Corvallis 5k Race Resuts and Review!

Need your results for the Corvallis 5k? Head right over here.

Man, what a unbelievably gorgeous day for a race! October 31st and we were out there running in short sleeves and sunglasses. Just awesome.

So the Corvallis 5k,...not exactly the most original name for a race, but there you go. I believe they called the race something else last year, and actually changed the name to the Corvallis 5k for this year. This one is put on by Strands, and as you might expect on Halloween, there were plenty of runners decked out in full costume. The race itself was pretty small, a little over 200 runners. Both Jen and Payton ran with me for this one. At 5000 meters, this race was a full 2000 meters over Payton's usual cross country distance of 3k, so he was feeling it a bit in the second half. We stopped a few times and walked until he finally got tired of me hanging around and told me to take off. It was fun seeing him come around the corner and sprint the last block to the finish line. And why the big sprint? There were two girls in front of him - he didn't want to be "skirted!"

The course for the Corvallis 5k is very forgiving for beginners though. Starting at Central Park just outside of Strands Headquarters, the course quickly turns toward campus and runs through the OSU grounds until 35th, then right up 35th for a bit, and right again back onto campus. After breezing back to 15th, the course takes a right and then a quick left to end back where we started. It's just about as flat as can be and doesn't have a whole lot of turns to speak of, so fast times are definitely possible. And indeed, the winning time was a speedy 14:14 by Michael Kilburg of Corvallis.

Well, I definitely wouldn't expect too many more races in 2010 to have weather like that, but I sure enjoyed our, perhaps, last fling with Summer today!

Race T-Shirt Review coming soon!

Embrace Your Age!

Check out the Lifeforce Trail Challenge in Eugene: it's one of the few age-staggered handicap races in the NW. Much like the Dipsea, the Lifeforce race has multiple start times depending on your age and sex - then everyone races to the finish line. First runner across the line wins! If you're a female of 71 years of age or older, you go first. Five minutes later, the 65-70 females take off. Four minutes after that, the first kids go: 6 and under girls, along with the 60-64 women and the 81 and older men. And on and on...until a full 36 minutes and 10 seconds after the first group left, the 23 to 27 year old men get to try to chase everyone down.

It's just a great format. Give it a try.

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 8th TO NOVEMBER 14th

November 13th / Fowl Fun Run 10k / Mt. Vernon, WA

November 13th / Winter Pineapple Classic 5k / North Bend, OR

November 13th / Columbia River Classic 10 mile run / Richland, WA

November 13th / Snoqualmie Ridge Turkey Trot 5k / Snoqualmie, WA

November 14th / Lifeforce Trail Challenge 10k and 5k / Eugene, OR

Reilly Johnson - Eight Year Old Dipsea Winner!

The Dipsea trail race, the oldest, and let's face it, most awesome, trail race in America, was won by an eight year old in 2010.

Yes, an eight year old. You see, the Dipsea uses age-adjusted start times, so Reilly got a nice head-start on most of the runners...but not on three time winner Melody-Ann Schultz, who is 68 years old, and also had a nice head-start on the pack. They started together and both had 25 minutes on the eventual overall time winner: Alexander Varner.

Yeah, the race was way back in June, but I just found this great five minute clip, in Reilly's own words, about the race. Hey, if this super-fast little girl can't inspire you to get out there and run, you might as well just give up.

Thanks to Runner's World, and enjoy.

Bonk Happy with LARABAR!

Gluten free. Dairy free. Soy free. Non-GMO. Vegan. Kosher.

It's hard to argue with that. LARABAR gets to make all of those claims about its energy bars - and for a simple reason: they use very few ingredients. The Peanut Butter Cookie flavor, which the R's tested, contains Peanuts, Dates, and Salt. That's it. The Cherry Pie flavor, which the R's tested as well, contains Dates, Almonds, and Cherries.

So they're simple, which is good, although they do not have the added vitamins and minerals that many energy bars contain, if you're into such things. They're not extremely light on the calories, but again, at least you're sure the calories are all coming from natural sources.

Now for the important part: the taste! As usual, the bars were subjected to a strict, scientific testing process at the R's Laboratory, which is to say I did my best to make everyone in the family try at least one bite of each bar.

The results? Well...they varied.

I liked the Peanut Butter Cookie flavor very much. It was yummy. It was tasty. And for having three ingredients, it did actually taste quite a bit like a peanut butter cookie. Carson also enjoyed it.

Jen hated it. I don't mean she disliked it - she hated it. I think she spit it in the sink. Payton also acted like he hated it, but I think he just wanted to be like his mother.

None of us really liked the Cherry Pie flavor, which was strange because I thought that one would be right up Jen's alley. It was not to be. Apparently, she's not into natural foods as much as I may have thought. Apparently, she likes chemicals.

So the Cherry Pie is easy: let's say 5 BONKERS. And only that high because it's so "natural."

The Peanut Butter Cookie is tougher. I would give it 8 bonkers - it was good. Jen would probably give it 2 bonkers - and she'd probably give dirt a 3 or 4. So officially, let's give it 7 BONKERS. Why so much closer to my score than hers? It's my blog! Haven't you been paying attention?

2000 Miles on the Nike+

They may not be fast miles, but they're miles all the same.

I'm officially over 2000 miles on the NIke+. Yes, that's a two with three zeroes after.

I know, I know, but the little things make me happy.

Nanowrimo and Pawned

Yes, true believers, we're exactly one week away from Nanowrimo. Yikes!

And I've got my page all set up. Book title: Pawned. Yeah, I know. I'm not crazy about it either. The title might change by November 1st...we'll see. But the plot is set. I've got some good ideas. I've got a general story. I've got at least the two main characters worked out.

Seven days...

Running and Chocolate - Better than Reese's?

Well, there just aren't a whole lot of runs in November until you get to the Turkey Day runs late in the month.

But there is a race in Redmond that is handing out free chocolate! And that's better than Turkey any day!

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 1st TO NOVEMBER 7th

November 6th / Zeitgeist Half Marathon / Boise, ID

November 6th / Silver Falls Trail Half Marathon / Silverton, OR

November 7th / Padden Mudfest 7 Mile Trail Run / Bellingham, WA

November 7th / Mud and Chocolate Half Marathon and 4.25 Mile Runs / Redmond, WA

Boston Marathon Sells Out In a Day!

Are you kidding me?

I mean, are you kidding me?!?

You strive and strive and strive to run fast enough for Boston and now you've got to try to beat everyone to the registration too?

This is a problem.

And if they try to solve it by just making the qualifying time faster, that sure isn't going to help me.

Dathan Retzenhein at the New York City Marathon

Very good article in the NY Times about Dathan Ritzenhein and his upcoming race in the New York City Marathon.

And although there was a lot of good information in the article, this one quote, from Dathan's coach Alberto Salazar, really intrigued me:

“Ethiopians and Kenyans are running 160 miles a week, more than you will ever run, because it’s their only way out, and those who survive that are going to be really hard to beat unless you do everything perfectly,” Salazar told Ritzenhein. “If they have better biomechanics, too, you are in trouble.”

Now I'm skeptical about any statement that tries to attribute a blanket statement over an entire group of people, and this one is even worse, as Salazar slaps it on not one but two entire countries full of runners...even so, that's an interesting thought.

Do I believe it? I don't think so.

Do you believe it?

Well, Dathan can put his beliefs, and Salazar's, to the test in New York in a couple weeks.

Halloween Races - Time for Costumes!

Yes, we've made it to that mystical place and time. The only time of the year you can safely dress up as SpongeBob Squarepants and do a physical workout. Well, in public anyway. I don't judge what you do in the privacy of your own home.

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 25th TO OCTOBER 31st

October 30th / Raptor Run 10k and 5k / Boise, ID

October 30th / Punctual Pumpkin Prediction 10k and 5k / Bend, OR

October 30th / Doc Sears Fall Classic 4.5 Mile Run / Lewiston, ID

October 30th / Run Like Hell Bend / Bend, OR

October 30th / Autumn Leaves 50/50 Run, 50 mile, 50k, and 10k / St. Paul, OR

October 30th / Freaky 5k / Federal Way, OR

October 30th / Pumpkin Run 6.5k / Leavenworth, WA

October 30th / Fall Classic 5k / Monroe, WA

October 30th / Pumpkin Push 5k / Seattle, WA

October 30th / Pumpkin Pacer 5k / Deer Park, WA

October 31st / Corvallis 5k / Corvallis, OR

October 31st / Tri-Cities Marathon / Richland, WA

October 31st / Spooky 12k / Fort Gamble, WA

October 31st / McDonald Forest Trail Run 15k and 5k / Corvallis, OR

October 31st / Run Scared 5k / Seattle, WA