Corvallis Half Marathon in 40 minutes...

Just sitting in my office at OSU, about 100 yards from the start line of the Corvallis Half Marathon.

Psyching myself up with a little Radiohead live at the Grammy's with 15 Step!

Be back later today with a race report. Wish me luck.

Let's race!

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Boston Marathon Coverage

Yes, it's that time of year. The Boston Marathon will be run on Monday, April 16th.

Universal Sports Network will be providing the TV and online coverage - check out all the details here.

Should be fun!

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF APRIL 30th TO MAY 6th

May 5th / YMCA Spring Family Fun Run 8k / Olympia, WA

May 5th / Bavarian Battle 5k / Leavenworth, WA

May 5th / Boise WaterShed Ramble 5k / Boise, ID

May 5th / Salmon Run 10k and 5k / Bend, OR

May 5th / Cinco de Mayo 5m and 5k / Eugene, OR

May 5th / ORRC Hagg Lake Run 10.4m and 10k / Forest Grove, OR

May 5th / Stayton River Run 5k / Stayton, OR

May 5th / Cheadle Lake 5k / Lebanon, OR

May 5th / 10k for $10k plus 5 Run 10k and 5k / McMinnville, OR

May 5th / Haggen to Haggen 5k / Bellingham, WA

May 5th / Fort Steilacoom 50k, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Lakewood, WA

May 5th / Bring on the Sun Run 5k / Seattle, WA

May 5th / Fiesta 5k / Seattle, WA

May 5th / Awesome 3000 Run 3k / Salem, OR

May 5th / MamaBaby Haiti Run 5k / Dayton, OR

May 6th / Lilac Bloomsday Run 12k / Spokane, WA

May 6th / Orca Dash 5k / Redmond, WA

May 6th / Mount Rainier Duathlon Long Course and Sprint / Enumclaw, WA

May 6th / Vancouver International Marathon, Half Marathon and 8k / Vancouver, BC

May 6th / Running Water 5k / Sherwood, OR

May 6th / Cinco de Mayo Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

May 6th / Tacoma City Marathon / Tacoma, WA

May 6th / Hustle 4 Health 5m and 5k / Albany, OR

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Best Running Song for April - Grouplove - Tongue Tied

For this month's Best Running Song we've got a band that has a backstory almost better than the music they make!

So Grouplove. OK, let me explain...no, there is too much. Let me sum up: two New Yorkers meet and become fast friends, one gets an art residency in Greece and invites the other, in Crete they meet a Londoner who writes songs and plays guitar, then also in Greece meet a pro surfer and musician from Los Angeles, plus his friend, who happens to play drums. They rock out a bit, enjoy each others company, then go their separate ways when they all leave Greece. Realizing they actually had something special, everyone pools money together to get the New Yorkers and Londoner all to L.A. There they record their first album under the name Grouplove. And the rest is history...well, recent history, but still.

And their first song to hit it big, thanks to Apple, is Tongue Tied. Just an incredible, bouncy, fun to run to song.

And they have another great running song, called Colours. There's also an official version of that video, though I like the homemade one better because it gets right to the song!

Rock that run!

Past Best Running Songs:
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"

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Running and Triathlon Links Monday!

Slow week, but a few good tidbits:

Garmin returns the "Moving Time" field to Garmin Connect - the right move

Another promising young runner, Daniel Vertiz, chooses triathlon over running - much like Lukas Verzbicas did earlier this year

A little video on the Leadman Tri in Vegas - the race comes to Bend, OR later this year...also results...and photos

Here are some athletes of note in the Boston Marathon B.A.A. 5k and mile - sort of odd to see Desiree Davila in a 5k

Look good, feel good, race good? - I know I'm always worried about fashion when I hit the start line

Some fantastic shots of Anton Krupicka running in New Zealand - running downhill on scree is just asking for a broken ankle

Very interesting two part interview (first and second) of Alberto Salazar by Amby Burfoot of Runner's World - he's got a book coming out as well

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Beaver Freezer Triathlon 2012 Results!

Here they are!

And here they are!

And Steve Hatten - go run your 3rd lap!

Wow, what great weather for the race - let's hope we get the same thing next Sunday at the Corvallis Half.

Congrats to everyone that raced the Freezer!

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Fantastic Nike Free Ad - I Would Run To You

That's just too good. Love 'em or hate 'em, Nike knows their marketing.

Lance Armstrong takes 7th in his second Ironman 70.3

A couple days late on this news, but what the hey. Remember, he took 2nd the last time out. But I'd have to call this a tougher field. Timothy O'Donnell won this Half, the US Championship race in Texas.

Lance's time was about four minutes slower in Texas than previously in the Panama 70.3, but it's impossible to compare tri courses - just too many variables in that long of a race.

Anyway, Lance looks like he could be a solid contender at Ironman 70.3 races and maybe even at full Ironman races. He ain't gettin' any younger, but he could have a few solid years if he keeps the training going.

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF APRIL 23rd TO APRIL 29th

April 28th / Weiser River Trail 50k / Council, ID

April 28th / Race for Hope 5k / Beaverton, OR

April 28th / Canby Fun Run 5k / Canby, OR

April 28th / Rolling Hills Run 10k and 5k / Heppner, OR

April 28th / WOU Sprint Plus Triathlon / Monmouth, OR

April 28th / Sean's Run from Autism 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

April 28th / Save the Frogs 5k / Seattle, WA

April 28th / Spring Forward 5k / Tacoma, WA

April 28th / Tacoma Earth Day 5k / Tacoma, WA

April 28th / Glide Wildflower Run 10k and 5k / Glide, OR

April 28th / Eagle Run 5k / Oak Harbor, WA

April 28th / Seaport River Run 10k / Clarkston, WA

April 28th / Capitol Peak Trail 50m and 55k / Olympia, WA

April 28th / Spring into Summer 5k / Richland, WA

April 28th / Explorer's Run for Fun 5k / Dupont, WA

April 28th / Mill Creek YMCA Family Fun Run 5k / Mill Creek, WA

April 29th / Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5k / Seattle, WA

April 29th / Soaring Eagle Trail 50k, Marathon, Half Marathon, 10m and 5m / Sammamish, WA

April 29th / Heroes Half Marathon and 10k / Everett, WA

April 29th / Run2Educate Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Auburn, WA

April 29th / Bellevue 10k and 5k / Bellevue, WA

April 29th / See Spot Run 5k / Yakima, WA

April 29th / Sisters Half Marathon and 8k / Sisters, OR

April 29th / Eugene Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k / Eugene, OR

April 29th / Cherry Blossom Fitness Festival Half Marathon and Duathlon / The Dalles, OR

Photo from a nice gallery of Texas 70.3 shots at Competitor.com.

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Corvallis Half Marathon Elevation Profile

If you haven't registered for the Corvallis Half yet, you better get on it. It's not sold out, but it's close, so head on over here and get registered.

Up above there is the course and elevation - click on it to make it big and beautiful. Pretty flat except for the slog up Walnut to Martin Luther King Jr. Park between mile seven and eight. That's sort of a drag. But it's downhill after that, so you can push hard for home after you hit mile eight.

And here's a PDF of the map of the course from the RD, if you're interested.

We're less than two weeks away.

Ready or not, here we come!

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Running and Triathlon Links Monday!

Here are some links to start your week:

17 year old Cayla Hatton runs a 33:17 10k! - Don't believe it? Check the video here

Portland's Race for the Roses Results - Check the winning female 10k time and compare it to Hatton above

Photos from the Ironman 70.3 California - Andy Potts and Melanie McQuaid are your winners

The Sports Scientists Blog looks at the lawsuit against Vibram Five Finger shoes - People getting injured running in Five Fingers? Weird...

Cooper River Bridge Run, sixth biggest run in US, has hour-long delay before start - I've never seen a race that buses people to the start line not have problems

Oregon's Jenn Shelton sponsored by Hyundai - "Born to Run" has really made her into a star

Triathlete Magazine tells you how to set up your bike like a pro in transition - They should show you how to keep your transition neighbors from knocking all your crap over...get there first, I guess

Dara Torres shows you how to swim like an Olympian - even if you're 44 years old

Coos Bay, OR runner Chuck Engle sets marathon record - he's won, not just raced, but won, 145 marathons

Photo of Cayla Hatton by Tia Ann Chapman of the Hartford Courant.

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15 Months of Running Progress

After a tough, tough Sunday long run (cold, rain, windy, just brutal...then having Meghan Arbogast blow by me like I was in reverse towards the end of my run), it's nice to be able to go back to the running journals from the last two years and be able to say, "Yeah, it was bad today, but look at how far you've come."

And in fact, after adding up the March totals, I don't think I've run more miles in one month.

Ever.

Here are the last 15 months of progress:
Jan. 2011: 62.10 miles
Feb. 2011: 71.80
Mar. 2011: 75.50
Apr. 2011: 71.80
May. 2011: 69.60
Jun. 2011: 85.80
Jul. 2011: 86.80
Aug. 2011: 93.35
Sep. 2011: 77.10
Oct. 2011: 79.50
Nov. 2011: 102.00
Dec. 2011: 119.40
Jan. 2012: 140.90
Feb. 2012: 157.50
Mar. 2012: 190.30

And with the combination of a big-time increase on miles and my old, old, worn-out body, it's probably also not surprising that I've been fighting some aches and pains lately. I actually was scheduled to go over 200 miles for March, but I cut a few runs down this last week after tweaking an oblique muscle for the second time in the past couple months.

Still, all in all, I'm happy with what I've been able to accomplish. Will it add up to a time fast enough to qualify for Boston? Yeah, that's still in doubt, but I'm definitely heading in the right direction.

What else can you ask for, right?

Keep running. I'll see you out there.

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