Training Journal – 10/3/2012:
- Current plan: Honolulu Marathon Training Plan
- Today’s session: 5 mile pacing test run @8:07
- Comments: I did 5.25 @ 7:58
PHOTO: Damon Winter/The New York Times
The Honorable Clan of the Long-Distance Runner
By Amby Burfoot and George A. Hirsch
“As amateur marathon runners for nearly 50 years, we were surprised when our sport made headlines recently for an unusual reason.
Last month, The New Yorker published an article on the Michigan dentist Kip Litton, who digitally fabricated an entire marathon and outsmarted computer timing systems. Then Representative Paul D. Ryan, the Republican candidate for vice president, misstated the finish time of his only marathon. …”
Continue reading at: NYTimes.com
space!
Some great “quotables” from the article:
- “Focus and discipline form the core of a runner’s being; they are what make us put on a reflective vest and run six miles into the sleet at 6 on a dark winter morning.”
- “Nonrunners often imagine that people can cover 26.2 miles only because they have lean, muscled legs and a highly developed cardiovascular system. Nothing could be further from the truth. The runner’s most important organ, by far, is the brain — the source of our dreams, drive and determination.”
- “Running teaches all of us that goal-setting, persistence and tackling one mile at a time can lead to unimaginable achievements. Lessons are learned on the road, day by day, from personal feedback and experience.”
Training Journal – 10/2/12:
- Current plan: Honolulu Marathon Training Plan
- Today’s session: 7 mile pacing run @8:07
- Comments: I did 7.49 @ 8:00
September was a nice, solid month of training – mostly road running (I didn’t hit the trails this month) and bit of cycling [a spread of 73% road, 0% trail, and 27% bike.] Bike percentage was down this month as I opted to rest after the NorCal Half Marathon (probably a wise decision in the long run.)
September also continued my training program for the Honolulu Marathon in December – taking me through week 8 of the 18-week plan.
As far as new equipment, I bought a bike mount for my iPhone. It works pretty good, though I did opt for the heavy duty bracket based on reviews I read. I still wear my Garmin 210 when riding, but also downloaded and have used an app called BikeBrain, which is a product from the company that makes the bike mount and is actually pretty good.
I did have to travel to Bloomington, MN; but kept on schedule, doing my Sunday long run and a 7 miler as well.
Anyway, here are the stats for the month that was September 2012:
Milestone long run this morning: 18 miles! My previous longest distance was 15.2. Next milestone is 20 miles coming up in a few weeks – actually, the first of two 20 milers before the Honolulu Marathon.
I also practiced marathon pacing this morning, based on a McMillan pace calculation from my last half marathon and a warm-up pace plan. I ended up pretty close, just 2:05 off where I should be at mile 18 of a marathon.
Booyah!
Training Journal – 9/29/12:
- Current plan: Honolulu Marathon Training Plan
- Today’s session: 18 mile long run @ 8:41
- Comments: I did 18 at 8:44.
Weekly mileage: 9/23-29/12:
- Running: 46.83
- Bicycling: 0.0
- Total: 46.83
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
(that’s me sleeping in…aaaannnndddd taking an afternoon nap!)
Training Journal – 9/29/12:
- Current plan: Honolulu Marathon Training Plan
- Today’s session: Rest
- Comments: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
I just finished listening to No Easy Day, by “Mark Owen.” Some thoughts:
- Good book. Written with good background info on the author that helped appreciate his POV and experiences.
- Makes me proud to be an American. Proud, not because of the killing of OBL, though that seems to be a natural response, but proud because of the dogged determination of many people in our military, Intelligence Community, and Government itself who tirelessly teamed together on this mission.
- Thankful for our military service men and women; and, in relation to this specific book, those who serve and have served in Special Operations.
- Thankful for those who serve in the U.S. Intelligence Community. This dedicated group of people serve without recognition or reward most of the time; and, though that is the way it should be, it is cool to hear about their work occasionally.
- With regard to the controversy over the book’s topic and details surrounding the mission, I could see where the US Government would be concerned. To me, there seems to be some operational, strategic, and tactical information in the book that could be considered operationally sensitive. It may be “public knowledge” already and freely “Google-able” from multiple sources, but to effectively confirm usage in an operation seems wrong in and of itself. A friend of mine, with direct experience in this area, said that the tactics in the book are standard operating procedure for SWAT and special operations teams and wasn’t too concerned when he read the book…
- Pre-publication review. One of the issues surrounding the book come from the fact that Brown didn’t pre-coordinate publication, per his obligation under the NdA he signed with the US Government/military. In this case, I would tend to side with the US Government. Having executed my share of NdAs and being under obligation to follow the terms, that has to be sacred. If people don’t follow that, the process is broken. Sure, the possibility existed that parts of his book wouldn’t have been published, but that is the process – and one that has been followed by many already. It’s the obligation. Doing that, I’m sure, would have not allowed him to publish anonymously, of course.
Training Journal – 9/28/12:
- Current plan: Honolulu Marathon Training Plan
- Today’s session: 7 mile pace run @8:39
- Comments: I did 7.52 @ 8:08 – with negative splits! This morning was also, a “first run” in a new pair of Kinvara 3s…love ’em!
Training Journal – 9/27/12:
- Current plan: Honolulu Marathon Training Plan
- Today’s session: 6 mile easy run @ 9:09
- Comments: I did 6.6 at 8:25
The other day, I had 3 hours to kill at Denver International…so I got creative.
Music: “We Move Lightly” by Dustin O’Halloran. © 2011 Fat Cat Records. I do not own rights to this song, but thought it fit this video well. No copyright infringement intended. If you like this song, buy it here – in fact, just buy the entire album!
Training Journal – 9/26/12:
- Current plan: Honolulu Marathon Training Plan
- Today’s session: 7 mile easy run @ 9:09
- Comments: I did 7.5 at 8:30
My wife shared this quote on my Facebook wall yesterday
“I’m often asked what I think about as I run. Usually the people who ask this have never run long distances themselves. I always ponder the question. What exactly do I think about when I’m running? I don’t have a clue.”
― Haruki Murakami
The funny part is that I actually answered similarly when she asked me the “what do you think about while you are running” question a while ago.
Training Journal – 9/25/12:
- Current plan: Honolulu Marathon Training Plan
- Today’s session: Rest
- Comments: Flying home…me happy
Love the fact that, amidst the retail, food, and amusement aspects of the MOA, they still recognize the fact that the location uses to be a sports stadium…
Training Journal – 9/24/12:
- Current plan: Honolulu Marathon Training Plan
- Today’s session: 7 mile easy run @ 9:09
- Comments: I did 7 at 8:52
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