upgrade). The best thing about being in first class (besides the extra room) is the food! And being post race, I’m going to enjoy the tasty meal.

While enjoying my food I’ve been looking at races and have decided that the best way to be prepared for the marathon I’ve signed up for in Hawaii in December (which if all goes according to plan will be my 50th state) is to run a pre marathon, marathon. So my sister Andrea and I are going to sign up for the Route 66 marathon in November (she doesn’t know this yet, will likely find out when/if she reads my blog), and that way we will be super fit going into Hawaii.

Overall I’m pleased that #44 is done. I’ve got a 14 minute connection time at DFW tonight, in another terminal, so may not make it home today, but if not, at least I can rest easy knowing I don’t ever have to go back to New Jersey unless I want to.

Next up is Minnesota in May!