Archive for July, 2009

5 x 800s Are Five by Five

Speedwork went well this week under cooler temperatures in Sacramento. I had to dodge a soccer team doing laps a few times, but things could hardly have gone better.

Intervals: 5 x 800 meters
Goal pace: sub-3:36
Lap 1: 3:29.00
Lap 2: 3:25.50
Lap 3: 3:27.37
Lap 4: 3:34.13
Lap 5: 3:31.25
Average: 3:29.45
Total distance: 5 miles

No red fails for the second consecutive week, so I’ll have to keep adding a repeat until I get one. Next Wednesday it’ll be 6 x 800.

Today I did a seven-mile tempo run at 8:39 average pace. I eventually have to bring that down about 30-35 seconds, but I’m making good progress.

The Carnival of Running #37

Welcome to the 37th edition of The Carnival of Running!

Bart Yasso’s long run tips are fundamental, but certain things can’t be repeated too often:

Want Deena Kastor to cook for you? It’ll cost you more than three grand.

Joe Dudman at Run Oregon wonders why more runners don’t explore the puke threshold.

Short of blog fodder? Nike is selecting bloggers to test their new LunarGlide+ shoes and blog about them at least once a week for four weeks.

Looks like that all-comers track meet thing is catching on.

Lots of buzz about a study that reveals the world’s best athletes are bigger than the elites of past generations. But aren’t we all bigger?

Need some extra cardio work? Get a job as a school mascot.

Turhan Jordan has some advice about dating a runner. He left out an important tip, though: Don’t try to eat as much as he/she does.

Judging by the results, Runner’s World might put Sarah Palin on the cover next time.

Anytime I start to feel good about my running, I’m reminded I could be totally destroyed by little girls. First there was Gabrielle Jennings, and now there’s Bailey Wolf.

Last week I outran a bunch of people in my pajamas. How they got in my pajamas, I’ll never know.

Elite runners Nick Cordes and Leigh Daniel tied the knot live on The Today Show. Hulu has video of the ceremony, but no one ran down the aisle.

Ian O’Riordan was taken aback when his friend, Conn Fitz, started running. He writes, “For as long as I’ve known him Conn’s idea of an endurance test was to work up an alcoholic frenzy to last the entire weekend and his only experience of speed work was to consume industrial amounts of Benzedrine.”

Did you know that “Older people have a somewhat blunted thirst sense”? Neither did I. I guess it’s because we’re normally desiccated.

This week’s heartwarming running story comes to us courtesy of Dr. J. The other one.

Run for the Medal has everything you need to know about gels, and more than Maggie Moo’s wants you to know about their pricing.

Lonerunner has a million dollar idea, which I think he came up with after a few too many San Miguels.

Speaking of pooping your pants, carpeviam is creeped out by Baby Laugh-a-Lot, but it isn’t even close to the scariest doll on film. And I don’t mean Chucky.

That’s all for this week, friends. It’s the 553rd anniversary of the lifting of the Siege of Belgrade! Submit your posts to carnival@runningisfunny.com. Until next time, run away!

Valerie Bertinelli Runs a Half

She completed the Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half-Marathon in a respectable 2:12:19. Some people are less than thrilled about it, but here at Running Is Funny we have her exclusive finish line photo!

Oops, that’s not it. Here it is!

Damn, that’s not it, either. Maybe this one…

Crap. I’ll have to get back to you.

UPDATE: Do you ever get this many photos when you run a half?

The Worst Marathon Anecdote Ever Told

This comes courtesy of Terry Cooke of the Hamilton Spectator and needs no further embellishment:

The low point of that race for me came at about mile 22 when the poor guy just in front of me lost control of his bowels and pooped all over my running shoes.

Defending Democracy

While cleaning out old file folders, I came across some rare photos of my time in the Air Force. I had them scanned, and I thought the juxtaposition of these two might amuse you. The first is me (center) and two fellow crewmembers outside our tent in Kimhae, Korea, circa 1985.

Makes you feel proud and patriotic, doesn’t it? Confident of the abilities of our men in uniform. Here’s another, taken while off duty:

I’m holding the fire extinguisher because the previous evening my student navigator nearly set the tent on fire while demonstrating his mastery of a Coleman stove. I snuffed it out with that extinguisher. Now I tell people I once saved the lives of my entire flight crew, but I don’t go into the details.

I’d identify the pilots in this photo, but they probably fly for the airlines now, so keep that in mind next time you travel.

Yasso Surpasso (Barely)

I’m about 21 weeks away from my marathon, so I have the luxury of increasing mileage gradually. I did a 12-miler last Sunday and will do another this Sunday before bumping up to 14 in a week.

In the meantime I went out in the heat for my Yasso 800s yesterday with, as always, a target of sub 3:36. There was a large PE class using the track for laps, so I had to run in in lane 4 the entire way around, but that’s the way things go.

Intervals: 4 x 800 meters
Goal pace: sub-3:36
Lap 1: 3:35.25
Lap 2: 3:35.62
Lap 3: 3:29.86
Lap 4: 3:34.86
Average: 3:33.90
Total distance: 4 miles

Ha-ha! Talk about skating in on the razor’s edge. But no big red fails. Next week I’ll try 5 x 800 and see if I can squeeze another sub 3:36 in.

Today I did a six-mile tempo run at 8:30 pace. Things are looking up.

The Carnival of Running #36

Welcome to the 36th edition of The Carnival of Running!

Training for New York? Here’s a little motivation for you:

Ruth Bendik was watching the 1982 New York City Marathon when her wallet was pickpocketed. Last week, it was found in the hollow of a tree, under five feet of compost.

Who needs a race report when you can read a post-race buffet report?

Want to run a 5k but can’t persuade yourself to devote the time to training? Andy Tarnoff went from the couch to a 5k race in one week. If he had had a heart attack, his story would not have made Running Is Funny.

James Burns, sports editor of the Merced Sun-Star, pens a tribute to runners.

Geoff Edgers of the Boston Globe wrote a column about how you should stop writing and talking about your running. Huh? His readers let him have it.

A non-runner asks us: Why? “I’m very interested in this because you would have to pay me a lot of money to run anywhere in public, let alone wearing almost nothing and flinging various limbs in several different directions. (This is what clubbing is for.)” she writes.

Here is one good answer.

A few days ago, I highlighted Ugo Sansonetti’s 800 meter world record for 90-year-olds. But in my mind his amazing accomplishment still pales in comparison to that of Frank Levine, who ran a 50:10 5k – a world record for 95-year-olds. “I have to watch my weight, watch what I eat, and stay away from young girls because they take away all my energy,” said Levine. Yep, those 70-year-old women will kill you.

Would you get a temporary tattoo with your target marathon split times? I think I’d rather have my emergency contact information, blood type and religion on there.

Here’s a little linky love for Running For My Life, Finny Knits, and Rookie Runner. Check them out. And Christy at Going the Distance makes the Running Is Funny blogroll. Woo-hoo! That’s at least two or three extra hits a week for you.

Two runners were banned from the Edinburgh Marathon for life for switching bib numbers. A man ran with his woman friend’s number and finished in the top ten female runners. Asked why he did it, the man replied, “A hae nae thochtie.”

Things are not looking good for the National Distance Running Hall of Fame.

Andrew Smith ran a marathon in a dog costume, but he’ll have to train harder to approach the world record for costume running.

Whenever I see a promotion for an eco-friendly running shoe I have the same reaction. If the shoe companies made their current shoes last twice as long it would be more eco-friendly than making shoes out of soybeans and rice cakes.

Just one man’s opinion.

That’s all for this week, friends. Stay out of summer’s fiery furnace and submit your posts to carnival@runningisfunny.com. Until next time, run away!