tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24967835930494207122024-03-08T06:25:48.437-08:00Doggone RunningOne man's (and two dogs') running journeyTeamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-52683436427561267902011-06-22T07:11:00.000-07:002011-06-22T08:49:59.168-07:00Will the Real Runner Please Stand Up?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I think it was January 2008 when I listened to a voicemail that started, “Hello, I am looking for Eric Cameron, the marathoner….”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The voicemail was from a fellow Mr. Cameron who was also registered for Boston in April of 2009 and has a penchant for tracking down members of the Cameron clan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I received that call today, I would be tempted to say, “The marathoner isn’t in right now, I am expecting him back…eventually.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have heard/read people refer to being a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> runner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It usually comes in conjunction with a goal or achievement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be it running a certain number of miles or days of the week, achieving a certain level of speed, or completing a race or challenge, people feel that they are not a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> runner until they have reached a certain level of <s>psychosis</s> dedication to the sport.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I used to be a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> runner. I was a marathoner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I labored over training plans and could be found pouring over my training log.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I awoke early to run while my neighbors slept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I set goals and chased them feverishly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I caught a lot of them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I blathered on endlessly about races, training, recovery, and the friends that I made along the journey. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> runner is MIA at the moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A flaccid temp has taken his place, wide eyed and panicky about how he can fill the shoes of his predecessor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> runner’s notes on how to get the job done, but is a bit overwhelmed.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">So the question is this, if one has to reach a milestone to be considered a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> runner, at what point does one cease to be a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> runner?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it a certain number of pounds gained, dropping below a certain number of miles each week, or failure to maintain the training log because the truth is too painful?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did I lose my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> runner card when I abandoned goals to kick ass in my next race?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ah…the next race. My <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> runner doppelganger is registered for the Pikes Peak Ascent in August and the Houston Marathon in January.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had goals and aspirations for glory in those events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had a plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a belly and a growing feeling of doom.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Of course, being a runner is what has gotten me into this mess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I trained like crazy for three years and was limping around Boston on the evening of Patriot’s Day 2011 after completing my 8<sup>th</sup> marathon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stabbing pain in my heel was the call for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> runner to go away for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I wrestle (I wish I could put this in past tense) with Plantar Fasciitis, an over-use injury from all that glorious running, I also wrestle with my identity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I am not a marathoner, who am I?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The answer: I am a runner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yesterday, the first day of summer, I took the dogs out for a run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all needed it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The grass was high from the recent rain and the trails were soft without being muddy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sun was warm on my skin as we plodded along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mind was full of goals; where those goals would have been focused on race paces and strategies a few short months ago, they were now about how to finally whip this ailment and get back to my former state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At what seemed like every turn on the familiar course, I thought about the hard workouts I had put in on those same trails over the past years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I am currently unable to hold the pace that I labored at while preparing for recent marathons, there was a spark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to get back there.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">And I think that is the answer to my question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am no longer a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> runner when I don’t want to do it anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yesterday’s run was slow, and my heel was a little achy, but it made me want to get after it, which makes me believe that the marathoner will return from his hiatus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I turned off the trail to hit the neighborhood streets, I caught something out of the corner of my eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was Eric Cameron, the marathoner, gliding through the tall summer grass in the angled sunshine of late afternoon, chasing his glorious goals.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">I will catch him and pass him soon enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Really.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div>Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-71601756543573877912011-06-07T08:33:00.000-07:002011-06-07T08:34:38.267-07:00Everything I need to know about running, I learned at the 2011 Boston Marathon.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The 115<sup>th</sup> Boston marathon was my 8<sup>th</sup> attempt at the marathon distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was coming off of a personal best time in Chicago and was really doubtful of my ability to run faster at Boston.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I stated in the race report from Boston, I gave into peer pressure and planned on trying to run my fastest marathon ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Of course, it was in the not running my fastest marathon where the lesson lie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I could have paced better, holding some energy in reserve in the first half, I didn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ran by feel, chatted with some other runners, and had great fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>final time was my second fastest marathon ever, but the lesson was in letting go and enjoying the run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boston is a great town, and I met up with a lot of friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the lasting impression of the race is that I raced well without putting pressure on myself to run fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, in those closing miles, I ran proudly; I wasn’t going to quit, despite paying the price for a fast start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it is that digging deep when things get tough that I love about this sport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave my best but didn’t stress out that my best might not be “good enough.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">It was my best on that day, which is good enough for me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">And I learned that I love being a marathoner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Granted, there are times when I am hanging on in the tough miles, or putting in that interval effort that makes my eyes bulge<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and my breakfast threaten to reappear; those times are unpleasant, but I still like them—in hindsight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But running a marathon, being prepared for the event (more or less) and sharing in the spirit of the effort and the race, is what keeps me logging the miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like running silently through the darkness in the early morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like filling up the squares in the training log.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The question of running to “compete” or “complete” is often raised by marathoners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I have gotten to the point that finishing a marathon is taken for granted a bit, I think that there is some grey area between running just to finish, or complete, the marathon, and running to compete—in the age group or against my own expectations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is that sweet<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>spot where I am fit and prepared and can just run for fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no expectation of finishing time, just the expectation of getting the most of the experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am blessed to be able to run 26.2, and there are times that the obsession with running faster obfuscates that fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 115<sup>th</sup> Boston marathon reminded me of the fact that I love marathoning and that I love being a marathoner.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I learned that I am lucky to be healthy enough to complete the marathon distance, that I have great friends that share my passion, that I have a family that supports my madness, and that the people of Boston love their marathon and treat its participants like heroes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned that I am a lucky man.</span></div>Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-21799261547332484392011-04-23T23:41:00.000-07:002011-04-27T03:57:26.328-07:00Boston Marathon 2011--A race report<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The 115<sup>th</sup> Boston Marathon—a race report.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">As Dawgdoc and I churn out the 22<sup>nd</sup> mile of the 2011 Boston Marathon, the crowds call us by name: “C’mon Eric…Go Jay.!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The roaring crowd cheers us as we blaze towards Boston.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are racing—not against each other, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">with </i>each other.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I ran next to Jay (AKA dawgdoc on the discussion board that I frequent) for a brief part of the marathon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know if it was a full mile of the race; I think it might have been less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this moment <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>defines a lot of what this running of the Boston marathon means to me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I am blessed to have the opportunity to run the Boston Marathon for a second time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After ’09, I thought I would never return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t get me wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a blast in ’09, I have qualifying marathon times, and The Boston holds a special place in my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just thought the journey was a little self indulgent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, I succumbed to peer pressure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of my imaginary friends were doing it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The most significant social element of my running is participation in the Runner’s World discussion boards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started participating in the discussions before my run in ’09 and never left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t know if I should stop posting because I doubted that I would return to Boston, but I had made a lot of friends through our daily discussion on running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those friends are what made the 2011 Boston Marathon worth the trip.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I met a lot of people during Boston ’09 and Chicago ’10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The friends I have made online do materialize at races, and the opportunity to hang out with old friends and meet some new ones, combined with sharing the experience with my family, had me booking flights to Boston for Patriot’s Day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I spent two months whistling the melody from the Dropkick Murphys’ </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-64CaD8GXw"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Shipping Up to Boston</span></i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I was looking forward to the parties with friends, but was fearful of the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My training was OK, but I wasn’t ever as focused and driven as I was in the lead-up to </span><a href="http://doggonerunning.blogspot.com/p/chicago-marathon-10-10-10-race-report.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Chicago</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"> (10-10-10) where I set my PR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worked through the training plan like a zombie (completing the workouts with little feeling) and tried to talk myself out of going for a best time in Boston.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same friends I looked so forward to seeing gave me an earful when I proposed shooting for a goal some 7 minutes slower than my fastest race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My wife called me names, including telling me to “toughen up, buttercup.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh the indignity.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The course in Boston is a tough one that invites the hapless runner to hammer 16 miles of relative downhill, and then chews said runner up in the grinder known as the Newton hills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the hills, there are 5 more miles of downhill that can be a deathmarch if the early miles are run overly optimistically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I feared going out too fast, but also didn’t want to sell myself short, start too slowly, and have no shot at a good time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My legs seemed good, but my head was a mess.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">So I showed up in Hopkinton with a plan that would give me a shot at running my best marathon time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I figured it was better to go for it and run the risk of failure than to play it safe and have regrets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I met up with friends in the village, chatted, prepped for the race, headed to corral #2 of wave #1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could see the tops of the heads of the pro runners as they were introduced and filed out into their starting place several yards in front of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I awaited the start, I fired up the Garmin (my GPS watch) to get a signal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wouldn’t turn on, despite several attempts.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I found myself standing in the starting corral of the 115<sup>th</sup> Boston Marathon laughing aloud like a fool and talking to myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Honey Badger</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"> don’t care.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Honey Badger don’t give a shit!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had my race mantra.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather than obsess over the numbers and pace, I was going to run this one by feel, thanks to the expensive paperweight strapped to my arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ran freely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried to get other runners to talk to me in the early miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loudly sang “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood” and tried to get others to sing with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I high-fived kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kissed a girl in Wellesley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I smiled—a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t know my pace and didn’t try to figure it out as I went through the checkpoints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was a honey badger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t give a shit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went all “attacky” on that course and planned on having cobra for dinner.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">My original plan was to run the first 6 miles at 5-10 seconds faster than goal pace, settle into goal pace for miles 7-16.5, then run the Newton hills to the best of my ability, and let it fly from Boston College (mile 21) into Boston.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I ignored the watch (as any good honey badger would do) and felt as if I was passing people for the first six miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t pushing nor zig-zagging through traffic, but felt as if I was moving up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At six miles, I consciously pulled back the pace a little (without having the slightest idea of what the pace was) and felt as if people were moving past me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They weren’t streaming past, but I felt as if I was slipping back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worried that my effort might be feeling too hard, too early, but the honey badger don’t care.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I spread my arms like an airplane as I made the right turn at Newton firehouse. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crowd went wild[er]. One hill was behind me and now the three famous hills of Comm Ave were before me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I expected to see my family on this stretch, and really wanted to run within myself on the hills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt like I was going slowly, but there were a surprising number of people walking and running more slowly than myself as I picked my way up the hills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worked the uphill and then tried to speed up on the recovery between the hills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw my family at about 18.5 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn’t know that I had been possessed by the spirit of the honey badger, but I informed them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They cheered wildly, and I set my sights on Heartbreak hill.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">At the top of Heartbreak hill lies Boston College.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the girls of Wellesley scream loudly, have a lot of signage, and are willing to kiss sweaty runners, BC is louder, and most likely, more drunk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were roaring!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The din didn’t let up, either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The frenzy of the crowd built throughout the race and the course was lined without gap from the turn at Newton firehouse until Boston.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They called out the names of runners who had put names on their shirts and howled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I honestly believe that the Boston Marathon has the best fans in marathoning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the top of Heartbreak into Boston it got so that I could barely make out what was being said; it was a roar of support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those awesome fans cheered for the runners like they were family!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an honor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t want to let 500,000 people down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, it felt like they were cheering for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">me.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Many of those fans were calling my name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it is because I was starting to look pretty bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was a hurting runner, but just kept telling myself to keep the pace up—to keep it honest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To give anything less than my best would be, indeed, to sacrifice the gift—the gift of being able to run, the gift of returning to Boston, and the gift of a perfect running day (including a nice tailwind), to name a few.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I churned on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is when Jay (Dawgdoc) pulled up next to me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I asked him how he was doing and he said he was hurting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I said something along the lines of “of course you are.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had been following Jay’s training for months and knew (better than he did) that he was ready to break the three hour barrier for the marathon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His training was excellent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He destroyed his PR’s in his tune up races.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He showed up on race day in great shape, and all he needed to do was execute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The honey badger might not give a shit about things like splits and his own time, but he doesn’t back down, either.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I talked at Jay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t need an answer in words, just in deed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mentioned his awesome training, his toughness, and how his goal was there for the taking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did my best Knute Rockne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, and I picked up the pace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would estimate that I sped up about 30 seconds per mile. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, I didn’t care about the numbers of my race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t want Jay to slow to my pace, which was turning into a death shuffle, but to chase his goal. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was willing to chase his goal too. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ran side by side for a while and then I had to let him go, having given him all I could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t upset that I couldn’t keep up; I was thrilled that he could pull away from me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believed that he was going to achieve his goal.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It seems like it was only a minute or two later that I heard the crowds cheering for Boston College.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew what that meant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My friend, Phil, who was also chasing his first sub-3 hour marathon (and wearing his alma mater’s name on his chest), had caught me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He blew by me, and eventually passed Jay as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I yelled out some words of encouragement and watched him take off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the first time in my marathoning experience, I wasn’t all wrapped up in my performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to run well, but was really loving seeing the hard work of my friends paying off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past I would be upset that I was getting passed and want to compete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time, I wanted to share in their success and have fun.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I achieved all that I wanted in Boston.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a blast both on the racecourse and off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ran a solid time that I can be proud of, but didn’t let the obsession with time suck the life out of the greatest marathon on earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I charged down Boylston Street with a grimace, milking everything from my body that I could, and saw that I had not gone under 3 hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, it was easy for this honey badger not to care; I shared in the fellowship of the marathon and knew, beyond a doubt, that both Phil and Jay must have achieved the coveted title of sub-3 hour marathoners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crowd roared, and I couldn’t help but smile as I crossed the finish line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, if asked, the honey badger was baring his teeth and not caring at all.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Since I had no watch, I didn’t see any splits until after the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went out way too fast, running nine and a half minutes slower in the second half than in the first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That execution is pretty terrible, but I finished in 3:00:36, which is my second fastest marathon ever, fewer than three minutes slower than my fastest, and a full eight minutes faster than I had run Boston in ’09 (which now stands as my 3<sup>rd</sup> fastest).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ran naked (no watch) which could have been a source of stress and disaster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, it freed me to savor the day, sing a song, high five little kids, kiss a coed, run by feel, pick out my family from the masses, help out a buddy without a care about my own race, and have a Boston experience that I will never forget.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The numbers—(no thanks to Garmin)</span></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">5K: <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>20:32</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">10K:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>40:18</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">15K:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1:00:17</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">20K:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1:21:13</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Half Marathon (13.1M): 1:25:43</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">25K:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1:42:22</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">30K:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:04:18</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">35K:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:27:05</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">40K: <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:50:15</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">26.2 Miles: 3:00:36 (6:54/Mile avg)</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">1602/23,879 Finishers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">1497/13806 Males</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">238/2303 M40-44</span></div>Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-49663613770189612612011-03-21T16:40:00.000-07:002011-03-21T16:47:36.507-07:00Hair of the Dog<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">According to Wikipedia, the phrase, “Hair of the dog” originally referred <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to treating a dog bite by putting the hair of the biting dog on the wound to avoid rabies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, in our modern usage, it refers to having a drink in the morning of the booze that we over indulged in the night before in the hopes of ameliorating a hangover.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">This rabid runner figured he would return to the well as I headed out for a recovery run after a hard half marathon in which I bucked a headwind for 13.1 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I won’t go into the details of the race here (click the race report link if you are interested), let it suffice to say that I gingerly got out of bed this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some dog replaced my lower legs with wood while I slept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So while the family was still asleep in the motel room, I slipped out for some cure—more running.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Marathon training, and racing of any kind, is hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While some people run socially, soaking up the atmosphere, I feel the need to push hard at every race, and the Canyonlands Half Marathon was no exception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I train and race hard, every training plan has recovery runs built in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea is to run slowly and just get those wooden pegs loosened up a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the running is slow, it is often difficult.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">As I headed out of the motel at the southern end of Moab and headed west along the Colorado river, I was hobbled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything hurt, and I could barely fake a running motion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, like magic, the same activity that put me in this position slowly rescued me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My legs stopped hurting by degrees and the pace picked up a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wonderful part was that I had no other goal besides logging some miles, so I could look around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yesterday I raced down a beautiful canyon, but anytime I thought of looking at the scenery, I was quickly drawn back to the task at hand: racing and cursing the wind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This morning, I checked out the river and the beautiful canyon walls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw sleepy campers slowly emerging from their tents and even a couple of llamas who watched me curiously as I ran by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I trotted along with only the beautiful scenery and my thoughts.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The recovery run did more than just enable me to walk through Moab shops and hike to some magnificent rock formations in Arches National Park with my sons; it recharged my love of the sport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ran for medicinal purposes, but loved every step of the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The early Sunday morning jaunt greeted me with very few cars, comfortable temps, about 6 miles of joy (after the first mile of painful clomping) and even a breeze that seemed less hostile than yesterday.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">So I am now back home with 28 days until the Boston Marathon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That works out to one more week of hard training and then a taper—three weeks where the mileage lessens each week, but the intensity of individual workouts remains with the hopes of delivering me to Hopkinton with fresh, speedy legs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 29 days, I will probably try a little more hair of the dog that bit me.</span></div>Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-74991067159937605542011-03-05T17:35:00.000-08:002011-03-24T07:34:49.120-07:00K.I.S.S.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">K.I.S.S.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I think that we have all heard this acronym as a plan of attack: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">k</b>eep <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">i</b>t <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">s</b>imple, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">s</b>tupid.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">There are some things that are more simple to me than to other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, I find it easy to get dressed in the morning; I find fashion simply stupid, so I just cover up and set out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, there are other things in my life that should be simple, but they are not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good example is this blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read the blogs of others who appear to just dump ideas on the page and post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel the need to craft blog posts, which results in drafts simmering for weeks at a time, and long periods of time developing between posts.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Another thing in my life which should be simple, but I tend to complicate it, is running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Honestly, is there a more simple sport than running?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a fundamental element of many other sports, but as a sport itself, even more so as a hobby, it is pretty darned simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put on some shoes and get running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simple.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">This simplicity yields simple joy in running along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I can complicate it with race goals, training plans, electronic doohickeys, and expectations, but, in its simplest form, it is just perambulating, much like my primitive ancestors did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, they didn’t have fancy shoes, which brings me to one of the simple joys of being a marathoner: buying new shoes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">One of the ways that I complicate my training log, but simplify the decision of when to buy new shoes, is to keep track of the mileage on my shoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simply, I needed new trainers, badly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I did a little research online, but headed to my local running specialty store to see what they had to offer before sending my money off to the Internet.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I love going to the local shop: they know me; I know them; we are kindred running spirits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The process is simple: they bring me shoes; I try them on and trot around the building; and then I decide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the while, we are talking running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Honestly, it is difficult to find people willing to talk about running, racing, goals, and, of course, footwear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On this occasion, I bought two pairs of trainers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had run in one of the models before and the other was a new iteration of a shoe that I have had luck with in the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I left the store with two new shoe boxes feeling happy and motivated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spent some time with some running acquaintances and stimulated the local economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More importantly, I was simply happy to be a runner.</span></div>Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-32804465681696015102011-02-18T07:59:00.001-08:002011-02-18T08:02:37.928-08:00The BAA has spoken<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For those of you not closely monitoring news about marathoning, there was a huge announcement Tuesday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) announced a new registration process and new qualifying standards for the Boston Marathon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This news has been anticipated and rumors and speculation have been plenty ever since the registration for the 2011 Boston Marathon filled in an amazing eight hours and three minutes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">First of all, many people said that something had to be done after the race filled so quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not agree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a lot of buzz in the weeks leading up to the opening of registration that it would fill up quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have many friends who were part of the 20,000 people to sign up in those eight hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems to me that selling out isn’t a problem for the race, nor is it a problem for the runner who planned ahead to register at the earliest possible moment.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nevertheless, changes have been made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">.<a 2011="" boston-athletic-association-announces-new-registration-process.aspx?="" february="" href="http://%3ca%20href=/" http:="" news-and-press="" news-listing="" www.baa.org=""><span style="color: #c92d1b; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">www.baa.org/news-and-press/news-listing/2011/february/boston-athletic-association-announces-new-registration-process.aspx</span></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In a nutshell, there are still qualifying standards based on age and gender, but those standards are a baseline and do not guarantee entry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a tiered registration system where runners who have run a race 20 minutes (or more) faster than their qualifying times get to register first, then those 10 minutes faster, then five, then an open registration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At whatever point the race fills, the faster runners will be registered prior to slower runners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This system will be in place with the existing qualifying times for 2012, and the qualifying times will be lowered (made faster) by five minutes for all ages and genders for the 2013 iteration of the race.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There seem to be two responses to this news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The majority of runners whose comments I have seen/heard <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>feel that the BAA has just raised the bar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those runners see the new system and the new standards as just another goal to be met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, there are now ranks of qualifying. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The runner who qualified with six minutes to spare is now eyeing that BQ-10 (Boston Qualifier minus 10 minutes) to ensure a better chance of getting in the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are also people out there who feel cheated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They want to know, without a doubt, that they can get into the race, and this system of rating applications by speed relative to the qualifying standard could, potentially, mean that a runner has qualified, but will not get into the race because too many other applicants have qualified by a larger margin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I think that the mindset about qualifying will change a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is still the goal of making the qualifying time, but the larger the margin of beating that time, the better one’s chances are of getting in the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That doubt about whether the qualifying time has been surpassed enough to actually get in is a little rough on the runners, but it is good for the race.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The BAA has a good solution here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have ensured that the fastest registrants will get into their race and they will not need to adjust the qualifying times because those times are self adjusting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the race fills up, it will fill up with the runners who have beaten the qualifying standard for their age and gender by the largest margin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reducing <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the qualifying time by five minutes makes the pool of applicants smaller, and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the tiered registration will avoid the rush on the servers, allowing the BAA to “dose” the rush of applicants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have taken measures to control the rush of applicants into the race (a wave start, if you will) and have maintained the quality of the field.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Boston Marathon is prestigious because it is old and because it attracts the best competition from the masses of citizen runners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is hard to get into, and that difficulty should not be based on beating the rush on registration morning, just beating the clock and running the best marathon possible to qualify.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The BAA has maintained their prestige. Of course, people will complain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They complain about change, and they complain a lack of change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let them complain, but let them train!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There have been changes to the registration process and to the qualifying standards, but one thing hasn’t changed:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you know how to get to Boston?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Training, training, training!</span></div>Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-74487704399065089512011-02-07T07:31:00.000-08:002011-02-07T07:33:50.564-08:00A snowy long run<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had an awesome 20 mile run yesterday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was every excuse for it to be horrible, but I chose that it was going to be a good run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The schedule called for a long run on Saturday, and Sunday was a scheduled rest day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the weather got worse on Saturday, and my other obligations kept putting the run later and later, I decided to postpone it to Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I figured if I got out early enough, I would be able to run down the middle of the snowy streets; they weren’t calling for that much snow, anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>awoke at 6 am and the snow was hammering down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a good six inches on the ground and it wasn’t showing any signs of letting up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided that I was going to run for three hours or twenty miles, whichever came first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I headed out with Fletcher for 4.2 miles, it looked like I would be going for the three hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The roads were dicey with a few tire tracks but no signs of a plow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I got to the lake, which is usually one of the first places to have plowed paths, I discovered that I had beaten the plows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good 2 miles of those four miles were breaking a fresh track in 8 inches of powdery, Colorado snow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I chugged along, at one point seeing that I was in the 11 minute mile range, but I didn’t care.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I decided that I was going to take what the day gave me and “run like a child.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My kids love the snow, and I like running in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I have recently gotten too caught up in the numbers of a training plan; so I decided I was going to run joyfully and ignore the numbers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I returned home with Fletcher and it seemed like the snow was letting up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I leashed up Finn and headed off for a wandering tour of the residential streets in the area, because they had some tire tracks that I could run in, which provided the best surface to be had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After wandering five miles, we hit the same lake where I had run with Fletcher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had played it right; they had just plowed the inner loop, which is 1.1 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was still hard crunchy stuff covered by a thin layer of fluffy snow, so the footing was good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We settled in for about 9 laps, (with a mile to run home from the lake) and started hitting some descent splits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sun came out. A couple of the miles dipped below 8:00/M which is in the range that I am trying to run my long runs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I snapped off a couple of good miles and then I started to fade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The early 10 miles of working hard to run through the snow started to show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just ignored the pace and ran out the miles.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a great run for many reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I headed out into questionable weather and got to experience the silent run of fresh snow and empty streets. It was beautiful and fun. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worked hard, but ran happily, not stressing about pace or distance, taking all the joy I could from a beautiful winter day, running along, with my four-legged running partners.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was interesting to see who was out on a wintery day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Early on, when the snow was still falling, I saw mostly shovelers and snowblowerers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were very few tracks in the snow at the lake on the first visit; the few I saw were human and canine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dog walkers were getting it done, although I didn’t see them yet, just their tracks in the snow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the second round with Finn, I saw snowshoers, XC skiers, walkers, runners, photographers, and, of course, dog walkers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is great to live in a place where people love the outdoors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the park department got the paths plowed, more and more people were heading out to enjoy a 30 degree snow day.</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I thought I was going to have to tough this run out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It got a little hard near the end, but it was one of those runs that are so joyful that it will propel me through the next week of training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ran like a child.</span>Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-54190244572625220902011-02-02T21:05:00.000-08:002011-02-04T14:28:41.085-08:00Mike's Hotel<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A high school friend with whom I have been in contact off and on over the years posted some pictures on FaceBook the other day. His name is Mike Pop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He posted a whole album of pictures of the renovations he has made to his home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He owns an old hotel (originally build in 1880) in rural Nevada and is renovating it into a small storefront and three apartments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The enormity of the task is daunting to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pictures show the old rooms prior to the changes, and then the removal of walls, repairs to some of the brick arches, building kitchen cabinets from recycled wooden doors, replacing windows, cutting holes and installing stairs, and basically repurposing the entire building to his needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to all of these changes, my friend creates a lot of art from things he finds in the Nevada desert; all of the railings on the hotel are handmade—Mike Pop originals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wow, that job is huge!</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As I looked at the pictures, impressed with all of the work that my friend had done, I noticed that all of the pictures were labeled, stating what it was that was depicted: new window in the kitchen, new cabinets in the kitchen, the kitchen when fully painted, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There would be groups of pictures as an area of the hotel was transformed, with several shots of a given area, then a shift to another area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the enormity of the transformation of this old hotel did not lessen, it became clearer to me how such a task can be completed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The entire project is the renovation of the hotel, but within that project, are smaller projects. Removing the walls, framing new walls, creating a kitchen, creating a utility room all fall under the Hotel Project banner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And those smaller projects are comprised of numerous projects themselves: wiring for the appliances, building the cabinets, changing the window, sheet rocking, painting, etc.</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I think that Mike’s project is going really well; it is impressive to see all that he has done, but the list of things to come is still daunting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, he finishes a task and moves onto the next item, all with an overall vision of the finished product.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His journey parallels any big task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is not getting paid to repurpose the hotel; in fact he spends a lot of money, time, and labor on his task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He does it because it makes him happy and he sees worth in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His process, of taking one step at a time is inspiring.</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I get frustrated doing any kind of home repairs and improvements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something always goes wrong and I am left grumbling as I make one more run to the home improvement mega store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mike told me that the nearest lumberyard is 80 miles away and Home Depot is 130 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he has had no shortage of setbacks along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would be a basket case.</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, I am a basket case, but it is not an old hotel that is highlighting my dementia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not building a home from the remnants of an old hotel, but I am building a marathon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am sure that people, when seeing my friend’s home upon completion, will be in awe that he did it all himself, yet still not grasp the enormity of the task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When people find out that I have run a marathon (or 7) they have a similar reaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are impressed, but usually don’t “get” it. </span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A different friend of mine once wrote that marathoners know the secret that a marathon is short.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes it is 26.2 miles and takes a number of hours, but those measurements pale when compared to the thousands of miles and hundreds of hours that are dedicated to preparing for the task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, like the renovation of a hotel, training for a marathon is an accumulation of a lot of smaller tasks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are training cycles, mesocycles, weeks, and daily workouts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One task at a time is completed, which accumulates into a section of the tasks being completed, which eventually leads to a finished project that is turgid with my effort, focus, and passion.</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In our culture of immediate gratification, it is easy to forget that change often occurs slowly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should dream big, set our goals high, but focus on the immediate task at hand and its contribution to the goal rather than being overwhelmed with the enormity of the goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take it one step at a time, do that step to the best of your ability and move on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The big picture will take care of itself.</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last week’s running plan (11 weeks until Boston!) got disrupted by a minor illness; I took two consecutive days off, making up one of the runs on Sunday, my usual rest day and skipping an 11 mile run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wound up with 56 miles for the week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t recoup those 11 miles I missed, but I don’t have to. It was a solid week, including a 22 mile long run that went very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will just press on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This week started off strong, despite some bitter cold and snow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I completed a recovery double (6 miles am, 4 miles pm) on a treadmill at the local recreation center on Monday, bringing January’s mileage total to 270 miles (a monthly record).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ran 146 laps of an indoor track on Tuesday for 14 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today’s project is five recovery miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The forecast calls for a high in the single digits (F), but I owe it to myself and the pups to get out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I will bundle up and tend to the task at hand, knowing that the finished product in Boston will be something that I can be proud of.</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are some links from Mike Pop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More information about the hotel is available in the “pages” link on the right side of the blog.</span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Hotel Renovations Pictures: <a href="http://s457.photobucket.com/albums/qq292/junormaneureka/Hotel%20Renovations/" onmousedown="UntrustedLink.bootstrap($(this), "4dee3qcXctsKpfuPMxqFmamCxqw", event);" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b5998;">http://s457.photobucket.com/albums/qq292/junormaneureka/Hotel%20Renovations/</span></a><br />
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Mike-Pop-Art: Find me on Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Pop-Art/70408604092" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b5998;">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Pop-Art/70408604092</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New";"></span></div>Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-46648629565515038042011-01-22T11:16:00.000-08:002011-02-02T06:07:40.117-08:00Merit Badges and Hit List Kills<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was a cub scout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was a boy scout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a cub scout leader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I play <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mafia Wars</i> on Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I say the first three with pride, and feel shame about the last. The first three activities are productive, while the last seems like a waste of time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, these activities all have something in common, and I think that something has to do with running, too.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When we learn to do anything in life--cook, drive a car, run, complete 3<sup>rd</sup> grade math (as a student and as a parent), or defeat fictional adversaries disputing our turf—we usually progress slowly and are rewarded with the ability to do the task at hand better each time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the scouts and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mafia Wars</i> both have the benefit of acknowledging the completion of the training and task with awards:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>patches, beads, pins, ribbons, rank, special bonuses, weapons of destruction, and other doohickeys to mark the occasion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I saw, this morning, that someone earned a “badge” for checking in to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Foursquare</i>—a program that uploads your GPS location onto FB/Twitter and the like. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess there are awards for broadcasting your location.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently, people like knowing their standing and progress in a lot of venues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like the bling, myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, when achieving a rank, much of the work goes unheralded.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And this lack of fanfare for the daily toil of earning small achievements and enduring the task of accumulating work is where running fits in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I run because I like the little achievements of setting goals and then surpassing those goals, only to strive for the next benchmark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Occasionally those running goals are rewarded with a prize of some sort—a medal, ribbon, or gift certificate, but more often, the rewards are intangible and personal.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Running provides many opportunities for these small victories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes getting out the door is a victory well savored after the workout is done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are mileage goals, pace goals, and goals against competitors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are “streakers” who keep running every day, just to keep the streak of consecutive days of running alive!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like compiling good deeds and learning skills in scouting or accumulating mouse clicks in <em>Mafia Wars</em>, running provides me with daily tasks that accumulate, and hopefully, yield rewards.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The biggest rewards are those that keep us in the game: learning that knot, improving a scouting unit, completing a mission, and just persevering. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The small achievements fuel our pursuits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love to complete a workout, log it, and watch the charts, graphs and numbers of the training log swell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I monitor daily, weekly, monthly, and annual mileage totals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I compare workout times from this training cycle to the last cycle that I did (and occasionally from very old workouts) just to see how far I have come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no pin, badge, patch, ribbon, or medal for completing 7 marathons, meeting mileage goals, of gutting out that tenth 800 meter interval on the track, but I wear them proudly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wear them in my in my running log, in my posture, and in those dark moments during a race or hard workout, knowing that I have earned the ability to conquer the task at hand.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don’t run just to get a medal or to proudly wear a Boston Marathon jacket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I run because I like the work, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t savor the tangible trappings of running almost as much as the intangible ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The things that I have accomplished--having qualified for Boston, breaking three hours in the marathon, (earning a scout master or thug award),and that age group win in the local race--do as much do as much to keep me in the game as the prospect of achieving another goal.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, I train.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today is the last day of the sixth week of Pete Pfitzinger’s 18-week training plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a “recovery” week that featured little speed work and reduced mileage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I needed it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last week (65miles), I struggled through a couple of the workouts, feeling dejected and depleted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I questioned why I train so hard. From that struggle came a good week of recovery runs, and a topic for a blog post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, would you like to join my mafia?</span></div>Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-35266579360531231032011-01-11T17:45:00.000-08:002011-02-03T08:38:49.823-08:00One-two punch<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I felt great running 20 miles on Sunday; today I am exhausted after 14.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pete Pfitzinger’s one-two punch put a hurting on me today.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yesterday, the schedule called for 9 miles with 5 miles at my half-marathon race pace (6:20 per mile).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had snowed about six inches the night before and the temps were in the single digits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While sucking in that cold air, well, sucks, the snowy footing is not conducive to trying to run fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last time one of these workouts was prescribed (referred to as a lactate threshold (LT) run), I did it in some loose snow. The times were slow that workout, but I figured that I worked hard making it a good workout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really wanted to try to hit the splits this time, so I got on the road to nowhere—the treadmill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ugh.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don’t own a treadmill and have only run on one about five times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last two times, it was under similar circumstances where the snowy weather precluded running fast, but both of those workouts were intervals: running fast for a prescribed distance and then jogging a prescribed distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The variation of speeds made those workouts bearable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yesterday was a different story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The treadmill is good in that I punch in the pace that I want (9.5 mph, which works out to 6:18 per mile) and try not to fall off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, grinding along at that pace with no variation at all for over half an hour is torture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was really struck by how much I must vary my pace in the course of a mile; the treadmill was relentless. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did a two mile warm up, stretched, and then ran another mile at a comfortable pace prior to the LT portion of the workout. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to take 60 seconds rest after 1.5 miles of fast running, and then another 60 seconds after 3 miles total. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I lowered the speed to 9.4 mph (6:22/mile) and banged out the last two miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides the constant pace, the heat in the recreation center was brutal; I was sweating buckets and was nauseated by the end of the speedwork.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finished with a mile cool down.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today was the second hit of the combination: a 14 mile medium long run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My legs felt heavy, it was 20 degrees outside (up from the single digits in the morning), and the roads varied from dry to soft, deep snow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I trudged through it, but it was more difficult than it should have been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, I am happy to have it done and in the training log.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tomorrow is an easy five miles; you can be sure that I will run it very <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>s l o w l y.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The dogs didn’t run on the treadmill, obviously, but they got some miles today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fletcher loves the colder temps and the cold snow on his paws:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3.19 miles @ 8:39 per mile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finn acted rested today as I had to keep him in check: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11.11 miles @ 7:51 per mile.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, the importance of the last two days’ struggles is not lost on me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marathoning is not an easy hobby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While there are challenging workouts, it is the accumulation of training that hardens me to bring my best on race day ( I repeated the mantra: Bos-ton, Bos-ton during yesterday's dreadmill session).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That hardening is not just physical; the last two days tested my concentration and resolve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John L. Parker Jr. writes of the “trial of miles” in his novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Once a Runner, </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>commenting on the accumulation of training to get to the goal.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Pete Pfitzinger is trying me, and I like to think that I passed…with a B+.</span></div>Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-12183349115754686632011-01-09T07:00:00.000-08:002011-01-22T11:21:22.726-08:00Glimpsing the Sublime<em>How divine,<br />
The liberty, for frail, for mortal, man<br />
To roam at large among unpeopled glens<br />
And mountainous retirements . . .regions consecrate<br />
To oldest time! </em><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Wordsworth, <span class="book"><u>Works</u></span> 5.125]</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The 20˚ air held my German Shorthaired Pointer’s exhaled breath in billowy white plumes as we were a couple miles into a 17 mile long run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we turned to the southeast, the sun was peeking over the crest of a hill and its rays were caught by the frost on the golden brown grass, which had not yet been trampled under heavy winter snows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was as if frost had collected on my lens as each strand of straw stood illuminated in the morning sun, all silver and gold, etching crystals into my vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time stood still in the morning chill as I experienced a moment of sublimity that would make Wordsworth proud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, the dog was just happy to be running.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had an excellent long run yesterday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fletcher ran 2.6 miles and Finn ran 17.3 to bring me a tenth of a mile or so short of 20 for the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The weekly totals are: Teamcam—65.5; Finn—49.6; Fletcher—15.9.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Week 4 (14 weeks to go) of the Pete Pfitzinger 18/70 plan contains no speedwork, just a lot of medium long runs and long runs, so the dogs were in for every mile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all seem to be holding up quite nicely.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a glorious run yesterday as the only people out on the paths were dog walkers, and there were not a lot of them on a cold Saturday morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the sublime scene depicted above, Finn and I made our way to a greenbelt that parallels Clear Creek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sun was shining, illuminating the snow and frost as the creek steamed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was one of those runs that make me happy to shun the treadmill and get out there.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I understand that some people live in places where the weather is just too bad to run in all of the time and that the treadmill offers convenience for those short on time, but I would not trade the feeling of covering ground and seeing my surroundings for anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am blessed to live in Colorado, but that is not to say that I only run in beautiful surroundings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yesterday’s course went through some bleak industrial areas, but even those were picturesque in the blues, grays, and whites of a January morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We saw both a fox and a coyote on different parts of the run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were several views that were just breathtaking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we finished several hours of running feeling wonderfully tired and with the feeling that we had gotten somewhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where to?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well through the fourth week of training for my second Boston Marathon and into an ice bath—brrrrrr!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope that your running gets you to where you want to be, and that, for even just a moment, you feel at one with the world in which you run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-32052840827530715862011-01-06T05:19:00.000-08:002011-01-09T07:07:11.132-08:00Running alone, with my friendsI ran 14 miles last night in the dark, not getting started until 7:30pm and an easy 5 today. The dogs were with me for all of those miles. While I ran, I listened to podcasts. <em>Runrunlive</em>, <em>Stuff You Missed in History Class</em>, <em>Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me</em>, <em>This American Life</em>, and <em>Phedippidations</em> were all on the iPod. I like listening to podcasts while I run long, general aerobic, and recovery runs because they occupy my mind. I enjoyed them all, but something Steve Runner focused on in his <em>Phedippidations</em> podcast really struck me.<br />
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He recently participated in the Mojo Loco run where 13 podcasters from around the world got together in Florida to run an unofficial relay from Fort Meyers to Daytona Beach. Steve focused upon the significance of meeting and running with a group of people he had befriended via “new media.” I could not help but feel a bit smug.<br />
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I have been participating in the Runner’s World Online discussion forums, particularly the Boston Marathon forum for more than two years. I post every day, with few exceptions, and have made a lot of friends. I have also met many of those runners. The largest forumite encounter (FE) occurs the Saturday before the Boston Marathon (held on Monday, Patriot’s day). Of course the weekend is full of mini FE’s as we group up to dine, hit the expo, run shake out runs, and wait in the athlete’s village for the start of the big event. In addition to the festivities the weekend of the Boston Marathon, this group seeks each other out all year long. People meet up at other races (including running Reach the Beach last year and a huge contingent at Chicago), and try to run together when forumites travel for work and pleasure.<br />
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Steve Runner is right, meeting the people that have become friends online, through Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, and discussion boards is great, but I think that he missed something important. I run with those people every day. Sure, I listen to podcasters and feel like they are with me on the run, but I think of my online friends every day as I prepare for, recover from, and, of course, when I execute my workouts. I think about their successes and setbacks both running and otherwise. They educate and motivate me. I feel accountable to them and know that they support this crazy running habit of mine. The meet ups are great, but the running is great because of the people that I have met through these social networking tools.<br />
My dogs keep me company on my runs, but I am often accompanied by thoughts of my many friends and cannot wait until the next time we get to meet face to face. Many people think that running is boring, but I have plenty of friends who help me while away the miles. I hope that this blog continues that trend.Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-33029244987525454842011-01-03T19:51:00.001-08:002011-01-09T07:06:40.105-08:00A day of rest and a day of soft snow on the track<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yesterday was a rest day on the schedule, and I was happy for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had run 12 consecutive days, with the last six comprising a 60 mile week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was ready for some down time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I embrace the rest when it comes on the schedule and like to position the rest day at the end of my training week for two reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first reason is flexibility; if I have the rest day at the end of the week, I can take it during the week if necessary and still complete all of the work for the week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second reason I like the scheduled rest day on Sunday is that it feel like a reward for all of the hard work done during the week.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I think that a lot of runners (especially those new to the sport) have a tendency to not rest enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is appealing to work hard on every workout and to view rest days as missed opportunities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, a single day of training has little impact on our performance come race day; it is the accumulation of weeks/months/ years of training that pay off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I rest on rest days and run the recovery runs easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I monitor my pace closely in an attempt to stay in the pace ranges that Pete Pfitzinger suggests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that there will be hard workouts and there is no need to make any single workout harder than prescribed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I take it easy when allowed and empty the tank when necessary.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, workouts sometimes become harder due to circumstance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today’s run was 9 miles with 10X100 meter strides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kept thinking of <u>Running with the Buffaloes</u>, which I read a few days ago, where they do a lot of strides (most of theirs were 300 meters) and constantly said how it was muscle stimulus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea is to train the legs to turn over quickly without putting too much strain on the cardiovascular system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I got to the track, where I intended to run on the field or run the 100 meter straights and jog the curves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was 3-4 inches of snow on the track and field, despite most of the roads having melted off by this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To add to that, there was a nasty wind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I did the strides on a very soft surface, half with a tailwind and half with a headwind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was working hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually they feel fast; today they were just difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they are in the training log.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, the moral of the story is, rest when I can because I never know when a seemingly innocuous workout is going to be harder than expected.</span></div>Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-89048611093589093742011-01-01T20:53:00.000-08:002011-01-09T07:03:39.973-08:00A fresh [re]startMy resolve lies in the same place that it did yesterday, to train and race well. However, after today's 15 miler, I was struck by the zeros in the training log. The MTD and YTD were reset to zero. I felt as if the zeros were taunting me. It was a "what have you done lately?" kind of taunt.<br />
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Plenty of people start out the new year trying to accomplish something that they have not accomplished in the recent past. I think that any motivation to improve ourselves is a good one; however, we all know what often happens to new year's resolutions. The attendance at health clubs soars, diet plans and quitting smoking aides have record sales, and marathon registrations soar. OK--I made the last one up. Nevertheless, using the calendar as an impetus for change is rarely successful. <br />
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Marathoners know the secret. One day is inconsequential. It is the culmination of days, months, and years that affect change. When we strive to change our lifestyles, it starts with a single day, but that change is not realized until it becomes habit. John "The Penguin" Bingham speaks of the courage to start, and I commend everyone with that courage. But change is glacial. One day, one week, one month at a time, we carve out a new lifestyle.<br />
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As I ran today, I thought about the new year and change. I posted my first blog post yesterday, but does that post make me a blogger? I am not so sure. I think I need to stick with it a while. Resolutions are good, but resolve is better. My exciting new year's eve consisted of re-reading <u>Running with the Buffaloes<strong> </strong></u>by Chris Lear. The book follows the University of Colorado's cross country team in their pursuit of the NCAA title in 1998. There is a scene, near the end of the book, when the harriers are about to start the NCAA championship race. One of the runners starts to freak out an his teammate says that everything they are experiencing at that moment is bullshit. The preparation, the training, is what is real. While the pressure of the race and the expectations for that event surely have weight, it is what we have done, not what we intend to do, that is real.<br />
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Go out there and do. You can look back on those accomplishments with pride.Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496783593049420712.post-74555522486623063382010-12-31T14:01:00.000-08:002011-01-09T07:03:00.002-08:00So it beginsOn this last day of 2010, it seems appropriate that I get a jump on the new year. While I am not a big fan of resolutions, it seems like a good time to start blogging. I have been kicking around the idea of blogging for a couple of months, with most of the consideration occurring while I was out running with the dogs. So, why not make running the focus of this new adventure? I am sure that the people I interact with on a daily basis will be appreciative of an outlet where I can discuss my running, my dogs, and anything else that is occupying my thoughts as to spare them having to listen to me talk about it. Of course, I offer no guarantees. Perhaps now they will have to listen to me blather on about blogging. Who knows?<br />
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I entered my last run of 2010 into my training log today. 5.2 miles in twenty degree temps brought my total for the year to 2159.3 miles. It was a good year of running: my highest mileage ever and my first sub-3 hour marathon (Chicago 10-10-10) are the highlights. Of course, I plan on using this blog as a forum as I pursue some goals for 2011.<br />
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The first two goals for the new year are running well in the Canyonlands Half Marathon (3/19/11) and the Boston Marathon (4/18/11). I aspire to set personal records in both events. Of course, all I can do is prepare and hope for the best. So prepare I will. I am currently finishing up the third week of Pete Pfitzinger's 18/70 (18 weeks/ 70 mile week maximum) plan. It is my second time using this training plan; the first of which garnered a 10:30 improvement of my marathon time. Pfitz has planned the work, now I will work the plan.<br />
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After Boston, I will set my sights on the lofty goal of the Pike's Peak Ascent. I have never run this event, but it is on my wish list, and, if all goes well, I will accomplish that goal this year. I am sure that there will be other races, but the A-list is relatively short at this point.<br />
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Of course, I don't want this blog to be a glorified version of a training log. I am hoping to create some interesting narratives regarding running, dadding, husbanding, cubscouting, and anything else that rattles around in my head as I am banging out the miles.<br />
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Happy new year!Teamcamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18084187188359789538noreply@blogger.com0