love the blog's subtitle

many apologies for my absence this week. my apathy for running has created apathy for posting, but, no more! i have pretty much been off from running this week since my adventures last weekend (i'll get to that). i have been busy at work and a little sick and then playing golf yesterday and today. hoping to get back to running this week.

as you know, i did my first trail race last saturday. i don't remember exactly how you couched it, but you did tell me that it would be hard. that, dear sir, was quite the understatement. the race, in which about 75 people participated, was up and down 5 miles of insane hills and pretty much on the hottest day yet this year at 3pm. i managed it in 45 minutes, but it was a hellish time. i want to continue trail training and some races, but i learned that you should not attempt to do a trail race when you have never previously run on a trail even one time in your life. you would think that such a truth would be self-evident, but to me it apparently was not. there is a six mile trail race of the same series in about a month and i want to do it, so i need to get out there and incorporate trails into my training. the following morning, last sunday, i ran 8 miles as a form of punishment/training, due to my poor performance in the trail race. one of my running buddies has suggested that i'm experiencing some post-half-marathon training letdown, so i think i need to sign up for another race to reinvigorate my motivation. i'll let you know what i decide.

a few blog issues. i am all for others participating in our dialogue, so feel free to bring along anyone who wants to contribute. i am sure that i have some pictures of us, but i'll bet they are on my eMac, which is at work at the moment. i'll look and send them to you.

on the baby front, kristina is now 35 weeks. we got a new car because the car seat would not fit in her VW Golf. you might ask, "why not just get a new car seat?" unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. i am officially old (but i'm going to get faster). have a rockin' saturday night.

q?

do you have a pic of us?

this week...

i only logged a run on monday...about 2.5 miles.

16 credits has left me with little time...so the next time i have to run is monday. awesome! and you?

invite...

I have invited Julie, the coach i have worked with for the past few years, to check in and post if she so desires.

let me know if there are others you like to add as contributers...and i will send them an invite...since i am not sure if they need to be invited to post.

also have a noontime run with my friend kelly again...i think i may add some more hills to the run. maybe not...it all depends on how i feel at noon. i'll post/ comment after.

how was xterra?

ouch

so somewhere in yesterday's run...i am not actually sure of how far into it i was...but i decided to do a set of stairs up to another trail. let me tell you a quarter mile of stairs (just a guess...probably less...it just felt that bad). my quads are killing me. i would like to say i was a better runner this week but i have only clocked two runs (actually brought the clock/ watch on the run 47:01 minutes). after the stairs i continued my run and then did some barefoot running on the grass too. it was quite i day that i pushed through...especially after the stairs.

of course i took the dog with me...and we went to a local park that also has a farm. at one point he ran off. awesome! but surprise surprise (kinda like April April)i found him laying out in front of the goat pen...waiting to herd them. i should have looked there first.

however, even though i only ran twice i was able to get to the gym two times. i lifted and spun for 30 minutes, great way to do some reading...

good luck!

I have been a sucky runner

I have run only once this week. Also, I ate a bunch of mexican food, brownies and beer last night. I'm heading out in a few hours to run the trail race. I'll come back with a great tale of the pain and suffering that I'm going to endure.

good luck...

so if my internet search ability serves my right you have a race tomorrow. GOOD LUCK with that! give me race report when your done.

wheres the running?

so where is the running? i have been looking for it the last couple of days and NOTHING!

lunch run

so today i met up with my friend kelly (the one who wants to "write" his bike in the relay) for a run on his lunch hour. it was a good quick run around downtown seattle...about 2 miles. much like the out and backs that you love or hate...i can't remember...we had a to the pig and back. this is the pig... the run was also complimented by several large seattle hills! and rain!

Is this what Seattle is like?

So here in good ole' E. TN we are experiencing the coldest, crappiest April that I've ever know. This afternoon provided a constant rain, gloomy skies, bitter wind and mid 40's temp. I just ran roads and greenways nearest my house with two buddies for a total of 7.4 miles. I think our time was about 1:05. I guess I am becoming an actual runner because anything under 10 miles doesn't seem all that imposing any more. My usual theory about running holds true: sucks when you are doing it, but feels great when you are done. I might have made it harder by breathlessly detailing the last two episodes of 24 during the run, since one of my friends had missed them. Now is time to jump in the shower and thaw out. Where the heck is Spring?

Thanks for the link to the Runner's World Trail Running Guide. I skimmed in briefly, and I'm looking forward to going back and reading it through. I think I'm going to try and run on a trail at least once this week. I need to do some more research to find where good spots are around here. I would assume there are some since I live amongst woods and mountains. Eh, who knows?

saturday's run...

so i went back to the same loop i did easter morning. this time in the afternoon after all hope of me get back to my school work was gone. yesterday was not a productive day for the homework. 16 credits sucks. i think i am ready to be done with school for now...that is not to imply forever...the Phd still remains on the horizon. back to running...yesterday i brought the dreaded watch along. i hate this thing. it just makes me realize how poorly i am doing at times. but i clocked the loops in 31:02. i think i mentioned last time that the loop is 3-4 miles. i tried to gmap it and i believe it is now closer to 3 miles than 4. maybe i should bring a string to the map and trail head and measure it that way...like we measure the perimeter of things back in math class. either way...it gives me a time to measure myself against and track progress or lame excuses for slowing down.

also i would try to get on some trails before Xterra...dodging roots and rocks while navigating hills, etc. is quite tricky. i run this trail frequently (i hate running on the road) and i still manage to trip up on at least one rock or root. here is a link to trail running 101 website.

i'm just happy to be here

crage, many kudos to you for setting up this forum for encouragement/ridicule in our running ventures. being on the new blogger was much more condusive to my ease of participation.

on tuesday i hit 3 miles, which was my first real run following my half-marathon from about 9 days prior. today i ran about 4.5 mi along with my most frequent running companion, my friend jeremiah. it was one of the best feeling runs i have ever done. we ran a loop, which i typically prefer to an out-and-back, as my attention span is slightly less than that of griffers. i was feeling particularly good, so i went out pretty fast and, though it pretty much sucked around mile 3, i ran the last 800 meters probably as fast as i have ever locomoted my own body.

due to my less than stellar level of personal motivation, i usually need something to force me to get out and run. right now that something is the xterra: belly of the beast trail race that i'm planning to run next weekend. it's a five miler, and you, crage, have bolstered my confidence by telling me that it will feel more like 7. here's the website: http://www.xterraplanet.com/trailrun. i've never run off-road, save for the shoulder when cars are barrelling down on me, so i figured now is as good a time as any to give it a try.

i'm planning to get in about 7 on sunday, and hopefully i will find that i still have some measure of endurace about me. if not, i'll just remember to run like crage and that will hopefully get me through.

we aren’t quitters (originally 4.11.07)

so i was able to get in a 4 miler today. however, about mile 3 my mantra became, "we aren't quitters..." i realize now, as i did slightly at the time, that i am only one person and that i am not a plural being. maybe i was talking to the dog...but i think he could have gone on for quite a bit more. but i didn't quit.

so it was fairly good start to the week. i got to the gym yesterday and God willing i will make it into the pool tomorrow.

this past weeks run (originally 4.8.07)

so this past week while you were recovering and getting fat i logged the following runs:

tuesday: i went to track...on average we run about 2-3 miles. this week's workout was 4x1000m with 200m rest walk/jog intervals in between (and trust me i walked very slow!). it was a good workout, but the coolest part was during my warm-up. instead of running around the track several times like i normally do, i decided to run the large loop that goes around the track and several soccer fields. i wasn't too far along and i heard this rustling in the trees above me...than i heard the sound of branches breaking and some screeching! i look up and saw this bald eagle fly out from the tree. it had a bird in its talons and threw it against the ground below and than another eagle came and grabbed it and threw it down again. then the two eagles grabbed the bird (now dead and possibly missing a wing) and flew back up in the trees. it was AWESOME!

thursday: this was when you called after "lame-ass class" it was a shorter run, but challenging for one who hasn't run for quite some time. i think it was about three miles and i experienced my own "lame-ass class." i also took jonah with me and he went a chased a rabbit into some blackberry bushes, and got stuck...stupid dog.

sunday/ easter: today! i actually got up early enough to run and go to church...both an amazing thing in their own right! i went out to some trails and had planned to do the longer of the two loops that i do there, but in the end i did both loops. total miles about 3.5. it was a beautiful morning...sunny and a little chilly but compared to rainy afternoon it was awesome. He is risen!

now get off your butt and run!

relay map (originally 4.8.07)

so here is the map for the relay that i am doing. map where it says "craig" plug in "tad" and vice versa. i am now "tad" and he is now "me!" kelly wants to "write" a bike for his portion of the race. also as a part of the race we are doing it to raise money for a good cause...Worldvision. here is a link to what we are doing..link.