RIP Lee

Rest in peace Lee. You were a good high school friend. Should have stayed in touch more over the years. Sorry about that. I'll always remember our philosophical discussions and your wit. You made high school bearable.

I'll run an extra mile in your honor. Maybe even barefoot. And afterward, I'll raise a tasty brew in your name.

My signed copy of Gardner's book sits in my office...not signed by Martin the author, but by you, Mr Dirks. Thanks.

Week in Review: August 20-26

An interesting week and one that would normally be classified as "not very good."  I only logged 11 miles this week. Still, I'm happy with how it turned out.  This was one of those crazy weeks at work (for everyone, not just me), and it was tough motivating myself to run in the early mornings. After work, I was tired and ready to relax rather than run. Plus, around mid-week, I had a sore and painful right leg. Most of the pain was at the top of the quads and hip. People noticed that I was limping even when I walked. On Friday, I scheduled a 60 minute deep tissue massage with a sports therapist in town. The session was rather painful, but it worked.  He thought there were serious adhesions involving several muscles. He worked on those pretty hard and I was limping more after the visit than before. Is that improvement? Fortunately, things were MUCH better on Saturday morning...and EVEN BETTER on Sunday morning. My weekend runs were short, but sweet. And I did them barefoot on the trails!

So, the week wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. I am happy with my progress and I'm returning to more natural running (barefoot and FiveFinger shoes) which just "feels right" for now. Here are my statistics for this past week:

Count:	3 Activities
Distance:	11.29 mi
Max Distance:	5.13 mi
Avg Distance:	3.76 mi
Time:	2:03:19 h:m:s
Avg Speed:	5.5 mph
Avg HR:	128 bpm
Max HR:	155 bpm
Avg Run Cadence:	79 spm
Max Run Cadence:	98 spm
Calories:	1,461 C

American Beer Mile Record!

How often does an Olympian try to set a beer mile record?  Never...until now. Nick Symmonds ran a 5:19 beer mile earlier this week.  I can't even run a non-beer mile that fast.  Or drink 4 beers in that time.  He did both!



How fast can you run a mile?
How fast can you drink 4 beers? 
How about running a mile while drinking 4 beers?

The world record for the beer mile is 5:09. Maybe Nick can train a little more and get that record!

Week in Review: August 13-19

This was my "turning point" week--at work and for running.  It ended up being pretty good.  A nice transition week. The previous week I only had 11 miles all week.  This week?  Better.  Much better.

Count:	6 Activities
Distance:	35.11 mi
Max Distance:	8.70 mi
Avg Distance:	5.85 mi
Time:	6:38:42 h:m:s
Avg Speed:	5.3 mph
Avg HR:	122 bpm
Max HR:	154 bpm
Avg Run Cadence:	79 spm
Max Run Cadence:	101 spm
Calories:	4,481 C

In addition to logging more miles, I also ran with my buffalo friends on the holy Thursday evening trail run. And I tossed in one weekend trail running escape with a couple of friends. More of that will be good for my running, and soul. I'm actually planning some fall races! Hopefully my new "ultra debut" will be at the Farmdale Trail Run on October 13 in East Peoria, IL. I think 30 miles is doable by then...I hope. Followed by "McNotAgain" 30-miler on November 10 in Pekin, IL. Sounds like a good way to end the year.

Start of a New Era

Today was the start of a new era in my life...and running. No more director duties at work...just regular old "department head" responsibilities. Today I arrived at work "on time" rather than early. I left work when we closed the office instead of staying until 9pm. I didn't get stressed out. I enjoyed my meetings. Heck, I even got a free lunch at a wonderful Korean restaurant!  And I finished the day with an evening trail run with my old "buffalo" trail running friends...including Spencer the "Fat Kid" who I hadn't run with in over 2 years. What a great day. Is this the "work-life balance" people talk about?  I like it!  Looking forward to many more great 8-hour work days and 1-hour trail runs. Maybe a beer here and there. Extra time with the wife and rodent "children" (degus, gerbils, and hamster). More movies and TV. More sleep. Ahhh...the good life.

PS: Officially, I guess my "new era" started yesterday around 6pm when I left work on my last day as Interim Director...and the US Men's National Soccer team beat Mexico in Mexico City for the first time ever last night! Some good karma floating around last night. Let's keep it going.

Week in Review: August 6-12

Not my proudest week of running, but felt pretty good about holding the line at work. Things are getting better!  Most of my buffalo running friends ran the Howl at the Moon 8-Hour race this weekend, but I just did two easy 5 mile runs. Eight hours at Howl would have killed or crippled me...so two short trail runs were fine. Eleven miles for the week is better than zero. Next week's goal?  More than 11 miles. Baby steps.

Count:	2 Activities
Distance:	10.77 mi
Max Distance:	5.43 mi
Avg Distance:	5.38 mi
Time:	1:52:15 h:m:s
Avg Speed:	5.8 mph
Avg HR:	132 bpm
Max HR:	156 bpm
Avg Run Cadence:	74 spm
Max Run Cadence:	107 spm
Calories:	1,325 C

Running Greatness

Greatness comes in many forms. Lots of my friends are running around a 3-mile loop for 8 hours today. By preparing for this Howl at the Moon race they have become ultra fit. By finishing they become heroes. They are pushing their limits. They are great. The fellow in this video is also great.



Grasp greatness...the opportunities are all around you.
As the Nike motto goes...just do it.
Find your greatness.

Good Luck to Howlers!

Howl at the Moon 8-Hour race is this Saturday, August 11.  Around 300 runners will start at 7am and keep going until 3pm. That's along time.

Best of luck to all the Howlers out there!

It's my favorite ultra event of the year...and of all time. Unfortunately, I won't be running this year.  My longest runs are about 5 miles these days...and I do those about 2-3 times per week.  Not enough base for an 8-hour effort. Oh well.  I'll be back next year. The weather forecast looks to be awesome...around 55 degrees as a low and 81 for a high with mostly cloudy skies.  Best Howl weather in years!  Sure beats the high 90s and low 100s we've had for 6-8 weeks. I'm expecting many personal records and maybe even a new course record?

Week in Review: July 30-August 5

Things are already turning for the better. I still have a couple of weeks as the Interim Director of our unit, but having an exact end date is sweet. Soon, I'll only have one full-time job, back to Head of my department. I anticipate less work, more sleep, and more running! Good combination. All work and no play makes Chris a dull boy. You don't want me to be dull, do you?  Surely not. In addition to more running, I'll throw in some extra beer drinking and TV watching. After all, Breaking Bad is back for its fifth season. Here's last week's stats:

Count:	5 Activities
Distance:	23.12 mi
Max Distance:	5.38 mi
Avg Distance:	4.62 mi
Time:	3:59:11 h:m:s
Avg Speed:	5.8 mph
Avg HR:	128 bpm
Max HR:	159 bpm
Avg Run Cadence:	75 spm
Max Run Cadence:	101 spm
Calories:	2,853 C

For the near future, I simply want the inertia to continue.  A little more distance each week. Each run a bit longer. I'll eventually toss in some weekend long runs, but those can wait another couple of weeks. Right arch is healed and the left calf seems to be behaving. No need to make any drastic changes.

Under Pressure...Time to Fly

David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, and the rest of Queen. Hard to beat that combination for a great song. This has been my default theme song over the last 2 years. I can't argue with the lyrics..."It's the terror of knowing what this world is about, watching some good friends, screaming let me out...this is our last dance, this is ourselves, under pressure."



Now that I submitted my resignation at work (effective August 16), work is about to change. And with that change, I hope my running will improve. Instead of being constantly "under pressure," I plan on relaxing. In fact, it's "Time for Me to Fly." Funny that both songs randomly came up on my iPod shuffle today. That's fate. REO Speedwagon captured my thoughts and feelings pretty well..."I make you laugh and you make me cry...I believe it's time for me to fly."



You should see my flying on the trails more often now.  With a smile.