Scrub Passengers Again?

Knapp: Really proud of you man. You led the team in miles last week and have in recent history, tackled the longest long run. Keep up the good work.

Sri: Glad to read you are already exploring the St. Louis running scene. I second the lack of posts from people not named Tang or Brian; maybe everyone fell off the bandwagon?

Coit Loop

AM

JoAnn and Mom

PM

Tang, Father and Son

While discussing the Austin weekend trip to visit relatives (and hopefully run in a new place), we get another unintelligible noise on par with the infamous vuvuzelas (the "drone of bees" noise from the World Cup) that sounded like a sasquatch shouting out of a green Pontiac Grand Am. It's one thing if the car stops, then an actual hilarious jest is laid down but it's always like a train passing you blaring its horn. These cars are lucky they don't park near my running path; I may have to start writing down the license plates.

Delusions of grandeur have been popping up in my head after Saturday's race. My almost year-old goal of going sub 7 minute pace for a 5k may happen during the build up for the half marathon.

Editor's Note: Joe, if you are reading this, for clarification the race report reads "another newbie, Joe, called me out ..." I'm referring to myself as a newbie as well for the monthly Plano Pacers races.

Return from a brief hiatus

It's been a while since I posted in the blog, but I've kept running steadily. Actually I am running more now than I ever have. I have ran in 7 straight days, and last weeks 23 miles is a high for me, probably should have been longer but it has been brutally hot outside, so I have been doing the runs for the most part on the treadmill. Since there the 10 miler race is coming up I felt like I had to keep cranking out the long runs. So I looked at the weather a few days ago and picked today. Thank God I did, it was 73, sunny, with a nice breeze....niceeeee.

My goal for the run was 7 nonstop miles. The highest previous nonstop run for me was 4.5 miles I think. Since the weather was so nice I thought this might be achievable. I ran on the bike path and was feeling good, through the first 3 miles I was at almost exactly 30 minutes, so I was right on target for me. I got to the 3.5 mark where I was planning on turning around, and I decided what the hell, let's go up to 4. My knee and shin on my left leg started hurting decently after mile 5 (I could probably use a day off), but I kept up the 10 minute pace for the most part. Once I hit 7.5 miles, I decided I had enough and wanted to walk the last .5 miles, due to my knee.

Overall, I am happy... I ran 7.5 miles in just under 77 minutes, but the best part is I didn't stop once, and I never really felt like I needed to. I also feel like 10, then 13.1, then 26.2 will be easily achievable ....well maybe not 26.2.

Out in the Midwest

After a week of not looking at the blog, I am surprised at how few posts there are.... They are all from Tang and one from Brian - where is everybody else??

Glad to hear Brian and Kasey are settled in..I have been experiencing the same problem with this heat. This past weekend when I moved in - it was 90-100 degrees every day. I was sweating just getting out of the car, not to mention bringing several loads of luggage up a flight of stairs. Anyhow, the apartment is great! I love it!

I have this gym consisting of 2 treadmills, 1 elliptical, 1 bike and 5-8lb free weights. It is not quite as nice as Ashton Mills or the place where Brian and Kasey live, but it's nice having the option. The machines are aged and make loud sounds when they are running, but there is a nice TV. You can't hear anything over the sounds of the machines, but you get the gist of what's happening.... I ran 2.5 miles yesterday and 3 miles today at 10 min pace on the treadmill. Yay for me! :)

I think we should all have a reunion in St. Louis :) Everyone can come see the arch, or better yet I think there are some running paths around the arch! How many opportunities are you going to be able to come to the Midwest!

Well, my first day of residency is tomorrow! Thus, I may not be able to write in the blog as frequently, but I will try to continue running :)

Case of the Mondays..on Tuesday

At work, it turns out telling a tale about beating a 10 year old girl at a race doesn't really intrigue women.

Runner:

4.67 miles

Tang A (NB 904)

To break another 100 miles for the month, I had to rely on the motivation of a possible new member of the team. That motivation helped me beat the three hills of doom trail (and random energy even AFTER work thanks to 10 hours of sleep from sore quads). Of note, whenever I have to stop for cars, I stare down the passenger because I have found out there's a 50% chance they are insecure and like to shout things (aka me in high school)

Again, keep in mind if you're not getting shouted at on the run, either you are:

a) running at odd hours or on a trail

b) not running

Today's tete-a-tete:

Teenager passenger: IT'S A TRAP

me: [stares menacingly]

What's worse is you used an internet forum joke in real life (IRL). The future of America, middle-class idiots.

OR this could be karma for the race.

Anyways, the great news is that I didn't really believe it but after 3 months
of consistent running, I think I got my speed back.

This July, I'm entering unchartered territory if I tack on another 100 mile-month.

Weekend and Monday

The only running-related topics that came up this weekend were that my tale of beating a crying 10 year old girl at a mile race killed in conversation and then at the Sunday pool party, I remembered watching this viral video:

Liquid Mountaineering

This led to me mentioning the idea of running on water which started 7 or 8 attempts by Pritesh to run/skim on Dharmesh's pool after a head start in the alley way, through the gate, and full speed in to water at an angle, armed with only Starter moisture repellant socks and determination. I guess I had him at "It's just like skipping rocks on water".

Hilarious Facebook and/or YouTube video up shortly.

Runners:
Tang A,L

Mom got a 2-3 minute head start which left me with no choice but to channel my persistence hunter ancestors (read Born To Run one too many times) and caught up. Speaking of Born To Run, the review of the book will be up some time this week.

Millet Mile and 5k at Bob Woodruff Park

The pre-race ritual of watching some Without Limits on youtube and laying out the running gear the night before went without a snag. The day of, I woke up with a semi-sore core from working out Friday. After eating a couple banana and pb sandwiches, I added on some good luck charms by wearing the team-made Coach Tang shirt to keep myself warm (even though I would be the only one sporting a long sleeve shirt--the Cox black one) and the Rhody athletic bag donated by Nikki so I could carry my shoes to the race.

We were running a bit late to get to East Plano and got in just in time to get the new "chip" timing for our right hip aka laminated paper with bar code to keep track of our splits and finish. The mile race was actually a half a mile away from where the usual start was and I had 10 minutes to get to the start before it started. This was a blessing in disguise as I got to warm up for half a mile. I got to the start and looked around.

Either people older than me talking about their families or there were little kids. Easy PR/ medaling.

Then the truck with the timer in the back shows up. 3 minutes to go as the director explains that the Millet Mile is named after the founder of Plano Pacers.

The race was a straight mile line downhill then flat. The first quarter was all downhill and felt weird since I usually walk that when training. After every one ungrouped, I was running with a shirtless dude, an older indian guy, and a girl who probably was 9 or under in the flat part of the race.

Midway through, I saw my split:

3:03

Woah, I was hoping for 3:30-4:00 split. (Also, pretty sick that a monthly race has splits on a computer screen for us). That really perked me up but I obviously didn't leave a negative split as an option so I was hoping to keep sub 7. As the finish line was closing, it was a weird feeling knowing I have enough juice for another 2.1 miles. The little girl and I were neck to neck (or little head to hip) and of course, I had to sprint the last 100 meters. As soon as I saw 6:19, I was elated.

Then, the bad news. Apparently, this girl was crying the whole race. But I thought that because I passed her at the end, I had upset her.

Correction: I beat a 10 year old girl.

Then the 5k started. Knowing I just put up a decent (but not a 10/10 effort) on the mile, there's no way I could've done well. So I jogged back to meet up Heather and my Mom. I wanted to pace for them but my mom told me to run at my pace. Due to inclement weather, I knew a new PR was not possible so after passing a nice bridge over a creek, I waited at mile 1.3 with water for Heather and Mom and ran with them. Heather had a bad cough and when you are in an activity that requires oxygen badly, finishing was purely guts.

Check out how deep the field is that Heather ran in:

http://planopacers.org/race_results/?m=06&y=10

Best legit Texas sign on the race course:

No horses beyond this point.

Also seen:

ReeZigs and baby Nike Frees along with Brian's almost purple Nike Free 5.0 v 4s

So after finishing, the organizers were still fiddling over their new "chip" system so it took over an hour before awards were given out.

I finished the race with my sister at the same finishing kick time (awww) so I knew I wouldn't medal for the 5k. Of course my name got called up for 3rd place. 5 minutes later "uhh, can everyone from the age group 20-24 males return their medals?" and I had to hand over my medal because I knew there was no way I put in race effort for the 5k.

Due to the lackluster runners not clapping, I began a slow clap after my mom got a 2nd place medal and clapped more since everyone else was NOT clapping.

Then the sick mile trophies were handed out. There are two Legacy trophies that have past winners' names etched on it.

The good news is while I was returning my non-medal, I took a quick peak at the mile finishers and 20-24 males:

Aaron Tang, fastest (and also slowest) in the group being the only runner. Two trophies in 4 races, not too shabby. Maybe next time I'll actually race someone in my age group.

Sweet 1st and last place trophy.

After the race, I got called out by another newbie, Joe, for stopping in the middle of the 5k race since I out kicked him by a couple seconds in the earlier mile race.

And I got to meet some local runners Steve, Ray, Debbie along with the girl's state runner who's being recruited/is Heather's teammate. Steve sounds like an experienced runner whom I should hit up for some decent running stories: running in Italy, Alaska, Albuquerque, and Plano and getting caked in mud and blood while running up the same slant under Custer (the same thing that I do under that bridge).

Procrastinators DO win: thanks to running later in the day, I was acclimated to the Texas heat whereas those early birds suffered through the heat.

Positives: I still don't get nervous for races; I'm more nervous for presentations than racing

Negatives: I still haven't negative split a race.

Aaron Tang

1 mile: 6:19 (best VO2 max of 45.9, good enough for 'good' VO2 max for my age group, almost 'excellent' VO2 max)

5k pacing: 27:49

Non-running related good luck to the kids doing the MS 150 this weekend.

Earned this week:

• sore quads from downhill running
• a new self-deprecating story for the bar

Jung at Heart: Fear of Failure

Scroll down further to Brian's post. Glad to hear Brian's enjoying Yuengling in Bethesda as much as I did in Virginia. Treadmill's great if the weather is that bad; I may have to join a gym just for this reason.

As I prepare my race get up for tomorrow, (laminated 2167 bib on my Cox technical shirt and the familiar Nike shorts and NB 903 combo) I forgot to post this months ago but still applies.

Warning: this post is riddled with Psych 101 jibberish from my brain before a race.

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"-Franklin Delano Roosevelt

After running more seriously for the past two years, it has come to my attention a day before my mile race that I need to remove that proverbial bar that keeps moving up. It seems as though at that first race, there was no bar and in fact, I had run for fun (if you're idea of fun is running) a whole year without racing. Doing well was just a by-product of running consistently and having no pressure at all on myself.

At some point or another, we have all been successful. As we grow older, we shy away from that which we may possibly not be the best at. It's the hand on the burning stove of the adult world. This concern was addressed early on in the team and I think it is a great concern not only to running but to life.

As the famed Nike creator Coach Bowerman put it, "Running, one might say, is basically an absurd past-time upon which to be exhausting ourselves. But if you can find meaning, in the kind of running you have to do to stay on this team, chances are you will be able to find meaning in another absurd past-time: Life."

(This reminds me, I gotta watch "Without Limits" on YouTube as part of my pre-race ritual)

The way I see it, you have to see running as more than just aiming for a personal record (PR) or trying to be better than everyone else.

You have to realize that this is beneficial for your heart, shows character in overcoming obstacles, and ultimately, you find out that the real goal in life is to do the best that YOU can do. Setting yourself up for failure without a great plan and being hard on yourself will have you likely ending up like a failed American Idol contestant. With running, you can look at your running log and see objectively where you can improve and where you can project yourself at the race. I think for earlier races one has to just set a goal of finishing the race because that in itself is a major accomplishment.

Or look at it like our past college applications. Have a reach school, a safety school, and ... A school?
a) very tough goal
b) pretty tough goal
c) do-able goal

(ie sub 7, sub 7:30, sub 8 tomorrow at my race)

It's very tough to train for weeks (or months) on end and to not meet a goal (if you only set one) is a bit of a downer.

To hone in on the point I was trying to make, I'll just reiterate what I wrote earlier this week about looking at the big picture; you can't tell me that this team is worse off for having turned in to runners. I'll take this team (and my new self) over the kids that looked like us before running.

T minus 48 hours

2 days until the monthly race at Bob Woodruff Park

Runners:

AM

Tangs H, J, L

PM

Tang, A

Today's run was done half trying not to let down my house, the other half was trying to remove the smell of child's vomit/ what looked like corn chowder out of my nostrils thanks to work. For a second, I thought I was back at a party at URI. Then I woke up and remembered I was at work.

I sure hope that training for 5k distances and beyond help my endurance for this mile race.

Texas running:

After running through basically a 3 mile pool known as humidity, your face looks like it had sprouted up new freckles. On closer inspection, running through swarms of flying insects will do that to your countenance.

Beamer, Benz, or Bentley

Coach's Corner

How's everyone's knees and hips doing?
Have the blisters gotten better or worse?
Is someone using the Body Glide? If yes, does it actually work?

Runners:

AM

Tang, H

PM

Tang, A

I was hoping for an uneventful run to clear my mind from today's work when of course I should get someone shouting from a black Mercedes Benz,

"YARRRRR!"

1) If you have not been shouted at while running, you haven't run enough.

2) Uhhh, what? Yar?

Vineyard Running

Well it's been a little while since I contributed to the running blog. I have done quite a few runs since then, and have not had any cramps creep up on me again. Yay! I definitely think it was a hydration thing...

Training for the 10-mile Blessing has been an adventure between packing/moving, working, studying, traveling. However, running is something that will always be included in that list. I have been able to find my inner peace when running. It is my way to get away, even for just a little bit. It is perfect. Running is my meditation. It's funny how something that involves such intense physical activity can completely relax me like it does. I ran another 8 mile run last Thursday at the East Bay bike path... It was later in the day so it was just starting to cool off. The temperature was perfect! It was fun and the time went by so fast! I ran a total of 8.3 miles in an hour and 30 minutes. Not too shabby for pacing myself the whole way.

Today, I find myself in Martha's Vineyard for a few days... relaxing and "studying"... I brought my review book at least! :-P I am here for a few days visiting my friend Jenna. I went for a run today while I am here. It's a 3.1 mile loop from where I am staying, up-island in Aquinnah... where there is no cell phone service, but we have internet!

The run was one of the most relaxing runs I have done so far. After a day of shopping and dining in Oak Bluffs and beaching for a couple of hours, a run seemed to fit right in there. It was just starting to cool down for the day at about 5:30 in the evening. This run was perhaps the prettiest run I have done thus far. The beautiful scenery of ocean and island trees/bushes, and even Gay Head lighthouse! The run started off pretty quick, I was strutting along comfortably at a 9:30 pace. Then a left turn down Old South Rd which leads to dirt road for a while. The dirt road leads to another left turn up a long gradual hill. This was probably the largest hill I have ever run, it was brutal. My pace went from 9:30 to almost 12. My heart rate reached 178 bpm at the climax of the hill. I was pushing it. Three miles suddenly felt like five. I pushed myself up the hill still at a "running" pace. I finally saw the end of the road where it flatens out again. My heart rate went back down to my average 155-160 bpm. I was in the home-stretch. I was so pumped that I kept running up that hill that my pace got even faster. I averaged about a 9 min pace after the hill and made the run in just about 30 minutes. Then hopped into an outdoor shower straight into a hot tub. Ahhhhhhh the life :-)

Now onto studying? Haha, maybe...

My goal is to run 2 more times while I am here on the Vineyard. Complete relaxation until it's time to return to the real world and hit the "studying" grindstone again...

-Jess (Nike+ LunarLite)

4 days out from the monthly race

Three Tangs are slated to enter competition Saturday, 8 AM. How many will medal?

4 days until the race

137 days until the half marathon

past couple of days:

Runners:

Tang household

I've been personally slacking on all fronts so I've had to catch up to the rest of the house. In terms of mileage, I peaked at 30 miles a week but have come back down to Earth, trying to squeak out 20 this week what with myself actually working (?!?) and a slew of festivities involving family and friends featuring 8 people who have lived or travelled to Rhode Island .

And feeling sluggish all day, who knew the cure for all ails was a short run.

It's A Father's Day Miracle

In the midst of rereading Born To Run, I woke up at 6:15 AM for today's group run having dreamt that I ran a 7:05 for the mile and was being partnered up at some strange pharmacy training resort, while being in just that perfect level of blanket and comforter. Go figure.

6:45 AM

Runners:

JoAnn

Tangs A,J, & L

Mom brought up using a new trail, the Chisholm Trail. Decent but no Blackstone or Ashton Mills (based on weather entirely).

In rare form, I unleashed the inner Prefontaine front runner in me during a group run, at least in recent history (I'm sure everyone else will beg to differ). On a turns-ridden trail I had never run before. Smart, Aaron, smart.

Every 5 minutes consisted of me stopping and looking back for directions. In true Father's Day form, my dad sped up to tell me there were blue arrows spray painted on the pavement to direct me but even then I was unsure of the trail.

Along the way, I spotted some ducks, I think wild turkey (of the non-alcoholic variety), and swamp rats?!? Also, passing under the road was not as scary as passing under the electricity pylons when it sounded like they were shooting electricity right over me.

For a Sunday morning on Father's Day at 6:45, there were quite a few runners so this'll be my Blackstone substitute.

As the men circled the pond, the run became a doubling back of sorts since the women probably had turned back earlier. Since we had the keys (great planning), the run to unlock the front door turned in to a dire situation.

Then it got worse.

Mother Nature hit me up.

On speed dial.

Now here's where the Father's Day miracle enters. I stopped dead in my tracks wanting not to be empathetic with runners on forums who have a fondness for leaves as my father caught up thinking I didn't know where the trail was headed (which was true as well). Sensing one of his cubs was in trouble, he flipped the switch in to parental mode. As if by some paternal magic, my father spots a bathroom with a 'Jack Carter' (1) sign; I had never been more happy to have seen Jack Carter. At this point I threw Dad the keys in hopes he'd catch up to the other runners.

Feeling much better, I trotted the last mile and a half home. With a tanned "TANG" emblazoned on my back, emboldened by throwing a "morning, ladies" to actual ladies instead of like a coach in PE class in a term of endearment, I returned home to a waiting audience.

Happy Father's Day indeed.

Running 6 miles and going to Barnes and Noble to add Blue Zones (thanks, Erica) and Ultramarathon Man(thanks, Pat) to the coffee table.

How's that for a Father's Day present?

other thoughts:

light pole posting: Missing family member (a pet). Got my attention for sure.

I'll have to re-read Blue Zones to give it a proper review after reviewing and re-reading Born To Run.

(1)-Those who knew me 5 years ago know that Jack Carter Pool was the site of the bane of my existence/ my summer job as a concession stand/ peace keeper for the Plano kids and soccer moms.

Creative/Alliterative Title

Sri: I'd like to help you out as far as music goes but I got to ask what kind of music you are looking for:

pop, rap, techno, fast, or slow

I'm pretty sure a blog of writers can help you come up with a list of music for running. I find a nice mix of songs from commercials and songs that have some ties to happiness help. Like Maino-"All The Above". Under normal circumstances, I would not listen to it but because it reminds me of the time my Texas friends and Rhode Island friends had an epic night, it helps me on my runs.

You can also try googling the song's name and artist and typing 'mp3' after it or going to beemp3.com

Side note, if you have been running with the same playlist, I don't know if this happens to you guys but if I hear it outside of running, I get this sense of euphoria listening to it and want to go run. Kind of a Pavlovian response.

Okay, to today:

• retirement?
• working out for runners

Runner:

Tang, A (NB 903)

Texas running: smelling barbeque throughout the neighborhood.

Real estate sign saying: "Honey, Stop The Car!"

Having lost my mojo thanks to Mexico, I think I got it back just one week away from my first mile race. I think my ill-informed goals will be:

1) sub 7:00

2) sub 7:30

3) sub 8:00

On the run today, I realized it's all about the sun rather than the humidity; the sun is setting and it's 90 but feels like 97 instead of 100. Big difference.

Running in my mustard-colored New Balance 903s, I realized that its imminent retirement will be a sad day. These shoes went everywhere (RI, NJ, VA, AR, TX, Mexico) and helped me set my 5k PR and have been the best balance of cushion and minimalism for me.

I decided to pick up doing runner-specific exercises again. Boy was I in for an awakening as everything felt sore around the core, hip, and glute area. I don't think I really covered this subject well with you guys, but it is definitely important to keep these areas strong not only for the looks but more importantly to keep you away from injury.

Here's an entry I wrote on hip exercises. Check out the rest of the videos on Runner's World and try slowly incorporating them in to your running schedule. My favorite ones are the alphabet plank, the hip ones that are in the hip exercises entry, and the yoga stretches post-run that I showed many of you.

2nd to Last Run in NY

Today was not such a good day for running for me. I went out thinking it would be my long run for the week, but for whatever reason I only made it 2 miles before I had to stop :(. Oh well. As Tang said, I have got to look at the big picture - A few months ago, I would have laughed if someone suggested that we go running, let alone have enough motivation to run on my own. Tomorrow will be another day - my last run in NY for a long time!

As for running music, I am getting slightly bored listening to the same songs over and over again, so if anyone would like to make me a CD of running music (because I'm afraid to download songs on my computer) and send it my way, I'll be happy to give you my new address in St. Louis! :) It'd be a super house-warming gift!

As I prepare to leave for STL, I am sad and excited all at the same time. I am really going to miss all you guys! Well, I already do. :( I hate the idea of being so far away from everyone but it will be a whole new chapter in my life though - new place to call my own, new job, new city, new friends (I hope! haha). You all have to come visit very soon!!! Pat and Lauren have already booked Hotel Sri in September - I hope the rest of you do as well! :)

Mile Mindset

Sri: You and I have the same issue. We've got some hills to tackle. I think that we lose focus on the big picture sometimes in that you just ran for 40+ minutes AND you wanted to run more?!? Someone tell March 2010 version of Sri about June 2010 version of Sri, the 40+ minute runner. Awesome job, Sri.


Runners:
Tang, A (NB 904)

On queue, I started to capture data on how many runner's waves I get per mile and I got 3 for 3.15 miles. With this mile race I'm going to try I figure I could treat it like a normal 5k where I run way too fast in the first mile.

Closing thoughts:

• I think I remember seeing some kayaks at Ashton Mills. After trying it out for the first time in Mexico I have to say I would actually cross train with kayaking if I had a chance to. It gets the Tang Stamp of Approval (1). It's pretty fun (and EXTREME).

• Speaking of extreme... running on water?!?

• Doing some quick math, it looks like the 11 Grant Team (Knapp, Sri, Brian, Nikki, and myself) has registered enough miles together to have run from Providence to Dallas.

• You know you are a runner when...

-you donate clothes to Goodwill and think, wow I used to fit in these?

-you sport a watch tan on your left wrist

1) Tang Stamp of Approval:

The Wire

The Office (seasons 1-3)

Wu-Tang Clan

Nike Free

Running

The Avery

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Kayaking

Greetings from NY!

I am sad to say I have not been running much at all these past couple weeks, once or twice since I got back from RI. I have been super stressed about studying for the NAPLEX and MPJE before I leave for STL and about when my applications will be processed for both Missouri and Massachusetts. I have been having so many issues with my Missouri application; it looks as if I won't get an ATT until perhaps around my birthday.

Moving onto running: Last night, I was feeling bad about not running, and felt like I was letting the team down, especially after reading all the blog posts [Congrats Nikki, Andy and Tang on all the milestones!] Andy gave me some words of wisdom, telling me to just go slow and get some miles in due to my brief hiatus. This afternoon I set out with those words in my head, and was feeling pretty good for the first 30-40 minutes of the run. I wasn't pushing it, just running with the notion that I wanted to run for at least 45 minutes, maybe an hour, whatever the distance was. At points throughout the run, I could hear Tang's voice in my head, saying "Relax, Sri" and motioning to unclench my fists, so then I would do the Brian maneuver and run with my hands by my side. At around 40 minutes, I approached this hill that kills me everytime. I told myself as I was going up it to not stop when you get the top (as I have done many times before) and keep running the route I had planned out. I know it's all in my head, because I was fine up until the hill and as soon as I made it to the top, I ran maybe 10 steps and then felt like I needed to stop. Not only did I stop for a minute or two, I then proceeded to detour and cut off about 3/4 mile to just head home.

Next time, the hill will not get in my head!

Runner: Sri (NB) 4 miles (12:23 pace)

Pre-Dawn and Sunset Run

Nikki: I was just going to ask who's next to hit triple digits. Congratulations on entering the 100 mile club! Now all five 11 Grant kids (Knapp, Sri, Brian, Nikki, Tang) have 100 miles under their belts. Who would've seen this coming?

Knapp: 200 miles, brilliant. You'll be at 1,000 in no time. At your rate, you'll see it late this year, early next. Everyone looks to be doing very well. You guys have really upped your game. Why, I remember taking you guys out to run in Providence for the first time and making you guys do those weird stretches (that I do now)...single tear. It seems like only yesterday. I feel totally like a parent now.

Kevin: Although running on the balls of your feet are more natural, I guess you just have to do what's more natural for yourself. I'm assuming you're not doing your mileage in your Free 7.0s and you may need a more cushioned shoe like some Asics. Good job on the 8 miles KOB.




By the way, who all is doing that Blessing of the Fleet race so I can type your name in to the left column as entrants.


I wonder who'll be next to break 100 miles logged; Chris Barker, Sean Boisvert, Pat Henderson, Kevin O'Brien, or Lauren Serra?

Runners:
6:30 AM
Tang, H
Tang, L
JoAnn

8:00 PM
Tang, A (NB 904)


Thanks to my first day of work at Walgreens learning about immunizations all day at the district office, I decided to throw an easy 3.15 miles after work. I guess I'm not fully recovered from Montezuma and his revenge, running at about 50% strength.

upper body hierarchy of clothing:

Technical shirts > shirtless > cotton shirts

The next Plano Pacers monthly race will feature a mile race and a 5k. Seeing as how I am not back to my peak, I think I'm going to enter the mile race to set an instant PR and try something new. Should be interesting with 0 fast twitch muscle fibers. Medaling (top 3 in age group) may take me til the end of the year but I guess I'm going to have to keep re-evaluating where I'm at.

Long Run

Yesterday, for the first time, I ran approximately 8 miles non-stop. We had run 8 miles before, on Block Island, but with numerous stops. It felt damn good to know that I was running such a long distance for a majority of the run, until around the 6.5 mile mark, when an overwhelming feeling of death took over. Along the way I met a nice family of bikers and ran through the Rhode Island swampy bad lands (where there are warnings about man-eating snapping turtles). I also made it all the way to the ghetto's of Central Falls. I'd like to think that I would have kept running through CF if it were not for the fear of being shanked, but there is no way I could have gone any further.

All in all it was a very successful run and I may have solved the knee pain dilemma along the way. I realized yesterday that all of my knee pain began around the time that I started trying to land more on the balls of my feet, rather than my more natural running motion, where I land on the heels of my feet. So, yesterday I went back to the heel first strategy and after the run and an extensive post run stretch, my knee was nearly pain free. We'll see how future runs go and if the knee pain returns.

Nikki Breaks 100 miles!!!!

After a long day of dumb CVS classroom training bullcrap, I made the long drive over to Knapp and Kevin's apartment.

Thanks to rush hour traffic, I started on the bike path about an hour later than everyone else, so I thought I'd do a nice and easy 3 miles. I think I was going at about a 12 minute pace, which I think I'm getting used to because even after 2 miles, I didn't feel too winded like I usually do.

By the time I reached the 1.5 mile mark, I was still feeling really good, so I decided to push it a little further and try 4 miles instead of three. I actually felt really great until the last half mile when I started to get really out of breath, but after I finished I felt really accomplished and proud that I had done 4 miles without stopping (first time for me!). Sean can attest to my excitement :P.

Sean did a solid 4 miles too, and Kevin and Knapp were the ballers of the running crew today and doubled our distance. I'm going to try to up it to six miles next week and then 8 miles after that. I think my goal for Blessing is to keep about a 12 min pace for as long as I can! I'm very excited about it now :).

I don't know what time I finished in, but I'm assuming it was around 48-50 min, since I think I kept my 12 min. pace for most of the run.

I also broke the 100 mile mark today! To date, I have run 102.8 miles...woohoo!

Nikki - 4 mi (~48 min) - Nike Airmax

Long run

It's been a while since my last long run, because I have been trying to speed up for the 5k, but now that that is over, I've got the 10 miler, and the half to think about. Kevin and I set a goal for 8 miles on the bikepath, Sean was aiming for as far as he could go. Nice weather when we started at around 4:45ish. I started out really well, no shin or calf pain, and I thought I could have kept the pace up for more than 8 miles (around a 10 minute mile pace once we got going).

My hammy started to hurt around mile 3, so I decided I would turn around after around 3.7-3.8 miles or so, Kevin motored down to mile 4. I also was epically thirsty and hungry, as I really hadn't eaten anything all day, and I felt like I was going to pass out at any second.

Kevin ate up the road at 8 miles in I think about 76 minutes or so.

I ran about 7.4 in about 78 minutes... It was pretty terrible though.

Sean ran his furthest consective run since joining Clan Tang...4 miles.

Nikki ran too, but I have no idea how far, she'll probably post something since I put this up.

PS Broke 200 miles, its a week of milestones. Way to go on the 1k Tang. Don't know if I'll ever get there.

Lack of fluids and electrolytes equal...

Pat, that Narragansett race at night is the Blessing of the Fleet on the left side

Runners:
6:30
Tang, L

10:30
Tang, A

Thanks to a certain revenge on a certain Spanish conquistador in Mexico, I had to walk 1/3 of my run today and anyone who knows me, I don't count walking as mileage. To add insult to injury, I thought it'd be a good day to go unveil the new look:

1) sunglasses Brian and Nikki found in Providence
2) shirtless
3) the tan line that spells "TANG" (or some semblance of it) on my back.

I guess I cursed the Texas Running Gods today by doing so (or maybe that's from the 20+ miles on a treadmill last week). Awkwardly, I got a whistle from workers in a lawn mowing truck.
I knew it wouldn't be a usual run when the first 10 seconds felt like I had already run 5 miles. I may have to stop running for a couple of days until I replenish fluids and electrolytes due to the high chance of bonking.

World Cup thoughts:

The drone of bees noise, the vuvuzelas. Where can I get one?

Felipe Melo of Brazil sports the same Nike running gloves as me

Coit Loop

Kevin: I was meaning to add you also as a correspondent last night, but I think I was still on Mexico time. Hit me up with your email account through the 87 different avenues of communication that we have so I can invite you. You didn't fail me man sounds like you gutted it out and learned a few things. Keep bringing the music; I was meaning to ask people to add their playlists as well.

Runners:
Tang, A (Nike Free 5.0)
Tang, H (Asics)
3.15 miles

Watched Bernard Lagat's USA record 5k and the London Marathon on Universal Sports channel; I'm definitely amped to run the half in November.

I'm glad that the races I'm entering are far away from 90 degrees and humidity. I also figured out that my over pronation in my left foot (ankle rolling while running) and metatarsalgia could be caused by something called Morton's toe. If your second toe is longer than your big toe, then that may be causing problems for you as well.

Mission Matty ..... Failed

KOB here, reporting from Nikki's TCRC account. I'm here to give my report on the most recent TCRC RI chapter race, The Matty Siravo 5K for Epilepsy. To summarize the race in one word I would choose, FAIL. I failed on so many levels; I couldn't match my PR, I couldn't predict whether Eamer or Knapp would be victorious, I couldn't tie my shoes properly, I couldn't have a properly functioning left knee and my controversial ultimate goal was not reached. Tang I have failed you.

Well, now I'll give you a play-by-play of what happened during the race, because I'm sure everyone is dying to know. The race began with an inspired version of "Revelry" by some guy with a trumpet. And we were off, the dual air horns blared from my left and my right, I started my iPod shuffle (a necessity for any serious runner), and I began running. I was off to a nice easy start, as I had learned from my previous mistakes at the Cox Road Races. My leisurely start could not prevent the dreaded untied shoe however, and 15 seconds into the race I came to an abrupt stop.

After tying my shoe, I forgot everything I swore not to do and began attempting to compensate for lost time by bobbing and weaving through the crowd. DUMB. I caught up to my fellow racers eventually and passed them all, except for P90X. With about 1 mile remaining in the race, I was passed by a woman who looked like she was my mothers age. This was motivation enough to step up my game and quicken my pase for the remainder of the race, as my poorly selected iPod playlist had failed me to that point. I finished the race at 25 minutes exactly, but I subtracted 10 seconds from that time, due to my shoe-tying fail, giving me a final time of 24:50.

Now for my new contribution to the blog. Recommending indie music, which I will continue doing until the end of time. My playlist for this race included:

1) Real Estate - "Fake Blues" - from Real Estate's self-titled debut and what might be my favorite album of last year, the perfect summer music.

2) Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks" - now playing at your local CVS Pharmacy = fantastic for me

3) LCD Soundsystem - "All I Want" - probably my favorite song of 2010 to date. It's like a 7 minute David Bowie song.

4) Japandroids - "Younger Us" - another one of my hundreds of songs about the fear of growing up and gettin' all nostalgic about late nights spent drinking with friends.

5) Local Natives - "World News" - A pretty cool song, with an NPR shout out.

6) Sleigh Bells - "Rill Rill" - a song built around an awesome guitar sample and the most low-key song on the band's high powered debut Treats.

7) Dom - "Jesus" - a new buzz band from the lovely town of Worcester, MA

5 before Game 5

First off congrats to everyone on the great times at Matty's 5k, all of the hard work is paying off, keep it up!

Tang, big ups on the 1,000 mark, that's nothing to sneeze at, you'll be at 10k before you know it, and I'm diggin the new blog layout, much easier on the eyes

After a day of packing/shopping we decided to go for a run. We were planning all day on pulling an easy 4 miler but right before the run Lauren decided to go big or go home and go for the longest run she's ever done, 5 miles. We set off up the grueling almost half mile hill that starts off every run on Broadway and headed over and around Davis Square. For running a distance that she'd never run before Lauren handled it like a champ maintaing a 9:20 pace for the run, another good day on the roads.

btw Knapp can you send me that info on the night run in gansett?

Good Luck and Good Speed.

Greetings from Mexico

Image courtesy of Erica

It was very tough in Mexico yesterday since I wanted to know how the race went without access to the internet or my phone. Obviously the first thing I did after the trip was read the blog. Thanks to Andrew for putting a race report up for the gang. You guys all get a round of applause from me. Looks like the Y chromosome was in effect for pacing; that always happens. I would definitely have toed the line with the elite looking runners.

Brian, I'm assuming you were the one vote for Eamonn. Per usual, Brian, you were right. 1-10 in the polls.

Oh yeah, changed the blog's look if you haven't noticed. Figured it would make it look more professional.


Mexico:




(running in Mexico)




(pre-6 AM run hijinx in Mexico, trying to take the most epic facebook picture)


Runners:
Mom
Dad
Aunt Cindy
Chris
Aaron

3 days of treadmill and some outside running. As much as I hate treadmills, I think a majority of my miles came from them. Next thing you know I'll be :gulp: biking instead of running.

Got to run with some relatives whom I guess haven't seen me run lately since I got the mock-voice: Ooh my name is Aaron and I run every day.

What did I learn?

-treadmills max out at 1 hour

-I broke 1,000 miles not in RI, not TX, but on a treadmill. In Mexico. So technically, mil millas (espanol). Unfortunately, the next milestone (10,000 miles) will take consistency over 9 years. See ya in 9.

-the winner of Miss Iberostar (the hotel's own beauty pageant) decided to have a duel with me on the treadmill to see who could run farther. What she didn't know was that I was running a celebratory 7 miles for the Matty's 5k runners.

-Sri, I cut my miles this week down to 25, don't worry

Matty's 5k

I suppose I'll give a quick RR on the Matty's 5k that me, Nikki, Kevin, Dr. Estus, Eamer, and Eamer's friend (which I can't remember his name) ran on Saturday.

When we got there about 45 min early, it was a nice temperature, maybe 64 or so, with a decent amount of humidity. We had enough time to get our bibs, stretch, and for Kevin to defecate. There were a lot more people there than I thought there would be. Since we had no clue where the race was starting, I was getting a little nervous when it was like 3 minutes before the race and there had been no attempt by the race staff to give us directions or line us up. But all was fine.

When we lined up Kevin, Eamer and I went right behind the "gosu" runners.. the guys with no body fat, no shirts and running wind sprints right before the race, probably a poor choice to get that close to the front, but oh well. I started out way too quick, as usual. My goal was to stick with Eamer the whole way and make a move at the end, but this plan led me going out too strong for the first mile. I think the combination of following those shirtless guys, the eleven-toed guy, and listening to the Phantom Menace theme song (which was awesome for the start) made me go too fast for my current abilities. When I checked my watch at the first mile I was at something like sub-7:40 mile, which I knew immediately was not sustainable. I tried to keep up the pace as long as I could but i got burnt out right before the 2nd mile mark.

The course was kind of boring, we ran on those roads out past the Ryan Center, and it was kind of running out one road .5 miles, then running back and going up a different road for .5 miles, rinse and repeat. It was boring, because we were just running back and forth, but it was nice to see where the top runners were, and see where the rest of the Tang's Clan was.

There was actually quite a bit of Race staff cheering us on through the race, which was nice, but it wasn't enough. At about the 2.2 mile mark, I had to walk for about 25-30 seconds. Looking back, I think I could have kept going, but at the time I was dying. Next race I need to work on just fighting through the pain. This walk combined with my falling pace, made Eamer get too far in front of me for a late rally... oh well my real goal was breaking 27 minutes.

The last .4 miles or so seemed to take forever, but when I saw the clock and the finish I had enough juice for a near-sprint. At the end they wanted that little piece of paper under the bib, which I decided I didn't need earlier (dumb) so the guy just ripped my bib off my shirt. Not only did he put a decent hole or 2 in my shirt, but he managed to rip my prized memento.

I finished with a 26:44 (8:37 pace), which I am very happy about. My last race a month ago was 28:13, so I shaved off 1:30 or so off my PR. I also was left with optimism for improvement... I know I can do a lot better, so I couldn't wait to start training again.

Other times were:

Nikki 30:53 (9:58 pace) - Nikki was happy, because she bettered her PR by about 2 minutes as well, and wins the Most Improved award.

Kevin ran 25:00 flat (8:04 pace) - He lost a little time off his last run, but an untied shoe and a messed up knee held him back a little bit.

Dr. Estus ran a 29:24 (9:29 pace) - I'm not sure about previous races, but it's a good time. Nikki was planning on trying to run with Dr. Estus, but she left Nikki in the dust.

Eamer ran a 26:09 (8:26 pace) - Eamer ran a nice steady race from what I could see, I was about 30 feet behind him for the entire race.

Eamer's friend ran a 22:50 (7:22 pace) - With no training at all, this boggles my mind. I think Eamer implied that this result was because he just finished P90X...ok.

All in all it was a good race: eamer, eamer's friend, Nikki and me all reached our goals, and it made the long wait till the half-marathon much, much longer.

Good Luck to the Club Members Running this Weekend!

Just wanted to say goodluck to everyone who is running in the Matty 5k this weekend!!! If I wasn't going to a wedding in MA, I would definitely be running with you guys!

Goodluck and have an excellent time! :-)

Coach Tang Address

"Dear Team, If you're reading this entry, you already know. The house has been boarded up. The windows, the doors, everything. We're in Mexico. Room 112. I love you. Tang."
-Old School remixed for the team

[+] Coach speech for the race
[+] Coach on current posters

Unfortunately I'll be MIA in MEX til Sunday so I can't text you guys an hour before to wish you good luck a la Eamonn before every exam. You guys know I would have LOVED to see this race live to cheer you on but I'll be knee deep in cerveza and a conga line.

So GOOD LUCK at the race guys. Remember, get some SLEEP this week. Get all your gear planned out the night before so you are not searching for it minutes before leaving for the race. Properly warm up and stretch beforehand. Eat a small breakfast 2 hrs before (only if you usually eat). If you should feel nervous just remember that you HAVE finished this distance before, you've logged the miles, and that you dominated a race just one month ago.

I'm hoping that when I return (as dark as can be) I'll see some race reports (RR) and some personal records (PRs). Go out there relaxed, don't run too fast for the first mile, and above all else, help each other out; it's a team. Pat set the great precedent: finishing first means being the first cheerleader.

[stolen from an earlier post]

The less you think about trying to meet some arbitrary goal, the better; after all, Prefontaine said it best "A lot of people run a race to see who's fastest. I run to see who has the most guts". That's all I care about; if you can tell me you tried your hardest (barring injury), I'm proud of the effort you put out.

We are all an experiment of one in running. Hopefully everyone will learn a lot from this experience and :crosses fingers: continues to run; if not, there is no pressure to.

Tangism:
Your success is not only a triumph of the individual but the support of family and friends






Knapp: Your plan for this week makes sense; if you feel like running, just go easy. Sorry about the added pressure of the first poll. Beating Eamer shouldn't be your goal. (Although you are kicking his butt at the polls 10-0) Also, please tell me someone tried the body glide instead of me thinking it's still on the coffee table at Ashton Mills.
.
Sri: haha thanks Mom, I'll cut my miles back in Mexico. I'm glad to know the #1 student and I share something in common--not studying. I believe by your entries you'd like to run with a person so I hope in St. Louis you can either find someone who runs at your residency or motivate someone to start.

Jess: Welcome as a writing runner. Cramps and dehydration, BINGO. I did that on my bonk day and it was not pretty. Awww, I miss Blackstone so much.


Nikki: Also, welcome to writing and running. 4 pairs of running shoes makes you a runner but also makes you a girl. btw, sick tempo run. You've got the speed.
(Could've thrown in a Top Gun "I've got the need. the need for speed" quote. But I promised myself I wasn't gonna be lame)

Runner:
Tang (NB 904)

running at NIGHT in Plano so I can tire myself out to wake up at 4 AM for a flight to MEX...not too bad.

Nikki completes her first tempo run!!! (unintentionally)

After a long 10-hour shift at work, I felt inspired squeeze in a nice, short, slow-paced run before dinner.

I even brought Mama Hilliard along for the ride, giving her an excuse to use her spiffy iPod shuffle I bought her for Christmas last year.

As "they" always say...a family that walks/runs together...has...funs together??? I don't know, something along those lines...you get what I mean.

The plan was to run up and back to the duck pond on sweet allen, where I used to frolic around as a young child and feed the ducks stale/moldy bread. The plan was to go at a slow pace...but that didn't happen. By the time I back up the hill to my house, I felt like death (usually what I feel like after 3 miles, not 1.5)! I looked down at my watch and realized that I had only been running for 12:48!!!

So, essentially, I did 1.51 miles in 12:48..and would definitely consider this to be a tempo run and a new PR. I don't think I've ever run this fast in my life.....ever.

YAY ME!

Man, if I could keep that pace for the 5K, I would be so happy....doubt that would happen tho ;)

Nikki (Nike Airmax Greens): 1.51 mi. (8:29 minutes/mi pace)

Blackstone Cramps

Ran a brutal run at Blackstone today. Started getting these killer side cramps at mile 2 which forced me to slow down a bit. I never really get running cramps so this was new to me. I am trying to figure out just what caused the cramps. It could most likely be from dehydration. I definitely did not get to drink enough water at work today... That will have to change. I was quite embarrassed having to stop dead in my tracks on the pathway and cringing over onto the grass. I was able to move on after resting for a moment and finish at 4 miles.

On a positive note, I made it to the Green Level on my Nike+ application!!! This means I have run more than 155 miles since March 2nd (when I got my Nike shoe sensor). This is exciting to me because everything looks better in green on the Nike+ website! :-)

Jess (Nike Lunarlite+)
4.17 miles

Operation: Beat Eamer

I woke up deciding I wasn't going to run... well that lasted only a few hours. I ran by myself on the bike path, and I wanted to run 4 easy miles non-stop. I ended up only doing 3 because my calf started bothering me. I also think I went out too hard for my "easy" run. I ran 3 miles in just under 29:00. I wasn't out of breath and felt good, so maybe my fitness level is just getting better, as my "easy" pace from a month ago was probably 10:30 or even 11 minutes a mile.

The run also gave my hope for the upcoming race. I was feeling really good throughout and easily could have kept going, but wanted to keep myself from blowing up my calf. I still do not have that much confidence that I'll beat Eamer, but we shall see.

I'm not sure how much I should run before the race. I'm thinking about taking tomorrow off and running easy on Thursday and then taking Friday off.

Loner Run

Pat and Tang say they like running alone better - Maybe that's true if you are good at running, and your running partners hold you back, but for me, the opposite holds true. This brings to my next point - Tang, you seem to be running a lot more mileage than when you had the clan to hold you back...just be careful! Don't injure yourself again!

Runner: Sri (NB) 2.86 miles

Today was a good day - the weather was tame: not too hot, not too humid, nice breeze in the morning. I had no distance in mind, but ran a semi-loop to the entrance of my neighborhood and then back home, which came to be 2.86 miles. I think my neighborhood gives off the appearance that it is a lot bigger than it seems because there really is not too much distance I can get unless I just keep running in the same circles.

As 3 1/2 weeks have gone by since the last day of our rotations, and I have not studied for the NAPLEX or MPJE the slighest bit, I have realized it would be beneficial if I become productive with my life. I have a little less 2 weeks to study before I move to St. Louis - what was I thinking?? Ahhhhh!

Blessing of the Fleet in Narragansett, RI

Hey all, it's Jess! Writing my first contribution to the infamous Tang Clan Running Club blog!!!

As I sit here this morning, I am contemplating signing up for the 10-Mile "Blessing of the Fleet" Run in Narragansett.

I am to the point on the website where I can start to put in all my registration information and dig out my credit card for the $30 registration fee.

http://www.narragansettri.com/lions/race/blessingpg1.htm

It sounds pretty legit. It's the 35th annual event and it's put on by the Narragansett Lions Club (they know what they're doing, right?). Thousands of runners register for it each year. There are even walkers and wheelchair participants!

Is it really ranked #1 10-mile race in New England?? Well I guess there aren't that many 10-mile races that I can recall...

What is stopping me? Maybe the fact that I have never run 10 miles before! The furthest I have gone in my running so far is 8 miles... If you can do 8, you can do 10 no problem, right? And I'm going to be in Palmer, MA by the time of the race.. I think I can sacrifice the trip down to Narragansett for the race. It may suck but at least I still have places to stay in RI.

AND who knows what my "pharmacist" schedule will look like in a little over a months time...

Screw it! There is really no issue here, no question about it. What am I waiting for? I am going to just do it, whether my body (or current hectic lifestyle) will like it or not!

10-Mile Blessing of the Fleet Race held in Narragansett, RI. Friday, July 23rd at 6 PM. Starts at Narragansett High School and ends at the Towers on Ocean Road.

Time to start training for that... does anyone else want in? Please let me know! :-)

Nikki's 1st Self-Motivating(sort of) Run...

I passed up the great opportunity to run with Knapp at the Cumberland bike path this afternoon, because I thought it would be better to go home and "study"..and by "study" I mean doing a 10-minute online CVS module before falling asleep for 2 hours.

After waking up, face and couch drenched in drool, I realized I had accomplished nothing for the day. So...with a little motivation from on-line Sri and a inner-monologue narrated by the great Coach Tang telling me to get my lazy ass off the couch, I decided to go for a run around my neighborhood.

It was around 5:15 pm, so the heat of the day was starting to fade away and there was a nice breeze, so I was super psyched to run. Usually, when I run with the Cumberland crew, we run during early/mid afternoon, when the heat and humidity are at its worst. Now, don't get me wrong...I'm sure its great to train in that kind of setting, because that is most likely what the temperature will be on race day(next Saturday), but there's something about that weather that makes me want to not run/kill myself. So, with that said...I really, really enjoyed the change in climate while running.

My route started at the tippity-top of the hill on which my house is located in tiny Wakefield. I ran past Briarwood, and crossed the street to the hilly section of Sweet Allen Farm. I then ran past my old Junior High School and down to the pond trail I used to run at when I was training with my track team in High School.

I know, I know....Nikki??? on the track team??? I know you're all experiencing shock and awe right about now, but don't get too excited...I wasn't setting records in the 800 meters or anything like that...I just threw the javelin. And not very well, I might add.

After reaching the trail (which I didn't run on because I'm saving it for another day), I turned back and made the 1.5-ish miles back home...in about 34.5 minutes.

My first successful run by myself! So, now I can say that today wasn't a total waste. Hopefully, I'll do the same thing tomorrow when I get out of work at 7pm. Womp, womp.

Nikki - Green Airmax Nike's

3.1 mi.

Tang Tries 24 Hour Fitness

Special Note: I'll be MIA in MEX til Sunday.

Sunday:
Thanks to another late night with the Texas kids @ Fillmore Pub, we decided to check out 24 hour fitness today.

Runner:
Tang, A (NB 904)

Dreadmill, 4.4 miles

The bright idea was to use the sauna to sweat out last night but while Greg and Pritesh were working out, I was running aka sweating so after 5 minutes in the sauna I was done.

The only run-worthy comment from last night:
Paul: So are you going for Boston?
[keep in mind the NBA finals with Boston and LA are on every TV in the bar]
Tang: uh...yeah I think I'm going to try that marathon next year.

Monday:
Thanks to another late night with the Texas kids @ Ginger Man Pub, I decided to check out 24 hour fitness again.

Runner in the AM:
Tang, L
3.1 miles

Runner:
Tang, A (NB 904)

Dreadmill, 3.1 miles

Verdict: short shorts for running > self-conscious basketball shorts for running
waking up at 6 AM to run outside > running on a treadmill

Ashton Mills - Group Run

It was so nice to be back in Rhode Island, where running was fun again. We planned to go running in the morning before we went to Kasey's graduation party, and everybody had their own goals in mind: 3 or 4 miles.

Runners:

Andy (Saucony) 3+ miles

Kevin (Nike Free) 4.0 miles

Sean (NB) 3.0 miles

Nikki (Nike Free) 3.0 miles

Sri (NB) 3.0 miles

I did a tempo run in order to see a new color on my runningahead log (and yes, the desire for a new color was the only reason I did not do an easy run - now I have a fuschia column!). As Andy mentioned in one of the earlier posts about tempo runs, I tried to go at a pace that was slower than my 5K but faster than a 10K. I didn't run quite as fast as my 5K race pace, but very close to it. Since it was not an actual race, I felt quite accomplished after, especially since my last several runs have been nowhere near that pace.

Nikki was very pleased with her run too, as she did not have to stop at all to take any walking breaks.

It was my first time running with Sean (fellow NB runner), and I think he was happy with the run.

Kevin decided to run shirtless a minute into the run. I lost sight of him after the first mile or so, but he ran pretty quickly despite his knee injury, and finished not too long after I did with an extra mile under his belt.

Andy was doing well for the beginning part of the run and keeping up with Kevin. However, the tempo run from earlier in the week may have caused him to pull a calf muscle, resulting in excruciating pain for the latter part of the run forcing him to walk.

All in all, everyone did well in my opinion! Those with injuries (Kevin and Andy) have gotta rest up for the big race next Saturday!

Tang Tangles with the Triple Hill of Hedgcoxe Doom Twice (and Triumphs)

NEW poll up

[Running] Pagin me at 6:46
in the mornin, crack of dawn an,
now I'm yawnin, wipe the cold out my eye
-Notorious B.I.G. "Warning" Run remix

Runners:
Tang, J
Tang, L
6:30 AM

Runner:
Tang, A (NB 904)
6:46 AM, 9.34 miles

I love the smell of new running shoes. The Maiden voyage of the 904s was the same as any Tang run; filled with running errors. Breaking in a new pair on 9.34 miles? Dumb. Even with negative splits, could I consider bonking at the same 8.5 mile mark? Nay nay, not today. Getting acclimated will take some time; I ran 12 in Rhode Island without feeling like bonking.

Thoughts while on the run:

-the street before the triple hill of doom is named Rolling Hills. Ha. Ha.


-the light poles in Providence: littered with the newest MySpace band
-the light poles in Plano: littered with the latest missing kitty

-the role model for the biker gang in Providence: Harley Davidson
-the role model for the biker gang in Plano: Lance Armstrong
They scared the bejesus out of me when 8 of em whirred by me talking.

-I said earlier you could tell how fast a runner was by the shortness of their shorts. My new theory is in Plano you can estimate how many miles you've run by how many "GOOD MORNING"s you get. I'm going to start a counter to see if this holds true.

-the only non-wave/good morning I got was from a roller blader. Soul skater you are not

-after mile 2, the decision had been made: shirtless. Not because of the Rhode Island chapter's usual hootin' and hollerin' for it but because it is insanely hot. Hey, less laundry for Mama Tang.


Breaking in the new NB 904s, the update to the 903s. Bober, I apologize for another delay in getting some Asics.


You know you are a runner when you have 4 pairs of running shoes.



Everyone: I love that I can come to this site to not write but to actually read the different entries and see the different styles of writing. Down to the signature sign off messages. Oh yeah I figured out how to put polls up on the blog; the first one is up on the left.


Brian-:slow hand clap: busting out the 100 man. Awesome job. I told Sri this but it applies for you as well. See if the people at your residency want to start running or already run. I'm pretty sure at least one person would want to. Throw a race in down there in Maryland, see what 100 miles means.

Knapp-Dude, my Dad is a front runner a la Kevin but it's so much easier/ fun to yell at Kevin. I hear ya on being at the back of the pack in gym class. Busting sub-8, awesome man. Your intuition is correct; when you run faster, your form has to improve. Running lots of easy miles is just a way to protect us from injury but running faster recruits more fast twitch muscles and again, you have to run more efficiently which leads to improved form.

Pat- I just wanted to take an excerpt from your Friday post:
And I quote,"relatively I'm not even fast at running them [5ks] anymore". Did anyone else chuckle after reading this? If that Cox 5k was your slow, I would have loved to have seen what fast was. Penny loafers for your run? Awesome equipment, I want to see that for your running log. Also, for today's 9.3 mile run, I hear ya on running solo since I got up at the crack of dawn.



When the time came to pack up the car for Texas, it came down to four 6-packs of blueberry beer (3 Wachusett, 1 Newport Storm) -OR- a printer. I made the right choice.

After watching City Island at the Angelika, the line is now divided in the Tang household after I came down wearing a Plano cross country shirt which offended the littlest Tang who was actually on the team. (I just bought my shirt). A battle of 4 years of high school versus 2 years of college independent running. A friendly rivalry may be bubbling and it's now Team Aaron versus Team Heather. Thanks for egging us on Mom.

Someone with Adobe/ artistic skills, turn my half ass MS paint drawing in to a logo:


I would've, but on the move down as I stated above this, I left my scanner/printer in Providence.

And finally, for those couch potatoes who run, Universal Sports has marathons and triathlons in the AM. Great motivation right there.

The Run of Bunker Hill

Somerville/Charlestown, MA

Pat (Penny Loafers)

I got home from work today and decided to go for a run, I didn't have a route in mind so I decided to go a way that I never head and go left down Broadway. After running thrCugh the ghetto known as East Somerville I got into Charlestown, first the ghetto of charlestown and finally hit Bunker Hill where it starts to get nice. I didn't have a turn around point in mind so I decided to go all Forrest Gump on the run and just keep running until I hit the water. That's when I got to the Charlestown Navel yard, it was awesome. Tons of people walking around and an awesome view of the city so I ran down to the end and turned it back around. When I got back I mapped it on mapmyrun and it ended up being 7 miles which I was happy with since I felt stronger as the run went on and could have easily pushed it to 10.

I decided that I don't like 5k's, training for them isn't fun, you have to run fast and relatively I'm not even fast at running them anymore. Although I try to push it a little running distance (8-8.5 min pace) it has a much more relaxed feel to it. And you get to span a lot of ground and see a lot of things, so I'm pumped to be training for distance again.

Knapp I'll send that schedule over on Monday, it's on my work computer.

I've asked my dad to find out how many #'s his friend can get for the Boston Marathon. I'm hoping he can get a few (just in case), but we'll see, I'll keep you all posted.

Good luck and Good Speed

Tempo Run

Today it was only Sri and myself on the Ashton Mills Bike Path. With the Matty's 5k fast approaching, I thought it would be a good idea to do some speed work. Sri and I walked for a mile first, then I started running at "tempo" pace, whatever the heck that means. I still don't really know what a tempo pace should be for me. I hear its a little slower than your "5k pace," but I'm not really sure what my current 5k pace is.

So, I ran at a level that made me breathe pretty hard, but not out of control, short breaths. I ran the first mile in under 8 minutes, which I think was way too fast for me. As pathetic as it sounds, this is the fastest mile I have ever ran... I was always the slow kid in gym class that didn't try (I know surprising that I didn't put out much effort, right?). I wasn't even trying to do something like that, but it is just how it turned out. Maybe, next time I'll go out and see what the fastest mile I can run is, because I was definitely holding some juice left in the tank for the rest of the run.

The next mile i ran at like 8:30 pace or so. I finished at only 2.2 miles in about 18:20. I probably, could have kept on going after a little walk break, but I saw Sri walking and decided I would take it easy. Sri had an off day, after 5 straight days...Tang what have you done to us.

One more thing, is that this is the most pain-free run I have had since the 5k. There must be something about my form that corrects when I go faster... something to look into for sure.

Thanks for the encouragement Pat... and yeah I would love to check out your plan (hushma3@gmail.com) Thanksssssss

For Boston, for Boston

Here goes the first post from the Boston chapter of the TCRC....

After taking what seemed like a year off from shin splints I returned to the streets for an easy 3. After being pumped to run all day it started downpouring like crazy the second I got home for work, so like a team waiting out a rain delay myself and Lauren got a few things done around the apt and waited it out. Once it stopped around 7pm the sun came back out and it was beautiful running conditions, not too hot or too cold, no humidity, just right.

The run was nothing special, just took it easy for 3 miles up and down Broadway in Somerville. I didnt want to push it too hard being by first run after the bad shin splints so me and Lauren just kept pace together. With about a mile left a stampeed of runners that had to be in some sort of running club wizzed by us for what seemed like 5 minutes one after another, simultaneously For Boston by the Dropkick Murphies came on the ipod, I probably coulda busted out a 3 min mile at that moment, theres nothing like the Dropkicks and people whizzing by you to get the running juice flowing.

I was impressed with Lauren who has only run once since the 5k and kicked it in strong at the end, finishing up with what was probably a sub 9 minute mile.

I'm loving the recaps from everyone, getting a taste of how everyone is doing, its a good way to keep in touch.

Knapp and KOB pulling out 6 miles like its nothing, that's pretty damn good at this stage of the game since all your looking to do by October is 13. You'll be able to pound it out easy by then. Do you have a training schedule for the half? I modified the marathon one that I used and have the runs starting in July if you're interested I can send it over.

Sri, good job with the running alone. Running alone is tough because its hard to motivate yourself to get out there and run when there is no one pushing you, but once you get used to it I think you'll find that you like it better. I love running alone, I'm not a fan of running with other people as much (sorry Laur haha) but there's just something about running alone, a certain freedom to it. You want to run at 5:46, you run at 5:46, you don't have to wait for anyone or change your schedule, you run when you want and at the pace you want and you just go out there and get it done. Keep it up Latha!

Brian, congrats on the triple digits, in impressive fashion I may add, seeing it was 6.5 miles away and going out there and banging it out all at once is quite a feet, great determination Biney. And you guys got a condo down in MD? When'd you buy it? thats awesome! You get it in time for the tax credit?

I shall be seeing you guys(hopefully most of you) at Caseys grad party, We've got 4 grad/birthday parties that day but we're only gonna go to 2, gonna go to my cousins for an hour or 2 and head to Caseys for the rest of the afternoon/night, should be a good time.

Good luck and Good Speed

Reunited......

....and it feels so good.

Today the Ashton Combo ran with the fellow Tang Clan members, Brian and Sri. Thanks to the CVS graduate conference Kevin and I each had two days off, so we thought today would be an excellent day for a long run... first it started at 8 miles than as we were running it went down to 7 then finally down to 6... except for Mr. 100.

Although it wasn't all a loss at the CVS conference, as one of our head honchos bought us numerous drinks and talked to us about running for what must have been an hour. Apparently he is doing a marathon in October, which I was very tempted to do (so I can run and kiss ass at the same time) ... although that motivation quickly disappeared after today's run.

Brian only needed 6.5 miles for the most important running milestone of our short careers... 100 big ones. Which means he only has 2800 miles left till Florida.

The ran went well for me for the first 4 miles or so, till I cramped up pretty badly and had to walk for what seemed like an eternity. It didn't help much that I had to tell Kevin to slow down probably 6 times...things haven't changed much Tang.

Brian finished his goal, while the rest of us, sweaty and tired, decided to quit after 6 miles. After today's run I am a little uncertain about the Half. The two saving graces are that it is a long time away still and that it is in October so hopefully I won't think I am going to have a heat stroke at any minute.

“Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand hills, a thousand victories.”

“Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand [hills], a thousand victories.”
Sun Tzu, remixed for running

Today would prove to be different knowing where the hills are located.

Runners:
Tang, A (Nike Free 5)
Tang, L (NB)
Tang, J (Asics)

If this were a race, I wasn't able to shake off Mom for 2 miles. I am a fan of Brian's hands to the side technique to relax the arms and shoulders while running but my Mom must have felt great enough to go 1-2 punch to loosen up. Those who know me know there is normal Tang who literally has a big head ... and then there's runner Tang who's head is figuratively a blimp. So an easy run turned in to a medium effort.

After running in the concrete jungle of Providence, I came upon some foreign, gigantic water bubbler/ fountain. I google'd it and it appears to be, (forgive my mispronunciation) sprinklers.





Yesterday was National Running Day. I think we celebrated the right way with running.

Brian-so close to 100 man. I'm starting the slow clap already for ya buddy. As far as the short shorts go, I really don't have a problem with them. Boxer-briefs, I do have a problem with occasionally. I'm still trying to master non-chalantly adjusting on the run. I'm glad to also hear Henry (for those who don't know, Henry is a plant that Brian adopted from IKEA) is doing well after the move from Providence. SMS blogging? :bows down: Toddlers and Tiaras huh? As long as its not House of Payne, it's ok. Yeah I've been channel surfing and am stuck on the new Cooking Channel.

Sri-isn't your neighborhood pretty safe/long? So no one runs in your sidewalk-less neighborhood? What a shame because I do recall a sweet hill to run up as well. My ONLY regret in life (dramatic Brian pause) ... was not running that hill before the cruise (single tear). I'm happy to hear you are still tackling hills like a champ. Running with more members soon? Jealous.

I hope the CVS-backed runners are having fun rubbing elbows with the higher ups. One of you, become the new CEO, hire me as another suit and I'll move back up to run with you guys.

Also, if you guys head down to Plano, I've already found bars with Widmer Hefeweizenfor happy hour, Wood Chuck Granny Smith, Ephemere, La Fin du Monde, Youngs Double Chocolate Stout, and Banana Bread Ale. I haven't gone but I bet It's no Avery or Ama's.

Baird Park

After trying to find several different routes on runningahead this morning, I decided it would be best to drive to a park near my old high school. I was very pleased with my decision - lots of trees by the road lending shade to runners such as myself.

Sri (NB) 3.3 miles

I was feeling good today, even chose to run up and down a couple hills when I could have run on a different road. However, after calculating out the mileage post-run, I was disappointed. Based on the time, I thought had run more but it looks like I need to work on picking up the pace. Tomorrow, I will be returning to the wonderful state of Rhody and am looking forward to running with some fellow teammates again. :)

6:30

You know what just occurred to me? Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was the voice of Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That guy has been oppressing our early 90s heroes for way too long.


The default weather conditions in Texas for the running log should be:
-humid
-sunny

Runner:
Tang, Aaron (Nike Free 5 v4)

time of day: 6:30 am
distance:3.15 mi


Recovery run without a pacer = not a recovery run.



And I went with the New Balance MR 904's because:
a) it's 44 bucks on 6pm.com
b) it's 44 bucks on 6pm.com
c) I can't steer away from the New Balance line/ loved the 903s

Attempt #2 in NY

After having the same thoughts as Tang, I decided to run earlier this morning - 9:30AM; it was still hot but much better!

Sri (NB) 2.5 miles (at snail pace)

Still not where I should be, but I'm working on getting my mojo back

Thoughts about NY Running:

(1) Compared to RI, these hills here are ridiculous - I had to walk up a hill today because it was a half mile of just straight incline

(2) There are no sidewalks on the roads near me, so I am still in search for a nice level running path where my life is not in danger by cars driving 60mph on windy roads