Grateful

I have to say that keeping a blog seems a bit pointless at this time.  I have been totally consumed with starting a new business after leaving my job back in February.  I haven’t prioritized writing about my running.  No races scheduled because of the pandemic.  Who could have imagined all that we would have gone through as a society and individually at that point in time?  Yet here I am.  It feels like another lifetime since I walked out the front door of my job and thought I would be able to start earning a living as a consultant pretty easily.  Yet here I am.  Still running.

I am alive.  I am healthy.  I have not lost a single family member or friend to COVID19.  I have started to earn money as a consultant.  I was exposed to the virus but didn’t get it.  I have reconnected with friends and business associates I had not spoken to in years.  I yearn to be able to see them in person.  I am frustrated.  I am scared.  I am worried.  I am happy.  I am sad.  I am hopeful.  And yes, all of these feelings and experiences make me grateful.

I am sure you are wondering how I could be feeling grateful in these times.  Simple.  I choose to be grateful.  My cousin just published a book and shares a quote that explains how I can be grateful.  He says, “Not everything in life is good. The secret is to look for the good in most things.”  Based on this idea, I choose to not dwell on the negative and try to find the silver lining in what life throws my way.  It isn’t always easy.  But with practice, I have found I can find good almost everywhere.  I recommend trying it.  Being grateful is a powerful and empowering thing.  As I intentionally look for things to be grateful for I have found that there is a never ending supply.  That supply includes my friends, running, family, children, and wife.

I am grateful for my friends as they supply me with genuine love and continuous support.  They all motivate me in so many ways and are always there to provide an extra boost of energy when I need it.  My gratitude comes from the realization of the depth of the friendships I have been able to cultivate and maintain.  Even during this time of social isolation, I know they are still there for me.  I hear from them through social media, texts, emails, and calls.   They always seem to intuitively know when I am feeling low and their communication brings me right out of my funk.

I recently read a post that listed 12 reasons to be thankful for running.  I could not have created a better list of reasons to be grateful for running:

1. Running taught me to push my limits.
2. Running has shown me how to pursue a dream relentlessly, no matter how big it might be.
3. Running adapts to different phases of my life.
4. Running allows me to experience nature.
5. Running brings me closer to others.
6. Running helps me solve problems.
7. Running provides a safe outlet for stress and anger.
8. Running has introduced me to new places.
9. Running keeps me in good health.
10. Running makes me stronger.
11. Running promotes acceptance in a world that so desperately needs it.
12. Running provides a safe place of acceptance.

(https://runninforsweets.com/thankful-for-running/#:~:text=Running%20inspires%20me%20to%20head,appreciate%20it%20every%20single%20day)

I am blessed with a family who loves and supports me in so many ways.  I cannot imagine how my life might have turned out without them.  They love and care about me no matter what.  Like most families, we don’t always agree on everything.  But regardless of our differences we always love and support each other.  One of the best things about having a family like mine is that there is rarely a dull moment. With so many unique individuals, the conversations stray all over the place. Yet we all seem to have a similar sense of humor. Whenever we are together, we laugh constantly creating lasting memories in the process.  Each and every day my gratitude and love for them grows stronger.

Someone once said that having children is the most optimistic thing a person can do.  I agree.  I am grateful for my children because they have always helped me to see the world in new ways.  Most importantly, they help me to remember how awe-inspiring the natural world is.  I am also grateful for their giving me hope.  Even in their 20s, they still have a sense that anything is possible.  I have found that living with this attitude makes amazing things happen.  They happen because my children don’t place any limitations on what they believe they can accomplish.  Finally, they have made me a better person by simply and honestly making me aware of my behavior, which makes me want to control it better.

Finally, I am so grateful to have found the perfect partner in life – my wife.  Besides the fact that she is still as beautiful as the day we met; she is one of the most compassionate people I know.  Some think she is tough and measured.  In fact, she feels deeply for others and always puts the needs of others first.  This was proved by how great Mom she is to our children.  She pushes me to excellence never discouraging me from trying something new in my career.  That encouragement allowed me to start my own consulting business.  How many wives would be willing to allow their spouse to leave a high paying job to start their own business especially during a pandemic?

Yet, I am most grateful for her ability to put up with me.  I’ve been a pretty big jerk in so many instances over our 35 years of marriage.  But she is still here with the love and support I need.  I sometimes wonder why she would stay and then I realize that she has a great sense of humor.  I find her irreverence at times so refreshing.  She can make me laugh when I most need it.   We laugh together often and I’m so grateful for that!

It would be easy for us to think of this as the worst time in our life.  But we have been through sorrows, loss, and sadness before.  I choose to be grateful that I am here.  I can remember those bad times of the past and know that I made it through to the other side.   By remembering how difficult life can be and how far I have come provides the contrast I need to find gratefulness.   So yes, here I am.  Going through a very difficult time in our collective lives.  Yet, here I am feeling grateful to be here and going through it because I know I will make it through and be better for it.

Sept 20 – 3.10 miles (27:31, 8:52 pace) – Speed Work
Sept 22 – 3.10 miles (29:40, 9:33 pace) 
Sept 25 – 5.10 miles (47:57, 9:24 pace) 
Sept 26 – 8.10 miles (1:16:23, 9:26 pace) 
Sept 27 – 5.10 miles (46:33, 9:08 pace) 
Sept 29 – 3.10 miles (24:11, 7:48 pace) – Speed Work
Oct 1 – 5.20 miles (54:32, 8:05 pace) – Tempo Run
Oct 2 – 5.10 miles (46:38, 9:09 pace) 
Oct 3 – 9.10 miles (1:21:46, 8:59 pace) 
Oct 4 – 5.10 miles (37:14, 9:12 pace) 
Oct 5 – 5.80 miles (58:50, 10:09 pace) – Hill Repeats
Oct 6 – 3.20 miles (24:50, 7:45 pace) – Speed Work
Oct 8 – 5.10 miles (42:01, 8:14 pace) – Tempo Run
Oct 9 – 5.10 miles (46:56, 9:12 pace) 
Oct 10 – 10.10 miles (1:31:34, 9:04 pace) 
Oct 11 – 4.10 miles (37:47, 9:13 pace)
Oct 12 – 4.70 miles (48:37, 10:21 pace) – Hill Repeats
Oct 13 – 4.10 miles (24:50, 8:37 pace) 
Oct 15 – 5.10 miles (45:12, 8:52 pace) 
Oct 16 – 5.10 miles (46:01, 9:02 pace) 
Oct 17 – 8.10 miles (1:15:27, 9:19 pace) 
Oct 18 – 4.10 miles (36:55, 9:00 pace)
Oct 19 – 6.20 miles (1:04:35, 10:25 pace) – Hill Repeats
Oct 20 – 3.10 miles (24:18, 7:50 pace) – Speed Work
Oct 22 – 5.10 miles (41:08, 8:04 pace) – Tempo Run
Oct 23 – 4.50 miles (40:32, 9:01 pace) 
Oct 24 – 9.10 miles (1:24:21, 9:16 pace) 
Oct 25 – 4.10 miles (36:25, 8:52 pace)
Oct 26 – 5.20 miles (55:57, 10:46 pace) – Hill Repeats
Oct 27 – 3.10 miles (24:48, 8:00 pace) – Speed Work
Oct 29 – 5.10 miles (41:41, 8:11 pace) – Tempo Run
Oct 30 – 4.10 miles (37:41, 9:12 pace) 
Oct 31 – 10.10 miles (1:24:21, 8:59 pace) 
Nov 1 – 4.10 miles (36:25, 9:18 pace)
Nov 2 – 4.80 miles (48:45, 10:10 pace) – Hill Repeats
Nov 3 – 3.10 miles (24:47, 8:00 pace) – Speed Work
Nov 5 – 5.10 miles (40:39, 7:58 pace) – Tempo Run
Nov 6 – 4.10 miles (37:33, 9:10 pace) 
Nov 7 – 8.10 miles (1:19:14, 9:40 pace) 
Nov 8 – 4.10 miles (37:57, 9:15 pace)
Nov 9 – 5.80 miles (1:03:53, 11:01 pace) – Hill Repeats
Nov 10 – 3.10 miles (24:32, 7:40 pace) – Speed Work
Nov 12 – 5.10 miles (40:39, 7:58 pace) – Tempo Run
Nov 13 – 4.30 miles (37:35, 8:44 pace) 
Nov 14 – 9.30 miles (1:27:25, 9:24 pace)
Nov 15 – 4.50 miles (45:10, 10:02 pace)
Nov 16 – 5.50 miles (56:16, 10:14 pace) – Hill Repeats
Nov 17 – 3.10 miles (23:40, 7:38 pace) – Speed Work
Nov 19 – 5.10 miles (41:33, 8:08 pace) – Tempo Run
Nov 20 – 5.10 miles (48:33, 9:31 pace) 
Nov 21 – 10.10 miles (1:35:33, 9:27 pace) 
Nov 22 – 3.10 miles (28:18, 9:08 pace)

Total Miles:  351.20 miles
2020 Total Miles:   1,603.80 miles  

Avoid Indifference and Get Engaged

With the pandemic still limiting our ability to socialize and with all road racing becoming virtual, I have really not been overly motivated to blog about running.  I get up each day (except Wednesday) and go out for a run.  I have no real goal in sight as I am not signed up for a race.  I choose not to sign up for the virtual races because they are nothing more than another solo training run.  I still enjoy the sport.  I just miss the community aspects of racing.

As I run my miles, I have a lot of time to think.  The past few weeks, I keep coming back to the thought that the world has gone a little meshugana (crazy).  I feel that the entire human race is choosing sides.  We are forgetting that we are all living on this planet together.  We need to respect each other.  Instead, we are totally indifferent to other's plight.  All that matters is how I feel or how others make me feel.  I feel we have lost all empathy which makes me deeply sad.

Elie Wiesel once said, “The opposite of love is not hate.  It’s indifference.  The opposite of beauty is not ugliness.  It’s indifference.  The opposite of faith is not heresy.  It’s indifference.  The opposite of life is not death. It’s indifference.”  Wiesel’s comment is so accurate.  Today I see indifference to other humans and a general lack of compassion toward those who suffer injustice.  When I hear people put down the protests raging across our country as being terrorist activity or saying that the Black Lives Matters movement is a radical leftist mob looking to sabotage the white, suburban lifestyle, it confirms my fears that we don’t have empathy for our fellow man.   This indifference to the suffering or socioeconomic position of the other is the real issue our global community must confront.

As a Jew, it is hard not to compare the current indifference with the historical instances of indifference that allowed for mass violence and murder in human history, particularly the Holocaust.  We must all understand that history is more than something that happened in the past.  It is a grim reminder of our potential future.  Therefore, I believe that actions are not choices.  We are obligated to not just be fighters but be fully engaged with what is happening around us.  We must understand the dangers that grow with indifference.  Know that indifference comes in many forms.  I choose to not be indifferent to the plight of my fellow human beings.  I choose not to be indifferent to knowledge and science.  I choose to not distance or desensitize myself from the lessons of the past.  By being engaged in this way, I cannot be indifferent.

We are created in God’s image (tzelem Elohim).  If this is true, then lesbians and gays are created in the image of God. Bisexuals, transgender, cisgender, heterosexual, celibate, queer-identifying, single, and married persons are all images of God.  No matter what skin color you have – you are also the image of God.  Based on this truth, I cannot be indifferent to their plight and suffering.  Rather I must champion inclusion.  God asks us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  This is another way God is telling us to be inclusive.  We are obligated to love the stranger.  Here is yet another reason to strive for inclusion.

I believe that we are put on this Earth to build a world on loving kindness, engagement, and inclusion rather than strict rules and exclusion.  How can we do this?  By recognizing the image of God in all people.  If we do this then there is no way to not clearly understand that we are all connected.  If we don’t understand this connection, we lose our compassion and empathy for things that are not directly concerned with our advancement.  John Lennon simplified this truth when we said, “I am he, as you are he, as you are me, and we are all together.”  I choose to lean into the concept of connectedness.  Instead of being focused solely on personal gain, I will live my life as part of an interconnected world and try to champion treating every one of whom I come into contact with lovingkindness.

“For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone… We leave you a tradition with a future. The tender loving care of human beings will never become obsolete. People even more than things have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed and redeemed and redeemed. Never throw out anybody. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands: one for helping yourself, the other for helping others. Your ‘good old days’ are still ahead of you, may you have many of them.”

—Sam Levenson

Aug 17 – 6.50 miles (1:09:49, 10:45 pace) – Hill Repeats

Aug 18 – 3.10 miles (24:53, 8:02 pace) – Speed Work
Aug 20 – 5.10 miles (43:29, 8:32 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 21 – 6.00 miles (58:06, 9:41 pace)
Aug 22 – 9.10 miles (1:27:15, 9:35 pace) 
Aug 23 – 5.10 miles (48:49, 9:35 pace) 
Aug 24 – 6.20 miles (1:05:08, 10:31 pace) – Hill Repeats
Aug 25 – 3.10 miles (24:49, 7:59 pace) – Speed Work
Aug 27 – 5.10 miles (43:08, 8:27 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 28 – 5.10 miles (49:04, 9:37 pace) 
Aug 29 – 10.00 miles (1:37:23, 9:39 pace) 
Aug 30 – 5.10 miles (47:40, 9:21 pace) 
Aug 31 – 5.10 miles (54:47, 10:45 pace) – Hill Repeats
Sept 1 – 3.10 miles (26:44, 8:47 pace) – Speed Work
Sept 3 – 5.10 miles (43:32, 8:32 pace) – Tempo Run
Sept 4 – 5.10 miles (52:16, 10:15 pace) 
Sept 5 – 8.10 miles (1:18:30, 9:42 pace) 
Sept 6 – 5.10 miles (49:21, 9:41 pace) 
Sept 7 – 6.10 miles (1:05:33, 10:45 pace) – Hill Repeats
Sept 8 – 3.10 miles (24:40, 7:57 pace) – Speed Work
Sept 10 – 5.10 miles (41:00, 8:02 pace) – Tempo Run
Sept 11 – 4.10 miles (38:23, 9:22 pace) 
Sept 12 – 9.10 miles (1:20:24, 8:50 pace) 
Sept 13 – 4.20 miles (39:56, 9:31 pace) 
Sept 14 – 5.50 miles (54:32, 9:55 pace) – Hill Repeats
Sept 15 – 3.10 miles (24:58, 8:03 pace) – Speed Work
Sept 17 – 5.10 miles (40:51, 8:01 pace) – Tempo Run
Sept 18 – 4.10 miles (37:14, 9:05 pace) 
Sept 19 – 10.10 miles (1:32:28, 9:09 pace) 

Total Miles:  160.70 miles
2020 Total Miles:   1,252.60 miles  

Beat the Heat

I live in Arizona where running during the summer and early fall months is difficult due to the heat.  Even if I get up early before the sun rises, it is still 88o or hotter.  Once the sun comes up it heats up pretty quickly making my runs really tough.  Running in the heat takes as much planning as running in very cold weather.  If you live in an area that has high temperatures or humidity, you need to know that during the summer’s heat you cannot expect to match your normal training paces.  However, if you go out and run in the heat consistently for at least two-weeks your body will begin to acclimate.  Once you have acclimated, you just need to understand the effect of heat and humidity on your pace to allow you to be realistic about your training.

A while back, I found two websites that helped me figure out what pace I should strive for during my training runs.  I find that running through the dog days of summer allows me to stay in shape for future races without risking my health.  It also allows me to not beat myself up mentally if I don’t hit a certain pace.  Knowing what a realistic pace should be given the temperatures keeps me sane and healthy.  The first website I visit when planning a training run is http://www.dpcalc.org/.  This website allows me to figure out what the dewpoint is given the ambient temperature and relative humidity.  To be able to figure a target pace, I need to know the dewpoint.  The dew point is the temperature the air needs to be cooled to (at constant pressure) in order to achieve a relative humidity (RH) of 100%.  This is a better measurement than relative humidity in predicting pace.

Once I have the dewpoint, I then go to https://runnersconnect.net/training/tools/temperature-calculator/.  This website has an online calculator that predicts how much the heat will impact my workout times.  I use this calculator to plan my training run paces to account for hot temperatures.  Once I know the pace calculated, I then adjust my goal time for each run before heading out.  I have tested this calculator against my training runs and have found it to be very accurate for me.  But it may not be exactly the same for you because we all respond differently to the heat.  For some reason, my body tolerates heat pretty well.

The general consensus among runners is that on average for every 10-degree increase in air temperature above 55 degrees, there is a 1.5 to 3 percent increase in your per mile pace.  Most runners know what pace they can hit for different distances in ideal weather.  I recommend going out for a 3 to 5 mile run test run.  When you get back check your average pace against the on-line calculator.  You can then compare the predicted pace against what the norm would be given the 1.5 to 3% increase in pace would be given the temperature.  For example, if your normal training pace is 8:00 per mile for a 5 mile run at 55o, at 75o you should be able to hit a pace between 8:07 and 8:14 per mile.  Once you compare this to the calculator, you will know how accurate it will be for you.

Once you know the right pace there are a couple of other things you can do to help achieve your training and racing goals.  First, I cannot recommend enough to run as early in the morning as you can.  I know getting up at 5 a.m. is tough.  But the simple truth is that during the summer, the coolest part of the day is before sunrise.  Running after sundown doesn’t really work as all of the heat stored in the ground during the day begins to radiate upward.  The radiant heat makes running even harder.  I have run at night and found that I prefer the mornings as it can still be in the triple digits here in Arizona after sundown.  There is no arguing that running in the early morning is the best time to beat the heat.

Next, what running gear you choose to wear can also help to keep you cool.  Frankly, the fewer clothes the cooler you’ll be.  But if you are running when the sun is out you need to wear sunscreen on all of your exposed body parts to avoid sunburn.  I choose to run in a very lightweight, breathable, and moisture-wicking fabric. I sweat a lot in the heat so I need the wicking to keep my shirt from sticking to me.  I have found that these fabrics help keep me cool as they disperse the heat.  Finally, I choose to run in light-colored shirts as they are more visible in the dark and after the sun comes up they reflect some of the sun’s incoming radiation which keeps me marginally cooler.

Finally, make sure you are fully hydrated.  Here in Arizona we like to say hydrate or die.  I keep a large 36 oz Nalgene like bottle at hand every day.  I sip on it throughout the day while I work.  I end up refilling it at least three times per day.  I find that this keeps me well hydrated and ready for my morning runs.  I don’t always carry water with me on a run.  But when I am going longer than 5 miles I do.  Because I am a heavy sweater, if I am going for a long run of 7+ miles, I like to carry water with electrolytes to replenish what I am losing on my run.  

The good news is that if you can keep up your training throughout the summer even at reduced paces, you will reap the rewards when the temperatures start to fall.  I find I feel so much faster in the cooler weather after a long summer of hot weather training.  I am a strong believer that as long as you plan your runs and stay safe, there is no reason to fear the heat.  Just do it!  Go outside and run!

Aug 3 – 6.50 miles (1:09:08, 10:38 pace) – Hill Repeats
Aug 4 – 3.10 miles (24:49, 8:01 pace) – Speed Work
Aug 6 – 5.10 miles (41:08, 8:04 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 7 – 6.20 miles (56:14, 9:04 pace) 
Aug 8 – 10.10 miles (1:43:05, 10:12 pace)
Aug 9 – 4.60 miles (44:14, 9:37 pace) 
Aug 10 – 6.10 miles (1:05:55, 10:48 pace) – Hill Repeats
Aug 11 – 3.10 miles (23:53, 7:42 pace) – Speed Work
Aug 13 – 5.10 miles (42:43, 8:23 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 14 – 5.10 miles (47:42, 9:21 pace) 
Aug 15 – 8.10 miles (1:16:44, 9:28 pace) 
Aug 16 – 5.10 miles (47:28, 9:18 pace) 

Total Miles:  68.80 miles
2020 Total Miles:   1,091.90 miles  

Vote in November to Dump Trump

I have really been struggling during this pandemic to get motivated to write about running.  There is so much bad news out there that I feel like writing about my running and training seems trivial.  I am so frustrated with the government in my state and country that my running is my only refuge to pound out my frustrations.  I am not a liberal by any stretch of the imagination.  I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal.  You can read more about my political beliefs in my post dated March 30, 2010.  I didn’t vote for Trump because I didn’t believe he could lead this country.  I didn’t vote for Hillary because she was going to bring much of the same old Democratic legislation and beliefs to the table.  Neither would bring the country together and find a middle ground that is needed to truly effect positive change in our country.  

This time even though I don’t fully support everything Joe Biden stands for; I will be voting for him in November.  I have always found it hard to explain cogently why I dislike Trump so much.  Then a post hit my Facebook page and it is the best explanation of why Trump is a cancer in the White House making our country a laughing stock to the rest of the world that I decided to share it here. 

A person asked the question, "Why are people so hostile towards President Donald Trump?"

Chris O'Leary responded:

Before you pass my answer off as “Another Liberal Snowflake” consider that

1. I'm an independent centrist who has voted Republican way more often in my life than Democrat, and
2. If you want to call someone who spent the entire decade of his 20’s serving in the Marine Corps a snowflake, I’d be ready to answer the question what did you do with your 20’s?

Why Liberals (And not-so liberals) are against President Trump.

A. He lies. A LOT. Politifact rates 69% of the words he speaks as “Mostly False or worse” Only 17% of the things he says get a “Mostly True” or better rating. That is an absolutely unbelievable number. How he doesn’t speak more truth by mistake is beyond me. To put it in context, Obama’s rating was 26% mostly false or worse, and I had a problem with that. Many of Trump’s former business associates report that he has always been a compulsive liar, but now he’s the President of the United States, and that’s a problem. And this is a man who expects you to believe him when he points at other people and says “They’re lying”

B. He’s an authoritarian populist, not a conservative. He advances regressive social policy while proposing to expand federal spending and federalist authority over states, both of which conservatives are supposed to hate.

C. He pretends at Christianity to court the Religious Right but fails to live anything resembling a Christ-Like Life.

D. His nationalist “America First” message effectively alienates us and removes us from our place as leaders in the international community.

E. His ideas on “Keeping us safe” are all thinly veiled ideas to remove our freedoms, he is, after all, an authoritarian first. They also are simply bad ideas.

F. He couldn’t pass a 3rd-grade civics exam. He doesn't’ know what he’s doing. He doesn't understand how international relations work, he doesn’t understand how the federal state or local governments work, and every time someone tries to “Run it like a business” it’s a spectacular failure. See Colorado Springs’ recent history as an example. The Short, Unhappy Life of a Libertarian Paradise And that was a businessman with a MUCH better business track record than Trump. We are talking about a man who lost money owning a freaking gambling casino.

G. He behaves unethically and always has. As a businessman, he constantly left in his wake unpaid contractors and invoices, litigation, broken promises, whatever he could get away with.

H. He is damaging our relationships with our best international friends while kissing up to nations that do not have our best interests in mind. To his question “Wouldn't’ it be great to have better relations with Russia?” The answer is Yes. But it is RUSSIA who needs to earn that, who must stop doing the things that are damaging to that relationship, or we are simply weaker for it.

I. He has never seen a shortcut he didn't like, and you can’t take shortcuts in government. “Nuclear Option, Remove the Filibuster, I’ll change the Constitution by Executive Order…Don…what happens when you remove the filibuster and the other side retakes the majority in the Senate? Suddenly want that filibuster back? What happens if you manage to change the Constitution by Executive Order and an Anti-2A President wins the next election?

J. He behaves and has always behaved as an unabashed racist. Yes, I’ve seen your favorite meme that claims he was never accused of racism before the Democrats…Absolutely false. Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2019 See the Central Park 5, the lawsuits and fines resulting from his refusal to lease to black tenants, the 1992 lost appeal trying to overturn penalties for removing black dealers from tables, his remarks to the house native American affairs subcommittee in 1993. The man sees and treats racial groups of people as monoliths.

K. He is systematically steamrolling regulations specifically designed to keep a disaster like the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis from happening again.

L. He speaks and acts like a demagogue. He sees the Legislative and Judicial branches of government as inconveniences, blows up at criticism no matter how deserved and actively tries to countermand constitutional processes, not to mention attempts to blackmail and coerce people who are saying negative things about him

M. His choices for top positions, with the exception of Gen. Mattis, who is a gem, have been horrendous. A secretary of Education without a resume that would get her hired as a small-town grammar school principal, A secretary of Energy who didn't know the Department of Energy was responsible for nuclear reserves, an EPA head whose biggest accomplishments to date had been suing the EPA on multiple occasions, an FCC head who while working for Verizon actively lobbied to kill net neutrality, and an Attorney General who thinks pot is “nearly as bad as heroin” and asked Congress for permission to go after legal pot businesses in states where it is legal. (There goes that great Republican States rights rally cry again, right?) *Crickets* An Interim AG after Firing his First AG whose appointment is probably unconstitutional.

N. He denies scientific fact. Ever notice that the only people you hear denying climate change are politicians and lobbyists? 99% of actual scientists studying the issue agree that it’s real, man-made, and caused by greenhouse gasses. Ever notice that every big disaster movie starts with a bunch of politicians in a room ignoring a scientist's warning?

O. He does not have the temperament to lead this nation. He is thin-skinned, childish, and a bully, never mind misogynistic, boorish, rude, and incapable of civil discourse.

P. He still does not understand that the words he speaks, or tweets, are the official position of 1/3 of the US government, and so does not govern his words. He still thinks when he speaks it’s good ol’ Donald Trump. It’s not. It’s the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. You have probably spread a meme or two around talking about how no president’s every word has ever been dissected before…YES, THEY ALWAYS HAVE. It’s just that every other president in our lifetime has understood the importance of his words and took great care to govern his speech. Trump blurts out whatever comes to his mind then complains when people talk about what a dumb thing that was to say.

Q. He’s unqualified. If you owned a small business and were looking for someone to manage it, and an unnamed resume came across your desk and you saw 6 bankruptcies, showing a man who had failed to make money running CASINOS, would you hire him? He is a very poor businessman. This is a man it has been estimated would have been worth $10 BILLION more if he’d just taken what his father had given him, invested it in Index Funds, and left it alone.

R. He is President. But he refuses to take a leadership position and to understand that he is everyone’s President. Conservatives complain about liberals chanting “Not my President” while Trump himself behaves as if no one but his supporters’ matter.

S. He’s a blatant hypocrite. He spent 8 years bitching Obama out for his family trips or golfing, or any time he took for himself, and what does he do? He was already on his 20th golf outing in APRIL of his 1st year in office. He constantly rants about respect for the military yet can’t be bothered to attend the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day because of a little rain. (And that excuse about Marine One not being able to fly in the rain is HILARIOUS.)

T. He’s a misogynist. It's not really ok in this day and age to be a misogynist, but it’s not a huge deal if you’re a private citizen. It’s a pretty big deal if you hate half the people you’re elected to lead. The disdain for women seeps out of his …whatever…. and he just can’t hide it.

U. Face it. In any other election “Grab Em’ By the Pussy” would have been the end of that candidate’s chances. Back in the 90’s I used to marvel about how Teflon Bill Clinton was. I no longer do. The fact that he managed to slip by on that is as much a statement about how much people hate Hillary Clinton as it is about what is wrong with politics in this country right now.

V. He has one response to a differing opinion. Attack. A good leader listens to criticism, to different points of view, is capable of self-reflection, tries to guide people to his point of view, and when necessary stands his ground and defends his convictions. Any of that sound like Trump? His default is not to Lead, its’ to attack. Scorched Earth. The Jim Acosta reaction is a good example. There was no defense of his convictions when Acosta was asking him repeated questions about his rhetoric on the caravan. His response was to attack Acosta.

W. He takes credit for everything positive while deflecting blame for everything negative. Look at him with the Stock Market. He’s been bragging about it since day one, and to give credit where credit is due, speculation on coming deregulation early in his presidency did fuel some rapid growth, but to pretend that it’s all him, that we’re not in the 9th year of the longest bull market in history and THEN, when the standard market volatility that deregulation inevitably brings about starts to show up? Yeah. Look at yesterday. Hey! Stock Markets losing because the Democrats won! Do I need to bring out the Stock market chart for the last 10 Years again?

X. He emboldens the worst among us. Counter-protesters are slammed into by a car while countering actual Nazi rally, and the response is there’s fault on “Both Sides” The media is at fault for a nut job sending them and Donald’s favorite targets pipe bombs. The truth is not all Republicans, not all Trump supporters are racist, fascist lunatics. Many are just taken in by the bombastic personality and are living in an information bubble made worse by the fact that they unfollow anyone and ignore any source of information that makes them feel uncomfortable. People on the left do that too. The Biggest problem the right has right now is that the worst of the Right is the loudest and the most in your face, and the actual right, especially the Freaking PRESIDENT needs to be standing up and saying No. Those are not our values.

Y. He seems to think the Constitution of The United States, the document that IS who we are, the document he took an oath to support and defend is some sort of inconvenience. He demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the Constitution, from believing he can alter the 14th through executive order, to thinking the free exercise clause in the first amendment somehow supersedes the establishment clause (not that he really understands either) or that the free exercise clause only applies to Christians. Or his attacks on freedom of expression and the press. He repeatedly makes it clear that if he’s read them, he does not understand Articles 1–3, and that’s something he really should have before he took the job, because they’re not going away.

Z. I’ll use Z for something I do blame him for, but the rest of us have to carry the blame too. Polarization. This country is more politically polarized than I can remember in my lifetime. Some of you who are a few years older than I may remember how it was in the late ’60s when construction workers in New York were being applauded for beating up hippies, I think it’s pretty close to that right now, but that was before my time. And he is the cause of much of the current level polarization, but also the result. It didn't’ start with Trump. We’ve been going down this road I think since the eruption of the Tea Party in the early years of the Obama Administration. I do hope the tide turns before it gets much worse because the thing that scares me more than anything is what if that keeps going the way it has been? "

So if you do not like what is happening in this country it is time to exercise your right to make a change at the ballot box.  And don’t just vote for the President.  It is really the Senate and Congress who are as much or more to blame for the divisiveness we are seeing across the country.  Vote them out as well.  Let’s get back to civil discourse and try to find a middle ground from which to build this country back to the nation it once was and gain back the respect of the rest of the world.

June 29 – 5.50 miles (55:16, 10:03 pace) – Hill Repeats

June 30 – 3.10 miles (1:02:38, 7:32 pace) – Speed Work

July 2 – 5.10 miles (41:26, 8:08 pace) – Tempo Run

July 3 – 5.10 miles (47:36, 9:20 pace) 

July 4 – 9.10 miles (1:25:04, 9:21 pace) 

July 5 – 5.10 miles (48:45, 9:33 pace) 

July 6 – 5.70 miles (59:04, 10:22 pace) – Hill Repeats

July 7 – 3.10 miles (23:38, 7:37 pace) – Speed Work

July 9 – 5.10 miles (45:16, 8:53 pace) 

July 10 – 5.10 miles (47:11, 9:15 pace) 

July 11 – 8.10 miles (1:15:00, 9:16 pace) 

July 12 – 5.10 miles (47:18, 9:16 pace) 

July 13 – 5.50 miles (58:25, 10:37 pace) – Hill Repeats

July 14 – 3.10 miles (23:31, 7:35 pace) – Speed Work

July 16 – 5.10 miles (41:45, 8:11 pace) – Tempo Run

July 17 – 4.20 miles (39:07, 9:19 pace) 

July 18 – 8.10 miles (1:17:59, 9:38 pace) 

July 19 – 5.10 miles (46:49, 9:11 pace) 

July 20 – 5.80 miles (1:02:02, 10:42 pace) – Hill Repeats

July 21 – 3.10 miles (24:19, 7:51 pace) – Speed Work

July 23 – 5.10 miles (45:27, 8:53 pace) – Tempo Run

July 24 – 5.10 miles (49:16, 9:38 pace)

July 25 – 8.10 miles (1:18:59, 9:45 pace)

July 26 – 3.10 miles (28:40, 9:15 pace)

July 27 – 5.90 miles (1:02:29, 10:36 pace) – Hill Repeats

July 28 – 3.10 miles (24:23, 7:52 pace) – Speed Work

July 30 – 5.10 miles (41:37, 8:10 pace) – Tempo Run

July 31 – 5.10 miles (46:49, 9:11 pace) 

Aug 1 – 8.10 miles (1:19:36, 9:50 pace) 

Aug 2 – 4.10 miles (38:07, 9:18 pace) 

Total Miles:  158.00 miles

2020 Total Miles:   1,023.10 miles  

My Experience with the Run-Walk-Run with Jeff Galloway

The weather here in Arizona is starting to heat up and I am finding that the temperature at 5:00 a.m. is usually in the mid-80’s now.  This means that when I am going out for a long run, it will be pretty warm after the sun comes up.  Obviously, this means that I will have to accept the fact that my paces will suffer as the heat rises.  While that is generally true, I have found a way to actually reduce the impact of the heat on running my long, speed, and tempo runs.  I have been able to run them pretty close to my normal training goal paces.  How?  By using a run/walk/run method I adapted for myself from Jeff Galloway’s program.

If you don’t know who Jeff Galloway is let me tell you a little about him.  Jeff is a US Olympian who competed in the Olympic 10K race in where he placed 11th in a time of 29:35.0.  He also is also a key organizer of the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta.  In the mid-70’s Jeff thought that there might be a better way to train than just pounding out huge mileage weeks.  So Jeff changed his own training program to emphasize more rest and less weekly mileage.  He would only run his long runs every other week.  Jeff soon realized the benefits of this training method and knew that it would benefit amateur runners as well.  So in 1974, Jeff launched his method to the public to help beginner runners and show them that they can run any distance up to a marathon using this method.  Basically, Jeff’s method adds strategic walk breaks during a training run or race that allow a runner to control his fatigue and significantly reduce the occurrence of overuse running injuries. 

When I moved to Arizona, I read up on Jeff’s run/walk/run method.  I thought that it might help me train in the heat of the summer and allow me to still be able to hit my goal paces.  If I was going to use Jeff’s method, I had to first run a “Magic Mile”.  I would then use that time to predict the pace I could run at any race distance.  Once I knew how fast I could run a measured mile at a hard pace, I could use Jeff’s chart to predict my race pace for various distances:

• Add 33 seconds to your magic mile for your pace for a 5K

• Multiply your magic mile time by 1.15 for 10K pace

• Multiply your magic mile time by 1.2 for half marathon pace

• Multiply your magic mile time by 1.3 for marathon pace

These predictors have been very helpful and accurate at least for me in my racing.

Now that I knew the goal pace for my races, I could look at Jeff’s recommended run/walk/run strategies.  I tried several different run/walk/run strategies using Jeff’s calculator.  The first strategy I used for a while was running for 5 minutes and then walking for 1 minute.  While it definitely worked for me, I really struggled with the monotony of the constant watch gazing to make sure I was staying on track.  After a while, I switched to running a mile and walking for 1 minute.  That seemed to help reduce the number of times I had to look at my watch.  I used this strategy for several years of training and it did help me keep my running fitness level during the hottest summer months.  More importantly, I had no injuries.

When I decided to run the Dopey Challenge, I wanted to try something totally different.  Since I knew I would be running two long runs each weekend to simulate having to run on tired legs, I changed my run/walk/run strategy to running 5K and then walking for 1/10 of a mile.  It significantly helped me maintain a good training pace throughout the months of preparation for the Dopey Challenge.  I was able to run most of my long runs throughout the late summer and fall right on my goal training pace which hopefully would allow me to hit my goal race pace.  When I arrived in Orlando for the Dopey Challenge, I was ready to go.  I ran the 5K with no walk break.  Then I used the same strategy I had used during my training for the 10K, Half, and Full Marathon.  I was so proud to have been able to hit my total goal time for the four races.  I attribute it solely to using my version of Jeff’s method.

Since the one race I was scheduled to participate in this year was canceled, I have no races to train for which is sad.  But I am still out there running.  I have changed my run/walk/run for now to running for 2 miles and then walking for 1/10 of a mile.  It is allowing me to continue to run 8-10 miles on my Saturday long runs and at a pace that would allow me to hit my ultimate race pace when the time comes.  Best of all is that I have had no running injuries since my hamstring injury in 2014.  I attribute it all to using Jeff’s method.

As Jeff says on his website (http://www.jeffgalloway.com/):

Walk breaks…

• Speed you up: an average of 7 minutes faster in a 13.1 mile race when non-stop runners shift to the correct Run/Walk/Run ratio – and more than 13 minutes faster in the marathon

• Give you control over the way you feel during and after a run or race

• Erase fatigue

• Push back your wall of exhaustion or soreness

• Allow for endorphins to collect during each walk break

• Break up the distance into manageable units

• Speed recovery

• Reduce the chance of aches, pains and injury

• Allow older or heavier runners to recover fast, and feel as good as in the younger (slimmer)  days

• Activate the frontal lobe – maintaining your control over attitude and motivation

I will continue to read Jeff’s advice and use his methods to train.  I am certain that it will allow me to be able to run until the end of my life on this planet.  If you have been struggling with your training or feel that you could never run anything further than a 5K, I would recommend you go to Jeff’s website and read about his method.  He has several great books that I would also recommend you read.  What’s the worst thing that could happen?  You could decide you don’t like it and go back to your old training routines.  Regardless, I know that periodically shaking up your running routine is critical to avoid plateaus in your fitness level and training.  Give it a try, you may even find out that you like it and it leads you to a new PR whether it be distance or pace.

June 1 – 6.00 miles (1:02:38, 10:06 pace) – Hill Repeats

June 2 – 3.60 miles (28:06, 7:48 pace) – Speed Work

June 4 – 5.10 miles (41:01, 8:03 pace) – Tempo Run

June 5 – 5.10 miles (46:30, 9:07 pace) 

June 6 – 10.10 miles (1:33:40, 9:16 pace) 

June 7 – 5.10 miles (48:27, 9:30 pace) 

June 8 – 5.10 miles (56:25, 10:16 pace) – Hill Repeats

June 9 – 3.60 miles (28:13, 7:50 pace) – Speed Work

June 11 – 4.50 miles (40:24, 8:59 pace) 

June 12 – 5.10 miles (1:03:33, 7:57 pace) – Tempo Run

June 13 – 3.60 miles (58:15, 16:10 pace) – Injury

June 15 – 5.60 miles (56:59, 10:10 pace) – Hill Repeats

June 16 – 3.50 miles (27:56, 7:59 pace) – Speed Work

June 18 – 5.60 miles (44:48, 8:00 pace) – Tempo Run

June 19 – 5.10 miles (45:15, 8:52 pace) 

June 20 – 8.10 miles (1:16:28, 9:27 pace)

June 21 – 4.10 miles (36:18, 8:51 pace)

June 22 – 6.10 miles (1:01:34, 9:56 pace) – Hill Repeats

June 23 – 3.10 miles (24:21, 7:51 pace) – Speed Work

June 25 – 5.60 miles (45:29, 8:07 pace) – Tempo Run

June 26 – 6.20 miles (55:45, 9:00 pace) 

June 27 – 3.10 miles (27:48, 8:58 pace) 

Total Miles:  113.00 miles

2020 Total Miles:   865.10 miles  

“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” - MLK

I started to write a post about the disappointment I was feeling after the Wild West Relay race was cancelled due to the COVID crisis.  I decided to put that side for a later date as I had to express my thoughts and feelings about what it is happening right now in my country.  I was a child in the 60’s but remember vividly watching the news most evenings and seeing what was happening in the country and the rest of the world.  The news most nights was dominated by the war in Vietnam.  Even though the war led the news each night, there was so much more happening.  My clearest memories of those news reports are from 1968 through today.  Yet those of us who lived through the tumultuous period from 1968 through President Nixon’s resignation in August 1974 through today, don’t seem to have learned anything from what we saw and fought for so long ago.

If you are too young to have lived through it, 1968 was a year of major turmoil.  In addition to Tet offensive in Vietnam, it was the year that brought us North Korea’s capture of the USS Pueblo, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (which led to several days of rioting in inner cities throughout the U.S), the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, U.S. athletes taking a stand at the Summer Olympics in solidarity with the Black Power movement, and violent rioting and police brutality in Chicago outside the Democratic National Convention.  And that was only 1968.  1969 was no better.  We had the People’s Park riot, the Stonewall Inn riots, Altamonte, the Zodiac and Manson murders and on a better note the moon landing and Woodstock.  Then the 70’s arrived and this country felt a crisis of confidence.  The key events that led to this crisis were Watergate, Roe v Wade, Kent State, Inflation, the Energy Crisis, the end of the Vietnam War which only lead to a much colder and potentially more dangerous Cold War.

As a pre-teen and early teenager, I truly believed that all of those events changed our country in positive ways.  I believed that we came together and found common ground on which to build a better society.  I even mistakenly believed we had turned the corner when we finally elected a man of color as President.  Yet, in the past several weeks we have witnessed the brutal killings of George Floyd (by the police), Breonna Taylor (by the police in her own home) and Ahmaud Arbery (by neighbors while out jogging).  These events have led to people protesting in peaceful and not so peaceful ways.  As I watch the news, it is like déjà vu.  Those protesting whether peaceful or not so peaceful ways are being dealt with in a similarly to 50 years ago.  Are we heading to another Kent State?  Our President’s rhetoric on Twitter and in public statements makes me wonder.  

Being a privileged white man means that I can never fully understand the feelings that the black community members must be feeling.  They have every right to be outraged, traumatized, fearful and in profound pain.  I totally empathize with them and sit here and wonder when things will change in this country.  As I sit here in Arizona far removed from the events, I feel guilty for not doing more.  I feel helpless.  And I feel isolated.  I want to march with the protestors.  But am fearful of contracting the virus by not practicing social distancing and seeing many of them marching together in close proximity without masks.   I am saddened when I see looting and violence.  I suspect that it is being done by individuals who don’t care about the protest.  They are just opportunists and criminals taking advantage of the unrest.  Nonviolence and peaceful protests will do much more. 

“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

The protests, uprisings and riots I remember from my childhood in places like Watts, Detroit and Newark were much too big and too well-known to be forgotten.  But the revolts at that time happened in smaller communities across the country like Hartford, Fort Lauderdale, York and Harrisburg, PA too.  Sadly most people don’t remember those protests.  It may surprise you that the protests 50 years ago were in response to the unequal living conditions black communities were forced to endure alongside the unequal justice system.  Doesn’t that sound familiar.  Nothing has truly changed or improved for our black community. Not only that, our politicians simply ignored the nonviolent protests being instigated to try and fix the inequalities and prejudice inherent in the system.   

It is hard to believe it has only been 6 years from the protests and riots in Ferguson, Mo.  It is obvious that nothing has changed.  The issues from 50 years ago have not diminished.  It is obvious that black Americans continue to face the same racist challenges with no less severity today than they did 50 years ago.  And we have an administration in Washington that like 50 years ago is ignoring and some might say actually exacerbating the problem through their rhetoric.  

It is time that we have to all stand up and say enough.  We need to ask for public oversight of the police forces across our country.  There should be no tolerance for police brutality, racism or unjustified killings.  If an officer like Chauvin has been the subject of 18 prior complaints filed against him, he needs to be removed from the force.  There should be policies in place that weed out the bad cops who besmirch the reputation of the rest of the police force who do the right thing every day as they keep us safe in our communities.   One or two bad apples do spoil the whole bunch.

My Rabbi in his sermon last week reminded us of what the Mishna says regarding human beings being created in God’s image.  The Mishna explained, “When a mortal sovereign stamps the royal image on a coin, every coin made from that image is exactly alike.  However, when God put the stamp of the first human on humanity, every person deriving from the original one is different from every other one.”  Our Rabbi explained that each of us has our own role to play in this world.  If we are truly going to repair the world (tikkun olam) each of us must play our part.  This means that every life is valuable and every person on this planet should be treated with dignity.  If we don’t understand this simple concept, the world will continue to remain broken.

“The most modern and broadly understood notion of tikkun olam is that of "repairing the world" through human actions. Humanity's responsibility to change, improve, and fix its earthly surroundings is powerful. It implies that each person has a hand in working towards the betterment of his or her own existence as well as the lives of future generations. Tikkun olam forces people to take ownership of their world. It is them, not God, who will bring the world back to its original state of holiness.

More simply, it is important for Jews to participate in repairing the world by participating in tzedakah (justice and righteousness) and g'milut hasadim (acts of loving kindness). Without their stake in the improvement of their environment, injustice and evil will continue to exist.” - https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/tikkun-olam

While the concept of tikkun olam is an essential part of my Jewish faith, isn’t it something that we should all strive for?  At this time, we should all be seeking justice for the oppressed and finding ways to reach out to others with loving kindness.  Violence and hatred only begets more violence and hatred.  It is time to step back and understand that while we may have been created in God’s image, we are all individuals.  We are all valuable.  We all have a stake in this world.  We all must come together as human beings whether we are straight, gay, bisexual, transsexual, black, white, Asian, native American or in whatever skin we exist in.  The skin is only the surface, we are all the same beneath that surface.  The only difference between us is what we hold in our hearts.

Let’s hope that justice prevails and that finally we can truly see a difference in how we as human beings live together going forward.  Let’s bring God’s light back into the world and finally live in love, peace and harmony.

“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

May 11 – 6.20 miles (1:03:33, 10:15 pace) – Hill Repeats

May 12 – 4.20 miles (35:07, 8:22 pace) – Speed Work

May 14 – 5.20 miles (41:48, 8:02 pace) – Tempo Run

May 15 – 5.20 miles (46:52, 9:01 pace) 

May 16 – 7.20 miles (1:24:40, 11:56 pace) – Trail Run 

May 17 – 4.10 miles (38:39, 9:25 pace) 

May 18 – 5.50 miles (57:07, 10:23 pace) – Hill Repeats

May 19 – 3.10 miles (23:34, 7:35 pace) – Speed Work

May 21 – 5.20 miles (40:56, 7:52 pace) – Tempo Run

May 22 – 5.10 miles (47:48, 9:23 pace) 

May 23 – 8.10 miles (1:13:35, 9:05 pace) 

May 24 – 5.10 miles (44:52, 8:48 pace) 

May 25 – 6.20 miles (01:04:26, 10:24 pace) – Hill Repeats

May 26 – 4.10 miles (34:16, 8:21 pace) – Speed Work

May 28 – 5.10 miles (41:06, 8:04 pace) – Tempo Run

May 29 – 5.50 miles (49:31, 9:00 pace) 

May 30 – 8.10 miles (1:17:34, 9:35 pace) 

May 31 – 5.10 miles (48:00, 9:25 pace)

Total Miles:  98.30 miles

2020 Total Miles:  752.10 miles

Hill Repeats Make You Stronger

In my last post, I noted that one of the ways to train and prepare for a race at altitude is to incorporate hill training in your normal training routine.  There are numerous ways to add hill training into your program.  If you go out onto the internet, you can find numerous recommendations for hill training.  Any of them may work for you in your training goals.  Some help increase strength.  Some increase endurance.  Some improve leg speed and some enhance your ability to run hills in races.  I tried a few different hill workouts over the past few years.  In the end, I found that hill repeats was the workout that truly improved my ability to run hills in a race without losing any speed.   You should experiment with different workouts to find what works best for you and more closely aligns with your running and racing goals.

I originally chose to include hill training in my normal routine because I wanted to be able to reduce the intimidation hills created in my head during a race.  The Boston Marathon is a very hilly race.  The hill training I completed while preparing to run my first Boston enabled me to remove any doubt that I could crush the hills during the race.  I took the time to analyze the course map for Boston and chose to run the hilly sections of the course during my 16 week training program.  I ran the tough hills several times leading up to the marathon.  When I got to the Newton hills, I felt confident and fully prepared for those hills knowing that I had practiced them during my training.  Even if you can’t run on the actual course, you can find hills with similar elevations that will allow you to get race-ready.

After trying a few different hill workouts I found in Runner’s World and on-line, I settled on a hill repeat workout that has worked for me.  It has definitely increased my ability to run hills without any noticeable reduction in pace.  It is a very simple workout.  After a brief active stretch, I head out to the base of one of 2 or 3 hills near my house that are about a 4 to 6% grade.  I usually run for at least 9 minutes at a very easy pace to the base of the hill before I start my repeats.  This gives me a nice warm up before the harder effort begins. 

Once I am at the base of the hill, I run uphill for 2 minutes.  I run it at a medium hard effort.  I pay very close attention to my form.  I keep my back straight, shorten my stride and keep my heels under my knees.  I strive to keep my perceived effort at a 5K level just not the same speed.  When the 2 minutes are up, I turn around and walk down the hill for 2 minutes to provide a full recovery before I start the next uphill repeat.  I started this workout doing only 4 repeats and gradually built up to where I was consistently running 10 repeats per session.  Once I have completed my final repeat and recovery walk, I then run back to the starting point at an easy pace.  Overall this workout ends up being between 4-6 miles in total.

Recently, I decided to push myself a little harder.  I have been consistently running 12 repeats to help prep me for my fall race in Colorado.  And instead of walking down for 2 minutes to recover, I slowly jog down hill for 2 minutes.  I make sure to take it slow as I jog down maintaining the same stride length.  I let the gravity pull me down the hill.  Then after each uphill repeat, I reduce the jogging portion by 15 seconds.  This seems to be really helping me run any hills that are part of routes in my other training runs.  This workout allows me to increase the intensity of my Monday run while running at same speed as a normal non-speed work training run.

I have been running hill repeats for a few years now and believe it has made me a better runner.  It is nearly impossible to always find a flat training route in your neighborhood or where you get in your training runs.  Incorporating some form of hill training in your routine will simply make you a more well-rounded runner who can take on any terrain during training or racing.  The big benefit of running hill repeats is that it is an easy form of resistance training that helps to build the muscles in your calves, quads, and hamstrings.   And as you know, these are the exact same muscles you use when doing speed work.  I have noticed that my Tuesday speed sessions have become easier since I started doing hill repeats.  Don’t get me wrong, hills are hard.  But isn’t most of what we experience in life that makes us stronger hard.  Get outside your comfort zone and add hills to your training.  You will be surprised at what it does for you both mentally and physically.

Apr 27– 6.10 miles (1:03:13, 10:22 pace) – Hill Repeats
Apr 28 – 3.20 miles (24:19, 7:36 pace) – Speed Work
Apr 30 – 5.30 miles (43:14, 8:09 pace) – Tempo Run
May 1 – 6.20 miles (56:22, 9:05 pace)
May 2 – 9.20 miles (1:23:35, 9:05 pace)
May 3 – 6.20 miles (57:01, 9:12 pace)
May 4 – 6.60 miles (1:05:36, 9:56 pace) – Hill Repeats
May 5 – 4.50 miles (36:45, 8:10 pace) – Speed Work
May 7 – 5.70 miles (46:13, 8:15 pace) – Tempo Run
May 8 – 5.50 miles (49:02, 8:55 pace)
May 9 – 9.50 miles (1:28:29, 9:19 pace)
May 10 – 5.30 miles (48:32, 9:09 pace)

Total Miles:  73.30 miles
2020 Total Miles:  653.80 miles

Next Relay is at Altitude - Tips for Running at Altitude

Before the worldwide pandemic hit, my relay team Password: Penguin had signed up to run another relay.  This time we were going to run in Colorado.  There was some trepidation from a few of my teammates due to the race being at altitude.  But they still decided to run it.  I think it was due to the fact that this race would have us running through some of the most beautiful portions of northern Colorado.  So if the pandemic doesn’t cause the race to be cancelled, the Penguins will be heading to Fort Collins to participate in the 17th Annual Wild West Relay and Get Your Ass Over the Pass Race on August 7th and 8th. 

The Wild West Relay starts off in the foothills Fort Collins before heading deep into the heart of the Rocky Mountains.  The race is part of the Road Less Traveled Relay Races.  I ran one of their relays in the Green Mountains of Vermont back in 2012.  They create their relays to take the runners through beautiful landscapes and across diverse and challenging terrain in iconic locations in the United States.  What I liked about the race I ran with them was that even though it was a difficult course it definitely had a friendly vibe and was totally runner-focused.  The Wild West Relay course will have my team run over two mountain passes and through three national forests before reaching the finish line in Steamboat Springs.  Of course this will mean running at some very lofty altitudes.  Most of the course will be run at over 7,000 feet above sea level. 

With that in mind, I wanted to discuss what it means to run at altitude and what we can expect.  In my work, I have traveled and run at altitude many times.  Let me tell you, if you’re not from a place with a high altitude, running in the thin air of places like Denver or Salt Lake City can be very difficult.  I learned that any time I was going to run at altitude I needed to change my mindset.  I had to make sure that no matter what distance I had planned, I needed to always start a little slower than usual.  Once I got comfortable in my breathing, I could pick up the pace a little bit.  I cannot stress enough how important it is to start out slow.  It is a known fact that your pace will typically slow by 30 seconds per mile above 7,000 feet. 

What can a runner do to be able to race well at altitude?  The first thing to consider is when to arrive ahead of the race.  Most people recommend arriving at least 10 days before the race.  This period of time allows your body to adapt to the demands of altitude and acclimate to the thinner air.  This is typically not possible for most runners.   Based on other friends who travel and run at altitude, they all agree that arriving 48 hours prior to the start of the race will allow your body to avoid the most detrimental inhibitors of performance at altitude.  It is during the first 7 days at altitude that your body starts to adapt to working with less oxygen.   At 6,000 feet above sea level you have 17% less oxygen making a hard effort seem even harder.

I have found that one of the best things a runner can do to help acclimate is to hydrate.  Living in the desert, I am accustomed to drinking water constantly.  But most articles about running and training at altitude stress hydration.  When I get to a city at altitude, I make it a point to stay hydrated to help my body more easily adjust to the higher altitude.  The fact is that air is much drier at altitude, so like in the desert, I find that I need about twice the amount of water I would normally consume at sea level.   In Boy Scouts we always said, “Before you hit the trail, your urine best be pale.”  It isn’t a bad mantra for running at altitude.

I was recently reading about things a runner can do to help his body be better prepared for running at altitude.  One article noted that our red blood cell mass and oxygen demands increase at a higher altitude.  The author recommended that one way to prepare your body to run at altitude was to supplement your diet with iron before arriving at altitude.  The typical recommended daily amount of iron for women is 18 milligrams and for men is 8 milligrams.  If you add an iron supplement, it is said that it helps prevent altitude sickness and helps to increase red blood cell counts.  Most recommend increasing your iron intake by at least 5x for 30 days prior to your race.  However, since I am not a doctor, please consult with your doctor before increasing your iron supplementation.

While arriving early and increasing your iron intake can help, there is only one thing that can truly prepare you for a race at altitude and with a lot of elevation changes – do some hill training.  I have studied this relay’s course and there are definitely numerous uphills and downhills.  This means that to really be prepared, it's a good idea to add a hill workout once a week to your training which will help improve your hill running form.   Luckily for me, I have been including hill training as part of my weekly training for several years now.  A few of my teammates live in areas with no hills.  So overcome this, they have prepared for past hilly relays by running their hills in parking garages.  Other options available are climbing stairs or running up the stadium bleachers at the local high school.  The key is to get your legs used to climbing however you can.  There is no excuse to not include hill training.  Remember, if it’s easier on your legs to climb the hill, it easier the run is overall. 

The other thing I learned running at altitude and is good advice in general is to learn to run by effort, not by pace.  As I said before, it is clear that no matter how trained you are for a race you will simply run slower at altitude.  I will be coaching my teammates to use their perceived effort, not their pace/speed, as their guide.   It is best to ease into the run gradually increasing effort as you feel more comfortable with your breathing.  If you really start to feel good after a couple of miles, then it is time to increase the intensity.  The key to knowing your perceived effort is to learn your paces during training and how they feel.  This knowledge will allow you to know what effort level to dial in on race day.

I am not worried about running this relay even at altitude.  I will train hard to prepare.  I will force myself to take the first mile of each of my three legs at a slow pace until I feel ready to increase my speed.  But most importantly, I plan to take advantage of the great views as I run through the mountains.  I plan to enjoy a leisurely paced run to keep my heart rate in line as my body works harder to get oxygen.  As I have said before, a huge part of racing is the mental battle as you run each leg of a relay.  The key is to stay positive and know that even when my lungs and legs are burning, I can finish.  Hopefully these few tips I have provided will help you when you have the chance to run at altitude.

Apr 13 – 7.10 miles (1:10:46, 9:58 pace) – Hill Repeats
Apr 14 – 3.10 miles (24:28, 7:53 pace) – Speed Work
Apr 16 – 5.10 miles (42:00, 8:14 pace) – Tempo Run
Apr 17 – 5.50 miles (49:45, 9:03 pace)
Apr 18 – 8.10 miles (1:14:08, 9:08 pace)
Apr 19 – 5.10 miles (47:32, 9:19 pace)
Apr 20 – 6.20 miles (1:02:14, 10:02 pace) – Hill Repeats
Apr 21 – 3.20 miles (25:01, 7:49 pace) – Speed Work
Apr 23 – 5.10 miles (41:30, 8:08 pace) – Tempo Run
Apr 24 – 5.50 miles (48:55, 8:53 pace)
Apr 25 – 8.10 miles (1:17:42, 9:36 pace)
Apr 26 – 5.50 miles (48:21, 8:47 pace)

Total Miles:  67.60 miles
2020 Total Miles:  580.50 miles

What I am doing during the pandemic

Like most of you, I have been subject to a stay-at-home order issued by my governor.  He was a little late to the party but he finally came around and issued the order on March 30th.  It feels very strange to be quarantined in my own home.  If you are like me, you are healthy and can’t fully understand why we have to do this to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.  We all know that it is the right thing to do because it will protect others from us if we are sick and don’t know it or we happen to be an asymptomatic carrier.  Since the order was issued, I have been practicing social distancing and staying at home only venturing out to get groceries.  As weird as it all seems, I have been taking this time at home with my wife to read a lot and reflect on what is really important in my life.

My reflections have made me realize that so much of what I thought was critical and important really isn’t in the grand scheme of things.  I have concluded that staying at home has some real benefits.  The first being that I get to spending more time with my wife.  My son and his fiancée come over once a week to visit which is helping keep some semblance of normalcy in my life.  As we spend time together it helps to reinforce how much my family matters to me especially when I can’t see them as often as I would like.  They are with me no matter what and I have realized how important they are in keeping me grounded.  I am choosing to take this once in a lifetime opportunity to spend as much time with my family and cherish every moment.

I have found that being quarantined plus being out of work has given me more ‘me time’.  I have chosen to take this time to evaluate myself, my career and to try to figure out who I am today.   If nothing else, it has taught me that I am more than my job.  I have so much more to me than I realized.  I have started to get rid of the doubts I have in my abilities and simply taught myself how to be more comfortable in my own skin.  Best of all it has made me love myself more which ultimately will allow me to love others more easily.  During this stay-at-home period, I have found productive ways to keep myself busy like taking an on-line class for my real estate license, reading books I have always meant to read and exercising more intensely.  This is helping me to maintain some sense of normalcy during this trying time.

The toughest part of this whole quarantine is that I have always thrived on my social interactions.  Now I can’t go out and at meet friends, go shopping for fun, get a haircut, see a movie or more importantly going to my gym.  These are all places where I can get the social interactions I so enjoy.  There are times that I feel I am being lazy and I definitely get bored more often.  The worst part is I cannot do a full job search as there simply are no jobs hiring at this time.  If they were, interviewing would be problematic.  Since I am unable to have these interactions, I have come to value my freedom to go out and meet friends and family anytime and anywhere even more.

One of the challenges of spending so much time at home is that I tend to snack more than usual.  I try to avoid snacking unnecessarily.  I don’t want to gain any weight.  In fact, I am trying to get back down to the weight I was when I ran Boston in 2009.  I felt really good at that weight and was actually faster on the road.  To avoid it, I have set a routine for myself on when and how much I consume.  I use the My Fitness Pal app which shows me how many calories I am burning and consuming. This way I can make sure I am not overeating.  Don’t get me wrong I have bad days where I snack and eat more than I should.  But I get right back on track the next day and don’t punish myself for not following my plan.

I am sticking to my running routine.  I get up early every morning but Wednesday and run.  My routine includes hill repeats on Monday, speed work on Tuesday, tempo runs on Thursday, recovery miles on Friday, long runs on Saturday and more recovery miles on Sunday.  The goal is to run at least 30 miles per week.  Since I am not training for a specific race right now these are good maintenance runs and miles.  When I am ready to ramp up for a race, I will be prepared.  Running is the one thing that I do each day that gives me a little bit of a sense of the freedom I have lost even if I cross the street when I see a runner coming towards me.  Can’t be too safe these days.

My hope is that when we all finally emerge from this period of isolation; we will all realize how important our freedom is in our daily lives.  I hope that we will all be a little friendlier and more forgiving.  I hope that it makes us all want to lead a healthier lifestyle which will include maintaining a healthy body.  And finally, I hope that it will give us all a feeling of gratitude towards all of the people who worked to help those struck down with the virus and all those individuals who were considered essential workers.  They are the true heroes who risked their well-being to allow us to maintain a little bit of normalcy in our daily lives. 

I will close with this prayer:

A Prayer of Hope During this Pandemic
By Rabbi Naomi Levy, originally appeared on nashuva.com

We are frightened, God,
Worried for our loved ones,
Worried for our world.
Helpless and confused,
We turn to You
Seeking comfort, faith and hope.
Teach us God, to turn our panic into patience,
And our fear into acts of kindness and support.
Our strong must watch out for our weak,
Our young must take care of our old.
Help each one of us to do our part to halt the spread of this virus
Send strength and courage to the doctors and nurses
In the frontlines of this battle,
Fortify them with the full force of their healing powers.
Send wisdom and insight to the scientists
Working day and night across the world to discover healing treatments.
Bless their efforts, God.
Fill our leaders with the wisdom and the courage
To choose wisely and act quickly.
Help us, God, to see that we are one world,
One people
Who will rise above this pandemic together.
Send us health God,
Watch over us,
Grace us with Your love,
Bless us with Your healing light.
Hear us God,
Heal us God,
Amen.

Mar 30 – 7.10 miles (1:11:21, 10:03 pace) – Hill Repeats
Mar 31 – 3.10 miles (24:25, 7:53 pace) – Speed Work
Apr 2 – 5.10 miles (41:53, 8:13 pace) – Tempo Run
Apr 3 – 5.50 miles (48:53, 8:53 pace)
Apr 4 – 8.10 miles (1:14:32, 9:12 pace)
Apr 5 – 5.10 miles (45:19, 8:53 pace)
Apr 6 – 6.10 miles (1:03:17, 10:13 pace) – Hill Repeats
Apr 7 – 3.10 miles (24:07, 7:47 pace) – Speed Work
Apr 9 – 5.10 miles (41:52, 8:12 pace) – Tempo Run
Apr 10 – 6.20 miles (55:21, 8:56 pace)
Apr 11 – 8.20 miles (1:16:08, 9:17 pace)
Apr 12 – 5.10 miles (47:21, 9:17 pace)

Total Miles:  67.80 miles
2020 Total Miles:  512.90 miles

COVID-19 and I am still Running

In December there was a new contagious respiratory disease detected in China.  Little did we know at the time that by the beginning of March it would have spread worldwide.  We now all know it as COVID-19 or the coronavirus.  We learned that this particular virus originated in Wuhan, China.  On Jan. 21, the 1st confirmed case in appeared in the United States.  On Feb. 26, we learned that the 1st case of suspected local transmission had occurred in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in a patient in California with no travel history to an outbreak area, nor contact with anyone diagnosed with the virus.  Shortly thereafter, Oregon, Washington and New York reported their own cases of possible community transmission. 

Then what we had feared finally happened when on February 29, we got word of the 1st deaths reported in United States. It was reported that two deaths had occurred on February 26 at a nursing home in Kirkland, WA.  March 15, the CDC warned Americans against large gatherings.  By March 17, the Coronavirus had spread to all 50 states.  With this news, the CDC warned the people of the United States to not hold or attend gatherings larger than 50 people, including conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events and weddings for eight weeks, recommending that individuals cancel or postpone those events to avoid spreading the virus or introducing it into new communities.  Personally this meant my son’s wedding scheduled for April 18th had to be rescheduled.

On Thursday, the United States saw an increase of more than 15,000 cases in one day.  This has now pushed the total number of confirmed cases over 82,000. China, in comparison, has reported 81,285 cases.  Now I have no confidence in China’s numbers.  But it is definitely getting worse here in the Unites States.  Because of this surge and our country’s attempt to “flatten the curve”, we are being asked to social distance ourselves.  Basically place ourselves in quarantine.  The hope is that social distancing will slow the spread of infections.  Social distancing refers to different ways of keeping people separated and the reason for rescheduling my son’s wedding.

I have decided to adhere to the recommendations not because I am scared.  I know that I am in really good health and do not have any of the risk factors described by the CDC.  My individual risk is low.  Instead, I have chosen to stay home as much as possible to protect those of us who are at a higher risk like my parents who are in their 80s.  I am hopeful that the rest of the country will also take these actions to help stop the spread of the disease.  If we all do our part then we are performing a mitzvah (a good deed) by protecting the most vulnerable and keeping our hospitals from overcrowing should these people need more serious medical interventions.

So the only outlet I have now is my running.  I guess I should feel blessed that I have a sport that can help me stay in shape that I have already been doing for years.  I miss going to the gym and working out with friends.  I had just started attending spin classes to try and change up my routine.  Obviously, that is on hold for at least another 4-6 weeks.  But regardless, I get outside every morning and run.  It helps me clear my head and reduces the stress I feel in being cooped up in my home. 

I hope that you are all staying safe and doing your part to stem the spread of this deadly virus.  Remember that simply getting  30 to 60 minutes of moderate to brisk activity daily can help your boost your immune system and help to keep viruses at bay. When you are out running, walking, hiking, biking or whatever you are doing to stay in shape, be courteous and stay 6 feet away.  No one will take it personally.  But don’t forget to say hello, wave or simply nod as you pass them.   We still need to know that we are connected with our friends and neighbors.  We are all in this together.

Feb 24 – 4.70 miles (50:10, 10:41 pace) – Hill Repeats
Feb 25 – 6.30 miles (52:00, 8:15 pace) – Speed Work
Feb 29 – 8.10 miles (1:14:15, 9:10 pace)
Mar 1 – 7.30 miles (1:07:22, 9:14 pace)
Mar 2 – 7.10 miles (1:12:53, 10:16 pace) – Hill Repeats
Mar 3 – 3.10 miles (21:54, 7:04 pace) – Speed Work
Mar 5 – 8.30 miles (1:10:49, 8:32 pace) – Tempo Run
Mar 6 – 5.10 miles (46:18, 9:05 pace)
Mar 7 – 7.20 miles (1:04:54, 9:01 pace)
Mar 9 – 6.20 miles (1:01:59, 10:00 pace) – Hill Repeats
Mar 10 – 6.70 miles (54:36, 8:09 pace) – Speed Work
Mar 12 – 8.30 miles (1:10:47, 8:32 pace) – Tempo Run
Mar 13 – 5.10 miles (45:31, 8:56 pace)
Mar 14 – 8.10 miles (1:12:03, 8:54 pace)
Mar 15 – 3.50 miles (31:15, 8:56 pace)
Mar 16 – 4.50 miles (53:23, 11:52 pace) – Hill Repeats
Mar 17 – 7.30 miles (1:01:47, 8:28 pace) – Speed Work
Mar 19 – 8.10 miles (1:14:39, 9:13 pace)
Mar 20 – 5.10 miles (47:49, 9:23 pace)
Mar 21 – 5.10 miles (44:39, 8:45 pace)
Mar 22 – 5.10 miles (54:36, 9:03 pace)
Mar 23 – 5.30 miles (54:36, 8:53 pace)
Mar 24 – 3.10 miles (54:36, 8:28 pace) – Tempo Run
Mar 26 – 7.10 miles (1:04:04, 9:02 pace)
Mar 27 – 7.10 miles (1:03:16, 8:55 pace)
Mar 28 – 9.10 miles (1:22:28, 9:04 pace)
Mar 29 – 6.20 miles (56:40, 9:09 pace)

Total Miles:  168.20 miles
2020 Total Miles:  445.10 miles

Running with Friends - 2020 Mesa Half Marathon

On February 8, I headed out to Mesa Riverview Shopping Center to participate in the 2020 Sprouts Mesa Half Marathon.  Since I had run the Ragnar Del Sol relay the weekend before, I had no plans to run this race in any goal time.  Instead, I was going to meet up with my friend Amber (who had also run Del Sol) and run together the whole way.  With no goal in mind, I got to the starting line with no pre-race jitters.  This meant that I could just enjoy the journey knowing time didn’t matter.  Our only goal was to reach the finish line.

What a lot of my running friends don’t understand is that every workout doesn't have to be completed alone.  And you can choose to run any race with a friend.  If you choose to run with a friend or a group you may find that you can help improve your performance, making the sport more fun, and even help you learn a thing or two.   I have run with Amber numerous times in training and I find that it makes the miles go by faster no matter what pace we are running.  If you are contemplating running a race or training run with a friend here are a few reasons to do it.

First and foremost, if you agree to run with a friend how much harder would it be for you to bail when you know they will be out there waiting for you to show?  Making a date to run with a friend creates accountability.  I hate disappointing my friends, so I never miss a run if I agree to run with someone.  This was definitely the case in this race.  My quads were still pretty sore when I got up to head to the race.  I had received a free entry to the race through work (I work at Sprouts).  If I blew off the race, it wouldn’t cost me anything.  But I knew Amber was going to be there and I couldn’t let her down no matter how sore I was feeling.

Second, even though Amber and I had no plan to run this race at our best pace, I have found that running with a friend who is faster than me helps me get better.  If you read my blog regularly, I do a speed session and a tempo run every week.  Even though these workouts have helped me increase and maintain my speed, when I run with a faster friend, I actually work even harder.  This is usually because I can’t keep up with their pace completely.  But working to keep up with my friend pushes me outside of my comfort zone.  It is there that real improvement happens.

Finally, this was a day that my legs were feeling heavy and sore.  As I headed to the race, I knew that my heart wasn’t really in it.  And I knew that if I had to run the 13.1 miles alone it would feel like a never-ending slog.  The best part of this race day was that I knew no matter what happened out there, Amber and I would be there to support and encourage each other.  I knew that the time would pass quickly.  We would provide each other the morale boost we would need as we approach the last few miles of the race.  That is exactly what happened.  We chatted our way along the course.  I don’t even remember passing the mile markers.  The next thing I knew we were approaching the finish line.

Amber and I crossed the finish line together.  I ran the 2020 Sprouts Mesa Marathon in 2:25:26 which was a leisurely 11:07 pace.  The surprising thing was that I actually felt great as I collected my medal and walked through the finish line shoot.  This was not even my worst half marathon performance.  The race proved that running with a friend makes the whole experience that much more satisfying.  The best part was that the day after the race I felt great and even went out for a 3.2 mile recovery run.  So go out there and find a friend or friends you can train and race with.  It will definitely improve your running in so many ways.

Feb 10 – 4.60 miles (50:02, 10:52 pace) – Hill Repeats
Feb 11 – 8.40 miles (1:12:57, 8:41 pace) – Tempo Run
Feb 13 – 3.10 miles (22:11, 7:09 pace) – Speed Work
Feb 15 – 7.10 miles (1:06:13, 9:20 pace)
Feb 16 – 7.30 miles (1:08:20, 9:22 pace)
Feb 17 – 5.20 miles (54:18, 10:27 pace) – Hill Repeats
Feb 18 – 6.30 miles (51:51, 8:14 pace) – Speed Work
Feb 20 – 8.30 miles (1:10:40, 8:41 pace) – Tempo Run
Feb 21 – 5.10 miles (45:27, 8:55 pace)
Feb 22 – 7.10 miles (1:06:00, 9:18 pace)
Feb 23 – 8.30 miles (1:17:16, 9:19 pace)

Total Miles:  70.80 miles
2020 Total Miles:  276.90 miles