Running Green

Meatless Monday

2011-07-18T12:48:00.003-05:00

These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/.

Meatless News: Meat Eaters Guided to Meatless Monday
Today the Environmental Working Group released a lifestyle analysis of the links between meat consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

The Meat Eaters Guide to Climate Change and Health can help you to determine which protein sources are the most and least carbon friendly. At www.ewg.org/meateatersguide you can their quiz and see how much you know as well as find great educational materials to learn more. They embrace the Meatless Monday concept and even recommend the recipes on MeatlessMonday.com to improve personal and planetary health.

Sea Rim Striders Summer Series Run #6

2011-07-18T06:38:00.002-05:00

Sea Rim Striders Summer Series Run #6, at Tyrell Park. Always nice to get together with the local runners at these weekly short runs. Another good turnout-- I'm sure there were over 200 again. It's supposed to be a "rest" day in my training schedule, and it was also very hot, so I didn't push it past tempo pace. Still about 91 F at 7 PM with a 72 degree dewpoint. Mile splits: 8:31, 8:26.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/98559609

50K Training

2011-07-04T06:36:00.000-05:00

50K Training Schedule

I officially start 50K training today. I looked at training plans online and settled on this one. Similar structure to marathon plans I've used in the past, but with longer long runs.

The schedule is a slightly modified plan from the Run for the Toad, a 50K trail run in Ontario. The structure and distances of the plan looked good, so I converted the kms to miles, and changed Mondays from “Rest” to “Rest or Cross train.” That’s what I’m used to in past marathon plans. On shorter mileage weeks, I may cross train more. On the biggest mileage weeks, I'll need the extra rest. I’ll probably modify the Wednesday workouts also. My 50K race isn’t very hilly and there are no hills nearby to train on, so I won’t do much hill training. I also may switch the longest runs from Saturdays to Sundays, may substitute cycling/running bricks for some of the weekend runs, and will probably experiment with some run/walk intervals for the longest runs.

My target event is the 21st Annual Rocky Raccoon 50K Trail Run at Huntsville (TX) State Park on November 5, 2011. http://trail-race.com/stone/rocky_raccoon/

Sea Rim Striders Summer Series Run #4

2011-06-28T07:11:00.003-05:00

Sea Rim Striders Summer Series Run #4 at the Gulf Terrace Hike & Bike Trail. Huge turnout of local runners, had to be well over 250. Hot running-- still 90F plus at 7 PM, but it's nice to run with all the local runners. I figure if I don't push the pace too much, I can't get too overheated in a half-hour. Time: 31:09 by the clock, 31:12 by Garmin. Mile splits: 8:57, 8:56, 8:52, 0.5 mile @8:54.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/95368869

Meatless Monday

2011-06-27T07:35:00.007-05:00

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.

These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/.

Healthy News:
10 Exercize Myths that Won't Go Away
[CNN]

300 Days of Yoga

2011-06-23T21:23:00.002-05:00

I marked a 300th consecutive day of yoga practice with a symbolic 30 minute practice, using the same video I used on Day 1, "The Primary Series - Express" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP9IFX-Agt4. The video actually runs 28½ minutes, but a little extra savasana made it an even 30. Hamstrings are still a little sore from 108 Sun Salutations on the 21st; almost changed my mind because this video starts with 3 Sun Salutation A's and 2 Sun Salutation B's, but after running and then re-stretching , much of the soreness is gone. ॐ

Solstice Aftermath

2011-06-22T18:24:00.013-05:00

One day after the 108 Sun Salutations, my observation is that it was an uplifting experience, and also QUITE a workout! By yesterday evening, I could really feel it in my shoulders and hamstrings. By this morning, my shoulders felt normal, but my hamstrings were quite sore. I guess that's the big surprise from the event. I realize that there are 216 standing forward bends in 108 salutations, and each one is a good hamstring stretch. Just a little surprised to find that there's anything I can do to my legs to generate more than just a little soreness. I've run two marathons in the last two years. I run 30 to 50 miles per week, year around. That works the hamstrings hard. I do sun salutations (although way fewer) every week, and additional forward bends (standing and seated) as part of other yoga sequences. I make sure I do at least a few forward bends after almost every run, just because it's a great hamstring stretch after running. I guess I just underestimated the effect of 216!

Photo credit: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/478

Yoga Mala - 108 Sun Salutations at the Solstice

2011-06-21T19:53:00.000-05:00

Photo credit: http://www.spiritofchange.org/community/circling-for-the-solstice

Today's home yoga practice was 108 sun salutations at sunrise on the solstice, 4 rounds of 27. Started at 5:10 AM and finished at 7:30 AM. Kept count with 27 beans in a bowl; transfered one to an empty bowl with each salutation. It was not an easy session, left me pretty well soaked with sweat by the end. I was prepared to make modifications as I tired, but was able to hold upward dog through 108, instead of going to cobra. I did go to bent leg chaturanga toward the end. Set a relaxed spiritual atmosphere with the "Devotion" CD by Rasa (info at http://www.rasa-music.com/). Nice. Feels great afterwards; hope I can bask in the aura the rest of the day.

The event brought to mind this passage, written by the great Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in his amazing book "Peace Is Every Step."

"The Sun My Heart"
"We all know that if our heart stops beating, the flow of our life will stop, and so we cherish our heart very much. Yet we do not often take the time to notice that other things, outside of our bodies, are also necessary for our survival. Look at the immense light we call the sun. If it were to stop shining, the flow of our life would also stop, and so the sun is our second heart, a heart outside of our body. This immense 'heart' gives all life on Earth the warmth necessary for existence. Plants live, thanks to the sun. Their leaves absorb the sun's energy, along with carbon dioxide from the air, to produce food for the tree, the flower, the plankton. And thanks to plants, we and other animals can live. All of us-- people, animals, and plants-- consume the sun directly and indirectly. We cannot begin to describe all the effects of the sun, that great heart outside our body.

Our body is not limited by the boundary of what is inside our skin. It is much more immense. It contains even the layer of air around the Earth, for if the atmosphere were to disappear for even an instant, our life would end. There is no phenomenon in the universe that does not intimately concern us, from a pebble resting at the bottom of the ocean, to the movement of a galaxy, millions of light-years away. Walt Whitman said, 'I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars....' These words are not philosophy. They come from the depths of his soul. He said, 'I am large, I contain multitudes."

Namaste

Om shanti shanti shanti

Sea Rim Striders Summer Series Run #3

2011-06-20T21:51:00.000-05:00

Sea Rim Striders Summer Series Run #3-- a nice 5K course in Claiborne Park. My legs were a little tired, this was a sixth consecutive day of running, and I also ran 5 miles in the early morning. A brief rain on an already hot, humid afternoon left it feeling really steamy. I ran the previous week's 2 miler at race pace, but took this one easier, pushed it a little for the conditions, but held back from race pace. Basically, a 5K tempo run: 8:47, 8:42, 8:41, 0.12 mile @8:37. Nice to visit with local runners again this week.

Green Choices: Green Mowing

2011-06-17T12:55:00.001-05:00

I retired the gasoline mower this week-- no more feeling guilty about lawn care.

I know that small engines pollute even worse than motor vehicles, and have been looking into alternatives. I chose the Neuton mower, electric powered, with rechargeable battery.

270 million tons of pollutants per year are emitted by lawn/garden equipment. After mowing with a gasoline mower, my clothes and body are saturated with hydrocarbon smell. That means I'm breathing toxins. Neuton emits no fumes.
800 million gallons of gasoline per year are used mowing lawns in the U.S. Neuton recharges with 10 cents worth of electricity.
17 million gallons of gasoline per year are spilled refueling lawn mowers in the U.S. Neuton uses no gas or oil.
Gasoline mowers are noisy. Neuton produces one-fourth of the noise of a gas mower.

Abundance!

2011-06-14T18:09:00.002-05:00

Posted 3 ½ weeks ago about the celebratory first tiny ripe tomato of the season...
Now picking this much almost every day! :)

Vegetarian Adventures - Fresh Garden Goodness

2011-06-13T12:22:00.000-05:00

This was really good. Last night's dinner, grilled veggies, fresh out of the garden. OK, we didn't actually grow the mushrooms or the onions, but you get the idea...

Meatless Monday

2011-06-13T12:07:00.023-05:00

Sea Rim Striders Summer Series Run #2

2011-06-13T10:23:00.003-05:00

The local running club, the Sea Rim Striders has a series of weekly summer runs at 7 PM on Monday evenings. They rotate between area parks, and are all short distances appropriate to the warm weather, between 2 and 3.5 miles. These are fun runs, but some run them pretty competitively, just like an official race. Clock timing, no chip timing; there's a big digital timer at the finish line. I missed the first of the runs, but this was the second.

A nice short run at Tyrell Park. Just a 2 miler, second of the SRS Summer Series. Splits: 8:26, 8:04. Always good to be able to visit with a lot of local runners that I know. Pretty hot running, still near 90 degrees at 7 PM, but a good breeze helped, and humidity was only about 50%. Good attendance-- 227 turned out!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/92282736

Where Does the Time Go!?

2011-06-07T21:37:00.000-05:00

Ironic coincidence-- this afternoon, I popped this old classic into my CD player on the way home from work. I hadn't listened to it for a while...

When I got home, I saw this posted on the Grateful Dead Facebook page:

"‎41 years ago today, Grateful Dead released Workingman's Dead! Where does the time go!?"

Grateful Dead - Uncle John's Band by gratefuldead

Quote of the Week

2011-05-31T17:36:00.000-05:00

"Elevate. Each day, live to elevate yourself, each day elevate one person. Make elevation your religion and you shall reach infinity."

~Yogi Bhajan

Green Goodness

2011-05-19T17:55:00.002-05:00

Loving spring! There's something magical about seeing the first fruit and vegetables grow, mature and ripen. The picking of the first tomato is an annual cause for celebration in our household, and this event began in a small way today, with the picking of the first vine-ripened, totally organically grown cherry tomato!

First cherry tomato! More vegetarian staples coming soon!

The first full-sized tomato-- ready to pick!

Two on this nice cluster are just starting to turn!

Baby green beans!

Cucumbers - blossoming but not quite showing fruit yet.

Cucumbers, beans and squash.

The first baby summer squash!

Peppers and eggplant.

Small bell peppers - won't be big enough to pick for several weeks.

Banana peppers - we've already harvested some of these!

More tomatos!

Baby grapefruit! Fortunate to get them in this small tree's second year!

Baby lemon!

Basil. I can taste the pesto already!

Home composting station. Every leaf raked, every bit of yard waste, every fruit or vegetable peel or trimming, tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells, etc, go in here, and are transformed into brown gold. With lots of rich organic compost, there is no need for chemical fertilizers. The plants love it, and happy plants make the best fruit!

Quote of the Week

2011-05-17T20:57:00.000-05:00

"Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred."

— Zen masterThich Nhat Hanh (The Miracle of Mindfulness)

2011-05-16T23:19:00.004-05:00

Weekly Running: May 9 through 15, 2011

2011-05-15T21:01:00.000-05:00

Race Review - Samson Lonestar 5K Saturday, 14 May, 2011

2011-05-14T17:02:00.000-05:00

Samson Lone Star 5K at the Gulf Terrace Hike & Bike Trail .

New best 5K time - 24:45. 16th place overall, 3rd place, male 41 and over age group.

On the way out...

I don't usually race from mid-May through the end of September in SE Texas, because it's usually just way too warm and humid. A freakishly late cool front came through Friday, leaving low humidity and a beautiful 55 degree Saturday morning. Friday evening after seeing the weather forecast, I decided on the spur of the moment to run this 5K event, and I'm glad I did. Finished 16th overall, and 3rd in the male 41 and above age group. Clock time was 24:45, 40 seconds better than my previous best 5K. Garmin time was 24:50. Mile splits were 8:02, 8:00, 8:02, 0:46 (0.1 mile @7:25). Finished into a fairly strong north wind.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/85518243

Finish!

Yoga Journal - May Digital Edition Is Free!

2011-04-27T12:35:00.000-05:00

In honor of Earth Day, Yoga Journal is offering a free electronic version of the May issue. No paper used or natural resources consumed! http://www.yogajournal.com/digitaledition

Earth Day Message - "The Art of Mindful Living"

2011-04-22T00:39:00.004-05:00

Instead of composing another rambling rant, like last year's Earth Day message (http://vern-running-green.blogspot.com/2010/04/earth-day-2010-40th-anniversary-april.html), I'd like to publish this passage from the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh's amazing book, Peace Is Every Step. He says it so much better than I can. This is the entire short chapter titled The Art of Mindful Living.

"Nature is our mother. Because we live cut off from her, we get sick. Some of us live in boxes called apartments, very high above the ground. Around us are only cement, metal, and hard things like that. Our fingers do not have a chance to touch the soil; we don’t grow lettuce anymore. Because we are so distant from our Mother Earth, we become sick. That is why we need to go out from time to time and be in nature. It is very important. We and our children should be in touch again with Mother Earth. In many cities, we cannot see trees—the color green is entirely absent from our view.

One day, I imagined a city where there was only one tree left. The tree was still beautiful, but very much alone, surrounded by buildings, in the middle of the city. Many people were getting sick, and most doctors did not know how to deal with the illness. But one very good doctor knew the causes of the sickness and gave this prescription to each patient. “Every day, take the bus to the center of the city to look at the tree. As you approach it, practice breathing in and out, and when you get there, hug the tree, breathing in and out for fifteen minutes, while you look at the tree, so green, and smell its bark, so fragrant. If you do that, in a few weeks, you will feel much better.”

The people began to feel better, but very soon there were so many people rushing to the tree that they stood in line for miles and miles. You know that people of our time do not have much patience, so standing three or four hours to wait to hug the tree was too much and they rebelled. They organized demonstrations in order to make a new law that each person could only hug the tree for five minutes, but of course that reduced the time for healing. And soon, the time was reduced to one minute, and the chance to be healed by our mother was lost. We could be in that situation very soon if we are not mindful. We must practice awareness of each thing we do if we want to save our Mother Earth, and ourselves and our children as well. For example, when we look into our garbage, we can see lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and flowers. When we throw a banana peel into the garbage, we are aware that it is a banana peel that we are throwing out and that it will be transformed into a flower or a vegetable very soon. That is exactly the practice of meditation.

When we throw a plastic bag into the garbage, we know that it is different than a banana peel. It will take a long time to become a flower… That awareness alone helps us protect the Earth, make peace, and take care of life in the present moment and in the future. This is an act of peace, a basic kind of peace action.

When we throw a plastic disposable diaper into the garbage, we know that it takes even longer for it to become a flower, four hundred years or longer. Knowing that using these kinds of diapers is not in the direction of peace, we look for other ways to take care of our baby. Practicing breathing and contemplating our body, feelings, mind, and objects of mind, we practice peace in the present moment. This is living mindfully.

Nuclear waste is the worst kind of garbage. It takes about 250,000 years to become flowers. Forty of the fifty of the United States is already polluted by nuclear waste. We are making the Earth an impossible place to live for ourselves and for many generations of children. If we live in our present moment mindfully, we will know what to do and what not to do, and we will try to do things in the direction of peace."

Eat Local - Make Every Day Earth Day!

2011-04-21T22:08:00.001-05:00

The Thanks to Meatless Monday for passing on this information!

The Eat Well Guide released this cool widget to help people eat local on Earth Day and everyday thereafter throughout the year. Eat Well Guide is a free online directory for anyone in search of fresh, locally grown and sustainably produced food in the United States and Canada. Include the food-finder widget (get the code below) on your website and/or blog, to provide your visitors with valuable sustainable food recommendations. Just type a zip code into the widget to find nearby sustainable restaurants, stores, farms and other producers from a growing list of over 23,000 vendors. Supporting sustainable agriculture is a delicious way to show your commitment to the earth 365 days a year.

Follow this link to copy the code for this or two other widget designs for your blog! http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=Widgets

Training Tip of the Week

2011-04-21T22:05:00.000-05:00

"Many elite athletes warm up for 60-90 minutes before they race to make sure they are ready to run fast right from the start. For most recreational athletes, some easy jogging, walking and stretching is probably enough. Determine a warm-up that works for you during your training."

~Today's Tip of the Day from Hal Higdon's Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/halhigdon

I believe this one. I'm light-years from being an elite athlete, either by ability or training. However, I recently tried a gradual 15-minute warmup, going from walk, to fast walk, to slow jog, to easy run. This worked better for me before a 5K race than my usual 5 minute easy run, and the result was a slight PR, even on a mending knee and only 2 weeks of marathon recovery .

Meatless Monday

2011-04-18T23:29:00.000-05:00

Weekly Training 11 - 17 April, 2011

2011-04-18T12:15:00.005-05:00

(Graphic from my page at DailyMile.com.)

The week started strong and ended with a whimper. Started with a good tempo run Tuesday, and a medium/long run Wednesday. I planned an easy paced six for Thursday, but ended up running it at almost tempo pace again. Wednesday evening, UPS delivered the new shoes I ordered, a pair of Saucony Kinvaras. I'm working at developing the "Chi Running" form, and wanted to try one of the "minimalist" shoe designs to help facilitate a midfoot running form. The Kinvaras were so light and flexible that the run seemed to take less effort, so I ran a little faster than I intended Thursday. I did slow it down a little Saturday, and intended to do a longer run Sunday. Saturday afternoon, building a fence gate, my hand slipped and I slightly punctured my left thumbnail with a screwdriver. I still thought I'd run the next day, but by Sunday afternoon, the wound was still slowly seeping blood through the bandage. I decided that it wasn't wise to run and elevate my HR to 150 bpm with even a small seeping wound. All's well though. By Sunday evening, bleeding had stopped. I saw my doctor Monday morning and she gave me a tetanus shot and antibiotics.

Yoga streak continued, daily practice at 232 days.

YTD: 440.6 miles running, 147.1 miles cycling, 587.7 miles total.

Week: 27.0 running miles; Month: 72.1 running miles.

Spring Transformation!

2011-04-17T19:05:00.003-05:00

A sure sign of spring-- the garden's in business again. We just observed the first few tiny green tomatoes!

We've had a mild spring, with no later-than-usual cooldowns. We started our garden seedlings indoors in February, to have them ready for early outdoor planting. And plenty of great compost from last season's vegetable and yard waste for the young plants to thrive on. Organic gardening at it's best!

It also serves as a timely reminder of the fundamental oneness of all that is, fitting perfectly with words from the great Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh:

"When we have a compost bin filled with organic material which is decomposing and smelly, we know that we can transform the waste into beautiful flowers. At first, we may see the compost and flowers as opposite, but when we look deeply, we can see that the flowers already exist in the compost and the compost already exists in the flowers."

The unity of life. Yesterday's compost is today's tomato. Today's tomato is tomorrow's compost. And so the cycle continues...

Food Rules Friday

2011-04-15T10:14:00.000-05:00

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule # 29: "Eat like an omnivore."

"Whether or not you eat any animal foods, it's a good idea to try to add some new species, and not just new foods, to your diet- that is, new kinds of plants, animals, and fungi."

I really enjoy finding new foods, especially from plants. The message is that variety is good! Personally, I'm a vegetarian, not a vegan. I don't eat meat, but I eat some animal products such as cheese, yogurt, and a few eggs. The principle applies, whether you're vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian or omnivore.

Training Tip Thursday

2011-04-14T22:40:00.000-05:00

Unless you feel really hungry, eating food before or during a workout or before a medium-distance race isn't necessary. A meal high in carbohydrates (such as pasta) the night before should get you through. Practice good nutrition while training. Forget those fad diets. A proper mix of 55 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fat and 15 percent protein is best for fitness and for good health.

~Tip of the Day from Hal Higdon's Facebook page.

Quote of the Week - "Twenty-Four Brand-New Hours"

2011-04-13T12:26:00.013-05:00

I've been reading the great Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh's amazing book, Peace is Every Step. I'm only about halfway through, although it's fairly short and written in a very accessible style that makes for quick reading. I'm taking my time, reading a few pages at a time, savoring them like fine wine, and trying to apply the concepts to daily life as I go. He begins the book with these words that set the tone so well for all that follows:

"Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy and happiness to ourselves and others.

Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We don't have to travel far away to enjoy the blue sky. We don't have to leave our city or even our neighborhood to enjoy the eyes of a beautiful child. Even the air we breathe can be a source of joy."

Meatless Monday

2011-04-11T23:13:00.002-05:00

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.

These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/.

Healthy News:
Vegetarians at Lower Heart Disease, Diabetes Risk
[Reuters]

Weekly Training April 4 - 10, 2011

2011-04-10T22:05:00.000-05:00

(Graphic from my page at DailyMile.com.)

Getting (hopefully) back on track with my weekly running/training summary, not that it's likely to be of much interest to anyone else, but part of the purpose of this blog continues to be as a training journal.

A pretty uneventful week, no big miles, just building back gradually in this fourth recovery week after marathon. Trying to be cautious and allow further healing of a right knee that still isn't 100% after a January injury. With the exception of a tempo pace run Tuesday, everything else was at moderate comfortable pace.

Continuing with weights & core work Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. My current favorite core routine is doing crunches lying on my back on a stability ball. I like the ball mcuh better than either the floor or the bench.

Yoga practice continues to grow; made 225 consecutive days on April 10. Durations are progressing also. Early in this streak, I practiced mainly in the morning for 10 to 20 minutes, with an occasional evening practice. Lately, I've practiced 15 to 25 minutes both morning and evening on most days, with occasional longer practice. I'm not forcing it. It has been a natural progression because the more I practice, the better I feel.

YTD: 413.6 miles running, 147.1 miles cycling, 560.7 miles total.

Quote of the Week

2011-04-06T12:34:00.008-05:00

"Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
as if it is the axis
on which the world earth revolves
- slowly, evenly, without
rushing toward the future;
Live the actual moment.
Only this moment is life."

~zen master Thich Nhat Hanh

Catching Up

2011-04-04T12:18:00.001-05:00

I've done a poor job lately of updating this blog. Trying to get back on track!

PR - Sea Rim Striders Spring 5K - March 26, 2011

2011-03-27T12:17:00.000-05:00

Sea Rim Striders Spring 5K - 25:25, 8:12 pace. 19th place out of 109.
Garmin data and map: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/75139878
Results: http://www.searimstriders.net/results/2011-Spring5K-OV.html

PR? At first, I thought I'd missed it by a few seconds. I didn't remember the exact seconds of my best time, but remembered 8:14 as my PR pace. Garmin showed my average at 8:17. I finished this race 25:25 by the clock, 25:27 by Garmin. After I got home, I looked up my previous best time and found it was 25:34. So, if the course distance was an accurate 3.1 miles, this was a PR. Garmin showed the distance 3.07, which may be within expected measurement variation of 3.1. I'm going to claim it.

At first, I had no intention of going for it. At the starting line, I told my friend Jeremy that with a still tweaky knee and only two weeks of marathon recovery, I was going to treat this as just a "fun run." But after starting out, I felt too good to not give it a try. I think it really helped to do a slow, longer warmup pre-race.

I normally warm up with 4 or 5 minutes of easy jogging. That's enough to warm up, but not enough to expend a significant amount of energy needed in the race itself. However I found recently that my knee responds better with a slower, more gradual warmup, and I modified my aproach slightly. I just warmed up from a walk to a brisk walk to a slow jog to an easy run pace. About 12 minutes of walking, 3 minues of jogging and 2 minutes of running. Total warmup: 1.2 miles - 17 minutes.

Yoga Day 200: Surya Namaskar

2011-03-21T12:16:00.001-05:00

Many of my runner/yogi friends on Dailymile have been great sources of encouragement as I started out to see if I could sustain a daily yoga practice for 30 days in the month of September, 2010. At the time, I had no thought of being able to stretch the daily streak to months. On March 15, I was touched by the gesture of my friend Rose, who organized a number of other friends to symbolically celebrate my 200th consecutive day with 20 Sun Salutations, each in their own locations.

So on the special day, March 15, 2011, there was no way that I wasn't going join in. My morning practice for this day was 20 Sun Salutations, in 4 cycles of:
3 Sun Salutation A + 2 Sun Salutation B.

Namaste.

Gusher Marathon Video

2011-03-13T14:03:00.004-05:00

This was video from the Gusher Marathon and Half Marathon from our local newspaper's website. My three seconds of fame start at 1:06 of this video, as I come up on the right-hand side, cross in front of the camera and disappear at 1:09 (in red shorts and white shirt - #4076).

The Gusher Marathon - March 12, 2011

2011-03-13T12:15:00.000-05:00

The Gusher Marathon - 26.2 miles - 5:13:27
Garmin data and map: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/72660419
Results: http://www.iaapweb.com/results/11/03_12_2011_marathon.htm#55-59%20Male

When I hurt my knee during this cycle of marathon training, I drastically changed my expectations. At first, I thought I'd have to drop out of this race. I took most of two weeks off from running, during what should have been peak training weeks. During several of the final training weeks, I trained lighter than normal, substituting cycling minutes for some of my running miles. It was a trade-off. If I rested enough to heal completely, I'd have been so undertrained that I'd have no chance of lasting the distance. If I tried to run my scheduled training miles, my knee would have been in no shape to run at all. So I tried to strike a balance between the two, and revise my goal downward from PR to simply finishing. However, the best the balanced approach could yield was to get me to race day both slightly undertrained and underhealed.

As I feared, this race got ugly, was 28 minutes longer than last year's marathon PR, but at least was a finish. Although my knee had made great improvement in the preceding weeks, I knew going in that I was undertrained and not 100% healed. I had almost no pain on my last few training runs, but the runs were short, and that allowed me to deceive myself into thinking the knee was farther along than it was. I even had a few taper-induced delusions of a possible PR. I'd considered possible pacing scenarios, and thought I might be able to comfortably average around 10:30 pace through the halfway point, and assess the situation from there. Even if I had to back off to the low 11's after that, it would be possible to finish a few seconds under last year's effort. The first half went pretty well, but the knee started getting a little sore around 12 miles, and got worse from there. I still managed to keep on track for a possible PR through about 18 miles. It all came apart at about 18 ½, and by 19, a PR possibility was gone and it was just a matter of survival. I walked more than I ran in miles 19 through 21, got a small second wind around 22, and found a slow jog pace that made the knee hurt less than either running or walking. This pace, plus a few short walk breaks, brought me home. Coming around the final bend, I pulled together what little I had left, and tried to hit the finish chute looking better than I felt. It wasn't pretty, but I'll take it.

Ironically, even with my relatively slow finish, I later found that I'd taken a 3rd place age group trophy. Only 5 men in my age group ran, and I at least finished before two of them!

The mile 26 sign was such a welcome sight!

After the finish, with two local running friends, Dailymilers Will and Jeremy Fermo.

Daily Yoga - Half Year, Full Circle

2011-02-25T21:46:00.001-06:00

My yoga practice for this evening: "The Primary Series - Express"

As a retrospective on this 182nd day of daily yoga practice, I looked back in my online workout journal (at dailymile.com) to the first day of this streak, August 28, 2010. I remember I felt like I'd outgrown the "beginner" yoga sequences I'd been practicing for about a year, was looking for some intermediate level videos to explore, and had come across the videos in the Yoga Today YouTube channel. On that day, I tried my first of those videos, a shorter version of the normally 1-plus hour Ashtanga Primary Series, "The Primary Series - Express," at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=yogatoday#p/u/33/LP9IFX-Agt4

I loved this sequence from the beginning, and have returned to it many times in the last 26 weeks, like an old and trusted friend. On first try, I struggled a little with some of the moves and to keep up with the pace of the flow. After repeating many times, I don't struggle with it, but it remains an enjoyable and reasonably challenging practice. It seemed fitting, on this 182nd day, to come full circle and return again to the practice that it all began with. It felt very good. Namaste.

Bring Them Back

2011-02-17T12:55:00.001-06:00

I support the return of the Parthenon Marbles to their righful ownership in Greece. If you agree, please consider reposting this video or forwarding to your friends.www.bringthemback.org

A Valentine's Day Message

2011-02-14T05:07:00.001-06:00

Tuesday Quote of the Week

2011-02-01T18:00:00.001-06:00

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

~Buddha

Meatless Monday

2011-01-31T23:34:00.001-06:00

Weekly Training: January 24 - 30

2011-01-31T22:59:00.000-06:00

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

This was better than the previous week, but still just trying to hang on to as much conditioning as possible while this knee continues to recover. It looks like a lot of miles, but only six of Saturday's eleven were running; the rest were cycling. However, the cycyling was much less knee strain, and I'll take what I can get.

Don't get me wrong. Cycling is great, it's just not comparable mile-to-mile with running. With that in mind, instead of substituting cyling miles for running miles, I substituted cycling minutes for running miles at a ratio of 10 minutes of hard cycling for each scheduled running mile. The rationale for this conversion was based on run training at roughly 10 minutes/mile.

By the end of the week, knee soreness was gradually improving, and I'm optimistic about working more running miles back into the mix. Daily yoga practice is now up to 156 days.

YTD: 98.2 miles running, 104.3 miles cycling, 202.5 miles total.

Training Tips Thursday - Yoga Power Poses for Runners

2011-01-27T07:02:00.005-06:00

Tuesday Quote of the Week

2011-01-25T22:33:00.001-06:00

"I run because it's so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can't. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you're capable of so much more than you thought."

~Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot

Meatless Monday

2011-01-24T17:55:00.001-06:00

Weekly Training: January 17 - January 23

2011-01-23T23:25:00.001-06:00

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

A pathetic week, five miles on the bike Monday and a six mile run Saturday. I had rested a sore right knee since for a week and it felt pretty good, but soreness and a little swelling developed after Saturday's run. I'll have to allow more recovery time. I'm also forced to consider the possibility of dropping out of my March 12 marathon.

I tried to maintain the activity I could, and continued with normal schedule of weights, core and yoga, even investing extra time to these activities. My daily yoga practice is up to 149 days.

YTD: 91.9 miles running, 36.8 miles cycling, 128.7 miles total.

Food Rules Friday

2011-01-21T23:53:00.001-06:00

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule # 28: "If you have the space, buy a freezer."

A freezer dedicated to longer storage than the kitchen refrigerator/freezer may allow the consumer to prolong use of the good natural foods purchased at farmers markets. It also provides storage space if one finds a good source of natural, pastured meat that may be more economical to buy in larger quantitiy.

Training Tips Thursday

2011-01-20T06:31:00.006-06:00

MYRTL Routine - Jay Johnson - insidenikerunning.nike.com. A routine of 12 exercises to strengthen the hip area and increase flexibility. I found this at http://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?do=view&video_id=8190. Pdf instructions are available at http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeplus/us/v2/en_US/pdf/myrtl.pdf.

Green Choices Wednesday - Buying Bulk

2011-01-19T12:30:00.002-06:00

Many stores offer some of their staple items from bulk containers. This option often reduces packagaing waste greatly.

Our local store recently stopped carrying one of my favorite cereals, Bob's Red Mill 5-Grain Rolled Cereal wih Flaxseed. It's like oatmeal, but has a lot of extra whole grains, and I like it better. It's a combination of rolled whole wheat, rye, oats, barley, triticale and flaxseed. I like oatmeal, and eat it often, but kept Bob's Red Mill on hand for a change of taste.

If I find Bob's Red Mill at another local store, I'll still buy some occasionally. However, after looking around, my wife found an acceptable substitute, Sunridge Farms Organic Four Grain Cereal, in the bulk cereals in one of our better local grocery stores.

Some stores will let you bring your own reuseable container for bulk items. Our store is set up to dispense into a plastic bag that they supply and then put on their scale; it prints a label with the name, codes and price. I'm not a fan of plastic bag waste, so we'll just peel off the label and take the empty bag back to refill again.

Tuesday Quote of the Week

2011-01-18T05:00:00.005-06:00

"Mind is the king of the senses. One who has conquered his mind, senses, passions, thought and reason is a king among men. He is fit for Raja Yoga, the royal union with the Universal Spirit. He has Inner Light."

~B. K. S. Iyengar, "Light on Yoga"

Meatless Monday

2011-01-17T07:12:00.001-06:00

Weekly Training: January 10 - January 16

2011-01-16T23:32:00.000-06:00

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

Week: 28.09 miles running, 10.0 miles cycling, 38.09 miles total.

Lowlight: Sore knee condition, cancelled Thursday run. Soreness was gone by Saturday morning, but returned after Saturday's run. Cancelled Sunday run.

Food Rules Friday

2011-01-14T23:39:00.001-06:00

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule # 27: "Eat animals that have themselves eaten well"

"We feed animals a high-energy diet of grain to make them grow quickly, even in the case of ruminants that have evolved to eat grass. But even animals that can tolerate grain are healthier when they have access to green plants-- and so, it turns out, are their meat and eggs."

Training Tip Thursday

2011-01-13T12:27:00.000-06:00

"Do you know your maximum heart rate? formulas don't work for everybody, meaning. One way to determine maximum heart rate is to measure your heart rate in the last 90 seconds of a race where you have sprinted all-out for the tape. If your heart rate hits a peak, then flat-lines for that length of time, that should offer you an accurate reading."

Hal Higdon's Tip of the Day, January 11, 2010, http://www.facebook.com/halhigdon

Weekly Training: January 3 - January 9

2011-01-09T23:29:00.000-06:00

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

Week: 40.08 miles running, 26.8 miles cycling, 66.88 miles total.

Highlight: 20 mile run, 1/8/11.

Marathon Training - 20 Mile Run

2011-01-08T22:25:00.000-06:00

20 Miles - 03:24:00 - 10:11 minutes/mile pace

My original plan was to run 10 miles today and 20 tomorrow. However, with 90% forecast of thunderstorms for all day tomorrow, I wanted to make sure I got my LSD run completed. I moved the 20 miler to today, and I'll take whatever I can get tomorrow.

This run went pretty well. I planned to try to keep it a little slower, on the high side of 10:30, but I had to keep pulling myself back in the first couple of miles. I finally settled into a comfortable stride around 10:14 pace and cruised in that neighborhood through about 12 miles. I struggled a little in the low and mid teens, caught a little second wind at about 17 miles, and finished feeling good. Mile splits: 10:53, 9:59, 10:09, 10:15, 10:10, 10:13, 10:15, 10:12, 10:19, 10:15, 10:15, 10:08, 10:25, 10:23, 10:28, 10:26, 10:18, 10:06, 9:39, 9:21. More stats at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/62495323

Weekly Training: December 27 - January 2

2011-01-03T22:19:00.000-06:00

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

Not as tough of a week as it appears by the graph. Actually kind of a "stepback" week in marathon training, with fewer running miles, but 20+ cycling miles inflates the total.

Runs: 6/8/3 miles Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday, a 3.3 mile race Saturday, and a 14.4 mile long run Sunday. Cycling miles: 5.1/5.61/5.75/5.6 Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday. For the week, 35.77 miles running, 22.06 miles cycling, 57.83 miles total.

Race Review - Resolution Run 5K

2011-01-01T20:48:00.000-06:00

Resolution Run 5K Run
3.26 miles, 27:19, 8:23 pace

Nice local 5K to start the new year. 27:19 clock time/27:23 Garmin time. Finished 38th overall, won't know the number of the field until web posting later. The event's Facebook page says "about 160" No PR, 1:45 behind my best. Saw local dailymilers Tammy H., Shauna A., William F.(running barefoot!), Jeremy F.(in VFF's), and John F. Perfect temps for running, low 50's and low humidity, although north wind was gusting to almost 30 mph. Stayed ahead of PR pace through 2 miles, but finishing into strong headwind made for a slower finish. Splits were upside down, as the turn into the headwind started at 1.55 miles.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/61408059

A 2010 Running Retrospective

2011-01-01T20:02:00.001-06:00

2010 Miles – Running: 1,900.3; Cycling: 474.75, Total: 2,375.05.

2010 Goals:
Run 1,500 miles – Done. October 30, 2010.
First marathon – Done. May 1, 2010, 4:45.
PR half marathon <2hrs – Logged PR 2:04; missed target time. December 11, 2010
PR 10K race – Missed this one by 2:24. My 2009 54:29 still stands.
PR 5K race – Done. 25:34, beat previous 26:41. May 15, 2010

2011—Bring It On!

Food Rules Friday

2010-12-31T23:39:00.001-06:00

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule #26: "Drink the Spinach Water."

"Another bit of traditional wisdom with good science behind it. The water in which vegetables are cooked is rich in vitamins and other plant chemicals. Save it for the soup or add it to the sauces."

Of course, in other methods of cooking vegetables, such as roasting or sauteeing, the vitamins are not leached into water.

Training Tip Thursday

2010-12-30T23:23:00.003-06:00

"Hill training is a form of speedwork, a way to build strength and speed. You can do hill training in two ways: 1) Run some runs on hilly courses, essential if your goal race will be hilly, also valuable for quad strength and speed, or 2) Run repeats over a single hill. It matters little how long the hill... or how steep the hill or what you do between. Make up your own workout."

Hal Higdon's Tip of the Day, December 27, 2010, http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1352143337#!/halhigdon

Tuesday Quote of the Week

2010-12-28T07:25:00.004-06:00

“The beauty of a lake reflects the beauty around it. When the mind is still, the beauty of the Self is seen reflected in it.”

~B.K.S. Iyengar

Meatless Monday

2010-12-27T21:05:00.000-06:00

Weekly Training: December 20 - 26

2010-12-26T23:37:00.004-06:00

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

A mixed bag this week, some great stuff and some not so great.

Monday - Rested the legs. Weights and Yoga.
Tuesday - Running, 6.12 mi 00:59 09:34 pace. A comfortable run, followed by a short yoga practice.
Wednesday - Running, 8.1 mi 01:26 10:35 pace Ugly run. Struggled all the way. Weights and yoga.
Thursday - Hill Repeats, 6.37 mi 01:05 10:07 pace - Struggling in the recent hilly half marathon told me I need hills in my otherwise flat terrain training. There are no hills in my area. Ran about a mile from my home to the nearest rail overpass, over and back seven times for about four miles of hill simulations, fourteen uphills and fourteen downhills, and back home again. Followed with a short yoga practice.
Friday: Rested the legs. Weights and Yoga.
Saturday - Running, 8.42 mi 01:19 09:22 pace. A nice Christmas morning run. Ran from home to the Gulf Terrace Hike & Bike Trail, 2 laps on the trail, and back home. Followed with a short yoga practice.
Sunday - Long run, 16.3 mi 02:44 10:03 pace. Ran a long tour of the city's west end (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/60675196). Tired at the end, but recovered quickly. Followed with a short yoga practice.

Running Miles - YTD: 1,882.3; Month: 144.0, Week: 45.3. Personal daily yoga practice now at 121 consecutive days.

Food Rules Friday

2010-12-24T22:06:00.001-06:00

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule #25: "Eat your colors."

"The colors of many vegetables reflect the different antioxidant phytochemicals they contain... so the best protection comes from a diet containing as many different phytochemicals as possible."

Training Tips Thursday

2010-12-23T05:36:00.001-06:00

"Stepback weeks are essential if you want to progress in your training without injury or the dead feeling that comes with overtraining. In my marathon programs I train runners hard for two weeks, then allow them to step back for the next push upward. This works at shorter distances too. Once offered a brief respite, you can push to the next level. The effect is as much psychological as physical."

From Hal Higdon's Tip of the Day yesterday on his Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1352143337#!/

Tuesday Quote of the Week

2010-12-21T12:38:00.001-06:00

"Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light."

~Yogi Bhajan

Meatless Monday

2010-12-20T22:22:00.001-06:00

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.

These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/. As I publish this post, I see that this link still leads to last week's recipes. Hopefully, the link will be updated soon, as I'm intrigued by the photo of the Mushroom Pie!

In our personal vegetarian adventures, we recently tried seitan for the first time. It's widely used in vegetarian recipes in place of meat. Seitan is wheat protein, and not a good choice for anyone with celiac condition or a gluten allergy. We don't have any of those issues, and found seitan to be quite good in two recipes that we liked in our pre-vegetarian days. We used it in place of beef in our Chinese Pepper Steak recipe, and used it in place of chicken in our pot pie recipe. Nice to make a new discovery!

Weekly Training: December 13 - 19

2010-12-19T21:48:00.000-06:00

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

This week started poorly and ended well. After resting Monday, I struggled through my midweek runs, experiencing lingering soreness from the December 11 half marathon.

I'm totally accustomed to the half marathon distance. I run a similar distance almost every week in training, and it doesn't faze me. However, after the half marathon race, I had considerable soreness deep in the lower abdominal muscles. I attribute the difference to the hills on the half marathon route; I train in an area that is almost completely flat. Because of the soreness, I ran Tuesday, Wedesday and Thursday comparatively slowly and never found a smooth running rhythm. Finally, after after another rest day Friday, I had a great 10+ miler Saturday, pushing the pace, calling it my "long-ish" pace run. Sunday, I ran the same distance and route more slowly, calling it my weekly "long" run.

I had my fun. I ran two races in the last three weeks. In the process of extra pre-race rest and post-race recovery, my weekly mileage slipped from the 50 mile range into the 30s for four weeks. Now, it's time to get in serious training mode, build miles, and get ready for my March 12 marathon race.

This marathon training cycle "officially" started in early November, with a modification of the same 18-week training plan I used for this year's marathon. To date, I have not paid much attention to the schedule, because my routine runs follow the same general pattern, and my routine mileage has been higher than that in the first 6 or 7 weeks of the training plan. The training plan builds mileage from week to week, so I intended to just pick it up when the plan's mileage caught up with my current in the 6 to 8 week range.

My plan will be a modified version of Hal Higdon's Intermediate 2 program. I plan to add a few miles to it, to raise the peak weeks from 50 miles to about 55 miles, and to build to the 20-mile runs earlier, allowing me to put four 20 milers in the schedule instead of three.

Running miles- YTD: 1,836.9; Month: 98.7; Week: 40.4.

Yoga Journal - "21-Day Yoga Challenge"

2010-12-18T21:16:00.001-06:00

I just signed up for Yoga Journal's "21-Day Yoga Challenge," intended to help one start a home practice and stick with it. It runs from January 10 through January 31, 2011. I'm taking it to help reinforce my current daily practice, and for the additional instructional resources. Any of my yogi friends want to join me?

Details at: http://21daychallenge.yogajournal.com/.

Summary Description:
"Each day, we'll present original videos of yoga sequences. There are 15-minute videos for morning and night; 30-minute videos to help refine your poses, work your core, and develop strength; and a super fun 45-minute flow sequence that'll have you moving all around your mat and getting a great workout in the process. By the end of the challenge, you'll have an arsenal of practices at your disposal to use whenever and however you want."

Training Tip Thursday

2010-12-16T12:07:00.001-06:00

Running form: Can you change it? Yes, but maybe you should not. We run the way we run because we run that way. Particularly for new runners, as you continue to train your form will continue to improve, particularly as the muscles that propel you get stronger. Relax, and let running come to you rather than you going to it.

A Hal Higdon "Tip of the Day" from his Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/halhigdon

Tuesday Quote of the Week - In Honor Of B.K.S. Iyengar's 92nd Birthday

2010-12-14T16:53:00.004-06:00

"The rhythm of the body
the melody of the mind
and the harmony of the soul
create the symphony of life."

~B.K.S. Iyengar

Reposting this, one of my favorite quotes ever, to honor this day, the 92nd birthday of B.K.S. Iyengar, regarded as the world’s greatest living yoga master. Happy Birthday, Guruji!

I love how the triple metaphors of rhythm, melody and harmony so well fit the unique essence of body, mind and soul. Also how the three become as one in the activity of life. Namaste. :)

Meatless Monday

2010-12-13T22:03:00.003-06:00

Weekly Training: December 6 - 12

2010-12-12T21:48:00.000-06:00

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

This was intended to be an easy week, to taper into Saturday's half marathon race. Weekday runs were short. I pushed on Monday's run, with four miles at tempo pace, then ran five, three and three at easy pace and a day off before the race. The race went pretty well, considering we had another unseasonably warm day on race day. Details are contained in a separate post. On Sunday following the race, I met up with a local road running group for their weekly group run.

Running miles - YTD: 1.796.5; Month: 58.3; Week: 34.7.

Race Review - Swamp Stomp Half Marathon, Lake Charles, LA

2010-12-11T23:32:00.003-06:00

Swamp Stomp Half Marathon - 13.1 miles - 2:04:19 (9:29 pace)

This was a tough run. I didn't quite make my sub-2 hour goal, but it was still an official PR. Slightly disappointing, considering I ran four trial halfs in training between 1:52 and 1:58, but the trials were all in 30 to 50 degree temps, and today's weather brought unseasonably warm and humid mid 70 temps with gusty south winds.

I actually feel pretty good about the results, probably the best this day could yield for me. Unlike Thanksgiving Day’s 10K fiasco when I went out way too fast and crashed early, I think I had a reasonable pace strategy. I wanted to ease into it it, find a good rhythm and build gradually, averaging about 9:00 pace. My plan was to run the first mile at 9:30, the second mile at 9:15, the third at 9:00, and cruise the rest of the way between 8:50 and 9:00. I stuck to the plan fairly well through 8 miles, but could never quite find that sub-9:00 cruising zone. Splits through 8 were 9:28, 9:16, 9:02, 9:04, 8:57, 9:04, 9:05, 9:07. From there, it got ugly. and my goal became just holding on enough to finish without walking. Miles 9 through 12 were: 9:32, 10:06, 10:59, and 10:50. I tried to pull together what I had left at the beginning of 13, but my left calf cramped when I pushed too much, and all I could manage was 9:32 the rest of the way.

Overall, it was a good event in a beautiful setting. I met up with local dailymilers Tammy H, Shauna A, Jeremy F, and WiIlliam F.

Food Rules Friday

2010-12-10T12:25:00.005-06:00

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule #23: "Eating what stands on one leg (mushrooms and plant foods) is better than eating what stands on two legs (fowl) which is better than eating what stands on four legs (cows, pigs and other mammals)."

"This Chinese proverb offers a good summary of traditional wisdom regarding the relative healthfulness of different kinds of food, though it inexplicably leaves out the very healthful and very legless fish."

A good point on the relative healthfulness of fish. Perhaps it isn't in the proverb because fish would presumably be inserted between plants and fowl, putting a zero between one and two, and disrupting the illustrative numerical progression.

Training Tips Thursday - Marathon Success

2010-12-09T23:18:00.003-06:00

From a Hal Higdon "Tip of the day:

"Building mileage is essential for success as a runner regardless of racing distance. Gradually increasing mileage loads over three or four months seems to work best. But how many miles a week? A high of about 35 seems adequate to finish a marathon, 55 miles to finish well."

http://www.facebook.com/halhigdon

This kind of defines the difference in how I look at my upcoming second marathon, compared to my first. On my first, my focus was on finishing. I finished, and finished respectably, for a first effort. I took quite a few short walk breaks between 20 and 26. For my second, I want to finish well. I'd like to complete the whole distance on the run. I want to finish feeling strong instead of struggling to survive.

News Flash - Bad Blogger Vows to Do Better

2010-12-08T07:15:00.014-06:00

I got way behind on blogging over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I haven't posted any original content since just before Thanksgiving. During that time, there have been several noteworthy items. I ran a 10K race on Thanksgiving morning. I hoped to beat my last year's 10K record. but didn't run nearly as well as I hoped. I missed a new PR by around 2 1/2 minutes. My running in general is much stronger than last year, but last year's race was on a cool crisp morning, and it was warm and humid this year. I also made tactical mistakes, but we all live and learn. I've also been preparing for a half-marathon race this Saturday. Longer-term, I'm training for my second marathon on March 12. And my daily yoga practice reached 100 consecutive days last Sunday!

Today, I resolve to get back on track with regular blog updates!

Weekly Training: November 29 - December 5

2010-12-05T21:47:00.000-06:00

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

This was a transitional week. I ran one last half-marathon tune-up Tuesday, running under my 2 hour race target at 1:58:56. Following this, I let myself take extra leg rest logging sixes and a five at easy pace.
Running miles - YTD: 1,761.9; Month: 23.6; Week: 36.7.

Silent Saturday

2010-12-04T07:54:00.000-06:00

Weekly Training: November 22 - 28

2010-11-28T21:45:00.000-06:00

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

Thanksgiving week, my focus was the Turkey Trot 10K race on Thursday morning. I rested my legs Monday as usual, ran one last speed tuneup Tuesday, 4 miles at 8:18 pace. This was pretty close to my target pace for the race, a target that I didn't maintain on race day. I rested my legs an extra day Wednesday to be fresh for Thursday. Thursday, I ran a warmup mile before the race, and Raced 6.2 miles (see separate race report).
After the race, I ran four, six, and eight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to transition back into a more normal following training week.

Running miles - YTD: 1,725.2; Month: 163.0; Week: 29.3.

Saturday Inspiration - The Earthmark

2010-11-27T07:49:00.000-06:00

Race Report - Turkey Trot 10K Race

2010-11-25T21:46:00.000-06:00

(Early in the race. I'm just over the left shoulder of #469)

20th Annual Turkey Trot 10K at Tyrell Park - 6.2 miles, 56:53, 09:10 minutes/mile pace

I had high hopes for setting a new 10K PR at this year's Turkey Trot. My best existing official 10K time was 54:29 (8:47 pace), at this event in 2009. In general, my running is stronger and quicker than last year. Based on my October and November training runs, I really expected to be able to finish at around 52 minutes, or 8:20 pace.

No PR was to be had on this day. Firstly, I do not run my best in warm weather. The average temperature for all of my runs in November was about 53 degrees (F). However, temperature for this race was unseasonably warm, in the mid-70s, very humid, and windy. When I ran well in this race in 2009, it was 39 degrees. Huge difference. By mid way, I'd even pulled my shirt of to try to stay cooler.

I can't blame the results entirely on the weather, either. I didn't run a smart race tactically. As my longer runs have increased in length, 6.2 miles feels like a fairly short run. I went into this race overconfident, and didn't respect the distance or the weather. I didn't employ a pace strategy at all, went out WAY too fast for the weather, and burned out early. My mile splits were: 7:44, 8:17, 9:15, 10:14, 10:07, 9:31, 1:43 (0.2).

This was still a great local event, with over 850 runners this year, a record turnout. I got to meet up with local dailymilers Jeremy F, William F, Tammy H, Evan A, Tara C, Daniel F. And still much to be grateful for on this day.

Tuesday Quote of the Week - The Sense of "I am" (Consciousness)

2010-11-23T05:15:00.006-06:00

"The Sense of 'I am' (Consciousness)"

"When I met my Guru, he told me: 'You are not what you take yourself to be. Find out what you are. Watch the sense "I am," find your real Self.' I obeyed him, because I trusted him. I did as he told me. All my spare time I would spend looking at myself in silence. And what a difference it made, and how soon!

My teacher told me to hold on to the sense 'I am' tenaciously and not to swerve from it even for a moment. I did my best to follow his advice and in a comparatively short time I realized within myself the truth of his teaching. All I did was to remember his teaching, his face, his words constantly. This brought an end to the mind; in the stillness of the mind I saw myself as I am -- unbound.

I simply followed (my teacher's) instruction which was to focus the mind on pure being 'I am', and stay in it. I used to sit for hours together, with nothing but the 'I am' in my mind and soon peace and
joy and a deep all-embracing love became my normal state. In it all disappeared -- myself, my Guru, the life I lived, the world around me. Only peace remained and unfathomable silence."

~Nisargadatta Maharaj

(Thanks to fellow runner, yogi and blogger Muriel at http://runnersmur.blogspot.com/ for posting this on her blog for me to find, borrow and pass on.)

Meatless Monday

2010-11-22T12:28:00.000-06:00

These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/

Monday Morsels (Source: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/):
Elle South Africa has embraced the global movement… The Johns Hopkins Newsletter announces MM in the school’s food court and café… The Massachusetts Telegram offers weekly meal ideas, complete with a MM… Capitol Hill Seattle announces two new MM restaurants, Oddfellows and Smith… Snack Girl Lisa Cain asks us “Why Monday?”

Weekly Training: November 15 - 21, A Recovery Week

2010-11-21T23:40:00.002-06:00

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

This week was all about recovery. After six consecutive weeks of increasing mileage, fatigue became a factor, and I planned a lighter week this week.

I kept the runs pretty easy all week, shortening the distances and reducing the intensity. I skipped the mile intervals, and a run at tempo pace Thursday was the only quicker-paced run all week.

I thought I could cut back from the 50's to about 40 miles, but late in the week, it became apparent that 40 was too much. I struggled Saturday, and cut an intended 13 miler back to 8. By Sunday morning, I started feeling some energy in my legs again, but instead of running long, I opted to keep it light another day. This turned out to be just what I needed. I had a good 7.5 miles at a comfortable pace, and finally feel 100% again. Now, I should be in good shape to run the 10K Turkey Trot race on Thanksgiving morning.

Sunday's run was a nice change of pace. Instead of my usual long, solitary run, I met up with the local Exygon Fitness Center's Road Runner group for their weekly group run. I actually started a little earlier, running to a local park, and then to the gym where the group meets. I've run with the group on a couple of occasions, and know several members. They run an out-and-back route that totals eight miles. Runners turn around and return from different points along the way, depending on their intended distance. The runners tend to fall into groups of similar pace. There was no way I could keep up with the lead group and paced with Brad, a runner I hadn't met before, slightly behind the lead group. Brad turned around at the midway point for a four mile run, and I continued solo, catching up to the lead group as they rested a few moments before turning around at the midway point for 6 miles. They ran a little easier on the way back, and I managed to keep up without pushing too hard.

They had a very good turnout of runners Sunday, as a local magazine was there to do a feature on local runners. Our local marathon's site had posted this in advance, encouraging a good showing of local runners for the feature. The group runs this route near my neighborhood every Sunday morning. Most weeks I pass them goiing the opposite direction on my route. so this was a good opportunity to meet a few of the runners that I wave to on the way by every week. I met one runner, Celeste, who visits my blog. Thanks, Celeste! It's always nice to know that there are people out there reading it!

Running miles - YTD: 1,695.9; November: 133.7; Week: 29.5.
Daily yoga streak still going at 86 days!

Food Rules Friday

2010-11-19T20:51:00.001-06:00

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule #22: "Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food."

Calming & Grounding Breath

2010-11-18T22:44:00.001-06:00

Breath is the essense of life. Here's a good calming breathing practice that may be of benefit for a runner as well as for a pratitioner of yoga.

Breath control is so important to the running process. During the run itself, runners are typically trained to use a 3:2 breathing technique for efficient oxygenation while running. In other words, the inhale lasts for three steps and the exhale lasts for two steps. Developing an efficient breathing rhythm helps develop efficient running technique. Relaxation is also important for a runner. A runner that approaches a race in a relaxed state will run more efficiently and use less energy.

Breath is an integral part of the practice of yoga. Every movement is coordinated with an inhalation or exhalation. Pranayama, or breath control, is a separate practice that is effective for clearing and focusing the mind and setting up a calm relaxed state for meditation.

"When the Breath wanders, the mind is unsteady, but when the Breath is still, so is the mind still."
~Hatha Yoga Pradipika

The Bhagavad Gita - In Discussion

2010-11-17T07:22:00.002-06:00

The Bhagavad Gita is really essential reading for aspiring yogis. This "New Translation" was recommended highly by the Elephant Journal, one of my favorite yoga places to visit. I picked up this version a few months ago, read it, and I'm now reading it again. There is endless nuance in the text that is likely to continue to unfold in reading after reading. I like to sit in bed and read a passage from the book every night just before I go to sleep. The stillness of this quiet part of the evening seems perfect to reflect on the timeless words therein. I'll probably re-read it many times.

A reason I bought this version of the Gita at the time was because of the formation of an online discussion group at the Elephant Journal to read and comment on the passages. I got a late start, bought the book after the discussion had already begun, and never quite caught up. It was also my first reading of the Gita. I read most of the discussions, but with my newness to the text, wasn't really comfortable with full participation.

Last week, a second discussion group began. I intend to follow it and try to participate to some extent. They really welcome newcomers and readers of all levels. There's an interesting difference in the current format. The first discussion group followed the text from beginning to end. The current discussion reviews the text thematically. For each weekly discussion, sections from the entire book that speak to a thematic concept are subject for discussion. For example, last week's topic followed the theme of "Live and Act with Love and Purpose." The stanzas that spoke to the week's theme were published online for viewers' reading and comments. So, the current discussions don't even require one to have a copy of the book! What could be easier?

The second weekly topic was just published today, "Experience the Infinite Wonder of All Things and of Everyday Life."

Intrigued? It's not too late for any of my readers who are interested in yoga or yogic philosophy to join in!

Tuesday Quote of the Week - What is Meditation?

2010-11-16T05:00:00.009-06:00

“When the past thought has ceased, and a future thought has not yet risen, isn’t there a gap? Well, prolong it. That’s meditation.”
~Jamyang Khyentse
(Quoted in Elephant Journal)

Do you have a personal definition for meditation?

Meatless Monday

2010-11-15T12:25:00.000-06:00

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.

These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/

Monday Morsels (Source: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/):
The New Haven Independent reports that the town’s elementary and high schools now go MM… Dr. Mary Clifton makes an appeal to Traverse City to pass MM resolution… St. Louis’ Riverfront Times reports that “Meatless Mondays have become a boon to restaurants”… Sean S. Miller, education director at the Earth Day Network endorses MM… popular advice column Earth Talk discussing the history of the MM movement.

Weekly Training: November 8 - 14, Another Record Week!

2010-11-14T23:36:00.002-06:00

Graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.

One more record week - 53.1 running miles, beating my previous best week of 51.1 miles last week. This week's highlights included a third half marathon trial Saturday, and an 20-mile long run Sunday. I struggled toward the end of this week. I had to push harder than I should have to maintain pace on the Thursday, Saturday and Sunday runs.

Today was my weekly long run. I hadn't run twenty or more since May, and I'd been wanting get back to that level. This may not have been the best day for it, since I struggled a little on Thursday's and Saturday's runs. It wasn't pretty, but it's done. The first fourteen were OK, but the last six got pretty tough. Good training on the mental game. Easy pace that went downhill toward the end: 10:24, 10:00, 10:14, 10:00, 10:14, 10:06, 10:15, 9:56, 10:02, 9:27, 10:17, 10:04, 10:16, 9:46, 10:15, 10:26, 10:47, 10:48, 10:48, 10:57. I felt much better at the end of last Sunday's 18-miler than I did at 18 today.

Saturday was a third half marathon tune-up. On the previous Saturday, running this same course at 8:37 pace seemed almost too easy. Today was a struggle to get average pace around nine. Splits: 9:40, 9:07, 9:14, 8:49, 9:06, 8:57, 9:05, 8:54, 8:55, 8:44, 8:57, 8:49, 8:16, 0:56 (0.1).

Weekday runs were 6 mile repeats at 8:02 pace Tuesday morning, and easy 8 miles at 9:25 pace Wednesday morning, and a 6 mile tempo run at 8:37 pace Thursday morning.

Same weights schedule: chest and biceps Monday, shoulders and legs Wednesday, and back and triceps Friday.

Struggling on the last 3 runs of the week tells me that I need to cut a few miles out of next week's schedule. My normal pattern is to run a slightly lighter week after every 2 or 3 heavy weeks, and it's been 6 weeks since I've had a lighter week. I'm overdue.

Running miles - YTD: 1,666; November: 104.2, Week: 53.1.
My daily yoga streak is at 78 days!

Silent Saturday - Cherish our Earth

2010-11-13T07:38:00.002-06:00

Food Rules Friday

2010-11-12T20:57:00.000-06:00

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule #21: "Eat mostly plants, especially leaves"

Training Tips Thursday - More Hip Openers

2010-11-11T18:11:00.001-06:00

Hip opener yoga poses are the most awesome lower body release for tight or sore legs, hips and glutes. In the last two months, I've posted two previous videos of hip openers that I like after running. One of them is an 18-minute sequence, the other one 11 minutes. I run in the early morning before I go to work, and I'm always on a tight schedule, so it's good to have a variety, to be able choose a routine that fits the available time. This one starts with sun salutations and leads into hip openers. It's only 8 minutes, but is still enough to make the lower body feel a lot better after a hard run!

Green Choices Wednesday - Recycle your Shoes!

2010-11-10T05:03:00.000-06:00

Recycle your shoes!

As an environmentalist, I try to minimize my unnecessary consumption of resources and minimize my contribution to excess waste disposal. As a runner, I'm concerned that my consumption of shoes is higher than the average person. It's recommended that runners replace running shoes after 300 to 500 miles. I've been sucessful in getting as much as 500 miles out of most of mine. After that many miles, the shoes' shock-absorbing properties are compromised slightly from repeated compressions of the soles. A runner risks injury by extending shoe use too far. When I retire a pair of shoes from running, they are still normally in great general condition and have little sole wear. 500 miles sounds like a lot, but worn just for running, for example at 9.5 minutes per mile, they've only been worn about 80 hours. That's like wearing them at work for two weeks, except that it is more extreme service! I do extend shoe use by wearing my running-retired best condition shoes additionally for casual use, and recently a friend reminded me about the Soles4soles organization.

Soles4soles (http://www.soles4souls.org/) is a non-profit organization that was formed after the asian tsunami several years ago. They recycle "gently used" shoes by cleaning them and giving them to needy shoeless people around the world. I've seen shoe collection bins at race events in the past, and recently explored their website. I found that it's really easy to donate shoes at any time, benefitting both the Earth and people who need shoes. Using the location finder at http://www.soles4souls.org/about/locations.html, I found that there are two locations within a mile and a half of my home where I can donate used shoes!

In the future, I'll take shoes to these locations as I retire them, rather than wait to donate them at a race event.

Tuesday Quote of the Week

2010-11-09T05:09:00.006-06:00

"When he sees that the myriad beings
emanate from the One
and have their source as the One
that man gains absolute freedom."

~Bhagavad Gita, 13.30