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Monthly Archive for: ‘January, 2012’

U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials – “A Brief Chat With…”

I am getting really excited about the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials this Saturday in Houston. Leading up to this event, Runner’s World has published a series of interviews with the Men’s and Women’s favorites along with some of their coaches. All of these have been entitled “A Brief Chat With…” and have been extremely compelling.

I particularly enjoy reading about their preparation for this race, their discussion of the other competitors, and their pre-race expectations. It also gives me a little bit of a push to get out there and work harder for my own goals when I read about how much effort they are putting into preparing for this one event. Highly recommended reading.

Women

Men

Coaches

Saucony Grid Type A5

I think I may have found my new racing flat for track workouts and shorter distance races. About a year and a half ago I started using the Saucony Kinvara for track days because I wanted a lighter weight shoe than my Nike Vomero trainers. Now that the Kinvara has become my primary training shoe, and now that I’m also running 4 to 5 miles every week in Saucony Hattoris, I’ve been seriously thinking about moving to a lighter weight racing flat for track workouts.

I had previously looked at the Saucony Grid Type A4, but just found out today that the Grid Type A5 is coming out in February, and the weight has been reduced from 6.3 to 5.6 oz! That is only 1.2 oz heavier than my Hattoris.

Add to this the fact that Saucony tends to fit me extremely well, and that these babies look really SWEET, and I think I might just have to add the A5 to my arsenal. What do you think?

Hansons-Brooks Pre-Houston Olympic Marathon Trials Workout

Hansons-Brooks Pre-Houston Olympic Marathon Trials Workout

When I saw this video it made me smile because this workout is very similar to the types of bi-weekly workouts our running group does when training for a marathon (though we’re obviously much slower!). These workouts are an essential compliment to the standard “long runs” which are part of most marathon programs. Worth a watch.

Video Description: The Hansons-Brooks men are getting ready to compete at the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston. We caught up with the team at their home in Rochester Hills, Michigan to get it on one of their last workouts in their training segment. Watch that intense watch slap and check them out on January 14th in Houston!

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

Quest for 3:15 – Training for Rock n’ Roll NOLA Marathon

Not intending to log all of my training runs this time, but my formal 9-week schedule for the Rock n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon began this week. If everything cooperates (weather, training, health, etc.) then I plan on trying to break 3:15 again. There are approximately 20 members of our running group going down for the race, but only 3 of us are running full marathon.

The course looks extremely flat which is both good and bad, but I’m most concerned about the potential for warm weather. I know there are a lot of Tumblrs that will be at NOLA. Are you running?

What Happened in Vegas (Runner’s World: Other Voices)

What Happened in Vegas (Runner’s World: Other Voices)

By Charlene Ragsdale

This is a participant’s account of the serious issue at the Rock n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon where many, many runners became violently ill. While there were apparently a number of significant problems with the race, this is by far the most disturbing, and made me angry as I read the article. It seems like Competitor Group is intent on making their races as big as they possibly can regardless of whether or not they have the infrastructure, logistics, or manpower to handle it. Just Awful!

If you have a parrot…

If you have a parrot and you don’t teach it to say,”Help, they’ve turned me into a parrot.” you are wasting everybody’s time.

Unknown – Found on Newton Running FB Page

kevinreape:

ASICS set this ad up at a public place to let people see if they can keep up with marathoner Ryan Hall. I would definitely like to give it a try. Apparently his average speed is 4’46”, which is unbelievable.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

2012 Running Goals

I don’t know that I’ve ever written down a list of running goals at the beginning of a new year before. I’ve had written goals, but these just seem to pop up at any given time. This year I wanted to set some objectives for 2012, so here goes…

  • Complete 2,000 training miles. My total for 2011 was 1,763, so this will be a pretty big increase. Will take over 166 miles per month to reach this goal. I know it is attainable, but only if I stay healthy and disciplined.
  • Complete my “Quest for 3:15” in a full marathon. This has been a very public goal for quite a while, and I hope to break through in 2012. I would also like to take this a step further in 2012 and break 3:10 which is my Boston qualifying time. I know this is pushing it, but I’m dreaming big. Really want to run my first Boston Marathon in 2013. To do this I will not only have to be disciplined to my running schedule, but will also have to be committed to quality runs, cross-training, diet, and sleep.
  • Finish at least 5 full marathons. I ran my first 2 full marathons in the fall of 2009, and then completed 4 full marathons in both 2010 and 2011. As of now I’m only registered for the Rock N’ Roll New Orleans Marathon in March, but I have also submitted my request to be the 3:45 pacer in the St Jude Country Music Marathon in May and have my eye on a handful of other races. Whether it is as a pacer or participant, I want to do at least one marathon at a slower, conservative pace where I can enjoy it.
  • Officially break 1:30 in a half marathon. I had an unofficial 1:29 finish in the Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon in 2011 (due to course misrouting), but want to have it in writing in 2012. My best opportunities will most likely come at the 500 Festival Mini Marathon in May or again at the Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon in October.

Well, there it is for what it’s worth. What are your running goals for 2012?

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