1st sunday long run and coffee

brian and i went on the first long run:



abt 6.8 miles with matti and ho-d for the first 1/2. then we dropped them off and brian dragged my ass down to 15th and back. brian was going along at a faster than 9 pace and i tried to keep up. IT band did okay but a bit of twinging in the last couple of miles. good times, though. ended with a cool-down to stumptown (crazy-busy on this sunny sunday) to get some fresh beans for the burr grinder. yummy brunch and nytimes.
week 1 is dead; long live week one!


i'm going to repeat week 1 for the next two weeks until we sync up with hal.

San Fran has hills

oh yes it does. I had a spare day here so I decided to bike my ass around on a rental. Not only is it super cheese to be seen on a hybrid bike sporting "blazing Saddles" stickers all over it, it also is even more embarrassing when I'm sweating and in granny gear going up hills. I haven't run this week other than my inaugural run, but believe me, just trudging through this area is enough exercise for a week. Too bad it's not a combo marathon where one of us bikes, the other runs, and the other plays the dijiridoo. Maybe we can get something started in Portland?

Just wanted to document my shoes in style. Went on night run down Clinton ... forgot that it was uphill on the way back.

like a rabid badger let loose in a hennessey

that's what seeing "kraken" and "hennessey" too close together made me think of.

nick, mapmyrun.com is the perfect heckling facilitation place. we can map our runs and even post the maps. i it's a bit annoying to register, but it actually looks pretty cool. i think there's even like a heckleboard that facilitates just the kind of motivation we've all responded to since we were 8

8:30, eh gnick? my grandmother runs faster than that. then again she doesn't drive much anymore, so she's been training for longer. i don't know what pace i've been going at, but my guess is closer to 9. i'm just trying to stay healthy. that's my stock excuse, and i'm going to use it for the next 18 weeks unless something snappier comes along.

in case you're looking for something to do on your cross training days, or just another goal for the next 16 weeks, check out iwantsickpackabs.com.

so below is my standard route out to oaks bottom and back.

gadget needed

We have to figure out a way to post our running times/miles to keep track and heckle each other. Got to.

Today I broke in the shoes and the dog. Luckily, both survived.

Ran 3.5 miles in 29:45...which I think is 8:30 a mile. My legs felt a little like lead on the return trip though. I kept saying to myself, "can't do 6 hours, must finish sooner" and I think it helped.

I'm out of town tomorrow night - the 26th, but plan on trying to keep updated and run while away.

We should all get together in a few weeks and register online as a group. Team Hennessey rides again? (Gabe, you need to get one of these asap.) Beware: The Kraken?

At least you had the good sense to turn this one down

Release the Kraken!

best mascot ever?

Sweet sweet times

here're the bad boys i'm running in. they remind me of fire. and fire is fast. and the only thing that beats fire is water. and it never rains in san diego. good thing i'm training in portland.

they also remind me of the sun. the sun makes me happy. i miss the sun.

just finished run #2 - still not broken.





here's a little video that should inspire:

Feel like a Winner

I decided to begin by training for the first 3 minutes of the race where we sprint out ahead of everyone and Gabe jumps out with a ribbon that we break as he takes a photo of us with 10,000 runners in short shorts and bright white shoes behind us. Kristen, whose slow day consists of 7 minute miles, took me on a nice jaunt through the cardboard houses of Hillsboro. I felt great when I sprinted ahead of her, turned around to face her, and screamed, "What've got!!!" She calmly looked at her watch, smiled, and said, "We've gone about a mile." By the way, she smiled at my shoes.

Step 1: complete

Gabe, Brian and I got our feet fitted for the most expensive pair of shoes we're purchased since we "needed" air jordans in 8th grade. I think I can safely say I took the brunt of the blast on fashion however. Just feast your eyes on these beauties:

I mean, who comes up with these designs? I now know who buys these, (uh, that would me) but really, is this the image you want associated with your shoe company? Please also note the design on the side which is not only reflective, but also reminiscent of Max Hedroom era.

I can only hope step two (runnning) is less painful than the ocular onslaught we endured this weekend.

P.S. - These shoes are the most comfortable things I've ever run in and I can't wait to try them out.

Reality

I read Hal's training schedule. I then tried to translate what he's written into what he's really trying to say. For instance:

Written: "The important point is that you cover the prescribed distance; how fast you cover it doesn't matter."
Translation: "Just try and finish you wuss. You know you'll barely make it. God, just try and limp your ass across the finish line a few miles each week."

Written: "It's best to walk when you want to, not when your (fatigued) body forces you to."
Translation: "Might as well walk the whole damn thing. Your body will surely break after the first mile, so just plan on it. It's ok. Only most of the people will laugh at you."

I also took a look at my average time per mile from the 2007 Shamrock 5k (yes imperial boys, that's 3.1 miles). It was not pretty. I was almost pushing 8 minute miles. Just slightly below olympic caliber.

I write this as I am wolfing down a honkin' burrito. This is going to be interesting for sure.

Marathon Schedule

This is it. The beginning.

http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00novice.htm

I looked for "lazy marathon training" on the interweb, but unfortunately I only found a combination of those words, and lazy was never directly linked to training. Sigh.

Step one: Get running shoes.
Step two: Follow schedule.
Step three: Celebrate winning Rock-n-Roll marathon with bevy of bathing beauties.