Focused
marathoner4life
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Back in the gym!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Another day another run...
Put in 4.13 miles earlier this evening. My shoe is no doubt the New Balance Minimus. It keeps me on my toes is an understatement. Sadly there are no real trails at all where I am here in Japan but even on the road I love the feel and performance that I get out of the shoe. I will likely get up early and put in a few more miles once I awake. What is it about running that just provides a release? In any case I will work towards longer and longer miles as I prep for a long cross country race for April of next year. Already making plans to take the whole day off.
KeepRunning!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Mnimus reorder
Already having the black and yellow I've decided to go red and get a second pair of the black and yellow. Love these shoes. 
Three plus+++
It's been three plus months since my last post. Since I've been here I must say I feel like I am getting back to my old self. Joined the Jupiter Running Club in Kanazawa and am now running S Class. There are roughly four people running S and I am the youngest. Need to get another pair of Minimus shoes. Running through my current pair quicker than I imagined. My goal is to crack under forty minutes at next year's Peachtree and the way I'm going right now that looks very possible.
KeepRunning!
KeepRunning!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Yesterday was July 3rd, today is July 4th!
Just wrapped up my third Peachtree Road Race. The past running year for me has been an incredibly lackluster one to say the least. This year was to be the year I get down to sub-seed level. That was my mindset going in to today's race. At the last minute I decided to run in the Vibram Five Fingers and not the Air Pegasus 26. Pegasus are more for the long haul and not so much a quick and out. Threw on the Vibrams and hit the road. My finish time today was 57 seconds slower than last year. Ironically I only covered a total of about three-hundred miles as opposed to over a thousand last time. In the end I just wanted to get it over with and finish the race. Corral A Bib number 3615 this time around too so one group ahead but at the same time it really didn't feel any different than my placement from last year. Supposedly an additional five-thousand runners this year too.
I got to the station with no issue and made my way up to the corral; after getting in I steeled myself in my mind and took in the national anthem and the three F15s that soared ahead. They were a far better site than I had imagined. The timing was simply impeccable as they came through right at the end line 'home of the brave.' The race began promptly at 7am and I was off; I stayed left and made my way forward trying to make my way around a number of people. This year I walked ahead a few people in my corral and next year will be even more aggressive with it because it costs time to make your way around so many people out of the gate. I mean the first mile is basically made longer due to the fact that you have to cut around so many people. Had a strong pace of 6:49 early on and felt good through the run. I didn't want to go out too quickly so that was another thing that danced in the back of my mind. One thing I applaud is the fact that there appeared to be less vendors throwing shirts into the crowds which is a real safety issue. Tried not to look at my Garmin so much in the hopes that the miles would just peel by. Believe it was around mile 3.58 when I actually looked down and saw my distance. The two hills relay got me this year; felt like I was faster up them last year but oh well. In the end what's done is done. I kept counting on my music to take my mind off of the trudging of my feet and keep me motivated which in the end made a difference. I did stop to get water at one point and while I tried to run and drink at the same time it did not prove a great idea. One swig and I tossed the cup; I needed fluid unfortunately since I had not stocked up properly the night before so I kept my eyes up for the next station. If finally came and in the end after grabbing a cup I slowed to a walk rather than risk choking. Got closer and closer to the finish and before I knew it I was at 16th and Peachtree. "Yes!" I recounted to myself realizing that I was all of six blocks away from 10th. At 10th the plan was to go anaerobic and push through but as I rounded the corner for 10th I felt very drained. Images of me yelling at myself and mini-mes stoking fires with fresh coal flared through my mind. Kept looking and looking for the finish, somehow it only seemed to get farther and farther away from me. This was draining and painful but I knew that I couldn't relent being this close to the finish. Passing a few people who'd passed me along the way I worked to swing my arms and travel forward and finally, finally, finally I crossed the finish line. Hit the stop button on the Garmin and shuffled off to the park entrance praying for some cold water or sports drink. Two bottles of warm water later I grabbed my shirt and a few other food items. The pain in my toes had me thinking I had blisters but fortunately it was just pain. The greatest thing ever though were though iced towels which felt like heaven pressed against my body. Awesome idea and kudos to whoever came up with that one. Picked up two cold Powerades and went back for another ice towel just because it felt that good then made my way back. Ran into a gentleman from Ohio, retired school teacher, who was down to visit his daughter and run the race. He asked me about my Vibrams and how I felt about them and I cracked up thinking after this race I'm done with these which I expressed to him. He told me that basically everyone he knew who'd gone to them went to another shoe shortly after. I guess you can add me to that list too. Great performance but at the end of the day the pain around and beneath my big toes has me rethinking things. Walked and talked for a while about running, politics and running in other cities. Discussed Portland and Seattle (my move to city) and this young lady from Seattle hearing our conversation joined in. It was nice to enjoy the walk back with them; running, especially running events build an uncommon camaraderie among strangers that I have never seen in any sport or event and I was proud to spend that walk in the company of friends.
In the end, I completed my third Peachtree Road Race today. Peachtree continues to be the largest and most popular 10k in the country and I'm proud that I could run it again. In hindsight after looking through my Garmin data I may have actually done slightly better this year than last which would certainly be a nice shocker. I will wait and see what my official finish time is and go from there. Well, I am very tired and will now get some rest. Apologize if my writing seemed hurried in some spots, just want to get some rest. Don't forget: KeepRunning!
I got to the station with no issue and made my way up to the corral; after getting in I steeled myself in my mind and took in the national anthem and the three F15s that soared ahead. They were a far better site than I had imagined. The timing was simply impeccable as they came through right at the end line 'home of the brave.' The race began promptly at 7am and I was off; I stayed left and made my way forward trying to make my way around a number of people. This year I walked ahead a few people in my corral and next year will be even more aggressive with it because it costs time to make your way around so many people out of the gate. I mean the first mile is basically made longer due to the fact that you have to cut around so many people. Had a strong pace of 6:49 early on and felt good through the run. I didn't want to go out too quickly so that was another thing that danced in the back of my mind. One thing I applaud is the fact that there appeared to be less vendors throwing shirts into the crowds which is a real safety issue. Tried not to look at my Garmin so much in the hopes that the miles would just peel by. Believe it was around mile 3.58 when I actually looked down and saw my distance. The two hills relay got me this year; felt like I was faster up them last year but oh well. In the end what's done is done. I kept counting on my music to take my mind off of the trudging of my feet and keep me motivated which in the end made a difference. I did stop to get water at one point and while I tried to run and drink at the same time it did not prove a great idea. One swig and I tossed the cup; I needed fluid unfortunately since I had not stocked up properly the night before so I kept my eyes up for the next station. If finally came and in the end after grabbing a cup I slowed to a walk rather than risk choking. Got closer and closer to the finish and before I knew it I was at 16th and Peachtree. "Yes!" I recounted to myself realizing that I was all of six blocks away from 10th. At 10th the plan was to go anaerobic and push through but as I rounded the corner for 10th I felt very drained. Images of me yelling at myself and mini-mes stoking fires with fresh coal flared through my mind. Kept looking and looking for the finish, somehow it only seemed to get farther and farther away from me. This was draining and painful but I knew that I couldn't relent being this close to the finish. Passing a few people who'd passed me along the way I worked to swing my arms and travel forward and finally, finally, finally I crossed the finish line. Hit the stop button on the Garmin and shuffled off to the park entrance praying for some cold water or sports drink. Two bottles of warm water later I grabbed my shirt and a few other food items. The pain in my toes had me thinking I had blisters but fortunately it was just pain. The greatest thing ever though were though iced towels which felt like heaven pressed against my body. Awesome idea and kudos to whoever came up with that one. Picked up two cold Powerades and went back for another ice towel just because it felt that good then made my way back. Ran into a gentleman from Ohio, retired school teacher, who was down to visit his daughter and run the race. He asked me about my Vibrams and how I felt about them and I cracked up thinking after this race I'm done with these which I expressed to him. He told me that basically everyone he knew who'd gone to them went to another shoe shortly after. I guess you can add me to that list too. Great performance but at the end of the day the pain around and beneath my big toes has me rethinking things. Walked and talked for a while about running, politics and running in other cities. Discussed Portland and Seattle (my move to city) and this young lady from Seattle hearing our conversation joined in. It was nice to enjoy the walk back with them; running, especially running events build an uncommon camaraderie among strangers that I have never seen in any sport or event and I was proud to spend that walk in the company of friends.
In the end, I completed my third Peachtree Road Race today. Peachtree continues to be the largest and most popular 10k in the country and I'm proud that I could run it again. In hindsight after looking through my Garmin data I may have actually done slightly better this year than last which would certainly be a nice shocker. I will wait and see what my official finish time is and go from there. Well, I am very tired and will now get some rest. Apologize if my writing seemed hurried in some spots, just want to get some rest. Don't forget: KeepRunning!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Today is July 2nd...
Picked up my bib! Corral A so I'm right at the top. Looking forward to running my third Peachtree Road Race. KeepRunning!Friday, July 1, 2011
Today is July 1st...
Today is Friday, July 1st. I completed my final day yesterday at the Japanese company where I have worked for the past three years. I enjoyed my time and experience there but have decided to pursue another position in Japan from the end of this month. It was a bit of a weird feeling waking up this morning and having no job to go to but at the same time it feels good to know that I ended on a good note and that I will take the experience with me wherever I go. It's 9:30am now and the sun is already high in the sky but I simply can't wait to get in a good run this evening. My running season starts from August 1st and runs through July 31st. My current running year ending this month has been a dismal and disappointing one (2010) however, I already know that the upcoming 2011 year will be so much better.
KeepRunning!
KeepRunning!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)