Best Running Songs - Twenty One Pilots - Car Radio

It's been a while since we looked at some running music, but I'm constantly on the lookout for good running tunes, so I've got a bunch of recomendations stored up for you!

The first one is called Car Radio by a couple of guys named Twenty One Pilots. The singer has a great, odd, catchy cadence on his vocals. And it's a nice, slow-building rock song that works pretty well when you're running.



And here's an excellent live version.



Going back a few years now...I found this one while watching Slumdog Millionaire for the first time in a number of years. There is a lot of good music in that movie, but this one might be my favorite - it's O Saya by AR Rahman and MIA. Great, propulsive beat on this one.



Then the newest song from Jack White is just amazing. Lazaretto is the name of the song and it simply rocks very hard. Just good stuff.



Another old one now, and it comes from another movie. Although this one isn't even on the movie soundtrack. If you watch Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, this one comes on while they're in a bar in Mexico and it just plays for a second. I loved it from the moment I heard it though - it reminds me of Wapato. It's called La Receta by Kemo the Blaxican and if this doesn't get your feet moving, I don't know how to help you.



Finally, we've got Dangerous by Big Data. And besides the fact that it has someone running in the video, it's just one of those huge, bass-heavy songs that get the feet going. I like.



Now get out there and run.

Happy Valley 10k and 5k - Race Report, Results and Photos

Looking for some hill work? Have I got the race for you!

But first, here are the particulars:

Need to see the results? They're right here and/or right here.

Want to see photos of yourself all sweaty and sad-looking? Jake Egbert Photography took care of that for you right here and here.

So, the race.

Well, after the illness and subpar performance at the Corvallis Half, I wanted to get something on the schedule fairly quickly just to keep my training momentum going. And while it was a bit of a drive, Happy Valley is just outside of Portland, the date was about right, so I signed up for this one. Definitely sight unseen. Unfortunately.

As I drove into the Happy Valley area, I noticed immediately that there may be a problem. There's no valley. It should really have been named Happy Hills. I mean, I'm not a stickler for detail, but come on.



Yep, that chart that looks like waves on the open sea? That's the elevation profile. It was actually a 5k loop and the 10k ran it twice, so that's why the halves look very similar.

Anyway, the race started at Happy Valley Elementary and the packet pickup was inside the school. Indoor bathrooms...yes! So after a quick pitstop, about 50 of us 10k runners and around 250 5k runners toed the start line and were off! Well, actually, it was more like, we...were...off... Yes, we started right uphill. No messing around with a flat start, let's just get this thing headed uphill.



As you can see on the map, it was a quick uphill jaunt on King, then a left on 146th. That was a pretty good downhill most of the way, then slightly uphill at the end before we turned onto Ridgecrest. Then some zags and a hill through a neighborhood section and back to Ridgecrest. Then a odd little loop into Happy Valley Park. Downhill going into the park and uphill coming out. Once we took the left back onto Ridgecrest, we got the most brutal uphill of the course, all the way to 132nd. Just had to grind it. Once on to 132nd, it was a pretty good downhill almost all the way back to King. Then another left with some down, then up and we're back to the start and the 2nd lap.



Not sure how, but I kept a very even pace through the first three miles, at 8:10, 8:08 and 8:09. Once we dropped all the 5k runners, I had a bit of a lapse in concentration and dropped to an 8:23, but picked it back up for an 8:07 on mile five. Mile six was sort of slow at 8:23, big hill, then finished it up at about the same pace. Averaged 8:14 overall. Not great, but an improvement over my horrid pace at the Corvallis Half.



Not real happy that my Garmin read 6.44 miles at the end. I realize that kind of course can add a bit to the total mileage, but an extra quarter mile is a LOT of extra running. That's two minutes added to my time. Nope, not happy about that, Happy Valley.

Good cinnamon chip bread from Great Harvest at the finish and some amazaballs bundt cake mini things that were fantastic! I think those were from this place - check them out!

Shirts were pretty cool. They had both tech and cotton, but luckily I grabbed a tech shirt before they ran out.



So there you have it. Not a bad race. Good organization and low-key, but so, so hilly. Probably would not run it again. Now I need to find one or two more of the 10k variety before my next goal half: the Eugene Half Marathon at the end of July.

Corvallis Half Marathon Report and Results

Yeah, I was in about nine pictures, but not a single one was a decent shot. Ah well...when your best photo is the one where you're directly blocked by some guy without a shirt that should never be without a shirt, well...

Here are the free photos if you'd like to look through them.

And note, that I was wearing my AWESOME Blerch shirt from The Oatmeal. "I believe in the Blerch!"

OK, Corvallis Half Marathon. Let's discuss. Actually, let's discuss the week heading to the race.

So last Wednesday, Jen came down with a pretty bad case of the flu. Vomiting, diarrhea, the works. I, of course, teased her about it being great prep for the Half. Yes, foreshadowing.

Fast forward to Friday morning. I wake up with an upset stomach, but not feeling too bad otherwise. Yep, I’ve got the runs too. Oh boy. I still don’t feel awful though. So I’m shaving to get ready for work and am about to get into the shower when I suddenly feel like I’m going to throw up. I mean, it hit me out of nowhere. Super-fast. Sweat on my forehead – the whole works immediately. So I get down on the floor by the toilet and…

Yeah, I’m not sure if you know this about me or not, but when I’m really sick or dehydrated, I pass out. I’ve fainted probably a dozen times in my life, usually when I’ve got the flu or something similar.

…so I come to, and I’m not joking here, wedged in between the bathtub and the toilet with my face resting on the toilet plunger like it’s a pillow. And lord, I know where that thing’s been! Anyway, when I come out of a faint like that, it always takes a good few minutes just to remember where I am and what the hell is going on. But it eventually comes to me: I’m sick, I passed out, I should get my face off the plunger. Oh, and I’ll spare you the details, but did you know that some bodily functions, like vomiting and diarrhea, don’t necessarily stop when you’re passed out? Yeah, the bathroom and I were a god-awful mess.

So I get in the shower just to get cleaned up. Stumble downstairs and get into the floor of the bathroom down there…and proceed to do the whole damn thing over again. Vomit, pass out, diarrhea…in various combinations. I think Jen ended up doing about four loads of laundry just from me that day.

So after about two hours of this, I felt a little better and moved out to the couch. Since I weigh myself every day, I realized the next day that I had lost seven pounds in basically two hours!

So yeah, that was two days before the race. Saturday I felt about 60-70% back to normal and I figured I’d walk the damn Half if I had to – I wasn’t going to just skip it. Sunday, I was up to maybe 80% health. The problem was the illness and the weight loss just took the starch out of me. At about 8 miles, my legs were just jelly. There was an ambulance taking a girl off the course at about mile 12 (it was probably due to the heat – it was pretty warm) and I thought “there but for the grace of God go I.”

Yeah, so that's the short version about why I ran a 1:58 instead of a 1:45 or so that I think I was capable of.

If you're looking for results, check here or here.

For non-free photos, head over here or here.

There was a fair bit of controversy about the new logo for the race. Most people didn't like it. They did clean the final version up a bit and the logo on the shirts actually doesn't look too bad.



Sorry, didn't get a very clear shot on that one. Let's try again.



And the back.



It's one of those races where they give you a "finisher" shirt before you actually run the race. That's OK. I still ran it, even though the temptation was pretty strong.

They also tossed in a decent pair of racing socks with the logo, but I forgot to get a picture of the socks. Sorry about that.

The medal isn't too bad. Better looking than the previous few years, for sure.



So that's that. A very slow Corvallis Half. No biggie. I plan to be in shape - and NOT sick - for the Eugene Half on July 27th. Looking for a PR there.

See you then.

New RaceCenter NW Magazine Article - Five Ways to Avoid Running Burnout

Yep, still alive, still running, still writing.

And the latest article is out, Make a Change! Five Paths to Avoid Running Burnout. I cover all those maladies that you say you never do, but of course always do. Like overtraining and lack of sleep and no goals and too much pavement and...well, you know.

But I forgot one remedy that just worked for me! Go buy a new pair of shoes already! Apparently, my old ones were worn out because when I strapped on the new Mizuno Wave Riders, my legs suddenly felt fresher than they had in weeks. And I had my first workout where I actually felt like I was running fast in weeks.

New shoes! Who knew?

Beat the Blerch Marathon!

TAKE MY MONEY!!

New RaceCenter NW Magazine Article

Yes, it's been quite a while, but a new issue of RaceCenter NW has just hit the newsstands...and Jamba Juice outlets. If you're into reading things online while sitting on your rumpus room, then head right over here for the online version of the mag.

It's the big 2014 race calendar issue, so this is the one you want to make sure to grab. My article in this issue is titled "What's Your Race: Choosing the Perfect Race for You."

Sounds good. Real good.

Running Shoe Companies Love the Minimalist Shoe Movement Because It Makes Them More Money

Yes, the cynical R's that you know and love is back with a new post.

So a couple days ago, as I purchased a spanking new pair of Mizuno Wave Riders, I pondered the fact that they kept getting lighter and lighter with every new iteration. For years, the general group-think has been that lighter shoes are better. Less weight to carry around with every step means less energy expended, faster times, fewer injuries, etc. Makes sense as far as it goes. And of course, with the minimalist running trend (can I just call it a "fad"?) making people insane about lighter and lighter shoes with no drop and little support, that idea that a light shoe is a good shoe has been amplified to 11. Never mind that studies about such things are few and far between and vague on conclusions.

To see why the big running shoe companies, such as Nike, Asics, Mizuno, etc, LOVE the minimalist movement and pander to minimalist thinking, let's estimate some numbers:

-First, all of these numbers were found with about 5 seconds of Google searching, so don't take them as gospel.
-Nike sells around 120 million shoes a year, with almost 90% of them running shoes. I'll be tight with the number and say Nike sells 100 million pairs of running shoes a year. Personally, I think they're trying to make them all lighter, but we'll say of those 100 million, Nike is actively trying to make 80% of their running shoes lighter on a regular basis. So that's 80 million pairs of shoes a year, just with Nike.

Now let's look at the weight of an average running shoe. We're going to look at the Mizuno Wave Rider because that's what I wear and I have all the weight numbers.

-Wave Rider 15 / 11.1 oz / $ 115
-Wave Rider 16 / 10 oz / $115
-Wave Rider 17 / 8.6 oz / $115

Now let's really half-ass this experiment and mix the Nike and Mizuno numbers up. If we assume Nike is making their shoes lighter much like Mizuno, and they are, then over three years, we've dropped the equivalent of 240 million oz. or about 15 million pounds.

Think about that. They're using 15 million pounds less of material. Every year. And that's only Nike. The other shoe companies are using far less material as well.

Yet the cost of the shoes never goes down.

And as someone who worked in purchasing for a manufacturing company, believe me when I say the material costs are a huge driver to the bottom line.

The sad thing is losing a pound of weight off your body would make a much bigger difference than losing an ounce of your running shoes, but we still love to focus on the shoes.

Obviously, I'm no scientist and I have no idea how good all these numbers are, but here's what I think: when you're shopping for your next pair of running shoes, keep in mind that not every change a shoe manufacturer makes is to improve the performance of your shoes. Be a smart shopper out there.

TL;DR
Even if minimalist shoes are fading back away, don't expect the big shoe manufacturers to give up on the "less is more theory." It makes them money.

Bored with the Same Old Running Race? Try the X-Rated Run!

Or not. Please choose "not."

Here's a short article from Sports Illustrated.

And here is the actual X-Rated Run site. Lord help us.

I will never complain about "normal" mud/obstacle runs again.

Running and Workout Totals for 2013!

First, let's take a quick look back at where we ended 2012. I ended 2012 with exactly 1500 miles on the roads (and treadmills). That was after a 1000 mile effort in 2011. Since I finished 2012 with a bad ankle injury, I figured I'd probably be able to hit around 2000 miles in 2013. Didn't happen...

However! I did improve...slightly. The running mileage for 2013 was 1519.45 miles. Hey, we're improving! But here's the sad part. From January through August in 2013, I ran 1243.40 miles, an average of 155.425 miles per month. If I would have kept on that pace, I would have hit around 1850 miles for the year. Unfortunately, I had a bad rib injury on October 20th and the rest of the year was basically a wash. I'm just now starting to feel like myself again...only I'm about 15 pounds heavier than I was in the summer.

So let's move forward. For 2014, I have no big marathon plans, but I'm looking to set PR's in the Half and the 10k, so let's get on it.

First race up: the Corvallis Half Marathon in April.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Calendar - 2014 and Beyond

As you may have heard, since I said it in the last post, I am not continuing to write up the Northwest Running and Triathlon Calendar for The Two R's. It took a metric boatload of time every week to write it and I'm just taking a break from it. Maybe it will come back at some point and maybe it won't. I'm not sure.

I started to compile the calendar on The Two R's because there just isn't a good, comprehensive, Northwest calendar out there. As you'll see...

If you need to find a race, try one of these:

-RaceCenter NW
Good mix of races from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.

-Northwest Runner
Almost exclusively Washington State races

-Willamette Valley Road Runners Calendar
Mostly Oregon, obviously, but also some Washington, California and Hawaii

-Eclectic Edge Racing Calendar
Races put on by EER, mainly in Oregon

-3 Rivers Road Runners Calendar
Mainly Washington races in the Tri-Cities area

-Running in the USA
Choose races by any state in the USA

The problem with all of these, and pretty much any race calendar, is they're mostly by submissions from race directors, or they're just for races put on by one particular group. I've yet to find a good compiler site. There isn't a truly comprehensive site for Northwest racing. That's what I was trying to accomplish with my calendar.

Good luck out there.

No, The Two R's is Not Dead

It's still kicking. Barely.

So here's a comment I just posted onto the last post, in case you missed it:

Yeah, it's been a while. I keep meaning to write up some kind of explanation, even though I don't have much of one. Yes, I'm not going to be updating the blog as much, though I will post at times. Yes, I'm trying to work on other (more worthwhile?) writing. Yes, my rib injury really lingered and took me away from running for weeks and sort of got me depressed, but I'm getting back to running now and getting excited about trying to get back into decent running shape. So...

I definitely will continue posting interesting, to me, thoughts and articles on my own writing and running as well as others writing and running. I am for sure taking a break from trying to compile the Northwest Running and Tri calendar. I hope some people were using it and finding it helpful, but it took a ton of time to complete every week and I'm hoping to use that time differently.

Talk to you soon. Get out there and run.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Calendar - November 2013 - Thanksgiving Races and Turkey Trots

Yep, it's Thanksgiving Day - the single biggest running day of the entire year. This year, we've got 46 different races on Turkey Day. That's pretty good.

But even more amazing is the fact that you can run three marathons over Thanksgiving weekend...in the same city! Yes, Seattle has three marathons in four days: Thursday has the Wattle Waddle, Saturday has the Ghost Marathon and Sunday has the Seattle Marathon.

Sure, go ahead and run them all. Why not?

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 25th to DECEMBER 1ST

November 28th / West Linn Turkey Trot Trail Run 5k / West Linn, OR

November 28th / Wattle Waddle Marathon and Half Marathon / Seattle, WA

November 30th / Seattle Ghost Marathon and Half Marathon / Seattle, WA

December 1st / Seattle Marathon and Half Marathon / Seattle, WA

November 28th / Turkey on the Run 12k and 5k / Wenatchee, WA

November 28th / Turkey Day 5k / Boise, ID

November 28th / ORRC Turkey Trot 8k / Portland, OR

November 28th / Tofurkey Trot 5k / Portland, OR

November 28th / The Oly Trot 4m / Olympia, WA

November 28th / Beat the Bird 5k / Bellevue, WA

November 28th / Magnuson Series Thanksgiving Day Trot 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

November 28th / Gateway's Run for the Hungry 5k / Washougal, WA

November 28th / Cheney Turkey Trot 5k / Cheney, WA

November 28th / Longview Turkey Trot 3.5m / Longview, WA

November 28th / Mini-Cassia Turkey Trot 5k / Paul, ID

November 28th / Race to Feed the Hungry 5k / Idaho Falls, ID

November 28th / Club 24 Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Echo, OR

November 28th / Walk for Water Turkey Trot 5k / Ridgefield, WA

November 28th / Runucopia 15k, 10k and 5k / Salem, OR

November 28th / Huffing for Stuffing Run 10k and 5k / Bozeman, MT

November 28th / Portneuf Turkey Trot 5k / Pocatello, ID

November 28th / Oregon Turkeython 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

November 28th / Struttin for Stuffin 10k and 5k / Nampa, ID

November 28th / Give and Gobble Thanksgiving Day Run 10k and 5k / Sherwood, OR

November 28th / Turkey on the Run 12k and 5k / Wenatchee, WA

November 28th / Seattle Turkey Trot 5k / Seattle, WA

November 28th / Turkey Day 5k / Boise, ID

November 28th / Run, Turkey, Run! 5k / Billings, MT

November 28th / Bainbridge Island Turkey Trot 5k / Bainbridge Island, WA

November 28th / Newport Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Newport, OR

November 28th / Burn the Bird 10k and 5k / Great Falls, MT

November 28th / Give Thanks Run 5m / Redmond, WA

November 28th / Benton-Franklin Red Cross Turkey Trot 5k / Kennewick, WA

November 28th / Skamania's Turkey Trot 5k / Stevenson, WA

November 28th / Gig Harbor Holmes Chiropractic Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Gig Harbor, WA

November 28th / Tacoma City Turkey Trot 5k / Tacoma, WA

November 28th / Issaquah Turkey Trot 5k / Issaquah, WA

November 28th / Clark County Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Vancouver, WA

November 28th / Southern Oregon Turkey Trot 8m / Medford, OR

November 28th / Oregon Mid Valley Road Race 5.2m and 3.75m / Albany, OR

November 28th / Bend Turkey Trot 5k / Bend, OR

November 28th / Run Wild Missoula's Turkey Day 8k / Missoula, MT

November 28th / Norpoint Turkey Trot 5k / Tacoma, WA

November 28th / OAC Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Corvallis, OR

November 28th / Turkey Trot Eugene 4m / Eugene, OR

November 28th / Turkey Stuffer 5k / Springfield, OR

November 28th / Hood River Turkey Trot 12k and 5k / Hood River, OR

November 28th / Keizer Turkey Dash 5k / Keizer, OR

November 30th / Winter Wonderland of Lights 6m, 4m and 2m / Portland, OR

November 30th / Seattle Marathon 5k / Seattle, WA

November 30th / Christmas as the End of the Road 5k / Winthrop, WA

December 1st / Hot Buttered Run 12k and 5k / Vancouver, WA

Best Running Song for October - Tame Impala - Elephant

That is one fat bass track right there. And sometimes, my friends, that's all you need.

This one is called "Elephant" by a band named Tame Impala. It's got a nice, funky 60's feel to it.

Here's a live version. It's the full concert, so enjoy it all or head straight to 17:15 for "Elephant."



And here they are at Coachella. Head to 20:30 for "Elephant."



This song just has a nice pace to it. I'd say it's about right for a marathon or half marathon. Get out there and run it.

Rock that Run!

Past Best Running Songs: September: Daft Punk / "Get Lucky" August: Pogo / "SquareBob SpongeMix" July: Fitz and the Tantrums / "Out of My League" June: Atlas Genius / "Trojans" May: The Mowgli's / "San Francisco" April: Spacehog / "In the Meantime" March: Youngblood Hawke / "We Come Running" February: Yolanda Be Cool / "We No Speak Americano" January: The Naked and Famous / "Young Blood" December: Of Monsters and Men / "Little Talks" November: The Black Keys / "Little Black Submarines" 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"

McDonald Forest Trail 15k and 5k - Results and Race Review

Yes, I hauled my injured ribs over to McDonald Forest and ran the thing.

If you just need results, here they are.

As to the results, let me just say, I don't know how anyone could run this very hilly and tough course in a 5:54 pace, so nice job, Chris Reed. Mr. Reed also won this race the last time I ran it, in 2011, so he appears to know how to run hills.

And on to the review!

I had run the McDonald Forest Trail 15k once before, so I knew what to expect. Although a big change for this year's race was that Corvallis has just been completely dry pretty much right through October. So it would be a trail run, but it wouldn't be a muddy trail run. Which was probably good because of the sore ribs and all. So what happens about five minutes before the race starts? Yep, a light rain began to fall. Just enough to wet down all the fallen leaves and make it nice and slippery!

So at a reasonable hour of 10:00am, about 250 of us took off into the rain, and while the Mac 15 starts out first thing going uphill, it's only for a few hundred yards, then the course flattens out and is either flat or downhill for pretty much the first three miles. Which is strange because it allows you to go out pretty fast. And that's nice, but you have to be wary of leaving it all right there in the first three miles. Once the hills start in mile four, you need to have something in the tank.

So I went out very slowly and deliberately to test the ribs, but they felt pretty good. After about a half mile, I tried to turn it up a notch and finished the first mile in 8:30. The second mile has some of the best downhill running of the race. Downhill, but not so steep that you've got to brake yourself. I covered the second mile in 8:01.

Then the fun ends. The third mile isn't too bad, with 141 feet of climbing and 83 feet of descent, but it slowed me down to 9:16. And the fourth mile is a teaser. It's bad - 209 feet of climbing, but it's just trying to get you ready for mile five. Mile five goes up 541 feet! Yeah. So those two miles were 10:05 and 12:45 respectively. That fifth mile just eats up your legs. It hard to get back into a decent rhythm after that.



Mile six has quite a bit of climbing - 255 feet - but also quite a bit of downhill - 287 feet. I hit that one at 11:28, proving what I mentioned about mile five taking the starch out of you.

Finally, the downhills start. Mile seven heads down quite a bit and mile eight falls off a cliff, with 492 feet of downhill. It's hard on your feet, knees and ribs! If it were just a touch flatter, you could actually run this mile faster, but you've got to put on the brakes a bit so you don't face-plant. I hit mile seven in 9:20 and mile eight in 7:35.

Finally, mile nine and you think you're there...but no. They throw in a short uphill section in the last half mile just for fun. I was pretty much done at that point and did not exactly attack the hill. Mile nine was in 10:04. And that was it. My Garmin was way off, so I don't have anything for the last three tenths of a mile. My Garmin showed 8.95 miles when I hit the finish line.

And the shirt? Well, you had a choice between bright yellow and lime green. Hmmmmm..... That's not much of a choice. I went for the lime green. Yowza.



It's actually even brighter in real life. It should be good for night visibility...from space. I think the 5k had a white shirt.

And the emblem on the back of the shirt.



This is one of my favorite trail runs in the area. Tough, but not crazy hard. Long, but not stupid long. Late enough in the year for the chance of mud, but not usually freezing cold. It's a good one. I'll be back.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar - November 2013 - Thanksgiving Runs and Turkey Trots

You know how you wake up on Thanksgiving morning? You maybe go run a 5k, maybe not. You eat breakfast at a fairly normal time, but you don't stuff yourself, because you're waiting for the big meal later, right? Of course, the big meal is usually at like two o'clock. Or worse, at three. Or four! And you just can't take it. So you break down and sneak a piece of pie out of the fridge. OK, maybe two pieces of pie. And it doesn't totally throw you off your game. It doesn't fill you up or anything. It's just to take the edge off! It's just a little appetizer. A preview of what's to come, if you may.

And so it is with this week's races. A few Turkey Trots in there and even some Christmas stuff, but really just a small preview of the huge slate of races to come a few days later on Thanksgiving Day proper. That schedule will be posted shortly.

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 18th to NOVEMBER 24th

November 23rd / Red Lizard Stumptown Cross Country 10k and 6k / Fairview, OR

November 23rd / Foster Lake Trail Run 5m / Sweet Home, OR

November 24th / Doppler Trail Run 50k / Port Gamble, WA

November 23rd / Turkey Trot 5k / Bellingham, WA

November 23rd / Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Orting, WA

November 23rd / Whitson Turkey Trot 5k / White Salmon, WA

November 23rd / Tri Cities Jingle Bell Run 5k / Richland, WA

November 23rd / Seaport Striders Turkey Trot 4m / Clarkston, WA

November 23rd / Catch the Bird 5k / Onalaska, WA

November 24th / EWEB Run to Stay Warm 10k and 5k / Eugene, OR

November 24th / Ugly Sweater Run 5k / Seattle, WA

November 24th / Green Lake Gobble 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

November 24th / FSRC Turkey Trot 5k / Lakewood, WA

November 24th / Turkey Trot 5k / Kirkland, WA

New RaceCenter NW Article - The Off Season

Sort of late on this announcement, but yes, there is a new RaceCenter NW issue out there and yes, I've got a new article in it.

Check out the digital online version right here.

Check out the old school, hard copy version at a Jamba Juice or running store near you.

I was actually very happy with the article this month: "Hit the Snooze Button: Using the Off-Season as a Time to Rest, Reflect and Refocus." You might think I'd always be happy with my articles, but you'd be wrong. I always try to write a good article, but some just come together better than others. I'm definitely not an easy critic on my own writing - some of my articles are weak. Why? Well...even for a short little 1500-word article, it's a complex process.

First, the topic. My editor, Brook Gardner, comes up with most of the article topics with a little input and adjustment from me. Then I'm on my own. Since I'm almost always writing about running or triathlon, most of the topics are very interesting to me, but once in a great while...meh.

Second, what has already been written about the topic. I want enough out there that I can get a little background, but not so much that everyone has already heard about it and is bored by yet another article on the subject.

Third, and this is a biggie, the people I can round up to interview. This can be tough. Sometimes you can't find anyone that really wants to talk to you. Sometimes you can find them, but they're just not a very good interview (and I'm sure as hell not a professional interviewer, so I'll take some of the blame here).

And then, of course, how much time I leave myself to actually write the article before my deadline. I can be a bit of a procrastinator.

But once in a while, it all comes together and I write something that I'm quite proud of. And this article is one of those.

Hope you enjoy.

Last Hill Training Run Before McDonald Forest 15k

And did it go smoothly? No, no it did not.

It started out well enough. I stuck to my favorite hill this week while taking my last big hill training run before the McDonald Forest 15k. So I headed out the front door and ran to Bald Hill, which is only about 1.5 miles away from my home. My plan was to run up the front side of Bald Hill, down the back side, take a quick loop on the bike path, then take the same route but backwards on the way home.



And it was all good through the first half. I went up the hill, back down the back side and headed onto the paved bike path. Little tired going up the hill, but I was happy that my left knee, which had been hurting going downhill lately, was feeling good.

I headed back onto the dirt and gravel path past the old barn and toward the backside of Bald Hill. Even though I had sunglasses on, the late afternoon sun was right in my face and I was having trouble seeing in certain spots. Yeah, that's my excuse...

I never saw the tree root, but my foot found it easily enough. This was not a bumbling, stumbling, comedy fall. I went down like I got shot in the back. Unfortunately, my hands and knees barely got scratched up. Unfortunate because my chest and ribs took the brunt of the fall instead. Wow, that hurt.

But hey, it didn't hurt as bad then as it does today, the day after!

So I shuffled home, holding my side most of the way. And started to hit the Advil hard.

Today, I'm hurting. Deep breathing is not fun. Sudden movements are not fun. Today's planned run has been scratched. I'm just hoping I start feeling better soon. The Mac Forest 15k was going to be the first run Jen and I ran together for years! I don't want to be on the sidelines!

Updates soon.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Calendar - November 2013 - Ugly Christmas Sweater Run!

Very small slate of races this week. The amount of Thanksgiving Day races has become so HUGE that it sucks all the races away for weeks on either side of Turkey Day. No one wants to fight the onslaught of what has become the biggest single race day of the year.

That said, there are a couple of fun races on board this week:

-First, we've got what has to be the earliest Jingle Bell Run in the entire country. Spokane's Jingle Bell Run, which takes place nearly two weeks before Thanksgiving!

-Then we have, OF COURSE, the Ugly Sweater Run! Yes, break out those hideous sweaters that Grandma sent you back in college. And wear it proudly.

-Read about that magnificent sweater in the photo right here. Look at those deer!

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 17th

November 16th / Grand Ridge Trail Run 50k, Marathon, Half Marathon and 5m / Issaquah, WA

November 16th / Hell of the Northwest Trail Run 25k, 10k and 4m / Blodgett, OR

November 16th / Cause + Event 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

November 16th / Mustache Dache 5k / Seattle, WA

November 16th / Seahawk Turkey Trot Fun Run 5k / Anacortes, WA

November 16th / Redmond Poultry Predictor 4m / Redmond, WA

November 16th / Defender Donut Dash 5k / Seattle, WA

November 16th / Gift for Jacoby 5k / Bonney Lake, WA

November 16th / Snoqualmie Ridge Turkey Trot 5k / Snoqualmie, WA

November 16th / Mustache Dache 5k / Beaverton, OR

November 16th / Ugly Sweater Run 5k / Beaverton, OR

November 16th / Jingle Bell Run 5k / Spokane, WA

Another Day of Hill Training for the McDonald Forest Trail 15k

Taking advantage of another decent October weekend with good weather, we hit the McDonald Forest trails for more hill work. Little bit of a shorter run this week, only 6.5 miles, but got all the elevation I needed in there. Had an easier time navigating the trails this week after stumbling around a bit last week. Not a bunch of dead ends and turn arounds this time, just followed the Upper Dan's Trail to the top of Dimple Hill, then took a quick loop around Lower Dan's Trail at the end just to get the dog some water. Check out the profile:



Nice view of Corvallis from the top of Dimple Hill. Only a couple weeks now until the race. Time to get after it!

Northwest Running and Triathlon Calendar - November 2013

The highlight of this week has got to be the Bellingham Trail Marathon and Half Marathon. Organized by race director Candice Burt, this trail race covers some of my old favorite routes from my days in the 'Ham. And be sure to check out Burt's wonderful blog over here: Wild Defined. She's a fast runner and always provides a good read on her race reviews. Check it out.

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 4th to NOVEMBER 11th

November 9th / Red Lizard Stumptown CC Race 8k and 6k / Portland, OR

November 9th / Down and Dirty Wine Run trail 10.5m / Yacolt, WA

November 9th / Kevin's Cup Trail Run 8k / West Linn, OR

November 9th / Canfield Mountain Run 50m, 50k and 25k / Coeur d'Alene, ID

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

November 10th / Bellingham Trail Marathon and Half Marathon / Bellingham, WA

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

November 9th / Walk Wheel Run for Veterans Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Creswell, OR

November 9th / First Call Veteran's Day 50k, Marathon and Half Marathon / Bothell, WA

November 10th / Multnomah Channel Run Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Scappoose, OR

November 9th / Mustache Dache 5k / Corvallis, OR

November 9th / No Hills Harvest 10k and 5k / Rickreall, OR

November 9th / Fowl Fun Run 10k and 5k / Mount Vernon, WA

November 9th / Winter Pineapple Classic 5k / North Bend, WA

November 9th / Race to Feed Our Veterans 5k / Spokane, WA

November 9th / Everyday Superheroes 5k / Bellingham, WA

November 9th / Cheadle Challenge Adventure Run 3.6m / Lebanon, OR

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

November 9th / Tater Trot 10k and 5k / Blackfoot, ID

November 9th / National Veteran's Day Run 11k and 5k / Spokane, WA

November 9th / Trees for Tilori 5k / Eugene, OR

November 9th / Run with the Duck 5k / Eugene, OR

November 9th / FCA Superfan 5k / Champoeg Park, OR

November 10th / Veteran's Day 5k / Poulsbo, WA

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

November 11th / National Veterans Day Run 11k and 5k / Clarkston, WA