My trip to Louisville, Kentucky began at about 6 o’clock AM on August 26, 2010. Since I had so much stuff to bring, including my bike, helmet(s) and all my other race gear, some of which is quite bulky, I had decided to drive down rather than fly. From New York City, where I live, it is about a twelve hour drive. To be completely honest, the drive was rather boring and uneventful.
Upon arriving in Louisville and checking in to my hotel, I immediately headed to a nearby Wal-Mart super center to pick up some groceries. I was trying to keep my meals as on track as possible leading up to the race and, say what you want about Wal-Mart, but they had everything I needed to have the meals and snacks that Coach Jeff prescribed. After eating dinner and taking a bit to digest, I got right into bed and went to sleep.
The next morning, I didn’t have a very strict schedule of anything to do. So, after eating breakfast, showering and such I headed down to check myself in to the race and to visit the expo. Checking in was relatively painless and went by in about 15 or 20 minutes. The check-in process went like so:
Get weighed in and have hydration level measured (they want to see between 50 and 65%. I was at 61%)
Check in with the race and fill out insurance forms and waivers
Hand in the aforementioned waivers
Pick up race packet (This included numbers for bike, helmet, etc. bibs and swim cap)
Pick up and scan timing chip
Pick up schwag bag
After doing the check-in thing, it was on to the expo. A quick side-note on that; I thinkWTC (Ironman‘s parent company) is making a huge mistake by only having themselves as the sole vendor of general multisport “stuff” at these events. There are of course, other companies at the expo selling their products, but not really any multi-sport retailers other than Ironman. For instance, I needed two extra eight ounce Fuel Belt bottles. The Ironman store in the expo only sold Nathan products (that I could find) which do not fit in my Fuel Belt. So, I had to drive across town to what was actually a really great local multisport store, VO2 Multisport to find the bottles I needed. My point is, unless Ironman/WTC can somehow manage to have fewer exclusive deals and carry a wider range of products in their “store”, I think they’re hurting themselves and the athletes by boxing out stores that might be able to provide some of the things they cannot.
In the expo, I made my way through the companies that were there to visit Pam, Ian and the crew from Newton Running (I’m sure you’re completely shocked that I spent time there!). It was really great to hang out with them for a few and to talk about everything from shoes to the challenges of running (and hiking and biking and…) with babies, toddlers and beyond. I had put out the call for a tweet-up lunch thing meeting at the Newton booth at noon, so in the time I had before then, I ran back out to my car to take care of a couple of errands and to scope out the area. On my way out of the Galt House Hotel, where the expo and such was being held, I got recognized by a racer named Alvaro (I’m pretty sure). I’m constantly shocked when this happens, but he was such a nice guy and I truly hope his race was everything he’d set out to accomplish.
I got back to the Newton booth right at noon and waited around until 12:30 for people to show. The tweet-up ended up being just me, but that’s OK, because I like me (most of the time)! I think that a lot of the time, people are a bit shy about crossing the bridge between the virtual and real worlds and don’t want to speak up. So, if you’re reading this and you DID show up, but you just weren’t sure what to do next, SAY SOMETHING TO ME!! Chances are you know what I look like, but I probably don’t know what you look like!
After I had my lunch, I went back to my hotel to rest a bit and to shower and such as I’d be heading to the athlete’s dinner and meeting that evening. The meeting itself was the usual stuff; the directors of each portion of the course, and the race director went over rules and cautions, helping to give us the safest and best race experience.
Afterward, I headed back to my hotel. My plan was to begin to get my gear together and into it’s assigned bag. Below is the video of those details:
After all that, I headed to bed with my alarm clock set to wake me up and get down to the practice swim the next morning.
The practice swim was pretty uneventful. The race was NOT wetsuit legal as the temperature was about 86° F. I took the swim to feel out how I would react to the fact that we would begin the race by swimming upstream and against the current of the Ohio River. I also wanted to feel the downstream current as I was expecting to feel more pull than I actually did. The swim felt good and the water was MUCH better to swim in than the Hudson River!
After the swim, I took my bike to the Ironman wheel rental counter to get my race wheels put on (special thanks to @Indianabackdoc for helping facilitate this). I then had a short, easy bike ride of about 30 minutes in order to get my legs spinning. This was followed by a short, roughly 15 minute run. Both of these felt great and I was really beginning to get excited for the next day.
I went back to my hotel and got my gear together to check in. In Ironman races, you are required to check in your bike and transition bags the day before the race. Generally, you will have access to them on race day, but it pays to be ready ahead of time. I got my stuff all checked in and that pretty much ends the preparation!
After taking a short nap and lounging around my hotel room for the afternoon, I met up with Trevor and Kristine (Twitter friends and teammates on Team PRS Fit). We went to Lynn’s Paradise Cafe and had an awesome dinner with excellent conversation. It was so amazing to have met these two and to get to spend some really amazing time with them (more on this later). They really and truly made my trip without my wife and daughter that much more bearable and I cannot thank them enough for all they did for me.
I got back to my hotel at about 8:30 and set my alarm for 3 AM. I closed my eyes, and surprisingly, sleep came easily.
After what has seemed like an eternity for many of us die-hard Newton Running fans, the much heralded trail shoe has finally landed in the Newton store for pre-order! I spoke with Sir Isaac a tiny bit today and got some of the skinny on the shoes:
“Closed mesh, PU frame above the EVA for additional support and
protection, gusseted tongue, more supportive strapping, reinforced toe
cap.”
I can’t WAIT to try out these new shoes and get them nice and dirty on any trail I can find! When I do get some on my feet, you can be certain that I will give those of you on the fence about buying some for yourself a detailed rundown. For those of you that can’t wait, click the picture below!
I headed out my door this morning at 5:30 AM. At that time, it was 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 85% humidity. My run was to be:
Keep heart rate in zones 1-3 on a rolling course. Allow heart rate to gradually rise to zone 3 as pace builds, but don’t force it up. Duration 1:30:00
As I began, I felt decent if a little tired from waking up at 4:30 AM. I started on my favorite route and by the time I got about 1.25 miles into it I noticed that I was literally pouring sweat. This continued until I got about 27 minutes into my run when I decided to turn back. Up to this point, my sweat rate had been epic and this is considering the fact that I am a heavy sweater to begin with. My heart rate had also been jumping far higher than it should. Basically, my effort was far more than it should have been.
Once I turned around, these things were only compounded by my mental state and the fact that I even found myself walking a couple of hills (not sure if the walking was an effort thing or a screw it thing). Once I got home, it took me ten minutes of standing in a cold shower with my clothes on to get my heart rate under 100 and to get me to a point where I didn’t feel like I was going to overheat. This run officially ranks as #2 on my list of all time worst runs (just behind my first marathon) and is certainly my worst ever workout run (that I can remember, I’ve never walked part of a workout).
This brings me to my question. How do you mentally recover from a bad workout? I’m not worried about the physical part, I don’t have time for that. It the mental thing and the fact that I can’t say, “well, I’ve had worse runs”, because I haven’t had worse runs. So what do you do?
This isn’t going to be some long, drawn-out diatribe about what kind of “strike” is best. I just wanted to take a quick second to make an observation.
The buzzword when debating this topic is “footstrike” (see also: foot strike, foot-strike, Fuß strike and mul strejk). At the same time, those doing the debating, or rather stating (of which I too am guilty) speak mainly of the way our feet land on the ground while wearing shoes. That being the case (most of the time) I think that the term “footstrike” is a misnomer.
You see, when wearing just about any shoe (before anyone goes commenting on this, please not that I said JUST ABOUT ANY, which means, not all), the heel is higher that the metatarsal area (of the shoe not the foot). So, essentially, we are running on a wedge. Now, there are varying degrees of “drop” in shoes and there are racing flats which are not flat at all. In all of these shoes, when we try to take pictures and videos and such and analyze the footstrike of the runner, we are limited by several things. One, they are wearing shoes and we cannot see the bottom of their actual foot. Two, the amount of movement that takes place in someone’s footfall in the last couple of millimeters is huge and it is all but impossible to tell how someone’s SHOE will actually land when it is still an inch or so off of the ground. Three, even in high speed video, which Pete from Runblogger.com has done a great job of compiling, you’re largely still looking at feet IN SHOES, and thus we cannot see what the FOOT is doing (though Pete does have some fantastic barefoot videos in slow-mo).
So I propose this, in this eternal debate, full of hard-headed type-A’s (sometimes including yours truly), we try to agree upon something. When the “strike” you happen to be debating is in shoes, call it “shoestrike” (see also: shoe strike, shoe-strike, Schuh-Streik and sko strejk). When speaking of something where you can actually see the FOOT, NOT THE SHOE (yes, this likely means barefoot, which is an entirely different topic), then and only then, should we call it “footstrike”.
This coming Monday, July 5th, will mark the 100th episode of IronBrandon’s Podcast! to celebrate, I would like to invite any and all those who can make it to join me for a short run in Central Park followed by a drink. It won’t go terribly long due to the fact that I need to get home and actually record the 100th show! Here are the details:
Who: Me and all of you! Bring a friend!
What: Short-ish run in New York’s Central Park
When: Monday, July 5, 2010 at 4:00 PM EST
Where: For the Run: Meeting at the entrance to the parking lot of the (former) Tavern on the Green (where the lot meets West Drive). [MAP] For Drink(s): Dive 75 (75th & Columbus) [MAP]
I certainly hope to see many of you there! Please don’t worry about pace as we will be taking it easy so as to include everyone who comes!
I want to begin by saying that whoever wins this, I AM SO JEALOUS! Now, on to the contest…
The First Annual Salinas Valley Half Marathon is a race that struck me as one that has so much to offer. From taking place in beautiful Northern California along Monterey Bay to finishing by running through the vines at the Pessagno Winery, this race promises to be one that many may have trouble “racing” because they’ll be distracted by their surroundings. The course is USATF Certified (certification # CA10002TK).
So, I have ONE (1) entry into this race that I am giving away to one of you guys! Here’s how the contest works:
Leave a comment, NOT HERE, on my Itunes page (link to follow). You don’t have to be a regular listener, but it’d be great if you had an idea of what you are commenting on, so give a quick listen!
The comment does not have to be super spectacular or anything. In fact, if you think I’m not so great, but you’d still like to be entered to win, that’s absolutely fine!
The winner will be chosen by a random number generator upon the close of the contest.
The contest is open to U.S. and Canadian residents (sorry everyone else, shipping is pricey, however, if you’re going to be in the area, let me know and we can work something out).
The contest is open beginning June 14, 2010 and will officially end on July 5, 2010 at 12:01 PM, EST.
The winner will be announced by their Itunes screen name, live on IronBrandon’s Podcast: Episode 100 on July 5, 2010, and will have five days to email (info@ironbrandon.com) to claim their prize.
The winner of the contest will receive one (1) entry into the First Annual Salinas Valley Half Marathon (travel and accommodations are up to the individual).
Hey there guys! I am so excited to share some news with you all. Much has been made over the past year of what exactly defines ‘good’ running for and/or technique. Many, like myself, believe in allowing your body to do what it is meant to do naturally rather than allowing an overbuilt, over-cushioned shoe get in the way. With all that said, there is an awesome clinic on natural running form coming to New York City on June 15! See you there! Here are the details:
Why: Join Newton Running for a free, open to the public event featuring
Newton’s co-founder and running form expert Danny Abshire, as well as
Newton’s R&D/Education Director and adventure racing world champ Ian
Adamson. Danny and Ian will lead a clinic to demonstrate how proper running
form can improve speed and efficiency, and decrease the risk of injury.
*NOTE* Do not feel any pressure to be a Newton wearer in coming to this clinic! This is for ALLrunners who want to improve their form and efficiency.
Beach starts in triathlon tend to be a full contact affair. This is especially true just behind the front of the pack. If you’ve placed yourself in that spot, there’s a decent chance that you’ll get kicked in the face by the guy in front of you and/or punched in various parts of your body by the guys on either side of you and/or dunked and swum over by the guy behind you who may be faster than you. All accidents, of course.
Since I expect to be one of the faster swimmer in any race I enter, I always place myself at the front of the pack in both water and beach starts. In triathlons I’ve done that have pool swims it is incredibly frustrating to be relegated to swimming behind people who’ve WAY overestimated their speed, and having to pass them. So, for this race I was at the front of the pack when the horn sounded.
The run into the water was fairly smooth with the bottom dropping off to swimming depth in probably about ten feet. The pack broke up quickly and myself and a few others pulled away off the front. The swim course itself was a rectangle (see picture) and was protected from and waves kicked up by wind by the shoreline to the East. As we reached the first turn, quite a few waves appeared, I have to assume because we had come around from the lee side of a point of land, and the wind was now kicking up a bit.
At about the halfway point, I noticed that another swimmer from my wave (I could tell from his powder blue cap like mine) and I seemed to be staying right with each other. Shortly after I noticed this, my opponent disappeared and I assumed that I had dropped him. By this time, I had been swimming through swimmers from waves that had gone off ahead of me from about the 1/4 mark on. Every now and then, either I would accidentally run into one of these swimmers or they would run into me. This is when I noticed that someone kept hitting my heels. I snuck a peek back and saw that the swimmer with whom I had been dueling had taken a comfortable spot in my wake and was now drafting along and taking it easy. While drafting is illegal in the bike leg of a triathlon, there is nothing wrong with drafting in the swim. I guess I didn’t mind so much and I wouldn’t have even known the difference if it weren’t for the fact that my heels were getting tapped every thirty seconds or so. Annoying.
The concern I had coming into this race with regards to my neck never really came to fruition. To be honest, I was being a bit conservative (which is evident by my less than stellar time) and definitely felt fatigued in my shoulders more than I usually would, but true pain never affected me.
Swim time: 27:17
Swim pace: 1:25 per 100 meters (boo)
Age Group Place: 5th
Overall Place: 28th
Transition 1
Most of us are aware of the potential dizziness that comes with standing up too fast. I have even fallen over several times because of this. In a triathlon, the same thing takes place. You’ve been swimming for however long, thus you’ve been essentially laying down. All of a sudden, you ask your body to stand up! This problem can be compounded by the fact that your upper body is doing most of the work on the swim and so most of your blood is hanging out there to supply your muscles. Further, if you’re wearing a wetsuit, there is a bit of compression being applied to your lower extremities which keeps your blood even more focused in your upper body. So, when you then stand up to run out of the water, all that blood suddenly drops, and sometimes you do along with it!
As I stood, I was ready for the dizziness and I was not disappointed. Upon exiting the water, there was about a 20 yard (if I remember correctly) run to the wetsuit strippers. This is not some weird, wetsuit fetish exotic dancing area but rather, a group of race volunteers whose job it is to get you out of your wetsuit as fast as possible. All you have to do as a racer is flop on your back on the ground and they will grab your wetsuit and peel it off of you in a flash. The problem with this is the dizziness thing. You’ve just come out of the water, gotten dizzy and then after a few seconds, you throw your body back to being flat again for a few seconds (legs in the air, mind you) and then pop up AGAIN. This makes for a rather world-spinning few minutes.
I made my way into the transition area and found my belongings in fairly short order. By this time, it had been raining for about thirty minutes and everything was wet. I removed my socks from their dry sanctuary inside my cycling shoe, inside that grocery bag I spoke about. Now let me paint you a picture of what I was doing. I was trying not balance on one foot at a time, while my head was spinning, putting dry socks onto wet feet (try putting on sock directly out of the shower some time), while desperately trying not to step into the mud and puddles that now surrounded me. All this time, my head refused to stop spinning. Good times. I eventually got my crap together, even having to literally DUMP water out of my helmet, and was on my way out of transition. Slow.
Transition 1 time: 4:14 (Dear LORD, that’s awful)
The Bike
To be completely honest, a lot of the bike portion of the race is a blur. It rained the entire time, often very hard. For the beginning six or so miles on the bike, I let my legs warm up well, pushing, but not pushing to the point of exhaustion. At about mile seven or so, the climbing began.
Leading up to this race, I had checked elevation charts and was not prepared for what I encountered. The first, largest and longest of the hills that we encountered was awful. First, we were climbing this hill in the rain, which gave you the appearance in spots of riding upstream in a river with an asphalt bottom. Second, this hill went to gradients of 16% for large sections at a time. To give you an idea of what a 16% grade is, the famous Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France has an average gradient of “only” 8.9%. Many people were forced to walk this hill and I must admit that I glanced at them with envy, but I stayed on my steed.
Several of the descents on the course were long and sweeping and gave you time to rest your legs. Other descents were so dangerous even without the rain that the officials had told us the day before that they would be strictly enforcing a 35 mph speed limit.
Apart from the 16% S.O.B. hill, there were a couple other climbs in excess of 10% as well as some deceptively “flat” sections that seemed to sap energy from the legs. The road conditions were only OK. You were forced to stay constantly aware of the pavement in front of you due to the fact that for 99% of the course there was a large crack (hastily patched but still pitted) meandering across both sides of the road.
Somewhere around halfway through the bike, my Garmin 305 went haywire. I went to take a peek at my heart rate and the screen was flashing from display to display, and not making any sense. I tried to turn it off and couldn’t. So I took it off and put it in my jersey. Now, for the rest of the race, I would have no idea where my pace of my heart rate were. I would be running purely on feel and perceived effort.
The toughest part of this bike course was grinding through it the first time and knowing you had to come back and hit it again. 16%’er and all. My nutrition, which if you know me, you know I have struggled in the past with this, was perfect. I had three hours worth of my “blend” from Infinit Nutrition in my Speedfil and rotated water bottles from aid stations in my one bottle cage. I finished my Infinit blend with about six miles to go on the bike, so, just to be safe, I grabbed a bottle of Gatorade Endurance Formula and dropped a bottle of water into my Speedfil. I also grabbed a banana at some point during the bike (can’t remember when) just because I knew it wouldn’t affect me adversely and it just looked good.
I didn’t do exactly what I wanted to do on the bike, in terms of speed, but I was consistent and I think that is just as important. I also learned a lot of what I need to do moving forward.
Bike time: 2:57:16
Bike pace: 19 mph
Age Group Place: 44th
Overall Place: 217th
Transition 2
By the time I hit T2, my feet had been soaked for over three and a half hours, but were holding up fine (I actually have a lot to say about my Sole insoles on the bike that I’ll write about later). However, I though it would behoove me to put on dry socks. This was frickin’ stupid. It was still raining and I was still surrounded by mud and puddles. I have no idea why I thought that changing my socks would make a single bit of difference, bu I did anyway, and again, I had a terribly slow transition.
I grabbed all my gear, which wasn’t that much after I got my shoes and dry (dumb, dumb, dumb) socks on. This included my new Fuel Belt H2O, which was holding two bottles of my Infinit blend, each with an hours worth of nutrition. As I ran out of transition, my shoes were wet and muddy within thirty seconds.
Transition 2 time: 3:26 (Oy to the vey)
The Run
I was really looking forward to this run. I have been running really well off the bike and I planned to make no exceptions on this run. The course itself was quite beautiful, albeit seen under cloudy skies that were still ridding themselves of any moisture they held, much to our detriment. It was fairly flat to rolling. The biggest obstacle(s) came in the form of a nasty little hill that was about 1/3 of a mile long at about mile 2 or so and again at about mile 8.5.
Because my nutrition and hydration had been so good on the bike, I had to pee almost as soon as I began to run. I waited until the first aid station at mile one and stopped to answer nature’s call. I actually ended up having to pee twice, and it bears mentioning that it went well (it bears mentioning due to my previous experiences during races when I’ve stopped to pee).
The course was two loops of an out and back that had as it’s outside turn around point, about a half mile of dirt (read: mud) road that ended in a cul-de-sac. On this stretch of “road” there were some incredibly nice and supportive volunteers and even a barbershop quartet in one of the driveways serenading the runners as we went by.
I felt great on this run. I did struggle a bit with not being able to tell my pace of heart rate. Because of this, I laid off a little on the third quarter of the run, before picking it back up a bit on the home stretch. I didn’t want to wind up completely gassed for the run in. I passed a lot of people wh had passed me on the bike and that was quite good for my morale. The rain never really let up, but I felt solid nonetheless. I truly think I would have been able to do more on the run had I known where I was in terms of pace.
Run time: 1:35:08 (1/2 marathon PR by 12 seconds)
Run pace: 7:15 per mile
Age Group Place: 22nd
Overall Place: 104th
Final results
(more detailed splits to come once they are available)
Sports Illustrated is reporting that Haile Gebrselassie, the marathon world record holder, will likely be announcing his U.S. Marathon debut this coming November in the New York City Marathon. Celebrating National Running Day with 1,200 school children today at Icahn Stadium, the fastest marathoner ever will be aking an announcement about his plans at about 12:30 PM, EST.
Arguably one of the most prestigious events in running, the 2010 version of Comrades Marathon starts this Sunday, May 30, 2010. The event, now in it’s 85th year is one of the most sought after titles in ultra-distance running. The race this year will come in at 89.28 km (55.58 mi.), which makes it 110 meters longer than last year’s version of the event. Runners from all over the world, including the 50 km American record holder, Josh Cox. Best of luck to all those running!
I am re-posting this to give a shout and any help I can to fellow blogger, runner and wonderful person, TK. If you are in NYC and want to have a fantastic time this Sunday while helping to make a difference, please check out this event!Also, if you are tired of my mediocre writing and lack of editorial perfection, you really should check out her site!
Dear Readers, today I am posting about something that has very little to do with running and an awful lot to do with something else that is near and dear to my heart–finding a cure to Parkinsons Disease, so that my friend Dan and millions others no longer have to suffer this debilitating disease. It is heartbreaking to watch my friend suffer under the effects of PD, and the only thing I can do, really, is fundraise to support research that is trying to find a cure. The first time I fundraised, I ran the London Marathon wand was able to pull in $10,000 of donations in one year. This time, I am part of the Team Fox Young Professionals, and we have pulled together a cool event whose proceeds will go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research.
and to buy tickets ($80 for open bar & buffet/$50 for open buffet & one drink)
Also, we are raffling off a $250 gift card to Saks Fifth Avenue, and we have pulled together some excellent packages for the silent auction, for example:
Triathlon Starter Kit: V02Max test, Garmin 310XT, $50 gift card to RUN by Foot Locker, and a goody basket full of cycling gear
A Taste of the Upper East Side: gift cards for meals at Luke’s, t-Bar Steakhouse, and Fratelli’s Brick Oven Pizzeria
Makeover You: Sarah Mills haircut, teeth whitening, and two sessions witha personal trainer
Comedy Central: 2 tickets to each The Daily Show and The Colbert Report
New York Sports Fan: tickets to games to see the Yankees, the Mets and the Red Bulls
I really hope all my New York area readers can make it. So far we’ve sold 100 tickets but we are aiming to sell at least 200. I would love to see you there–some of my running buddies have already committed, as have a couple of colleagues! If my coworkers can drag themselves, so can you!
I’ve been in need of new running shorts for a while now. Especially since warm weather is officially here and rotating two pairs of shorts, one of which feels far too long, is becoming a bit tedious. It literally took me a day to decide which shorts to get from the Sugoi lineup.
Ultimately, I decided on the Sugoi Spearhead Short. When they came and I took them out of the packaging, it was like I was holding tissue paper! They are so incredibly light, but just be sure that I wouldn’t bust through them at first stride, I gave them a firm tug. Sure enough, the Hexlite fabric the shorts are made out of felt as strong, yet supple, as anything I’ve gotten my hands on before, if not far more so.
On my first run in the shorts, the only thing that told my that I wasn’t running down the road naked was the also super light mesh liner. The length of the shorts is perfect for my taste; not too short and not long at all. They gave a perfect range of motion and offered now resistance to my legs at any point during my run.
One thing I will point out that may be an issue for heavy sweaters like myself is that, with fabric so light, if it gets wet with sweat, it tends to stick a bit. I noticed this on my first run, which was a rather hard tempo of ten miles. On my second run, which was much longer, coming in at 20.5 miles, I was wearing my usual compression liners which had been absent on my first run. This time, there was no sticking at all and the shorts continued to wear like a dream.
I’m sure that I’ll have more to say about these shorts as I get many more runs in them under my belt, but for now, if you’re looking for a super light, comfortable and strong running short, this is a great place to begin and end your search. [LINK]
Now that we’re officially in race season across the country, and the world for that matter, I wanted to give a shout out to some friends who’ll be racing soon.
Kevin from KC Tri’s (and fellow Newton Running devotee), whom you may remember was a massive help to me and my wife during Ironman Wisconsin last year, is about to do his first ever marathon! Kevin will be running the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon this Sunday and his bib number is 929 (race tracking HERE). Kevin has been and continues to be a huge supporter of me and my show and I could not be more excited for him to take this huge step toward his first Ironman (Ironman Wisconsin 2011)!
Also racing this Sunday is my friend Ari from Run Ansky Run! Ari is always an amazing supporter of my site and show and he’ll be running the Pocono Mountain Run for the Red Marathon! Ari has been coaching with my coach, Jeff, and ALL signs are pointing to him busting out a huge PR!
Finishing out the across the country marathon weekend is Colin from Resurrected Runner. Colin is also about to do his first ever marathon this Saturday in the Windermere Marathon in Spokane, Washington (for those from the South, like me, that’d be “Warshington”) Colin has been a tireless supporter of me and my site, always in the live chat for my streaming shows. I have a sneaking suspicion that Colin is going to completely destroy his expectations in this race and I cannot wait to see the results!
On the triathlon front, I am so excited to see Incredible Jane go kill it in the UBC Sprint Triathlon this Sunday! I’ve been following Jane since day one of her quest and through ups and downs and finding that “life happens” more than we can ever expect, Jane has been an amazing force of positive energy. Also coaching with Jeff, Jane has seen herself crossing the finish line at the Rock ‘n Roll Las Vegas half marathon and starting a regular running group and training session with the awesome folks at Sugoi! I’m so excited to see what she can do!
Not this weekend, but on May 30, Lam of The Running Laminator fame, is debating running the Buffalo Marathon. His original spring marathon had him running the New Jersey Marathon a couple of weekends ago, but alas, the bubonic plague or something saw him shivering in bed for the week leading up to the race (though, I assume he lost several brain cell due to his illness as he STILL found the balls to run the half marathon at the same event!). As you may or may not know, Lam is a very fast and very smart runner. He is aiming for a sub-3 hour marathon this year and I, for one, think he’ll have no problem attaining that time. His body (for the moment) may have other ideas according to him. In any event, I look forward to seeing Lam kick some more ass.
I’m positive I’m missing people, and if you’re of of the missing, please don’t be offended. Send me your information (name, race name and bib number) and I will be more than happy to put the word out!
Do you want to go the distance…all 26.2 miles across the five boroughs of New York? Team Lifeline is ready to give you the chance with the first ever “Team Lifeline New York, New York Video Contest.” In this contest, avid and aspiring runners are invited to submit a short video that will convince a panel of distinguished judges why they deserve the opportunity to run in the ING New York City Marathon, the world’s largest marathon. Twenty lucky individuals will win exactly that — guaranteed entry into the marathon, which takes place on Sunday, November 7, 2010.
Team Lifeline encourages creativity, so don your director’s cap, pick up your flip camera and start shooting. Video submissions must be two minutes or less and should convey why you, the runner, deserve a spot in the marathon. Be spontaneous, hilarious, serious or dramatic, but go the distance to win one of the highly coveted spots. The videos will be posted online for the public to view at www.teamlifeline.org and on Team Lifeline’s Facebook page. Submissions will be accepted through May 24th, 2010, and the winners will be announced May 28th, 2010.
“As the song goes–If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere–but first, you do indeed have to make it there,” said Ari Weinberger, Team Lifeline Captain. “Team Lifeline is thrilled to offer this amazing opportunity to runners around the globe. We hope that the first ever video contest will help raise awareness and funds for a truly inspirational organization.”
Team Lifeline is an endurance training program that proves that “you can go the distance,” by providing individuals of all ages and skills with the tools to complete a marathon or half-marathon. In exchange, team members raise much needed funds for Chai Lifeline, the international children’s health support network dedicated to bringing joy and hope to seriously ill children and their families. The funds raised by Team Lifeline are earmarked specifically for the organization’s Camp Simcha and Camp Simcha Special, incredible overnight summer camps designed to meet the unique medical and social needs of children and teens with life-threatening or lifelong illnesses.
Last year, over 300 dedicated Team Lifeline runners laced up their running shoes for the ING New York City Marathon, Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon, and ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon, raising more than $1.35 million for Chai Lifeline programs and services. This year marks the first time that Team Lifeline will be participating as an official charity team in the ING NYC Marathon.
A remarkable story from the Toyota 10K held in conjunction with Flying Pig Marathon race weekend: The women’s leader, Shari Klarfeld, had probably a 20-yard lead when she started to stagger and fall. Instead of breezing by for the win, the second place female, Amy Schoenfeld of Cincinnati, stopped along with race director, Iris Bush, and helped the Shari cross ahead of her. An extraordinary example of sportsmanship. Ironically, Amy was second in the 10K the year before!
[UPDATE] I did some digging on the after race details of this event. While it’s pretty clear that the race director coming to the aid of a racer is in violation of USATF rules and would normally result in a disqualification, in this event it did not. The reason? Well, a race representative in the original YouTube video made the following comment:
Thanks for your comments and for watching our video! The Flying Pig Marathon does not offer prize money, so our rules are not as stringent as if there were cash on the line. Similar to earphone rules: It is our choice to let people know they shouldn’t wear them, but we won’t disqualify them (like some events) if they do.
I wanted to mention a new race coming up in California that is an absolutely perfect place for a weekend getaway with an awesome half marathon thrown in for good measure! The Salinas Valley Half Marathon takes you through the vineyards and near Monterey Bay with a scenic point-to-point course.
I’ll be posting more this race soon, but I wanted to tell you NOW that I’ve got a $5 discount code for registration right now! Click the link below to the registration page and use the discount code: “IronBrandon” and sign up now!
Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees centerfielder, is making his charitable mark on New York City with the Grand Kids Foundation and the 2010 ING New York City Marathon.
Granderson’s charitable team, Team Granderson, will raise funds for the Grand Kids Foundation in conjunction with the 2010 ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 7. A limited number of spaces are available on Team Granderson. Registration is available to runners already registered for the Marathon and those who did not receive entry into the event. Granderson will not be running in the race itself.
“The ING New York City Marathon is one of the premier road races in the world today. I am honored that the Grand Kids Foundation will be given charity spots for runners to help raise money and awareness for the need for stronger educational programs for our nation’s youth,” says team founder Curtis Granderson. “Millions of dollars are raised each year for a variety of charitable causes through this event, and I am excited to see how much money the runners of Team Granderson can raise as well. I look forward to having a strong team of runners.”
Fundraising minimums on Team Granderson range from $1,000 for those already registered for
Curtis Granderson
the Marathon to $2,500 for those who were not awarded a spot in the race. To participate as a member of Team Granderson each runner needs to complete an online application found at www.grandkidsfoundation.org/nymarathon.
Each member of Team Granderson will receive access to online training programs, their marathon registration fee paid, Team Granderson running shirt and shorts, transportation to the starting line the morning of the marathon and team building events hosted by Granderson. Also available are discounted hotel rates and shoes provided by Spira if needed.
The Grand Kids Foundation began in 2008 while Granderson was a member of the Detroit Tigers. The Foundation’s mission is to enforce educational initiatives to youth and to help bring the sport of baseball back to the nation’s inner cities.
The Foundation has a unique opportunity to donate every dollar raised to fund the educational programs and initiatives to help students because it has zero operating costs. All donations fund school supplies and books for needy families and under-funded schools. It also establishes baseball programs that include equipment, facilities and scholarships.
Along with the Grand Kids Foundation, Granderson is an ambassador for First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative to fight obesity. He has also served as an ambassador for Major League Baseball in Europe, South Africa and China. Granderson was acquired by the New York Yankees through a trade before the 2010 season.
Team Granderson is forming now for the 2010 ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 7. For more information or to submit questions runners can contact the Grand Kids Foundation by email at grandkidsfoundation@gmail.com
Thanks so much for visiting my site! My name is Brandon Wood and I am an opera singer living and trying to make it in New York City. This site and podcast follow my adventures on the way to competing in and training for all kinds of endurance events, especially triathlon and running. Click the "About Me" tab for more info!
When: Starting NOW! This is an ongoing contest that will be every month, or until every person on the planet has nice, fresh smelling shoes!
Why: Because Stuffitts are awesome! The folks at Stuffitts are being SUPER generous and I also want to give you guys something that I think is a great addition to any athletes arsenal!
How: On the last podcast episode post of each month (example: Episode 99 on June 28 HERE) entrants should leave a comment (however long you'd like). On the following week's show (the first show of each month) I will draw, by random number generator, one winner! That's it!
