Slim Pickens

That's what January is to road racing. Ah well, there's nothing wrong with Seattle, Mt. Vernon, or Turner. Make the trip.

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF JANUARY 10th TO JANUARY 16th

January 15th / Magnuson Series 15k, 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

January 15th / Nookachamps Winter Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Mt. Vernon, WA

January 16th / Cascade Half Marathon and 10k / Turner, OR

Ah, for the love of Cheese!

Why didn't anyone tell me about the McDonald Forest 50k?

As you know, I have an awesome plan of running every single race in Corvallis in 2011. As you also know, they snuck in a new half-marathon after I had announced my plan. And now...

Oh boy, now...see, I was under the somewhat naive misapprehension that the Mac 50 also had a 15k race at the same time, which, obviously, was the race I was going to run. Nope. The 15k is apparently run in October. Meaning the 50k is run all by itself. Just sitting there. As a race in Corvallis. In 2011.

So I guess I'm running a 50k. Even though I've never run anything longer than a marathon. And even though I've never run a brutal trail ultra, like this one apparently is...

Seems like a good time for a new Corvallis 5k to spring up on May 14th...

Which race would I pick? OH NOES! Well, let's just hope that I'm not forced to choose.

Let's just hope...

The Dead Zone

Yep, it's that time of year. The next couple of months have some pretty slim pickings race-wise. That's ok, just get out there and do some training, do some cross-training, circle a early spring triathlon on the calendar and get in the pool. Whatever it takes to keep your fitness over these next couple months.

March will be here before you know it - then you'll have more than enough races to choose from.

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF JANUARY 3rd TO JANUARY 9th

January 8th / Leftovers 3 mile run / Lewiston, ID

January 8th / Bridle Trails Winter Running Festival 50k, 10m, and 5m / Kirkland, WA

January 8th / White Elephant 5 mile run / Olympia, WA

January 8th / Lake Samish 13.1 and 6.5 mile runs / Bellingham, WA

Best Running Song for December!

As I've mentioned before, like right here, sometimes you just have to run angry. Sure, running happy is all well and good. But it's winter out there folks. The rain is coming down, the wind is howling, and that bastard in the SUV just splashed you by driving through the puddle on purpose!

Time to run angry!

And that's where the Revenge Song comes in...

So, from a wonderful suggestion by dedicated R's reader Marilyn, this month's Best Running Song is nothing other than the absolutely ultimate revenge song: F**k You by Cee Lo Green.

Hey, we've all been there at one time or another. If you haven't had a bad breakup lately, well, think back to high school already. I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something.

And while it just doesn't have the same effect without the oh-so-perfect swearing, there are clean versions of the song out there - unfortunately titled Forget You. Or F****t You, if you prefer. And here he is on Ellen live - clean. And here he is on Ellen live - not clean.

Enjoy. And get out there and run angry!

Past Best Running Songs:
November: Tokyo Police Club / "Breakneck Speed"
October: Two Door Cinema Club / "Something Good Can Work"
September: Stone Temple Pilots / "Cinnamon"
August: Louis XIV / "Guilt by Association"
July: Devo / "Fresh"
June: Saliva / "Your Disease"
May: Metric / "Gold Guns Girls"
April: OK Go / "This Too Shall Pass"
March: The Hours / "Ali In The Jungle"
February: Los Fabulosos Cadillacs / "El Matador"
January: White Rabbits / "Percussion Gun"
December: Deftones / "Knife Prty"
November: The Kooks / "Always Where I Need To Be"
October: At the Drive In / "One Armed Scissor"
September: Silversun Pickups / "Lazy Eye"
August: Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros / "Johnny Appleseed"
July: Deathray / "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)"
June: Raconteurs / "Salute Your Solution"
May: Tea Party / "Save Me"
April: Bloc Party / "Like Eating Glass"
Ever: The English Beat / "I Confess"

New Year Runs - Resolution Runs - 2011!

Welcome to 2011!

This will be the last weekend for a while with lots of races to choose from - so get out there and race! We've got Midnight Races, Polar Bear Swims, Resolution Runs, and Burn Off the Hangover Runs!

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF DECEMBER 27th TO JANUARY 2nd

December 31st / First Run 5k (AT MIDNIGHT!) / Portland, OR

December 31st / First Run 10k and 5k (AT MIDNIGHT) / Eugene, OR

December 31st / Run the Last Mile at First Night 1 mile / Tacoma, WA

December 31st / Year to Year Run 5k (AT MIDNIGHT!) / Longview, WA

December 31st / The Last Run 5k (AND POLAR BEAR SWIM) / Stevenson, WA

January 1st / Twenty11 Resolution Run 5k / Portland, OR

January 1st / First Run - New Year's Day 10k and 5k / Eugene, OR

January 1st / Capitol Mile 1 mile run / Salem, OR

January 1st / Resolution Run 2011 5 mile and 5k / Sisters, OR

January 1st / Thunder Run 5k / Pasco, WA

January 1st / Hangover Trail Run 3k / Salem, OR

January 1st / Resolution Run 5k (AND POLAR BEAR SWIM) / Seattle, WA

January 1st / Seaport Striders Hangover Run 9 and 4 mile / Lewiston, ID

January 1st / Padden Resolution Run 2.6 (AND POLAR BEAR SWIM) / Bellingham, WA

January 2nd / ORRC Y2k11 20.11k and 10k runs / Forest Grove, OR

January 2nd / Resolution Run 10k and 5k / Battle Ground, WA

The Dreaded Flip Turn

(Cue Theme from Jaws)

Yes, it's winter - the time of year that treadmills, stationary bikes and indoor pools start to look pretty attractive.

But don't go to sleep on the training here! Tri season is just around the corner. In fact, one of the first triathlons of the year here in the Northwest is right here at OSU: the Beaver Freezer on April 2nd!

Unfortunately, over and over, the main reason I hear for people not giving triathlon a try is the swim. And when it comes to racing triathlons in Oregon, especially in the early part of the season, you're going to be in a pool.

Which is good in a lot of cases, because pools don't usually scare people away like open water swims. Ah, but pool swimming brings up something open water swimmers never have to worry about: the flip turn.

Let's face it, master the flip turn and you'll shave a substantial amount of time off your swim. And it pretty much comes down to practice. Get in the pool and work on those flip turns, no matter how much you'd rather hang on the edge and grab a breath.

Here's a very good instructional video for Flip Turns from the nice people at Triathlete Magazine. Check it out.

I Demand Warm Weather!

Is there anything worse than living in a part of the world where all the runners are covered up in pants and jackets, not to mention hats, for most of the year?

BOOOO on clothing!

In celebration of winter, and the horrible lack of toned, runner skin that it brings, here are a few shots of Oregon's hottest runners!

You're welcome.

It's Christmas - Celebrate with a Race!

Or not.

Having Christmas on a weekend is not exactly the best way to ensure lots of racing options. So if you're not around Bonney Lake or Tigard, it's training time.

Get ready for all those "First" runs coming in the new year.

Merry Christmas!

RACES FOR WEEK OF DECEMBER 20th TO DECEMBER 26th

December 21st / Tour de Lights 5k / Bonney Lake, WA

December 26th / Operation Jack Northwest Run - 6 Hr, 50k, Marathon, Half-Marathon, and 6.1 mile / Tigard, OR

Yes, I know I'm slacking...

At the R's anyway.

Overall, I'm definitely not slacking! As you should know, I spent the month of November writing 50,000 words, so I could be a Winner at Nanowrimo. And in December, I'm writing a 25-day serial Short Story/Christmas Card, titled: 25 Doors.

So yeah, I've had a few other things to do, but know this: as soon as Christmas comes and goes, I'll be back, baby!

Back to writing about running!

Back to Running Every Race in Corvallis in 2011!

Back to writing for RaceCenter Magazine!

So just hang on, we'll get there.

And get out there and run, already!

Barefoot Running Shoe Review?

I know, right? How do you have a shoe review for barefoot running? Well, this is more a minimalist shoe review. If you want to run barefoot, hey, go ahead. If you want skimpy shoes to run "almost" barefoot, head over to Runner's World and check out these informative videos.

And if you don't already know how I feel about barefoot running, well...you should.

Let's race! With shoes or not!

RACES FOR WEEK OF DECEMBER 13th TO DECEMBER 19th

December 18th / YMCA Christmas Run 6.5 mile and 2.5 mile / Boise, ID

December 18th / Frozen Trail Runfest 50k, 22 mile, 13 mile, 8 mile, 5 mile and 5k / Eugene, OR

December 18th / Santa Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10 mile, 6.2 mile and 3.1 mile and Duathlon / Rochester, WA

December 18th / Santa Runs 10k and 5k / Tacoma, WA

December 18th / Cable Bridge Run 10k and 5k / Pasco, WA

December 19th / 12k's of Christmas Holiday Run 12k and 5k / Kirkland, WA

December 19th / Winter Solstice Run 5k / Eugene, OR

And the photo? Well, you put in "barefoot running dork" and this poor guy comes up. Sorry Buddy!

Every Race In Corvallis in 2011...Maybe!

Well, if I can find one!

No joke - I can't seem to find a single one for January. And maybe there aren't any. Last year, it looks like the first Corvallis race was February 27th. Yikes!

So I may be in for a few more months of training before I can begin the mythical Every Race in Corvallis Quest of 2011!

And I still need a sponsor or two...Five Star Sports? Are you out there? Northwest MultiSports? Hello?

Ummm...Hostess?

25 Doors

The new Christmas Story, 25 Doors, gets its first of 25 daily chapters today.

Head on over and check it out.