Friday, November 30, 2012

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar


Yes, you're seeing it correctly...there is one race this week.

Sort of an odd quirk, with Christmas Eve on a Monday and Christmas on a Tuesday, when no one runs races. Then the days when there are races, that would be New Year's Eve and New Years, are also on a Monday and Tuesday, so all the races move off the weekend schedule and into the next week.

So...one race.

Hey, go run it already.

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 DECEMBER 24th TO DECEMBER 30th

December 30th / Sporty Diva's Half Marathon, 15k, 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

Note: I'm having trouble making the text colors work...no idea why. I'll try to get it fixed soon.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner


Yes, I have completed my 50,000 words for my novel in Nanowrimo!


Although I'm actually not quite done with the novel yet. But I'm over 50k, baby!

Best Running Song for November - The Black Keys - Little Black Submarines



Yikes, I'm really late this month! We almost had to do two Best Running Songs for December, but I just made it under the wire.

This month we've got the amazing Black Keys and Little Black Submarines. This is just a plain old-school rock song. Sometimes that's what you need, right? This one feels a little Led Zeppelin and a little Jack White. All good.

Live version:



I realize some people don't like to run to songs that start slow, then pick up tempo - that some prefer a more even beat and tempo to run to, and to that I say:

"Suck it up, Buttercup! This is an awesome song!"

Another live version:



Rock that run!

Past Best Running Songs: October: Cold War Kids / "Hospital Beds" 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"

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Weather Forecast for California International Marathon


It's not good, my friends. Not good at all.

Check it out right here.

Rain, floods, 30 mph winds, more rain, more floods, more wind.

Sounds like a great time to run a marathon, right?

I'm not too happy about this. Not that I'm expecting great things here anyway, but I've already had to put up with torrential rains at my last marathon (Newport) and my last Half Marathon (Runaway Pumpkin). I'm sick of running in the rain.

Think good thoughts, runners. Maybe the wind will be blowing in our direction. Remember, it's a point to point course.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar - Christmas Races


Just a few more Christmas Runs to finish up the Holiday...

Then we're on to the Resolution New Year's Runs!

See you then.

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 DECEMBER 17th TO DECEMBER 24th

December 22nd / Operation Jack Northwest Run 6hr, Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Tigard, OR

December 22nd / Reindeer Marathon, Half Marathon, 10m, 10k and 5k / Rochester, WA

December 22nd / Eugene Holiday Half Marathon and Holiday Hustle 10k and 5k / Eugene, OR

December 22nd / Reindeer Duathlon Sprint / Rochester, WA

December 21st / Longest Night Mile 1m / Medford, OR

December 22nd / YMCA Christmas Run 6.1m and 2.5m / Boise, ID

December 22nd / Jingle Bell Jog 5k / Lincoln City, OR

December 22nd / We Survived the End of the World 5k / Tumwater, WA

December 23rd / Hard Core Runners Club Winter Race Series 3.3m / Yakima, WA

December 24th / Jingle Bell Run 3m / Tacoma, WA

Monday, November 26, 2012

Seattle Marathon 2012 Results - Uli Does It Again!


There are lots of fast runners out there. But there aren't nearly as many fast, tough, runners. You know the kind - they never have a really bad race. When they don't run particularly well, they end up taking 3rd or 4th. DNF's just don't happen for them. They excel at one type of race, but throw them in something new - trail, ultra, road, whatever - they exceed everyone's expectations.

You know these runners, right? People like Meb Keflezighi. People like Oregon's own Max King. These guys just never disappoint. Like Canada's Ellie Greenwood.

Well, there's one more name you need to add to the list of Toughest Fastest Runners: Uli Steidl.

Hey, Seattle's Steidl has been around for a long time - he's now 40 years old. But damn, he's almost as fast as ever. Yesterday, he won the Seattle Marathon for the ninth time. Ninth! I know some people think that there isn't a lot of competition at the Seattle Marathon, but there's a reason for that. It's a tough, tough course! Most elite runners are too damn scared to run it. They don't want to work their asses off on a tough course and just have an average-looking time to show for it.

But that's what I'm talking about with Steidl - he's not afraid to go out and earn it. Congrats to Uli.

-Seattle Times article on Uli's win in the Seattle Marathon.

-Seattle Times Photo Gallery of the Seattle Marathon.

-Chat with Uli and his wife, Trisha (another great Seattle runner).

-Results from the 2012 Seattle Marathon.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Max King and Ellie Greenwood Take JFK 50



Oregon's Max King does it again. The guy is practically invincible when you get him off-road. King set a new course record in the 50th running of the oldest and largest ultra in the US.

BC's Greenwood continued her torrid winning streak as well, slashing nearly 20 minutes off of the women's course record.

And here's an article about what happens to normal people that try to run a 50 mile race.

Monday, November 19, 2012

I'm Back! Let's Get It On!



Well, sort of.

I went running for the first time in three weeks. Woot!

A four-miler on Friday and an eight-miler on Sunday. And the foot felt OK.

Unfortunately, the rest of my body felt like hell, but you take what you can get.

I should be able to get in eight or so runs before the CIM.

Let's get it on!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar - Christmas Races


A few more Holiday runs. Get them in while you can because we're about to head into the dead part of the year very soon.

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 DECEMBER 10th TO DECEMBER 16th

December 15th / Frozen Trail Run Fest 50k, 14.2m, 8.5m, 6.7m and 5k / Eugene, OR

December 15th / Pullman 50k and 25k / Pullman, WA

December 16th / Holiday Half Marathon and 5k / Portland, OR

December 15th / Calli's Run 5k / Salem, OR

December 15th / Cable Bridge Run 10k and 5k / Pasco, WA

December 15th / Jingle Bell Jog 5k / Sumner, WA

December 15th / Magnuson Series Holiday Fun Run 15k, 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

December 15th / Santa Runs Tacoma 10k and 5k / Tacoma, WA

December 15th / Jingle Dash 5k / Keizer, OR

December 15th / Jingle Bell Jog Free Run Run 5.4m and 3m / Bozeman, MT

December 16th / 12k's of Christmas Holiday Run 12k and 5k / Kirkland, WA

December 16th / Winter Solstice Run 5k / Eugene, OR

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The Day of Your Marathon Race


My homeboy Pete Pfitzinger wrote up a nice article of tips, hints, and tricks to follow for your day-before and day-of your next marathon.

Of course, it helps if you've actually put in the training before that day comes, but let's not go there.

Check it out here.

Don't think Pete knows what he's talking about? Here's a different list.

And one more.

Last one.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Nanowrimo - I'm Late for a Very Important Date!


OK, I had to take some time off to finish up an article for RaceCenter (look for it in February 2013!), and now I'm behind on my novel for Nanowrimo.

Not all is lost though. Now I just have to average 1900 words a day instead of 1667. I think I can handle it. I'll also try to get some new excepts up soon.

Wish me luck!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar - Christmas Races and Ugly Christmas Sweaters


It's that time of year again - time to break out the ugly Christmas sweaters!

And don't forget the Ugly Christmas Sweater Dash!

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 DECEMBER 3rd TO DECEMBER 9th

December 8th / Deception Pass Trail Run 50k and 25k / Oak Harbor, WA

December 9th / Ho Ho Trail 5k / Tigard, OR

December 8th / Birch Bay Ghost Marathon and 30k / Birch Bay, WA

December 9th / Honolulu Marathon / Honolulu, HI (Had to include this one)

December 8th / Jingle Bells Run 12k, 8k and 5k / Eugene, OR

December 8th / Toys for Tots Airport Run 10k and 5k / Arlington, WA

December 8th / Christmas Rush Fun Run 10k and 5k / Kent, WA

December 8th / Rogers Reindeer Run 10k and 5k / Puyallup, WA

December 8th / Bellingham Jingle Bell Run 5k / Bellingham, WA

December 8th / Rain Deer Run 5k / Port Hadlock, WA

December 8th / Puddle Scuttle 8k and 5k / West Linn, OR

December 8th / Ugly Sweater Dash 1m / West Linn, OR

December 8th / Santa Claws 5k / Pocatello, ID

December 9th / Crime Stoppers Reindeer Run 5k / Olympia, WA

December 9th / Seattle Jingle Bell Run 5k / Seattle, WA

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Welsch Sisters Running Controversy


Or is it not a controversy at all?

Yes, I know I haven't been posting much lately...

Trying to write a novel this month, remember?

But I did think this was interesting:

Kaytlynn and Heather Welsch, 12 and 10 years old respectively, are good little runners. Emphasis on the "little." They're running marathons, half marathons, trail races - combined, the two girls have run over 160 races in the last two year. That's a LOT of racing, for anyone, of any age. They seem to enjoy it and they both do well at school, so where's the harm?

Well, I don't like the sheer number of races. I don't mind running for children, even longer distances, but racing is different. You're going harder in a race, you're stressing your body more, you're setting yourself up for injury, short-term or long-term. These girls should not be racing 160 races in two years. That's insane.

Also, not crazy about some of the comments made by the father. He can say he's not forcing them to run all he wants, but at times, it sure sounds like he's forcing them to run.

-Check out the fantastic article at the New York Times.

-Here's a brief article on Yahoo.

-Here's an XTERRA article about Kaytlynn winning a race.

-Do the trolls at LetsRun.com have an opinion on this. Of course they do!

So what do you think? Too young? Too much?

Or much ado over nothing?


Hey, there's Max King, right beside Kaytlynn, in the photo! Photo credit to XTERRA from the Yahoo article.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Running a Marathon without Training


Well, without "running" training anyway. So if you glance over to the right of the page here, you'll notice that for the second time in the last three weeks, I had a week with absolutely no running. Why? The ankle just won't heal up. I took almost two full weeks off before the Runaway Pumpkin Half, and the ankle didn't bother me terribly during the run, but after?

Yeah, it hasn't come back yet since that 13.1 mile jaunt.

So now, I'm biking and swimming every day. And I'll continue to bike and swim every day. Running? No. Maybe a 5k on Thanksgiving morning just to test it. And maybe not, depending on how it's feeling at that point.

Let's face it, I'm not going to be in any kind of running shape anyway - I mean that's just not possible at this point, so I might as well make sure the ankle is healed up by the CIM on December 2nd. I'd rather run out of shape on a healthy ankle than limp along, sort of in better shape, on a still-hurt ankle.

And yes, I am still running the CIM. There's no question there. I'm registered, I've got a hotel room, a plane ticket, a rental car...I'm running. Or walking...or crawling, if I have to.

Of course, the expected finishing time has been dropping daily as I see my last long run drifting off in the rear view mirror. I've gone from wanting to run my BQ 3:25 to wondering about 3:40, then thinking 3:50, and finally thinking it would be nice to break 4:00. In the next few weeks, we'll see if I drop my expectations even more. I hope not, but hey, there's no sense kidding myself.

So, can you run a marathon without training for a marathon? People say they have:

-A BBC report on running a marathon without training.

-Here's Sean Ogle, who apparently ran the Eugene Marathon with basically no training.

-Apparently, Peter Wilkinson of CNN ran a marathon, but only started training about two weeks before the race.

-Here's a Competitor article about how cycling is the best cross training exercise for running.

And before you say, "the R's has gone off the deep end - he's completely delusional," believe me, I already know I'm delusional. I would never try to run a race without putting in the miles...by choice.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Nanowrimo - Novel Excerpts Posted



Hey, I'm posting regular updates and excerpts of my Nanowrimo novel, "Off the Res," so head over there, take a gander, and let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Friday, November 2, 2012

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar - Christmas Races


Yeah, it's time. Christmas doesn't lump all of its races together nicely on one day like Thanksgiving does. So since we just finished our Turkey Day runs, it's time to start running Jingle Bell Runs!

Time waits for no man! Or woman, I imagine.

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 26th TO DECEMBER 2nd

December 1st / Shellburg Falls Trail Run 7m / Lyons, OR

December 1st / Reindeer Run Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / St. Helens, OR

December 2nd / California International Marathon / Sacramento, CA (Had to include this one)

December 1st / Winter Wonderland of Lights Run 6m, 4m and 2m / Portland, OR

December 1st / Turkey Trot 5k / Rexburg, ID

December 1st / Bend Jingle Bell Run 5k / Bend, OR

December 1st / Port Orchard Jingle Bell Run 5k / Port Orchard, WA

December 1st / Spokane Jingle Bell Run 5k / Spokane, WA

December 1st / Mount Vernon Jingle Bell Run 5k / Mount Vernon, WA

December 1st / Holiday Fun Run 10k and 5k / Ridgefield, WA

December 1st / Candy Cane Dash 5k / Shoreline, WA

December 1st / Christmas Gift 5k / Idaho Falls, ID

December 1st / Fairhaven Frosty 10k and 5k / Bellingham, WA

December 1st / Girls on the Run 5k / Bellingham, WA

December 1st / Girls on the Run Fall 5k / Seattle, WA

December 1st / Holiday Lights 5k / Blaine, WA

December 1st / Santa Run 5k / Clarkston, WA

December 2nd / K-9 Candy Cane Run 5k / Renton, WA

December 2nd / Jingle Bell Run 5k / Idaho Falls, ID

December 2nd / Portland Jingle Bell Run 5k / Portland, OR

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Nanowrimo Starts Today!


Today's the day! Start writing!

Check here for my first excerpt.

And if you need an opening line for your novel, you can't lose with these.

Good luck!