running

Try Outs

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Upon moving to Austin to work at National Instruments I learned that I had just missed the Capitol 10K.  It happens to be the largest 10K race in Texas (over 20,000 runners last year) and stirs up a lot of excitement in these parts.  I bring this all up now because the Cap10K, as it’s affectionately known, is right around the corner (kind of) at the end of March.  There was already an info session about the race (yes, in mid January) to start building interest.  With this race, NI recruits a team to take part in the race’s Corporate Challenge.  That’s where I come in.

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The Future!

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Hello, My Lone Faithful Readers,

I feel like we have forged a strong relationship over the last 18 months and I want to share something personal with you — something known only to those who I hold very near and dear to me I think would care.  As I am sure you have guessed, running is a bit of a hobby.  I dabble.  But it is not the final frontier.

“What!? What is this nonsensical nonsense?” you exclaim.

Well, my friends, fear not.  Running will still be a part of the master plan; it just might have two friends to tag along (which is more than I can say for myself…).  I realize I still haven’t said what I’m saying, so I’ll say it right after I finish saying this.

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3M Half Marathon – Registered

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While I’m not training particularly hard for the Austin Marathon on February 20, I have decided to sign up for a pre-race race at the end of January.  It will be a good check to see how I’m doing in preparation for Austin, though at only three weeks before, I’m not sure how much corrective action there can be.  Anyway, it was a no-brainer considering the starting line is between my apartment and my place of workship*.

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I’m Still Here

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Not that anyone’s asking, but yes, I’m still here.  It’s been a crazy month between Thanksgiving and Christmas, to say the least.  Running has moved to the back seat, though not forgotten completely.  Food truck eating has been relegated to the collapsible third row.  It’s not like I’ve been laying on the couch watching reruns of Lost, hopelessly trying to understand the meaning of the damn polar bear though.  Not in the slightest.  I’m not sure what you’ve been up to, but here’s my month in a nutshell.


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Empire State of Mind

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Somewhat on a whim, kind of on purpose, I entered the New York City Marathon Lottery on Tuesday.  Like every other marathon in the world, there’s no easy road to the starting line.  Training for weeks and months to work yourself into shape to tackle a marathon is no small feat.  For New York, however, they make it just a little bit tougher.  If you’re going to build up the courage to take on the biggest marathon in the world, you had better have some fast legs, lots of generous friends, or your lucky rabbit’s foot.

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Run Like Someone’s Chasing You

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The 2010 San Antonio Marathon took over the streets of, you guessed it, San Antonio on Sunday. Colin flew down to run the race with me, and it was the first marathon for both of us in quite awhile — Miami, Jan 2010 for me, Chicago, Oct 2009 for Colin. The worst part has been that Colin’s been holding the title of fastest marathon time between the two of us for 13 months. From my race preview, you know my goals were to beat Colin this time and beat his best time, so really I’m racing Colin twice.

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Logistical Changes

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Quick logistical update! I didn’t mention it previously, but our original plan for San Antonio was to set sail from Austin to San Antonio bright dark and early on race morning. That would mean leaving my apartment no later than 4:30am, which would put us in downtown San Antonio by 6am, assuming no traffic. Seemed like a pretty sound plan, except for basically every review we’ve read about the race. The main theme is that the downtown area is a cluster. Some even mentioned leaving their cars on the side of the highway and walking/running 2 miles to the starting line. Night. Mare.

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Race Week – San Antonio

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Well ladies and gents (and other), it’s race week!  This Sunday is the San Antonio Marathon where I will crush Colin and his Chicago PR and regain the title Colin and I will amicably run together.  It sure doesn’t feel like it’s this weekend though, and Colin agrees.  We’ve talked about the race to no end for the last 4 months, so it isn’t so much a matter of “out of sight, out of mind.”  We’ve also both been training like crazy and feeling very prepared to Rock ‘n’ Roll*.

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Textbook Tapering – Week 16 Review

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Tapering.  The time in the typical marathon training plan that sucks the most requires a lot of discipline.  It’s the 2-3 weeks before race day, when all the strenuous training is behind you, and it’s time to scale things back to give your body the rest it needs.  The issue is, leading up to the taper time is some of the most intense and dedicated training.  Then, you’re expected to cut back by as much as 60%.  Ask any marathon runner out there and s/he’ll tell you about a few irrationalities that take over.  Fortunately for me, I don’t have that discipline to taper correctly, so the craziness / irrational feelings haven’t struck me (yet).


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