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