Running with Purpose

2012-02-02T07:42:00.000-05:00

I've been backing off on the mileage this week.. need some rest. No need to kill myself this early since I have nothing of importance until May.

Finally starting to see some jobs opening up in the marketplace. I have an interview this afternoon with the City of Fort Wayne as there Director of Purchasing. Not really sure I want to delve into the political arena or not. But at this point, it's a job.

Pikes registration information was posted, March 15th is the date.

2012-01-26T12:41:00.000-05:00

I know, I know... It's been awhile! Lot on my plate right now. My wife's been in Haiti since last Saturday so I've been running around like a chicken with my head, blah blah blah.... Getting the kids off to school, making sure homework gets done, laundry, cooking food, running to the grocery, etc... Sometimes you take for granted all the work the better half puts in everyday until you have to do it yourself!

Anyway, I'm still able to get my running in once I shuffle the kids off in the morning. All is going well, although speed work has been absent for about a week now. We got some pretty good covering of ice yesterday so traction could be an issue today. May have to break out the yak's for the first time this year. Still dreadmill free!!

2012-01-15T16:33:00.000-05:00

COLD run yesterday morning with the guys. 7:30 am start time, 12 degrees w/10-12 mph winds, 3-4 inches of snow on the ground and a chilly 10 miles later, I was a popsicle. NO TREADMILL YET! It's supposed to warm up to around 40 the next couple of days. Unless the snow melts off the local track, I may be forced to do some of my speedwork on the greenway, which is ok, but still not completely without snow. I wore my crosslites yesterday and have come to realize that if I'm not running on grass or dirt with these, they really give my feet a pounding. Most of the 10 mile route was on snow/packed snow, but there were a few spots on pavement.

Today was an easy run, but the temps were even colder than yesterday but at least the sun is out.

2012-01-12T09:20:00.000-05:00

So the weather has been taking a turn for the worse here lately, lot of cold rain and wind. We have a forecast for 4-6 inches starting this evening and into tomorrow. Looks like the treadmill is beckoning... But I'll hold off as long as I can. Great track session yesterday, 16 x 400 with a 1 mile warm up and cool down. Slowest in 80 and fastest in 75 with 60s RI. For some reason I prefer running 400's than any thing else. It's quick so there's little suffering. I think I read somewhere that Lasse Viren used to run nothing but 400's for his speed work in prep for the Olympics in 72', of course this could be me just reading more into it.

2012-01-08T07:47:00.000-05:00

With Galen out of the equation, I think it's easier to solve for X now. Hall, Meb and Ritz... I also think if one of these three guys has a bad day, then maybe one of these guys can squeek in; Gotcher, Hartman, Arciniaga, or Abdirahman. I also wouldn't count out Josh Cox... In either case, I hope it's a good race next weekend.

2012-01-06T18:14:00.000-05:00

Good track session yesterday, WU-2miles then a ladder of 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1600 then back down, RI 60s between each. I won't go through each split but the 1st 400 was in 79s and the 1600 was is 5:51. On the way down the 400 was in 78s. WD-1mile. Today was was very easy and tomorrow will be another easy longish run depending on how everyone feels. Today it got up to 53 degrees so shorts and a short sleeve shirt.. hardly January weather but I'll take it.

2012-01-05T09:11:00.001-05:00

Found this picture someone took of me during a 16 mile trail race I did back in early November. I was in 3rd place at the time. This was taken a couple of miles before I jacked up my right ankle again and had to slow way down. Notice how I am intently focused on whats in front of me, trying to keep from stepping on anything to the avoid the aforementioned jacking...

Signed up for twitter this morning (because I have nothing else to do) and giving it a go for awhile to see if I like it or not, you can follow @wardmoya1...

2012-01-04T19:45:00.000-05:00

Nice start to the week. 40 miles in three days with some intervals and a tempo run thrown in there for good measure. Good karma to start the new year and I hope to keep it rolling... So far mild temps, but I know the cold, windy and wet stuff is coming. Running with these fast college kids and studs from the store is really kicking my butt, but I'm in hopes that it will pay off within the next couple of months and into the spring and summer as long as I stay uninjured...

2012-01-01T19:59:00.001-05:00

I was determined to get out of the house today for a run despite the 25-30 mph sustained winds and misty conditions. I found a route where I could have a tailwind for the last couple of miles and went after it. I'm always glad after I complete a run like this... sometimes it's hard to find the motivation without someone willing you out the door, especially with crappy weather. But after a mile, your warm and the motivation comes back most of the time. I finished up the last 3 of this 7 miler with 10 x 1 minute pick-ups with enough rest between to keep the bile down.

I'm really looking forward to the Olympic Marathon trials here in a couple of weeks. I realize that anything can happen in a race like this, but my unscientific picks are Hall and Ritz to be a lock on the team. If Rupp runs this as a serious competitor and not just a pace maker for Ritz, then I think he probably makes the team despite this being his first race at 26.2. I'm just not sold on Meb right now, I don't know... it's just a gut feeling I have. I think Ritz may even win the race outright if he nails his nutrition.

2011-12-31T13:37:00.000-05:00

Last post of 2011... New resolution for 2012 is to post something everyday, even if it's meaningless drivel (which it is most of the time anyway)..... Great week since last post, starting to put in more speed-work and retiring the HR monitor for awhile. Still got in some runs with the studs at the running store this week, plus a tempo and some track work. "Longish" run on Thursday of 12 miles with miles 4,5 and 6 at sub 6:30 (which felt surprisingly effortless). The mild weather is helping with keeping the miles up for the week (66), still haven't succumbed to the gerbil wheel yet.

I think I might have ran maybe 1 or two times last year on it. I hate it and will do all I can to avoid it. I did it so much in prepping for Pikes my first year that I think I just got burnt out! So I have 7 weeks until my first "race" of 2012... Looking forward to starting it of with a bang!

2011-12-23T15:39:00.001-05:00

So yesterday's run got kicked up a notch... there were a couple of new runners that run on the St. Francis XC team that showed up to get an "easy" run in. The first mile was 6:45 and it got increasingly faster every mile after that. We finished up the 8 mile run with a 6:11. Definitely something I wasn't expecting, but pleased that I was able to keep pace right to the end (especially since I have 13 years on the next youngest guy that was with us!) So after the run I got the once over by the young guys ie., hey what's your name, where'd you go to school, what are your PR's, where do you run, etc... I think I might have impressed them that I was able to keep up seeing as how I was roughly 28 years older than them!? Anyway, I didn't let on that that last mile just about killed me in my current condition. It's all good.... today was definitely an easy recovery day!

2011-12-21T13:53:00.001-05:00

Another run with some guys from the shoe store yesterday... All of which could go sub 17 in a 5k. There conversation pace is around 6:45-6:50/m, hardly out of my comfort zone but still, my normal easy pace is 7:20ish now, but I managed to hold their pace for the entire 7 miles without too much difficulty, especially after running 12 the day before with 3 miles of hard tempo efforts (6:05/m) in the middle section.

Finally starting to drop a bit of weight I gained during the weeks through thanksgiving. Goal is to get it down to around 142 by February (currently at 148). As in years past, my first race of the year will be the 5k Fanny Freezer on February 11th. Also in years past I've never really made an effort to do well here, using it more as a benchmark for the start of the season. This year I'd like to at least make a good showing there and run a 17 something... So there, now I have my work cut out for me.

2011-12-18T16:07:00.002-05:00

A little video from yesterdays HUFF, Indiana's version of a 50k trail race.. Things got a bit muddy this time around.

2011-12-15T10:13:00.000-05:00

Great run on Tuesday of this week with the likes of Eric Ade and Thomas Crum, a couple of the fastest guys in the area... Not sure what they were thinking when they asked me to run with them... Non-the-less, it was nice to trade some pavement with them. Looking forward to running more with these guys and upping my game a bit. I think there is something to be said about surrounding yourself with more "talented" guys than yourself in order to bring out your best effort.

Last weekends XC Footlocker National Championships was a great race to watch... what a finish. Have to give prop's to Indiana's Futsum Zeinasellassie for making it even close. Cheserek has been blowing everyone away this year. Futsum is a three time state champion in XC here.

2011-12-09T15:46:00.001-05:00

Smooth sailing on the running front. No good, or bad, news to report. Ankle feels like it's near 100% again so I'll start to up the mileage and intensity during future runs. I need to sit down here soon and come up with a race schedule for next year so I can do some planning. I'm already signed up for the Mini in early May, so that one is a given. Pikes in August is almost certain. I need to schedule 1 or two more "A" races so I have something to shoot for in 2012. I have to look over my marathon times over the last 10 years or so but I think I've had more success at Summer marathons than fall ones. So I might make the Sunburst Marathon in June a priority this year (and my only other marathon besides Pikes).

2011-12-02T17:27:00.001-05:00

So No-Shavember is over and I have a few pics to post as I did last time. Not quite as epic as the last one but I think I let that one go for about 8-9 weeks, This one was started on Nov. 1st and did the shave down on the 30th...

Still maintaining some sort of regular running routine. Keeping all effort at a very low HR and building the base back up again. As I think about my schedule for next year, Pike's will probably be my only marathon, but instead will focus more on races under the 1/2 marathon distance. Would really like to hammer a good Mini next year, maybe something under 80 minutes... Would also like to run a sub 17 5k again at the Runners on Parade in July.. Will elaborate in a future post...

2011-11-26T08:30:00.000-05:00

This is insane, but looks like fun.. at least after a few (dozen) beers... This is a single-pipe alpine coaster in Mieders, Austria. You reach the summit via a cablecar and then sit on a small car with a brake lever and off you go.

2011-11-24T19:31:00.002-05:00

Got to get in a 4 mile race this morning before heading off to West Lafayette for Thanksgiving dinner with the whole family. This was I believe the 5th or 6th annual Galloping Gobbler 4m race which starts on the campus of St. Francis University and does an out and back with a loop through a nearby cemetery. So everyone knows the smackdown was on between Brandon and I for at least temporary bragging rights. We ran into each other in the registration area and did some catching up and then out for a short warm-up. The start was delayed because people show up at the last minute to pick up there packet and expect to just zoom through... not at a race of 3000+. So we made are way pretty close to the front and we were off. I knew the first mile was going to be mostly downhill so I wanted to put in something relatively fast, 6:04. I really didn't expect anything close to that but I was going to take it, and I was feeling good. I knew the next few miles through the cemetery were going to be rolling so I tried to ease up on the uphills and attack the downs. There were a lot of people around and behind me so I didn't know if Brandon was back there ready to pounce at any time so I just kept my head forward and tried to focus. Going up the last 1/4 to 1/2 mile, I still had no idea if Brandon was tailing me and I didn't want him to pull a Billy Mills on me so I pretty much sprinted the last 200 yards or so... I turned around and didn't see him so chalk one up for Indiana! He wasn't too far back, maybe 30 or 40 seconds approx... I don't know what our official times are yet, but by my watch I was 25:03.. Nothing blazing, but I'll take it considering the problems I've had with my ankles this year. I was great to see him again and can't wait to do it all over, maybe a Colorado "thin air" challenge next time...

Results just posted...
Post Race, Photo by Brandon Fuller

2011-11-22T09:52:00.001-05:00

All is going good... ankle has been feeling a bit achy here lately and will be glad to take it easy over the winter with mostly pavement running. Once spring rolls around, I'll give the cross country stuff another go around, hopefully with stronger ankles this time.

This Thursday I got the 4 miler Galloping Gobbler and a smackdown with Brandon. From what I gather, neither of us are in "race" shape so the outcome is going to be a mystery. Either way, it will be nice to see him again since the last time he was in town.

After the race it's off to my brothers house in West Lafayette for Turkey dinner with the whole family. The tryptophan should be kicking in right as the packers line up for the lions... If I make it through that game, I'll definitely be out for the snooze fest game of the dolphins and cowboys........

Article in this evenings paper about the race this Wednesday.

2011-11-09T10:58:00.001-05:00

Tweaked my right ankle last weekend, nothing major but still a downer. Other than that all is going well.

Day 9 of no-shavember

It got up to 70 degrees yesterday, hardly November weather. Bring on the cold stuff, I got snot sickles I could be making!

2011-11-02T18:43:00.001-04:00

Great tempo run today... Thought my legs would be trashed from yesterdays 12 x 400 repeats, but from the start, todays run felt awesome.

Came accross this article about pacers. I tend to aggree with the author in that I'd much rather see 2 or more runners battle for the win than one person chasing down a record time. I love Meb's comment, "Nobody's going to remember if you won a time trial," he said. "Records are meant to be broken. Winning a title is forever."

2011-10-31T11:09:00.000-04:00

I've been really slacking on the post's here lately... I guess its a combination of a post Haiti let down and not much going on. I'm getting in plenty of running, even getting in some speedwork. It's just the start of the fall/winter season and I'm not finding much motivation right now. I have a few races I'll be running before the end of the year, but it's all moot. I would like to put in a decent race at the Galloping Gobbler on the 24th. If Brandon has ideas of beating me, he's going to have to work for it!

Found this interesting article on altitude training. Of course it makes the altitude tent another wasted experiment on my part.

2011-10-21T15:57:00.002-04:00

After only getting in one run while I was in Haiti, I felt a bit lethargic and out of shape this week. Only until today did I feel somewhat able to hold a good pace and feel good about it. Hopefully by next week, I can get back at it hard again. I need to start being more consistent in speed work leading up to my next race on Nov. 24 and a potential smackdown with BF.

2011-10-19T14:04:00.000-04:00

I must admit that sitting in my house writing about Haiti is, on my best days, very difficult. Attempting to paint a picture with words that can hardly describe the heartache of a nation and the devastation of community after community is not something of which I am capable. I could show you pictures…and a few of them might pull at your heart.

But it is bigger than that. For decades Haiti has languished in poverty, oppressed by leaders who have not had the best interest of their people at heart. But the earthquake of 2010 was a game changer. Haiti is a beautiful country, with equally beautiful people. Though the eyes of her children are huge and striking, they are also often empty and searching. Beauty contrasted with chaos. There is daily activity that serves only to get through the day. Children forfeited by parents because they cannot afford to feed them. Prostitution is high. Human trafficking of children and young women is a forgone conclusion.

Haiti was a great experience for me in the sense that it opened my eyes to another world. The pictures and television reports don’t convey the life that the Haitians are forced to deal with day in and day out. You really have to experience it first hand in order to get a sense of what living is in a third world country is all about.

The flights down to Haiti were uneventful, no delays, smooth plane rides, no crying children, etc… We left at 6:00 am Fort Wayne time and landed in Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-Au-Prince Haiti approximately 8 hours later after changing planes twice, (Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami). After landing in Port-Au-Prince (PAP), you could immediately see the remnants on the Earthquake still evident 21 months after it devastated several facets of the country.

Our group of 19 from Fort Wayne consisted of several medical personnel and the rest of us were there for construction and/or wherever the Mission of Hope (MOH) needed us most. As I left the airport, I was very apprehensive. I was out of my comfort zone and it probably showed. The first thing that hit me as we left the airport terminal/warehouse was the smell. A mixture of burning tires, garbage and something bordering on urine filled your nostrils. And this smell was almost everywhere you went on the island. Military personnel and Haitians were everywhere outside the airport and as an outsider, I was very happy to follow our group leader and make our way to the MOH bus where I felt a little more “protected”. As we made our way through PAP, there were tens of thousands; maybe hundreds of thousands of tents, tarps, sheds basically anything that a Haitian could use as shelter from the elements constructed around the city.

The earthquake displaced all these people from there homes and this is where they’ve been living since. The drive from PAP to the MOH is about an hour long ride. The roads leaving the city are ok in a sense that they are mostly paved. Once out of PAP the roads become a mixture of rocks and potholes with a little blacktop thrown in there for good measure. Lining the road are little stands set up selling anything from sugar cane and plantains to gasoline and ice and almost everything in between.

Once out of the city, you make a left hand turn and head north/north west toward the MOH. After about 2-3 miles the roads get much better as some time ago, the Dominican Republic came in and paved some of the roads leading out of the city. There is only one road leading out of PAP and you pass through all the villages on your way out. It’s a jumble of markets, broken down makeshift houses (some still in ruins from the quake), and a lot of construction trying to rebuild what was once a house for some. They don’t have cement mixers or scaffolding or other amenities that builders use to construct housing. They use hammers to crush the rock they use for the cement, they mix the cement on the ground in a hole with a stick or if they’re luck they have a shovel. On the way out to the MOH we passed St. Christophe, a mass burial site for over 100,000 victims of the earthquake. This was a very solemn moment for me as we drove by. The rest of the drive toward the mission was a blur as we passed village after village of makeshift huts and houses with Haitians doing everything from walking along the road from village to village, they use the rivers for all washing and sanitary needs, so that people downstream are washing in the upstream sewage.

Almost every hut or house had a pile of something burning of who knows what… Another thing about Haiti is that it’s impossible to walk one foot without stepping on or close to some type of garbage. It is literally everywhere. They have no garbage trucks so everything is dumped, burned or left as it’s used. We soon arrived at the mission and picked up some interns that are working at the mission and some Haitian interpreters and made our way out to a couple of tracts of land that the mission owns and are building on. First stop was a place called Bercy (pronounced, Bear-see). It’s a plot of land approximately 55 acres that the mission has big plans for. Already there are two school buildings constructed (buildings E2 and E3) and have active students attending.

We then took a short walk down to the “beach” to look at where some more of the buildings are planned to be constructed.

Then back on the bus for another trip down the road to Leveque. Here the MOH has an undermined amount of land that the government has given them. Currently they have approximately 155 acres and when they run out of room, the government is just letting them continue to use up the surrounding land. Leveque is a community of people that had there homes destroyed by the earthquake and had no where else to live.

There are certain restrictions and guidelines that one must meet in order to be awarded a house. The families will receive their homes free of charge; however, each family will be required to pay a marginal monthly community fee ($50 Haitian/$6.25 U.S.) for a period of five years. These fees are designed to create a vested interest by the families throughout the process. After the five year period, each family will receive a deed for their home and land, and will have 100% ownership. The houses are 16’ x 19’ three room block homes. I know that sounds pretty small to us, but they mean everything to them. There are around 100 homes that are currently built and have families living in them, with more being built everyday the mission can get people out there. After a tour of the property it was back on the bus and out to the Wahoo Bay Beach Club & Resort where we would be staying for the duration. I hesitate to call it a resort, but to a Haitian, it’s a 5 star hotel; maybe a star and a half in the US. For Sunday through Wednesday I worked out at Leveque painting the inside and outside of the houses. The Haitians are very grateful and really show it. But sometimes it’s sad to see some of them and the meager possessions they have. Some children run around with no clothes, some only have a t-shirt. On Thursday I installed what we called hurricane clips. They are metal brackets that hold the roof to the frame of the house more securely. On Friday I worked in the clinic on the MOH campus for the first part of the day helping the doctors immunize some of the students for typhoid, and then went mobile to a small village to do the same for some more school children. Then back to the MOH to immunize more.

In total we gave almost 700 shots that day. Saturday was travel day and we were up early to catch our flight out of PAP at 9:05am. Another uneventful flight home other than we almost missed our connecting flight in DFW.

I know it sounds like Haiti is this awful dirty place, but in the midst of all this decay and devastation, there is beauty and hope. The Haitian landscape is some of the most country I’ve ever seen.

Lush green mountains, sugar cane, bananas, plantains, mangoes and corn are planted everywhere. Even though they are stricken with poverty, they have hope and live everyday as if it was there last. If you ever have the opportunity to visit, whether on vacation or another reason, DO IT! It will certainly make you appreciate all the possessions you have and maybe make you realize that there are more things to life than money and “things”.

2011-10-03T19:15:00.002-04:00

Well, I promised a race report. So here it is. Sunday's marathon actually went very well for me for twenty miles. The race was put on by Planet Adventure and was top notch in my book. Great water stops, and post race snacks were awesome. Where else can you get a chunk of log for your finishers medal?

The race started off without a hitch. The first 1/4 mile was a bit harrowing as there were walnuts on the ground everywhere. So I started off a bit hesitant so I didn't ruin my race in the first 200 yards... Once I made it to the trail, I was in around 10th, I slowly picked off most of the fast starters within the next 2-3 miles. The trail was a mix of some sandy spots and hard packed dirt. LOTS of turns and technical portions on this trail. I can't tell you how many logs I had to jump/climb over and fallen trees I had to duck under. There were 3 river crossings, they all had stepping stones fortunately. The course had a last minute change the night before as the back half of the course was unrunnable because of water so instead they made the marathon a double loop course. After the first loop I was in 5th place with 4th place not to far in front of me. I caught him shortly after the turn and held that spot until mile 21ish (my split at mile 20 was 2:31). Around this time I stepped in a depression and slightly turned my left ankle (the good one, not the one I hurt at Pikes). It was minimal and I didn't even stop, within 2-3 minutes after that I stepped on something in a dry creek bed and turned it again, this time it hurt bad. I stopped and started massaging the area in hopes of starting up again. The pain was intense and I tried to start walking to keep it from swelling and tightening up. I kept walking for what felt like forever, but in reality was around 5 minutes. During this time I had 2 people pass me. The pain was tolerable so I tried jogging again, within the next 1/2 mile after that my right calf started cramping up bad, so bad I thought I pulled the muscle again. I stopped and massaged the knot I had it in. Again I tried to start running and again the calf cramped up within a minute. I think it was because I was compensating with my right leg from turning my left ankle. Suffice it to say, my race was pretty much over. I started walking again, with a little bit of jogging thrown in just to make me feel good. When I felt the calf starting to cramp up I slowed to a walk. By mile 25 I was able to keep a steady pace of a slow jog without cramping. But during this time, I had another 9 people pass me before I was able to get to the finish. All in all, I had a good time and learned a bunch. The only thing that's sore today are my calves, mostly the right one obviously. I'm just glad the calf held together and I didn't pull anything. If that happened, history tells me that I would have had to take at least 2-3 days off or more. As it stands now, I'll probably get back out tomorrow for a short one to see how everything feels. Yes, I am contemplating another marathon in 4 weeks (on the road this time), I'll have to see how things go and maybe a 50k in December.

Getting ready to start.. #165

2011-10-02T19:53:00.000-04:00

3:54 and change...yuck! Race report coming soon. Very tired right now, need a break.

2011-09-28T14:31:00.002-04:00

I suppose I should blog something since it's been awhile. Have been pretty busy with school and getting ready for my Haiti trip. Running is going FANTASTIC and I'm really looking forward to running this trail marathon on Sunday... I decided to do a real taper this week so I have my best chance at putting in a decent finish. Last Saturday I JOGGED a half marathon, not raced. One of the local races has exploded in the last couple of years, and this year had over 9000 entrants. I got a message via Facebook earlier in the week from a good friend looking for a pacer to sun a sub 95. I thought that would be a perfect run for me, I had planned on running somewhere around 13 anyway that weekend. The run went great and he finished in 1:33:40. I felt as if I was just getting warmed up, the pace was very easy and I felt as if I could have held if for another 13, no prob... The weather over the last 2-3 days has been crappy, rainy and cold, but is suppose to be better by tomorrow through the weekend and beyond. I'll take the crosslites just in case the trail is muddy and/or wet. But if the weather (and trail)is decent, I may end up running in my Mana's.

2011-09-17T18:19:00.000-04:00

I've got about a half dozen runs in on these bad boys... They fit like a glove, very nice. The only thing that I'm dissapointed in is the cushioning. I had hoped to wear these for my trail marathon in two weeks, but I think I'd be better off with a shoe that's a little more comfortable in the long run. These will work great in any trail conditions half marathon or under. Anything longer than that and I can see some issues with comfort... The grip in grass and dirt is tremendous, I'm really going to like these.

2011-09-16T12:53:00.001-04:00

I can't watch this and not laugh.....

Parlor City Trot 10

2011-09-03T17:07:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I was trying to plan out my weekend running, I wanted to get in something longish but faster than what I've been running. Sunday was out for something long because I'm booked most all of the day. So the idea came to me to run the Parlor City Trot 10 miler this morning. I could run the race then tack on some extra to get in around 15-16. Last year I ran the half and finished fairly decent given I had just run PPM two weeks prior. This year I decided to run the 10 miler. Pace through the early miles was between 6:25 - 6:30, at the turnaround at 5 miles, I found myself in the lead by about 10s. The next few miles were mostly downhill so I tried pushing the pace just a tad. I gaped 2nd place by probably another 10s, so I had about a 20s cushion going into the last 3 miles (that wasn't enough). I held the lead up until the 9.8 point when 2nd place came by me sprinting to the finish. He got me by 10s. 1:05:58 was my time... Nothing blazing or close to what I ran the 10 miler in 2009, but still happy I raced. Another 5 miles warm-down post race to get in 15... BTW, it was stinkin' hot today!

2011-08-31T15:15:00.000-04:00

am - 10 miles, feeling very good... all sub 7:00.

Homework is really starting to suck... I thought I hated it when I was in HS, try doing it when you're 48 and have a house, a wife and three kids to try to fit into your day. Good news is that after this class I only have two more to go... graduation is in December. If I was working full time, I don't think I could get it all done...

Half attempting to plan out a race schedule for next year. I mean there are few races that are staples for me (Indy Mini 1/2, Runners on Parade 5k, Matthew 10k... several others are there if I choose to fit them in. I think I almost have to say that I'll be back in Manitou on that third week in August so I can just take that off the table and stop worrying about whether or not to do it or not. There are still demons on that mountain that I need to face and conquer. One of these years it will happen, so I just need to keep on keeping on....

Looking forward to running this trail marathon here in a little over 4 weeks. Ordered a new pair of trail shoes that I saw at the expo in Manitou. They really look like a good trail shoe, especially for wet and muddy conditions, which over the last couple of years I have done a lot of. Especially in the fall...

2011-08-30T09:27:00.000-04:00

Great weekend of running... the ankle pain is almost non-existent, and my 14 mile run yesterday confirmed that. The only thing that hurts now is my ego.

Pre-2011 TNF UTMB Interview with Kilian Jornet

2011-08-25T20:58:00.001-04:00

Pre-2011 TNF UTMB Interview with Kilian Jornet

When asked about his race plans in the US next year, he mentions Hardrock, WS100 and Pikes Peak. Hmmm, do you think that would give some good motivation to MC for 2012 to keep his streak alive?

2011-08-25T16:13:00.000-04:00

Aside from the normal aches and pains you would get after running a marathon, everything else feels pretty good. The ankle has little or no pain and walking down the stairs is doable. Yesterday I ran 2 miles to see how everything felt, aside from the quad pain, I was OK. Today I ran 5 miles at 7:20ish pace, quads still on the mend but ankle is fine. Will keep things easy for the rest of the week, duh... and then try to build up some miles for another marathon on October 2nd.

2011-08-23T14:55:00.002-04:00

Love this shot of me and GZ somewhere on Ruxton...

PPM

2011-08-22T14:42:00.001-04:00

As I sit here in the Colorado Springs airport, I have a little bit of time to reflect on my experience from yesterday. Before I get into my race report, there are two things that really stand out from where I sit, one: there is no substitute for running actual mountains and two: it doesn’t matter what kind of fancy gadget you have to try and acclimate yourself to higher altitudes, again there is no substitute for running at altitude, period.

Race morning started off great, since Colorado is a two hour difference in time from Indiana, getting up at 4:00 Colorado time is a breeze. I had a pre race meal of a banana, coffee cake and a banana nut muffin along with plenty of Gatorade and water. I made my way over to Manitou Springs and found a great parking spot near the park. I sat in my rental car for a bit taking in more fluids and going over plan A, B and C. Around 6:00 I made my way over to the start line to “get rid of some butterflies”. (Thanks for that euphemism GZ). Speaking of GZ, I ran into him and we exchanged some pleasantries. Later I ran into JV, Brad and Daryn Parker. I lined up right on the line and hoped I could hang with some of these guys. A couple of arms lengths away was Matt Carpenter, the King of Pikes Peak.

The race started off uneventful, I found myself on the tail of GZ and Sean O’day (who would eventually finish 8^th)… I hit Ruxton in 3:01 and feeling very good. Up through the W’s I was feeling very smooth and relaxed, around mile marker 3, I stepped on a rock and turned my bad ankle (the right one) very hard and searing pain went shooting through it. The guy behind me said, “oh dude, are you alright... That didn’t look good.” The only thing I could say was, “I’ll be alright”. I hobbled over to rock and sat down waiting for the searing pain to subside. After about a minute, the only thing I could think of was quitting and walking back down. But then other thoughts started filling my head, my kids, my wife, my family. I had to get up and at least try to finish this thing, even if it meant walking. I got up and starting walking back up, after about a minute I tried to start jogging, it was slow but it was faster than the alternative. Around Barr camp, the jogging morphed into running and I was feeling better, the ankle was hurting but tolerable. Past A frame, my breathing was not as labored as it was last year, I didn’t have a splitting headache and I didn’t have the urge to vomit ever other minute. I said hey to JV coming back down as well as GZ, and just about took out Brad as I didn’t see him, he was right behind GZ. I hit the summit in 4:22, about an hour slower than last year. The downhill was uneventful this year, even with the bum ankle there were no spills before Barr camp. I did take a minor spill at the 1.44 miles to go sign that just got my shoulder a bit dirty, but I was up and running back down without missing a beat. I will say that the last 5k was probably the most painful 3 miles I have ever run. With the ankle being injured, I was altering my stride, which in turn was throwing off my hips and my back, so along with the ankle, I had all those other things working against me. I was really happy that this run was almost over.

It’s still too early to contemplate doing this race again next year, but I still have to think about it. My time means that I’ll have to register in the 2^nd wave, which really sucks, but maybe that’s a good thing. I’m still hoping that I win the lottery so I can move out here for a couple of months prior to the race…

Final thoughts...

2011-08-18T21:24:00.000-04:00

Aside from wrenching my back last Friday, twisting my left ankle on Tuesday and my right ankle this afternoon, I'm feeling pretty good... After Friday's little table lifting, and concurrent immediate pain in my lower back, I felt OK the next day, and actually ran faster than I normally do without any residual pain. Tuesday's ankle twist was done on my good ankle and was done midway on a 7 mile run, after a short rest and some pain starting up again, the rest of the run was again done faster yet again as the previous day. Today's twist on my right ankle was stupid, I should have been looking where I was walking, instead stepped on the corner of a sidewalk and twisted it slightly. Again, my run this evening started off with a bit of pain on the right (none on the left), but eventually went away and the balance of this very easy run was done pain free. Like I said to start, I am feeling VERY good and rested. Over the last couple of weeks, most of my runs have been done at a very easy effort, yet the pace kept getting faster, I think for a change I am timing this taper pretty good.

I have put some high expectations on myself for this years attempt. I think in order to perform at a level you expect yourself to, you have to put those targets out there or you'll never take aim. Regardless of how physically well prepared I am, if I don’t believe I can't get to that next level, chances are I won’t. This is a fact that that I can never afford to lose sight of. My mental preparations for achieving maximum performance in this race should center on developing confidence in my ability to do just that. This has been the focus from the day I decided I would go back to Pikes.

Starting to pack things up, lets go!

PPM thoughts...

2011-08-11T11:34:00.000-04:00

So I have a little more than a week until part deux of Pikes... I feel like I'm in as good of shape now, maybe slightly better, than I was at this time last year. A couple of things I've done different this year, I've incorporated stair climbing into the routine, to many miles to count. I've also got 3 runs in over 30 miles and several more over 20... My weight last year at race time was around 141, right now I'm sitting at 135 and feeling very strong. With my current unemployment status, I've been able to put in half a dozen 100 mile weeks, last year I think I had 2 or 3 in the months leading up to Pikes. The only variable is the altitude. I'm preparing the best that I know how barring moving out to Colorado Springs for a month prior to the race. Looking forward to a nice taper next week...

2011-08-07T10:28:00.000-04:00

Back from a long vacation... Spent a lot of time at water parks for the kids, and did some camping at Indiana Beach... got in plenty of time on the roads, but the overall number was down a touch from most recent weeks. I didn't get the vertical I wanted but sometimes those are the sacrifices you make. Looking forward to my upcoming taper.. getting close.

2011-07-25T21:33:00.000-04:00

No race over the weekend, but a solid week of training. It's been hotter than all get out during the afternoon. I've been trying to get out early for a long one, then in the afternoon get in some speed work or more stairs over at the high school. Experiencing just a tad of tightness in my right hip, but it loosens up after about 1/2 mile...

16K...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2011-07-18T21:16:00.000-04:00

Ran another race last Saturday, The Matthew 25 10k. This is a race I almost always run because I like the course and I'm good friends with the RD and try to support the cause. The course is about as close to pancake flat as you can get. It's an out and back on the greenway starting at Foster Park. I saw a few fast high schoolers that I thought would probable go sub 34 and a couple more guys that were in that 34-36 range, then several more that were all around my level. Easy start, 3 guys took off and were gone by the first mile, 1st mile in 6:04, I think I was in around 10th at the time, I tried to keep it steady and picked off a 30 something guy at mile 2 and the only other master that was in front of me right before the turnaround. I knew I had a target on my back from that point on and just tried to keep pace. I finished in 39:06, nothing spectacular (yet), but its still progress...

The trophy's were handmade pieces of metal in the forms of running people, very unique. This one is a keeper. It will go nicely on my new desk (whenever I get a job...)

2011-07-09T14:00:00.002-04:00

18:01(chip time)... Had a decent 2 mile warm-up, legs felt like I was carrying a bull moose on my shoulders. Couldn't get my right calf to loosen up until toward the end of the warm-up... Race started off without a hitch, I nestled in just behind the front row in hopes of trying to tag onto a group trying to run around 17:30. I knew after 1/2 mile a sub 18 just wasn't going to happen. 1st mile in 5:56... then I started to feel a bit better, I tried to tag onto the shoulder of a guy I know that runs in the low 17's. That worked for about a minute then he just pulled away. But I was feeling increasingly better, 2nd mile 5:49. The last mile hurt... I put a target on a young gun for the last mile and tried to chase him down, sprinting the last 100, 3rd mile in 5:39... Overall not to bad of an effort seeing as how I felt like crap during the warm-up. 5 miles afterward to loosen everything up... Started to get real hot toward the end of this and I really didn't get enough water in me after the race... I may go for another shorter run this evening if I feel up to it.

A couple of Colorado Springers doing a fine job at the Muncie 70.3 just a hop, skip and a jump from here.. (hour drive).

2011-07-07T15:33:00.000-04:00

Felt very lethargic this morning for an 11 mile jaunt. Turnover was awful, legs felt dead. Maybe because I'm sleeping at 10k? I'll run an easy 5 or 6 tomorrow and then give it all I can for the race on Saturday. I'm due for some downtime anyway...

Sent in my application for my passport early last week, I had no idea it cost so much to get one! They told me 4-6 weeks to get it processed and sent to me, still plenty of time for my trip to Haiti October 8th through the 15th. Looks like I may have some shots to catch up on before I make the trip too.

I had an interview yesterday at Tippman. The meeting went well so I guess we'll see.

2011-07-05T17:04:00.000-04:00

PF almost non-existent these days.. Starting to up the vertical on both the stairs and the mill while still getting in a comfortable 103 in the last 7 days, part of which included a 4 hour run on Sunday, ~32. Another 5k this coming weekend, I think I can run something around 18:30. Speedwork has been exempt from my running as of late so I can concentrate on volume and MAF.

2011-06-29T09:34:00.000-04:00

PF is feeling much better these days... almost no pain at all now. Normally I probably would have taken some time off to get rid of it faster, but I decided to run through this little episode which prolonged the ache a bit longer than normal. I may have lost a bit of speed, but I should make up for it before too long. Another 5k on July 9th in the downtown area, this one on pavement. There's talk that they may have to shorten it to 4k because of some construction but will try and reroute to get the 5k.

Looks like in October I'm going to Haiti on a missions trip for my church. We'll be doing a lot of construction to fix or build structures that were damaged in the Earthquake they had. I may even get in some good vertical while I'm there!

PPM in 7 weeks, feels like I'm pretty much ready now except for the altitude, but will be ready for that also here very shortly.

2011-06-21T13:20:00.000-04:00

Post run this morning....

2011-06-20T12:49:00.002-04:00

Again, I really need to start updating more often. Great span of training last week, topped it off with a 2nd place overall 5k trail race yesterday. Obligatory photo below taken around mile 3... Picture is a bit skewed as you can see... probably caused from the warp speed I was running..........

With all the increase in miles I've been putting in over the last 6-8 weeks (and as GZ would say) my PF has been barking at me just a bit on my right foot and I've been having to ice after every run and wear my night splint here lately. Nothing I can't manage to keep under control for the time being. The high school football team has been keeping me company now most days as I run the stadium stairs and I had been getting some strange looks, but I think there getting used to me being there now. I've made a few friends from the local HS XC team so I think I may try to join them on some of there runs when practice starts up if I'm still unemployed.

2011-06-10T13:11:00.000-04:00

Long overdue for a post here... No changes in training mode, still putting in plenty of miles, 90+ average over the last 4 weeks. I may dial it down a notch next week just for a breather so I can let the body and mind recharge. I may hop in a race on Tuesday evening, it's an hour run on one of the local HS tracks. There's no way I'm in shape to crack 10 miles but a solid 9 no problem... I'll make the call that day if I decide to do it or not.

Over the last 3 days, I've also put in tons of core work helping out the Pastor of my church getting his house ready for a graduation party he held yesterday. I personally hauled 4 yards of mulch, 1 wheelbarrow full at a time, planted flowers, dug up weeds, etc... My hammy's were screamin' and my shoulders and back are on strike. All in all, I had fun and was happy to help.

2011-05-30T09:49:00.001-04:00

Like I predicted, the course was a mud pit/lake with grass, but I had a blast! Even though the course was very slow, I managed to run a 19:13, which was faster than the 5k I ran over a month ago on pavement.

We ended up killing the team competition in the masters division, and if you combined all the teams competing, our score put us second overall behind some fast high school kids. Since I was the team captain, they had me take the trophy home first.

Next race up for me an hour track run. I haven't run one of these for almost 20 years and I got to do it at the local speedway. This time it will be on one of the local HS tracks.

2011-05-27T19:52:00.001-04:00

Looks like I have a little bit of Colorado wildlife in my backyard... Just from reading all the blogs from my my friendly Coloradians over the last few years, in particular Lucho's blog, since he deals with these cats daily, I'm not too concerned about this.

2011-05-26T16:41:00.003-04:00

Nothing new on the job search yet. I've applied to a few possibles and even had a phone interview with one, but nothing yet. I really want to make sure this next job is something that will satisfy both me and my employers needs. I don't want to go in with the attitude that it's just another paycheck. I've only ever had three jobs in my lifetime, the US Army, Pyromation for 22 years and then BLMW for 4-1/2. Hopefully I can find something that I can take all the way to retirement... yah I know, that's quite way away...

I think my running has taken an upswing. My "easy" runs are much faster at the same PE from just a month or two ago. Training has really become fun again and I look forward to each days adventures...

Can't remember if I mentioned but I have another race this weekend, at XC 5K at the same venue they hold the IHSAA Semi-State XC championships on every year. I've attended and watched this race the last 5 years but have never gotten to race on the course. I'm sure with all the rain we've gotten over the last two weeks, it's transformed the course to resemble to look more like a lake with a few grass crossings instead of the other way around, regardless the times will most likely be slow. This race is going to be a team competition as well as an individual effort, just as the high schools would score the event. I've put together a kick-ass masters team and we "should" clean up. My ringer is Dave Bussard who runs for Front Line racing and is based out of Elkhart, IN just a bit north of here. Over the years I've gotten to know Dave pretty good and I can say from experience that he gets faster every year he gets older...

2011-05-21T12:45:00.001-04:00

Finished in 39:10ish... course was modifed because of construction which made it a 1/4 mile long, weather was hot as shit, started off to fast, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah, excuse, excuse, excuse.... Still managed to finish 3rd overall and 1st master. Progress....

Obiligatory finishing photo

2011-05-19T20:36:00.000-04:00

Haven't had much to blog about these days unless you want to hear the same old stuff... Everything is going great, speedwork session on Tuesday, 8 x 800's in 2:50 - 2:55... tempo run today, 6 miles at HR 160-165, ~6:15- 6:20... the rest of the week has been fill in miles at an easy HR 140-145... 93 miles in the last 7 days and the legs feel great. I'll put in a real easy run tomorrow ~4-5 then chill for the race on Saturday, I think I can crack 38 if I play my cards right. The weather forecast is looking like it will be a good day to race.

2011-05-16T15:36:00.000-04:00

Another solid weekend, legs are adapting to the higher mileage and increased vertical and I'm reaping the benefits. An easy 13 miles this morning and maybe some more this evening depending on the honey-do list.

I'm actually looking forward to running this 10k on Saturday... maybe better weather than what we've been having. I'm starting to invest in an Ark..

2011-05-12T13:11:00.000-04:00

AM - 10 miles, felt surprisingly good. Legs are starting to come back on me... I have a 10k I'm running not this weekend but next. Looking forward to seeing what I can do there...

2011-05-11T11:22:00.001-04:00

All is going well since the Mini last Saturday... Jogged a couple of miles on Sunday to see how everythings feeling and to work the kinks out, which were mild. Monday I went an easy 6, Tuesday was 10 in the AM then some track work in the evening, 16 miles for the day. This morning I got up and planned on going 10, but cut it short to 8, the legs were like lead and I couldn't get any turnover even if I tried. Will take it easy this afternoon with some time at the library and homework, then give it another try this evening. It's suppose to get into the mid 80's today, I think we skipped spring altogether....

2011-05-07T13:57:00.001-04:00

Goal Achieved!

Running the Mini has become a regular stop for me here in the last 4 or 5 years... This IS one of my favorite races to run. Not only for the excellent venue, but the ambiance of a really large race. The Mini is the largest Half Marathon in the country and is 8th of all races in the US as far as overall registrants.

I drove down to Indy the night before and stayed with a good friend, of which I've stayed at the last three years now. The mini is a pretty early race in the year and other than my PR down here in 97' in 1:18:44, my times have usually not been very fast for an early season half. A couple of months ago I made it goal to run a 1:25 here, given I made it through the winter with any major meltdown or injury. The flu took me out about a week in late March and I lost a bit of momentum and started having doubts if I could get back the lost time. Over the last 3-4 weeks, workouts and mileage have been tremendous and I've been feeling great even though my weekly numbers have been higher than average.

After my 4:50am wake-up call, I headed downstairs and checked the weather first thing. It looked awful, thick cloud cover and storm cells were forming in Illinois west of Indy. I downed a banana and a muffin along with some Gatorade and water. A quick pit stop in the head and I was out the door.

The drive was easy and I found a nice spot next to the Capitol building, about two blocks from the finish line. I made my way over to a nice spot next to a state building and did some stretching and warmed up a bit. I made my way over to Corral A and found some of the Fort Wayne bunch there... some idle chit chat and we were off.

The goal was to keep it under 6:30's and nothing faster than 6:10. The pace was very comfortable from start to finish, I don't think I could have paced myself any better. I left my HRM off because I didn't want my HR to influence the pace I was running. My official time is 1:24:59.... I didn't stop my Garmin until I walked well past the finish line, so my data below is a bit skewed. I'm very happy with this result at this time of the year. I'm ready to get back at it and get things in order for PPM in a little less than 4 months. Looking forward to running some shorter races this year to get some of the 5k speed back that has been lacking in years past...

View my GPS data on Garmin Connect.

2011-05-03T17:25:00.001-04:00

Given the fact that I have all this time on my hands now, I'm taking advantage for sure. I don't want to overdue it too much since I have a half marathon to run this weekend, but still am putting in plenty of miles. Leg's feel fantastic right now even though I've got close to 90 miles and almost 10k of vertical in the last 7 days. Will trickle it down a touch for Saturdays race, but then I'll get right back at it. I'm taking some online classes at IWU to finish up a few credit hours I'm still short to get my BSM. I've already had an interview this week and looks pretty promising, although I'm not in a real big hurry to get back to the grind.

2011-04-29T18:36:00.000-04:00

AM - 7 miles easy

PM - 12 miles, consisting of an easy 3 miles warm-up then tempo for 6 miles at HR 160-165 ~6:2X pace, then an easy 3 crusing in.

Can't say enough about the time I'm getting to run now... I need to change jobs more often. My only fear as that my calf will start acting up and I'l be sidelined for a couple of weeks. Knock on wood that all is healthy and going good.

2011-04-28T17:19:00.000-04:00

10 miles in the AM out and back on a fairly hilly course with a AHR of 148. Cloudy, cold, spotty rain and windy most of the day. I got out again around 3:30 when there was a break in the clouds and headed to the track for some intervals, 4 x 800, slowest in 3:01, fastest in 2:55. Getting there slowly but feeling good and encouraged. 16 miles for the day, legs feel great.

2011-04-27T14:46:00.002-04:00

Currently I have a great week going for me and I plan to make it even greater... All cylinders are firing and running has become fun again, which makes for great intervals and tempo runs.

As of yesterday I have become a free agent in the job market. I never really felt comfortable or appreciated at this job, I'm surprised I stayed there as long as I did (almost 5 years). So now I have some time to log in some extra miles which I'm more than happy to do, and spend some more quality time with my kido's. Anybody looking for someone with 24+ years experience in the Purchasing/Procurement field?

A.M. - 10 miles, easy pace

2011-04-20T15:45:00.000-04:00

It's been almost a week so I thought I'd better post something. This week has been sort of a turning point for me. My runs have been much quicker and much easier if that makes sense. I've got over that hump of not feeling very fast to feeling somewhat fast...

I haven't decided what I'm going to run on the track tonight, maybe 600's, maybe 800's. I'll flip a coin when I get there... the weather has been downright nasty, cold/windy/rainy over the last 4-5 days but I've managed to get out when there's a lull so I have yet to get a deluge of rain while running.

A little over two weeks now until the Mini and I'm still hopeful to get down around my goal. There won't be major dissapointment if I don't however.

Looking to go around 18 this Sunday with some faster stuff thrown in the middle of it, feeling good!

2011-04-14T12:20:00.000-04:00

Now that's a cold slap in the face...

Great workout yesterday, another 8 x 400 session that felt much better than the week before. Followed that up with 9 x stair loop... legs feel pretty good today.

2011-04-11T07:32:00.000-04:00

Progress... Yesterday was the upteenth annual Mastodon Stomp 5k. It's run on and around the campus of IPFW. Not really a course to set a PR on as there are a lot of twists and turns. Yesterdays temps at race time were almost near the high of the day at 83 degrees. My warm-up went well and legs seem to be out of the funk they were in the the previous couple of days. First mile was a bit fast (which it always is) and the rest of the race went about as planned. I ended up with a 19:24 which is just about what I thought I could do right now. Of course I had Rick's prediction dancing in my head after my 5:55 first mile, but then came to my senses as the race progressed. The heat became a factor toward the end as I was just melting not being used to the temps... Another 7 weeks until my next 5k and the goal is to be in the 17's by then. A shot below post race of myself and some of the top masters in the area.

2011-04-09T19:56:00.000-04:00

Legs felt like dogsh*t during my run today... Legs were heavy and my breathing was off. Here's hoping things turn around for tomorrows 5k.

Great weather today at a comfortable 64 degrees, took the kiddo's to the park and tossed the baseball for awhile. Temps are forecasting to be almost 20 degrees warmer tomorrow.

2011-04-08T06:56:00.001-04:00

Decent week for me so far... I banged out 8 x 400 on Tuesday and a nice 5m tempo run yesterday. A lot of stair running throughout the week as well. Looking forward to this weekend where on Sunday the temp's are forecasted in the lower 80's. How's that for early April! I may be racing shirtless....

2011-04-04T10:51:00.000-04:00

Great weekend weather wise and running wise. An easy 6 on Saturday before heading off to Indy to visit my brother and his significant other who's about 5 weeks out from having there first child. Glad he's joing the team of the sleep deprived! Went 13.5 yesterday which felt great and happy to be heading in the right direction.

I have another local 5k this coming weekend and hope to make some forward strides there. It's an annual 5k I haven't done in a long time but it happens to be a Track Club points race this year so I thought I'd at least make a showing and try to earn some points. Given my time from the 20k a week ago and not being 100%, I think I can manage to squeak out something under 19:30, which almost sounds embarrasing given my 5k times over the last couple of years, but still it should show that at least I'm moving in the right direction.

2011-04-01T10:44:00.000-04:00

Feelings tons better these days.. Hit the track yesterday and knocked out some quarter repeats to at least get some turnover. Nothing to brag about, 6 x 400, 1:23 - 1:27, with :45 RI. Felt good to open up the stride a bit. After I was done with these, I did eight laps on the stairs for around 1200' of vertical. Legs don't feel half bad today... will start to crank up the volume on my weekend runs to get ready for Sunburst in June. The plan is to run something under 3:10 so I can get into Boston 2012 and make that 1st day registration. 5 weeks until the Indy Mini and I'm having doubts about getting down to my goal this year. I guess it all depends on how I bounce back this coming week and next from my down time being sick.

2011-03-30T07:29:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the long break, but haven't had much to pass along. Almost two weeks ago, I started catching a cold and eventually it took over and melded into the flu. Took me out for a good 3-4 days... I stumbled through a 20k race last weekend, but really couldn't breathe very good and managed a 1:25:08. Starting this week I'm begining to feel much better and picking up where I left off before getting sick.

2011-03-21T17:52:00.000-04:00

Sometime over the last couple of weeks, my middle son, Adam, brought home a race flyer from school for a 5k/fun run and declared that he wanted to run in it. So this past weekend was the race. The fun run was a 1/2 mile and Adam (below in Black shorts, red top) was the winner of all my boys. He finished 5th overall, Dylan (red shorts, white top) finished around 15th and Jacob was near the back... Of course it's all in fun and they all had a blast as did I in the 5k. Used it as a tempo run, then added another 5 easy. Looking forward to more days like this!!

2011-03-19T11:06:00.000-04:00

All set up for 2 months with this bad boy prior to PPM... and yes, I have the 21k adapter.

Everest Summit II Hypoxic Generator

Newly designed for enhanced portability, usability, comfort and quietness, this generator represents the top of the line in hypoxic technology. The Summit II comes standard with digital controls.

• Unsurpassed 7600 L/hr. airflow for extreme comfort

• 0 - 21,000ft/6,400m

• Built in wheels and handle

• Works with altitude tents, altitude workout systems and IHT / Wellness Systems

• Size: 26.0" H x 14.7" W x 19.1" Deep / 58.4cm H x 39.4cm W x 47.0cm Deep

• Weight: 57lbs / 26kg

2011-03-16T15:15:00.002-04:00

For purple mountain majesties, Above the fruited plain!

pm - 4.5 miles on the track with 9 loops of the track, 1269' of gain. View my GPS data on Garmin Connect

2011-03-16T12:15:00.001-04:00

This guy makes some good points on the recent news of an new HS record for the 2 mile.

2011-03-12T17:13:00.002-05:00

Thought I'd post a video blog of a portion of my stair workout today. 13.5 miles total on the day. A very windy day as you will find out on the video. You can't hear me very good and it's very jerky, I'll get better the more I do it...

2011-03-10T15:29:00.000-05:00

It's been a great week so far, putting in plenty of time on the road (still mill free!) and still making regular trips to the HS stadium for stair climbing repeats. It's time I start incorporating intervals and a tempo run into my weekly routine. Every week feeling better and faster. For the most part, all my runs have been at a MHR of 150 or below which currently yields ~7:20ish mile, with the exception of the strides and the stairs.

Again, I have a 20k race coming up on the 26th which I'll be running "hard" but not racing. PPM registration next Wednesday!

Already have a couple of leads on renting an Altitude tent with a higher setting than last years. These go up to 21K!!

2011-03-06T17:03:00.000-05:00

12 miles this afternoon with some stair climbing thrown in on the tail end of this. Around mile 11, I swung into the local HS and began a series of climbing the stairs in the stadium. I would run the track until I hit the visitors side of the stadium then start the climb on the near side, about 65 stairs to the top then around the guard rail and back down, run to the next set and do the same. The vistors side of the stadium is spilt into four sections, so I would do the entire four up and down then hop back down on the track and complete the loop then back up the stairs. I did this for a mile. I have to say that I will be incorporating a lot of these sessions into my weekly runs with steady increases on the repeats.

2011-03-04T09:01:00.000-05:00

Starting to feel much better with my stride these days as I've dropped some of the winter weight and feeling a bit lighter on my feet. Yesterdays 6.2 mile run was easy at an average of 7:05/m.

My 8 year old brought home a race flyer from school for a local 5k on the 19th who said he wanted to run the 1M fun run. So I got signed up to run the 5k and him for the 1M run. I'm glad he's at least taking an interest in what his old man considers fun.

I have a 20k in 3 weeks, if I can equal last years time, I'll be more than happy as I haven't done squat so far this year to be anywhere near fast. I have 9 weeks until the Indy Mini, which is more of my focus right now. The goal there is to come close to 1:22-1:23 which will start off my summer training and build up toward PPM.

2011-03-01T17:39:00.003-05:00

Warmer temps and a dumping of rain has pretty much taken all the snow away and replaced it with flooding and mud. I've put some pretty good miles on my last pair of shoes, Saucony Kinvara's.

In my opinion this is how such a shoe in the minimalistic category is supposed to be made. It's light, it's flexible, it allows you to run as natural as you can while still protecting your feet. What I really like about this shoe is that it feels pretty stable if you consider the weight. This is for the most part due to wide base in the midfoot (quite wide for a very lightweight trainer). Where most lightweight trainers and racing flats have minimal midsole in the arch area the Kinvara has the opposite. Anywho, I picked up another pair as well as another Saucony called the ProGrid Mirage, which is supposibly the successor of the Kinvara.

I guess only time will tell on those.

Running is going great!

2011-02-25T12:36:00.000-05:00

Another dumping of snow last night only adds to the excitement this coming week. Still mill free and putting in the miles, albeit slow. Dropping some winter pounds and starting to feel much better with my stride. I have a 20k race coming up in 4 weeks. Again, not putting too much emphasis on this one as it will just be a tempo run for me. The next race I'll really be focused on is the Indy mini the first week of May. I'd really like to run something around 1:22 if training goes well this spring. PPM registration in 2-1/2 weeks!

2011-02-19T17:35:00.001-05:00

12 miles easy today... Really starting to get the itch to pick it up in training. Just putting in the miles right now and feeling very slow. Every so often I'll throw in some pick-ups, but that's the extent of my "speed work" right now. Swung by the HS track on the return trip on my run and ran the stairs for about 10 minutes on the visitors side, feeling pretty good. I have a long run scheduled tomorrow with maybe an AET test run thrown in there at the end. Weather has been pretty good of late, most of the snow is gone and I've been hitting more grass than pavement during my runs which makes my feet happy. I'm tempted to run out at the HUFF soon, but from experience, it's pretty much a big mud puddle right now.

2011-02-16T12:40:00.000-05:00

Things just got interesting at Boston!

2011-02-15T12:42:00.005-05:00

This summer will mark my 37th year since I started running. It was an early June day in 1974 when I was 10 years old and went to visit my Dad in Redondo Beach, California. He and my Mom had been divorced for a few years and I was living in Las Vegas at the time. I took the short flight to LA and looked forward to spending some time with him. Even in 74', at age 37, my Dad was already a seasoned runner of around 10 years. He had been getting up early mornings and running before work. One day I asked him if I could come with him, and so it started. He lived virtually right on the beach, so we just hoped on the bike path and headed south toward Palos Verdes. I would only last about a mile then would have to walk. He would continue on for a quarter mile or so and circle back and then I would start running again for another half mile and start walking again. This would continue for the whole run of around 5 miles. We did this every morning for a week until I was running in longer bursts then finally after two weeks I could run the whole 5 miles, at 10 years old. After I came back home to Vegas, the running continued for awhile but became less frequent. It wasn't until I joined the Army at 17 that my running started to become more of a daily routine again. I did some running through high school, track, xc, but never really took it seriously. It wasn't until I turned 21 that I really started to focus on running and racing and to date, haven't stopped. Sorry for the ramble, but I just started thinking about this when I got up today and thought I'd share.

2011-02-08T10:28:00.001-05:00

Again, I've been slacking on the posts recently. Not a whole lot going on right now in the land of snow and cold. Trying the keep the miles up and the intensity low. Still have not been on the treadmill once this year. I think I can make it through the winter without it for once. This was about the time last year that I started hitting the mill and working with the incline in prep for PPM. I've been running the hills in my area almost daily and with all the snow, it makes for a great workout. This year I will be substituting some runs on the mill at 15% with some stair running at the local high school football field. At least with that, I can get some downhill running as well.

This Saturday is the Fanny Freezer 5k at Shoaf Park. It'll be some kind of a miricle if I can break 20 this year. I just feel really slow right now. I can really feel the extra 7-10 pounds I've gained over the last couple of months. The weather is suppose to warm up by the middle of next week maybe melting off some of the snow where I can actually see the ground.

5 weeks until PPM registration!

2011-02-05T19:59:00.002-05:00

I'd say this guy has a pretty good base....

2011-01-31T20:36:00.000-05:00

Highlight from yesterday...

2011-01-30T07:42:00.000-05:00

Looks like some fun running come mid week.....

2011-01-27T17:52:00.002-05:00

2011-01-21T10:07:00.000-05:00

Not much to pass along... Running is going awesome. Mileage is beginning to creep up ever so slightly and pace dropping at MAF. Running in the snow is pretty much the norm these days. Frigid temps in the forecast, 8 degrees this morning. Looking forward to this years Track Club banquet on the 30th. We have Frank Shorter coming in to talk this year. Bill Rodgers last year and Frank this year... Someone's getting there act together at the Track Club!

First "race" of the year will be the Fanny Freezer 5k on Feb. 19th. This is primarily a benchmark for me to start the year. I don't put a lot of pressure on myself to do well here, only to establish a baseline for the start of the year. Last year I went 19:31 and by summer was in the 17's. One of the goals this year is to run sub 17 in a 5k, which means some short fast stuff in training this year. A couple of goal races this year. First there will be a new race in the spring, The Hare & Hounds XC 5k in May. In the past I've shyed away from anything that deals with trails or grass but over the last couple of years, I've found that dirt and grass is my friend and have come to accept and embrace it. I'd also like to find a half marathon somewhere and run a sub 80. In June I want to run the Sunburst Marathon again becuase I almost always have a good race there. Then there will be PPM in August in which I hope to wrestle back a bit of pride and humilty from last years episode. Then I plan to find a fall marathon to finish off a good season. I'm sure I'll find the occasional 5 and 10k to jump into but as far as goals, that's it.

2011-01-14T09:53:00.000-05:00

I was looking at the calendar yesterday and it hit me like a ton of bricks, just a tick over 8 weeks until registration! There will be specific goals for part deux and I'll get into them later. Let's just say they'll be more ~~reasonable~~ practicable this time.

Great running over the last week in some good snow. We got 5" of white stuff on Monday which made for a good workout, especially when your the first to go through it. Ramping things back up and feeling good!

2011-01-08T17:18:00.000-05:00

Got a bit more snow last night, went for an easy 8 around 7:15 pace this afternoon again with the Yak's. The wind was brutal on the way out and had some good snot sicles going, after turning around and coming back, it seems like they all melted away with only some residual stuff left. Great run none the less. Things are starting to come back around and I'm ready to get back to it. I've gained a few pounds but that will go quickly and I'll be back to a good training weight before to long.

2011-01-07T10:09:00.000-05:00

Nice run yesterday in some fresh snow accumulation during the day. Put on the Yak's for the first time this year and all went well. 7 miles easy on AT.