Category Archives: chi running

Another 10 miles another dollar

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Well it would be if I were getting paid to do this. I think it would be really interesting to be a paid athlete. I am not so sure I would like the fact that my getting old would keep me from getting paid, not to mention that I am old. I wonder if I would get bored training everyday 2,3 times a day. I bet it would get old. I do think it would be fun to be a track coach and watch your athletes grow. I wonder if it is hard to deal with the jealousy aspect?

So today’s run. I decided to head to Cleveland Track for the first time in years. I was looking forward to the run for a variety of reasons, but chief among them was the opportunity to run on their new track. Once I got there I realized the track project has been put on hold and I was going to run on the old one. It does need some work (new surfacing) but it actually isn’t to bad. There is one area where the surfaced ares inside the ring jets out onto the track a bit with a bump that could be stumbled on. I do know a new track is in the plans, just not sure when.

Well as it turns out the answer is a google search away. You can read all about the project here on there website www.clevelandcommunityfield.org. I just called to donate to the project and left a message with the project manager. Looks like they need a significant amount of funding to finish up the track.

I love running on this track. Two years ago I was king of the track, very few people would pass me. I also had the cheerleaders practicing in the mornings. I always felt sort of like an old pervert running while they were cheering. I swear I was running there before they started practicing! These days no cheerleaders (at least when I went today) and I got passed up quite a bit! The fast runners couldn’t put in the miles I did though.

One of my favorite things to do there I call 8-1, 1-8. What that means is I start in the outer lane (lane 8) and each lap around I move in one lane. It helps to keep track of where I am. An 8-1 is two miles, today I added a 1-8 to make it 16 laps or 4 miles on the track. Track running is great cause you don’t have any obstacles (usually, though Saturday morn after a football game is pretty messy) and you can just sort of zone out and focus on your running, foot strike, breathing, arm form, pace, music, etc. I love it. The south end turns into the sun (always run counter-clockwise on tracks unless it is empty) and I just close my eyes and wait until the shade. As I curve along the gentle curve I just crack my eyelids enough to see the blurry lane lines to make sure I keep in my lane. So zen!

Hardest run of the year

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Yowza, what a run. Those who know my running distances are saying, wow Marco did you run 15 miles? 20? even? Nope, I only put in just over 5. Well you must have run it at break-neck speed then? Nope to that as well, I ended up running slightly slower than I usually have been doing at about an 8:45 minute mile. So what’s the deal? It was hot and humid and even though there were a lot of clouds around, they never seemed to give me too much relief from the sun. I really had to push myself to get through this one. I think I may have also been feeling a tad tired and not totally nurished. I had a dr appt for a cholesterol check in the morning, so I couldn’t eat and then I had an excrutiatingly long wait in the office as well. My lunch of leftover pasta after I got back turned out to be no good as it was spoiled (Mom if you a reading, yes it was that pasta we had) so I didn’t it and had something else that wasn’t as carbolicious. I did drink a full bottle of water on the run and actually even considered refilling it at the park but I was close enough to home to get some electrolite replacement drinks when I got there.

I did wear my trail shoes (I am convinced that the model of New Blanaces I got was not the one that Chi Running recommended, but an older version of the 800) and enjoyed running through several unimproved roads and then some trails. I like them a lot, I just wish they weren’t so tight. I can almost wear them with no laces as there is no tongue, almost like a slipper. I wore them on my walk to the dr’s office (I can’t wait to say “When I was a boy I had to walk 2 miles just to see my doctor…don’t know who I will say that to…) and they made good walking shoes. Now if I could just find some shoes that were somewhat attractive, then I would be set.

I finished the book onthe Bunion Derby, the transcontinetal foot race CC Pyle’s Amazing Footrace. Great book and amazing story. Sadly it was full of hucksterism, but I think even the runners sort of expected that. The winners did get paid at the end, but the promised prizes throughout the race never happened. CC Pyle even made the 55 remaining (200 started) runners run a 26 hr. marathon around an oval in Madison Sqr Garden after the race was done in hopes of raising money to pay the atheletes from the Bunion Derby. His big finishing run was expected to attract tens of thousands and bring him teh financial windfall he was looking for, instead only 300 people showed up.

Hardest run of the year

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Yowza, what a run. Those who know my running distances are saying, wow Marco did you run 15 miles? 20? even? Nope, I only put in just over 5. Well you must have run it at break-neck speed then? Nope to that as well, I ended up running slightly slower than I usually have been doing at about an 8:45 minute mile. So what’s the deal? It was hot and humid and even though there were a lot of clouds around, they never seemed to give me too much relief from the sun. I really had to push myself to get through this one. I think I may have also been feeling a tad tired and not totally nurished. I had a dr appt for a cholesterol check in the morning, so I couldn’t eat and then I had an excrutiatingly long wait in the office as well. My lunch of leftover pasta after I got back turned out to be no good as it was spoiled (Mom if you a reading, yes it was that pasta we had) so I didn’t it and had something else that wasn’t as carbolicious. I did drink a full bottle of water on the run and actually even considered refilling it at the park but I was close enough to home to get some electrolite replacement drinks when I got there.

I did wear my trail shoes (I am convinced that the model of New Blanaces I got was not the one that Chi Running recommended, but an older version of the 800) and enjoyed running through several unimproved roads and then some trails. I like them a lot, I just wish they weren’t so tight. I can almost wear them with no laces as there is no tongue, almost like a slipper. I wore them on my walk to the dr’s office (I can’t wait to say “When I was a boy I had to walk 2 miles just to see my doctor…don’t know who I will say that to…) and they made good walking shoes. Now if I could just find some shoes that were somewhat attractive, then I would be set.

I finished the book onthe Bunion Derby, the transcontinetal foot race CC Pyle’s Amazing Footrace. Great book and amazing story. Sadly it was full of hucksterism, but I think even the runners sort of expected that. The winners did get paid at the end, but the promised prizes throughout the race never happened. CC Pyle even made the 55 remaining (200 started) runners run a 26 hr. marathon around an oval in Madison Sqr Garden after the race was done in hopes of raising money to pay the atheletes from the Bunion Derby. His big finishing run was expected to attract tens of thousands and bring him teh financial windfall he was looking for, instead only 300 people showed up.

Two good runs

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I meant to write yesterday , but I never got around to it for some reason. Yesterday I ran my volcano run. It was a beautifully cloudy cool day and I headed out for my big hill run. Its sort of funny, anywhere I go is really a hill run. We live on top of a high point which is great when it comes to flooding (for some reason we still have to waste money on flood insurance.) Its also good for getting in some solid hill stretches. Every run I do has a stretch where I am hitting the hills. This really helped out two years ago when I did the Portland Marathon. There is a murderous stretch around mile 17 where you run up a long slope to cross the St. Johns Bridge, once up the slope you have to continue the climb to get over the bridge. When I ran tons of people had to walk this stretch, whereas I, with my neighborhood hill training, was able to blow by around 200 (yep I counted!) runners (or walkers). It was a huge boost to me and I found myself flying across the bridge. I got into a small group where we went back and forth for the rest of the race. One guy blew away from us early, but I took the rest of them, even causing one guy to let out a huge gasp and say “oof, ok you win!” My last mile to the marathon was probably my fastest I ran the whole race.

Today, I ran my usual log route (9.5 miles). As I have said before, I run through the canyon at Reed near the end of my runs. Early in the morning I find that I am the first one up and through the canyon. I base this on the fact that I clear out the spider webs all the way through. Sort of my civic duty I guess. Must not make the spiders so happy though.

Both of these runs were pretty slow (8.45+ minute miles) which I attribute mostly to some foot pain I have been having on teh top of my left foot. It is a lot better, but it is still there. I wonder how much of it is due to the new shoes and the fact that I ran on both pairs without going for a short break-in run. That’s what I get!

Two good runs

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I meant to write yesterday , but I never got around to it for some reason. Yesterday I ran my volcano run. It was a beautifully cloudy cool day and I headed out for my big hill run. Its sort of funny, anywhere I go is really a hill run. We live on top of a high point which is great when it comes to flooding (for some reason we still have to waste money on flood insurance.) Its also good for getting in some solid hill stretches. Every run I do has a stretch where I am hitting the hills. This really helped out two years ago when I did the Portland Marathon. There is a murderous stretch around mile 17 where you run up a long slope to cross the St. Johns Bridge, once up the slope you have to continue the climb to get over the bridge. When I ran tons of people had to walk this stretch, whereas I, with my neighborhood hill training, was able to blow by around 200 (yep I counted!) runners (or walkers). It was a huge boost to me and I found myself flying across the bridge. I got into a small group where we went back and forth for the rest of the race. One guy blew away from us early, but I took the rest of them, even causing one guy to let out a huge gasp and say “oof, ok you win!” My last mile to the marathon was probably my fastest I ran the whole race.

Today, I ran my usual log route (9.5 miles). As I have said before, I run through the canyon at Reed near the end of my runs. Early in the morning I find that I am the first one up and through the canyon. I base this on the fact that I clear out the spider webs all the way through. Sort of my civic duty I guess. Must not make the spiders so happy though.

Both of these runs were pretty slow (8.45+ minute miles) which I attribute mostly to some foot pain I have been having on teh top of my left foot. It is a lot better, but it is still there. I wonder how much of it is due to the new shoes and the fact that I ran on both pairs without going for a short break-in run. That’s what I get!

Running in the rain

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Ahh, back to running. We had family in town for the past week and Ruthann was organizing our neighborhood picnic, so we have been very busy these last 7 days. No time for running or blogging, or anything else for that matter. My mom and her husband left yesterday, but I managed to get a good run in in the morning. I wore my brand new New Balance 800s. I should have run a shorter run with them first to break them in, but I kicked out 9 miles, I was just to anxious to get back. It was also rainy after several days of really hot weather. I was a little dissapointed that the traction on them was not the greatest. It was some of the first rain we have had in awhile, so perhaps it was the oils on the road. Today I went out again in the rain and decided to wear my old Mizunos, I couldn’t bring myself to wear my new ones yet, guess I’ll keep them prostine for another day or so. Plus I think I will go out with them tomorrow for a short run to break them in since they will be my primary shoes for the next 500 miles or so.

Back to the New Balance 800s, overall I liked them a lot. They really do force a mid foot-strike that was very comfortable. Oddly they don’t have a tongue and are a little hard to get on, but not horribly so. They are very lite and comfortable. They seem like a small shoe in the sole, but they are supposed to be a trail shoe, so I imagine they are tough (I hope.) I did notice that my orthotics do not fit in them, so I would guess they run small, like say by a half size. I ended up using my inserts I just got in them for a little extra comfort. I do really like the way my feet land so flatly, I am curious to see how much I continue to enjoy that in the future.

Yesterday I took it pretty slowly and got passed by a number of other runners. I’m not so sure I like that! Might be the incentive I needed to get started on my speed work.

Running in the rain

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Ahh, back to running. We had family in town for the past week and Ruthann was organizing our neighborhood picnic, so we have been very busy these last 7 days. No time for running or blogging, or anything else for that matter. My mom and her husband left yesterday, but I managed to get a good run in in the morning. I wore my brand new New Balance 800s. I should have run a shorter run with them first to break them in, but I kicked out 9 miles, I was just to anxious to get back. It was also rainy after several days of really hot weather. I was a little dissapointed that the traction on them was not the greatest. It was some of the first rain we have had in awhile, so perhaps it was the oils on the road. Today I went out again in the rain and decided to wear my old Mizunos, I couldn’t bring myself to wear my new ones yet, guess I’ll keep them prostine for another day or so. Plus I think I will go out with them tomorrow for a short run to break them in since they will be my primary shoes for the next 500 miles or so.

Back to the New Balance 800s, overall I liked them a lot. They really do force a mid foot-strike that was very comfortable. Oddly they don’t have a tongue and are a little hard to get on, but not horribly so. They are very lite and comfortable. They seem like a small shoe in the sole, but they are supposed to be a trail shoe, so I imagine they are tough (I hope.) I did notice that my orthotics do not fit in them, so I would guess they run small, like say by a half size. I ended up using my inserts I just got in them for a little extra comfort. I do really like the way my feet land so flatly, I am curious to see how much I continue to enjoy that in the future.

Yesterday I took it pretty slowly and got passed by a number of other runners. I’m not so sure I like that! Might be the incentive I needed to get started on my speed work.

Arrg, no long run for me today

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Despite my goals and desires to run far today, I have let reason win out. I am going to stay in and rest my ankle. I did a lot of walking yesterday and didn’t feel a lot of pain, I was hoping I’d wake up and it would feel good to go. I would be deceiving myself and body if I said it were. I even considered taking an aspirin and heading out, the ultimate deception.

Staying home will give me a couple more hours to read a book I just bought “What I talk about when I talk about running” by Haruki Murakami. I read a review about the book at a cafe yesterday and had to run out and buy it. I hardly ever buy new books, but this one beckoned. I have read several of his fiction books in the past and loved them. This one is a memoir on his running life and sounded really interesting. So far (40 pages) he sounds a lot like myself in that he runs not to be competitive but to enjoy his own self-accomplishment. When he does race, he races against the clock not others. He also runs about the same weekly miliage I do! I am really looking forward to this little book.

Arrg, no long run for me today

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Despite my goals and desires to run far today, I have let reason win out. I am going to stay in and rest my ankle. I did a lot of walking yesterday and didn’t feel a lot of pain, I was hoping I’d wake up and it would feel good to go. I would be deceiving myself and body if I said it were. I even considered taking an aspirin and heading out, the ultimate deception.

Staying home will give me a couple more hours to read a book I just bought “What I talk about when I talk about running” by Haruki Murakami. I read a review about the book at a cafe yesterday and had to run out and buy it. I hardly ever buy new books, but this one beckoned. I have read several of his fiction books in the past and loved them. This one is a memoir on his running life and sounded really interesting. So far (40 pages) he sounds a lot like myself in that he runs not to be competitive but to enjoy his own self-accomplishment. When he does race, he races against the clock not others. He also runs about the same weekly miliage I do! I am really looking forward to this little book.

He trips, he falls

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I have been feeling a little wobbly these last couple of days. I guess it is a good thing I haven’t been running. I forgot to set my alarm Tuesday and I got up too late to run. I was bummed at first, but then decided I could use the rest. Yesterday, I was waiting for Ruthann to get back from work in teh afternoon. I got all dressed, stretched out, then I decided it was a little too warm to go. This was a good thing as, like I said, I have been feeling a little wobbly (I also forgot my dylantin the other night which I think contributed to the wobblyness.)

So I decided to walk to the running store as I wanted to get some cushioning inserts for my old shoes. As I was walking down the street and getting ready to turn into the park, I watched a couple of kids on bikes on the path I was heading into. I turned on the path and next thing I knew I was tripping and going down. I was fine, scraped my knee and hands, and popped back up a little embarrassed to fall in front of the kids. But they just ignored me (not sure if I were glad or irritated that they didn’t even ask me if I were ok…) My first thoughts were my shoes and the slippery socks I was wearing. They are really thin and make my feet lide in my shoes. I had long decided to only wear them inside with no shoes but for some reason I had them on. My second thought was to an article I had just read in our local paper about a woman who has ms who basically denied to herself and others around her that she had ms, taking the path of avoidance. She was a trial lawyer and firmly believed thgat she was too great and too self important to have ms. I was completely irritated with her and the stry, I wish I had never read it (though I wish her the best of luck, she has now come out that she has ms.) Her “inspirational” was not working for me. Then again, I do think it played a part in me both telling this story and realizing that I may have fallen due to my ms. Then again I may have just tripped, but I can usually catch myself.

So I am behind on my miles for the week, I need to make up 13 this weekend. My ankle is a little sore, but I may try a long run anyway if it is able to bounce back. I have been wanting to try a half-marathon distance for awhile now, I think I am fully prepared physically to do it comfortably (well. with the acception of my ankle that is.) We’ll see. I decided not to run today as I have a meeting I need to go to this afternoon, and I don’t want to push my wobblyness (if it is still around today, so far I feel ok.) I also have a lot of walking to do today, which should be a good break.

I did get some cushioning inserts at the running store that I am anxious to try out. I had to get a larer size and then trim them down, but I am sure that will be fine. The brand I got is Sorbothane UltraSole, I’ll give a full report as I test them out. I also picked up some gels that I have never tried before; one by Clif and another by powerbar. Its been awhile since I have done the gel thing while running long distances, but I always liked the carb boost. They are a little messy and as careful as I try to be I always seem to get it all over my hands, sticky mess. Further revies coming, hopefully this weekend.