Mountain Runs/Hikes, Long Run, and Cats on a Treadmill

A catch-up post. Sorry for the length.


I had a one-week reprieve from the humidity and heat of Richmond. Spent a great vacation week in Highlands, NC. The temperature when I ran in the mornings was 49-54° and the humidity was around 54%. It was wonderful. The mountain roads were not conducive to running as they were narrow, had many blind curves, and no verges on which to escape the traffic, so I drove into town and ran Highlands' sidewalks -- still was able to do a 6-miler and two 5-milers, one of which included hill repeats. It was great!

In addition, we took in the waterfalls that are in the area. The best were Glen Falls -- the elevation change was 700'+/-. The literature said it was a 1.4 mile trail, each way, but I think it had to be farther. Whitewater Falls were also awesome -- with a 411' drop, they are the highest falls in the US east of the Mississippi River. Anyway, 3 hikes and 3 runs was pretty good.

I don't want to bore you with home slides, but here are a few from the hikes:


Whitewater Falls


Glen Falls, 3rd falls -- Bob and Linda


Glen Falls, 4th falls


Crocodile in the Water! :)


Glen Falls Trail

Today was my long run -- 11.2 miles @ 8:28 mpm. The run itself was hard but the soreness (OK, pain) afterwards is worse. I'm experimenting with Gu's, Shot Bloks, and Gatorade. I had a Gu before running, ate a Shot Blok every 3 miles, and drank 20 oz of Gatorade over the 11 miles. I think it helped but I'm going to try a Shot Blok every 2 miles to see if it's better.

Now, the part you've been waiting for -- Deux chats sur un tapis roulant (Cats on a Treadmill -- at least I think that's what the French says). Merry, who wrote Thursday's post at Cranky Fitness, found this one. Being the good blogger that I am, I stole, ah, referenced her find. This is pretty funny -- much more fun than actually running on a treadmill!



Run well, y'all,
Bob

Speedwork Suffering

I'm having trouble getting my track work done in preparation for the half marathon. The training plan today called for 7 miles total with easy warm-up and cool downs, 1600 meters x 3 @7:00 and 800 meter jogs between. I managed 1600 meters x 2 @ 6:53 and 6:55, 800 meters x 1 @3:27, and 400 meters x 1 @1:42, all with 800 meter jogs in between. I couldn't sustain what was to have been the 3rd 1600 meters. Not quite sure why I can't do this. The heat was tolerable today -- 69° and 71% humidity. I was well hydrated, drank Gatorade during each job, and had downed a Gu (chocolate) prior to running.

Maybe it's a function of age -- but I could do this 6 months ago. Perhaps it's because I swapped the easy week this week for next week's harder week because of vacation in the mountains next week -- did my legs (or my brain) just need the break? One consolation -- 3 weeks ago when I was supposed to do the same workout, I only did 1 1600 meter repeat and 1/4 of a lap on the 2nd 1600 repeat. I did improve.

SPLITS:
1.9993 mi x 17:49.75 (easy warm-up)
1600 mt x 6:53.09
800 mt x 4:23.76 (jog)
1600 mt x 6:54.88
800 mt x 4:45.79 (jog)
800 mt x 3:26.86
400 mt x 2:47.15 (jog)
400 mt x 1:42.27
1.9993 mi x 17:36.24 (easy cool down)

Total run: 7.48 miles at an average pace of 8:52 mpm.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Embrace the Pain

Wednesday evening, the Half Marathon Training Team sponsored an injury prevention clinic with a local sports doctor, Dr. Dec. She commented that "Running hurts. Did anyone tell you that?" We all chuckled but it was a knowing chuckle. Running is great -- I love it. There are huge physical and emotional benefits but one does have to endure a certain amount of discomfort. I'm finding that, even after almost 5 years of steady running and after having tamed the 10-mile barrier, that longer runs and faster runs do leave me with some aches.

Looking ahead to today's Mayor's Marathon, the Anchorage Daily News posted an article yesterday on this very topic. Here's a excerpt -- the full story can be read here:

Prepare for pain.

The forecast for many of you 26.2-mile first-timers is partly miserable with occasional periods of suffering and a mild chance of legitimate anguish. Doesn't matter if you're a lickety-split type or someone who gets passed on training runs by people pushing strollers -- the marathon does not discriminate.

Still, it's important to embrace your agony. You've worked hard for this day -- if not, big bummer for you -- and you've no doubt persevered through some difficult training, so you have experience with excruciation. You're going to endure some bad patches Saturday, sure, but you'll be in good company.

While this article is in reference to a full marathon, the same holds true for a half marathon (at least for us mere mortals) -- even a good, hard 10K leaves me with some pain.

Ran 10 miles today -- 7 with the training team and then 3 more on my own. Pace was good, actually a little fast for the training plan, at 8:18 mpm. I've ended up running with 3-5 "young" guys when the group runs and they took me to the cleaners on mile 7 today. I console myself with the excuse that they were heading for the barn and I still had 3 more miles to go -- it makes me feel better. (grin) These guys are fun to run with (thanks to you all -- Hank, Todd, John, Chris, Drew) and we push each other to do just a little better each time we run.

Run well, y'all (and embrace the pain),
Bob

Pushup Update and Hill

Andrew, at Andrew is Getting Fit, termed the 100 Pushup Challenge as not easy. That's an understatement. I think impossible is closer to the truth. I couldn't get through day 1!! (sad face) I did the first two sets (10 each set) and 2 pushups of the 3rd set with my arms and lats screaming at me the whole time -- still sore from the initial test. After the 2nd pushup of the 3rd set, I just collapsed. I'm a weak wimp -- oh, well, let's go for a long run.


Today was hill day (picture above is from the top looking down -- the white mailbox on the right is our finish line). Whoa! Pretty tough. Yeah, I know, it doesn't look that bad but that's the weakness of a 1-dimensional picture. Can a picture on a computer screen be 2-dimensional? Here are the results in order of fastest hill to slowest. Each uphill was about .13 miles with a climb of somewhere between 42' (gMap-Pedometer) and 60' (coach's Garmin) and was punctuated by a slow downhill:

# -- Seconds
6 -- 51.58
1 -- 51.72
5 -- 52.13
4 -- 52.52
3 -- 52.87
2 -- 53.39
Variance: 01.81 seconds between fastest and slowest

I've got a sore patella tendon -- it's not bad but I'm icing and taking a low dosage of ibuprophen. Hopefully by the end of the weekend, I'll have a Chopat strap (patella band) to use when I run for the next few weeks.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

100 Pushup Challenge

How many pushups can you do? Steve Speirs suggests that no matter how many you can do (or not do) now, you could be doing 100 consecutive pushups in 6 weeks. That's pretty impressive. Will it work? I don't know but I'm going to try. I started with the initial test last night and managed to do 15. Week 1 begins on Wednesday -- the program is about 10 minutes, 3 times per week for 6 weeks. We'll see. I must admit, I'm skeptical.

Yesterday's tempo run left me tired today. Following my Runner's World plan, I only ran 4.6 miles at 8:03 mpm but, wow, they were 4.6 tough miles.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Up to Tempo

Are you posting your miles in support of Ryan Hall? Click below, register, and post.



Tempo runs are so much more my "speed" than track work, either 800 meter or 1600 meter repeats. The one advantage of the track work is that I can pretty easily check my pace at short intervals -- every 100 meters or so. But, on the road, I am so bad at estimating my pace.

Today, I really wanted to stick closer to my target since I had 4 tempo miles to do. Oh, well. I guess if I can do them faster, it's not a real problem...

TEMPO SPLITS

1.00 x 8:51.33 (warm-up)
1.00 x 7:25.56
1.00 x 7:18.89
1.00 x 7:04.83
1.00 x 7:32.69
1.11 x 9:10.71 (cool down)

Even with the cooler temperature this morning, I finished absolutely drenched.

Run well, ya'll,
Bob

Dogwood Dell Run

Today's 9-and-change was so much better than last week's 10 miler. The difference? I think it was the lower humidity -- rather than 86%, it was 66%. This was the Saturday group run and I ran most of the way with Hank and Chris (thanks, guys). I stopped my watch for the 2 hydration points because I wanted to know the actual running time. Total time was 1:16:11 -- a pace of 8:19.8 mpm.

We went to Dogwood Dell to start -- part of the downtown park complex that includes Dogwood Dell, Byrd Park, and Northbank Park -- and ran through some of the older, historic parts of Richmond. The course was relatively flat (well, except for the nasty hill when we went over I-195 at about mile 8.5).

Here's hoping that your run today is just as satisfying.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Ahhhhh!

What a difference 10° makes. After months of 120° at 5:30 AM -- OK, no, hyperbole alert! -- let's try that again, it just felt like months of 120°. After 4+ days of 74° and 84%+ humidity at 5:30 AM, this morning it was 64° and 83% humidity. It felt so good and I was so glad. I was scheduled to do my first ever hill workout with the Patrick Henry Half Marathon training group and doing that in the heat/humidity combination of the last several days was not going to be pleasant.

About 12 of us met up and did an easy 1 mile warm-up (9:42) and then began our hill workout. The hill was 0.13 miles with an elevation gain of roughly 60'. Based on the pace chart that had been distributed and my goal for the half, I was counting on doing the repeats at 1:16.4. But, having no idea how fast that really was, I just followed the coach. When we turned around at the top, we had done the hill in 53.16 -- hard but not a killer. I ended up doing 5 repeats and was tired but not totally exhausted. It was fun doing that with a group, too -- much better than it would have been by myself.

Here are the figures:

Up: 0:53.16
Down: 1:31.39
Up: 0.54.97
Down: 1:30.14
Up: 0:53.26
Down: 1:32.26
Up: 0:51.67
Down: 1:31.92
Up: 0:51.62

We ended with a .71 mile cool down. When I got home, I did an additional 2 miles to get a total of 4.9 miles at an overall average pace of 8:26 mpm.

After all my moaning yesterday, it looks like at least most of the bad of the last couple of weeks has been, in fact, the weather. I'm just no acclimated to summer mornings, yet.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Bummed

I hope it's just this awful heat wave that's hit Virginia and surrounding states, but the last 10 days of running have been mostly awful. It's not really that my times have been bad -- yesterday, for instance, I did a 3 mile tempo run and averaged 7:11 mpm -- it's just that it's been really hard. These high temps and humidity did come on quickly, so maybe I just haven't acclimated, yet. Still, on Saturday, while trying to do 10 miles, I wasn't sure if I could keep this up.

I have tried to change my hydration to meet the heat challenge. For Saturday's 10-miler, I packed Gatorade -- 20 oz of Glacier Freeze (I guess -- it was pale blue) in a used (but clean) water bottle. The training team directors had also put out 2 water/gatorade (red) stops on the route and had water/gatorade at the finish. I still walked 2-3 times in the last mile. Maybe it's just mental.

Anyway, **if** anyone has been looking for a post from me since last Saturday (1 June), I was just too bummed about running to write.

I'm training for the Ashland (VA) Patrick Henry Half Marathon in late August (that should be a cool run -- NOT!). Here are my runs for the last 10 days:

Tuesday, 3 June: 6.4 miles @ 8:07 mpm
Wednesday, 4 June: 6.6 miles @ 8:03 mpm
Thursday, 5 June: 5.8 miles @ 8:55 mpm (was supposed to be 1600 m repeats @ 7:05)
Saturday, 7 June: 10.3 miles @ 8:41 mpm
Monday, 9 June: 5.3 miles @ 7:51 mpm

Tempo Splits:
1.00 x 8:41.73
1.00 x 7:15.08
1.00 x 7:13.05
1.00 x 7:05.98
1.26 x 10.59.49

Tuesday, 10 June: 4.6 miles @ 8:14 mpm

And, yes, I'm a wimp about heat. The morning figures when I've run have been 73-74° with 81-88% humidity -- even to me, that doesn't sound blistering. I come in the house, though, looking like I've been swimming and forgot to take a towel!

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Miscellaneous: Dehydration, Weight Loss

Yesterday was my first run with the local YMCA training group for the Patrick Henry Half Marathon in late August. The group was running 6.1 miles and it was a good run (8:11 mpm pace) -- I enjoyed the miles and the conversations. I met a group of guys who run on Wednesday mornings at 5:30 and they invited me to join them. That should be just the motivation I need to get over my "Wednesday 'Don't-Wanna's'".

After I ran with the group, I headed out for an additional 4 miles (my Runner's World training plan called for a 10 mile long run). Whoa! Summer is here. The first couple of miles of the extra weren't bad but by the time I hit mile 3, I was wiped out. I ended up with a pace of 8:44 mpm for that 4 miles and walked a couple of times.

I think I just hadn't drunk enough water for the weather (75° or so by that time and 80%+ humidity) and probably was low on sodium and electrolytes. Yeah, I know, 75° is not hot for many folks, but it is for me. "Perfect", for me, is 45-55° and I even like running when it's 30-45°. I think I'm going to have to carry something like Gatorade or Powerade for my longer runs for the next few months. I felt drained all day and I've been doing 10-mile runs for a number of months.

Viv at the blog, I'm Not Fit to Run, is sponsoring an Independence Weight Loss Challenge. I need to get rid of 5-10 pounds and thought this might be just the thing to spur me on. If a little virtual competition would help you, check it out. The deadline for sending in your initial weight is today, Sunday, 1 June.



Run well (and hydrated), y'all,
Bob

Decadent Indulgence

(or, How to Kill Yourself in 1 Quart)

Weighty Matters is a good, general health blog written by a Canadian physician, Yoni Freedhoff, who wants to ferret out the truth about weight and health. He's a good blogger -- entertaining and unafraid to speak his mind about health.

In today's blog, he spotlights Baskin-Robbins' (large -- 32 oz) Heath® Shake. Check out that monster! A single serving (32 fl. oz.) contains 2310 calories, 2.5g trans fat, 1560mg sodium, and 266g sugar (Freedhoff says that's 66.5 teaspoons or 1.5 cups of sugar). Check the ingredients' list -- sugar, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup are featured multiple times.

When I read that to my wife, her comment was, "That much sugar in a milk shake would kill you!" Yeah, eventually that much sugar could well do it.

Run (and eat) well (and smart), y'all,
Bob

Update: Move a Million Miles

Reid, blogging at Life Strides, is trying to collect a group of blogging runners who would report their miles as a group in support of Ryan Hall (no money involved). If interested, click on over to his blog, Life Strides, and leave a comment.

We also need a lot more runners to sign up for the campaign. The current stats are below but expecting to get 5 miles per day (35 miles per week) from each runner is unrealistic since the current average miles per day per participant is less than 1. Consider clicking on the banner above and joining this effort.

CURRENT MOVE A MILLION MILES STATISTICS:

Total Miles Moved: 201,096
Total Current Participants: 1628
Average Miles per Day per Current Participant: 0.85
Top Group: BBHS Track Team, 8,828 mi.
Total Miles Remaining: 798,904
Number of Days Remaining: 90
Average Miles Remaining per Day: 8,877
Necessary Miles per Day per Current Participant: 5

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Tempo Runs and Speedwork

Ben, running blogger at The Audacity of Marathoning, asked about how I do tempo runs. I'm not an expert runner by any stretch of the imagination but perhaps what I've learned will be helpful for someone else. I've used Runner's World Smart Coach to train for my last 3 races (half-marathon and 2 10K's) and that plan had me do the following for a "tempo run" -- my goal pace for the 10K was 7:25 mpm:

1 mile warm-up -- I ran at an easy run pace, about 90 seconds per mile slower than my goal 10K pace or about 8:55 mpm.

3-5 miles tempo -- about 10 seconds per mile slower than my goal 10K pace or about 7:35 mpm.

1 mile cool-down -- again, I aimed to run about 8:55 mpm but it was usually closer to 8:15 mpm.

Tempo Run distances for an 11 week 10K training program:

Weeks 1 and 3 were 3 miles @ 7:36
Weeks 4 and 7 were 4 miles @ 7:40 & 7:35
Weeks 8 and 10 were 5 miles @ 7:40 & 7:35

Weeks 2, 5 and 9 were speedwork -- 800 meter repeats on a local high school track at about 45 seconds per mile faster than my goal 10K pace, about 1 mile warm-up and 1 mile cool-down, and 400 meter easy jogs between repeats:

Week 2 (3x800 meters @ 3:24 min)
Week 5 (4x800 meters @ 3:22 min)
Week 9 (5x800 meters @ 3:20 min)

Weeks 6 and 11 were easy weeks so no tempo runs or speedwork runs.

I normally end up running the tempo runs a bit faster than the suggested goal. They are hard but satisfying. The speedwork repeats were usually right on target. The repeats are real killers and I hate doing them, but they do seem to help.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Hard Tempo Run

Tempo run this morning. I started out and thought, There is no way but let's just see.

TEMPO SPLITS
1.00 x 8:45.09
1.00 x 7:27.93
1.00 x 6:58.83
1.00 x 6:45.44
1.26 x 10:02.14 (7:57.89 mpm pace)

The weird thing is that each of the fast miles felt slower than the previous one. I wonder why that is.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Tag -- I'm It

My virtual friend, Paul Merrill, has tagged me asking what impossible dream I have. I have spent long, tortuous hours given it some thought off and on. Like Paul, I have lofty desires -- ending poverty would be great; seeing Christ reign in every heart; simple decency in politics, on TV/radio, between neighbors. But, like Paul, I'll be a bit more mundane. I'd like to run a half marathon with Ryan Hall, with his fluidity, and at his speed (less than an hour).

Now to pass on the favor: I'm tagging Non-Runner Nancy and my college friend, David H -- tell us your impossible dream.

BTW -- a nice run this morning. It started gently raining about halfway through a 5.9 miler and with the temperature at about 55°, it felt good. I did the run in 46:34.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Running With a Veteran

On YouTube, this video is called Running With President Bush but the story is not Bush's running but this vet's running. Bush makes one of his normal gaffes (though I'm not sure how any President remembers where they met so many people) but the story's good (even if you don't care for Bush):



When you next run, remember those who won't run again and run a mile for them.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Move a Million Miles

I am impressed with Ryan Hall both as a runner and as a person. When I came across the Move a Million Miles project, I knew I had to publicize it here.

Support Ryan Hall’s quest for Olympic Marathon Gold. Join me in supporting Big Bear Lake running hero Ryan Hall's quest for 2008 Olympic Marathon gold. The Lighthouse Project challenges you to help Move a Million Miles before Ryan’s Olympic Marathon this summer in Beijing, China. Through shared pride and support for Ryan, this spirit initiative encourages an engaged and active lifestyle, as well as demonstrates the benefits of integrity, commitment and involvement to our youth.

It's simple to participate. Go to the site, click the "Report Your Miles" tab, and enter your information. Use the same identifying information each week so that your miles accumulate.

I had the best long run in over a month. I ran 11.5 today in 1:34.06.8 (8:08 mpm). Then, we spent the rest of the day at Colonial Williamsburg. Good day.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Obama Hurdles

In this short video by RunnerSpace’s Ross Krempley, you can see Obama take a stab at the hurdles:



He was smart enough to do it this way!

Run well and smart, y'all,
Bob

10K on the 10th

Nancy, writer of the blog Notes of a Non-Runner, has become a virtual race director extraordinaire. She organized another virtual race today, 10K on the 10th, and this has been the best ever. The entry fee was cut in half, prize money doubled, there were double the number of spectators lining the course, race timing was trust-based and self-reported, and there were toasted bagels with lowfat cream cheese and fruit for refueling.

The weather for the race was pretty good, at least in the Richmond, VA leg of the race -- 55° and 98% humidity, overcast but not raining, and a very light, cooling breeze. One of the nice things about a virtual race is that even if you're late for the start, all of the assigned race crew are still in place, the spectators stick around, and the refueling food never runs out -- and you can still run. Good thing, too, because I was late! My heat was schedule to start at 6:30 but I didn't make it to the starting line until 7:30. No problem except that I had to run by myself. Traffic control was good as drivers obeyed the virtual police and either moved to the left side of their lane or completely over to the left-hand lane.

I ran well, though not a PR. My time was 47:27 -- here are my splits:

1.0 x 8:15
1.0 x 7:33
1.0 x 7:18
1.0 x 7:12
1.0 x 7:47
1.0 x 7:44
0.2 x 1:38

Another perk of this race? It's not to late to sign up and run. Do 6.2 miles and post your time and blog link on Nancy's blog (when she starts putting the race reports up) -- you might also want to join Runner's Lounge and the 10K on the 10th group and post your results there.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

I Didn't Know That

The longest place-name still in use is:

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaunga-
horonukupokaiwenuakitanatahu

It's a New Zealand hill. Apparently it means, Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as landeater, played his flute to his loved one Your pace is too slow if you can spell, say or even think that place name while running! :-D

Thanks to mitchjoy61's blog, Runnin' Down A Dream, for the head's up and to domino nz for the picture and translation.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

6's and 7's

Miles, that is. Today, I passed 600 miles run YTD (603.2) and 700 miles on my shoes (702.2). In one of his posts, David H mentioned that he notices interesting number patterns -- All In a Row. I do, too, and hitting those two numbers on the same day was mildly entertaining.

Not to mention the fact that I'm pretty impressed that a pair of running shoes would actually last me 700 miles. That's the most I've gotten out of a pair in 5 years of running and keeping records. My last 3 pairs of shoes have been Etonic Jepara SC's and I'm sold. And, yes, of course Etonic has said they're discontinuing the Jepara SC and replacing it with an improved model. That probably means one that will cost more and won't last as long.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Soreness (T.I.A.R.T.)

The Runners' Lounge sponsors a Take It and Run Thursday each week. Today's topic is not really a topic. Runners are submitting questions for the community to answer. Great idea and probably a thread that could keep us going for a long time. So, let me toss out mine -- similar to Tom's, maybe.

Why, after almost 5 solid years of running, do my legs still get so sore when I run 8 or more miles? Specifically, I think it's my hip adductors that get so sore. I've worked up to a run of 10-14 miles and have just hit that in the last 6-8 months. I don't run that long every week but only 2 out of 3 weeks or so. But those muscles still get really sore. Do I need to do some specific hip adductor strengthening exercises? Or, is it just normal to be sore after that many miles?

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Running Hard Feels Good

There's something about Wednesdays. It's so hard for me to get out and run on that day. True to form, yesterday, I slept a little later and didn't do my tempo run. This morning, I headed out and decided to pick up the pace. Since I'm not following a particular training plan at the moment, I didn't really have a goal in mind. Most of my runs in the last 3 weeks have seemed very difficult so I didn't really think I would be at peak performance and just planned to run hard and see what happened.

After a nice, easy warm-up mile, the first tempo mile surprised me and I was sure I couldn't keep that pace up. Sure enough, I felt like I slowed a bit and was even more surprised when I was a fraction of a second faster. Mile three of the tempo part was definitely slower, especially since that mile has some hills and actually ends on an uphill. I about fell over when I hit the lap button on my watch and was 20 seconds+ faster than on either of the previous 2 miles. Ending with a couple of slower miles (I was TIRED), it was quite a satisfying run -- nice to have a really good one for a change.

TEMPO LAP TIMES:
1 x 9:07.34
1 x 7:10.85
1 x 7:10.60
1 x 6:50.02
1 x 8:15.23
1.103 x 8:42.22 (7:53.46 mpm pace)

I hope your run today is as satisfying.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Equal Time

Lest someone think that I don't give equal time (regarding my comments about Obama's bitter statement), Hillary's declaration that she arrived in Bosnia under sniper fire is just as bad. No amount of backtracking and excuse making can hide the fact that she just plain didn't tell the truth. That's also not a particularly comforting thought when it concerns a potential President and Commander-in-Chief.

McCain has been overshadowed by all the wrangling in the Democratic Party. Otherwise, I'd probably have something to say about his statements, too.

Frankly, I'm probably more unhappy about all potential choices for the next President of the US than I've been in many years.

Run well, y'all (good advice for aspiring Presidents),
Bob

Dealing With Hopeless or Discouraging Situations

The topic for our Bible study time today was dealing with hopeless situations. So many people are dealing with situations that seem hopeless:

° The mother of young children whose husband has just abandoned her for someone younger
° The father who has just lost his job and has no marketable skills
° The family in New Orleans who lost their home during Katrina and can't afford to replace it
° The man who has just found out he has 5 blocked arteries, including the widow maker
° The teenage girl who is pregnant because she thought intimacy was the way to keep her boyfriend
° The teenage boy who took the dare to "just try it" because he wanted to be part of the crowd and is now hooked on drugs.

Normal responses to hopeless situations might be anger, depression, abuse of family members, drugs, alcohol abuse, to pretend that the situation doesn't exist, or to turn to some formulaic ritual.

I was impressed that Genesis 39:20-40:23 illustrates some very practical principles for dealing with discouraging situations. Joseph had been tossed in prison on the false accusation of attempted rape. Instead of succumbing to hopelessness, he did the following:

--> He recognized that God was with him even in difficult situations -- he trusted God (Gen 39:21-23)
--> He maintained a people focus, he helped others -- one of our group members stated that he looked outside himself (Gen 40:2-8)
--> He gave God credit -- he praised God (Gen 40:8)
--> He asked, appropriately, for help (Gen 40:14)
--> He lived by faith that God had not forgotten him and that God would work things out (Gen 40:20-23)

Faith in God in difficult circumstances is not a magic formula. The end result is not always the thing we might hope for. It's not like the joke that asks, What happens when you play a country music record backwards? The man gets his truck, his wife, his trailer, and his dog back. Joseph spent 2 more years in prison. But, by doing those things, Joseph didn't fall into despair, he was able to find meaning and significance in suffering.

Suffering is a part of the human experience. God doesn't protect us from the consequences of our own sin or, always, from the consequences of the sins of other people. But He does promise to be with us at all times and in all situations (Joshua 1:9 NIV -- ...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.). I hope that's encouraging to someone.

Right now it's pouring down rain in Richmond and it's predicted to continue through Monday morning. That might mean a run on the dreadmill tomorrow. Yuck. I might choose to run in the rain.

WCSN is showing the Boston Marathon live, online, and free tomorrow. You apparently have to register for an account but it's listed as free.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

"Bitter" Words

You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them...each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations. --Barack Obama, fundraising speech in San Francisco, CA, 6 April 2008-- (Audio of speech and partial transcript from blog by Mayhill Fowler, The Huffington Post, 11 April 2008)

It is not my intent for this post to be particularly anti-Obama. While I don't know that I would or could vote for him, remember that this blog is titled, Random Thoughts While Running. These are thoughts, not judgments or decisions. I also reserve the right to be wrong and the right to change my mind. :)

The isssue with Obama's bitter statement, it seems to me, is not saying folks are bitter. That may be too strong of a term but is probably reasonably accurate -- bitter about paying $3.xx for a gallon of gas while oil companies announce record profits; bitter about US soldiers dying in a war that seems unrelated to America; bitter about the loss of a stable, common set of values. But, to state that the result of that bitterness is to retreat into deeply held values is an insult.

Perhaps there are some who, when faced with circumstances out of their control, arm themselves against a perceived coming fight. I don't own a gun but the folks that I know who hold to a strong conviction in the right of Americans to own guns do so because they believe that the US Constitution gives them that right (and, they don't want the government telling them what to do).

Maybe there are some who revert to long-ignored religious practices when they confront life issues that seem to subvert their values and desires. However, I and millions of other disciples of Christ do not cling to our belief in and faithfulness to Christ because we're bitter. I cling to those because Christ is the foundation of my life in good times and bad.

It's easy, when under pressure to misstate something. Our minds, emotions, and tongues work together in a remarkable way. But, sometimes, our emotions cause us to think and say things we would not normally think or say. And, maybe that's what happened with Barack Obama last week. Still, I must say it concerns me. How can one possibly treat deeply held religious beliefs and xenophobia? True, there are some who attempt to justify their xenophia based on an incorrect interpretation of Scripture, but that doesn't mean that Scripture or true Christianity is actually supports xenophobia.

Little slack was given to Mel Gibson when he uttered anti-Semitic comments under the influence of alcohol. It was claimed that those sentiments were an inherent part of Gibson's thoughts and were just released by the alcohol. I can't help but wonder if, deep down, this is how Obama views those who have strong beliefs with which he doesn't agree. Or, did he say this to cater to an audience who he thought would appreciate this particular point of view? Or, was it really and truly a slip of the tongue, an honest misstatement?

Finally, for now anyway, despite Obama's protestations to the contrary, this is a pretty serious slip of the tongue, no matter what precipitated it. Is this how Obama would function as President? I certainly hope not.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K, Richmond

The Richmond 10K is history. The temperature at the start was about 61° with a very light mist. Some 31,000 people were registered but a lot of folks didn't show.

I didn't hit my target time but wasn't too far off. Considering the crowd, I'm not bummed. I had hoped for a sub-45:00 but my time was 45:43.18 -- a 7:22 mpm pace. That was enough to finish somewhere in the top 600-700 or so overall (so far, I have only seen the top 500), 32nd out of 830 finishers in my age group (50-54), 9th out of 64 53 year olds.

I'm really proud of my wife. She participated and finished well -- her first race and she finished in 1:20:56, #390 out of 1115 finishers in her age group. After I finished, I wound my way out of the finish area, ran about 2.5 miles of the course to try to catch her wave, then moved to the median (out and back course) to try to find her on the return leg. We walked and finished the last @3 miles together. It's the farthest she's ever run/walked. And, she had to run in a lot more rain than I did.

A huge THANK YOU to our daughter who stood in the mist and rain and cheered us on.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Ukrop's 10K played host to the USA 10k Men's National Championship Race. It was pretty neat to watch these elite runners start the race. As my wave hit mile 1, the leaders passed us on their way to the finish. Abdirahman and Browne were in the lead and it looked like it could be a good finish. Richmond's WTVR online news reported the results this way:

Abdirahman Wins Ukrop's Monument 10K Race

Abdi Abdirahman showed Richmond his strength as a world-class distance runner, winning the 9th annual Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k in 28:34, about 27 seconds short of record pace, and defending his men's 10k national championship at the same time.

Abdirahman, a Somalia native who now lives in Tucson, AZ, nosed out second-place finisher Dan Browne, from Beaverton, OR. Browne, who was stationed at Fort Lee in 1997 and 2006, finished 4 seconds behind Abdirahman at 28:38. Fasil Bizuneh from Massachusetts finished third at 29:04.

It will be nice not to be tied to a training plan for a couple of weeks. I get to simply run. Then, it will be time to start getting ready for a late August half marathon.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

A Few of My "Friends"

I'll be running with (well, OK, behind -- WAY behind!) some prestigious company on Saturday. The Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K is also the US 10K Men's Championship. The defending champion, Abdi Abdirahman, will be here along with Alan Culpepper, Dan Browne, Fernando Cabada and a number of other contenders. Weather predictions are warm and wet (thunderstorms). The course record for the Richmond run is 28:07 -- that could fall. Abdi won the 2007 championship at the Peachtree Road Race last year in 28:12. The US Championship record is 27:59, set by Matt Giusto in 1996. The world record is 26:17.53 set in 2005 by Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia.

With the wave start, I'll be close to completing mile 2 when the Elites cross the finish line! Gives me something to shoot for!

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Hydration [T.I.A.R.T.]

Today is another http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifTake It And Run Thursday at Runners' Lounge. The subject is hydration. I wasn't going to write anything until I read Lance Breger's lance: the blog! post for 29 March, Don't Be That Guy. While the post is pretty humourous, it was his comment about hydration being unique for each individual at the end and his link to a hydration calculator that caught my attention. It looked like a worthy addition to today's T.I.A.R.T.

I'm no expert on hydration and have some questions about the accuracy of the amount of water the calculator gives. However, I do think it points out some really good things to remember when determining how much one needs to drink in a given day.

I run in the early morning (run at 5:30 or so; wake up around 6:30). So, I get up, stumble down the steps, get rid of the previous evening's accumulated hydration, drink about 10 oz of refrigerated water, and head out the door for roughly an hour of running. I work on replacing lost fluids through the morning. For the last 2-3 weeks, I've added 2-3 pieces of fruit to my normal breakfast of a whole wheat bagel and neufchatel cheese and the fruit seems to really help with rehydration.

Another thing I've discovered is that a lack of decent hydration on one day really messes up my run the next morning. Looking forward to reading the other posts today.

Run well and hydrated, y'all,
Bob

Final Tempo Run B/f 10K

I and 30,000 of my closest friends will be running the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K (Richmond, VA) on Saturday. I hear it's the 4th or 5th largest 10K in the US. Should be fun. I hope to break 45:00.

Today was my last tempo run. The plan said to run a warm-up mile, 3 miles at 7:27 mpm, then a cool-down mile. My plan was to just run as fast as I felt like I could for the 3 miles. I was very pleased and feel like I'm ready for Saturday:

TEMPO SPLITS
1.00 x 8:47.36
1.00 x 7:16.06
1.00 x 6:54.35
1.00 x 6:47.11
1.26 x 9:35.08 (7:36.41 mpm)

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Now We Know Why Kenyan Runners Are So Fast

Thanks to Pastor Karl of the Nashwauk Alliance Church in northern Minnesota and running blogger at The Faster Pastor for ferreting out why Kenyan runners are so fast.

Kip Lagat, a Kenyan marathoner [actually a middle distance runner --Bob--], explained why his country produces so many great marathoners with these words: It's the road signs: Beware of Lions.

Lagat apparently said this during the Sydney Olympics -- The Final Sprint. (The picture is from the NTN New York web page.)

Run well, y'all -- and watch out for felines on steroids,
Bob

Unreal! (or Life's Not Fair, Get Over It!)

Now, this would have been a track meet to watch. The only problem with this particular meet is that it absolutely blows my best excuse for slowness (age) right out of the water!! The picture is of Ralph Maxwell, 88, winner of the M85 Indoor Pentathlon and is from the USATF site.

For all of us glass half-full folks, we have something to shoot for. We ain't dead, yet. Look how much we can still improve! Let's get out there and work smarter.

If you want the glass half-empty perspective: Looking at these times, even when I was a teenager, I would only have won an age group bracket against a 45 year old woman or a 65 year old man. In my current age group bracket, M50-54, the lowest ranked finisher would have beaten me by 45-60 seconds and the top finisher would have lapped me early in the 3rd quarter-mile! They would have been too embarrassed to have even listed my name and time. To win any bracket at my current best, I would have to race against men 75 and older.

Wow! No matter which perspective you prefer, these ladies and men are unbelievably fast.

Here are the results of the first place finishers in each age bracket.

2008 USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships
Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center - Boston, Mass.
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Full Results

MASTERS WOMEN 1 Mile Run
================================================================
Plc Name Age Team Finals
================================================================
1 443 McGlynn, Laura W30 Unattached,Scituate 5:45.63
1 92 Caffrey, Therese W37 Nike Central,New Yo 5:31.89
1 745 *Pritchett, Bernadin W41 Unattached 5:06.42
1 540 Rizzo, Charlotte W45 Westchester,Bronxvi 5:25.43
1 537 Richards, Mary W53 Atlanta Trac,Atlant 6:13.20
1 428 Martin, Kathryn W56 Northport Ru,Northp 5:32.09
W60-64 - NO FINISHERS
1 666 VanEeuwen, Jane W66 Unattached,Wayne, N 10:05.98
W70+ - NO FINISHERS


MASTERS MEN 1 Mile Run
================================================================
Name Age Team Finals
================================================================
1 406 Lombardo, Brian M30 Genesee Vall,Tonawa 4:27.63
1 479 Newton, Chad M38 FIBO Track C,Pisgah 4:25.27
1 582 Sergeant, Stephen M44 Unattached,Andover, 4:34.87
1 302 Hinton, John M45 Carrboro Ath,Chapel 4:28.92
1 102 Cannon, David M51 Club Northwe,Seattl 4:43.89
1 585 Shaheed, Nolan M58 So Cal Track,Pasade 4:43.72
1 742 *Solomon, Kevin M60 Unattached 5:01.62
********Solomon beat the existing world record ('98) for M60 by 0:00.10
1 134 Condon, Frank M65 Golden West,Chico, 5:11.43
1 140 Cordero, Joe M70 Bohemia Trac,Islip 6:05.25
1 339 Jones, Casey M77 Atlanta Trac,Atlant 7:20.73
1 360 King, Joe M81 Unattached,Central 6:56.28
1 193 Englert, Roy M85 Potomac Vall,Spring 9:33.22
1 546 Rogers, Orville M90 Unattached,Dallas, 9:56.58
********Rogers beat the existing world record ('05) for M90 by 1:27.09

Run well, y'all -- even if you don't have world class speed,
Bob

Awareness Test (Video)

Interesting video clip. Post a comment to let me know how you do.



The original is on DOTHETEST. Thanks to Cranky Fitness for surfacing this video.

For the record, I had to watch it a second time before .... (Don't want to give away the point.)

After you've watched the video, you might want to read the background. The video is an advertisement for a British cycling safety campaign. The same principles apply to running safety.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Blast From the Past

World metric mile (1500 m) run, 14 July 1998 -- the battle between the Moroccan El Guerrouj and Kenyan (at the time) Bernard Lagat. Makes me wish I could run fast:

Final Long Run

How is it possible, when I've been running regularly for 5 years and have run 25-40 miles per week for the last 2-3 months, that I can be so sore after a long run today? It makes no sense. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my age. :)

Today was the last long run before the Richmond 10K next Saturday. Next week is taper week with only 17 miles plus the race. My plan is to run the race, hopefully sub-45:00, then head back to the start to run/walk the race again with my wife.

Today's long run was again in 3 parts, with a 3-5 minute break between each:

8.0643 mi -- 65:39.02 -- 8:08.45 mpm -- by myself
5.0000 mi -- 38:52.25 -- 7:46.45 mpm -- with the training group
0.7844 mi -- 06:20.83 -- 8:05.50 mpm -- home by myself
13.8487 mi - 110:52.10 - 8:00.34 mpm -- TOTAL

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Fast Kenyans

Over recent years, there has been a lot of discussion about why Kenyans are fast -- they train at high altitude, they grow up running to school, their diet, they work hard, high motivation, unique genetics. Who knows? I suspect it has as much to do with hard work as anything else.

This video clip doesn't answer the question of why but is entertaining:



Run well, y'all -- like a Kenyan,
Bob

Overcoming Injuries (TIART)

Another TIART (Take It and Run Thursday) over at Runners Lounge. The topic today is Overcoming Injuries. Fortunately, I have not had to endure many injuries as a runner. However, I did have to have arthroscopic medial meniscectomy in 2004. My knee had been hurting for some time. Dumb me, didn't get it checked but kept running until one day, right at the end of my run, I was suddenly plunged into agony. Still in denial, I tried to walk it out (normal walking, not exercising) and wait it out for a couple of weeks. When it was pretty obvious that that was not a very smart idea, I headed to the orthopedist in Nairobi.

First thing he said, when he looked at my knees -- just looked, didn't take x-rays or touch -- was that I had obvious muscle atrophy of the quad muscle around the injured knee. After manipulating my knee and looking at MRI images, he said he was almost certain that I had a torn medial meniscus. I opted for surgery but by another orthopedist who was in Johannesburg, South Africa, who only did knees, and who worked on athletes (I wanted to maximize my chances to run again).

But, before going to South Africa, I took to heart the first orthopedist's observation about muscle atrophy. I reasoned that strengthening my quad muscles would improve my chances of successful surgery. So, I focused on leg lifts on my Bowflex but instead of lifting with both legs together, I did one leg at a time so that I forced my injured left leg to work as hard as the uninjured right leg. I began very cautiously because I didn't want to cause further damage to my knee.

I had the surgery and the physical therapist was in my room almost the moment I woke up. First thing she wanted me to do was stand up so she could see whether I could use the knee at all (I actually walked out of the hospital without crutches). Then, she gave me careful instructions and demonstrations of a regimen of physical therapy exercises she wanted me to do -- basically designed to strengthen the quad muscles around my knee (sounded familiar). She also gave me a time table of when I could start walking for exercise, jogging and then running. I followed those instructions religiously and within just a few weeks was back to running.

Here are my take aways from that experience and my advice to anyone facing the same surgery. (DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor or a physical therapist. You should consult qualified medical personnel before following my advice. I will not accept responsibility for any damage, injury, loss of anything, etc. as a result of anyone following this advice.):

1. Even if you are a guy, don't deny or ignore persistent pain or a potential injury. I was fortunate and didn't permanently injure myself but your mileage may differ. See a doctor.

2. As much as possible, focus on strengthening the leg muscles before surgery. A book I'm reading now, The Powerfood Nutrition Plan by Susan Kleiner, confirms that advice. She calls it prehap. In fact, it would probably be wise to do specific strength exercises when you're perfectly healthy.

3. After surgery, get and follow directions from a good physical therapist as soon after surgery as possible. That sounds like a no-brainer and sounds like something that would happen automatically. However, a friend had meniscus surgery on both knees here in Richmond and didn't see a PT until about 10 days after surgery. She was in agony.

Surgery worked for me. I regularly run between 25 and 38 miles per week and rarely have pain greater than the occasional dull ache. I also now have a built in shoe-dometer -- when the ache in my knee becomes constant, I know I need new running shoes.

Run well and injury-free, y'all,
Bob

Tempo Run -- Week 10

Today was the last scheduled long tempo run. The target was 1 mile warm up, 5 miles @ 7:35, 1 mile cool down. It was daunting and when I headed out, I discovered that the wind was blowing (14 mph). Arghhh! But, it turned out to be a good run. Here are the splits:

Tempo Splits

1.0 mile  x 8:56.86
1.0 mile  x 7:33.47
1.0 mile  x 7:08.67
1.0 mile  x 7:06.36
1.0 mile  x 7:21.71
1.0 mile  x 7:09.35

1.3 miles x 10:20.10

I'm OK with that.

Run well, y'all,

Bob

English?

This picture was posted by one of our 2-year missionaries in South Africa (if you follow the link, scroll to the bottom of the posting for 19 March for this picture). Usually it's not too difficult to figure out what is meant when English gets scrambled, but, as a Kenyan might say, I am being defeated by this one.

Run well, y'all (just not with smoking babies),
Bob A

Running Community

While, like many who have posted, I like running alone, I really
enjoy those times when I can run with someone else. I travel within
the US a fair amount with my job and there are usually a group of us
from work who go to the same location. There's almost always someone
else who runs and it's fun exploring a new place with another runner.

For the last couple of years, I've also participated in a Christmas
Lights Run sponsored by a local running store. It's not a race but a
night group run to see the Christmas lights. That's been a lot of fun.

Running with someone makes the miles go by faster mentally and,
usually, physically. I seem to run faster and with less struggle when
I'm running and talking to someone else.

The other community that I enjoy are the 2-3 virtual running
communities that I participate in and the running bloggers. Those are
a great source of encouragement and help.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Long Run

Did my long run in 3 parts today with about a 5 minute break between each part:

By myself -- hilly route: 7.5 miles @ 8:06.3 mpm
W/YMCA 10K Training Group: 6 miles @ 7:44.4 mpm
Home from the Y: 0.75 miles @ 8:02.8 mpm

TOTAL: 14.25 miles, 1:53:19.86, 7:56.9 mpm average

Beautiful day for a run. Came home, cleaned up the lawn mower, and cut the weeds.

Looking forward to celebrating Jesus' resurrection tomorrow.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Track Work

The most dreaded element of my 10K training is the speedwork. Though I generally complete it, I always go into it feeling certain that today I'll crash and burn. The plan for today called for 6 miles with a warm up, 5x800m@3:20, w/4 400m jogs, and cool down. So, off to the track at the local high school

SPLITS:
0.21 mi X 2:55.88 (walking warm up)
1.79 mi X 15:52.00
800 m X 3:21.31 (kick it up a quarter notch next 800 m)
400 m X 2:13.84
800 m X 3:19.00
400 m X 2:14.89
800 m X 3:17.71
400 m X 2:14.15
800 m X 3:17.34
400 m X 2:19.65
800 m X 3:13.29
2.0 mi X 16:35.93

OK, not bad -- negative splits and all but one 800m was sub-goal. Nonetheless, the next time out, I'll still dread those repeats.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Politics Is Not Fair

OK, that's a no-brainer. Politics is about power and winning. In a corrupt world, it's no surprise that those seeking power and position are likely to do and say anything to get those.

I'm not an Obama supporter. I'd like to be because the message of unity and pulling together really resonates with me. But, though I haven't done all the investigation I need to do, his stances and policies do not resonate with me.

This is not a final thought, but, the flak over statements made by his pastor seems over the top. Obama is responsible for his response to statements made by his supporters and even by his pastor. Obama needs to be honest and transparent in his statements about what he does (did) and does not (did not) know or hear. He should be able to explain his decision to remain a member of that church as that reflects his judgement. But, he is not responsible for the statements themselves.

I could change my mind -- actually, I probably won't change my mind on the basic statements above but I retain the option to become more critical of Obama's response to Rev. Wright's statements. :)

OK, that's more thinking than I usually do while running. It was a good, easy run this morning. Good temperature -- 41-42° when I left and 38° when I finished -- shorts, long-sleeved shirt, light gloves, and my Balega Trail Buster socks were just right.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Ashland 10K Railroad Run

The YMCA 10K training group suggested that participants run the Ashland 10K Railroad Run today as a training run for the Richmond 10K in 3 weeks. Sounded good, so I signed up.

I must have signed up early because I had bib #12. I decided to treat this run as a tempo run. My tempo run was originally scheduled for this past Wednesday but jet lag from the South Africa trip has really hit me this time. The plan this week called for a 7 miler: 1 mile warm-up, 5 miles X 7:40, and 1 mile cool down. So, I figured I'd aim for about 8:15 for the first mile, then do the last 5.2 miles at roughly 7:40. That would be just over 48:00 for the 10K -- a really good warm-up.

Ashland is a smallish town north of Richmond. Around here, they have a reputation for running good races. This was no exception. There were about 338 participants in the 10K. The weather was perfect -- a cool 48-50° at the start. Cool enough to be chilly in a short-sleeved running shirt waiting for the race to begin but great once we started. The course was pretty flat (my plot is off -- I missed both the start and finish spots) -- I don't think the variation was more than about 20'.

We got off at 9AM and I held back to an easy pace. It's hard to get passed by so many folks. I didn't see the 1 mile marker but at about 8:20, picked up the pace. It felt really good, almost too good. I hit the 2 mile mark at 14:55. Mile 3 passed at 22:something; Mile 4 at 29:something. At mile 4, we were on a downhill and I knew we were going to have to come back up that hill. Still felt really good. The turn-around point came at the top of a hill. I hit mile 5 going uphill at 36:37 and was beginning to feel tired. Just before mile 6, one of the course officials said there was only 1/4 mile remaining (OK, I can hold this pace that long). Mile 6 passed at 44:00 and I realized I was not only going to beat my 48:00 target but I was going to beat my 47:00 goal time for the Richmond 10K and, unless I passed out, was going to actually break 46:00. There was one person in front of me that I had a chance of passing by the finish so I picked it up a bit -- might as well leave it all on the road (in the end, I thought I was going to leave it all in the bushes). I crossed the finish at 45:29 -- 45th out of 338 and 4th in my age group (50-54). I'm still in shock.

Someone asked me if this was a PR. Yeah -- it's actually my first 10k race. Three weeks until the Richmond 10K.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Wedding Pictures

I've posted some preliminary pictures of our son's wedding. Click here to go to the site. The link was created using Tiny URL and it points to a site hosted on dotMac (Apple Inc.).

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Our Reason for Being in Cape Town

Finally ... we're back home. There are not words to describe Delta -- at least not words that are a part of my vocabulary. First, it took us over an hour to get checked in at Johannesburg and there weren't more than 20 groups ahead of us. Delta had only 3 ticket counters open and 1 of those was dedicated to Business/Elite customers. It was like they were on a go-slow.

Then, our seats were more cramped than any I remember in our 22 years of international travel. The only way to get my knees behind the seat in front of me was to sit up perfectly straight with my backside jammed into the back of my seat. I couldn't stretch my legs out under the seat in front of me because of a bar of some sort under the back edge of the seat in front of me.

Finally, our final flight from Atlanta to Richmond was canceled because of a "maintenance problem". They booked us on a flight for tomorrow with no guarantee of a hotel room. We were on stand-by for the next flight but didn't get on that. Then we were on stand-by for the final flight of the day and were #'s 4/5/6. At the very last minute, they said they had room for 2 of the 3 of us, so my wife and daughter had the van keys and the luggage stickers. I was going to spend the night in either the airport or at my brother's on the north side of Atlanta. But, just as I turned to leave, they said they could put "one more Allen on". We go te last 3 seats. So, a huge 2-thumbs down for Delta for a trip that ended up having us traveling for 42 hours from the time we left for the airport yesteday until we got home tonight.

Still, the awful trip hasn't detracted from the very special week we just completed in Cape Town, South Africa. We spent a week "on vacation" with our son, his fiance, her parents and one brother, my parents, my wife's mother, our daughter and a small group of our son and his fiance's friends. And, let me tell you, Cape Town is a beautiful place to spend a week (and in which to get in some beautiful runs). Then, the wedding was Friday. They wanted it to be somewhat untraditional but it was very special.

Left to right: Stacey (our daughter), Stephen (our son), Anna (our new daughter-in-law), Jonathan (Anna's brother)



Off they go.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

From the Mountain to the Shore

What day is today? Wednesday, I think. Monday, I went back up the mountain but went all the way to Chapman's Peak (8 m to 305 m). The last half mile up was really difficult but I'm really glad I did it.

Tuesday, I didn't run. We were changing locations and I didn't want to have to deal with wet stuff. Plus, after having run Chapman's Peak Rd on Sat and Mon and a shorter run on Sun, I thought I needed a break. It was actually a good decision because the wind was really, really strong all day long.

This morning, I woke up in St. James -- just north of Kalk Bay and just south of Muizenberg -- (as if that's of help to anyone) and, yes, that's where I went to sleep. :) It was a gorgeous morning. A bit warm for my tastes but with a nice ocean breeze blowing. I decided to run about an hour to get a bit more distance. My legs were dead but it was really good to run along the coast. There's an electric train that runs right on the shoreline and decent enough sidewalks about 6' up the hill from the tracks. So, a pretty good place to run. Ended up running 8.1 miles, 1:05:24 -- 8:02 mpm pace -- I turned around at the northern edge of Simon's Town. Click here for my route -- it isn't as spectacular as Chapman's Peak but still a pretty run. Coordinates, if you want to look on Google Earth, are:

34°08'02.63"S
18°26'15.68"E

Run well, y'all,
Bob

It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This!

All I can say is WOW! I'm in Noordhoek, South Africa -- on the peninsula, south of Cape Town. This weekend we're on the Atlantic Ocean side, staying at the ACTS (African Christian Tours) Team House. On Tuesday, we move about 10 km to the Indian Ocean side. It is beautiful here.

Before leaving Johannesburg, a good friend described two runs for me -- one relatively flat and boring (in his words); the other gorgeous but brutal. We arrived at the team house about about 1:00 AM Saturday and got to bed at 2:30 AM or so. But, if I was going to run, I had to get up by 7:00. I woke up at 6:45 and was out the door at about 7:5. This is the view that greeted me as I walked out the door:


As I headed out, I tried to decide whether, in my state of way too little sleep, whether to do flat and boring or brutal and beautiful, up Chapman's Peak Road. When I got to the place where I had to go one way or the other, it was such a beautiful morning, I decided to go brutal and beautiful. Here's the visual result -- the total run was about 6.6 miles and 55:13 (average pace of 8:22 mpm):

Team house, looking up at the Chapman's Peak Drive

Start of the mountain climb

Looking back over the team house

Still climbing

Over-the-side view

The road is cut into the side of the hill

Chapman's Tunnel

Up...

Looking ahead over the side

Another looking back shot -- or my view on the way down

Nearing the peak

I can go a little farther

...and up

Note the sign and my photographer (we drove the route later in the day)

I turned around at this point so this is my first view on the downhill

Oh, did I ever make the right decision! It was brutal but so worth the pain. The mountain part of the run was about 2.3 miles up and, of course, the same down. gMap-Pedometer didn't give me a good elevation plot but it was a long climb. The last picture was taken at about the peak of my run, so you can see how high above the ocean I was. There were numerous bicyclists and runners -- I would guess 150 bikers and 50+ runners -- and only a dozen or so motored vehicles the whole time.

Eat your hearts out -- this was the prettiest run I have even done -- hands down, no competition, qualifies for a Runner's World Rave Run. Here are the placemark name and coordinates for Google Maps and Google Maps satellite image:

ACTS Team House, Noordhoek, RSA
--> Latitude: 34° 5'52.47"S
--> Longitude: 18°21'27.12"E


Run well, y'all,
Bob