65st West Hill Repeats

My plan to train for the Accenture Tower Ultimate Climber Challenge is to run lots of hills and do lots of lunges. I only have a few weeks to train so I will have to be careful not to over do it. You can't cram for a race just like you can't cram for a stair climb.

I ran over to 65th St. West between ave M and M-8 today. I then attempted 4 repeats with a recovery jog back down inbetween. The rest time down ended up being almost exactly 4 minutes each time. Any faster and It wouldn't have been "recovery time." My times for the hills (each one is a half mile and reaches a grade of around 7-8%) were 3:18, 3:22, 3:26, 3:23. To put it into perspective my best time up this hill is 3:08. I haven't run hills like that in a while and I could start to feel the burn a little earlier on each successive repeat. I also felt my right calf a fatigue and tighten as the workout progressed. I haven't mentioned this before but my right calf has been sore since my "easy trail run" with Keira almost two weeks ago. I can still run on it, it is just tight.

Total mileage for today was 8.

Here is the link to my pledge page for the ALA Fight for Air Climb.

Clay's Hill Workout

I met Dale and Clay for a Tuesday hill workout. First I ran to Clay's house and then we all ran over to the first hill which is used as a warm up. By now I had run 4 miles of warm up but was no where close to warm as the temp was 20 degrees. Weather.com said the low of 20 would feel like 16 degrees with the light breeze. It was cold, probably the coldest temps I have run in so far this year. That being said we hit the hill on 65th with me chasing Clay who took off hard from the start. Each hill repeat or loop is a half mile long. I finished the first one in 3:28, Clay was 3:35. I ran the next two loops on the Manzanita Hill both in 3:02 and as Clay and Dale headed back I stayed to run one more loop which I hit in 3:07. As I was running home my hands started to get really cold, so cold they started to ache badly. I couldn't wait to get home and warm them up. Even after a hot shower my hands and cheeks were still cold.

Total mileage for today was 8 bringing my monthly total for November to 108. Last week I ran 45 miles (nearly half my monthly mileage) which tells you how my mileage for November looked. Here is a list of my excuses: short taper for Santa Clarita Half Marathon, recovery from the half marathon, a cold, rainy, and windy weekend mid November, and a head cold.

Clay's hill workout

I got up and ran over to Clay's house to meet him and Dale for their morning hill workout. It is exactly 2.5 miles from my house to his. There was a cool ring around the moon this morning. The temperatures were in the high 30s with no wind. PERFECT! We ran another mile before starting the hill workout. It is a set of 3 differnt hills but the last one is run twice and the first one is a warm up. I didn't know how my calf would hold up to the hills so I stayed with Clay to push him on his sets. He had a great workout. I ran home from there for a total of 8 miles in 64 minutes of varying speeds. I had to stop and stretch my calf between hill sets.

Thirsty Thursdays with Jack Daniels is on the transition from high school to college running. It made me think about my transition from running as a Senior at Green Valley High School to a Freshman at California Lutheran University. It was a tough one. I trained over the summer and ran a downhill road 10k before leaving for school in 36:36 (still my 10k PR). I had a tough transition to college running though and never ran under 30 minutes for 8k my first year. The jump from 5k to 8k was tough on me. I would typically go out too hard and fade in the middle. It is tough to run your own race when most of the guys can go out at 5:00 pace or under and hang on. I seem to remember usually going out around 5:30 pace but still running around 30min. I dealt with the worst case of shin splints I have ever had come championship races and ended the season on a poor note. In track our coached trained most of the distance crew for the 1500m and I gained a lot of speed. I remember doing a weekly workout that was 4 or 6 x 400m and I would be last on each rep running at 67 sec! I never ran farther than 3k that spring, mostly 1500m (around 4:36), but I did run in one 4x400m relay and the head coach clocked me at 54 seconds! I still don't know how accurate that was, I never ran faster than 57 seconds before or after that. I am guessing it was closer to 56. I think by the end of track season I had gained about 10 pounds as well which probably didn't help. I remember weighing about 165 at the end of high school and being somewhere in the 180s by the time my freshman year was over. All in all it was fun and that is what counts, but I remember it being a tough transition to balance school, running, social life etc.

Two steps forward, one step back

I felt pretty good this morning. My nasal congestion was better. I was able to start running at a good pace without any calf tightness. My calf felt good so after two miles I decided to pick up the pace. I did my Quartz Hill zig zag hill workout and was ok on the hills. I decided to try and keep my pace even on the rest of the workout. I was running strong uphill at 7:30 pace and easy downhill at 7:30 pace. It is nearly a 7 mile course so I had to add an extra bit at the end to make it 7 even (I finished in 52:30 avg 7:30 pace). As I was running up the last 30 ft hill to my house my right calf tightened up again. Luckily this time I was home and just stopped running. So I immediately went to the back yard, made and ice bath and soaked for 10 minutes before showering and heading off to work. I have been using "the stick" off and on for self massage today and will do an ice massage after posting here. It was definitely a set back. It is sore and tight this afternoon, but not as bad as two weeks ago.


In the US Racing news Leo Manzano ran a PR in the mile this weekend running 3:50.64 putting him 9th on the all time US list. Why is that significant you ask? Well, that time bumped Jim Ryun off the all time US top 10 mile list! Jim's 3:51.1 in 1967 was a World Record at the time. Interestingly, he didn't run that time in Europe, he ran it in Bakersfield, CA just a little over an hour north of here. Now the World Record for the mile is 3:43.13 by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999. Records are made to be broken, but Jim will always be one of the best, most exciting, and a trail blazer for US track and field.

Quartz Hill intervals

I met Clay and Zac at 6:15 am at 65th West and L-8 for a hill workout. Clay was on the bike suppying water during each rest break. Zac was obviously tired. I had run 3 miles of warm up by the time we started. The workout was 4x 1/2 mile hill repeats, with the second one being the most difficult. The first was on 65th from L-8 to M. I lead and finished in 3:05. The second was still on 65th from M to M-8. Zac was running right behind me until half way when he stopped suddenly and ran for the side of the road. I thought for sure he was loosing his breakfast, turns out he found a road reflector that had come loose and he picked it up for a friend's collection. He still almost caught me by the end. I was first to finish the second 1/2 mile hill in 3:19. Clay says the grade on this section of 65th reaches 8% at the end and is around 6% in the beginning. The last two 1.2 mile loops are in a neighborhood just south of M-8 and 65th where Zac has done repeats before. The first half of the loop is tough then levels out at the top and finishes downhill. I was spent after the first two and Zac was about 10 seconds ahead of me. I finished in 3:10 and 3:05. He was under 3:00 for both. I ran a cool down home (2 miles) for a total of 7 miles today. It was a tough workout but I felt really good about it. I think my achilles will be a little sore tomorrow. We did not time our rest breaks but started on perceived readiness. There is an interesting article on runnersworld.com on perceived readiness during interval training that is worth a read.


FYI: Sergio Reyes is running the 10,000m at USA championships on Thursday at 6:20 pacific time. The meet is in Iowa. It will be broadcast live on flotrack.org. Check it out.

Past LA Marathons

For the log I got in 8 miles today adding some long hills around Quartz Hill including 65th from M to M-8 twice. I finished in 62 minutes. I felt great considering my long run on Sunday.


I have run the LA marathon twice (2004 and 2005). The Los Angeles Marathon was my very first Marathon in 2004. It was a warm day much like it will be this year. I faded towards the end but exceeded my expectations and ran a 3:15. A Boston qualifier didn't seem so far away after that first marathon. I remember meeting my family after the race and saying, "I want to do that again."

I did do it again the next year with Andi. She had already run three marathons and had just broken 4 hours barely. She had run 2-3 half marathons under 1:40 and I told her that she could run under the 3:40 Boston qualifier time if she ran one with me. We ran the 20th Los Angeles marathon together in 2005. We went out a little too fast (I think we were on 3:30 pace at the half) and faded towards the end but pulled off a 3:38! It was another hot day down there. Andi was 18th in her age group that year (F25-29) and 93rd female. I was very proud of her. We both qualified for Boston that year as I went on to run 2:58 that June at Grandma's Marathon.

6 mile hill workout

"I've always liked hills. I see a challenge, a goal, and I feel instantly galvanized to achieve the goal." --Amby Burfoot, Runners World

There are lots of hills on the LD50 course. Actually there is very little level ground. We ARE running on a trail for 50 miles aren't we?. I have mentioned before that I wanted to incorporate some good hills on any run that I do leading up to this race. Today I ran from my house to 55th St. (1/2 mile). 55th St. has a decent grade to run up as it gets closer and closer to the aqueduct. The section I ran probably averages about 4-5% grade. I just kept repeating a quarter mile stretch up and down, up and down, then crossed Ave. N and ran another quarter miles stretch up and down, up and down. I got progressively faster each quarter mile until the last one was at about 7:00 pace. I finished with a 1.5 mile cool down back home. Total mileage was 6 miles, time was 49 minutes.

Over the past 10 years of half marathon and marathon training I have grown to enjoy hills and fell that they are one of my strengths as a runner. Before then, in high school and college, I was not confident on hills. I would use them as an excuse to slow down. Now I push them and used them to my advantage on races. I am looking forward to find out how I feel after 40 miles of hills with 10 to go!


I have to rant a little bit here on one of by biggest pet peeves. I have been discussing the LD50 with many people over the last month and one of the most common responses is, "With all this running aren't you worried about your knees?" My response is, "not one bit." It upsets me that people have this perception that running is BAD for your knees, and that it may even cause permanent damage too them. Human beings were built to run long distances. Can you have knee pain with running if you progress too quickly and do not have the base strength and conditioning?, certainly. But it is not BAD for your knees. In fact I would argue that running is actually GOOD for your knees. The weight bearing bones of the femur and tibia like the rhythmical compression/decompression effect of walking and running. So why do runners get stress fractures? Vitamin D deficiencies, poor bone structure to begin with, or again increasing mileage too quickly not allowing your body to make those slow adaptations and the bone can be the last thing to give out. The knee does not like the sheering or twisting forces present in other sports like football, basketball, soccer etc. If you plant and twist with just the right amount of force you can tear your meniscus and/or your ACL. I have had knee pain from running but I believe it was due to some of the reasons I listed above. I don't believe that it has caused me any permanent damage. Some of the worst knee pain I have had has been after helping people move or prolonged deep squatting with yard work. There has been many recent research studies that show that running does NOT cause arthritis and is actually healthful for the knees and other joints. A torn meniscus or history of a knee scope or surgery can predispose you to early onset arthritis, but arthritis alone is hereditary. Does that mean if you have arthritis you cannot run? No way! It can be managed, and a combination of strength training and running may actually alleviate moderate arthritic pain. Appropriate exercise for management of arthritis pain has been shown to be just as effective as anti-inflammatories for the treatment of arthritis. There are constantly more 70, 80, and 90 year-olds running marathons. If it was BAD for you then how do you explain Ed Whitlock running a 2:54 marathon at the age of 73? I rest my case.

Keep on runnin'!

Here is the Runners World's running doc's take on the subject, and I have many other articles that show the same thing.

Pasadena Half Marathon

No, I didn't run the Pasadena Half Marathon this morning, but my wife Andi and her siblings (Louise and Clark) did with their dad Don for his 60th birthday! They snuck the race in between rain storms and had what Andi called perfect weather. It was overcast and cool, from the pictures it looked great. They kept a very even pace going through the 10k in 60:44 (9:47 pace) and even picked it up a little to finish all together in 2:07:10 (9:42 pace). I only hope that I can still run a half marathon when I am 60, but even more so, I hope that my boys are able to run one with me. I thought it was such a great idea for all Don's kids to run it with him. He has been building up his mileage over the past 4 months for this race. Congratulations Don and Happy Birthday! He was even in the top 10 in his age group! When's the next one Don?



It started pouring ran up here just before Andi got home and I told her that I wanted to get in a run so I got the treadmill all ready to go. Just as I started running the rain stopped, I jumped off the treadmill, went out to the living room and said, "never mind I'm running outside!" I got in a good 10 miler which included two times up 65th from M to M-8 and then up 70th to the aqueduct and back home. I pushed the pace a little on the aqueduct running around 6:50-7:10 pace and felt good about the effort involved considering my long run yesterday. I finished the 10 miles in 79 minutes (just under 8:00 pace).

31 miles for the weekend.

I have been reading some blogs and articles on training for an ultra-marathon and most of them suggest the back-to-back long run plan. One article suggested that even the elite ultra runners don't do too many runs longer than 30 miles but they would do 25 one day and 20 the next. If I can get in 30+ mile weekends for the next month I think I will be in good shape.

9 mile Thursday!

I used to have nine mile Thursday every week when I was training for Boston in 2008. I usually did some form of progression run ending at threshold pace for a mile or two. Today I zig zagged my way through Quartz Hill area between 50th W. and 70th W. and got as far north as L-8 running hard up all the hills and finished the 9 miles in exactly 72 minutes (8:00 pace avg). It was a little breezy in the morning and it was gusty by the afternoon. Is this the start of the spring winds? I'm not looking forward to that. That's all I have for ya today. Hope everyone is having a good week!

6 mile run in Quartz Hill

I got up this morning for a run before work. You could feel the weather coming. The forecast calls for rain the next two days. I ran 6 miles and each got progressively faster. I think it took me around 46 minutes for the run and after two miles of warm up I pushed it for a mile up 65th, then had a half mile downhill before another push up 60th, and headed home. My legs have felt good this week and I am hoping this leads to a good two months of training ahead.

If you like documentaries on runners or running coaches I have seen a few good ones lately. Running the Sahara was a great documentary that I received for Christmas, I highly recommend it. I also saw most of Run For Your Life, the life story of Fred Lebow (the director of the New York City Marathon. If you have netflix you can stream it on your computer. There is also a documentary titled The Long Green Line about York HS Coach Joe Newton. Coach Newton has written books on coaching high school runners and his team has won 25 state titles in Illinios in 50 years. You can watch the whole movie for free on hulu.com here.

7 mile run in Quartz Hill

I got out for 7 miles this afternoon and continued my hill training emphasis. I went up M-8 to 70th then down to L-8, up 65th for a mile of climbing and then up 60th for another half mile. Total mileage was 7.3 miles in 55:15 (avg 7:35 pace). Got into a groove for the last few miles and felt really good about it.

Last Friday Bernard Lagat won his record 8th Wanamaker Mile (indoor track) at the Millrose Games in NY. Here is the video of the race. It is truly beauty in motion. He is racing the Olympic champion and they both make 15 mph look effortless, then Lagat shows everyone that he has a whole other gear!

12 mile long run (1:31:07)

Clay was right on with his post today. It was a glorious day to run. Andi got out for a run in the morning and I left at around 1 pm to go while the boys were napping. I had planned on at least an hour but as I ran that ETA got longer and longer. In planning for the LD50 I have decided to try and make as many runs on hilly routes has possible. Today my goal was to go long and hit as many hills in Quartz Hill as possible. The temperatures at 1 pm were just warm enough to go with shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. I set my Ipod shuffle and started out UP N to the top. After that I went UP M to the end and got on some of the dirt roads that looped back around to L-8. I turned back toward home at L and 72nd and zig-zagged UP 70th, UP 65th, and UP 60th. I realized I would be just over 10 miles if I ran back home so I decided to run down 55th an extra mile and turn around to finish UP 55th. 1700ft of total ascent over the 10 miles. I finished the 12 miles in 1:31:07 (avg pace 7:35), although my pace was anywhere but steady due to all the hills. Here are my mile splits: 7:46, 8:10, 7:27, 7:34, 7:17, 7:21, 7:52, 7:53, 7:36, 7:10, 7:23, 7:30.

Due to the tightness and soreness in my right foot, I decided to break out a new pair of New Balance 1224s for the run today. I have yet another new pair still waiting in the wings (I found them online at the end of last year for 40 bucks a pair; reg 130). I felt tightness and occasional sharp pains in the plantar fascia of both feet during the run, but most of the run felt great. I finished the workout with an ice bath again. The best thing about the winter...the water comes out of my hose at just the right temperature for an ice bath, no ice cubes needed.

The weather today started off crisp, clear, and sunny. It ended like this (from my front door)!

WOW!
(no photoshopping necessary)

7 mile slow run 58:00

I haven't felt great all week. Very tired in the morning, a tight left hamstring, and some upper back pain. I have started back to my lunch workout routine and had good workouts on Monday and Wednesday for 20 minutes each. I usually feel better after doing those workouts. They involve band walking, reverse lunges, kettlebell swings, pushups, planks, mountain climbers, side planks, and different variations on all these exercises.

This morning I ran my Quartz Hill hill run which included 3 half mile hills in the second half of the run. My left hamstring gave up on the second one and I took it really easy. I finished the 7 miles in 58 minutes. I hope this hamstring loosens up before the AVC track meet on January 30th or I will not be ready to run on the track.


The Zoom! Yah! Yah! Marathon in Northfield, MN is this Sunday. A marathon in MN in January? Well, they run it at the 282 meter indoor track in the athletic facilities at St. Olaf College (my dad's alma mater). It's only 150 laps, anyone interested? The course record is 2:52:31. Don't ask me how they keep track of laps.

"Nothing hurts more, but is so rewarding at the same time."
--Runner Sandy Zanchi on the Marathon

8 mile Quartz Hill run in the rain

I was able to get out for an uncommon afternoon run today. I left the house at about 2 pm and headed out for my half mile hills run. I added on another half mile hill today for a total of four. The course is from my house down to L-8 and 70, then zig zag up and down back home. I go up each hill for a half mile then turn left and go down to the next hill. I run up 70th, 65th, 60th and today 55th each for a half mile. It started to rain steady while I was on 70th. So each hill was in the rain and into the wind. It was a tough run and again I pushed the pace a little hard but I am feeling more comfortable at these faster speeds.

Splits were: 7:17, 6:53, 7:05, 7:17, 7:18, 7:18, 7:15, 6:48.

Total 8 miles in 57:13 (avg pace 7:09)

I think I typically run better when I don't have to jump out of bed and hit the road right away.


Singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette ran the Bizz Johnson Marathon this weekend in 4:17. Not bad. I checked out the race web page and it looks like a beautiful course in near Susanville, CA (north of Reno, NV). The times were amazingly fast with a third of the finishers under four hours. I couldn't figure it out until I saw the elevation profile here.

If you ran a marathon this weekend, this study found that you are six times more likely to get sick in the three days following the race as a result of immune system dysfunction.

6 mile Quartz Hill hill run

I varied my usual hill run slightly today. I didn't go up to 70th only to 65th but still hit the steep section of 65th between M and M-8. I averaged just under 8:00 pace over the run, pushing the pace a little on the hills. My limiting factor today was my L calf but my knee felt better and I had no issues with my hamstring. I have cut my training mileage by about 25-30% and will cut my long run by 30-40% this weekend and build up in the next two weeks towards Twin Cities as long as I continue to improve.

Anyone interested in running the 25th LA Marathon "Stadium to the Sea"? You can register already, for $125! No early entry discount for this one. YIKES! It looks to be a good time. They even have their own la marathon blog. Check out the promo commercial.


Dean Karnazes is promoting the race as well. Here is a recent video interview with him.


Here is Dean describing to a group how to run 200 miles.


From Karl's day calander: 70-number of minutes it took Jesse Owens to break three world records, and tie a fourth, at a college track meet in 1935.

Coach and trainer, Vern Gambetta commented on a post from Jay Johnson on General vs. Specific strength training for runners. Also an interesting read. All good stuff!

8 mile Labored Day hill run (60 min)

I decided to do my 3 x half mile hill workout today but didn't go as fast as I would have liked due to a tight left calf. The 8 miles too me 60 minutes on the dot (7:30 pace). This left leg has been giving me trouble since I twisted it during a move. It has been flared up the last two weeks. I may have a torn meniscus, my knee pops a few times a day, and I can tell when it is going to because to "grinds" and "blocks" my last 10-20 degrees of full extension. It just feels a little unstable. If I am smart about it I think I can manage it through these next two marathons. If I can get it feeling as good as it did on that 10k time trial, then I still have a shot at 2:55 in Sacramento. The running doesn't seem to bother the knee but my calf and hamstring sure compensate. It is all the other stress I put on it during the day that seems to aggravate it. Like I said it felt better after Saturday's 18 miler than it has in a while. A day at the beach and some work in the garage today and it is pretty sore. I will take tomorrow off and next weekend is a recovery weekend for me as I will be watching the boys while Andi runs the Big Bear Half Marathon.

Congrats to Chuck Fieland on a 1:31:20 half marathon at Disneyland. He is right on track to run 3:10 at CIM. Just take it easy on those other fall marathons Chuck.

The US 20k Championships was this weekend and local elite runner Sergio Reyes was running a week after PRing at the half marathon distance. It was a very competitive field compared to last year and Sergio placed 15th with a time of 1:01:47, bettering his time from last year where he placed 16th and ran 1:02:52. Not bad for racing 2 weekends in a row. In 2007 he was 8th place in 1:01:46. See video from the race here. You can see him finish at 14:53 into the video. He will be running the Chicago Marathon in 5 weeks.

The men's race was won by Brett Gotcher of McMillan Elite in 58:57! The fastest winning time since 2005 (Abdi).

The women's race was won by 45 year old Colleen DeReuck who will be running the Twin Cities Marathon with Andi and me (ok not WITH us but in the same race as us) in four weeks.

See flotrack for interviews. Still no Sergio interview.

8 mile Quartz Hill long hills run

It took me about 3 miles to loosen up this morning after my 2 hour run yesterday, but after that I felt really good. I did my 3 x half mile hill run in Quartz Hill. The loop is about 7 miles but I tacked on another one for cool down and made it 8 in 1:02:40 (avg 7:50 pace). I am feeling stronger up the hills. 22 miles for the weekend. Last time I did this workout, July 25th, I did it in 1:02:10 (pretty close and I was more fresh last time).

Next Saturday, August 15th, is our next FREE running clinic at Valley Physical Therapy Group. This time the topic is on interval training! The show starts at 11:00 am and will run for about an hour. Come down and check it out. You might learn something. The title is "Get Fit, Get Fast, Loose Weight (Maximal Metabolic Disruption)."

This is post number 250 by the way!

If this video doesn't inspire you then you may be hopeless.

Weekend Update!

I have had about two weeks of detraining and am ready for a two month build up for Twin Cities. This week I only ran 12 miles during the work week.

Tuesday: I ran a total of 4 miles from my house, around Joe Walker, and back. I went without a watch but felt like it was about 7:45 pace.

Friday: I ran 8 miles around Quartz Hill on my hill workout loop. The goal: push 3xhalf mile hills in the middle of the run (up 70th, up 65th, and up 60th). The toughest climb is up 65th between M and M-8. It is a really good workout, and the rest of the run is at an easy pace (1 min slower than marathon pace). I completed the 8 miles in 1:02:10 for an average pace of 7:46.

Saturday: Andi and I met Clay, Zac, and Dale on Ave. S and the aqueduct at 5:45 am(a stretch of aqueduct that I was not familiar with). It was a 2.5 mile stretch that we ran out and back on twice. The goal of the workout was a fast finish. We all ran together for the first 5 miles in 42:25 (avg 8:29 pace), then picked it up on the back 5. I decided to run the last five with this progression (2 at marathon pace, 1 about 15 seconds faster, and the last two with whatever I had left). The last five mile splits were 7:15, 7:05, 6:28, 6:15, 6:04. My second half was 33:07 (avg pace 6:37). I was running slightly over AT Pace and could feel the lactate building in my legs after about a mile at that faster pace. It was probably a little too fast (see Sunday's workout). See Clay's blog for the group photo. Total time was 1:15:34 for 10 miles (avg pace 7:35). Andi averaged 7:30-7:40 pace on the way back for a total time of just over 1:20!

Sunday: Andi and I met Clay and Dale at 60th and the aqueduct at 5:30 am for an 8 mile recovery run. This is the most weekend mileage (18 miles) that Andi has done in over 3 years. She we just got back and she is already asleep on the couch. We averaged 8:40 pace and even I was sluggish today from the previous 2 days of workouts.

Special thanks to Jon and Louise Fitch who have stayed with the boys while Andi and I have run together 2 days in a row now! We are both ready for a day off tomorrow.

Next weekend Clay and I are going to a Perform Better Seminar called Funcitonal Training Summit in Long Beach, CA. Stay tuned to see how creative we can be in also getting our workouts in.

7 mile Quartz Hill loop (52:18)

I woke up this morning to the sound of chirping birds! To me that means NO WIND! I have mapped out a tough 10k course that includes a half mile hill up 65th and a mile steady hill up 60th. I felt good from the start and decided to push the hills a little and cruise the downhills. When I looked at my watch I was averaging about 7:20 pace up the hills. The loop is almost exactly 6 miles and would be a good 10k time trial or tempo run. I finished with an extra mile for a total of 7 in 52:18 or 7:30 avg pace. It was a great morning run.

Some of you may know of Dick Beardsley from the Duel in the Sun with Alberto Salazar at the 1982 Boston Marathon. He is also the Grandma's Marathon course record holder. He also ran a 2:47:56 at the age of 50! He had a total knee replacement in January of this year, not because of arthritis from running (running doesn't cause arthritis, heredity does) but he twisted his knee at the beach and required arthroscopic surgery (his 12th on that knee) but it got infected and the damage required total knee replacement. The amazing part of the story is that 6 months later he is running 40-45 miles per week! Read the article here.

Check out Dick Beardsley's Blog here.
He talks about his recovery from surgery, pretty interesting stuff.


The RunnersWorld Daily blog has been pretty funny this week.
Highlights include this story about beer.
And this one about underwear.


The Twin Cities Marathon that my wife and are running October 4th has officially reached its 11,000 entrant capacity with 3 months to go!

Finally, Thirsty Thursdays with Jack Daniels are back!

Saturday: 9 mi FF; Sunday: treadmill hills

Yikes! It has been one week since my last post. Here is the recap from last week.

No running during the week. Lots of alibis. Cold weather. Snow on Friday. I did do 20 minutes of strength training MWF during lunch.

I missed a planned easy run with drills and a cruise interval workout.

Saturday I decided to do a fast finish long run, but only had time for a little over an hour. I did 6 miles easy (avg 7:30 pace), then 2.5 fast finish, followed by a half mile cool down for a 9 mile total. The splits on the 2.5 mile finish were 6:07, 6:04, 3:02. Total time for 9 miles was 1:04:26 (avg pace 7:09). It was a great morning for a run except for the patches of black ice on the road due to the freezing temps Friday night (slippery).

Sunday I only had some time while the boys were napping to hop on the treadmill. Today was a scheduled hill repeats workout so I tried to mimic that. The design worked out well. I did a 3 mile warm up at 8mph (7:30 pace) on an incline of 3. Then increased the incline all the way up to 10 (the maximum). I proceeded to alternate 1 minute at 9mph with 2 minutes at 3mph for the next 30 minutes (10 total repetitions). The incline stayed at 10 even on the rest periods. The first 6x1 minute hill repeats were at 9mph, the next 4 were at 9.3mph. The last one went on for 1.5 minutes as I wanted to see what 10mph felt like on an incline of 10 (that is pretty fast, no joke). I cooled down at 7 mph with a total distance of 6.5 miles.

On Jack Daniels PhD. treadmill chart, for 9mph at 10% grade the equivalent effort on level ground is about a 4:10 mile, no wonder I was spent after 1 minute at that pace!


Dean Karnazes posted some of the information he collected at the Running USA conference last week here. The stat that I find most interesting is that of runners that run more than 100 times a year, 94% of them are college educated. I guess college is teaching us something.

Finally, Mark Denny PhD. wrote an article on the ultimate limits to running speeds for humans. I don't know how he formulated the results but they are interesting to think about none the less. Also, amazing how close Paula Radcliffe's marathon record is to the upper limits for females. He predicts that there is only room for .36% improvement on her women's marathon world record. Check out his predictions here.

Have a great week.