Getting better!

My leg/hip/back has been feeling a lot better lately, it is almost like getting back out and going for longer runs has kicked everything back to where it needed to be. That and a lot of stretching and yoga.

I am trying to keep an eye on this swine flu deal. I really don’t want to be in San Diego so close to the border if this situation is only going to get worse over the next few weeks. I wonder if it does get worse will the race be canceled?



I really don't have much to add or change today, I am using the Windows Live Writer for the first time. We will see how well this works.



Foothills Sports Medicine is starting its summer running program/group beginning this Saturday. Contact me if you are interested and I can put you in touch with the right people.





Anyone else addicted to the Techno Viking???



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Now playing on iTunes: Pepe Deluxe - Daddy's Blazin' BBQ
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My right leg died...

My right leg is killing me at this moment. I have stretched throughout the day, and have used the foam roller once I got home. I iced it last night and am icing it now, but the pain is really bad. My right hamstring is very tight which I think is making matters worse. It almost feels like when my piriformis was causing sciatic nerve problems in my right leg a few months ago, but nothing is helping. I hope that it gets better by morning as I have a 9 mile marathon pace run in the morning. Ibuprofen doesn't even help. The pain is centered in my right calf, just below the outer hamstring tendon. It is so tender that applying any pressure t the area causes severe pain. It sucks.

Family went to a Diamondbacks game last night where I was awarded with a "free vacation" to Hawaii. It is one of those time share deals, os I am not going to bother with it. They made this big deal out of it too, coming up to my row and yelling out my name like I had really won some big deal through the team or something. I told a friend about it and he said that I should drive there. I gave it some thought, then decided to see what Google maps would tell me to do if I was diving. Here are the results. (Click the link for a larger map to see the turn by turn directions and check out # 17).


View Larger Map

Not too bad if you have 15 days travel each way.



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Now playing on iTunes: AC/DC - Back in black
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great Ryan Hall video

I always get inspired seeing videos of Ryan training and running. He always keeps his faith first and formost. Filmed and produced by Josh Cox.

Need a running group?

I have been told that Foothills Sports Medicine is going to be launching their new summer running program, so if you live in the North Peoria/Glendale areas give Jan Howard a call at 602-301-9327 for more info (dates, location, pricing, etc.) One great thing about training with Foothills is that if any injuries come up, you have access to the physical therapists right away and they are very experienced with runners.

Also, if you are in the market for shoes, enter the code “runfaraz” at Running Company Shoes for nice discount.

If you haven’t yet registered for the San Diego RNR, price goes up $10 on April 18th. Registration page...

Also code “SENDOFF” was good for $15 off, I don’t know if it is still active or not.

Big weekend of running for me, I will hit 26 miles total between Saturday and Sunday. Sunday is Easter and family is coming over, so perhaps they won’t mind my snoring on the couch while kids search for eggs.

Here is a new Japanese running site (In English), I will be there for the Tokyo Marathon-one of these days. I do have a copy of Japanese for dummies, and that is me.


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Today's training

Today I got in 7 miles at marathon pace. It was 83 degrees and windy, overall not too bad, except my schedule called for 8 miles. I needed to get home and pick up my daughter from Drama club practice.

The rest of the week is:
Friday 5 or 6 miles
Saturday 8 or 10
Sunday 10 (recovery week after 15 last Sunday)
Monday 5 or 8
Tuesday speed work
Wednesday REST!

I am a bit miffed by the Jay Cutler trade, I didnt think he would go anywhere. Kinda upset, kinda happy. Time will tell.

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Now playing on iTunes: U2 - Breathe
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Now playing on iTunes: U2 - Cedars Of Lebanon
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Perfect running pace

I came across an article that has discovered the perfect running pace for males and females. What the article doesn't say is how far this pace is good for. Anyone have the actual article and how far the runners went?

Perfect Running Pace Revealed
LiveScience.com


Most regular runners can tell you when they reach that perfect equilibrium of speed and comfort. The legs are loose, the heart is pumping and it feels like you could run at this pace forever.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison now have an explanation for this state of running nirvana, and we can thank our ancestors and some evolutionary biology for it.

For years, it has been thought that humans have a constant metabolic energy rate. It was assumed that you would require the same total energy to run one mile, no matter if you ran it in 5 minutes or 10 minutes. Even though your energy burn rate would be higher at faster speeds, you would get there in half the time.

Turns out, however, that each person has an optimal running pace that uses the least amount of oxygen to cover a given distance. The findings, by Karen Steudel, a zoology professor at Wisconsin, and Cara Wall-Scheffler of Seattle Pacific University, are detailed in latest online edition of the Journal of Human Evolution.

Steudel's team tested both male and female runners at six different speeds on a treadmill while measuring their oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output. As expected, each runner had different levels of fitness and oxygen use but there were ideal speeds for each runner that required the least amount of energy.

Overall, the optimal speeds for the group were about 8.3 mph (about a 7:13 minutes per mile) for males and 6.5 mph (9:08 min/mile) for females.

The most interesting finding: At slower speeds, about 4.5 mph (13 min/mile), the metabolic efficiency was at its lowest. Steudel explains that at this speed, halfway between a walk and a jog, the runner's gait can be awkward and unnatural.

"What that means is that there is an optimal speed that will get you there the cheapest," Steudel says.

So, why is a zoology professor studying running efficiency? Steudel's previous work has tried to build a theory of why our early ancestors evolved from moving on four limbs to two limbs, also known as bipedalism. She has found that human walking is a more efficient method of getting from point A to point B than on all fours. It might also have been an advantage for hunting.

This latest research could offer some more clues of how we moved on to running. Steudel explains, "This is a piece in the question of whether walking or running was more important in the evolution of the body form of the genus Homo."



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Now playing on iTunes: Chimaira - Resurrection
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Deutscher Rundfunk interview with Jesse Owens during Olympic Games 1936

Here is a pretty cool look at Jesse Owens as he got ready to trounce the German Machine during the 1936 Olympics.



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Getting Better

Now that I have been able to put together a few good long runs, get my volume up slightly, and most importantly did 3 miles of quarter mile repeats last night, I am finally starting to feel good about my running again. I feel as if I am becoming a runner again, almost to where I was a year ago and those repeats had a lot to do with it. I probably didn’t run them at the fastest pace I could have, but I did run them hard and was tired after. It was a good accomplishment for me at this point in my training.

Now with a weekend of 8 miles on Saturday and 15 miles on Sunday, check back then to see how much a “real runner” I feel like then. Mix in my son’s t-ball game, church, and a nephew’s birthday party I have a feeling this weekend will be tiring. At least the furlough days have some benefit as I have Monday off.

My last chiropractor appointment was today and I am glad to be done with all of my therapy. I like seeing and talking to Dr Seifkin, but I need to focus on the positive. I am sure that just like when I was discharged from physical therapy I will have some psycho-somatic pains for the first few days, but that will be good.


I received an email from Elite racing with a $15 off registration for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon. It also said that this is the last year for this course and the last time the race will ever end at the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot. I hope that the Competitor Group who bought Elite does not try to turn every race they do into a huge carnival where there is more focus on the peripheral events than the race itself. For years the San Diego RNR prided itself on having 20,000+ runners who all did the full, no half marathon available. Now there is a 4 person marathon relay and rumors of adding a half marathon next year. Why cant something that isn’t broken be left alone?



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upcoming Arizona running races

I haven't been updating the races in a while so here are a few quick hits. One of the cooler events coming up is the Chasing the Sun 10K. It is part of a huge Pow Wow taking place at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Be warned however, the race starts at 5:30 AM.
Should be a cool time.

The 5th annual Flagstaff Summer Running Series is set. The dates and events are:

May 16:Run for the Mountain School 5K/10K
June 6:NACA Sacred Mountain Prayer 5K/10K
June 20:Gaspin in the Aspen 5K/15K
June 27:Northland Hospice Run/Walk 5K/10K
August 1:Machine Solutions Soldiers Trail 5/10K
August 8:Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff 5K/Half Marathon Run/Walk.

Register on Active.com and go to the Northern Arizona Trail Runners Association site for more info. www.NATRA.org

I was going to mention the Valley of the Sun half marathon, but their website says that the race has been postponed until next year. It is a very scenic route that is fairly fast, but I do think that some retooling may be needed after several years of problems, new management (Brian Collins -1st Marathon) should cure the issues.

The Havasu half marathon is April 4th, and the ever popular Pat's Run (4.2 miles) is on April 18th.

The Prescott YMCA Whiskey Row Marathon is May 2nd. This is a race I have wanted to do for a few years but have never gotten up there. Perhaps this will be my year.

May 23rd the 2009 Arizona Road Racers (ARR) Summer Series starts up again at Papago Park.

Anyone catch that lame Biggest Loser half marathon? Way to cheat by cutting the track chick who thought she had won got what you deserved!

Well that's about it for now, hopefully I can keep up with my training, keeping the intensity low but keep the miles increasing.




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