Thursday, June 30, 2011

Barefoot Running and Broken Feet


You should already know my stance on barefoot running, so I won't rehash too much. You can check my thoughts here and here and here and here and here and here...

Anyhoo, there was a good article in the Oregonian yesterday about barefoot running and the chance of injury. You can see in the comments under the article that barefooters were not happy with the tone of the article. Frankly, and predictably, I liked the tone of the article. Running magazines over the past two or three years have been littered with pro-barefoot and minimalist running articles - it's nice to see a writer take the other side.

Lord knows, the shoe companies are jumping on the minimalist bandwagon hard. We need a little skepticism here and there.

That's what I think anyway. What do you think?


Photo by Faith Cathcart at the Oregonian.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Girls On The Run All Up In My Face


OK, let me get the disclaimer out of the way right up front...because my wife said I had to: Girls on the Run is a fine organization full of wonderful people accomplishing fantastic goals.

Then why do they hate me so much!?!

Let me explain. No there is too much. Let me sum up.

So, if you have a really good memory, you'll remember WAY back in June of 2009, I ran my last Girls on the Run 5k, right here in Corvallis. Yeah, that was the race that didn't have a volunteer or a marking at the turnaround, causing about the first 50 runners to cover an extra 1.2 miles. Yeah, I wasn't happy about that.

Then, in the 2011 Girls on the Run 5k, just a few weeks ago, I ran what can only be termed an uninspired and unmemorable race, but, and this is the important part, I did indeed RUN.

So, you might ask, why then, are you not listed among the 500 runners in the results?

Well, that's a good question, isn't it?

I believe it's because Girls on the Run organization hates me for some reason. Hey, I'm a nice guy! What's the deal?

In case you were wondering, I finished 14th, about two seconds after Mr. Williams, my son's old fifth grade teacher. Go ahead, just write my name in there. In pen.

Why does it matter, you ask? It was just a small 5k, with very few speedy runners entered, and for a charitable cause, to boot.

Hey, I'm a runner. It just matters.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Running Bucket List


Most runners have some sort of Bucket List of Runs, usually starting with Boston, that they strive to race.

The R's is no different, and I've got an odd one on my list that's coming up right here: the Samish Bay Bivalve Bash Low Tide Mud Run! Yeah, that's a long name, but it's a short race - 250 yards!

See the Low Tide Mud Run is run through mud. Not just any mud, but soul-sucking, knee deep, spirit shattering, Samish Bay mud. Most people that run it duct tape their shoes on!

And that, my friends, is serious mud.

I've had people I know run this one and say it's the hardest race they've ever done. Still haven't made it and I won't this year either...next year for sure.

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF JULY 11th TO JULY 17th

July 16th / Hayden Sprint Triathlon / Hayden, ID

July 16th / Deschutes Dash Olympic Triathlon, Olympic Duathlon and 10k / Bend, OR

July 16th / Hubbard Hop 10k and 5k / Hubbard, OR

July 16th / Run for the Arts 5k / Salem, OR

July 16th / Ocean's Edge 5k / Lincoln City, OR

July 16th / Manzanita Beach Run 10k and 5k / Manzanita, OR

July 16th / Britt Woods Firehouse Run 10k / Jacksonville, OR

July 16th / Seaside Beach Run 10k and 5k / Seaside, OR (45th Annual!!)

July 16th / Ranch and River Run 5k / Springfield, OR

July 16th / Samish Bay Bivalve Bash Low Tide Mud Run 250 yards / Bow, WA

July 16th / Tiger Tri Sprint Triathlon / Colville, WA

July 16th / NW Trail Runs Redmond Watershed Preserve Marathon, 10m and 5m / Redmond, WA

July 16th / Bill Burby Inspirational 10k and 5k / Vashon, WA

July 16th / NCE St. Jude Fun Run 5k / Mt. Vernon, WA

July 16th / Raspberry Festival 5k / Lynden, WA

July 16th / ChelanMan Long Course Triathlon, Olympic Triathlon, Half Marathon, and 10k / Chelan, WA

July 16th / RLFC Wellness 5k / Tacoma, WA

July 17th / ChelanMan Sprint Triathlon / Chelan, WA

July 17th / Girlfriends and Dudes Sprint Triathlon / Vancouver, WA

July 17th / TriRock Olympic Triathlon / Seattle, WA

July 16th / McCubbin's Gulch Trail Run / Mt. Hood, OR

July 17th / The Summit Plummet Sprint+ Triathlon / Enumclaw, WA

July 17th / Harvest Days Half Marathon and 8k / Battle Ground, WA

July 17th / Be the One Run 5k / Portland, OR

July 17th / Klamath County Run for Kids Half Marathon and 5k / Klamath Falls, OR

July 17th / Run In the Country Half Marathon / Coburg, OR

July 17th / Steve Omi Memorial Open Water Swim 1m / Coeur d' Alene, ID

July 17th / See Jane Run Half Marathon and 5k / Seattle, WA

July 17th / Deschutes Dash Sprint Triathlon, Sprint Duathlon and 5k / Bend, OR

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Bonk Happy with Sport Beans


For something completely different, let's give Sport Beans a whirl. Cool beans! Right?

Well, first, these little guys are tasty. They're tart and juicy and only slightly sweet. Nothing like regular jelly beans, which is impressive, considering Sport Beans are made by none other than Jelly Belly themselves.

So the first ingredient on these is Cane Juice, then Tapioca Syrup, then citric acid, then a bunch of juices. They've got B1, B2, B3, and Vitamin C. No fat, and only 100 calories per bag.

I was a little worried about trying to eat these during a run. I could just picture myself tossing one down my throat and having to get the Heimlech from some biker going by. But they're actually much softer and chewier than regular jelly beans - I think they'd be fine during a race.

You should be able to find these at about a buck per bag. Not cheap, because they go pretty fast, but not outrageous either.

I was expecting something close to Clif Bloks with these, but they're way, WAY, better than those. I'd definitely try these again.

Let's say 8 Bonkers out of 10...maybe 9. They're good.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Galen Rupp Takes the National Championship 10k!


And he does it while wearing a mask. Check out the article in the Oregonian here.

Yes, we get some serious grass pollen here in the Willamette Valley. Last weekend I did a 90 minute run on the trails in Corvallis and broke out in hives from the pollen after I got home. It can be nasty this time of year.

Anyhoo, along with Oregon Homeboy Rupp, we had Oregon Homegirls Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher go 1-2 in the Women's 10k.

Good night for Oregon no matter how you slice it.


Thanks to Thomas Boyd from the Oregonian for the great photo.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Let's Get Odd!


Well, this has got to be the oddest running weekend in quite a long time.

Let's review:

-A timed race (3:33) with no set distance?
Check.

-A turkey trot...in July?
Check.

-A bare buns (nude) run?
Checkaroo.

-A race that's as old as me (44!)?
Check.

-Not one, not two, but three women's only races?
Checkity check.

-A 4k, a 9k and a 34.3 mile race?
Uh, check.

You've got to admit - that's some weird racing.

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF JULY 5th TO JULY 10th

July 9th / Hagg Lake Olympic and Sprint Triathlon, and Olympic Duathlon / Forest Grove, OR

July 9th / YMCA Spudman Olympic Triathlon / Boise, ID

July 9th / Caledonian Games 5k / Athena, OR

July 9th / 3 Thirty 3 Run for Hope / Bend, OR

July 9th / Run of the Mill 5k / Mill Creek, WA

July 9th / Grey Rock Trail Run 12k / Tampico, WA

July 9th / Crown of Queen Anne 3.3m / Seattle, WA

July 9th / Turkey Trot 8k and 5k / McMinnville, OR

July 9th / Midred's Trail Dash 9k and 5k / Oakland, OR

July 9th / McCleary Bear Festival 10k / McCleary, WA

July 9th / Kent Cornucopia Days 5k / Kent, WA

July 9th / Smith Rock Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Terrebonne, OR

July 9th / Dirty Dash Mud Run 10k / Seattle, WA

July 9th / Let's Climb a Mountain 34.3m / Spokane, WA

July 9th / Columbia Corridor Corredores Trail 25k and 10m / Umatilla, OR

July 9th / Chuckanut Foot Race 7m / Bellingham, WA

July 9th / Ocean Shores Big Weekend Half Iron Triathlon, Half Iron Duathlon, Olympic Triathlon, Olympic Duathlon, and Sprint Triathlon / Ocean Shores, WA

July 9th / Women's Moon Run 4k / Olympia, WA

July 9th / Top to Bottom Run 5k / Tacoma, WA

July 10th / Fueled by Fine Wine Half Marathon / Dundee, OR

July 10th / Jacey's Race 5k / Sandpoint, ID

July 10th / Spring Meadow Olympic and Sprint Trail Triathlon / Helena, MT

July 10th / Bare Buns Fun Run 5k / Issaquah, WA

July 10th / Missoula Marathon and Half Marathon / Missoula, MT

July 10th / Langley Half Marathon / Langley, WA

July 10th / Go Girl Trail Run 10k / Portland, OR

July 10th / Timber Town 10k / Port Gamble, WA

July 10th / SheROX Sprint Triathlon / Federal Way, WA

July 10th / Redmond Derby Days 5k / Redmond, WA

July 10th / XTERRA Vashon Off-Road Triathlon / Vashon, WA

July 10th / Ocean Shores Big Weekend Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Ocean Shores, WA

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Midsummer Night's Run Race Review!


Yeah, I know, it's not even summer yet, much less "Midsummer," but build it and they'll come, I guess.

Well, this was the first true nighttime run in the EPIC 2011 series, although the Move Toward Hope was strangely a mid-afternoon, weekday run. The Midsummer consisted of three races, a 2k at 6:00pm, a 10k at 6:30 and a 5k at 6:40.

When I arrived a little before six to pick up my number, the weather was decent: cloudy but warm, although there was a fairly stiff breeze blowing through. Whatever, I was just happy it wasn't raining.

The 10k runners lined up right beside Crescent Valley High School for a few instructions from the race director. He mentioned not to leave it all on the road in the first two miles as there was a pretty good hill just before the halfway point of the race. Yeah, I thought, I've seen the elevation chart they had attached to the race website. It wasn't even 300 total feet of elevation - I wasn't too worried. ("psssstt - that was foreshadowing - in case you missed it...ok, back to our story")

So ready, go, and we were off. The first third of the race follows a section of the HOTV Triathlon bike course, so I knew we were going to go up and down a bit even before we got to the section that the race director had warned us about, but I had never run the last two-thirds of the course, so I was not really mentally prepared for what I found.

After looping around the school, we took Highland Drive north, which is a slight uphill, but nothing crazy. I knew, of course, that once we took the left on Lewisburg, there was indeed a very short, but very steep, climb. It was right about there that the fast 5k runners caught me. Three of them passed me, but then we continued on Lewisburg while the 5k folks went left on Crescent Valley Drive, so that was all I saw of 5k-ers for a while.

And here's where I had some issues. Before I start bmgc-ing, let me just show you "their" elevation map and "my" elevation map.



You may notice a slight difference of opinion here. I sure noticed it out on the roads.

Now, I'm not going to get on my soapbox about hilly runs...until later this week, so just let me say that if you do happen to organize a hilly race, at least get your numbers close. There's no way that course only had 289 feet of climbing.

So after absolutely struggling through the middle two miles of the race, we finally got over the hump, literally and figuratively, and had pretty much downhill and flat for the last two miles. I'm feeling a lot stronger than earlier in the year at the end of races and I was able to hit my last two miles at 8:10 and 7:32, respectively. Still, because of those brutal middle miles, I barely, just barely, beat my Make a Change 10k time from March, which was on a pretty flat course.

Now, I believe we've got a week off until we get to the next race on the EPIC sched: the Red, White and Blue Riverfront Festival 5k. Wow, that's a mouthful.

See you there!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

500th Post on The Two R's!





True story. This is the 500th post on The Two R's. And at least 35% of those posts have been useful or entertaining in some way, leaving only 65% as filler. That's pretty good. Don't thank me...just send cash.

OK, so now we need something great for the 500th post. Something incredible. Something memorable.

Nope, I got nothing.

Guess I'll just go for a run.

See you at the Midsummer Night's Run in a couple hours.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Oregon State University Track and Field!



“They should have shot the athletic director who dropped it,” said Bell, 83, who was on hand for Tuesday’s ceremony. “I’m serious. There are idiots who sit in athletic directors’ chairs at times, and he was one of them.

“Any school that doesn’t have track and field is admitting it is a second-rate institution. It’s the center ring of the Olympic Games — always has been, always will be. To give that up, with the number of the kids who have gone to the Olympics from Oregon State, was ridiculous.”

Wow! That was former OSU Track Coach Sam Bell, who coached more than 90 All-Americans during his Hall of Fame coaching career.

He doesn't exactly mince words.

Check out the entire Portland Tribune article here.

But hey, Corvallis is getting a sweet new track. Woot!

OSU Track and Field! Sounds good.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Man vs. Horse Marathon


Who knew, right?

Well, apparently it's been around for a while, although this bit at Letsrun.com is the first I had ever heard of it. Here's the Wikipedia article on it.

I don't know why, but I feel sorry for the poor horses. I mean, if humans want to kill themselves for an absolutely meaningless time, go ahead. But do the horses really want to run hard for more than 20 miles? Hmmmm, I think I'll just continue to run against other humans, thanks.

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF JUNE 27th TO JULY 4th

July 2nd / Stars and Stripes Marathon and Half Marathon / Beaverton, OR

July 2nd / Lostine River Run 10k and 5k / Lostine, OR

July 2nd / Running with Friends 5k / Willamina, OR

July 2nd / Five Mile Lake Sprint Triathlon / Auburn, WA

July 2nd / Finish Strong Open Water Swim / Lynnwood, WA

July 2nd / Righteous Richland Sprint Triathlon / Richland, WA

July 2nd / Lord Hill Trail Run 50k, 20m, 10m, 5m / Snohomish, WA

July 2nd / Bigfoot 10k and 5k / Yacolt, WA

July 3rd / Freedom Marathon and Half Marathon / Gresham, OR

July 3rd / Firecracker 5k / Seattle, WA (Midnight Race!)

July 3rd / Pioneer Days 5k / Tumwater, WA

July 4th / Butte to Butte 10k / Eugene, OR

July 4th / Eagle Point 4th of July 5k / Eagle Point, OR

July 4th / Ashland 4th of July Run 5k / Ashland, OR

July 4th / Run 4 Freedom 5k / Central Point, OR

July 4th / Foot Traffic Flat Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k / Portland, OR

July 4th / Mayor's Firecracker Run 5k / Coos Bay, OR

July 4th / Firecracker Half Marathon, 10m, 10k, 5k, Sprint Triathon and Sprint Duathlon / Elma, WA

July 4th / Ridgefield's Independence 10k and 5k / Ridgefield, WA

July 4th / Four on the Fourth 4m / Steilacoom, WA

July 4th / Red, White and Blue Riverfront Festival 5k / Corvallis, OR

July 4th / ORRC 4th of July 10k and 5k / Wilsonville, OR

July 4th / Old Time Run 10k / Stayton, OR

July 4th / Monmouth Mini Marathon 2.62m / Monmouth, OR

Thanks to the Telegraph UK for the photo.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Fremont 5k Results!


I love this race. Haven't run it in a number of years, unfortunately, but I've got fond memories. There's nothing like a Friday night race to cap off a work week!

Check your results here.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Everclear at the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon!


Wow, why didn't anyone tell me that Everclear was playing at the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon?! That's cool!

Well, it would be cool if you're already in...I believe it's sold out, so if you're not in...then it's not that cool.

I know they don't want people running these races without a number, but how about sneaking on the course just to see Everclear? Is that allowed?

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF JUNE 20th TO JUNE 26th

June 24th / Salem Summer Solstice 10k and 5k / Salem, OR (Friday Night Race!)

June 24th / Hope Run 5k / Ellensburg, WA (Friday Night Race!)

June 25th / Twilight 5k / Tigard, OR (Saturday Night Race!)

June 25th / Pacific Crest Marathon, Half Marathon, Long Course Triathlon and Long Course Duathlon / Sunriver, OR

June 25th / Padden Sprint+ Triathlon / Bellingham, WA

June 25th / Cle Elum Ridge 50k and 25k / Cle Elum, WA

June 25th / Deputy Saul Gallegos Memorial Run / Manson, WA

June 25th / Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon / Seattle, WA

June 25th / Summer Solstice 6m and 3m / Vancouver, Wa

June 25th / Dog Island 10k / Guemes Island, WA

June 25th / Hot Foot 5k / Port Orchard, WA

June 25th / Sternwheeler Days 10k and 5k / Cascade Locks, OR

June 25th / Bridle Trails Trail 10k and 5k / Kirkland, WA

June 25th / Northwest VEG Race for the Animals 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

June 25th / Rogue River Rooster Crow 5k / Rogue River, OR

June 25th / Sweat It Up 5k / Portland, OR

June 26th / Sturgeon Run at Iverson Beach 5k / Camano Island, WA

June 26th / Vancouver Half Marathon and 5k / Vancouver, BC

June 26th / Pacific Crest Olympic Triathlon and Duathlon, 10k and 5k / Sunriver, OR

Run for the Hills Race Review!


Compared to the heat of the Girls on the Run 5k the day before, the Run for the Hills 8k offered a little good news...and a little bad.

The good: it's a trail run, so there was bound to be more shade than we had on Saturday (which was zero).

The bad: it's a trail run, so there was bound to be more hills than we had on Saturday (which was pretty much, again, zero).

So, I woke up Sunday morning with my legs not exactly feeling fresh, but not feeling too bad. Couldn't get my support crew to head out the door with me however, even with a race start time of 9:00, so I've just got stock photos of the race (that's probably better, you won't have to see my ugly mug again).

Lined up at the start line at Midge Cramer Path for about the fourth or fifth time this year, with about 200 or so other hardy souls. The weather was warm for sure, but didn't seem quite as blazing hot as a day earlier. The race director mentioned something about lots of poison oak everywhere, so don't pass too much on the trails (what the?!?), then the gun sounded and we were off!

I started well back in the pack on this one. I knew it was only about a half mile to the start of the single-track trail and I didn't want to be in front of a bunch of better hill-runners looking to get by me. Probably started too far back because I had to try to get around a number of Sunday drivers, but made it to "my people" before the trail started.

This one has some serious hills, as you can see below. It even gives a decent showing of elevation compared to the Mac 50, which is basically the gold standard of hill running in the Northwest. The elevation numbers from my Garmin were: 157 ft/mile at the Run for the Hills and 216 ft/mile at the Mac 50. So, yeah, they both go up.

Made it up the first big hill slowly, but stayed in line. Then the first big downhill. Man, I love running downhill on the trails! It's just fun. Running on the roads - uphill, downhill, flat - it can be very rewarding, but I'd rarely call it "fun." Running downhill on trails is fun. There's just no other way to describe it.

Of course, what goes down, must eventually go back up (is that right?), and so we were soon heading back up. Oof. Really slowed down on this one, but as soon as I hit the top, I knew it was basically downhill or flat until the tape, so I really tried to let go. Passed a few people by hitting the inside corner on sharp turns going down - I love doing that! Had a 7:14 pace for the last mile, so I was clearly happy to be going downhill for the finish. (Check the Results right here)

Came back out onto the asphalt path and the sun for about the last half-mile. Gah, where's the shade? Hit the tape about two minutes slower than I hoped, but hey, there's always next week.

NO, actually there's NOT next week! For the first time since April 23rd, I have a weekend without a race coming up! Woot.

See you at the Midsummer Night's Run 10k on June 18th. Night Run!

Update with a new photo of yours truly! Find more here.

Thanks to Jesse Skoubo of the Corvallis Gazette Times for the top photo, from the 2010 Run for the Hills.

Monday, June 6, 2011

It's a Great Time to be a Runner!


Literally.

Go ahead and count the number of races on the list below. Go ahead...I'll wait.

That's right, there are 34 races! In one week! Just in the NW!

It's a great time to run. Old, established races are full, and new races are forming every week.

Enjoy it now, because there's no rule that it has to last. As the huge swell of runners out there right now gets older and starts to drop out of the sport, will there be large enough numbers of younger runners to take their place? We'll see.

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF JUNE 13th TO JUNE 19th

June 18th / Iron Mountain Olympic and Sprint Triathlon / Maple Ridge, BC

June 18th / Running of the Trolls 5.75m and 3m / Astoria, OR

June 18th / Duel in the Desert 5k and Duathlon / Bend, OR

June 18th / Midsummer Night's Run 10k and 5k / Corvallis, OR

June 18th / Cape Mountain Trail Run 10m and 5m / Florence, OR

June 18th / Strawberry Festival Family 5k / Burien, WA

June 18th / Hagg Lake Run 10.4, 10k and 5k / Gaston, OR

June 18th / XTERRA Solstice trail triathlon / La Grande, OR

June 18th / Habitat for Humanity's 10k and 5k / McMinnville, OR

June 18th / Mud Run MS 10k / Sherwood, OR

June 18th / Run for Literacy 5k / Bellingham, WA

June 18th / Jennifer's Catching Slough Classic Half Marathon, 12k and 5k / Coos Bay, OR

June 18th / Five Mile Lake Women's Sprint Triathlon / Auburn, WA

June 18th / White River 5k / Buckley, WA

June 18th / Survivor Mud Run 5k / Seattle, WA

June 18th / Longest Day Run 5k / Medford, OR

June 18th / Vashon Island Ultra 50k and Trail 10m / Vashon Island, WA

June 18th / White Salmon Backyard Half Marathon / White Salmon, WA

June 18th / Fall City Days 10k and 5k / Fall City, WA

June 18th / Prairie Stampede 5k / Yelm, WA

June 18th / Beyond Borders 5k / Salem, OR

June 18th / Cottage Lake Tri and Tri Again Sprint Triathlon / Woodinville, WA

June 18th / Here Runs the Bride 5k / Seattle, WA

June 18th / Beach to Chowder Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Long Beach, WA

June 18th / Vancouver USA Marathon 5k / Vancouver, WA

June 18th / Swede Day 5k / Rochester, WA

June 18th / Berry Days Half Marathon and 10k / Burlington, WA

June 18th / Taylor Mountain 50k, Marathon, Half Marathon and 5m / Issaquah, WA

June 18th / Run for Rett 5k / Olympia, WA

June 19th / Vancouver USA Marathon and Half Marathon / Vancouver, WA

June 19th / Run with Pride 10k and 4k / Seattle, WA

June 19th / Charlie's Challenge 15k / Sisters, OR

June 19th / Portland Drag Race 1m / Portland, OR

June 19th / Prost8k / Springfield, OR

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Girls on the Run 5k Race Review!




It had been so long since I've run in the true heat and bright sunshine, I think I forgot that it's actually difficult to run when it's hot out!

Which of course is all a bit of clumsy foreshadowing since the weather forecast for Corvallis on Saturday was 85 F, and the race had a late start time of 10:00am.

Well, forward to the start line, which basically consisted of me, Payton, and about 500 girls from the Willamette Valley Girls on the Run. And the temp, as advertised, was easily 75 F at start time and edging quickly up.

Needless to say, when you're racing with hundreds of young girls, the start was interesting. Payton and I lined up on the very edge of the crowd, but soon we were completely surrounded by the crowd. We got off the start fairly well, but were using a lot of energy weaving through the crowd and passing people. That, plus the heat, had Payton starting to fade before the one mile mark, which is much earlier than he's been doing in races over the last couple months.

So I was on my own pretty quickly in this one, and frankly there wasn't a lot of action around me. There were definitely a few people in front of me, but this isn't a race that draws a lot of speed, so I didn't have much to chase or much chasing me for a good chunk of the race.

And frankly, the heat was getting to me as well, as you can see by my splits. It was hot out there. I believe I'll be carrying my water with me tomorrow at the Run for the Hills 8k.

The course zigged and zagged through the OSU campus and was thankfully quite flat. After slogging through the last mile, Payton's old fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Williams, zipped by me about a tenth away from the finish. Then he quickly turned the wrong way at Reser Stadium! I yelled at him to turn it around, but sure didn't slow down to try to stop him. He must have figured it out soon enough, because about 20 yards from the finish line, he went around me again! (check the second photo up above - you can see both Carson, my daughter, cheering for me, and Mr. Williams, with the stroller, coming after me for the second time!)

Ooof. Just glad to be done with that one. I don't think I'll be going out too fast tomorrow if the heat sticks around...there will be hills tomorrow.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Best Running Song for June!



Yes, it's June! Forecast for the weekend is two days in the mid-80's! I know, right? We haven't seen temps in the 80's in over nine months! We could have had a freakin' baby since it's been that warm!

But I digress...

Summer is almost here. That means it's time for heat, it's time to run outside, and it's time to run fast.

So it's time for a fast running song. Ah, the kind I like best.

So let's head back to England, Liverpool to be exact, and check out a very fast, jumpy tune called Moving to New York by The Wombats. This is just the kind of song you need to get a real good bead going on your next run in the sun.

Check out a couple cool live versions here and here.

Past Best Running Songs:
May: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros / "40 Day Dream"
April: Foxy Shazam / "Unstoppable"
March: Pharrell / "Fun Fun Fun"
February: Puff Daddy / "Come With Me"
January: We Are Scientists / "The Great Escape"
December: Cee Lo Green / "F**k You"
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"