Shifting Gears

If dirk can run heel first, I guess I can.

I. Half Marathon Goals

II. two hated pharmacy classes combined = Cardio Stats

I. Goals

After experimenting with heel to toe running for a week, I have come to the conclusion that I will be riding this for as long as I can. This also means that my training may possibly have to be trashed halfway in exchange for just getting in mileage, my old way of running.

So 5 minutes ago: Type A personality training and forefoot running

In: Type B personality training and heel to toe

This also means that I need to re-evaluate my goals for the half marathon. I never really said it aloud but in the back of my mind, I really wanted a 1:45 finishing time. Now, I think I will be happy with finishing. Where the older version of Tang would be super mad about doing this, the older and wiser Tang knows this is for the best long term.

II. Fun with Math

I may be the only one on the team who does this but I, every so often, measure my resting heart rate right as I wake up in the AM. You can take it with any ol' device laying around, be it a stop watch, iPod, phone, etc.

Anyways, I was trying to see how much we "save" in terms of my self-coined 'cardio economy'. Googling the average heart rate of a male, I find it to be ~70 bpm. I'm humming at about mid 40s but for the sake of easy math, let's say 50 bpm.

So I save 20 beats per minute, X 60 = 1200 beats per hour.

1200 beats per hour X 24 = 28,800 beats per day.

28,800 beats per day X 365 = 10,512,000 beats per year saved.

But what about running Aaron? That's gotta be more than 50 bpm. So let's say I ran at a max of about 160 bpm while running.

160-70 = 90 yadda yadda yadda...

It would take running 1,946 hours to negate the saved beats. Or 81.1 days continuously. For reference, I'm at 99 hours this year. Although if I ran 81.1 days continuously, I'm sure my heart would be living in the same neighborhood as Lance Armstrong's at 32-34 bpm.

So basically without advanced cardiology and statistics (despite the classes in my degree), I've concluded:

cardio economy

running > not running

My CVS 5k Experience

WOW! Once again, it has been a while since I've posted anything (Last post: "60 Days Until Newport Half"). It makes me sad. I really have no excuse. I guess sometimes I just don't know exactly what to write. However, it seems that I tend to accumulate things to talk about... then I eventually will decide to write a blog, which means obnoxiously long posts.

So I think I'm going to split it into TWO posts this time! :-o This will be my CVS 5K run report and the next one will be an update on the training that I've been doing..

First off, I'd like to say CONGRATULATIONS to KOB for his amazing 5k time! Good job!!

For the 5k, I joined Team Andera and Friends. Andera is the company that Tyler works for. We had sweet bandanas that we all wore during the race. Bad. Ass.

One thing I wasn't prepared for... 80-something degree weather in September. It had started to get chilly the previous week and I thought this run would be cooler than the other 5k's. I was wrong. When I first headed out for the race, I immediately regretted the decision to wear capri-length running pants. Terrible mistake. It was a beautiful day but goodness gracious! I was hot!! If only I had been wearing shorts...

Also, I didn't realize how many fellow Tang "Clanners" were running in the race. I happened to see Nikki, Andy, and Kevin at the end of the race when we were all just hanging out by the free pizza and bananas. It was great to see them! :-)

I definitely agree with the previous CVS 5k posts... WAY TOO MANY RUNNERS. And it seemed that more than half of them didn't pay attention to where they should be starting the race. There were sections based on bib numbers. I think the pattern was that the smaller the bib number, the more elite the runner and the closer to the starting line they were. It was a huge cluste-f%$#! There was no controlling it. People just weren't paying attention. I passed countless people walking and winded by the first half-mile. It was frustrating having to dodge around the huge crowd and I probably would have done better if people weren't in my way..

Considering the sea of people, I think I started out pretty strong. Tyler and I were helping each other the first part of the way weaving through the crowd. At some point, Tyler took an accelerating dive right into a hole that I quickly got closed out of. But that's okay...I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with him the entire time. I ran on my own for a little while until an Andera teammate, Aura, caught up to me. We have a similar pace so we paced each other for the rest of the race. Even ended with exactly the same chip-time! I think I found my running match. It's pretty cool to meet someone who I can run with at the same pace. She's running in the Newport Marathon (not the half, the whole damn thing). Hopefully we can pace each other for at least half of her run :-P

By the time Aura and I were done fighting through the crowds of people, I realized that we turned the corner to the finish line. The hill. A bitch of a hill. It was way too hot out for this. I am not good with running in heat. Especially when I'm pushing myself to get a better PR. Since moving to MA, I have become more accustomed to hilly routes. A majority of my long runs involve massive hills. The 5k hill shouldn't have bothered me. But the heat did, and by then I just wanted to be done.

Overall, the CVS 5k was a personal success. I created a new PR-- 27:14. That's 38 seconds better than my last PR (Harpoon 5K--27:52). Not too shabby.

There are 2 cons to this 5k that stopped me from getting an even better 5k PR:
1) The insane crowd of runners
2) The decision to wear capri-length pants instead of shorts..

To end on a positive note, I made a freakin' sweet playlist on my iPod for this run (Included AC/DC, Cake, Red Hot Chili Peppers, House of Pain, haha). I'll definitely recycle it for future runs!

Movies and Running

I. Run, Forrest, Run

II. The Jet versus Hercules

III. Terry Fox

Riffing off of Lauren's first post, I have to say that as runners (or born-again runners), we see movies differently now.

After watching the Forrest Gump link from Lauren's post, some thoughts:

1) We have all been asked why we run by non-runners in a "wow, this person is crazy" sort of way much like all the bystanders in the clip

2) His left arm looks like a mannequin's arm at times or just flails his arms while running

3) Running through dog doo, any runner can relate to that.

addendum: Running today past my old elementary school, I was thinking the kids on the bus may shout "Run, Forrest, RUN!" at me. Doing some quick math, I realized that that movie is older than they are. And that was when I realized I wasn't a kid any more.

I also caught a little-known great movie on TV called The Sandlot this weekend. I saw the climax of the movie where Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez has to out run the dog, Hercules and all I could think of was,

"He's fast. I wonder what his 5k time is?"

Bonus points if you wondered if PF Flyers DID make you run faster and jump higher than today's shoes or if they would be better than the Vibram FiveFingers/ Nike Free minimalist shoe movement.

And Benny and Nunez are also in Mighty Ducks 2. This is what happens when I have 4 days off from running plus IMDB.

Finally, on Tuesday night at 8/7c, a documentary on Terry Fox (the man who had cancer and ran across Canada) will be on ESPN, entitled Into The Wind. I'll definitely check that out.

"I believe in miracles. I have to."

-Terry Fox

8 Mile

Hello all- this is my first blog post. Mostly because I do not think that I am witty enough to post on here and because Pat usually beats me to it.

Anyway, as you already know we had a break from running due to our cross country trip. Since we have gotten back on Monday night I have been having a hard time loosening up my legs for a solid run. This week I have struggled through two 3 mile runs and a 5 mile. Today we were slated for another 10 but I decided that I would rather run a solid 8 miler and try and pick up the pace a bit.

This was the first weekend that Pat and I have had free in about 4 weeks. Having nothing to do in a weekend is sometimes more exciting for us then having a weekend with a ton of plans. That being said we slept in till noon, first time that has happened in almost 2 months. Lounging around watching TV I was pushing back the run for as long possible hoping to maybe even to do it tomorrow. Until I stopped on something that I had seen 100000 times but this time it had a new meaning to me- and it motivated me to get my ass up and run. It made me think- WHY do you run? Because we had a tough day at work, because we want to get in shape, because it helps us think, or because I just feel like running?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN8kAjbuCIA

The run today went really well- I was hoping that the weather would be cooler because it’s the fall but it was almost 90 out today so it wasn’t my favorite conditions. I kept a strong pace for most of the run- the beginning started out great and my leg muscles weren’t as tight as they were the past few days. Pat went for a 10 miler and left me at the 4 mile spot. I was a little nervous that with out him there to make me feel pressured that I wouldn’t keep up the pace. Pat even thought that he was going to be able to run the extra two miles and catch up with me again! I did walk for about a city block but picked up the pace and finished out the final 4 miles at about a 9:30 pace -with an occasional sprint- and Pat never caught up. Overall it was a successful run and I am happy that my legs held up! Can’t wait for the half!

Cross the Country and back again

Long time no post. After our 10 miler we spent the next 10 days driving across the country. The trip was awesome, although defidently not good running wise, we didn’t run the whole time, other than a light 3 mile jog in San Diego and we ate absolute crap, nothing but fast food and good eats thanks to our book “Road Food”. The food was amazing, but amazingly bad for you. Anyways, seeing the whole country in a matter of 4 days in the car was awesome, we had a lot of fun stops along the way including visiting fellow TRC member Sri in the StL.

We got back to running this week with 3 on Tuesday, 5 yesterday and knocked out 3 in the dark this morning before work. Laur’s had some problems with her legs being tight which probably comes from 10 days of nothingness, but I’ve bounced back fairly well, we’ll be busting out another 10 this weekend as our last real long run before we start tapering down to the race which will be here in no time.

Tang, you should go and see a sports doctor about that meta-whatever its called problem (kinda gross but every time I read that word I see menstral hahaha gross) anyways they’d probably be able to get you a real fix for it. Don’t get down on yourself though, injuries can be tough but so is running all the miles you’ve ran, take a break if you need to, but it’ll call you back, it always does. After I run a marathon I’ve been known to take long breaks from running, after the first marathon I probably didn’t run for about 5 or 6 months, after the 2nd one I only took a month or two of light running then went back into training for the Disney marathon that was in January, but by the end of that I was burnt out and didn’t run (other than maybe 4 or 5 3 mile runs) from January 2009 until I started training for our little 5k we did this past May haha, that’s right, Tang you got me back to the running mode, and I couldn’t be happier about it. After the half I’ll tone down the training, just mix in a few 3 or 5 milers a week when I feel like it and then pick up the pace for the marathon training around mid January. Long story short, distance running is an odd beast, you hate it but you love it. After highschool I didn’t really run again until I started training for Boston sophomore year of college, it’s a bug that comes and goes, but when it’s there take full advantage of it and go for it.

Sorry for the long rant, anyways Knapp you were asking for an update on the marathon numbers, nothing yet, I’ll keep you posted, last time he was able to get them around Feb or March so it’ll still be a ways off, if we don’t get the numbers from him we’ll figure out another way of getting it done.

Nikki, KOB, Knapp, awesome work pushin it past 10, I’m pumped for the half, can’t wait to see everyone’s times as we pwn it.

Eight Is Enough

First things first, congrats to the CVS 5k runners!

U2 - "streets have no name" mp3 after watching the Without Limits trailer a hundred times. Try NOT running fast after that comes on your iPod.

Warning: not your usual uplifting post. I don't mean to be a Grumpy Gus after some great race reports.

Eight miles at night + semi-easy four a couple days later

Pick your poison:

ITBS (upper leg hurting) or Metatarsalgia (feeling like your shoes have rocks in them)?

Thanks to Knapp suggesting heel to toe running, I can at least choose ITBS by reverting back to a heel to toe runner. Unfortunately, I feel like I am starting from square one since forefoot running uses different muscles. And the lower back pain, knee pain, and hip pain feel like they are creeping up around the corner because of the heel to toe, but that could be because I started with eight miles on the first go round.

I'm going to have to re-evaluate my feet. If some miracle doesn't happen, I'll have to listen to my own advice of "If it isn't fun any more, stop running" and shut it down. Chances of me running in a marathon in the near future are slim to none.

I remember Bober telling me he was not built to run, and this is after 10 solid years of running. I thought, how much can I get out of my body? Hopefully more than 2 years...

Whatever the reason, I feel like I've had bad luck since coming back home. Training has been hindered by metatarsalgia that is getting worse and insane heat that's gone on for too long. (Shirts have turned in to makeshift bandanas mid run). Maybe I'm just remembering Providence's positives. I know Plano and Providence are not the same, but it is hard not to compare the two.

RR = PR

After the long runs that I have been churning out the past few weeks, I was ready to shatter my 5k PR today and do CVS proud. I had been looking forward to this race all week, although I had to slightly temper my expectations because I knew that there would be an obscene number of people running today.

The team arrived in Prov. this morning about an hour before the race. We wanted time for our traditional pre-race trip to the bathroom and time to warm up before the race began. We did a few jogging laps around the field across from the PPM and some stretching in front of the new camera, showing off our glorious glutes. We lined up for the race about 15 minutes before the gun. In order to get to the 1000's section I got to walk through the entire 2000's section which was pretty awesome. I stepped on everyones feet and walked straight to the front of the line, I felt like a celebrity. Once I did get to my section I had to endure 15 minutes of that annoying British announcer from the Harpoon race and the pledge of allegiance, which I did not remember from 6th grade. Finally the gun sounded and so began the endless fight to get some open space between the thousands of scrub runners that filled the street.

I think the most exhausting thing about a race like this is easily the bobbing and weaving through the crowd and consent fluctuation of speed for the first mile or so. In my attempts to run the best race possible, I tripped at least one other runner and bumped into at least 10 separate people during the course of the race. The weather was definitely hotter than expected and that my have affected me a little as well, but all in all I'd say I ran a pretty great race. I ran the first 2 miles in under 14 minutes, which I was very pleased with. I didn't really get tired until the third mile, where I died especially after the final sprint up the hill on Francis St, right before the finish line. I think as I continue to get used to running longer distances and my endurance gets better and better, my 5k times will continue to drop. Anyway, my final time was 22:06. Time for Boardwalk Empire, KOB out.

CVS 5k RR

A week ago, I wasn't even planning on running this race... I wanted to keep myself healthy for the half. But since everyone else was doing it, I figured, why not?? I was planning on not pushing it too hard, because I hurt my achilles pretty bad on that last 5k, my goal was really more of a faster tempo run, so I definitely succeeded.

Anyways, we got there wicked early, and I warm-uped multiple times watching all the Kenyans, D-1 Collegiate runners, and other nasty runners to there warm-ups. Whoa, was I intimidated. Once we lined up I was next to these two old gay guys that were just screaming at people, and generally just being annoying. Mostly couldn't wait to ask them how my ass tasted at the end of the race.

Once the race started, it was pretty turrrrible... wayyy too many people. I think I ran that first mile in maybe 9:30, which normally would have been a decent pace for me, but since I was jacked up for the race it felt like a slow walk. I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for the race to open up a little but it never did. Initially, I tried to not run around people and just run at there pace and pass when there was an easy opening, but I abandoned that after the first mile. I felt like i was motoring it when that happened, but I still got slowed down every so often... sometimes I had to come to a complete stop.. lame. I kept telling myself, whatever, I don't really care that much about my time in this race, just have some fun.

I finished at 27:01, which is like 45 seconds over my PR. Not bad considering the conditions. I also had already run 20+ miles this week, so I was "running through the race." Mostly cannot wait for the half marathon. I think after that is over, I'm going to gear up for some more speed with some 5k training before embarking on the epic marathon training. Speaking of.... any updates Pat???

Also, I just purchased myself a pair of Lunar Elites, water bottle strap thing that goes on the hand AND some running gloves. When I get into things, I basically try to spend as much money as possible.

CVS Downtown 5K = No PR for Nikki

I went into this race thinking I was going to get a PR, and I was aiming for a sub 30min time. Unfortunately it didn't pan out that way.

We all got to the race with plenty of time to spare, so we grabbed some water, went to the bathroom and did a warm-up run and stretch. When we finished with all of that I looked up on Francis Street and a bunch of runners (numbers 3000 and up) were already lined up, so I figured I would make my way over before it would be too crowded to get in.

That was around 10:40am. Now, the race didn't start till 11:15, so I was standing in the blistering sun for about a half an hour before the race started. I was sweating bullets and was worried I was going to get dehydrated BEFORE the run. I found some more water and sipped while I waited. I even crouched down at one point behind the other runners so I could get some shade. That probably looked pretty weird but I was trying to conserve my energy/water as long as possible. I even ran into one of the pharmacists I used to work with while I was an intern at South County Hospital. So it was nice to have someone to talk to while I waited.

The race finally started, and I had to walk about 3-4 minutes until I reached the start line. I was feeling fine during the entire race, but was bobbing and weaving through the masses of crowds, hopping up and down from sidewalks. It was impossible for me to break away from the pack because there were just so many people, so I ended up getting boxed in a bunch of times and had to actually stop dead in my tracks, especially near the water stations, because people are dumb. I was getting really pissed off during my run because I just could not get a steady pace going, even though I was pushing it hard.

I tried getting water, but I think the volunteers (mostly tweenage girls dressed in bee costumes...wtf???) were not well coordinated. They couldn't pour the water fast enough for the runners, so they were empty by the time I got there, and would have to wait for more water to be poured, time I didn't want to waste.

I ended up finishing with a time of 33 minutes and change. I'm pretty frustrated with that time, but I tried as best as I could, and I guess thats all that matters. I guess I'm frustrated because I had a lot of energy at the end of the race, that I could have used during the run, but couldn't get an opportunity to.

Knapp has a great idea for the next CVS 5K though. We are going sign up with a faster time that we can run, about three minutes faster than our goal, so we can at least get in front of the slow pack for next time and not have to expend so much energy bobbing and weaving.

Overall, I don't think this experience was a good for me. I'm just looking forward to the next 5K (hopefully a smaller one) so I can get my sub-30 time. Congrats to Kev for getting his PR!

You go, Glen Co Co!

EDIT: Found out my official time was 33:24, this is 4 seconds LONGER than my first 5K, the Harpoon 5K we did back in May. And in that 5K I STOPPED TO WALK THREE TIMES. This is embarrassing, but it couldn't be helped. :(

Thoughts From the Week

This weekend, Tyler and Jess will be looking to PR in the CVS 5k. Good luck to them!

I. Health > PR

II. Movie time

III. Are we "addicted"?

I. While it is very easy to get caught up in wanting to shave seconds off or deciding what distance to race, I may have underplayed the importance of consistency. Consistent running along with a decent diet over the long haul should be the real goal. For my first year of running seriously, I did not even run a race but instead tried to improve my health (and become fast enough to not get smoked at a race). If running a race becomes too difficult, pull back because I'd rather have consistency over burnt out runners.

II. I've recently tried to pick up one of my college endeavors: going through the IMDB top 250. And I'm going about it like a college student: going to the library for DVDs. Watching 'Big Fish', I could not take Billy Crudup as anyone else but Prefontaine from 'Without Limits'. Also, I kept thinking his wife was trying to kill him since she's from 'Inception'. And speaking of 'Inception', just saw 'Memento'. Mind blown. Definitely thinking about it can be used in place of my iPod for the 8 miler. Way off topic, best one I've seen so far in two weeks is 'Harvey'. And that is a tangent.

III. There was a show on TV called 'My Strange Addiction' and since the controller was 5 feet away from me, that's what I watched. They followed four addicts and tell me which one is not like the others:

a. A woman who eats chalk and drinks laundry detergent

b. A woman that tans herself orange

c. A woman with six-figures of credit card debt

d. A man who attempts his first 100 mile ultramarathon

Seeing as how this is a running blog, I chose 'd'. I loved how they made him sound ridiculous for running 100 miles a week (WOOOAH), wanting to shock watchers with such a large number. Many elites do that kind of mileage. One of the ladies he worked with was scared that he would run a marathon and have a heart attack since there have been more recent reports of runners having a heart attack during a race. I guess he should just stop running then, because sitting on a couch would stop a heart attack.

7 X 400 Intervals and the Foot Placement Dilemma

With my car failing to get me to the track I had to borrow my sister's in hopes of getting in my workout. The 8 PM track crowd was there with a new twist; there were now running pairs/ jogging human walls in lanes 1 and 2.

Having to stretch to lane 3 every so often threw me off my times. I don't know about you but if I see someone faster than me on the track, I usually pull out of lane 1. In fact, this seems pretty common sense seeing as how this is what highway traffic should look like.

I think I may be finally doing intervals right since I feel like passing out after each lap and I was gasping for air with mouth agape so much that I a moth flew in my mouth. Definitely tasted salty.

By the last 400, my feet didn't feel 100% due to metatarsalgia...what is metatarsalgia, you may be asking?

Sorry about throwing 'metatarsalgia' out there as if it was common (the lady at the running store definitely was baffled when I asked for metatarsal pads). Sounds fancy, but it is really bothersome. Since re-programming myself from a heel-to-toe runner to a forefoot runner this whole year, I have developed calloused skin below my 2nd and 3rd toe, adjacent to the balls of my feet. What caused this?

I have hammer toes which causes my foot to sort of claw in with my toes pointed down. Because of this, the part of my forefoot that comes in to contact with the ground gets pummeled in this one spot. Less surface area covered = pressure in one smaller area. More surface area covered = okay.

I just bought metatarsal pads in hopes of relieving this pain. At 16 bucks a pop, I put them on my Spenco insoles and now have to rotate insoles between my 3 pairs of shoes. We'll see how this goes; if it doesn't help, I may have to reassess my running style back to heel-to-toe.

So, at week 5 of a 12 week program, do I:

Transition midway through my training plan from forefoot to heel-to-toe to decrease metatarsal rage but increase IT band problems?

-or-

Stay the course and reassess after the 13.1?

Long Run

It was that time of the week again... time for the long run, I've been looking forward to this all week haha. It had been about 9 days since I did my last long run of 8 miles, and I decided to do 9 or 10 depending on how I was feeling. I was a little sore waking up after I did my 5-mile "pace" run yesterday. I ran most the pacer at a tad under 9:30 pace, I really have no idea what my target race pace is for the half or my goal times yet. Yesterday I was fine running that pace for the 5 miles... so maybe it's too conservative of a pace?? No clue, but I do know that 5 miles isn't 13 and change, so rather than die the last 2 miles I guess I'd rather do negative splits and finish strong. This may be my first half but it sure is hell isn't going to be my last, so I'm thinking at the very least setting the bar low will make it easier to PR next time.

Anyways, the weather was completely amazing for a long run... about 67 with sunshine. For the first mile or 2 I was really sore, with the usual cast of characters acting up (my achilles and shins). I've been trying to start slow on the runs and gradually build up the pace to my overall target pace for the run in a progressive fashion. Anyways, the soreness disappeared around mile 4, and I was feeling just fine. So I decided I'd do 10, except I couldn't find the 5 marker, and then I remembered Kevin told me he couldn't either. So I just ran a while, and definitely was probably about 5.3 miles when I turned around.

I wanted to run the second leg faster than the first. Every so often I would try to run at my tempo pace for about 2 minutes or so... I know I'm not supposed to do this on a long run, but oh well, it felt good. I finished the run (which I'm guessing was around 10.4) at around 1:41:00. I did the 2nd half about a minute faster than the first. I'm really starting to doubt some of the mile marker lengths on the bike path, so I'm just going to call it 10 miles in my log. I felt I could have ran another 5k after this, but it probably would have hurt a little. Hopefully, over the next month I can make some more gains.

7.4 Miles Today!

Set out for 7, ran just a tad bit more at an easy pace. I felt like I was going faster at the second half than the first, but the time that i got (1:24:29) said differently. I attribute this to the fact that there are a lot of hills on this course and that slowed me down a bit.

Hills are a challenge. Getting up the hill is hard, feeling that extra burn, but I find that leveling back out is the toughest..just after you've finished the hill. I feel extra pressure in my legs. Maybe its adjusting back to the pace.

Anywho, I felt really great on this run. Not once did I say "UGH, I just want to turn around now!" Thats a first for me.

It was 60 degrees out with lots of wind to keep me cool. As much as I love summer, I love the fall even more.

Note to self: If the wind is blowing one way do NOT spit the opposite way. This will result in covering yourself in your own saliva. Gross.

Also, and this may be a little bit too much info, but I'm getting some bad chaffing around the bra area. Since I don't have Astro-glide (which I need to get some) I used band aids to protect myself. Worked out pretty well!

I can't believe on my day off I went to run just about 7.5 miles. Whats gotten into me?! TANG THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!! Hahaha. After this, I plan on reading Once A Runner.

I also wish my family was more motivated to exercise. When I'm at Kevin's, I don't really need motivation to run, its just something we do. I expect it to happen. When I'm at home its a lot tougher because no one in my house runs. I want to try to inspire them to get exercising too. Hopefully one of these days my sister will tag along with me. Even if she only walks, that would be awesome.

I think I'm coming along pretty well. It took me longer than most to really accept running as a part of my life. Maybe I don't deal with change that well. I think I went through phases. In the beginning, I was pumped to start running. Then I fell into the angry phase where I was asking myself why I was torturing my body like this and wanted to stop. Now I'm entering the beginning stages of acceptance to the whole life style. I've still got a long way to go in terms of keeping up my milage, cross-training, and above all the way I eat. I've been trying to eat healthy for the past few days now. For instance, for lunch yesterday I had celery sticks, some cottage cheese, and a slice of bread with peanut butter and a banana. I hope that I can keep this up, but I realize it might take me a while.

Baby steps, Nikki. Baby steps.

Aaron and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad 4 Mile Run

Murphy's Law (not to be confused with Texas Rangers' David Murphy's Claw) struck Tuesday night. (David Murphy homered Tuesday instead).

There are 2 different paths I could have taken for my 4 miler.

1) The usual neighborhood path with a ton of side streets to watch out for

2) Underpasses galore to bypass main streets and more scenic

I chose 2 for the first time, even mapping it out. What happens?

Storm + lightning = scary flood

Jumped in to a huge puddle and I had to check my metatarsal pad which I moved around. Stupid me, the sticky part of the pad is only sticky for the first placement so I put the pad in my sock.

Also, due to my OCD ness of cleaning my white Nike shoes in Providence, they have a ton of soap in them. My shoes foamed after running through the puddle.

Floods = no usable underpasses, making me cross main roads and making option 1 a much better choice.

White Nike Free Shoes + Black socks + puddles = running around with wet shoes and more time washing shoes that have turned black.

(I wonder now why I pushed for the Providence Place trade with Knapp since my white shoes are now gray, like the shoes I traded)

And this is all while flying in the face of dirty shoes = an actual runner.

What does all of this mean? See ya on the track on Wednesday night for another round of intervals.

Long Run of just 7 miles = Long Post

In: Couples going on a combined 20 mile run.

O'Brien: The Return to Blackstone ... man I really want to fly up to run it with you guys. This time you guys can double back to cheer me on.

Losing 20 lbs? Congrats man, that is quite an accomplishment and this was over what, 6 months? Impressive.

Butterfly 5k medals, can someone take a picture of one of these bad boys?

Nikki: You have turned in to some machine from the future, a Ginger-BOT 5000, sent back to run with us. You smashed your old 10 mile time by a ton. I would have freaked out if I did that. I forgot if you guys had water fountains but you could carry a water bottle for a bit and then hide it on the trail. It'll be ready for you and you can get some swigs in before you hide it.

Both you guys will have great times for the 13.1.

All: I hope Kevin's sentiment isn't widespread about not writing. We aren't going to win any awards but I personally enjoy reading all the entries. If anyone wrote "I ran today", I would still eat that up. Feel free to share because who knows, it may be the motivation someone else needs. It could be a small tip that ends up being huge for the reader. At the very least, if I know one of you guys still likes running every once in a while, it gives me motivation to keep chugging along.

Day N Nite

Not feeling up to the challenge of waking up at 6 AM, the long run got dropped to 8 PM. Trail running in the dark takes me back to running on the Virginia Beach trails a year ago.

Pros:
1. No sun = a happy, less sweaty Tang. I must be jumping on that vampire bandwagon.
2. The pond with the moon hitting it, dotted with sleeping ducks and lightnin' bugs is pretty cool. Lightning bugs, because I refuse to type a song title that starts with 'Fire' and ends with 'Flies'.
3. I feel like I'm slowly coming back to form.
4. The long run is great for thinking. You lock in to a gear, sit back and relax.
5. Night running with the moonlight striking you to create a shadow running partner feels very primitive, almost like a hunt a la Born To Run. Must be why I have that as my favorite running book.
6. In a heavily populated city with tons of traffic in the form of cars and cyclists, it's great to actually be able to hear your footsteps and breathing.

Cons:
1. My feet are taking a pounding and I definitely have metatarsalgia in both. I need frozen vegetables for my knees AND the bottom of my feet.

2. I scare easily. What happened on that last trail run in Virginia Beach at night? Sprinted because I ran past an Indian burial ground. Anyways, I came to the last crossing under a bridge and it was pitch black so thankfully I ran with an iPod Touch to shine some light. All of a sudden, a huge thud jumps my heart rate to 1,000 thinking I was getting chased by a troll and I sprinted.

A car just passed over the bridge.

Lemme borrow a page from Pat's entry: 8 year old night light Tang, meet 24 year old iTouch light Tang.

3. Not a permanent long run option; too many cracks and drops that could cause an injury.

And a question: Anyone's shoulder hurt after a long run? It's the inner and top part of my right shoulder and I held my iTouch with my left hand.

Blessing of the Ashton Mills: 10 Miles Take Two

Kevin and I decided to pound out a 10 mile run this afternoon, mostly because we were jealous of Pat and Lauren's completion of the 10-miler the other day :P.

We got started right around 1pm...we would have gone sooner except we have this frequently recurring problem of sleeping in till noon when we get the chance to.

About 6 minutes into it, Kevin disappeared out of view for me, and I knew I wasn't going to see him until the 4 mile mark.

I don't know why, but the first 1-2 miles is always the hardest for me. I think my mind fights getting into the "running-mode" and wants to give up immediately. But after I push through that, its usually smooth sailing/high spirits for most of the run. Sure, I have my low points where I want to give up, but they usually don't last too long.

Around the 2nd mile mark, which is mile 13 on the bike path *UNLUCKY*, my iPod cut out. I tried to get it going again, but it was no use. I would have to run the next 8 miles without any music. This might not be an issue for some of you guys, but music really keeps me going during my runs, especially keeping a steady pace with an upbeat tempo. It was really a challenge for me to see if I could actually do this. After my iPod died, I kind of panicked a little bit, but I kept trekking along and by the next half mile, I started feeling good again.

I just kept telling myself that I was a robot and that my legs would keep moving involuntarily no matter what. I know thats weird, but it helped me out with getting the right mindset.

I didn't have my watch on, so I couldn't gauge my time. I know I was running faster than I would be at my normal 12 minute pace. I let Kevin wear my watch instead, because he lost his and I knew since he would be finishing first, he could record both our times.

I was expecting him to pass me at around mile 4 because that would have been around the 48 minute mark for me if I were to run at a 12 min. pace. I got to mile 4. No Kevin. I figured he went into macho mode and decided to run 12 miles instead of 10, so I wasn't worried. I finally spotted him at 4.5 miles in and asked for the time. 52 MINUTES!! I was doing wayyyy better at this point than I did at the Blessing of the Fleet. Feeling gooooood!

It was here that Kevin told me there was no 16 mile mark, which would have been the turn around point at 5 miles, so I had to estimate when to turn around. Kevin ran farther than the mark because he couldn't spot it and ended up running close to 11 miles instead. Thanks for the heads up, Kev!

I counted to 60 six times to "estimate" my turn around point. I knew I couldn't slow down now...I was fully invested in the 10 miles and couldn't stop no matter what.

Mile 7: ran out of spit. Dehydration sets in and I can feel the tiredness in my legs already.

With no music to keep me going, I keep telling myself that I'm a robot and can't be stopped. Around mile 8 is where I chant to myself: "Go Nikki, Go Nikki, GO!" I'm a dork, I know.

Mile 8.5: Starting to struggle a little bit more but tell myself that this is the "home strech" and I can't puss out now!

Mile 9.5: So psyched that I'm almost done. I spot Kevin walking towards me a quarter mile down. At this point he tells me I'm at 1:46:something. I am elated to discover how well I'm doing and we power it out to the last marker!

Finishing time 1:47:40. I smashed my time from the Blessing of the Fleet. AWESOME!

I love the fact that Kevin stuck around to run with me for the last stretch, AND with a bottle of water for me. I like him. He's a keeper :)

Toped 10

It been a while since I decided to write a blog entry, mostly because I just don't think of myself as a very good writer. But a lot has happened in the time since my last entry, following the Bristol 5k, so I decided it was time for a new entry. I'm going to take a page out of Tang's book here, by writing about things and numbering those things

I. Butterfly 5k

Knapp's post from a week ago was pretty much spot on in every aspect. I spent the night before the race up in Boston, at Pat and Lauren's. After we left the Dueling Piano bar (which I think I would have enjoyed a lot more if I was as drunk as everyone else) we caught a cab ride home with a lovely gentleman, who spent the cab ride talking to himself and singing "This is How we do it" by Montel Jordan (not the whole song, just the "this is how we do it" part over and OVER again). Before Nikki and I arrived back at my car, our cab driver asked us why we were leaving the bar so early and I explained that I was running a race tomorrow and I needed my rest. The cab driver wished me luck and we were on our way.

The day of the race I woke up to the rain pounding on the roof of our apartment building at like 8:30. I went out to living room to tell Sean and Knapp that I "didn't feeling like getting wet for half an hour." As many of my friends know, I succumb to peer pressure very easily and with few seconds of prodding from Knapp and Sean, I got my short shorts and tech shirt on and we were off.

After I agreed to do the race I was pretty excited about the promises of course that was all downhill. LIES!!! The first mile was pretty much a free fall, but after that mile (which I ran in 6:14) it was pretty much all incline. The rain once again killed my iPod, so I needed to rely on my inner dialogue and a surprise visit from Chris Federico (who finish a little under a minute ahead of me) to motivate me. I finished the race officially in 22:54, but i think you can shave at least 10 seconds off that, because we started so far back in the pack.

After the race I was soaked, but I felt great, because I had PR'd for the second time in 2 weeks and a got a beautiful medal with a butterfly on it. My inability to resist peer pressure has finally payed off.

II. The Return to Blackstone

Last weekend, Sean, Knapp and I ventured to the Club birthplace, the old stomping grounds, Blackstone. We started and finished the run at Blackstone, taking a few detours along the way. Knapp had mapped out a route, using his keen cartography skills. We complete failed to follow this route. We did however eventually hit all the hot spots, India Point Park, Hope St and an epic run up College Hill. The run really brought me back to the infancy of the TCRC and our early runs in Providence and it also made me think about how far the Clan has come.

Since Tang forged us all together, back beginning of the year, with hopes of running a 5k together before we all parted and went our separate ways, I never could have imagined we all would have come this far. We are now preparing for our first half marathon and many of us are going to be running a marathon next year. The blog is updated regularly by people scattered all across the country. We've even branched out into literature and film.

I'd like to congratulate everyone on what we've been able to do, especially T-Bone. Since I personally have begun running, I have dropped over 20 pounds and I am now able to run 10 miles pretty comfortably. That bring me to ...

III. Ten Miles plus

Today Nikki and I set out to run 10 miles in preparation for the half marathon in October. I knew what my goal was going into the run. After my 7 mile run on Wednesday, I knew that I wanted to shave at least 10 minutes off my time from the Fleet race. I actually wound up running close to 10.7 miles according to runningahead, because there was no marker at my fifth mile. After I felt like a had run way more than 5 miles, I just turned back, for and epic second half of the run, which I actually ran faster than the first half. I finished the run at 1:28:15, which I was very pleased with and I think puts me in great shape for the half.

Pre: The Story of America's Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine Book Report

"You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

I think that the first part of this quote from the Dark Knight exemplifies the general public's fascination with contemporary legends cut short: Elvis, Bruce Lee, Tupac, Biggie, and the list goes on. For American runners, there is only one name that fits this quote: Pre.


I picked up this book due in most part to Knapp mentioning this was next on his hit parade of running books that he has plowed through this year :bows down:. I admit that as a fan of Pre, I can't believe that this is the 4th running book I will have read (how appropriate since he was 4th in the '72 Olympics) instead of the 1st.


The book uses the impressions Pre had on others as a way to depict a man who transcends the sport itself, like MJ or the Great One. I feel that MJ is the closest comparison to Pre. Never willing to lose, even in practice. You either loved him or hated him. Making noises to trick runners in to thinking he had nothing left. Having bulletin board material of a rival for each race. Unbeatable at Hayward Field in Oregon. American records piling on, chapter after chapter.

Unlike the movies, the book fleshes out the human side of Pre as well. The invincibility shown in movies failed to tell a tale of a kid who battled through injury and self-doubt, much like every other runner. This introspection of the main character I guess is a style closer to a 21st century movie instead of a 90s movie.

His impact on running extends further than what I originally thought. Of course, he was the first runner to sport shoes from a little-known shoe company, Nike, (and has the only statue at Nike HQ) and he only spurred on change to get athletes in track and field to get paid (over the table and not under the table). He reached out not only to runners like himself but to kids looking to become the next Pre and even created a training schedule for inmates who have an annual 5k inside the prison.


Closing Thoughts:

On page 66, John Hartnett of Villanova gets mentioned as a great runner who would challenge Pre at one of the many races listed. Some of us know his nephew pretty well seeing as how he was a roommate to many members on this running club.


The candid black and white photographs in the book help remind me Jared Leto or Billy Crudup are not Pre (although Crudup comes pretty close).

Thoughts from the Week

I. Numbers
II. HM tips
III. Rain
IV. Tornadoes
V. Cyclists
VI. Ice baths


I. Lauren, welcome to the 100 mile club along with my Mom (who was in for a while, sorry!) and Sean. That makes member number 10 (with a runningahead log) for the year. For those 10, I'm ballparking that we've done about 2,000 miles this year.


100 mile club:
Lauren
Sean
Lisa
Pat
Kevin
Nikki
Brian
Sri
Knapp
Tang


The shortest distance from the East to West Coast would be 2,092 miles from San Diego, CA to Jacksonville, FL.

In less than a month, the team will have collectively crossed America, which I guess overshot Brian's hope of collectively running all along the east coast of America.


Pat and Lauren, I used your ten miler as motivation for my tempo run (or some semblance of a tempo run). When the wall hit me, I just kept thinking "ten, ten, ten" which inevitably sounded like "Tang, Tang, Tang".


II. For those running their first half in these upcoming months, I thought this was pretty helpful:
half-marathon tips for first timers



III. Running while it's Pouring Outside

Pros:
-You look hardcore with a hint of insanity

Cons:
-Your shoes will be wet for a couple of days and you need another pair (unless you get NB 904s--those things were bone-dry the next morning)

Hints:
-You'll have to high step through puddles to avoid carrying an extra 5 pounds of water weight in your shoes.


Is it safe to say that if it is raining, you can just click rain for your log and not humid as well?




IV. You know you are running in Texas...

The emergency alert system used outside during the monthly test goes off and it's NOT the first Wednesday of the month. Running during this probably was the equivalent to running during the Cold War. Except instead of the Cold War it's a tornado.

and I guess my log is not from Texas since "Tornado" is not an option to check off for conditions.




V. Wanting to be the stereotypical suburbanite, I headed to the neighborhood Starbucks for some coffee and pages of Once A Runner last week. As I opened my car door, I knew something was up.

Cyclists.

I, armed with my runner's book, was walking in to a lion's den (lions that idolized Lance, dressed up in spandex, colored sponsored jerseys, and strange shoes) after their weekly ride.




VI. After runs, many pros take an ice bath or dip themselves in to the waters near Mammoth Lakes, Cali, like Meb, to decrease inflammation. I figure, if it works for them, it must work for us mortals. So now my pool is not only just a pool but doubles as a cold bath for my legs post-run.

the 10 spot

It’s been a while since my last blog post, but I’ve been keeping on with everyone else’s posts, good work everyone…Tang keeps battling the heat, Knapp is now a running book connoisseur and that tree falling on the car sounds pretty awesome haha, nikki keep up the good work, even if you cant get off for the half, its still worth running just to run.

Anyways last night we pounded out the 10 miler. The schedule I made has the long runs on Saturdays but since we’ll be driving cross country for the next 10 days we had to modify the schedule and get 10 in after work last night. The run went really well, we talked through the first 3 and a half miles or so without listening to music and going at a solid pace, the most lauren had ever run was the 8 miles a few weeks ago so she was holding her own pretty well, this 10 was the most that I’ve run since the Disney marathon in 2009 and I felt good too. We kicked on the ipods right after we finished going around the boston common and headed down commonwealth ave. Comm ave is awesome for running, its lined with trees and nice houses, plus it has big side walks on either side and right down the middle, we followed it all the way to Kenmore square (where the citgo sign is) and up and around Fenway Park. I think my favorite thing about running in Boston is that I can do stuff like run around Fenway Park. When I was little going to Fenway was such a big trip, such an experience and now I’m running around it on a Thursday after work, 10 year old Pat woulda been in awe of 24 year old Pat.

We looped around Fenway to get to the 5 mile mark and made our way up Boyleston right into the back bay. By this time it was dark so all the lights were on and it was a real cool run. We ran past the Prudential and the Hancock, but the best part about running on Boyleston is that it’s the last stretch of the Boston Marathon. During the actual marathon you make a big left hand turn onto Boyleston and BOOM thousands of people going crazy and a big straightaway is all you have left in the race, its amazing, I get goosebumps just thinking about it haha. Well a regular days run on Boyleston is a little less climatic but you still get to run through the finish line, which they leave painted on the street year round.

We finished up going back through the common and then over a few small bridges and we were back in Southie. Lauren was really kickin it at this point, knocking out sprint after sprint as we approached the 9.5 mile mark, after the run I asked her what got into her and she said a real good song came on haha, the ballad of john and yoko by the beatles, she pumped it in there 3 times in a row and pwned the final stretch.

I’m glad we’ve got the 10 miler in, we’re going to go up to 12 before the race so that we’re uber confident about the 13.1, but the 10 was a nice step toward that direction. And while everyones throwing around their favorite running books, I saw a running movie recently. Have you all seen Run Fatboy Run? I highly recommend it for anyone that likes running or Simon Pegg or good movies.

Oh and BTW Congrats to Lauren who's now a member of the 100 mile club!

Feelin' GOOD!

I only had to work until 1pm today, so I made it home by 2.

I keep telling Kevin that I need motivation to run, because when I'm at home, nobody else wants to run with me, so its up to me to get going...and I'm not a great self-motivator. One thing that Kevin told me yesterday that stuck out was that, even if I don't run the 13.1 miles, I should still run. That stuck out at me because it was kind of like saying, you don't have to run to race, you should just run because you can...no pressure. So I thought about that today and it really motivated me to push myself to run.

So I did!

I ran for 1:15:32 straight. No stopping, no dumb excuses. I just went for it. And I did about 6.5 miles according to google maps...and it felt AWESOME! I kept it at an easy pace, and I definitely could have gone longer, which I will do this weekend. After a certain point it just felt like I was a robot and my legs were moving and I wasn't even thinking about it and could think about whatever and enjoy the scenery around me. The one thing I don't like about the SK path is that there are no clear mile markers, so I can't gauge how much ground I've covered, but oh well.

Also, something unrelated to running: Lauren if you

are reading this, THANK YOU SO MUCH for mailing me my sweatshirt!! I'll pay you back for postage and then some. :) You did, however, make a mistake on the envelope...so I fixed it for you. Here's how it should have been sent, just so you know for next time :) :

Once A Runner Book Report

I'll preface this review by saying that if anyone else would like to take a stab reviewing, go ahead. I felt in all honesty I didn't do the book justice.

This book, in comparison with Ultra Marathon Man and Born To Run, triumphs in being lined with quotables. It is the most poetic of the three. Born To Run is a mixture of a history book with a relatively new theory. Ultra Marathon Man, while being somewhat egomaniacal (what runner isn't), is an autobiography. Once A Runner is The Great Gatsby in its imagery and quotability while at the same time, if you never ran track or cross (like myself), the learning curve is steep at first in trying to decipher the book a la The Wire.

The pacing of the book in terms of the length of a chapter added to the feeling of a quick interval (but not the Da Vinci Code cliffhanging 2-page chapters which made you feel great for reading 50 chapters in under an hour).


The race report of the final race was the best that I have read so far.


Some of the quotes really were inspiring, like these:

The only true way is to marshal the ferocity of your ambition over the course of many days, weeks, months, and (if you could finally come to accept it) years. The Trial of Miles; Miles of Trials p.14


Training was a rite of purification; from it came speed, strength. Racing was a rite of death; from it came knowledge. p.122


What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared, to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heartrending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes. The Trial of Miles; Miles of Trials. How could they be expected to understand that?
p.229


Despite the praise I have showered this book with, I will have to say personally that I just couldn't get lost in reading this book which could possibly just be where my head is at right now. Maybe the book went over my head and I have lost my ability to read books over an 8th grade level.

I must be the reader's equivalent to an 80s action movie enthusiast: more action (running), less words.


There are definitely chapters I will revisit and I will have to re-read it with a different mindset at a later date.

Week 4

Knapp: Thanks for the 5k update. I did see those PRs in the logs but for some reason, something that sticks out as much as "BUTTERFLY 5k" just didn't hit me for some reason. I'll address this again (and again) in this post, but I'd love to see a 5k race where you go out even pace and then that'll pummel your PR.

As far as the Achilles tendonitis is concerned, I think my dad just got out of a bout of this. His occurred in the AM and went away after walking around for a while but he said the pain was throbbing. Anyways, it disappeared after 3 days. My 2 cents? Take a couple days off. It's better to do that than powering through training and not being able to run the half. Ice it, heat it, stretch it, whatever you think works.


Nikki: Look at this one, quoting Dean. Just make sure this pain you are feeling is from pushing it hard and not in actuality an injury. Also, while the title for your post does have the word "disappointing" in it, let's look over some facts I picked up from your entry:


-9 a.m. run?
-5.75 miles?
-quoting Ultramarathon Man?

Someone PLEASE tell me who this person is. I could've been hanging out with them last summer in Providence on my 9 a.m. long runs around the East side then going to Nick's or Seven Stars to read Ultramarathon Man.


For your next long run, I would suggest that you run it at around 12 minute pace and that only every once in a while, you run a shorter distance a bit quicker. I'm not sure if you are running with a plan in mind but I would say long run on the weekend at 12 minute pace and during the week, run some fartlek miles (har har) and some easy miles. It's all about adding mileage to your body, the faster time will come with consistent mileage. After all, you are training and not running a race every time out.

I did like the fact that some professionals use a quick quote to keep them motivated whenever they need it. Personally, I love Deena Kastor's "Define yourself" quote. Nikki, find an inspirational quote or channel a plethora of running gods and goddesses and use that whenever you feel you can't push yourself.


As for us three and the rest of the team, it sounds like pacing is always a toughie whether in a race or in the long run. With an extra year of semi-serious running to look back upon, I will have to tell you that it helps to know that we all possess at least three different gears. Don't worry, my first year, I ran always at the same pace and have had to reassess how to train the right way.


I like to think of 1st gear as a pace that anyone should feel they can hold forever. You should be able to talk (but not sing because that means that is way too easy). 2nd is the race pace that will tire you out for the race you are training for and 3rd is that all-out sprint that we can hold in case of emergency/ the first minute of a race. I think that we should all try to identify pace and effort.

So for now on long runs, I know if I take it at 1st gear, I can finish the distance at X-minute pace. Was it the fastest I could run it? No. But while we are training for longer distances, I feel as beginners we should be aiming more for finishing for that mental victory and not trying to beat the clock. The speed will come with piling on miles.


Today's run:

Having a 5k race scheduled, I decided to just go on my usual 5k out and back path at a pretty (relatively) fast pace. The weather as always was sticky so after a while I had to go bare chested. It being a tempo run, I didn't have time to go pirate and tie the shirt around my head so I went for the scarf. Even though I knew the run would be ran with a positive split at the half way point, I did feel as though the intervals I had started doing was helping with speed. The whole way, I told myself "run this like the 400 you did on Wednesday". I got home and passed out on the lawn.

As far as training is going, I've been following the plan as close as I can. These next two weeks will be crucial as the long run enters in to 7 and 8 miles. The past 3 weeks' mileage was something I could handle but it'll be as always a mental hurdle rather than physical.

Morning Run:Dissapointing

Yesterday, I told myself I was going to run 7 miles.

Today, I ran 5.75 miles.

What happened???

I gave up and gave in to my body begging me to stop running.

In the book, Ultra-Marathon Man, Dean talks about pushing your body to its ultimate limits. He says, "If it comes easy, if it doesn't require extraordinary effort, you're not pushing hard enough: It's supposed to hurt like hell."

Yet, when I run, and I feel the slightest bit of discomfort, I let myself slow down to avoid the pain. What I really need to work on most is my overall mindset, pushing past the pain and keep trekking along no matter what. I feel like a total loser right now!

I decided to get up early and run on the Cumberland bike path. It made sense, since I was already up at 9 with Kevin because he had to go to work at 10. So at around 9:40, Kevin helped me pack up my car, I put my car key in my pocket, said our goodbyes, and I started my trek on what I thought was going to be a good 7 mile run.

I chose the side of the bike path that went along the train tracks this time, for a change of scenery. This path doesn't follow the swamp too much, which I like, because sometimes, some parts of the swamp can stink SO bad! I'm almost positive that Cumberland has some untapped sulfur mines around there. Gross.

I pushed it hard for the first two miles, averaging about a 10 min pace, which is not a comfortable pace for me. I had to slow it down for the 3rd mile because I was starting to get winded and had some annoying abdominal cramps. By the time I got to mile 3.5 (turn around point) I had slowed my pace down to about a 12 minute mile, which was starting to frustrate me, so I tried to speed it up again, but that only lasted about a quarter mile before I slowed down because I let my mind get the better of me. I kept up about an 11:30 pace until I reached 5.5 miles. I was feeling really tired and winded at that point and gave up about a quarter of a mile later and ended up walking the last leg of the seven miles. Pathetic.

Hopefully, tomorrow will go better. I have to work really hard at not giving up. Mind over matter. Easier said than done.

Long Run and 5k

This will be a dual post. First I'll go over our long run from today and second I'll recap the 5k we ran a couple weeks ago.

Today Sean, Kevin, and myself decided to hit up blackstone for our long run. Don't want to make you too jealous Tang. We started at the usually starting spot, and the goal was to run down Angell and Gano to go down to India Point Park and then go down south Main up college hill then down Thayer then Hope to the end where it meets with Blackstone, then run down Blackstone.

Due to me leading the group we naturally got a little lost, instead of hitting India Point directly we took a slight detour. We ran down to that random desolate water place on the other side of Blackstone that we ran to by accident a couple times. All in all it was going pretty smooth for the first few miles, except Kevin was pushing the pace a little hard for me and Sean...and there were numerous hills.

Once we hit South Main, at probably about mile 4, we were all a little winded and decided to walk a little (pathetic, I know). So we walked up to College Hill then ran up that. What in the hell were we thinking. Although as brutal as that was, I realized I do like running up hills, I love that burn you get in your legs.

It was a hot day and we were all parched so we ended up walking to CVS where Nikki was working and she graciously purchased some 'ades for us. Foolishly I downed the 32 oz'er in about 5 minutes, and then we decided to start running again. It was so nice to run back on blackstone, its truly a perfect place to run. As I was running, a tree fell straight down on someone's car, which was pretty epic.

I realized on that stretch on blackstone, how much more fit I am compared to the last time I ran blackstone. Even though I felt like I was going to throw up from the Gatorade the whole time, I was surprised by how much juice I had.

Butterfly 5k

During the run, Sean mentioned he was dissapointed that we never did an RR for this 5k and Tang was slacking on not updating our PR's. Christtttt Tang you are telling me you don't study our running charts? Anyways we picked the 5k because it said that it was an overall downhill 5k (total crap).

It was in North Attleboro, so real close in a slight rain. I was yelling at Kevin at 9 or so, trying to get him going. It was raining outside, so Kevin decided he didn't want to run...are you kidding me? Fortunately, Kevin is the easiest person in the world to convince to do something he doesn't want to do.

The 5k opened up on a nice downhill stretch, including some pretty steep downhill portions, that I was nervous about slipping down due to the wet conditions. I went out way too fast, because I thought the whole thing was downhill for some reason. I did the first mile in about 7:15. Once that mile ended it was an uphill onslaught for the rest of the race. I think the entire 2nd mile was uphill. It was so brutal and I mis-paced myself so much that I had to walk near the end of the 2nd mile.

Even though I had to walk for about a total of a minute, I still ended up PR'ing by about 10 seconds.... there was no way that that race was overall downhill. The one downside to the race was it has given my some pretty bad Achilles Tendonitis, that I have been battling with for the past couple weeks. I took a few days off last week, and it seemed to help. It still hurts fairly bad every run though. Any tips Tang?

State of the Team

Nikki: Congrats on being able to train while on vacation AND write a post. I definitely love coming here and reading about everyone else's trials and tribulations.

I know what you mean with trying to squeeze in training while on vacation. While I was in Mexico, it seemed the required activities every day included dehydrating on the beach and drinking which made the "dreadmill" that much tougher. Speaking of the treadmill, I agree with the calibration of the treadmill. I do feel like the pace is quicker than what is actually being ran. The main goal that we have as new runners is to get miles in; don't worry about pace.

Despite the way I treat walking, if you walked all day, that definitely cuts in to your energy to run later but hey, it STILL counts as mileage. Did you also notice walking all day isn't that bad after having run that distance on just one run? As far as asking for time off for the half, I hope everything rights itself.

Glad you liked Ultra Marathon Man, I think I will re-read it per your request.


State of the Team:
I've obviously been in Texas for the summer and have seen the Texas runners run consistently. I have not been running log peeking since probably May. What I have noticed after going over it recently:

1. Most consistent runner this year: Knapp (no surprise here) who is closing in on 400 miles.

2. Quietly, someone is about to enter the 100 mile club: Mr. Boisvert, who is also throwing down decent long runs as well.
edit: AND Lauren.

3. Kevin is about to enter 200 country, followed by Pat.

4. Tyler, you got PR written all over the CVS 5k with the consistent mileage.

5. I'm not asking for 100 mile months or racing every weekend from everyone but those with logs that have been putting up goose eggs for months at a time, I hope it's due to not logging the mileage. Remember, after a couple weeks off, all that speed you worked so hard for will disappear. Not to be too negative, the good news is it'll take a month for it to come back to you. I just hope that your current workload isn't so insane that 30 minutes of running is not an option but if it does not fit your lifestyle and is not fun any more, then it may not be worth it to keep running and that's fine with me.

Dreadmill Encounters

Lets just begin my entry with this statement: Attempts at training for my half-marathon have been sub-par pathetic.

Also, I'm in a bit of a pickle with CVS...woopsies. I guess taking 10 days of vacation without actually accumulating any vacation hours has put a real damper on my attempts at requesting anymore days off in the future (quite possibly the rest of my career the way things are looking right now).

I requested the 17th of October off yesterday, thinking that it would be ample time for the schedule coordinator to work my schedule around this day, but instead received an email back asking if I had any vacation time left to do so. Confused, I called back telling the coordinator that I didn't have any vacation hours accumulated and thought that she could work my hours around it....apparently not. She said if I took any more time off within my first 13 weeks, I could lose my chance to enroll for full time benefits...yikes!

So, with that, I don't even know if I'll be able to run the marathon...which really pisses me off, so I'm going to talk with the DM about it, to see if I can clear this nonsense up.

As far as training goes, I will really have to amp it up if I even want to complete this race. Training while vacationing is extra tough. Now I know what you're thinking:

"Are you SERIOUS?! You are on VACATION! You should have all the time in the world to train!!! "

If it were anybody else, I would completely agree with you. However, my family vacations consist of getting up at 6am (or earlier) and going non-stop until 12-1AM. My dad is OBSESSED with getting in as much activity as possible to feel like he is getting his monies worth.

I will say though, that walking around all day must be some kind of endurance builder...I did lose 5 pounds on this trip, even though I ate myself into oblivion on some nights.

I did manage to squeeze in a few sessions with the "dreadmill", when there was such time to do so (only 3 times out of ten days). I did 4.5 miles on the first encounter, which I felt pretty good about. Then, I attempted to complete 7 miles with my second encounter with the dreadmill, but after walking around all day, plus no air-con in the fitness center, I only managed to complete a little over a 5k...dissapointment. My third encounter only gave me enough time to complete 2 mi. So, overall in the past ten days, I have only completed about 10 miles. This makes me nervous/ashamed.

My chances at completing/running this half marathon are looking quite dim at this point, so like I said, I really have to amp up the training now if I even want to attempt this.

I also have a question for all of you: When running on a treadmill, does the pace set by the machine ever seem faster than usual to you? For instance, when I set it for a 12 min pace, my body felt like I was running at a 10 minute pace, and when I sped up at a 10 minute pace, it felt like I was doing an 8min pace and got wiped out pretty quickly. Do any of you feel the same way about this?

One more thing. Ultra Marathon Man. Read it on the plane to and from Florida. PHENOMENAL. phenomenal. Get it. Read it. If you've already read it, read it again. Be inspired.