On the road for work...again...in Arkansas...again

I'm back in Conway, Arkansas for work and scheduled to be here for the next 8 days or so.  There's not toom any running routes arond here, at least not that I can find.

There's too many fast food restaurants and a few semi-decent food options.  I was driving around, exploring and found a running store called The Sporty Runner, I'll have to make time to check it out and maybe pick up a shirt or visor with the store name on it.

Little did I know, but Conway has an abundance of colleges, and I found one that has a track, I'll have to go see if it's open to the public for interval day...

I'm missing Mac Dog, as he's the best running buddy ever.

Here are the stats:


See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	0:38:43
Distance:	4.00 mi

Monday Long Run

This morning Mac Dog and I did our Long Run, we were supposed to do it yesterday and have Monday as a rest day.  I was little lazy yesterday and decided to bag it, knowing I could do it today.

We were right on target for our average pace, but do need to work on the individual splits.  We managed to pull off negative splits, getting faster at the end of the run, so that is a positive.  The wind was blustery at 20 mph with the temperature in the upper 40's, I'm sure the wind chill knocked it down a few more degrees.  This Spring has been a bit of a tease, warm with a touch of humidity one day and cold the next...I'll be much happier when it's warmer and I can run without a top and put some color on my winter pasty white skin...

So much has happened in the Boston case, that I don't even want to bother with comments, my only hope is that we get an answer to the why.

For those of you in the Hampton Roads area, Running Etc. is holding a group run fund raiser  for the One Boston Organization at both of their locations tonight at 7 p.m., A $20. donation will get a limited edition shirt, with all proceeds going to One Boston.  For more information, visit their site at runningetc.com

Enough rambling, here are the stats:

See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - Long Run
Duration:	0:51:37
Distance:	5.01 mi

Drizzly Run, and other thoughts...

This morning, Mac Dog and I went for a run, we were scheduled to go 4 miles, but due to a drizzly rain about halfway through the run, we cut it a little short.


See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	0:33:42
Distance:	3.44 mi

As I got back, my son filled me in on the Boston suspects.  Maybe I'm numb to the whole thing, I'm not celebrating, but I'm not unhappy that one is dead and the noose is tightening on the other.

I used to live in the Boston area, and it is weird to see the streets of Boston empty.  Someone on MSNBC just said, this is the goal of terrorism, putting a city of 600,000 give or take on lock down, I just never thought I would see it in the United States.

Reports are saying that the suspects are two brothers from Chechnyans that have been in the country for about 10 years coming here with their parents.  I hope they catch this one alive, because, I'm curious as to why they did this...Maybe I need closure.

UPDATE: Just before I hit the publish button, MSNBC announced that BPD has a location for the remaining suspect.

First set of Intervals

Whew, Mac Dog and I made it through our first set of intervals this morning.

We set out to do 3x800M with 400M recoveries.  Our target was a 7:48 pace, and we were consistently in the low 8's.

I was very happy with the splits; 4:02; 4:04; 4:05.  While they were not negative splits or right on the money, the fact that we kept them within a 3 second spread is better than I expected.

For those keeping track, here's the data:

See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - Intervals
Duration:	0:41:01
Distance:	3.91 mi

Why we're motivated to Exercise

I just read an interesting article about exercis motivation on the New York Times Well Blog.

Essentially, scientist at the University of Missouri wanted to see if there were genetic variances in lab rats when it came to exercising.

Researchers created their own avid runners and couch potatoes by breeding male and female rats that had a propensity to run.  They bred the male and female runners together' and the couch potatoes together through 10 generations.  At that point, the running rats tended to spontaneously exercise 10 times as much as the physically lazier animals.

They looked at the bodies of the rats, to determine if there were physiological differences between the active versus sedentary animals.  Aside from the lazy rats being slightly heavier, the rats were essentially equal.  The running rats seemed to enjoy the activity, while the lazy rats avoided it at all costs.

This lead researchers to look at genetics, and here, researchers found differences.

So what does this mean for us humans?  Are some of us genetically pre-disposed to exercising (and enjoying it) while others are not?  Can some of us use genetics as an excuse not to exercise?

Using myself as an example, my parents were/are not particularly athletic or active people, so where did I get my passion for running?  My son, doesn't seem to have the motivation to want to exercise, so it seems that there must be some other factors to look for...

It's amazing how far you regress with a week off

See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	0:44:03
Distance:	4.28 mi

Last week, I traveled for work and only got one run in last week.  This morning, Mac Dog and I ran a little over 4 miles, the Spring Training Plan was supposed to be 5 miles, but I'm not going to quibble over being a little short today.

I felt a little sluggish, maybe because the coffee hadn't kicked in yet, or maybe it was the week off, either way, it was bit slower than I wanted, but that's okay.

Tomorrow, we are scheduled to do our first Interval Sets, I'm not expecting much from that run, but will use it as a baseline for tracking improvement.

Today, I'm feeling better about my rambling post on the Boston Bombing.  I think I needed to see and hear about the first responders, doctors and others that worked so hard to care for so many.  Will Rogers once said, "We can't all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by."

Processing Boston

This post is going to come across as a rambling jumble of words, but that's okay, because, I'm trying to process what I saw in Boston yesterday afternoon.

I am a runner, pure and simple, I love to lace up and go out for a run, with my favorite four footed running partner.  I run because, it is a release, a way to get away, to decompress.  Throughout my runs, I have run 4 marathons, and about 14 or 15 half marathons and countless 5 and 10Ks, the part I love more than anything is the camaraderie of the runners and spectators, people are cheering for you, even though you don't know them and they don't know you.

I get a thrill out of giving high fives to the kids along the course who are there watching for their moms, dads or simply excited to get a high five from a runner.

I know I'll never win a marathon, but that doesn't keep me from feeling like a competitor, a real athlete. I have an awesome sense of being, when I "race", because I am on the same playing field as the professionals.  I might be a decent football player in a backyard pickup game, but I know that I will never be a starting quarterback in the Super Bowl, however, in a marathon, I'm potentially on the same course on the same day in the same conditions as the world record holders and that gives me the sense of being part of the brother/sisterhood of runners.

My dream is to one day run the route from Hopkinton to Copley Square, making that turn on to Boylston and crossing the line at the Boston Marathon.  I have a lot of work to do to get a qualifying time, but that doesn't mean I won't stop trying.

What makes this whole Boston Bombing hard to process for me is two things; first, the time on the clock is pretty close to my average finishing time, and I can't help but feel that my family and friends would be watching me cross the line and could have been affected by the blast; second, this feels like an attack on my dream, a dream I share with many other runners around the globe.

I know I will recover and continue pursuing my dream, but right now it just stings!

Traveling for work

This week I'm traveling for work and trying to make sure I get my runs in.  Nothing special, I figured out a quick little 4mile route that's not far from the hotel.  It is however along a busy road, it's a good thing I brought my reflective gear.

Here are the numbers:


See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	0:40:10
Distance:	4.00 mi

First Long Run during Base Training

Today marked the culmination of a good week of running.  Mac Dog and I completed 21 miles for the week which is a 25% increase in mileage.  Conventional wisdom says to increase only by 10%, but I think we are going to be okay.

Next week, I will be travelling for work, hopefully I can get a a few road runs in during the week, simply for the location changes more than anything.  If not, it's going to be hotel treadmills, and that will not be fun.  Wish me luck.

We cranked out 6 miles today and finished with 01:01:01 on the GPS.  I couldn't hit that time if I tried.

For those keeping track:


See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	1:01:01
Distance:	6.00 mi

Feeling Good

Mac Dog and I are two weeks into our base training, and feeling pretty good.  Last week we pulled in almost 17 miles, so far this week we are at 15 miles, so we are on track.  As a general rule we shouldn't increase the mileage by more than 1%, but we are feeling good and not pushing too hard with an almost 20% increase.

We need to come up with some new routes, but I'm a bit nervous about taking Mac Dog outside the neighborhood and the idea of driving to a trail for a run seems like a bit too much work when I can just head out the door.

For those keeping track here are the stats:


See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	0:47:53
Distance:	5.00 mi

Still on track

Happy Wednesday!  Mac Dog and I rolled off for our daily run, peeling off 5 miles.  He really enjoys his runs and is a good pace dog.

Spring Training begins on April 15th and the workouts will be much more structured.  I'm looking forward to getting back in the training groove.

Mac Dog's Blog is coming along, but he's having to redesign his blog before he's completely ready to publish.  I keep asking him what's the big deal and he says you try working a track pad and keyboard without thumbs.  Good point!

For those keeping track, here's the stats:



See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	0:48:22
Distance:	5.00 mi

Off to a good week, so far

Monday is my usual rest day from running, though I must admit I rested on Saturday and Sunday also, partly due to getting chores done and partly due to some laziness.  Overall, last week was a good week to get back on track and we bumped up our mileage toward the end of the week.

Mac and I started off this week's runs with an easy 5 miler.  For some reason, Mile 3 is always the slowest, I call this the "marks a lot mile" because he usually stops to sniff every clump of grass along this part of our route.  He makes another deposit too, if you know what I mean.

I found a weight training workout for upper body that I would like to start in on.  I think I will not be working on my legs, since they get a solid workout with the runs.  I know, I know, the legs still need some strength conditioning, but I will save that until the "off season".  The program is flexible enough that I can use it two days a week for upper body conditioning.

I still plan to continue working on the 7 Weeks to Fitness Abdominal Program 3 days per week, and adding this weight training on Tuesday and Thursday.  The runs will happen in the morning.

On another note, Mac Dog was getting a bit flustered that he couldn't add his two scents to this blog and requested that he start his own.  So coming soon, look for Little Dog Running on Blogger in the coming days.  That blog will be written by Mac and provide valuable running advice to the four footed running companions in our lives.  I'll throw a little Linky Love his way...

If you are keeping track of the daily runs, here you go...



See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	0:49:32
Distance:	5.00 mi