Running Movie Marathon

Of course Pitt is excellent. Duh.

In keeping with my all running all the time postings lately I've decided to get a little inspirational during my marathon training. It's been brutally hot outside, so I need all the help I can get. Let's have a little running movie marathon! (pun intended). These are two great tastes that that taste great together. I'm totally stealing this idea from my favorite movie podcast Filmspotting. They take a theme, genre, director or whatever and watch a series of movies over several weeks and review and talk about them. Who's with me??

The idea may be stolen, but the inspiration came the other day when I flipped on the television and caught the last quarter of a movie called Running. Michael Douglas as a 34 year old runner trying out for the Olympics?!!? Why have I never heard of this movie before? Did the makers of Run, Fatboy, Run steal their plot from this movie? Why was this entire movie shot in soft focus? So many questions from such a cheesy movie.

Here is the list of movies I've compiled so far. Some of these I've seen, some I've not, but they are all being considered. I'll probably pick five or six, the easier to get the movies the better, so if anybody wants to play along or make suggestions let's do this...

Across The Tracks - This is the only sure thing. Brad Pitt and Rick Schroder as brothers running on competing track teams?? Dude. I actually have a vague memory of seeing this movie at some point. I'm sure it will hold up as a classic. Available on Netflix and Netflix Streaming.

Running On The Sun - 40 runners compete in the Badwater 135. That's 135 miles across a desert. That's insane. Available on Netflix.

Run For Your Life - An excellent documentary about the life of the creator of the New York Marathon Fred Lebow. Available on Netflix and Netflix Streaming.

Run, Fatboy, Run - Simon Pegg as a lovable loser trying to win his girl back by running a marathon and learning many life lessons along the way. Comedy and hijinks follow. 

Spirit of the Marathon - Follow a group of runners at levels from first time marathoner to professional as they prepare and run The Chicago Marathon. The best running documentary or running movie I've ever seen. Period. Available on Netflix and Netflix Streaming. Also available right on the IMDb web page via Hulu with some commercials. Totally worth it. 

Without Limits or Prefontaine - Two movies about the man, the myth, the legend. Pre. Double feature? Both available on Netflix.

The Long Run -Grumpy old coach looking for one more shot at glory trains a young woman to race the Comrades Marathon in South Africa. You know, Hoosiers with running in South Africa. Available on Netflix.

St. Ralph -Kid tries to strike up a deal with God that if he wins the Boston Marathon his mother will be healed. Get out the Kleenex I'm sensing tear jerker. Available on Netflix and Netflix Streaming.

On The Edge - Some guy makes a mistake and trains to win some race overseas. Drama unfolds. It's life man. Available on Netflix and Netflix Streaming.

Chariots of Fire - Queue the theme music and do your slow motion running. It's on. Available on Netflix.

Running Brave - The story of one of the greats, Billy Mills, and his path to gold in the Olympics. Should be a good one, maybe. Unfortunately may also be hard to find. Not available anywhere as far as I can tell.

Personal Best - Two female athletes train together, fall in love, and probably face some sort of trials and tribulations along the way. Just guessing. Available on Netflix.

Running - That Michael Douglas stars as an aging runner fighting to do the one thing he loves most...run and win the Olympic Marathon. Not available on Netflix, but I may try to catch this one again on Showtime. Cheesetastic.

Let's watch some movies.

Road to Indy Week 4: Back To Life, Back To Reality

From the Bridge to Paradise (Island)

 Remember last week when I started out kind of brutal and ended up in paradise? Thise week was kind of like that week in reverse. I wonder if they have any openings for dolphin trainers. 

Monday:  35 minute Open water swim. With only a couple of days left I decided to take a day off from running and spend the time in the ocean. There is something completely awesome about doing an open water swim in crystal clear ocean water. It was tiring, but exhilarating.  The entire time I was watching the bottom for cool shells and cool sea creatures. Fish would swim by in schools. The bottom moved and skittered away every now and then as I dove down occasionally to grab a cool shell. Why don't I live near a beach?


Tuesday:  Final run in paradise. The final 7 miles along the beach.  I took it easy and slow. Headed back out across the bridge from Paradise Island into Nassau. I ran along the beach on the sidewalk. A beautiful slow run. With the day off my legs felt very good, and now that I had a good idea of good places to run I felt right at home on the roads dodging traffic on the wrong side of the road. I could get used to this...

Wednesday:  Back to reality...3 slow miles on the regular Mt. Carmel route. It was the slowest running of this route so far.

Thursday:  5 x 800 intervals on the Nagel Middle School Track. I ran each 800 meter interval trying stay close to a 7 minute/mile. Each rest in between was a slow jog for 400 meters. It was brutally hot and I fought to get through the workout. All in all I think I did very well. The speed was up to par considering the heat.. Things are looking good.

Friday:  Rest and Relaxation...

Saturday: 7 mile marathon pace run on Little Miami Trail. The first few miles had trouble keeping pace. I felt like I was keeping pace, but apparently not. I was down a little bit. After I loosened up I was able to pick up the pace and finish strong.

Sunday: 2 Laps around Lunken for a 10 mile long run. This was the toughest workout I've had so far. For the first 7 miles I couldn't push above 9 minute miles. I was feeling very stiff, sore and tired. Thankfully it was an overcast morning with a nice breeze. Thank goodness for the clouds and the breeze. Lunken can be brutal on a sunny day. That back straight away just bakes in the sun. But this day I reached that back stretch for the second time, and was finally able to pick up the pace and shake off the soreness. This is what I need to feel to get used to fighting through those final miles of the marathon.

Coming soon: A running movie marathon....

Road to Indy Week 3: A.B. Iker International Runner

 Taken with iPhone and put together with Autostitch app. For real....

Suggested playlist while reading this entry: Soak Up The Sun/Sheryl Crow, Only Happy When It Rains/Garbage, Airplanes/B.o.B, White Flag/Gorillaz, Just Like Living In Paradise/David Lee Roth, Breaking The Law/Judas Priest,

I'll probably never have another week of running like this in my life. It started out as a hot, muggy and pretty miserable week trudging through the usual workouts on the usual routes. I had a little excitement on Tuesday, but not that exciting. Then things got really awesome on Friday as we boarded a jet to the Bahamas. By 5 pm that evening we were in our bathing suits and heading to the beach. Being the anal retentive runner that I am I wasn't going to miss a run. I made sure I had my running gear packed up and ready to go at 6 am Saturday morning. It's blazing hot, so I wanted to at least stay out of the sun. Besides it's vacation. I can't spend my day running. The troops would be waking around 9, so I had to be back and ready for some fun in the sun. Speaking of which, the Leap of Faith awaits. On with the wrap up!


Monday: Easy 3 miler. Ran a new route from the Anderson Mercy Healthplex to try out a new route. It was another hot one since I didn't get out until about 1 in the afternoon. It was slow and un-fun.

Tuesday: Hit the Little Miami Trail again after work for an "easy" 7 miler. After the previous day's heat I wasn't feeling super excited about the run. It was hot and muggy and within a mile of start...raining. I'm a fan of running in the rain. Great run.

Wednesday: Another 3 miles on the Mt. Carmel route I set up. It was supposed to be at an easy pace and for the most part it was, but I couldn't help but try to beat my own time in cyclemeter again. I did.

Thursday: 35 minute tempo run. I never quite got these runs right in previous trainin programs. I went back and looked into exactly what I'm supposed to run. You start off at an easy pace and about 20 minutes in pick up the pace to just below a 10k pace for about 5 minutes. This one would be handy to use the Nike Plus program with if it worked. At the point you could hit your power song and get an aural kick for about 5 minutes. It all worked out pretty well for me. I picked it up for the 5 minutes and dropped back down to an easy pace for the last 10 minutes.

Friday: Rest and Travel Day. I am leaving on a jet plane. Don't know when I'll be back again. (Actually I do, but for the purposes of this post I don't.)

Saturday: Just Like Livin' in Paradise. I was out for a 7 mile race pace run in a strange land without any idea of where I was running other than somewhere around the resort and the unreliable Nike Plus back in action for a couple of days. No cell phone service means no GPS service on my iPhone. Boooo. I ran into a fellow runner from New York in the lobby at about 6 am, chatted and asked him where he's been running. He mentioned crossing the bridge into Nassau and running along the strip. that sounded like good a plan as any, so I headed out toward the resort entrance and across the tallest bridge I've ever encountered. It was a seriously steep hill, but with a beautiful view of Paradise Island at the top. The run worked out really well. I headed out along the coast line sticking to the sidewalk. Once The sidewalk ended I headed back to the resort and to the foot paths.

At one point I got totally lost in the resort (this place is huge!) and had two choices: turn around and back track ooorr..run in to the main hallway of the resort and through the casino out the other end. How often do you get to run through a casino? I headed in expecting to get stopped at any moment, but at 7:30 in the morning there weren't many people around in the casino except for a few die hards staring intently at the slot machines. They didn't even notice me. I'm sure there was some security watching me on the monitors wondering what the crazy tourist was doing.

Sunday: Breakin' the law. I had a scheduled long run of 14 miles today, but I had to sort of wing it. Nike Plus failed me again at about 5 miles in. That's cool. I was half expecting it and was prepared. I wore my watch and had the time running. I'm not sure if I got my 14 in, but I got a good 90 minutes in. Once again I picked a random direction and just started running. This time I ended up running on to a golf course. As I ran by the entrance some workers at the guard station said something. I didn't hear and nodded and waved and kept on running. Laaa lala. It was a beautiful course with great views of the ocean and lots of birds scurrying around. I wound around the course and back out the same way I came in. As I passed by the station again one of the workers walked up to me.

He said in his stern yet polite Bahamian way, "Sir this is private property. We sent security out after you."

I was all, "Oh shit I'm sorry. I saw a bunch of grounds crew out there and nobody said anything." Actually they were very nice and all waved and said hi.

He just shook his head. That's right I'm a total bad ass. I out ran the Bahama golf course security force. Breakin' the law, breakin' the law...

Next week: Back to reality with Bahama stories and lots and lots of photos and maybe some video...

Road to Indy Week 2: You hit me once, I hit you back...

 Some days I feel like I'm in an abusive relationship with running. I clothe it in fancy running shoes, send it to school, feed it delicious food, buy it fancy gadgets, and even take it on vacation to Florida. What do I get in return? Sometimes running's really good to me. I swear running loves me...sometimes. I feel like it loves me. I swear guys it loves me, except for the times I think it wants to kill me. It wants to set me on fire and dance over my ashes. I think this can be best summed up in song. Then we're on to the weekly wrap up....






Monday: Started out the week with an easy 3 miler. Using my new running/cycling app (suck it Nike Plus) I saved the run as a 3 mile route that I'll be able to use during future runs to pace myself against. The app will tell me if I'm ahead of my previous pace or behind my previous pace at various points in the race. It's like my dream to race myself.

Tuesday - 6 miler on the Little Miami Trail at an easy pace. According to my running log "it was hot and I sweat a lot". It is July. Thanks Captain Obvious.

Wednesday: I revisited that 3 mile route and beat myself by 36 seconds (suck it me). It was still at an easy pace.

Thursday: This was my first tough workout of the week. After a warm up jog I hit the 5 Mile Trail. I sprinted up a 1/4 mile stretch of hill and jogged back down...repeat 4 grueling times. Between the heat and coming off a 12 hour stretch at work I was thoroughly exhausted by the end. Luckily on this schedule I'll only be doing this every 3rd week.  

Friday: Well deserved, much needed rest day....ahhhhh

Saturday: Race Pace Day. The lesson I learned this week was that race pace day isn't only about speed, maybe even less about speed as it is about practicing form. It was an excellent run where I felt very comfortable about maintaining a 7:43 min/mile pace. At the end of the run though I could feel my shoulders hunching up and my strides becoming heavier as I pounded the ground trying to keep pace. If I can learn to keep good form as I get tired it will make all the difference come late in the race on marathon day.

Sunday: 13 mile long run. Running was real sweet to me for the first 9 miles. It was about mile 10 that it kicked me in the hip. It wasn't a hard kick. It was more of a love tap to remind me it loves me, and to do a better job of stretching. Running believes in tough love. After a little regroup I gave running a slap back and finished up. Hydration is gonna be key for these long runs. I need to be sure and carry some water with me or plan these a little more carefully to hit more water fountains. It's getting real....real hot and long.

Coming next week: Running on Paradise Island!

Road To Indy Week 1: Nike Plus is dead to me.

 

After finishing the Columbus Marathon in October 2008 I was done with marathons. What does this have to do with Nike Plus? We'll get to that..It was the fourth in about a year and a half and Columbus kicked my butt and kicked me squarely in the quads. Soooo, here we are and I've started to train (in July) for that which I sworn off (because it always ends in pain). To quote Vizzini:

You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never start marathon training in the summer!" Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha...

That's not exactly right, but whatever. So off we go on a 16 week training program that will culminate with the running of the 2010 Indianapolis Marathon on October 16th. Things are gonna change I can feel it. This time around I've decided to go with Hal Higdon's Advanced Marathon Training Plan. I'm a little late starting since it's an 18 week program, so I started on week 3. It's for those who want all the pain of the marathon and a big heaping plate of training runs. Each week I will give a little update and a rundown of the week's training. Don't worry I'm getting to why Nike Plus is dead to me.

Monday: Intervals on the track. This was my first time on the track in a long time, and it felt great. I warmed up with a mile of running then knocked out a 4 x 800 workout at about a 10K pace with a 400 jog break in between each interval. I finished up with a 400 all out and an 800 cool down. The total was 5 miles.

Tuesday: off

Wednesday:   8 x hill repeats. I wouldn't normally do hills and speed in the same week, but this is the day I started the program after fumbling around looking for the right one. Typically I pick a hill that's about a 1/4 mile long, but was stuck with a short hill, so I figured that 8 repeats would almost equal 4 x .25 mile hill repeats. Felt pretty good. Weather was great...about 73 and sunny.

Thursday: 3 mile run at a an easy pace. These runs will be on Monday and Wednesday from now on, and occasionally will be replaced with cycling or swimming as the summer goes on to mix things up.

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: 6 mile race pace. Tempo runs and race pace runs are going to be key. I was missing these in previous training programs. I plan on doing these regularly to get comfortable with the pace and build endurance. For Indy I'm hoping to break 3 hours and 30 minutes which means I'll have to maintain a pace faster than 8 minute miles. I can do that easily over short distances, but the true test comes after about mile 18, and this is where things fall apart every time.  Today's run was brought you by the long boring loop that is Lunken Airport Trail.

Sunday: 8 mile long run. aka The Day Nike Plus died. I met up with the running group for our long run this morning bright and early at 7 am. I'm glad we did, because it was already hot out. Any later and it would have been unbearable. Everything was ready to go: music - check, sunglasses - check, Nike Plus - check. Off we go from Mt. Lookout Square.

Fast forward to about 20 minutes into the run. I start thinking it's kind of odd that I haven't heard the soft coo of the Nike Plus girl in my ear counting down the miles. Certainly I've covered a couple of miles so far. I pull my iPhone out of the iPouch and I was iPissed. I had a few choice iWords to say and they all started with f. On the screen I see what is pictured above. 20 minutes and 0 miles. I owe my iPhone an apology for all the harsh language it had to hear. I'm sure it's innocent in all this. I blame Nike Plus. You are dead to me Nike Plus. I'm over you. If this were an isolated incident that would be fine, but this is the final straw in a series of annoying incidents. The rest of the run to Eden Park and back went smoothly. I finished about 8.5 miles as I just figured out thanks to buckeyeoutdoors.com routes feature. The pace was about perfect as I wanted to keep it about a minute slower than race pace.

Post run was awesome. The perks of running with a group and one of them having a pool...and living close to excellent eats. Thanks Beth! I new we could do it!

It looked something like this....

Tomorrow morning begins week 2!

In the summertime when the weather is high....

Final game of the softball season and Aiden has hit her peak. She goes 2 for 2 scoring 1 run and looks like Johnny Bench in his prime behind home plate. Wrapping it up in style and on her birthday no less. Happy birthday girl!

50 Races, 50 States...50 Years?

The Warrior Dash has revived my interest in racing. For a time I was feeling kind of burned out and uninterested in racing. I'll still do some of the major events like the Heart Mini and the Flying Pig, but I wasn't excited about races. Partly I feel like I've hit a wall with my performance. Some days I feel like I've run as fast as I'll ever run. I always enjoy trying to beat myself and improve upon my times. It's getting harder and harder to do. The other part is working at night. It's making it very hard to get motivated to train. I'm usually exhausted when I get off work at 7:30 in the morning, and it's so hot when I wake up in the afternoon that running is just un-fun. Something had to give, and it was my training.

Now I'm feeling a bit of that loving feeling....from racing which will give me a reason to train. Heading out to Illinois also reminded of another goal that I had made for myself a while back. I thought I had written about it, but apparently not. I had set a long term goal, more of a lifetime goal, of doing some sort of event in all 50 states. I don't care what it is, bike, run, tri. It's an excuse to travel and try out new races.

Here is my tiny list so far. It's sad really...

• Ohio - 2007 Flying Pig Marathon
• Kentucky -  2007 Jingle Bell Run 5K
• Florida - 2008 Disney Marathon
• Michigan - 2007 Miles for Meals 5K
• Indiana - ?!!?

I've done several races in Ohio and Kentucky. I just picked one to list. What's up with Indiana? How have I not done any races in Indiana? This is really disappointing and will have to be fixed this year. Maybe a fall marathon in Indy? Or...maybe a shorter race in Indy and one of these:

Steamtown Marathon - Scranton, Pennsylvania

Bay State Marathon - Lowell, Massachusetts

Anybody have a couch I can crash on?

I am The Warrior

bang, bang I am the warrior

How did the Warrior Dash go down? It was exactly like this classic video by Scandal, only with more mud and less dancing, but only slightly less dancing.






 It was a little longer than a 5K. There was 12 more obstacles to conquer than you're typical 5K, unless you count heat as an obstacle.  So, 11 more obstacles to conquer than something like the Redlegs Run For Home 5K. There was a lot more mud than you're typical 5K. It was a hell of a lot more fun than any 5K I've ever run.

As we lined up at the starting line. Beth asked, "so are you sticking with the group?" Well, maybe...I can't make any promises. A few minutes later the race began with a burst of flames from over the start line. Shootin' at the walls of heartache bang, bang I am the warrior. It was on. Once the race is on all bets are off. I stayed with the group for about....well I didn't.

The race is a bit of a blur. Looking back at the course map doesn't really help. I could swear we hit the slithering swamp and the junkyard jam a lot earlier in the course. Here are my impressions of the race:

The fire goes off and we're running. I'm thinking I need to slow down. I need to slow down. It's so hot I'm gonna regret taking off fast. I turn to the runner next to me as I often do during a hot race and say, "It's so damn hot...milk was a bad choice." Then I run away while the runner is laughing or looking confused. Either way I win.

We hit some woods and blessed shade and....mud! The trail is slick as hell as we wind our way along the trails. I scamper across the planks. Don't fall..don't fall...don't fall...

Junkyard jam...I jump, I climb over old beat up cars....

Run...run...down a muddy slope into and dive into a huge watery mud pit. OMG it stinks...

Running, or more like jogging, as I'm soaked from head to toe and covered in mud. I can see out of one sunglasses lens. Water! Me: "how many glasses of water can I take?" volunteer: "as many as you need." I grab a couple and douse my sunglasses to see again.

Run...run...tires, legs so tired...run, run....hay...climbing...cargo net...climbing...about a million little hills...legs so tired...




FIRE!



After being slightly singed it was back into the mud as we crawled under barbed wire (for real) and on to the finish!

I found out later that I came in with a very respectable time of  25:50. After the race it didn't really matter what the times were. To the victors go turkey legs and beer...and we were all winners.

More photos to come....

Cannonball Queen

Dude. Don't mess with the queen. She will totally cannonball you.

AM I A WARRIOR?

I'll find out this Saturday as I head out with a group of friends and warrior wannabe's to Joliet, Illinois. What trials await us to determine if we are warriors? According to the battleground map we'll be facing such obstacles as the warrior wall, hell's hills, slithering swamp, satan's slope and so on.

Unfortunately this year I will be more of an unofficial warrior. I am running in place of somebody that is unable to attend and it was to late to get the registration changed into my name. I'm sure he has good reason to drop out, and quite frankly we aren't all cut out to be warriors. The community needs farmers too. Maybe he could compete in some sort of Facebook Farmville Challenge. Too harsh?

Unofficial warrior or not I am taking my task very seriously. I've removed my bed from the bedroom and have been sleeping in a pit of mud. I wake up every morning scale a cargo net into the kitchen and eat fire for breakfast. It's a good start.

The Fastest and Funniest LEGO Star Wars story ever told

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I posted this hilarious video (still makes me laugh) of Star Wars being retold by someone who has never seen it.

Now let's go back a long time ago in a LEGO galaxy far, far away....

Forest Hills 5K

Any given race could be your best or worst race..

This was almost literally a last minute decision to run in the Forest Hills 5K. As I was walking out the door at 7:30 am into a sunny, warm morning I knew I would regret skipping this race. I quickly changed clothes in my car and took off for Nagel Middle School. This was more than just another 5K. This was a fund raising event for my cousin Heather's school district. In addition to the race there was a festival that included a fun mascot race. Before that though, a quick race summary.

I came into the 5K with low expectations. I had just finished a 12 hour overnight shift that was spent mostly on my feet. I've been experiencing achilles tendon pain and calf pain. I'm pretty sure one or the other is going to snap and roll up like a fruit roll up one of these days. Because of this I didn't have a good race at all for the Pig. All things considered I figured if I could make it through the race without the fruit roll up effect I was good.

I was able to work my way up to the front of the pack at the start which was very good. This was an out and back course, so the roads got very congested very quickly. You can play a little Where's Waldo with the photo above. Look for the white hat, red shirt. I won't go into the gory details, because at this point I don't remember the details. I remember Thunderstruck kicking off the race in my ears and thinking this is gonna be damn good race. I remember heading out on a lot of downhill and thinking oh crap, I need to run back up those hills. I remember having something left in the tank and targeting the runner in front of me then mowing him down.

The result was a very solid 21:37 time and a second place finish in my division. Good run, well done.

After the race I stuck around to meet up with the family and catch Heather run in the mascot race. I've got some pretty sweet video that I was planning on editing together and posting here. Maybe someday I will. In the meantime enjoy these photos.

The Swimming/Flying Pig Marathon

It's 55 degrees with a light breeze. It's a little overcast. Maybe it's sunny and there are puffy clouds floating lazily along offering an occasional break from a warming sun. I feel weightless. My legs are pumping rhythmically and feel like I could go all day. I'm running the race of my life. There is no pain. The finish line is up ahead, and I have reached the pinnacle of my racing career. I am Pre. I am Bolt. And I am Benoit as she won her second Boston Marathon in a world record time. Then I wake up.

I am standing near the starting line of the Flying Pig Marathon in the pouring rain at 6:45 in the morning.  I have a trash bag with a whole cut out of the bottom over my body trying to keep some square inch dry with no success. My fingers are so soaked my iPhone has stopped responding to my touch. Maybe it's for the best, because I'm pretty sure that if I get my playlist fired up it's going to send a death shock up through the headphone wire and into my brain. Fortunately, as the gun goes off to start the race I get the tunes rolling and I don't die of a sudden shock.

It's an hour later and after slogging it up the hills into and out of Eden Park I'm wishing that there had been a sudden shock that killed me at the start line. I've been running an hour and my legs still haven't quite loosened up and my stomach is starting cramp up...and then I wake up. I said I wake up. Oh no, I'm awake. Crap.

This pretty much sums up my experience at the 2010 Flying Pig Half Marathon. It was wet and soggy. I didn't have a good run at all and my iPhone had a near death experience that lasted for 4 hours after race. I'm fine, but I think it's suffering from PTSD. I can't say it was a total waste of time. Any day out on a run isn't a terrible day, and I did learn a few things.

• Technical running shirts are awesome. Heavy weight technical running shirts in the rain are terrible. After about 10 minutes I felt like I was running with a wet blanket wrapped around my upper body. When running in the rain forget about planning to stay dry at all. Plan to wear the lightest material that will hold the least amount of water possible. Those dudes that run in speedos don't seem so ridiculous after all. Who am I kidding? Yes they do.

• There is no such thing as a 100% waterproof pouch/case, especially when you have to open it. I was using an iFitness belt to keep my iPhone and a few things in. It didn't get rain directly in it, but there was so much moisture in the air combined with me opening the pouch and fiddling with said iPhone spelled doom. When in doubt leave the expensive stuff at home.

• In case of electronics meltdown due to moisture don't freak. There are several remedies for wet electronics that don't include spiking them on the ground when they quit working. Here is one that I was reminded of by a friend on Facebook. Thanks Nathan. Finally I have a use for all those little bags of rice I get at the pig and other races. 

• Any given race could be your best or worst race no matter how well prepared you thing you are. I suffered pain my knees and tightness in my calves for no really good reason. I also suffered some stomach discomfort. Not sure why. I ate the same thing I've eaten before dozens of other races with the exact opposite results. It's a mystery.

Finally, as I put the pig to bed again for another year, maybe I should say always enjoy the run and the experience. Or, any day running is a good day. That's not true. Some days I hate the run. During races like this I want to quit. I could be sitting on the couch right now reading a book, watching a movie or anything else that doesn't involve rain, pain and running. Then the race is over, and I dry off and the pain subsides.  After a good meal and a few hours on the couch with that movie or book my mind drifts to the pig. Next year. It's gonna be 55 degrees and sunny.  I'll be well trained. I'll be weightless....

March of the Flying War Pigs

Less than a week left until the Flying Pig Half Marathon!  It's time to get my running mix on. This year I decided to go 100% kick ass rock and roll. "You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention." That's exactly what I did Rob. Thunderstruck blows it up and makes me want to kick somebody in the teeth every time. "Then you got to take it up a notch..." Listen Rob this is my mix, my rules. I decided to cool it off a bit with a mid-tempo bar brawling rocker. Then I bumped it up 3 notches with my fist in your face, and your face on the floor.  You get the point.

I took the mix for a 6 mile test run this morning and it does indeed totally kick ass. I found myself having to slow it down a bit to meet my goal pace. That is a very good sign. Then I punched a squirrel in the face.  I knew the mix was ready. That squirrel should have never stepped to me. Welcome to the jungle squirrel. You're gonna diiiiiiiieeee.

B-EE-RR-UN

This blog post and Flying Pig Run is brought to you in technicolor by the refreshing taste of MGD Light 64

Look for me on race day drinkin' a beer and wearing this shirt

I am a master practitioner procrastinator and occasionally it really pays off. I've been getting regular email newsletters from The Flying Pig Marathon for years. Every year they countdown to race weekend with an email of updates and information everyday.  

22 days to go: Pig Out Saturday Night! Hell yeah I will.
21 days to go: Mail in entries are closed! Oh crap I haven't signed up for the half marathon yet.  
20 days to go: It's Miller Time at the Pig! Time out. Flying pig says what?


The first 64 to show up and sign up at O'Bryon's in O'Bryonville on Tuesday night, April 13th from 6-8 p.m. can be part of the MGD 64 running team!


I am so there...and I was. After a quick stop at the Running Spot to pick up some shoes....

 I love you Cumulus

 

I rolled across the street at about 4:45 to be sure that I was early enough to get a spot. Turns out I wasn't the only one that was determined. I was the second person to show up. One determined runner had been waiting since 3 pm. Dedicated procrastinator. My kind of person.  


All I had to do was hang out drink a few free Miller MGD 64s and sign up for the race...also free. All I have to do is wear the team shirt (up above) on race day. Done and done. Hell, they can hand me an MGD 64 during the race and I'll drink it down with a smile on my face and a big thumbs up. Aaaahhh refreshing.   

"Sometimes you eat the bear...."

"...and sometimes, well, he eats you."

Were there any truer words spoken than these by The Stranger? I think not. In the Heart Mini-Marathon the bear is Torrence Parkway. You are, well, you, the runner. A lot of people get eaten by the bear. New comers are surprised to find the bear between mile 5 and 6. Actually, the bear finds them...and eats them. If you run the 15k be warned. Torrence the bear awaits, and he is hungry.

I take great pains to not get eaten by Torrence. That means eating a weekly dose of bears for approximately 6 weeks leading up to the race. Bears are tough, chewy, salty and tiresome to eat, but it's all worth it race day. What am I talking about? I think I've beaten the metaphor into the ground.

The 33rd running of the Heart Mini-Marathon has come and gone once again. I went into this year's race with not much in the way of expectations. I wanted to run well, but didn't expect to set any personal records. This was a test race leading up to the Flying Pig Half Marathon in a few weeks. I wanted to try to maintain around a 7 minute/mile pace with something left in the tank at the end. It all went very well. I finished up at 1:06:04, which is a 7:07 pace. Perfect. It's a hilly course just like the pig at a faster pace than my last half marathon.

What's more perfect was the delicious Mokka french toast which was devoured after the race. Fast times are nice, but brunch with friends is what it's all about. 

Runners, take your mark...

Spring race season has arrived. In 3 days I'll be lining up for my 5th running of the Heart Mini Marathon 15k. The forecast is looking shitty just like last year. ugh. The first 4 years have seen steady improvement. Last year I brought it in at just under 1:05 for a personal record at 15k. This may be the first year that doesn't happen. Training has been going well. I've been consistant with my runs and they've felt pretty good, but the speed just isn't there this spring. It's been harder to work on speed with my work schedule. It's hard to get pumped up for a speed workout after being on your feet for 12 hours overnight.  On top of that I've been dealing with shin and foot pain. Also probably from working on my feet for long hours.
 
This year it's going to be less about speed and more about mixing it up. I'm going to enjoy the usual running and races, but want to mix in a couple of triathlons. That's probably what I'm most excited about doing. The swimming is going well, though it's been a little inconsistent over the last couple of weeks. I blame it on the fact that the dog at my goggles. True story. That little bastard. I've got some new ones now, and hit the pool evening for a good workout. up to 600 yards for my longest set and ready to move up to 1000 yards. I haven't been following that swimming schedule exactly, but it's a good guideline. Now I need to work in some cycling.

Maybe this year will be a little bit about the speed. Looking at my personal records I have one long standing record. My 10k personal record was set at the Thanksgiving Day Race in 2006. There are a couple of 10k races in the fall where I can take a shot at this record. Maybe I should....maybe I need to quit whining and grow a pair....



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyWBmTq3JJw

Just Keep Swimming

 I have a new addiction this winter. Swimming. A couple weeks ago I started a new program. 0 to 1650 in six weeks. I'm working my way up to swimming a mile straight. The ultimate goal in this is to sign up for a couple of triathlons this year. I've got my eye on a couple. In May there is the Tri for Joe at Coney Island. It would be a good first tri for the year since it's done in a pool, then in August there is the East Fork Triathlon.  

The program is below. If you want more info check out this link. 
  
WEEK one (Three Days):
4 x 100 yards (or meters)...rest for 12 breaths between 100s
4 x 50 yards...rest for 8 breaths between 50s
4 x 25 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 25s
total: 700 yards
(Your pool is 50 meters? Just add 2 50s instead of the 25s)
 
WEEK two:
200 yards...rest for 12 breaths
4 x 100 yards...rest for 10 breaths between 100s
4 x 50 yards...rest for 6 breaths between 50s
4 x 25 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 25s
total: 900 yards

WEEK three:
400 yards...rest for 12 breaths
200 yards...rest for 10 breaths
4 x 100 yards...rest for 8 breathsbetween 100s
4 x 50 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 50s
total: 1200 yards

WEEK four:
600 yards...rest for 10 breaths
300 yards...rest for 8 breaths
4 x 100 yards...rest for 6 breaths between 100s
4 x 50 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 50s
total: 1500 yards 

WEEK five:
1000 yards...rest for 8 breaths
4 x 100 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 100s
4 x 50 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 50s
total: 1600 yards          

WEEK six (days 1 and 2):
1200 yards...rest for 6 breaths
3 x 100 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 100s
3 x 50 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 50s
(day 3)
1650 yards straight (equals 1500 meters)
total: 1650 yards!

Farewell to the Otts?, Ots?, Aughts? Happy 2010!

I'm not all that in to New Year's resolutions. I'll typically set up a few goals for the year for training or excercise, but not so much the traditional I'm gonna lose 10 lbs., quit smoking, or take up knitting type of resolutions. As a matter of fact this year I think I'll quit exercising and take up smoking. That way I can have some good resolutions for 2011. 2011 is gonna be my year. 2010? eh.

Actually 2010 is shaping up to be my year. Things are gonna change...I can feel it. In honor of a new year and a new decade here are a couple of resolutions. It's stuff I'll be doing anyway, so I'm virtually guaranteed success. First resolution is to join a new gym and get back to running and working out. I've been off for about a month now. It's time to get rolling again. The second resolution is to get back on the nursing school track. Since I changed jobs this year I lost my tuition reimbursement. As of June I can start getting reimbursed from the hospital. Let's do this. To start on that resolution I just finished up an application of University of Cincinnati. I'm gonna apply to as many nursing programs as I can. One will work out. My third resolution is to continue to not smoke...or smoke crack or do meth or heroine. Easy enough.

Happy New Year everybody!

Statistically Speaking: Favs of '09

It's that time kids. It's time for everybody to break out their year end/decade end lists of everything from the best music, movies, celebrity indiscretions to the best commercials. You name it there is probably a best of list to go with it. Here's my small contribution to the glut of favorites and bests. Here is a quick run down of my favorite music for the year of 2009.

Since Last.FM has tracked pretty much every song I've listened to in iTunes and on my iPod for almost 2 years these were pretty quick and easy lists to compile. We're going to keep it simple and go top 3 songs, artists and albums of the year.


Songs of the year:

3. Ludacris - One More Drink
I first heard this song at a WEBN fireworks party over Memorial Day Weekend. Thanks to my iPhone and Shazam I tagged it and picked it up the next day. It immediately went in to my running mix and heavy listening rotation. It's super catchy ear candy.

2. The Ting Tings - Be The One
Simple, catchy tune on a great album full of catchy tunes. This is another running mix mainstay of the year.

1. Neko Case - This Tornado Loves You
What better to describe the destructive side of love than a force of nature. I never grow tired of this song.

Artists of the year:

3. Neko Case - Brilliant songwriter and criminally under appreciated artist. Check her out. Now.

2. Lily Allen - Say it ain't so!! Hopefully she'll take some time off and come back kicking ass like she has on her first two albums.

1. Pearl Jam - Speaking of comebacks. I am a die hard Pearl Jam fan, and have every album they've released. I have nothing but respect for these guys as they ditched the mainstream, their label and went their own way to develop a Grateful Dead like following. This is the first album in a long time to get media attention and for good reason. It's brilliant.

Albums of the year. (Oddly this is not on the website, but only on the iPhone App.)

3. Pearl Jam - Backspacer
2. Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
1. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

If you don't own these albums. You are missing out.