My Absolute Worst Fear in the Marathon

So I did a 14 mile training run today while in the 3rd week of my training plan to get ready for the Newport Marathon. I was just trying to keep it within 10-20% of the race pace I hope to run in Newport and was feeling pretty good...until about mile five. Right around there I experienced my very worst fear in running 26.2 miles and trying to keep at a Boston Qualifying pace.

Check out my stats from the Garmin right here - it's pretty clear where I have my issue. After keeping a fairly steady 8:30 pace, mile six and seven clock in around 14:00 and 12:00, and frankly, I'm surprised they were that fast. Considering I spent a fair amount of time in the bathroom at Fred Meyer...

Yes, that's truly my worst marathon fear: trying to run fast enough to qualify for Boston and suddenly having to stop at a Honey Bucket for five minutes in the middle of the race. That can take the starch out of your race right there. Let's face it, I'm not going to have a lot of extra time to fool around with - if I make my BQ time, I expect to barely make it, at best.

I mean, we all know that 26 miles, or even 14, of hard running is not easy on the stomach. You can only eat safely for the days leading up to the race and then hope for the best.

And hope there's a Fred Meyer close by!


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What the...? I don't even...? The Color Run...?

Don't ask me to explain the Color Run, because I can't. I mean...ok, here, I'll try: The Color Run is a 5k race where people on the side of the road smack you in the face with dried paint at five different points on the course.

Ummm, what?

I know, right? Yet, as weird as it looks...I sort of want to do it.

And they're holding races in Seattle, Portland, and Boise, so basically anyone in the Northwest has a decent chance to get to one.

Reminds me a little bit of the Holi Festival of Colors in India. Hey, they seem to love it in that country, so maybe it can work here as well.







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Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want!

Well, apologies to Morrissey, but what I really want is some good weather to run in. And daylight, don't forget the daylight. It's not easy to do a 10-mile run on a weekday when it gets dark by six. I'm not sure what will come first, turning my ankle in the dark or getting run over by a car in the dark, but man, I'm ready for Spring.

And looking at the upcoming races below, we're slowly but surely getting there. There are a few more races every weekend, which means the sun and fun can't be too far away.

Right? Right??

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF MARCH 5th TO MARCH 11th

March 10th / Spring for Kids Run 10k and 5k / Corvallis, OR

March 10th / Tillamook Trail Run 10k and 5k / Tillamook, OR

March 10th / Run for the Shamrock 10k and 5k / Eugene, OR

March 10th / Grin and Bear It 10k and 5k / Bend, OR

March 10th / Lake Sammamish Half Marathon / Redmond, WA

March 10th / Dirty Duo Ultra 50k, 25k and 15k / North Vancouver, BC

March 10th / Run of Two Cities 10k and 5k / Coos Bay, OR

March 10th / St. Patrick's Day Foot Race 10k and 5k / Richland, WA

March 11th / Redmond Watershed Preserve Marathon, Half Marathon, 10m and 5m / Redmond, WA

March 11th / Stewart Mountain Trail Run 15k and 5k / Bellingham, WA


Speaking of the Smiths, and we were, if you haven't seen (500) Days of Summer, you need to do so immediately.


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Want to Earn $1000?

The hard way?

Sorry, slipped into my Rodney Dangerfield persona for a moment there.

Actually, you can earn $1000, cash money, by designing the 2012 Peachtree Road Race T-shirt! Nice, right?

You've only got two weeks though, so you better get moving. The official rules from Peachtree are right here.

If you ever wanted to be known by a large number of people, this is your shot! Your design would be on the backs of over 60,000 people! Peachtree is one of the biggest races in the world, so you'll never have a better chance to impress people than this.

Last year's winning time at the Peachtree 10k was a 28:05 by Sammy Kitwara. A fairly quick 4:31 pace. In other words, getting your design on this guy's back will be the best chance you'll ever have of going that fast! If you want to know what kind of race Peachtree is, please note the results page from last year - two-thirds of the 2012 US Olympic Marathon Team raced last year, Abdihakim Abdirahman and Ryan Hall, and only finished 9th and 17th respectively. And multiple-time Seattle Marathon winner, Uli Steidl, could only manage 53rd. Yikes!

Good luck!


Awesome T-shirt at Zazzle right here.


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Lance Armstrong Takes 2nd in Half Ironman!

Wow.

I mean, it's pretty clear that the guy knows how to pedal, and he was a competitive triathlete in his younger days, still...dude's 40 years old. And trust me, the body doesn't always cooperate after 40, so this is a pretty impressive finish.

And as you can see from the writeup on Slowtwitch, this race had some talent going up against Lance, including winner Bevan Docherty, Chris Lieto, Richie Cunningham, Matty Reed, and Rasmus Henning. Plus, it was in the heat and humidity of Panama (the country, not Florida).

All in all, an impressive race for Lance as he builds up for his effort to win the Ironman Championships in Hawaii.

Photo: yes, that's actually Lance...a long, long time ago.


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Get Your Daughters Running!

Yes, it's that time of year - time to get your kids active! And nobody does it better than Girls on the Run. This is a great program that's available in a number of different cities across the NW. It mixes social fun with exercise, which is perfect if you've got a daughter who is a bit "meh" about exercise, e.g. my daughter.

Get those kids out there and get them active while they're still young. They can start a mindset that can help keep them healthy for the rest of their lives.

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF FEBRUARY 27th TO MARCH 4th

March 3rd / Run for the Honeywagon Half Marathon and 4m / Everson, WA

March 3rd / Mountain Marathon and Hilly Billy Half Marathon Trail Runs / Olympia, WA

March 3rd / Winter Triathlon / Winthrop, WA

March 3rd / Champoeg Park 30k and 10k / Champoeg Park, OR

March 4th / Lincoln City Half Marathon and 10k / Lincoln City, OR

March 4th / Fort Vancouver 15k, 10k, and 6k / Vancouver, WA

That photo was taken about 50 feet from my office on the campus of OSU. Go Beavs!


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Rest Well, Jingle

Hopefully, you can go for a nice run up there...

One Day Sale for Seafair Benaroya Triathlon Registration!

And it's today!

Hey, if you're interested in the Benaroya Seafair Triathlon, which will take place on July 22nd, in Seattle, then head over to their website and sign up! Like now!

For one day only, February 8th, you'll be able to sign up at the cheapest rates they'll have all year. It will just keep going up and up after today.

There's a Sprint, Olympic, Kids, and Relay triathlons offered, so you should be able to find something you like.

Hit it!


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Nice Running Weather? Already!?!?

Yes, it's true. I ran a nice, easy four-mile recovery run on Saturday, in shorts and a t-shirt! It was in the mid-50's! Check my Garmin stats on the run here.

Then on Sunday, I ran a medium-long aerobic 12-mile run, finishing out my first week on the Pete Pfitzinger 18-week plan. Again, mid-50's, and again, shorts and a t-shirt...and sunglasses! Amazing for the first week of February. You can see my Garmin stats for this run here.

Both runs were at 10-20% slower than my goal marathon pace, which will be 7:45-7:50 at Newport in June (knock on wood) by the by. Actually, felt pretty good on the 12-miler - so far, so good.

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF FEBRUARY 20th TO FEBRUARY 26th

February 25th / Crazy Eight 10k and 5k / Corvallis, OR

February 25th / Fall Creek Run-Around 20m, 15k and 5k / Lowell, OR

February 25th / Resolution Run Series 15m and 15k / Steilacoom, WA

February 25th / River Rush 5k / Auburn, WA

February 25th / Smelt Run 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

February 26th / Fitness for Vitality 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

February 26th / ROAD-odend-RUN 6m / Olympia, WA

February 26th / Tacoma RainMan Indoor Sprint Triathlon / Birch Bay, WA

February 26th / Lord Hill Trail Run 50k, 20m, 10m and 5m / Snohomish, WA

February 26th / Coast Festival 5k / Newport, OR


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Time to Start Training for Your NW Marathon!

If you've got a marathon coming up in the spring or summer, you better get the training cranked up. I personally have the Newport Marathon on June 2nd, and just started my 18-week training plan this week. So if you're shooting for pretty much anything between April and July, it's about time to get serious on the training.

And looky here! There are plenty of marathons to choose from:

Yakima River Canyon Marathon - March 31 - Yakima, WA
ORRC Vernonia Marathon - April 15 - Vernonia, OR
Whidbey Island Marathon - April 15 - Oak Harbor, WA
Wenatchee Marathon - April 21 - Wenatchee, WA
Eugene Marathon - April 29 - Eugene, OR
Lake Lowell Marathon - May 5 - Nampa, ID
Tacoma City Marathon - May 6 - Tacoma, WA
Vancouver International Marathon - May 6 - Vancouver, BC
Famous Idaho Potato Marathon - May 19 - Boise, ID
Windermere Marathon - May 19 - Spokane, WA
Capital City Marathon - May 20 - Olympia, WA
Coeur d'Alene Marathon - May 27 - Coeur d'Alene, ID
Run for Water Marathon - May 27 - Abbotsford, BC
Green River Marathon - June 2 - Kent, WA
Newport Marathon - June 2 - Newport, OR
Three Sisters Marathon - June 9 - Redmond, OR
Timberline Marathon - June 2 - Government Camp, OR
North Olympic Discovery Marathon - June 3 - Port Angeles, WA
San Juan Island Marathon - June 3 - Friday Harbor, WA
Bear Lake Idaho Marathon - June 8 - Fish Haven, ID
Edge to Edge Marathon - June 10 - Ucluelet, BC
St. Joe River Marathon - June 10 - St. Maries, ID
Winthrop Road Marathon - June 10 - Winthrop, WA
Vancouver USA Marathon - June 17 - Vancouver, WA
Pacific Crest Marathon - June 23 - Sunriver, OR
Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon - June 23 - Seattle, WA
Bellevue Ghost Marathon - June 24 - Bellevue, WA
Foot Traffic Flat Marathon - July 4 - Portland, OR

Whew! And that's just through July 4th! Find a race, find a training plan and get running. Let's go!


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