Asics seems to have captured what running does for me. It does many things really, physical health, fitness, promotes creativity, cleanses my pallet for beer intake, outlet for stress, anger, anxiety…
In other news…
The Sedona Marathon was this past weekend in of all places, Sedona Arizona. The weather was good but not ideal for a marathon (or half marathon) as it was around 34 degrees at the start with lingering clouds and wind. At least the rain stayed away until a few hours after the race. Props to everyone who completed the race under those conditions.
Also this past weekend were the Boston Indoor Games (BIG). If you missed it Bernard Lagat ran a great 5000 meters, pulling ahead with about a lap to go after leading most of the race. His winning time was an American record of 13 minutes 11.5 seconds. More info can be found…here.
Good job Bernard, even if you do a lot of training in Tucson.
In personal news my wife is still trying to get back into the swing of running as she deals with pain and serious discomfort n her foot. After several rounds of x-rays and MRI’s the sports podiatrist has decided that there is a problem with one of her sesamoid bones. A cortisone shot has helped, but she cant continue to get shots every few months so we will see what is next. Orthotics maybe?
I have been hit and miss with my running (still). I have gotten some good quality faster tempo runs in lately, but nothing of a great distance. I really want to get out and hit a 10 miler, but just have not found the determination to get on the roads. Perhaps this will be the week.I will be up in Sedona for 5 days at the end of the month so maybe that will be the key to my letting it rip for some serious weekly mileage. And since I am coming, the Oak Creek Brewing Company had better fire up some of their best Ale for my enjoyment.
Some of you know that I really love Japan and it’s culture. Some of you know that I am unsuccessfully trying to teach myself to speak Japanese, and plan to eventually run the Tokyo marathon. I don’t eat red meat anymore, but if I did I would have jumped on a plane and flown to Japan for one of these. And yes, it’s real.
We posted on Twitter professing our love for Great Divides Brewing’s beers and wondered out loud if they ever sponsor or throw some gear (shirts, socks, kegs of beer, whatever) at people (runners in particular) who love and promote the endurance workout recovery aiding benefits of their products. Not really expecting a response we were shocked and happy to receive this:
@psychopathrun swing by the brewery for some stickers and free shwag!
Hallelujah! Now I just need to move up my plans for a visit to the neighborhood. Or perhaps they know that I am not a local and they are toying with me. Nah, they wouldn’t do that. They are a cool group of people. At least all of the people I met while on the brewery tour, including the owner Brian Dunn.
For those of you who have not partaken in irrigating your body with their delicious nectar’s, I suggest all of you pick up some of their suds and give them a shot. If you have sampled their beer then plan a trip to Denver and go see where all of the sudsy goodness originates from.
I haven’t done a product review in some time and that is mostly a result of my not making any new purchases of products lately as I generally tend to keep using what I like and what works for me, and no companies are sending me products to sample or give away.
One product that I have been using for some time now and have added as a must use when running are products made by the Halo corporation (headbands, visors, etc.). Why do I like their products so much and what sets them apart for everyone else’s headwear? If you sweat anywhere near as much as I do you will love these products as they channel your head sweat down and away from your eyes keeping you from getting that stinging sweat in your eyes and streaking all over your sunglasses. Nothing worse than not being able to see out of your Oakley’s due to sweat drips that have dried and not having a single piece of dry clothing to clean them with.
I have tried so many headwear products before that were supposed to keep the sweat out, and most all of them use some form of the highly scientific product known as Shaw-Wow or a double layer of cotton to try and keep the sweat out of your eyes. None of them work as advertised and most ended up letting way more sweat into your eyes than regular products once they reached their full saturation limit.
What sets the Halo products apart is a small unnoticeable channel called sweat block technology that runs across the front of the headband or hat that will funnel the sweat towards your temple and sides of your head where it will drip off or wick away like a charm. They are made out of a material that evaporates moisture and keeps odors away. What more could you want?
What’s that? Well yes they do make a winter version with ear protection to keep your ears warm, skull caps, bandanas, you name it they have it. With their many different colors and products, they will have something the heavy or normal sweating runner would want.
Pretty good training run today,only 4 miles but I was able to maintain my tempo for the entire run with only minimal hip discomfort. I have been doing my yoga and exercises for my sacrum issues, which has limited some of the tightness and pain but it is still there. Often I feel it less when running than I do when standing up or walking.
I feel so good today that I almost feel like going for a run during Rylees soccer practice again. I ran from the soccer fields last Wednesday and it was a very good workout as going west is a steady climb that turns into a steep climb before leveling off. Then the way back is a fun if you haven’t spent everything as you can cruise down the hills.
I think everyone needs to try and donate to any one of the agencies who are helping out the victims and survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. $10 isn’t much, but it will make a difference and most of us only need to skip lunch or a few starbucks drinks to cover it. I am somewhat torn on this as it is clear that we have milllions of people here who need help, but in Haiti, they dont have the social assistance structure that we have here. i am sure some “Run for Haiti” events will pop up soon.
If you are running the PF Changs Rock and Roll Arizona in a few weeks you might be interested in an event that is being put on by the race directors. If you go to the PF Changs at the Scottsdale waterfront (has that smell issue from the water been fixed yet?) on the 14th from 5-7 PM you will have the chance to mingle with Josh Cox, Ryan Hall, ultra runner Dean K, and many others. Could be a fun event. In fact, I think that I will be there myself. Details are below.
“Mingle with fellow race participants and be inspired by Runner’s World columnist, John “the Penguin” Bingham, and running legends Ryan Hall, Josh Cox, Dean Karnazes and Steve Scott. These running celebs will give you tips on how to run your best race yet, while you enjoy delicious appetizers and giveaways throughout the evening.
Date: Thursday, January 14 Time: 5pm – 7pm Location: P.F. Chang’s Scottsdale Waterfront, 7135 E. Camelback Road”
I know that there is little in common with the winter Olympics and running other than overall fitness training, XC skiing or the biathlon, but I thought some of you might enjoy this offer. For a limited time you can get a free 2010 winter Olympics journal from NBC. Follow the link to sign up here.
go to crap. Lyndsey and I decided to start training and then we would pick a destination race for us to go to and enjoy the destination as much as the race. One of her feet has been giving her some mild discomfort for a while now but it hasn’t been bad enough to stop her training or cause real pain. On Sunday she woke up and couldn’t put any real weight on it. No doctor was open so she went to urgent care, when the genius doctor told her that she had gout, despite her not having any symptoms of gout. She finally saw her PCP Monday and he referred her to a foot specialist whom she saw today. The initial prognosis was not what we wanted to hear. According to the foot doctor she has something under the ball of her foot that shows up in x-ray but he has no idea what it is as he had never seen anything like it. It could be something like a piece of glass stuck under there, but there is no scar tissue around that area. Most likely it is some form of a tumor growing in there. She has a follow-up in a week to see if the pain goes away, if not surgery is the option. Medication was provided for something or other, I can’t recall, I hope that it helps her out. She was told that she could bike, but only if she doesn’t put any weight on her forefoot. That could make for some strange cycling.
Then the guy says that once this is cleared up and she can resume running, he will show her the correct way to run. Oh really I thought. I wonder if he will try to show her POSE or Chi Running techniques. Guess it couldn’t hurt, I will tell her if he is being a quack. Not everyone is blessed with perfect footstrike like I am!!!
One of my friends has a brother who is going through his second bout with brain cancer. Some of his law enforcement buddies have organized a run to help him out, they will be doing Grandma’s marathon in Duluth this June. I may go do it as my destination race this year. There is a facebook group called Running for Ryan. They are accepting donations, but it seems like the real reason is to show support and share info on Ryan. If you are on facebook become a fan, it wont cost you anything and will make Ryan, his family and friends happy.
I have had a non-spectacular but steady last 5 days of running. Some days have been very good, some have been very difficult. At least I am finally getting the miles in. My hip still goes back and forth, but its good and bad day’s don’t necessarily coincide with how my running is. Some days my hip kills and I have a great run. Today my legs were toast so I only did a few miles on the dreadmill and then did some yoga and core work.
I haven’t had any coffee in 2 days and I am still alive, so that is good. The being alive part, not necessarily no coffee.
Little by little I think I will get back to where I want to be.
runfaraz
