Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar - Thanksgiving Races

The biggest single racing day of the year, absolutely bar none.

Count them up - 38 races on Thanksgiving Day! Thirty-eight!

It's never been so easy to pre-burn that turkey and pie.

Let's race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 19th TO NOVEMBER 25th

November 22nd / Thanksgiving Dirt Feast Trail Run 7m and 4m / Mercer Island, WA

November 22nd / Wattle Waddle Marathon and Half Marathon / Seattle, WA

November 24th / Ghost of Seattle Marathon 50k, Marathon and Half Marathon / Seattle, WA

November 25th / Seattle Marathon and Half Marathon / Seattle, WA

November 22nd / Bonners Ferry Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Bonners Ferry, ID

November 22nd / ORRC Turkey Trot 8k / Portland, OR

November 22nd / Upper Valley Turkey Trot 5k / Rexburg, ID

November 22nd / Club 24 Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Echo, OR

November 22nd / Mini-Cassia Turkey Trot 5k / Paul, ID

November 22nd / Burn the Bird 10k and 5k / Great Falls, MT

November 22nd / Huffing for Stuffing Thanksgiving Run 10k and 5k / Bozeman, MT

November 22nd / Red Cross Turkey Trot 5k / Kennewick, WA

November 22nd / Turkey Day Boise 5k / Boise, ID

November 22nd / Seattle Turkey Trot 5k / Seattle, WA

November 22nd / Run Wild Missoula's Turkey Day 8k / Missoula, MT

November 22nd / Portneuf Valley Turkey Trot 5k / Pocatello, ID

November 22nd / Bainbridge Island Turkey Trot 5k / Bainbridge Island, WA

November 22nd / CSI Turkey Trot 5k / Twin Falls, ID

November 22nd / Issaquah Turkey Trot 5k / Issaquah, WA

November 22nd / Turkey Trot Clark County 10k and 5k / Vancouver, WA

November 22nd / Keizer's Turkey Dash 5k / Keizer, OR

November 22nd / Gig Harbor Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Gig Harbor, WA

November 22nd / Turkey Trot 5k / Stevenson, WA

November 22nd / The Oly Trot 4m / Olympia, WA

November 22nd / Oregon Mid Valley Road Race 5.2m and 3.75m / Albany, OR

November 22nd / Southern Oregon Turkey Trot 8m / Medford, OR

November 22nd / Run for the Hungry 5k / Washougal, WA

November 22nd / Norpoint Turkey Trot 5k / Tacoma, WA

November 22nd / Oregon Turkeython 10k and 5k / Beaverton, OR

November 22nd / Turkey on the Run 12k and 5k / Wenatchee, WA

November 22nd / Bend Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Bend, OR

November 22nd / West Linn Turkey Trot 4m / West Linn, OR

November 22nd / Turkey Stuffer 5k / Springfield, OR

November 22nd / BGCCO Turkey Trot in Bend 10k and 5k / Bend, OR

November 22nd / OAC Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Corvallis, OR

November 22nd / Turkey Trot Eugene 4m / Eugene, OR

November 22nd / Hood River Turkey Trot 12k and 5k / Hood River, OR

November 22nd / Salem Runucopia 15k, 10k and 5k / Salem, OR

November 22nd / Run Turkey Run! 5k / Billings, MT

November 22nd / Give and Gobble 10k and 5k / Sherwood, OR

November 24th / Seattle Marathon 5k / Seattle, WA

November 25th / Hot Buttered Run 12k and 5k / Vancouver, WA

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar - Thanksgiving Races

Definitely a short list this week, as it's only four days before the true Turkey Day and the unbelievable number of races that will come with Thanksgiving.

Still, there are a good number of T-Day races to choose from here - plus another Jingle Bell Run in November! - so get on it.

Let's Race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 12th TO NOVEMBER 18th

November 17th / Team Red Lizard Stumptown XC 8k and 6k / Corbett, OR

November 17th / Grand Ridge Trail Run 50k, Marathon, Half Marathon and 5m / Issaquah, WA

November 18th / EWEB Run to Stay Warm Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Eugene, OR

November 17th / Mustache Dache 5k / Seattle, WA

November 17th / A Very Poplar Run 10k and 5k / Boardman, OR

November 17th / Redmond Poultry Predictor 4m / Redmond, WA

November 17th / Tri-Cities Jingle Bell Run 5k / Richland, WA

November 17th / GRBC Turkey Trot 5k / Bellingham, WA

November 17th / Seaport Striders Turkey Trot 4m / Clarkston, WA

November 17th / Turkey Trot 5k / Port Townsend, WA

November 17th / Turkey Trot Relay 8m / Boise, ID

November 18th / Turkey Trot 5k / Lakewood, WA

November 18th / Turkey Trot 5k / Kirkland, WA

November 18th / Green Lake Gobble 5k / Seattle, WA

Less than a week to Nanowrimo!

Yes, we are officially less than a week away from the start of Nanowrimo. Interested in writing a 50,000 word novel in the month of November? Well, head over here and get signed up.

I've got lots of ideas running through my head...check out my novel here.

Should be fun.

Let's write!

Best Running Song for October - Cold War Kids - Hospital Beds

This song is just amazing. The vocals, the piano, the guitar, the intensity.

Amazing.

Maybe even more amazing live.





They even played it live for KINK FM in Portland.



Hell, this song is so amazing, even Florence + the Machine want to play it.



Get this one on your iPod fast. You won't regret it.

Rock that Run!

Past Best Running Songs: September: Bloc Party / "Octopus" August: Matt and Kim / "Let's Go" July: Gemini / "Blue" June: Joe Jackson / "Got the Time" May: Tiesto vs. Diplo / "C'mon!" April: Grouplove / "Tongue Tied" March: Foxy Shazam / "I Like It" February: Foster the People / "Don't Stop" January: Hot Hot Heat / "Bandages" December: Camp Lo / "Luchini aka This Is It" November: Wolfmother / "Joker and the Thief" October: Phoenix / "1901" September: Matt and Kim / "Daylight" August: Collie Buddz / "Holiday" July: Pretenders / "Tattooed Love Boys" June: The Wombats / "Moving to New York" 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"

Evaluating Running Goals After An Injury

Yes, the "dreaded" injury. In my case, this ankle right here:

If you recall, I rolled my ankle pretty good during the Condor 25k Trail Run. After I rolled the ankle, I believe I made a few mistakes. First, I ran the rest of the race after I hurt my ankle - about 13 miles on a bad ankle. Dumb, but I can be stubborn like that, I admit. I've never had an actual DNF in a race. I didn't want to start then. Then I took six days off - a good decision. Then I thought I could go ahead and run because it didn't feel really bad. Mistake number two. I definitely didn't do the healing any favors with that run. Now I'm on a seven-day stretch without running. It's feeling a bit better, although not great. Maybe 75-80%.

So the goals...

First, I'm signed up for the Runaway Pumpkin Half this Saturday, the 27th. Way back, when I signed up for the race, I figured it would be a nice little test as I move toward the CIM in December. About six weeks away from my goal marathon, so I could run the Half fast and try to PR, with plenty of time after to recover.

Now, I'm not even sure if I'm going to run the Pumpkin Half at all. If I do, the PR is out the window.

And of course, now I'm on my third week of basically no running. In the middle of my training program for my Boston Qualifier, the CIM. Sigh...I knew qualifying for Boston would be tough, I just didn't realize I'd have so many false starts.

So I'm having a tough time with my mental outlook right now. I'm trying very hard to take the long overview:

-Get the foot healthy enough to run on again,
-If possible, use the Runaway Pumpkin Half as an easy training run,
-Get back into the training schedule, but ease off a bit. Boston is not an option at this point, and I need to regain my running fitness more than my top-end speed, after being out for so long.
-Try to PR at the California International Marathon. A new goal, sort of, but still something to drive toward and focus on. And frankly, since I had such a horrible race at my last full, a new PR is still very much possible.

And since it's important to quit focusing on the negative ("damn foot, why won't you get better faster?"), and instead focus on the future ("so what spring marathon should I schedule?"), I went out and purchased the new Hanson's Marathon Method book. What's more inspiring than a new training plan to follow?!?

So, let's review:

-Wait! Don't rush it. Let the injury heal and get back into the training as soon as possible.
-Reset the goals. Make them concrete, objective, and most importantly, still difficult yet achievable.
-Find some inspiration to get you excited all over again. A new book, a new pair of shoes, sign up for a race that's six months away. Anything to solidly plant that new goal and improve the mental and emotional outlook.

And don't think about the foot. Quit thinking about the foot.

Five Years...Ten Posts: Fifth Anniversary of the R's!

Yeah, I know that's too many candles...nevertheless...

It's been five years today.

Let's take a look back at the very first post, from October 20, 2007.



I DON'T FEEL FORTIFIED...

Remember back in the day? Back when you had never even heard of a Power Bar or a Clif Bar, or Lord help us, Gu? Ah, but what about the Tiger's Milk Bar? That's right, "America's Original Nutrition Bar". It says so right there on the wrapper. Remember when you bought one of those things for the first time? You took a bite of that slightly peanut buttery-slightly nasty thing and you could just feel the energy bursting through your veins? I mean, I thought "a couple more of these babies and I'll be kicking some and taking some just like Jan-Michael Vincent on "Airwolf"!

And now, twenty, well maybe thirty, years later, I eat a Clif Bar (chocolate mint) almost once a day, and I get nothin'. In fact, I don't even expect anything. Forty vitamins and minerals, all natural, organic, no trans fat...whatever, it's no Tiger's Milk Bar.

And I've got the guns to prove it.



...and I've got to print the comments:

Jenlo said...
Nice Guns!

October 21, 2007 3:13 PM
Steve Robinson said...
Great googly moogly! I haven't seen pythons like that since my trip to Africa. (OK, I've never been to Africa, and they look a little more like the garter snakes in my back yard, but I stand by my original comment of (and I quote) GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY!)

October 31, 2007 8:59 AM

Ah, I miss you, Steve.

Five Years...Ten Posts: Part 9

We're almost to the top spot as we count down the top ten posts on our way the the fifth anniversary of The Two R's.

And today, we're going to revisit - for the 2nd time! - an old post I wrote for the now-defunct WoolleyScott.com site. Why? Because it makes me laugh, that's why.

Enjoy.

LET A MAN HANDLE THIS...REPRISE

After many complaints...well, actually no one complained, but I think about it a lot so...I've decided to add a little more writing to The Two R's! After all, it's supposed to be about Running and Writing, except about 90% of the posts are about running. So, starting with this post, and every once in a while in the future, I will toss in a "very special, watch with your whole family, serious-Blossom type episode" best of writing piece from the old Woolley Scott dot Com site.

Let's start with a little something I called "Let a Man Handle This", originally posted on November 11, 2006.

LET A MAN HANDLE THIS

Yes, that would be me...the man. Just wanted to make that clear.

So after about the 14th time that Payton shoved his hand down his pants today, Jen finally felt she had to speak up.

“What are you doing?” Jen asked.

“Nothing,” Payton replied. Wisely, in my opinion.

“Why do you keep putting your hand down your pants?” Jen asked.

“My underwear are too loose.”

“What?”

“My underwear are too loose. I have to fix my pee-pee.”

“What?” Jen asked again.

Listening in the kitchen, I could have stepped in at this point and advised Jen to cut her losses, but that really isn’t my preferred method of parenting...or husbanding, as the case may be. Sink or swim, I say. Live and let live, I say. This is what you get for turning my underwear pink in the wash and forcing me to speed-dress at the club to limit my embarrasment, I say.

“I have to adjust my pee-pee,” Payton repeated patiently. “My underwear are too loose and it just goes where ever it wants.”

“I hope not,” Jen said.

Me too, I thought.

“It does,” Payton said. “Dad understands. He’s done it before.”

Oh, boy.

“Scott!” Jen yelled. “Could you please tell Payton to keep his hand out of his pants, please?”

The double-please is not a good sign.

I ducked my head into the living room. “It’s a guy thing. Don’t worry about it. Pee-pees sometimes have to be adjusted. Don’t you ever watch professional baseball?”

Payton nodded sagely. “See?” He said to his mother.

I ducked back into the kitchen before Jen’s crook-eye could get me.

It’s no wonder there are so few of us SAHD’s...most mothers would rather have all fathers at work six or seven days out of the week. At least.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar - Thanksgiving Runs

Well, this is quite a mixture. We've got a couple Veterans Day Runs, a couple of early Thansgiving / Turkey Runs, and a, gulp, Jingle Bell Run! On November 11th!

OK.

We've also got a Run with Color in Corvallis. Hmmmm... I think there's a reason most of these "color" runs are in the summer. If it's raining on the 11th, that is going to be one huge mess.

Let's Race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 5th TO NOVEMBER 11th

November 10th / Veterans Day Cross Country Invitational 5k and 3k / Hillsboro, OR

November 10th / Team Red Lizard Stumptown XC 8k and 6k / Portland, OR

November 10th / Ron Herzog 50k / Granite Falls, WA

November 10th / Kevin's Cup Trail 8k / West Linn, OR

November 11th / Carkeek Park Trail Runs 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

November 11th / Bellingham Trail Marathon and 2.6m / Bellingham, WA

November 11th / Autumn Trails Eugene 16m, 10m, 6m and 3.5m / Eugene, OR

November 10th / Scappoose Rotary Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Scappoose, OR

November 10th / Splash and Dash Indoor Triathlon Sprint / Sandy, OR

November 10th / Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis / Missoula, MT (a Jingle Bell Run...on November 10th!)

November 10th / Cheadle Challenge Adventure Run 3.5m / Lebanon, OR

November 10th / Eola Hills Wine Cellars No Hills Harvest Run 10k and 5k / Rickreall, OR

November 10th / Winter Pineapple Classic 5k / North Bend, WA

November 10th / Soap Lake Veteran's Day Run 5m and 5k / Soap Lake, WA

November 10th / Veterans Day/Marine Corps Birthday Run 5k / Bend, OR

November 10th / Tater Trot 10k and 5k / Blackfoot, ID

November 10th / Pioneer Road Run 9m and 5k / Phoenix, OR

November 10th / Columbia River Classic 10m / Richland, WA

November 10th / Snoqualmie Ridge Turkey Trot 5k / Snoqualmie, WA

November 10th / Run with the Duck 5k / Eugene, OR

November 10th / Fowl Fun Run 10k and 5k / Mount Vernon, WA

November 11th / Campbell Run 10k and 5k / Pilot Rock, OR

November 11th / Run with Color 5k / Corvallis, OR

November 11th / Cause + Event 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

Photo from By Heart Photography.

Five Years...Ten Posts: Part 8

We're inching closer to the fifth anniversary of The Two R's...and also getting very close to the start of Nanowrimo! Yes, we're only 13 days away from the month of November. I hope you have some thoughts in mind for your novel - I know I do.

Hey, let's relive that special year where I actually finished my 50,000 word novel for Nanowrimo: on November 28th, 2010.

WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER!

Yes, my friends, that's 50,000 words in one month - making me, FINALLY, a winner at Nanowrimo!

And it's a good thing, because I have to immediately, and without delay, start working on my Christmas Story in 25 Parts, titled: 25 Doors. Head over there every day this December and enjoy an original Christmas story with original art from none other than Jennifer Lommers.

Enjoy!

Five Years...Ten Posts: Part 7

Getting toward the end of ten of my favorite posts of the last five years, as The Two R's celebrates its Fifth Anniversary! And this one was a favorite.

It took a full year, over $800 and a whole lot of running to put this one post together. On December 23, 2011, I celebrated running the 2011 EPIC, or in other words, I ran every single race in Corvallis for an entire year. Check it out.

EPIC 2011 REVIEW

All good things must come to an end...and so it has come to pass that the EPIC 2011, Every Pursuit In Corvallis, has hit the finish line.

And even with the last race of the year canceled, EPIC 2011 consisted of a full 27 races (although I only ran 26 of them because of this one right here). So that's an average of a race every other week for a year. Of course, we know they were not actually lined up that nicely.

Let's check out the numbers:

Races Entered: 28
Races Canceled: 1
Races Skipped because of late start: 1
Races Run: 26

5k: 14
8k: 1
10k: 4
12k: 1
15k: 1
Half Marathon: 2
50k: 1
Triathlon: 2

Trail Runs Out of the 26 total: 4
Runs All By Myself Out of the 26 total: 1

A lot of shirts come along with 26 races. A lottttt of shirts. As you can see below. I've already tossed a couple and gave a away a couple, but I'm still wearing most of them. Let's take a closer look.

Best Cotton T-Shirt: Midsummer Nights Run (Basic Black and cool design)
Best Tech T-Shirt: Good Sam Challenge (Basic Red, cool design and nice fit, which definitely doesn't always happen with tech shirts - tech shirt sizing and fit is all over the board)
Worst T-Shirt: OSU Pet Day 5k (Sorry, but that lime green is horrid - my son wears it though)

Cost of Entry Fees for the Year: Over $800, and let's leave it at that

Busiest Month: October with SIX races
Next Busiest Month: April with five races
Slowest Month: January and August, the only months with no races scheduled (although December had a race scheduled, it was canceled, so I didn't actually run a race in December either)

Favorite Course: Habitat Run Half Marathon (a fantastic trail run, with a fun course: A+)
Least Favorite Course: Midsummer Night's Run 10k (up, down, up, down, up, down: brutal)

Race Numbers: One yellow, one blue, a whole bunch of white, one rubber bracelet, one with no ID of any kind, one with the timing chip attached to the back of the number, and almost every one of them sponsored by Five Star Sports.

Races Run, at least partly, on OSU Campus: 10

All Time PR's Set: 2
Masters PR's Set: 4 (although two were distances I'd never run before - sure PR's!)

Races planned for the first six months of 2012: 2

So there you go. It was a good time, no doubt. But we're moving on. I'm ready for my next challenge. And as you can see by the races I have planned, 2012 will be a whole new year and a whole new challenge. Don't worry, we'll discuss it soon.

Coming up soon: the Year in Review!

Five Years...Ten Posts: Part 6

Counting down ten of my favorite posts as we head to the fifth anniversary of The Two R's.

And now for the second topic that I love to bring up whenever I can: barefoot running!

Again, as regular readers know, I have some strong feelings here. Those who don't read carefully will just think I hate barefoot running, and minimalist shoes to a lesser extent. That's not true.

I think barefoot running is great...for a very small subset of runners. I think it's a disaster waiting to happen for the everyday, average runner. If you're skinny, young, and have great form, then please run barefoot all you want. If you don't fall into all of those categories, than please, put some shoes on already.

Look, here's a BRAND NEW article on the topic of barefoot running, from the New York Times.

Which should get you all primed up to read my next post on the countdown...from November 11, 2011.

CHRISTOPHER MCDOUGALL AND BAREFOOT RUNNING

So Christopher McDougall, the Born to Run guy, has a new article in the New York Times about barefoot running.

Titled, with great restraint and understatement, The Once and Future Way to Run, McDougall rambles off five pages of anecdotes and questionable facts about why barefoot running is the only way to run. Ever. Period.

Again, before you hit the "comment" button and yell at me, let me say this: I'm not against barefoot running! I am against people that say barefoot running is for everyone and is the end-all for running injuries.

I have to show a couple passages:

So how did one of our greatest strengths become such a liability? “The data suggests up to 79 percent of all runners are injured every year,” says Stephen Messier, the director of the J. B. Snow Biomechanics Laboratory at Wake Forest University. “What’s more, those figures have been consistent since the 1970s.” Messier is currently 11 months into a study for the U.S. Army and estimates that 40 percent of his 200 subjects will be hurt within a year. “It’s become a serious public health crisis.”

Oh boy. First, 79 percent? Wow. I don't buy it, but OK. Second, why does it say a couple lines down that only 40% of his subjects will be hurt? I thought we just said it was around 80%? That's a pretty big difference. And finally, running injuries = public health crisis? Somebody is looking for more grant funding.

And this beauty:

Nigg now believes mistakes were made. “Initial results were often overinterpreted and were partly responsible for a few ‘blunders’ in sport-shoe construction,” he said in a speech to the International Society of Biomechanics in 2005. The belief in the need for cushioning and pronation control, he told me, was, in retrospect, “completely wrong thinking.” His stance was seconded in June 2010, when The British Journal of Sports Medicine reported that a study of 105 women enrolled in a 13-week half-marathon training program found that every single runner who was given motion-control shoes to control excess foot pronation was injured. “You don’t need any protection at all except for cold and, like, gravel,” Nigg now says.

I'd like to see this study's methodology. First, were all 105 given the motion-control shoes? And if not, how many? And were the motion-control shoes only given to women that had problems...such as previous injuries?

The comments section is actually more interesting than the article itself, and has better information, both for and against barefoot running.

Here's the APMA's position statement on barefoot running, in case you're curious.

Look, I don't care if you run barefoot or not (I don't have a book to sell), but if you're going to proselytize barefoot running like there's no other conceivable way, please do it away from me.

Flame on!

Five Years...Ten Posts: Part 5

Regular readers of The Two R's know that there are a few topics that just set me off every single time. One of those topics is the extremely high cost of competing in the sport of Triathlon.

Just thinking about it right now makes me want to start ranting and raving about how crazy it is...but why? I already ranted and raved about as well as I could on May 10, 2010.

HAND ME THE DAMN SOAPBOX!

A very funny post today over at Frayed Laces ultimately left me, after a little too much thought, dismayed and disappointed.

It made me wonder, "has any sport gotten farther away from the pure athletic ideal than triathlon?"

Has any sport made the toys more important than the body like triathlon?

Don't get me wrong, I believe the athletes, from top to bottom, in triathlon may be finer specimens than in any other sport.

But why don't you watch an elite athlete in a race over the next couple weeks and add up the cost of the equipment they use:
-The $800 wetsuit.
-The $5000 bike
-The $2000 wheelset
-The $200 aero helmet.
-The $150 tri suit.
-The $300 aerobars.
-The $200 bike shoes.
-The $300 bike pedals.
-The $100 running shoes.
-The $150 sunglasses.
-Oh, and don't forget the $500 entry fee to that Ironman race.

Have we added up to more than your latest car yet?

Look, I like nice toys too, but it's just getting a little ridiculous. At least you can still run a 5k on a $100 budget, from shoes to entry to shorts and shirt. Not so the triathlon. If you think the pro golf circuit is full of pampered rich kids, don't look too closely at your local Olympic Triathlon. It's not pretty.

I know what you're thinking: "OK, big talker. What's your great plan to fix the problem?"

Well, it's not great, but why don't you try this. Instead of buying that $4000 bike, why don't you buy a $3000 bike and give the other $1000 to a program that encourages running or biking or triathlon in the inner cities? Or buy the $80 Nikes instead of the $140 pair and give $60 to a program that buys running shoes for children in Africa that can't afford them?

Give before it's too late, I say, because to me, the Sport of Triathlon looks like its pricing itself right out of existence for the normal athletes of the world. And if it keeps going the way it has been, the great growth of the last twenty years will be lost because so few kids will be able to buy enough crap to compete at a high level!

Or if you're really adventurous, how about some race director out there starting a tri that bans aerobars? Bans wetsuits? Bans aero wheels and aero helmets? Would that be so bad? Just once? For fun?

As Lake Padden Triathlon Race Director Lance Romo once said to me, "I remember back when, if you wanted to go faster on your bike, you had to pedal harder!"

Those were the days.

Another Drug Cheat in the Sport of Running: Christian Hesch

If you think, as a small-time, locally or regionally fast runner, doping in the sport of running has no effect on you...well, think again.

Over the past few days, a story broke about Christian Hesch, who has admitted to doping. This is a guy that regularly places in smaller races that have no drug testing, but do offer prize money.

Like, say...the 2012 Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon. Yeah, people you know, runners in the Northwest, from Washington and Oregon, getting cheated out of a spot on the podium by a lying, conniving d-bag (yes, a d-bag - note that he dropped to the ground and did a few pushups, in front of the oncoming 2nd place runner, before winning the R 'n' R Providence Half) that has no business ever racing again. And cripes, looking at the results for the Oregon Wine Country Half, is that the same Aissa Oghoughi (Dghoughi) that was busted for doping a few years back?!? Mario Mendoza, dude, step up to the top of the podium, please.

Here's a well-written and informative piece on Hesch from Runner's World.

New York Times article on Hesch.

Here's a totally self-serving, pathetic excuse for an apology from Hesch himself at Competitor.

Interesting post from The Deets about Hesch.

Photo from Competitor and PhotoRun.net.

Five Years...Ten Posts: Part 4

Four years ago, the R's Family made, frankly, our best decision ever: we moved to Corvallis, Oregon. After living the first 40 years of my life in Washington State, it wasn't a huge move, mileage-wise, but it was a gargantuan change in every other way.

We could not have found a better city to live in, raise a family in, and yes, to run in. Thank you Corvallis.

This post, from August 4th, 2008, was just a couple weeks before we moved to Corvallis. Jen and I were in town to house hunt and, for me, to job hunt. Yes, we moved here before I even had a job. Yikes.

It looks like I was about 30 pounds heavier here, so Chip Ross and the rest of the great running trails in Corvallis have been good for me in that respect.

And there's Jingle! She loved Corvallis as well. What a good dog.

HITTIN' THE CHIP ROSS WALL...

Apparently, Chip Ross is Latin for "Holy crap, will this 89 degree uphill never end!?!" Yes, I ran (well, who's kidding whom), I sort of ran-walked up and down the main trail at the Chip Ross Park in Corvallis today. That's some steep stuff right there. Was it worth it? Check out those photos...yeah, it was worth it. I almost broke my ankle trying to check out the view while I was running. "Kids. Always stop and walk before you gaze at the view!"

Five Years...Ten Posts: Part 3

We're counting down the Top Ten Posts at The Two R's as we head toward our Five Year Anniversary on October 20th.

The art of writing has always been an important aspect of The Two R's. And that was never more apparent than in the month of December of 2010, when I unleashed a serial Christmas Card to readers of the R's. Every day of December leading up to Christmas brought a new chapter of my original story titled "25 Doors."

I enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoyed reading it.

25 DOORS

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

Head on over and check it out.

Five Years...Ten Posts: Part 2

As we count down the days to The Two R's Fifth Anniversary, we continue to look back at some of my favorite posts.

Today, at number nine, we're not looking back at my favorite post...we're looking at yours. And frankly, it's not even close.

I've written about Jenn Shelton only a handful of times in the past five years, but those are some of the most popular posts ever. And the post below truly has no equal. A usual post at the R's attracts maybe 20-50 hits. A good post between 50-100. Anything over 100, I consider solid. As an example, my recent review of the Nike Pegasus 29 is rolling quickly toward 200 hits. That's a good post.

The Jenn Shelton Goes for the Title post, from June 1, 2010...has over 18,000 hits! Yes, 18,000.

Why? Well, the obvious reason is that swimsuit. There are a lot of guys out there on the interwebs, my friends...and they all enjoy a good swimsuit.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that Jenn Shelton is the sweetheart of Born to Run, speaks her mind ever so clearly on her Twitter feed, and is a hell of a runner.

But yeah, it's the swimsuit.

JENN SHELTON GOES FOR THE TITLE!

Yeah, that would be the title of Oregon's Hottest Runner! Well, she won the Pear Blossom Ten Miler too, but c'mon, let's focus here!

I realize that Kara Goucher is at a bit of a disadvantage here, being pregnant and whatnot, but hey, I've got nothing against pregnant women - it's just hard when you're trying to battle against Shelton's swimsuit!

That thing has got to be homemade right? I mean...it's got pears on it! That swimsuit does bring back some bad memories of Borat, but Shelton somehow makes it work.

Bonus points for the look on the guy's face that's running beside her. I'm guessing lots of guys would have been running with her...if they could have kept up.

Go Jenn!


Thanks to RaceCenter for the photo. Which reminds me...I was supposed to talk about my new article for RaceCenter, but I got distracted. Tomorrow.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar

Tired of the same old race t-shirts? Well, have I got the race for you. Sign up fast, before October 15th, for the Anything is Possible 5k, and get yourself a pair of PJ's. Yes, PJ's.

Check it out.

Pretty slow week here...after the Halloween runs and before the Thanksgiving runs. Find one if you can.

Let's race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 29th TO NOVEMBER 4th

November 3rd / Silver Falls Trail Marathon and Half Marathon / Silverton, OR

November 3rd / Happy Dirty Girls Trail Half Marathon and 5k / Sisters, OR

November 3rd / Mud and Chocolate Trail Run 4.5m / Redmond, WA

November 3rd / Klickitat Trail Half Marathon and 5k / Klickitat, WA

November 3rd / Lithia Loop Trail Marathon / Ashland, OR

November 4th / Padden Mudfest Trail Run 6m / Bellingham, WA

November 4th / Mud and Chocolate Trail Run Half Marathon / Redmond, WA

November 3rd / Zeitgeist Half Marathon / Boise, ID

November 3rd / Battle to the Pacific Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Hammond, OR

November 3rd / Just Cuz Half Marathon and 10k / Pocatello, ID

November 3rd / Lord's Acre 10k and 5k / Powell Butte, OR

November 3rd / Puddle Jump 10k and 5k / Lacey, WA

November 3rd / Get Your Rear in Gear for Colon Cancer 5k / Redmond, WA

November 3rd / Back on Track 5k / Caldwell, ID

November 3rd / Run for the Health of It 5k / Missoula, MT

November 4th / Turn Back the Clock 10k and 5k / Lacey, WA

November 4th / PurpleStride Puget Sound 5k / Seattle, WA

November 4th / Anything is Possible 5k / Seattle, WA

Five Years...Ten Posts

It's hard to believe, but we're coming up on the five year anniversary of The Two R's.

I know, right? Five years of running, writing and writing about running.

And what better way to celebrate than to reprint some of my favorite posts of the last five years! It only makes sense to do my top five posts for the five year anniversary...that's why we're going to do a top ten! Since when have we worried about making sense? Besides, I can't narrow it down to five.

So, let's count down to October 20th - the 5th Anniversary of The Two R's!

First up: a little tale of woe from August 12th, 2009. A visit to Dixon Rec Center at OSU. One of my favorite places in the world, but also a place where I've had a lot of strangely interesting adventures. Ah Dixon...

AS COOL AS ICE...

You know, it's really not that easy to be cool when you're working out with a bunch of college kids that are in the best shape of their lives without even trying. There's usually more posing going on at Dixon than exercising, but I'm always in there, sweating, panting, gasping for air while everyone around me flexes and tries to find a date for Friday night. But hey, I still try to be cool...

So I'm at Dixon last night, just got changed into my running stuff in the locker room and I'm walking out to hit the treadmill. They've got a nice full-length mirror just before you leave the locker room so you can make sure you've got your pants on. As I go by, I notice I've got a Bounce sheet from the dryer hanging out the leg hole on the back of my right leg. Jeez, how embarrassing - glad I caught that one before I made it out.

So I go do a nice little five miler on the treadmill, sneer at the college kids putting in their mini workout/poses. That's right, you want to see a man working out? Right here. Check it out, Holmes. You gotta keep these kids in their place.

So I finish up and strut out to the lobby. The basketball team is hanging out - Hey guys, how's it going? Man, I'm feeling good. I'm showin' these kids what an old man can do.

I head back into the locker room to shower up and glance in the mirror on my way through. I'm heading the opposite direction now, so the mirror is on the other side of me. Hey look! I've got a Bounce sheet stuck hanging out of my shorts on that side too! Ya know, if you just glance at it quickly, it sort of looks like toilet paper sticking out of my shorts. Nice.

Yep, I'm cool all right. Maybe I'll just start working out at home.

Kona Ironman Triathlon World Championships - Underpants Run!

Yes, yes, I realize that we're only a couple days away from the biggest Triathlon event of the year: the Kona Ironman Triathlon World Championships.

Check out some previews:

Here.

And here.

And here.

And here.

But the more important story is the continuing growth of the greatest race of all-time: the Kona Underpants Run!

The story behind the Underpants Run.

How to prepare for the Underpants Run.

And, of course, photos of last year's Underpants Run!

And the 2012 Run!

Photo by Kurt Hoy.

Condor 25k Trail Race Review and Results

Sorry, I'm a little late on this, but I've had a tough couple days since the race...as I'll explain.

So the Condor 25k. The inaugural running of the Condor 25k, in fact. A little trail race in McDonald Forest outside of Corvallis, in memory of longtime Corvallis trail runner Dave Bateham.

I was supposed to do a 16 mile run for my marathon training over the weekend anyway, so I figured, why not sign up for a 15.5 miler on the trails? So I did.

In retrospect...

Anyhoo, I had to transport myself over to McDonald Forest, since Payton had a Cross Country race at noon over in Albany...and he took the whole support crew with him! I got there plenty early, sat around for a bit, then went outside to see that the Honey Bucket line was huge.

So I wandered off into the forest for a little private time. By time I had taken care of business and got back to the start, it was only about 4 minutes to race time. I punched the start button on the old Garmin watch and hoped for the best.

Nope.

They started a little early and I was still acquiring satellites. What are you going to do? I took off, hoping my watch would click in, even though it never does once you start running...and are going through a dense forest.

Damn.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I was getting over a cold. I had taken some cold meds, but my nose was running like a faucet.

So the first couple miles were up, up, and up. I felt pretty good though. We started to head down at about two miles. I was basically doing three things: running, wiping my nose and checking to see if my watch had hooked on.

That's when I rolled my ankle.

Of course I did. I was barely even looking where I was going. I was staring at my watch and my Kleenex instead. Stupid. It was one of those where your foot turns way over and you limp for about five or ten strides and think, "yeah, I can keep running," and then you think, "yeah, this is really going to hurt later."

And it does.

But I digress. The important part of the story here is that I kept running. And I turned my watch off, because it just wasn't happening...and I didn't want to turn the other ankle.

So I've got no running stats. No pace. No elevation. No nothin'.

Here's what the course looked like, according to the race directors, one of the last honest professions...

There were a lot of hills, I can attest to that. Strangely enough, with my ankle hurting, the uphills were actually easiest on my foot. The downhills and right turns were murder. I minced down a number of downhills that I should have been flying down. Ah well...

I got through about ten miles feeling pretty good. Then I hit a bit of a wall. I had already been running by myself for a long, long time. No one in front and no one passing me. But then, just as I felt I was running out of gas, I started passing people. Obviously, some other folks were hitting the wall as well. I went by six or seven people in the last few miles, which is always fun. Then at the 15.4 mark, I got caught! I was just mailing it in at that point, waiting for the finish line. A women came up on me and said, "I've been chasing after that hat for five miles." Well, hell...I guess that's what I get for wearing my OSU hat. She went by and I was happy to let her finish in front - she beat me by one second. Nice job, Erika.

Here are the results if you're interested.

I finished in 2:30:37. Good enough for me. Unfortunately, now I have this ankle that's twice the size of my other ankle. Not good. Maybe I should have just run my regular old long training run on the bike paths. Boring...but safe.

Oh, and the delay on the review? Not only have I been fighting the ankle...I had a root canal today too! Woe is me.

Here's the shirt. It's awesome.

Check out that condor. I love the condor! And the back is awesome as well.

A great tribute shirt for Dave Bateham. And a pretty good race...hopefully, I'll be healed up for the 2nd annual race!

Photos by Clem LaCava right here.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar - Halloween Runs Part III

Yes, you really could dress up in your Halloween costume in three consecutive weekends and run a Halloween race. In fact, if you're adventurous, you could try out SIX costumes by running both on Saturday and Sunday.

Think of the candy, man!

Let's Race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 22nd TO OCTOBER 28th

October 26th / Dawn of the Dead Dash Trail Run 5k / Tacoma, WA

October 27th / Team Red Lizard Stumptown XC 8k / Portland, OR

October 27th / Riverside Run Trail 10k and 5k / Spokane, WA

October 27th / Trail Creek Trail Run 12k / Sun Valley, ID

October 27th / ORRC Autumn Leaves 50/50 Trail Run 50m and 50k / Wilsonville, OR

October 27th / Trail of Terror Trail Run Half Marathon and 5k / Athol, ID

October 27th / Dawn of the Dead Dash Trail Run 5k / Seattle, WA

October 27th / Leavenworth Winter Sports Club Pumpkin Run 6.5m / Leavenworth, WA

October 28th / McDonald Forest Trail Runs 15k and 5k / Corvallis, OR

October 28th / Lutherwood Wouldn't You? Trail Run 10k and 5k / Bellingham, WA

October 28th / Scott Cougar Mountain Trail Run 50k and 20m / Newcastle, WA

October 27th / Runaway Pumpkin Half Marathon / Lebanon, OR

October 27th / Columbia Gorge Marathon and Half Marathon / Hood River, OR

October 27th / Snohomish River Run Half Marathon and 10k / Snohomish, WA

October 27th / Halloween Marathon, Half Marathon, 10m, 10k and 5k / Lacey, WA

October 27th / Grants Pass Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Grants Pass, OR

October 27th / Columbia River Power Marathon, Half Marathon and 8k / Umatilla, OR

October 28th / Tri-Cities Marathon / Richland, WA

October 27th / Halloween Twilight Duathlon Sprint / Lacey, WA

October 28th / Methow Valley Off-Road Duathlon Olympic / Winthrop, WA

October 27th / Doc Sears Fall Classic 5m / Lewiston, ID

October 27th / Farm Man Challenge 6.66m and 5k / Meridian, ID

October 27th / Monster Moon Run 10k and 5k and Run for Your Bones 2hr and 1hr / Aloha, OR

October 27th / Monster Dash Run for Education 10k and 5k / Ashland, OR

October 27th / Pumpkin Push 5k / Seattle, WA

October 27th / Black Cat Fun Run 5m / Tacoma, WA

October 27th / DeMolay Halloween 5k / Olympia, WA

October 27th / The Color Run 5k / Boise, ID

October 27th / Real Needs Trick or Trot 5k / Moscow, ID

October 27th / Farmstead Challenge 5k / Meridian, ID

October 27th / Family Fun Pumpkin Run 5k / Great Falls, MT

October 27th / Halloween Haul 5k / Missoula, MT

October 28th / Run Now Wine Later 3m / Yamhill, OR

October 28th / Woodland Park Zoo Pumpkin Dash 5k / Seattle, WA

October 28th / Run Scared 5k / Seattle, WA

Photo from Run Scared 5k - Check it out in person!

Best Running Quote of All Time

Is this the best running quote in the history of running history?

Yes, yes it is.

Running is like sex with the SAME person everyday forever. In concept, boring, but once it's done, you really do feel smug and better than other people.

Original quote/Tweet from Jenny Mollen.

Requoted/Retweeted by Jenn Shelton.

Lance Armstrong Wins Superfrog Half Iron Triathlon

Ban? What ban?

Yes, Lance is still banned, but this was not an officially sanctioned race, so Lance rocked the banana hammock for the entire race and won easily with a course record 3:49:45.

Story here.

Photos here.

Different story and different photos here.