Quick Photo from our Thanksgiving 10K!
>> Thursday, November 22, 2012
So Pharmie, Henry, and I are back home after the "Fast Before the Feast" 10K this morning. We've got a fun race report to share on Monday with you all (I think Henry's going to write it), but for now, here's a photo of Henry running with me around mile 1.5:
Digging for more raisins running in 8th place overall.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
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My Running Lately, and RACING Tomorrow!
>> Wednesday, November 21, 2012
I've never RAN so much and TRAINED so little as I'm doing right now.
I'm getting in some decent runs lately, and a lot of them are with Henry. I'm doing VERY little hard running: I've been leaning much more towards LONG over HARD lately.
I'm resisting the urge to make a dirty joke regarding that last sentence, so I'll give you a moment to make your own.
Done? OK. Moving on...
Not running so hard has kept me more injury-free, and running longer really helped me to win the MDRA Grand Prix series for 2012. My endurance hit a life-time peak around September. I'm actually quite surprised that I'm so OK with not running hard more often. (So far this month, I've had one short race, and only 1 other run with any sort of effort!)
At the end of May (stating that IF I could stay injury-free), I was hoping to break 1,000 running miles for the year for the first time ever - I was over 450 miles at that point. Well, I did the smart thing and let that goal go after having some heel pain after the New Prague Half Marathon in May, and then I just ran 36 miles in June. BUT, there's a chance I COULD still hit that goal! After tomorrow's race, I'll have JUST crossed the 900 mile threshold for the year (with three 100+ mile months). And I haven't look at the numbers lately, but I think over half of that has been with Henry, so him and I have a shot at hitting 500 miles together for the year!
So I'm actually happy to repeat what I first said in this post: I've never RAN so much and TRAINED so little as I'm doing right now.
Anyway, Pharmie, Henry, and I are all off to the Fast Before the Feast 10K tomorrow! I have no major race goals - I'm just out to race with my family. I'll maybe post a quick photo when we get home, and then a full race report should be up on Monday. And it's looking like there will be a BIG giveaway on Tuesday! So check back!
Some Instagrams and Links
>> Monday, November 19, 2012
Last week I posted about a great weekend bike ride. I was in short sleeves and shorts. Sweet.
Then, 2 days later, my drive to work looked like this:
F*ck you, Minnesota.
The dude was tired. He passed out ASAP.
Then we got home and had to compost our jack-o-lanterns (they were getting squishy and moldy). Henry hugged his pumpkin from Grandma goodbye before we tossed it:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadorable!!
• The Apple Duathlon is a World Qualifier once again.
• Photos and results from the Minnesota Multisport Awards 10 days ago.
• "Dome Running" is back THIS WEEK! (It must be winter.)
• Life Time Fitness has a new 3-race tri series that is trying to save triathletes money.
• The Metro area is going to host it's first ever "Midwest Cycling and Multisport Expo" in a few months.
• What pro cyclists do in the off-season (as well as his 3 tips for us "normals" - this is a re-post from 3 years ago, but still have good advice).
Have a good (hopefully SHORT) week, everyone!
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I'm So Sorry...
>> Saturday, November 17, 2012
You maybe saw this in The Onion this past summer. If you didn't, then check this out:
I'm Truly Sorry For This, But You're About To Hear All About The Last Marathon I Ran
Listen, it's great catching up with you, and believe me, I'm really enjoying this conversation we're having, but I'm afraid I now have to do something that will make this exchange very awkward and unpleasant for you. I feel absolutely terrible about it, and so I want to give you fair warning: You're about to hear all about the marathon I just ran.
I'm truly sorry, but I'm going to have to go pretty in depth about my months of preparation, talk all about the encouragement and support I received from friends and family, and give you a mile-by-mile assessment of my state of mind and physical condition during the race. I hate to say it, but it's going to take quite a bit of your time.
Mile split times, cramping, hydration levels, chafing—you're about to hear all of that. Plus, I'll be dwelling on one point around mile 17 when I considered stopping but then decided to keep going because I'd already come so far. There's a lot to cover, so I want to be upfront and apologize right off the bat.
This is going to be pretty unbearable.
I'll inevitably start with how I carbo-loaded the night before the race, which by itself will not be a particularly long or objectionable story, but let me assure you it will segue right into an excruciatingly detailed explanation of the diet I maintain to stay in peak physical shape. And that, in turn, will lead into my training regimen, my special lightweight marathon gear, and, unfortunately for you, a lengthy period during which I expound upon the health benefits of distance running.
I know this isn't the kind of thing you want to listen to—hey, no one does—but I'm going to include several anecdotes about my running partner Erik, a person you don't know and couldn't possibly be interested in hearing about. You'll learn that he's an attorney and a rock climber and that we're part of a team that does the Run for Leukemia 10k every year, which will be another whole five-minute aside right there. Sorry.
Believe me, if I could stop myself from talking about this, I would. But I can't, and so I'm going to tell you all about my personal best time, and you're going to think to yourself, "This guy's the fucking worst." But here's the truly awful part: Out of politeness, you will have to pretend to be impressed by that number, even though to you it will seem completely arbitrary and hold no meaning at all.
You'll also be hearing quite a bit about the sense of accomplishment I felt upon finishing the race. You're going to hate that, trust me. There will be detestable phrases like "I never thought I could do it, but I did" and "It truly was a life-changing experience" and "It's a huge commitment, but definitely worth it." I'll be repeating the number 26.2 an infuriating number of times.
My God, I can barely express how insufferable I'm going to be.
I'm so sorry, I know you've done nothing to deserve this, but right when you think I'm finished talking—just when you get your hopes up—I'll mention how this wasn't my first marathon, and then you're going to hear details of my three other full marathons, as well as a half marathon and a couple marathon relays I did. I can't even imagine how horrible it will be for you to hear how I believe I've progressed as a runner, but by that point in, there just won't be any getting around it.
And while it is at best tangentially related, I may at any moment during the conversation launch into an agonizing digression on the merits of five-day juice cleanses. I beg your forgiveness.
Worst of all, though, I'm definitely going to run other marathons in the future, so I'll have to tell you all about the various races I'm thinking about entering and the pros and cons of each course. Please, accept my deepest apologies in advance, because as excruciating as today's discussion is, it won't end here. Every single day during my weeks of preparation leading up to the next race, I'm going to make you stop whatever you're doing to tell you the number of miles I ran the previous evening. Isn't that awful? No one should have to listen to that.
I'll also have to tell you that you should run one of these things, too. I honestly can't convey how intensely sorry I feel that these words will soon be coming out of my mouth, but I will actually say to you that if I can run a marathon, so can you.
Wow, I'm really, really sorry. I don't know how you'll be able to tolerate this.
But anyway, here goes.
That writer nailed every. Little. Detail. This is fantastic. I'm going to try NOT to be "that guy," but I probably still will be....
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Friday Funny 426: Men vs. Women
Yeah... so what?
Ask my wife... I'm pretty sure I don't have even the TINIEST slice of "interested."
Winners of the "Fast Before the Feast" Race Entries
>> Thursday, November 15, 2012
On Tuesday, I posted about 3 entries I was given to give away to a Thanksgiving Morning race called "Fast Before The Feast." Today, I have 3 winners to announce.
The 3 randomly drawn winners are:
- Lindsay Tilley
- Emily W.
- Rachel Elizabeth
If you 3 can contact me ASAP, that'd be great! I need to get you all registered for the race! Thanks! See you there!
Oh, BTW, I noted that Pharmie, Henry, and I would all be there if it wasn't too cold / rainy / windy / nasty. I love to run in the winter, but I'm not going to subject my 17-month-old son to craptastic weather just to run a race. But as of right now, the forecast for Thanksgiving looks good!
UPDATE: I just saw some new info on the "Fast Before The Feast" website. They're going to have a lot of door prizes, and runners can win gift certificates, iPods, bike tune-ups, Zoot apparel, and a DOZEN pizzas from Papa Murphy's! I'm hoping for the pizza, personally! :) Come out and race with us! And maybe win some sweet prizes!
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