Thursday, January 31, 2008

1 month down

So I ran my self-imposed time trial today, which essentially consisted of me going to the gym to run on a treadmill so that I could make sure I knew the correct distance and time. I ended up finishing 4 miles in 36 minutes, running negative splits at 1 mile, 2 miles, 2.75 miles, 3 miles, 3.5 miles, and 3.75 miles. I only mention this to lead up to these questions:

1) Do you think that running on a treadmill gives you an unfair advantage? Specifically, do you think that you run faster because it propels you forward a little?

2) Is it better to try and run negative splits or to set a pace and try and keep it up as long as possible (until finishing a bit faster)?

3) If you are going to try and run negative splits, what is the best way to structure that?

At least 1 real running question per month....guaranteed,
jlowe

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Other things to consider as you ponder whether the Alternative Minimum Tax has any bearing on your life



So after reading an article (and several others just like it) detailing the benefits of beer over water after a workout, I have taken to enjoying a bottle after running. My favorite after-exercise drink is most certainly a Shiner Bock, which, in my humble opinion, is most likely one of the greatest things to ever come out of Texas.

At any rate, I have noticed that the brewery in Shiner, TX was founded in 1909, meaning that our journey to Houston in 2009 would place us roughly 2 hours away from being a part of the centennial celebration of the brewery. It also occurred to me that the last trip that many of us (okay, me and Micah from this group) took together was the sojourn to Florida to watch the Gents try to win the TAAC tournament, where we witnessed former Owasso, OK standout Cornell Hardman make a game-winning 3 pointer to send us into overtime, got interviewed by the Jacksonville paper, and were treated to dinner with the team and free tickets courtesy of the coach. Digressing for a moment, one of the highlights of that particular trip was a visit to the Budweiser brewery in Jacksonville. (See pics above. Gotta love the scanner.)

Perhaps, we could all recreate a little brewery magic by taking a road trip to Shiner in 2009. Just a thought.

You're plenty welcome Jackson. Keep running and reading.

The breaking wind beneath your wings,
jlowe

Monday, January 28, 2008

thanks jlowe

great posts jlowe, they added some "wings" to my day. good to see more activity here.
a couple things i want to address:

im struggling with training here. i dont know what it is, but its really hard to train here.... my daily routines are ever-changing, the culture is very non-commital, i have no training partner, the places i have to run are few... its tough. im not saying this with a whining attitude, just stating facts is all.

I have a great book suggestion, "bowerman and the men of oregon" by kenny moore. its a biographical book about Legendary Coach and nike co-founder, bill bowerman. prefontaine, being coached by bowerman, was definitely greatness.

click here for the amazon page for the book

keep it up all
scott jackson

Saturday, January 26, 2008

51 Weeks Left

To race day. (Not counting that extra day for leap year.) I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. I feel pretty confident about my chances to continue training through at least the OKC marathon relay at the end of April. I will be absolutely ecstatic if I can use that as a springboard to maintaining or even increasing my fitness level until marathon training time.

I figure that I will make the 12 runs in January goal (which I completely stole from Jackson.) I've also been playing soccer in a weekend league, but I haven't really counted any of the games because the fitness is just different. I suppose I should since I can't run very well in those games after 20 minutes in much the same way that particular amount of elapsed time represents the metaphorical wall in my training runs.

Anyway, assuming I finish out January as scheduled, here is my goal for Black History Month: run every other day.

MStrange, thanks for keeping the blog alive. Jackson, same to you. Here's a little something to help keep everything in perspective. What a great approach to racing. I just hope I can run that far sometime in the near future.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

You've bled with Wallace, now bleed with me!

So I literally bled on my sleeve while running tonight. I can't figure out if that's pathetic or cool. Bloody noses aside, I'm 10 runs into the month with a little more than a week to spare. Take that Jackson. Enjoy your nancy-boy Southern hemisphere weather.

I've got mad hits like I was Rod Carew,
jlowe

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Dedication Holmes




So check it, fools. The future Mrs. and I (and her little dog too) decided to head up to the north Georgia mountains for the weekend to enjoy the approaching snow. A good time was had by all humans involved. Aside from soaking in the hot tub, lounging in front of the fire, and eating too much of our spoils from the grill, I managed to get a little hill training in prior to the snow hitting. I made it exactly 7 minutes 31 seconds uphill before I had to stop. I rule.

East side 'til I die,
jlowe

Thursday, January 17, 2008

First 5k of the new year

39 degrees and running. Who's your daddy?

In all fairness, I skipped the run yesterday just because I felt that 33 degrees and freezing rain seemed like a better way to get sick than to get in shape. Of course, all I could think of was the Nike ad from mstrange's 2nd floor dorm room. I run for the glory. I obviously have a long way to go.

From GA to LA,
jlowe

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

I'm off'n runnin'

OK man sets PR for 5 times around neighborhood: Future wife impressed.

Well the headline would read something like that anyway. Shout out to the Port City.

Word,
jlowe

Monday, January 14, 2008

"I am not a role model." - Charles Barkley

Wouldn't it be cool if I had something seemingly worthwhile to put into this post? Sadly, I don't. I'm pretty boring these days. Now that college football and fantasy football are over, I can truly think of no real reason to sit around on the weekend doing nothing active. Hence, I will return to running. Here's some perspective on how lazy I got. After recently taking an Air Force fitness test using the famed "Sportscenter Preparation Method" that once earned me a B on either an Organic Chem or Genetics test, I ran the mile and a half in 14:52. That's right, folks: 14 minutes, 52 seconds.

So, here's the deal. I'm actually going to use this blog, and I will actually run. Since I have discovered that I do best when training for an event, my next event will be the OKC Memorial Marathon Relay on April 25, 2008. You are all invited to read along with my misery and offer smug comments, or jibberish if you're Jackson (who at this point is the only one that might actually read this before I run in April.)

Jackson, I still dream of Antarctica.

Much love to the gauchos,
jlowe

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

new year, new shoes, odd stretching question

so, being 2008 we can all offically say that we are training for a marathon "next year". how is everyone doing?? im ok, havent made huge progress, but have kept a decent base up. I think i need to strengthen my legs some, so hopefully i will be disciplined to do some strength training, or to hop on the bike once a week. I got 2 pairs of new shoes while in dallas (thanks sis for the gift card to sports authority). I got some nike air structures and some mizunos. i figured they will last me a while if i keep swithching them out.
ok, random question i thought about today: anyone (or should i just say this is for micah directly??) ever read or heard anything on whether its better to stretch with our without your running shoes on?? just a curious thought that crossed my mind today.
sj down south

Thursday, January 3, 2008

What's Worse?

The disappearance of chatter, blog posting and general hype of Houston 2009..... OR the disappearance of the OU defense against WVU???
On the 12th run of christmas my goal was fulfilled to me.. running 12 days in december...
ill be travelling back to south america on jan 4th, with a bike, which will hopefully help me with some cross training.
see u fellers
sj