Try here.
Or here.
Maybe here.
Live finish video here.
The whole thing was a bit glitchy Sunday morning, but maybe it will get better as more people finish.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Eugene Marathon Results
Try here.
Or here.
Maybe here.
Live finish video here.
The whole thing was a bit glitchy Sunday morning, but maybe it will get better as more people finish.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Northwest Running Race Calendar
And we're tweaking it one more time...just a bit (yes, another term that drug culture has ruined).
I think I like the color. I think it works. This week, I'm also grouping both days together in their categories instead of moving the Sunday runs to the bottom of the list. Just seems to make more sense that way. Hope all this helps make it easier for you to find a race and get out there.
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 MAY 14th TO MAY 20th
May 19th / Mud Mountain Melee Trail Run 8k / Enumclaw, WA
May 19th / Watershed Preserve 12 Hour Trail Race / Redmond, WA
May 20th / Sun Mountain Trail 50m, 50k and 25k / Winthrop, WA
May 19th / Famous Idaho Potato Marathon, 10k and 5k / Boise, ID
May 19th / Windermere Marathon and Half Marathon / Spokane, WA
May 19th / Sage Rat Run Half Marathon, 12k and 5k / Sunnyside, WA
May 19th / Queen of the High Road Half Marathon / Wilsonville, OR
May 20th / Capital City Marathon, Half Marathon and 5m / Olympia, WA
May 20th / Portland Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon / Portland, OR
May 20th / Keizer Iris Run Half Marathon and 10k / Keizer, OR
May 19th / Stayton Sprint Triathlon / Stayton, OR
May 20th / Duck Bill Thrill Olympic Triathlon / Eugene, OR
May 19th / Stomp Out Abuse 5k / Hillsboro, OR
May 19th / Friar Trot 10k and 5k / Sherwood, OR
May 19th / Fly Day 5k / Everett, WA
May 19th / Girls on the Run 5k / Seattle, WA
May 19th / Seattle's Best 15k / Seattle, WA
May 19th / Five Card Stud Run 5m / Tacoma, WA
May 19th / Max Muscle Parade Run 5k / Vancouver, WA
May 19th / Rhody Run 10k and 5k / Florence, OR
May 19th / Born to Run Challenge 15k and 5k / Eugene, OR
May 19th / Keizer Iris Festival 5k / Keizer, OR
May 19th / Run Through Hells Canyon 10k and 5k / Oxbow, OR
May 20th / West Seattle 5k / Seattle, WA
May 20th / Run Girlfriend Run 10k and 5k / Sandy, OR
May 20th / Twin Tunnel 8k / Hood River, OR
May 20th / Purple Ribbon Run 5k / Corvallis, OR
May 20th / Bark in the Park 5k / Eugene, OR
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Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Ranking All 62 Stephen King Books!
I know I can go for weeks without considering the second R here at The Two R's, but every once in a while I find something about the subject of writing that's just too good to pass up...like Vulture.com's ranking of every Stephen King book!
Now, even if you're not a Stephen King fan, it's impossible to be unaware of his work. I mean, even if you don't read his stuff, there isn't a single person on the planet that hasn't seen Shawshank Redemption by this point, right? They show it four times a week on TBS, for Gob's sake!
Personally, I had a point in my life, early to mid 20's maybe, where I had read every single thing King had ever written. I can't say that any longer - the past ten years have been very hit and miss - but I've still probably read about 80% of his novels. I still pull The Stand off the shelf every year or two and reread it. I even found a paperback copy of It at one of the rental houses we stayed in last year in Hawaii - read the whole thing in the week we were there (Payton tried to read it as well, but got a little freaked out during the first few chapters and decided to put it down - yeah, it's still a scary read).
In other words, I have my own opinion of King's novels, so when I saw this list (I love ranked lists!) of every King novel, I just had to share it with you.
Now, I'm not going to spoil the fun for you, as seeing how the list unfolds, and agreeing or disagreeing with it, is the whole point. But I do have to make just a few observations...I have to!
-I've got to disagree with throwing in the non-fiction books in with the fiction. How do you compare a book about the art of writing with the Shining? They're not even from the same universe! They really should have narrowed it down to the fiction books - you only would have had to toss the writing books and the baseball books...maybe four books total? You just can't compare the writing and tone of those with the fiction. Well, I can't.
-I have no problems with the very bottom of the list. Many of those books are so-so, and a few came out during the "drug years," where King himself has said he was always doped up out of his mind and wasn't writing worth a damn.
-Firestarter is too low...way too low. I also have a soft spot for The Long Walk, but I realize that one shows it's age - and King's age when he wrote it. Still love it.
-Why is Thinner way down there?!? That is just a great read, and Richie Ginelli is one of my all-time favorite King characters. This is a top-20 King book!
-From a Buick 8 is way too high! Maybe I'm missing something here, but I thought that was an uneven, uninspired effort. Am I missing something?
-Yes, there is a brand new Dark Tower novel just out. It's called Wind Through the Keyhole. And yes, it is included in the 62 ranked books - number 35 to be exact.
Ah, that was fun. Looking through that list, and thinking back on all those books, made me wonder about other authors have a huge list of books we could rank. Hmmmm...Elmore Leonard anyone?
King Novels image by Marc Burnell
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Monday, April 23, 2012
Running and Triathlon Links Monday!
Lots and lots of good links today, so let's get right to it:
The Science of Sports geeks tell you not to worry about running in the heat - as long as you run smart, that is
Next, the Science of Sports blog takes a look at what actually happened while running in the heat of Boston this year - as you may know, I did my own study on this
A guy named Max Fisher at the Atlantic thinks he has it all figured out why the Kenyans are great at the marathon - I think he does not have it all figured out
Stories of triathletes in the med tent - ah, the med tent...good times, good times
SMU cross-country runner Monika Korra tells a tale of rape, survival, strength and hope - she sounds like a tough person; it's a good read
In case you missed it, Seattle's own Uli Steidl owned the Boston Marathon - not to mention, he's won the Seattle Marathon EIGHT times
NBC is actually going to stream everything from the 2012 Olympics - Good golly, Miss Molly, you mean I don't have to stay up until 2:00 in the morning to see 30 seconds worth of triathlon coverage like in 2008?
Elite triathlon coach Matt Dixon gives a great presentation on how to be a stud triathlete - good stuff
Good article from ESPN on Desiree Davila and the 2012 Olympic Marathon - the competition will be incredible on the women's side in London
Since we're on the subject, here's Kara Goucher on her preparation for the 2012 Olympic Marathon - Kara, Desi and Shalane have got to be the deepest team of marathoners the US has ever sent to the Olympics
Wurtele and Piampiano win at the New Orleans Ironman 70.3 Triathlon - well, sort of; they canceled the swim leg, so it was actually a duathlon
Javier Gomez wins the European Championship ITU triathlon - he's a great runner
Photo is of Uli winning some race or another...he's won a bunch.
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Sunday, April 22, 2012
Boston Marathon 2012 Heat Test
I realize the rest of the country has been suffering from a heat wave for weeks now, but this weekend was truly the first time this year that Corvallis has had hot weather.
Unfortunately, I needed to do a long run today. After last week's Corvallis Half Marathon, I had taken five days off to rest my legs and my ouchy oblique muscle. But I couldn't stall any longer, so I did a short six-miler in the heat yesterday and had a 20-miler scheduled for today.
As soon as I woke up this morning, I knew I had to get cracking - at 7:00am, the sun was already blazing into our bedroom window. I jumped into my shoes, had a quick Clif Bar and got going just after 8:00 to try to beat the heat, but...
As an aside, while understanding that the Boston Marathon folks had it tough last week in the heat, I must admit I sort of felt, "just suck it up and run already." This is called "foreshadowing."
So I took off and felt pretty good for the first seven or eight miles. It was still fairly cool and the sun wasn't high enough in the sky to worry about - still lots of shade. Still, I had gone through my water bottle and had to fill it up again at Dixon on the OSU Campus during mile eleven.
Then, the second half of the run...
As you can see by my pace times, it got hot. There was no shade anywhere. All the uphill sections were in the second half. And I ran out of water completely around mile 17. I was starting to feel a little queasy right around then - probably not a surprise since I was out of water. I was close to home though, so I figured I'd just keep struggling toward home. Stopped at a stop light during mile 18, I was feeling really light-headed. Oh boy...
As you can see by my pace, I had started walking, a lot, by then, but I was still feeling terrible. I limped home, grabbed three glasses of ice water and sat on the floor of the living room for about 20 minutes. I felt awful. Then I went to take a shower and had to sit on the side of the tub for a minute to clear my head. It was almost an hour later before I started to feel almost back to normal. Oof.
Which is all a long way to say, "Yeah, it's hard to run in the heat, and I have a lot of respect for all those people that made it through the heat in Boston last week. Congratulations on a great run."
Friday, April 20, 2012
The Two R's Tries on the Rainbow Shoes
Trying something a little new here for this race schedule. I'm hoping to highlight the different types of races to help people find what they're looking for, especially now that we're into race season and a week with 37 races!
So...
-Green Text for Trail Runs (cause trees, plants, trails...green - work with me here)
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons (because they're hard?)
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons (swimming, water, blue...again, please work with me)
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc (orange is just the normal link text color)
What do you think? Good? Too busy? Ugly? Love it? Should I sort them?
Let me know.
Let's Race!
RACES FOR WEEK OF MAY 7th TO MAY 13th
May 12th / Willamette Mission Trail Challenge 10k and 5k / Salem, OR
May 12th / Havoc at the Hideout Trail 10k / North Plains, OR
May 12th / Lost Lake Trail 50k / Bellingham, WA
May 12th / Cougar Mountain Trail Run 5m / Newcastle, WA
May 12th / Sunflower Trail Marathon / Winthrop, WA
May 12th / Tough as Nails Trail Run 15k and 5k / Medford, OR
May 12th / Bloomin Fun Trail Run 10k and 5k / The Dalles, OR
May 12th / Cheney Wetland Trail Run 4.25m / Cheney, WA
May 12th / Mac 50 Trail Run 50k / Corvallis, OR
May 12th / Hippie Chick Half Marathon and Quarter Marathon / Hillsboro, OR
May 12th / Over the Dam Run Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Grand Coulee, WA
May 12th / Mother's Day Marathon, Half Marathon, 10m, 10k, 5k, Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon / Elma, WA
May 12th / Fiasco in Pasco Olympic Duathlon / Pasco, WA
May 12th / Lebanon Sprint Triathlon / Lebanon, OR
May 12th / Spartan Obstacle Race 5k / Vancouver, BC
May 12th / CARDV Mother's Day Run for Safe Families 5k / Corvallis, OR
May 12th / SEE Kids Run 5k / Suquamish, WA
May 12th / Terrain Mud Run 5m and 3m / Eugene, OR
May 12th / Lake Run 12k and 5k / Lake Oswego, OR
May 12th / Butte Challenge 10k and 5k / Hermiston, OR
May 12th / K103 Doggie Dash 3k / Portland, OR
May 12th / Silverton Hospital Fun Run 5k / Silverton, OR
May 12th / Human Race 10k and 5k / Bellingham, WA
May 12th / Spring Frolic 5k / Seattle, WA
May 12th / Joggin for the Noggin 3.5m / Spokane, WA
May 12th / Free Them 5k / Seattle, WA
May 12th / AIM for Melanoma 5k / Portland, OR
May 12th / Inspiring Hope 10k and 5k / Mukilteo, WA
May 12th / Dolphin Dash 5k / Port Orchard, WA
May 12th / Have a Heart Run 10k and 5k / Mount Vernon, WA
May 12th / CASA Champions for Children 6k / Eugene, OR
May 12th / Mad Hatter 5k / Salem, OR
May 13th / Kirkland Half Marathon and 5k / Kirkland, WA
May 13th / Run Mama Run 10k and 5k / Portland, OR
May 13th / The Jane Higdon and O Heroes 5k / Eugene, OR
May 13th / Run Like a Mother 5k / Seattle, WA
May 13th / Re-Run Run 10k and 5k / Eugene, OR
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012
The 5K Foam Fest
Yes, this is apparently a thing.
I have to admit...it looks sort of fun. And the Pacific NW races are right in the heat of the summer. Good time for foam.
This and the Color Run starting up this year - lots of strange, new options out there for runners these days.
Have fun out there!
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Monday, April 16, 2012
Running and Triathlon Links Monday!
Amazing, and heartbreaking, story of Sammy Wanjiru from Sports Illustrated - definitely had promise to be one of the best marathoners of all time
Top Five Marathons in North America - the list starts out fine, then gets about as off-track as you would expect for a running article from Fox Business
How to Heal Up Injuries You've Got from Your Minimalist Shoes - I could say a number of things here, but I'll be good
Simon Whitfield Talks About the Triathlon at the London Olympics - he's pretty much owned the tri at the last two Olympics
They ran the Boston Marathon in the Hot Hot Heat Today; Here's the Men's Winner - And Here's the Women's
Should the Boston Marathon be made Eligible for World Records? - I say "nope"
Results and Story on the XTERRA West Championship Race in Vegas - Conrad Stoltz wins yet another
The Marathon des Sables - just your everyday 153 mile run through the Sahara Desert
A Nice Wrapup of the Upcoming Changes for Boston Marathon Qualifying in 2013 - it really doesn't seem fair that they're making it harder
Photo is of Jason Hartmann, a former U of Oregon runner that pretty much shocked everyone by grabbing 4th in the Boston Marathon today. Nice work, Jason!
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Sunday, April 15, 2012
Corvallis Half Marathon Race Review!
So the race...the day started out just about perfect. Light cloud cover, temp at the start right around fifty degrees and absolutely no wind. Perfect. They were calling for 2000 runners, but it sure didn't seem like that at the start line - it was very thin towards the front of the starting chute. I guess everyone wanted to be in the back of the line. Whatever.
So the OSU band played the National Anthem, nice touch, and we were off!
Did I have a solid plan coming into this race? Yeah, not so much. I wasn't positive how I wanted to run this Half. A few weeks back, I was running very well...felt good, felt strong. Then I pulled something in my side, maybe an oblique. The last couple of weeks have not been as good. I've been cutting runs short, skipping days, just not hitting on all cylinders. So I thought I better go out conservatively, maybe try for an 8:15 for the first few miles, at the very fastest. The problem was my brain was having trouble communicating with my legs. I could not, could not, slow down enough in the first mile. I checked the Garmin...7:35 pace. Holy crap! Slow down! Checked it again a minute later...7:38. Are you kidding me? I totally put on the brakes and finished the first mile with a 7:54. OK. I mean, I know I can handle that kind of pace for five, six, seven miles, but for 13.1? Not sure. Slow down. Now!
Nope. Second mile...7:46. Nope again, third mile...7:46 again. Yowza. OK, I was getting past the point of this even mattering. I mean, I was already 25% into the race, might as well just run it now. If I died at the end, then there you go.
Came across the 50 yard line in Reser Stadium at 1:42:24. That was good for 175th overall (out of 1634), and 10th in my age division (out of 60). But that's just the frosting.
The cake was the 1:42:24 was a nine-minute plus PR of a Half time I ran way back in 2004. And my 2012 Corvallis Half finish time was a full 14 minutes faster than my 2011 finish time! I'm feeling pretty good about that.
But is it Boston worthy? Well, that's the big question, right? After all the hemming and hawing, the 7:50 pace was exactly the pace I'd need to run in Newport to qualify for Boston. So that's good. But clearly, the pace I can run for 13.1 does not exactly transfer straight across to 26.2. The pace conversion at Runner's World grades me up to a 3:33:24 marathon time. Which is about ten minutes faster than my last approximation, but not quite up to the 3:25:00 I need for a BQ.
Ah well, I needed something to work on for the next six weeks anyway.
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