Running Snob and AthHalf

Right before noon today, I went out on what will probably be my last run before Sunday's Athens Half Marathon. It was an easy four-miler, at 9:14 pace, with an average HR of 135. I liked this run, mainly because the purpose was just to get the wheels moving a little bit and to not worry about much right before a race.

This brings me to a few running brain thoughts I have. My thought is that I haven't 'run' unless I've expended effort or worked up a good sweat. Maybe done some 800s or charged up an incline or two (don't know if they're really hills, in the golf subdivision where I run). Most of my daily runs these days are six-milers and up. Mondays, I double up, running a 10 in the morning and bagging another five (and a beer) with my evening running group. I know it's important to do long, slow distance, but I don't feel like a runner, internally, unless my legs have that energized feeling about them the rest of the day. This morning's run didn't give me that feeling, though I'm sure the folks who saw me think I'm a runner. Bagging 15 in a day and running twice definitely charges me up, and gives me no qualms about taking Tuesday as a rest day.

Also, the same theory as it pertains to mileage. I don't feel good about my running unless my weekly mileage is at a certain level. These days, it's the low 30s per week. Like something's missing if I skip a day and only get to 25. It gives me a feeling that I'm not doing the best I can for my body, even though 25 is a decent number.

I know I have nothing to complain about. I've run a lot, and have been healthy for a long while now, and I always look forward to my group runs and post-game banter.

Meanwhile...

I feel like I'm ready for the half on Sunday, which is a 7:30 start. The terrain here is different than it is in Huntsville, so I'm not aiming at getting in under 1:45. My plan is to go out in the first 2-3 miles at 8:40, then gradually put the hammer down and hopefully break 1:50. A nice thing about relocation is that it allows me to set new baselines at each distance.

Running With the Kenyans

Last week, I finished reading Running With the Kenyans, by Adharanand Finn, so this is my first ever book review. I've since returned the book to the library, but I will try to get the spirit and details of the book right.

Adharanand Finn is an Englishman who ran as an adolescent, but life started happening, and he more or less gave up the sport. Later, as a husband and father of three, he puts a decent number on the board at a race, and starts to wonder 'what if.' He'd also spent some time being hurt, and he explores minimalist and barefoot running as a way of staying healthy.

He then travels to Iten, Kenya, where the greatest runners on planet Earth train, to see if he can tap in to what makes Kenyans (specifically, Kalenjin) so special as distance runners. I think this is what stunned me the most, because it seemed you couldn't walk down the street without finding a champion marathoner. Finn trains with them, eats with them, and immerses himself in the culture as he prepares for the Lewa Marathon. Obviously, he had to adjust to a whole new way of life. It was an eye opener for me to see the lives of a completely different culture, viewed through the lens of distance running.

So many reasons have been put forth as to why they run so well, so I won't rehash them here, but I thoroughly enjoyed this firsthand account of a man who trains for 26.2 in a completely new locale. It was amazing to see how the locals view our sport-- they see it as a way to succeed and to get ahead. Runners there are introduced to others by where they placed in whatever marathon. However, that recognition is fleeting, since the next wave is also traveling abroad and winning races, making today's winner yesterday's news.

I don't want to tell you everything about the book, but I'll tell you, that just as in his marathon training, Finn puts in the work and gets the results. This is recommended reading.

Athens Half

I've signed up for the October 20 half marathon in Athens, where I live. It figures to be a good course, likely more than last year's Huntsville route, which was very flat and fast. This will be my first race since moving to town. I don't expect to PR, mainly because of the terrain, but I plan to get out there and see what kind of number I can put up, likely around 1:50. Plus, there will be an after party at the coffee shop where we meet after our Saturday morning runs.

I don't have a training plan I adhere to, but I've typically been in the low 30s per week while adding a little tempo work and some 800 repeats, so I feel ready for the big race. I've started working retail again, so maintaining mileage while keeping an irregular work schedule will require effort.

Something else I've learned is that the Saturday gatherings have helped fill a void for me. The wife and I used to play Thursday night trivia with our friends in Tuscaloosa, and it grew to be a really big thing for us to see them every week. This running group has that vibe for me. I like getting out there and being accountable, talking to and meeting folks, being pulled along by the pack a little, and oh yeah, getting a good workout in.

Pace Group

I managed to cut myself off Friday night, in order to make it to 7:00 am running group Saturday (it was nice to learn I wasn't the only one who has this issue). The run was a gameday six-miler through the University of Georgia campus, where folks were already tailgating for a 4:30 kickoff against South Carolina. I was one of 36 people that met in the parking lot, though as previously mentioned, there were lots more folks getting a run in before the first home game of the season. The weather even felt a bit like football weather-- sunny, gorgeous, and mid 60s at that hour, but still Southern hot and sticky by game time.

I also agreed to lead the 9:00 pace group, for those getting ready to run the Athens half marathon next month. I typically run at about this speed, so it was no trouble at all. It turned out I was one of about four at this pace. I really wanted to hold pace and I did for the first 3+ miles, but then the uphills caught up to me, and I averaged out at about 9:15. Helpful that nobody caught me, but there's still work to do.

It was amazing to see people already out tailgating. Hard to blame them, since it's the first home game of the season, a hated foe was in town, and the Dogs are supposed to be pretty good this year. Dozens of tents were set up (likely from the night before), not all of them were manned, and there didn't seem to be a lot of grilling yet. We also saw band/spirit squad types heading to their assigned places. Our route even took us past Sanford Stadium, empty and lifeless at the time, but soon to be filled with excitement. There was such an amazing vibe on campus.

The only negative is that I could smell food toward the end, since we passed Thai and pizza places on our way in. This was unfair, but not as bad as in Tuscaloosa, when my route regularly took me past a barbecue joint.

And as always, the coffee was free afterwards.

30-Minute Run

I saw a question asked on another running blog about who you would want to have a conversation with over a 30-minute run. I must say, I never do well at these types of questions—whether it’s who I’d like to have dinner with or who I’d like to run with. So many possibilities. The list is endless.

So I’ll narrow it down to two. One runner, and one person not known for running.

I think to run with Joan Benoit Samuelson would be incredible. She is a Mainer, which to this Southerner, seems like a difficult thing to be as a runner, given the state’s climate. I’m sure she didn’t run there exclusively, but she founded the famous Beach to Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth, which I’ve read has elite runners showing up, and housing with race volunteers and folks like that.

She’s qualified for seven Olympic team trials, of course winning the 1984 Olympic marathon in Los Angeles. She’s won a couple of Bostons and a Chicago, and though is not a competitor anymore, is still a great runner and great running ambassador.

But I think it’s her down-to-earth vibe and approachability that would make a great run partner. The 30 minutes would probably fly by, though sore slowly for her than for me, given our respective paces. I think she’s a Red Sox fan, so we could discuss baseball, even though I’m a Royals guy. I doubt I could ask her anything that hasn’t been asked dozens of times before, but it would be nice to hear her unfiltered replies, which have not been edited for space.

Okay—the non-runner.

There are so many people throughout history who have inspired. One name stands out to me, making this choice easier than I thought. Legendary basketball coach Don Haskins. I am a native of El Paso, Texas, and Coach Haskins was the head coach of the Texas Western/UTEP Miners for 39 years, winning 719 games. I am a big UTEP fan chiefly because of watching his teams play (usually on TV) in the mid-80s. 

Haskins is probably best known for starting five African-Americans against Kentucky in the 1966 NCAA championship, winning 72-65. It doesn’t seem like a big deal nowadays, but in the mid-1960s it was. He’d be the first to tell you he wasn’t trying to make a statement—he just wanted to win. But his choice to start Hill-Lattin-Artis-Flournoy-Worsley had a ripple effect. There was hate coming from many different directions for years to come. Some talked about exploitation, some called him racist. It was as though winning a title was the worst possible thing that could’ve happened.

Haskins never made a ton of money. El Paso wasn’t and isn’t that kind of place. The man just wanted to coach hoops. He shared his wealth with others and was as down to earth as could be. This great man left us in 2008.

30 minutes wouldn’t begin to cover the things I’d want to talk about. I’d love to ask about the 1988 NCAA tournament game against Arizona, about how he and the program endured the negativity and bad press after winning the title, about Coach Iba, Haskins’ mentor, and on, and on, and on. He would basically be reliving my childhood. There would have to be postrun libation-- I would buy (though it’d get pricey) and listen to a legend tell stories about being a man, a coach, and unwitting pioneer.  

The movie ‘Glory Road’ told the story of the 1965-66 Miners, and Josh Lucas portrayed Coach Haskins. Lucas even got to sit in Haskins’ pickup and drink tequila with him. I am still insanely jealous.

Running Town

I’ve already talked about how amazed I am with the running club I joined, how 25 or so people show up first thing Saturday morning in mid-August for a seven-mile run. They are nice people, and there's always good conversation during the run, or afterward with a cup of coffee.

That sense of amazement grew during my run. Not by the group I’m a part of, but by the number of runners I saw out and about at 7:00 am. They were everywhere. Several groups of two, three, or four were getting some exercise. Guys, gals, people of all ages, shapes, and sizes, all realizing the importance of being fit. It’s even common for me to see several runners as I drive in to town and wonder whether I’m late (I’ve done well on that so far).

But later that afternoon, the First Lady and I went out for a nice meal and evening on the town, and we sat outside and ate seafood at one of Athens’ high-volume traffic areas, for cars and for pedestrians. It’s also some of the same pavement we pounded earlier that morning. So I’m eating shrimp and grits (omg it was so good) and drinking a Samuel Adams, and I must have seen 30 more folks out running. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing—it seemed like the whole world was running past us. Had to have helped that it was a gorgeous, sun-splashed day, and dry (unusual for the Deep South), with temps in the low 80s at 6 pm.

However, it doesn’t really matter what time of day-- runners are everywhere in this town. I can be driving in to pick up the wife for lunch or on my way to church and I’ll see several folks out doing their thing. It may have a little to do with motivating myself for another solo run, but it sure is inspiring to see so many people getting out there and working hard. I am happy to be one of them. 

Why not?

When I was in second and third grade, I played a few years of YMCA soccer. This was not the youth soccer we know today—this was 22 kids chasing the ball on a dirt field, swinging a leg and hoping for the best. Maybe they kicked the ball, maybe they didn’t. My contribution was one of my front teeth when a ball struck me in the mouth. Coach Diehl picked up a big-ass rock and asked if this was my tooth. That story has aged well over the years.

Anyhow, One day during a 5:15 practice at Franklin Field, a buddy and I got busted for yakking it up in the back while coach was speaking. As discipline, he told us to take a lap around the practice field (which was in better shape than the field at the Y). Cold busted, George and I took off running.

And when I worked at the running store, sometimes we’d have to explain how we were a specialty running store, but… we couldn't finish our sentence before the customer would tell us, “Oh, I don’t run.”

They couldn't tell us fast enough. Like running was something people didn’t do—a label they didn’t want. I think the ‘running as punishment’ thing takes over pretty early, and that folks think running is evil. The whole being out of breath thing must scare a lot of people. Perhaps it’s what they read about getting injured. But if you’re doing it right, have the right shoes, good form, build gradually, and get a little better every time, the injury bug should stay away.

It could also be the soreness we feel after a run. I enjoy that feeling, and to an extent, it’s something I look for—to have that energized feeling in my legs the rest of the day.

I never understood, and still don’t. Ever pay attention to how fit a distance runner looks? I especially envy the soccer players I watch on TV—those athletes run a lot during practice and during a match. Not much of it is in a straight line, either. Lots of stopping and starting, shuttle drills, and such. As a result, they don’t have an ounce of fat on them. I’m sure a few of them (by their standards) are out of shape, but even those players have a fitness level that far exceeds most of ours. 

Besides, why wouldn’t someone want to be healthy? How do folks seem to avoid taking just one hour of their day (just 4.2%) to exercise? Why wouldn’t someone want to test their boundaries and just see what’s possible? Why would we avoid the feeling of accomplishment, the sense of ‘wow’ that I (and countless others) have felt toward the end of their first marathon? I seriously welled up at about mile 24, knowing that this was going to happen, knowing four months of training and four hours of pain were resulting in this incredible feeling. Also that I learned a little bit about myself and what I am capable of.

I also like the feeling of fitness I get from a run. I like being able to crank out the day’s mileage. Hitting my splits. Maybe even throwing a little speed in there. It’s a great feeling to know I have done something positive for my body, and that over time, my body has responded. I’m not as ripped as a soccer player or distance runner, but I feel and look great.