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Posted by Anthony Mauriello 12 years 4 months ago

Hello Friends (in a Jim Nantz voice)! We are 8 days from Halloween, 9 weeks from Christmas and more importantly... 26 days from the Philadelphia Marathon! It's starting to hit home for us 3 that we are actually going to be running a full marathon in just a few short weeks. How was this week different for us training wise? Let's get to it.

Josh "The American Brad Pitt (ABP)" Tux went ballistic with his running this week. Not only is he running the marathon... he completed the Army 10 miler this past weekend. ABP continues to amaze us every week. The man literally has no limits. An argonaut of modern day runners, Tux will one day be remembered for his never say never attitude.

Tom "Hamilton 'The Babe' Porter"  put up up an effort this week that would have made Benny "The Jet" Rodriquez proud. He blazed all around NJ. Stops included Brigantine, Toms River, and Absecon. How did he celebrate? Put himself in food coma at Rivolis. For a man that gives a 120% everytime those high tops hit the flat top... I say well deserved.

As for me, Tony "Squints" M, I am humming along. I'm what the Greeks call "Zeus'n it". There is not a street on the North Side of Toms River that hasn't felt the wrath of my One, Two Step. Not a sidewalk that hasn't winced at the 152 pound thunder steps I deliver with each pass. Just ask the tea cup poodle that decided my side of the road was his side of the road. What happened? Let's just say when the train came rollin in... "Hulk" didn't measure up (Not saying who moved for who though). I'm excited for what the next 4 weeks are going to hold. 

As always, thank you everyone for all the donations. We are fast approaching our goal and we have all of you to thank. We are 4 weeks away from doing something special for an even more amazing cause. If you haven't already, please click the links above to find out more about how Alex's Lemonade Stand started and how your donations help. Thank you! 

Posted by Anthony Mauriello 12 years 4 months ago

Hello Everyone! What a great week it was. The Jets won (yes they still play in the NFL), the weather warmed up, and Team JTT had it's second 20 mile run of this training season. How'd we fare you ask? Let's find out.

Tom "Gangnam Style" Bigs torched the mean streets of South Jersey this past weekend. Along the way he had some support in Nick "The Nick" Pants and John "The Ice Man" biking along side him for the 3 hour ordeal. Choosing brawn over brain, Bigs pushed through the pain and scorched his time from 2 weeks ago. How did he celebrate you ask? Went to work less than 2 hours later. The man is a machine. Literally. Pujols and Bigs were made in the same factory, where South Korean singer/songwriter PSY was born (That was my attempt to stay relevant and hip).

Josh "Shugey Bear" Tux decided to turn the intensity decibal clockwise by a notch. 20 miles wasn't enough for this Centaur. He rocked and rolled for 21 in less than 3:20.  That's insane! To think how far along Tux has come in the past 2 years is mind blowing. I'll tell you one thing, with elections right around the corner... Tux is making a strong push for my write in vote. I'm willing to over look the birth certificate requirements. Show me where being a mythical creature precludes you from the presidency! That's what I thought.

This weekend I officially made my transformation from Man to Animal. I was an absolute OX tearing through Toms River neighborhoods. Crossed that GPS line in 3:04:01. Goal pace for the race is 9:09 and my pace this past weekend was 9:12. Two weeks ago did I get discouraged when my pace was a good amount higher? Never. Did Rudy give up? Did the 1980's US Hockey team give up? Did Dumbledore's Army give up? Seeing as I'm a genetic combination off all 3, there was no way quit was entering my vocabulary. I'm excited to see what the future brings as the 3 of us get that much closer to the race.

Thanks again to everyone for all your generous donations. PLease check out the links above to see what Alex's Lemonade Stand is all about. Any questions don't hesitate to ask any one of us. See you all next week.

Posted by Anthony Mauriello 12 years 4 months ago

Hello Everyone! First I would like to thank everyone on behalf of Josh, Tom, and myself for all the love and support. You are helping us acheive our goal and we couldn't do it without all of you. Yes it has been almost a month since I have posted and I apologize. With the Fiscal Year end for Josh and myself, and Tom starting a new school year, it was a pretty busy month... but not too busy for training. What were we up to you ask? Well, let's get started.

 

Josh was an absolute animal these past few weeks. He put up a 20 miler, and a handful of half marathons. It wasn't all easy, and Josh knew it would be that way. That's why on his last half marathon he ran with a cougar chasing him. In the words of Ricky Bobby's Dad, "There's nothing more frightening than driving with a live cougar next to you." Josh says try running from one. Don't worry, no cougars were hurt in the writing of this blog, but they sure were embarrased. Nicely done Tux.

 

Where there's a will, there's a way. And Tom B showed us true grit these past few weeks. After spending long days teaching our youth, Tom has found the time to put in the long runs at night. How does he do it you ask? A simple mix of hard work, 5 hour energy, a pump-up medley of great moments in sports movie history, love and support, his fan club, and the "X" factor. When I asked Tom how that concoction of running juice is working he simply replied "60% of the time... Works every time." I'm not sure what that even means, but boy am I scared for the pavement on November 18th.

 

As for me, I put out a stellar performance these past few weeks. All the long runs (20, 13 and 12 milers) were somewhere in the 9:00 to 9:45 pace per mile. Just like the Berlin Wall, that will be coming down. I don't need to jump from the edge of the atmosphere to get a rush. Cold air, American Flag bandana's and the open road are all this guy needs. Throw in a song about Ole Glory, show me those Stars and Stripes flying, and ladies and gentleman... that combination is what our good friend Foti would call 'Merica.

 

I won't lie, the 20 miler was pretty brutal. That didn't stop me though, or any of us for that matter. At the end of the day, what else is there in life but to love, be kind to others, and push yourself farther than you ever believe you can go? We aren't sure how fast we will do the race, but we sure will give it everything we've got. Remember, as proud as you are of us, and that we are of ourselves, we are doing this race for an amazing cause. Any donations  are appreciated as we reach our goal. If you have any questions, please reach out to one of us. And as always, please check out the above links to see what Alex's Lemonade Stand is all about and how you can get involved. Again, thank you everyone for all the love and support.

Posted by Anthony Mauriello 12 years 5 months ago

Hello Everyone! What a weekend for JTT. We held our first annual Texas Hold 'Em Tournament for Alex's Lemonade Stand. I can say that it was a smashing success. Joe "Halloween" took the crown with his mind tricks. Followed in 2nd by yours truly, and rounding out the top 3 (with a dominating performance) John "The Ice Man". The tournament kicked off around 12:45 and it took all of 30 minutes for Andy "Big Guy" to get knocked out first. He could be heard later that night in his sleep muttering the words "Maurer wins", which became a common theme on the day. 

Andy getting knocked out meant the grill was fired up though. Steamers, shrimp, burgers, pulled pork... you name it we ate it. As the day progressed the weather held on. I believe a combination of my 4 college credits in Meteorology, my strong ties to Jim Cantore on twitter (he has tweeted me once), and an overall admiration for warm air crashing against cold fronts is what held off the bad weather long enough for the tournament to conclude. Despite Juggernaught being carried out and "Juice" reverting to 12th century bartering... the entire day went off without a hitch.

A huge thank you goes out to everyone that came and helped donate to this amazing cause. It's people like you that truly make the biggest difference with your selflessness and generosity. Your donations on Saturday were truly appreciated and I personally cannot thank you enough. 

As for the actual training... Josh came back with a vengeance this week. 15 miles in 2:27:00. Some people run from something... Something runs from him. Way to kick it into overdrive. 

"Bigs" busted the concrete all week while putting in a full work week. Some say watching Tom runs reminds them of a young Usain Bolt. Personally... I see it. It's even been rumored Ruben Amaro has been watching Tom's early morning runs for a possible upgrade in the outfield.

As for me... I learned what the difference is between eating food that is good for you and eating food that gives you food poisoning. If you read between the lines... you will pick up on the fact that I had food poisoning. Although I was better by the tournament, my running was brought to an abrupt hault. Feeling at 83.48% today... I'll be back on the road doing my marathon one two step. Check back later in the week/next week for more updates on how things are going. Again thank you to everyone and please check out the links above for more information on how you can get involved with Alex's Lemonade Stand.   

Posted by Anthony Mauriello 12 years 5 months ago

Hello friends and welcome back. This past week was a good one but let's start with some setbacks. Josh "Rambo" Tux was unable to complete the 15 miler that was scheduled. The doctor called it a herniated disc in his back... Josh called it no big deal and pushed through the pain. He is looking to make a strong recovery during the week with some small runs and take back some glory on Saturday. I have no doubt that he can get it done.

Tom "Gazelle" Bigs loved him some him this week. He absolutely dominated the open road with those legs of steel. No mile marker could interfere with the pure intensity he brought. Nothing can stop him right now. It's what we in the game call "In the zone". We are looking for big things from him this November... and based on his training so far there's no doubt he will deliver.

As for me, Tony "Tony" M, I took one small step for a man but one giant leap for myself. The longest straight run I have completed prior to Sunday was 13.1. Shattered that with my 15 mile showing. Some things I learned about myself include, but are not limited to: not going to win an olympic medal for distance running, really enjoy the smell of burgers when I'm running and my legs are even shorter than I thought. Also, that immortality is there just beyond the hills, and to go take it, it's yours. That's a line from a movie but holds true today. Keep chasing dreams and you'll be suprised at what you find along your journey.  

And if that doesn't motivate you, ask your significant other to casually drop lines like "you sure you want to skip your run today, jeans look a little tight".

As always, please take a look at the links above on the Alex's Lemonade Stand website and see the real hero's and see how you can contribute. Get in touch with myself, Josh or Tom to find out about events we are planning and how you can donate. Thanks for taking the time to read this and thank you for your donations.

Sincerely,

JTT

Posted by Anthony Mauriello 12 years 6 months ago

Hello everyone! Just want to give you a quick update on our training and how things are going.

Tom B is dominating the beaches in South Jersey with his running. Some of you familiar with the story of the Margate deer may have heard rumblings that it's back, this time in Brigantine. Those reports are false. That's just our young gazelle Tom gliding between streets and beach becoming a running terror. God Bless being young and strong at 23.

As for Josh and myself... age is becoming a factor (27 is the new 50). Josh's back has been acting up as of late, but nothing the ole' Doc can't fix. He'll be motoring through training again by this weekend. It's not the size of the dog in the fight... it's the size of the fight in the dog.

I recently aggravated my sciatic nerve during some manual labor (i was bending over taking clothes out of the dryer). I know you may be worried, but have no fear... That fuzzy teddy bear and white box of heat can't get the best of me. I was out running 10 miles on Sunday and plan to put it into beast mode these next 11 weeks.

As for donations, they are always welcome. Please look through the Alex's Lemonade Stand site to see all the great things your donations would be helping. As some of you know, the 3 of us have some events planned for the months of September and October.  Please ask one of us for details and how you can donate. Thanks again everyone. We will provide weekly updates from here on out. The funnier they are, the more you should donate.

Posted by Anthony Mauriello 12 years 7 months ago

Hello Everyone! Thank you for visiting our fundraising page for Team JTT. The three of us (Josh, Tom, and Tony) will be running this years Philadelphia Marathon for the charity Alex's Lemonade Stand. We are very excited because not only will this be our first marathon, but we will be doing it for an amazing cause. With your donations, Alex's Lemonade Stand can continue to fight childhood cancer. For more information on Alex's Lemonade Stand and all that they do, please click on the links at the top of the page. Thank you again for your generosity.

For those of you wondering if JTT stands for everyone's 1990's favorite heart throb Jonathan Taylor Thomas, sadly this will be a let down. The creative name comes from our first names: Josh, Tom, and Tony. Check back often for updates on how our training is going and other ways you can get involved with this great organization. Thanks again!

-Josh, Tom, and Tony