Two Weeks to Eugene!

That's right, my friends. Two short weeks until the Eugene Marathon. Maybe one more long run over the next few days, then time to start the taper. Make it a good one.

Wow, it's the Big Race Weekend:
-Eugene Full and Half
-Sunflower Trail Full
-Cinco de Mayo Half
-Tacoma Full and Half
-Bloomsday
-Another Cinco de Mayo Half
-Vancouver Full and Half

Woot!

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF APRIL 26th TO MAY 2nd

May 1st / SolAire Salmon Run 10k and 5k / Bend, OR

May 1st / ORRC Hagg Lake 10.4 and 10k / Forest Grove, OR

May 1st / Western Oregon University Sprint Triathlon / Monmouth, OR

May 1st / Cinco de Mayo Half-Marathon and 8k / Snoqualmie, WA

May 1st / Run for the Animals 5k / Vancouver, WA

May 1st / Sunflower Trail Marathon / Winthrop, WA

May 1st / Apple Blossom 10k and 5k / Wenatchee, WA

May 1st / Olympia Downtown YMCA Spring 8k / Olympia, WA

May 1st / Skagit Running Company May Day 3.5 miler / Mt. Vernon, WA

May 1st / Free Them 5k / Seattle, WA

May 2nd / Tacoma City Marathon and Half-Marathon / Tacoma, WA

May 2nd / Lilac Bloomsday 12k Run / Spokane, WA

May 2nd / Cinco de Mayo Half-Marathon, 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

May 2nd / BMO Vancouver Marathon, Half-Marathon and 8k / Vancouver, BC

May 2nd / Lung Run 5k / Seattle, WA

May 2nd / Eugene Marathon, Half-Marathon and 5k / Eugene, OR

Time to post, Slackass...

Yeah, I know, but see it's like this...

I've been working! No, not work work, I mean writing. I've been trying to flog out a new RaceCenter article that's already like two weeks late!

But no fear, the R's is back.

Plus, I've brought three cool blogs with me in case you need some inspiring reading material. I've been chatting with three very cool NW athletes that have had to overcome some pretty nasty hardships. They'll all be profiled in the next article I have out for RaceCenter in about six weeks. Check them out:

Linday Kandra's blog about being the greatest bike rider in Oregon that's currently fighting breast cancer.

Aaron Simpson's blog about being faster than Hell at many distances.

Darren Smith's blog about being a stud Ironman racer that's giving cyclocross a go.

If I were half as much of a badass that these three are, I'd be pretty bad.


The guy in the photo, you ask? I have no idea. But if you do a Google Image Search for "slackass" he comes up on the first page. I'm guessing that's tough if he's looking for a job.

Whidbey Island Marathon Results!

Looks like Whidbey Island had the big race of the weekend.

Need results?

Check here.

Or right here.

Hope you had a good race.

Website Find of the Week!

Here's a cool one for you:

FindRunningPartners.com

What's it for, you ask? Ummm, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, "it's for finding a running partner."

I know what you're thinking: do we really need another "social" data collection website. Does this site do something that Strands won't do...or Athlinks won't do...or Facebook won't do?

I don't know. What are you asking me for? I'm not a paid sponsor or anything. I do like how you can search for partners for swimming and biking and every other sport you can think of. I don't really like how they charge money to receive full functionality of the site (you can get on for free, but not everything will work).

So if you've tried the website, let me know what you think.

Nike...Don't Make Me Get Stern With You

So I headed to the Nike Outlet store last night 'cause the R's needs to shoe up before the Eugene Marathon...which is coming up scary-fast.

And lo, what do my eyes behold but Air Max Moto 7's...and 6's! See, I've been running in Motos for, well, since the Motos came out about seven years ago. And I've loved every pair. Well, until the Moto 7's. Not that they were bad, but they felt like they had a really low-profile heel. Which I don't want. I liked that the Motos had always had a bit of a slope from the heel to the forefoot. But the 7's felt flat. Sometimes it felt like my heel was in a pothole.

I thought I was just imagining it. I mean, would Nike drastically change a style on the seventh version?! Of course not!

Well, I tried on the Moto 6's and the Moto 7's side by side last night and...Nike drastically changed a style on the seventh version.

That's not good business. That makes me wonder about the 8's. Will they be back to normal...or was the Moto 7 the new normal?

Ah well, at least I was able to buy a new pair of Moto 6's last night. I'm good for another 4-6 months.

Man, there are so many races coming up, it's certifiably insane.

Let's race!


RACES FOR WEEK OF APRIL 19th TO APRIL 25th

April 24th / Earth Day 10k and 5k / Tigard, OR

April 24th / Lynch Creek 5k / Eatonville, WA

April 24th / Eagle Run 10k and 5k / Oak Harbor, WA

April 24th / Santiam Lumberjack Scramble 10k and 5k / Mill City, OR

April 24th / Troop 1571 5k / Poulsbo, WA

April 24th / Dolphin Dash 5k / Port Orchard, WA

April 24th / Tom Wales Community Run 5k / Seattle, WA

April 24th / Sean's Run From Autism 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

April 24th / Fun with the Fuzz 5k / Bellingham, WA

April 24th / Cougar Community 5k / Vancouver, WA

April 25th / Fixit Fun'd Run 10k and 5k / Anacortes, WA

April 25th / Ice Breaker Road Race 5 mile, 3 mile, and 1 mile / Great Falls, MT

April 25th / Olivia Medici Memorial 10k and 5k / Beaverton, OR

April 25th / See Spot Run 5k / Yakima, WA

April 25th / Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5k / Seattle, WA

April 25th / Bainbridge Island Half-Marathon and 5k / Bainbridge Island, WA

April 25th / Clubsport Run for Haiti 10k / Tualatin, OR

April 25th / Boardwalk 5k / Seattle, WA

April 25th / Bellevue 5k / Bellevue, WA

April 25th / Mt. Rainier Long and Short Course Dualthon / Enumclaw, WA

New Article on the Streets!

And it's all about your heart. No, not your toughness...your heart! To wit, is running, especially long distances like marathons, good for your health? Or as some studies seems to imply, is running going to freakin' kill ya?

Well, go pick up the new issue of RaceCenter magazine and I'll tell you. You see, I wrote this little article called "Heart Strong?" and while I sure as Hell don't get to the bottom of anything, I think I do make one or two points that are worth reading.

You say you don't give a rat's about your heart? Why I oughta come over there and kick your...

Fine, let's see what else is in the new issue.

An article about finding a coach. That's cool. I couldn't handle it, though. I'm not much of a listener.

What else? How about an interview with ultimate Ironman superstar Chrissie Wellington? That's right. What can you say about Chrissie? No one else even comes close. If she's talking, you better listen up.

And then one of those shoe guide dealies. Pretty pictures, I guess, but I never seem to actually read those.

So there you have it. Hurry up and go grab a copy already. Your heart isn't getting any younger, you know.

Best Running Song for April!

This month, The R's is choosing a great song...and a great video! In fact, this catchy little tune, called "This Too Shall Pass" by the band OK Go has got the best video, since...since...

Well, since OK Go's last great video: Here It Goes Again.

This is truly the ultimate in Rube Goldberg Machines! More elaborate than anything even Pee Wee Herman came up with. I've heard there are some hidden cuts in it, but who cares? It's awesome!

And the song has a nice tempo for a midrange run - I'm thinking maybe a 10k or Half-Marathon. Good vocals, nice drum beat...and I can dance to it! I give it a 47! (American Bandstand reference for those old-timers like me.)

Catch another cool version here: live with a marching band.

And OK Go's performance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.

Past Best Running Songs:
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"

Beaver Freezer Results 2010!

And the results are up!

Here too, in orange!

Beaver Freezer Photos!

Beaver Freezer on the OSU Campus. Wet, windy and downright cold. But you were out there.

Congratulations.

THAT'S why they call it the Beaver FREEZER!

Ouch! The forecast for race-time tomorrow at the Beaver Freezer is 39 degrees, 15 mph wind, and a 70% chance of rain.

That's going to be a cold bike ride, my friends.

Please don't go back and read what the weather was like last year. Really, you don't want to know.

Good luck out there.