I was going to run Perth

I know I said I was running The Perth Marathon. I was definitely training for The Perth Marathon…

Then I got an email. It said:
Christchurch Airport Marathon
Sunday 03 June
Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k, Kids 3k Mara'Fun
ENTER HERE NOW !

Temptation got the best of me. I called Andrea and asked “Can we skip Perth and go to New Zealand?”

She said it didn’t matter. Then she said the point was for us to go see a new place so maybe we should go the Perth. We looked at pictures of Perth online.

And then I pulled up pictures of Queenstown and she wavered. She said, “wintertime in New Zealand. No kids. Good food and mulled wine in the evening – possibly by a fire. Familiar and comfortable… Okay we can go.”

So today I booked flights and signed me up for the marathon and Andrea for the 10k walk. Anna will be in Texas hanging out with our family and friends there so it will be just Andrea and me. We will run the race the second day we are there and then we will travel around the south island again for a little more than a week and a half.

This will be my third Christchurch Marathon in three years. I will have to step up my training a bit. It will be the third different course I will have run on in the three years I’ve done it so it will be like another new marathon with the same solid organization. It will also be the first time I have run it without Jakeb.

I think our kids are going to be mad when they find out.

I am excited now!

When in Rome

Andrea, Anna and I went to Italy last week. A couple of months back I got a sweet deal on airline tickets from Singapore so we nabbed them to go when it was Anna’s birthday. We saw Italy, ate really good food, drank good coffee and red wine, met new friends and celebrated Anna’s birthday.

I like to run when we travel so I can say that I ran in whatever country we happen to be in. I took my running shoes to Italy but almost didn’t get to use them. Every day was filled with things we wanted to do so in the morning I would wake up and get ready to go to the next thing on the itinerary rather than stretch and get ready to run.

The last day in Rome was an exception where we really didn’t have any plans. Anna wanted to sleep in a bit and Andrea and I were planning to go get some coffee and wander the streets so it gave me a chance to wake up early and put on running clothes and stretch and run the Roman streets.

We stayed in a very central location in Rome and were able to walk and see most of the sights. When I got out of the apartment I knew where I wanted to run. I stepped out of the door and ran west on Via Tomacelli. The weather was overcast and a bit chilly. I ran past coffee bars where people were standing and drinking their espressos and cappuccinos. I have never been to a place with such consistently good coffee.

I took a turn south on Via di Porta Angelica and could see the columns in the distance that line Saint Peter’s square. I ran between the columns and stepped into the square that is in the shadow of Saint Peter’s Basilica. I slowed to a walk and started in a long circle around one of the most holy places on the earth.

There are statues of Jesus and the disciples and various figures of importance to the history of the Catholic Church. Scores of priests and nuns filed across the square towards the basilica for morning mass. It was quiet and still and a moment I cannot capture in words.

After a while I turned my back on the square and started running towards the Tiber River. I ran past Castel Saint Angelo which is an imposing structure and crossed the river to head back towards our apartment. As I ran along the river I passed the only other runner I saw on the whole run heading in the opposite direction from me. Instead of stopping at the apartment I ran past towards the Spanish Steps. When I got there I ran to the top and stopped to look at Rome from the hill above. After a short pause I ran down the steps and back to the apartment.

It was a short run but totally worth it. When in Rome run … whether the Romans do or not.

New Things

New things can be good - not always but often. Here are a couple of new things I really like.

NB310: I bought these shoes while I was in Texas. I have never had any desire to run in minimalist shoes. I am a big guy - 190 pounds at my lightest and right now hovering around 200+. I assumed I could never run in shoes without a ton of cushion and a good solid heal.

When we went home to Texas in December I was supposed to have a new pair of trail shoes waiting for me at Tori’s house but due to shipping problems they were not there. I didn’t bring any running shoes with me because I wanted to save space so I had to make a trip to Sports Authority for a new pair. I didn’t want to spend a bunch of cash on shoes since I had a pair coming. I am cheap that way. I saw a pair of $50 New Balance MT310’s on the shelf. I would never have tried the shoes on in a million years. No heal to speak of and very little mid-sole compared to what I run in. But come on … $50.

I put them on my feet and they felt okay. I thought “I can run in these for a couple of days until my other shoes show up at Tori’s and then I will just wear them around”. Little did I know I would love them and now I do not run in anything else. I have yet to run in the shoes I was waiting for even though they showed up just before we came back to Singapore.

It took some time to get used to running in them because it changes my stride a bit. But so far it is working for me. The only problem is I cannot find them in Singapore. I will have to try to find a comparable model of Brooks. I have been a Brooks faithful for years so maybe they make something I will like. But for now I really like my New Balance MT310s!

Kent Ridge Park loop: I started running a new 5 mile loop a couple of weeks back. From my house I run past Hort Park with all of its botanical smelliness and start ascending Kent Ridge. The first 2 miles or so are really hilly. The ascent to Kent Ridge is on switchbacks and the final couple hundred meters is up steps.

It is not Colorado by any stretch of the imagination but if I run the Speights West Coaster as is the plan I will be running this and Mount Faber much more often. The course profile for that race looks pretty nasty. And running on hills will help.

The middle two miles are relatively flat under West Coast Highway. And the last mile rolls but after the previous four it is killer. I have to finish slow. I really like my new Kent Ridge Loop!

Punch Brothers – Are You Feeling Young Now: I dig the Punch Brothers. I know there are people who mourn the loss of Nickel Creek but if that band had to break up for Chris Thile to make this music with Punch Brothers then it is fine by me.

Are You Feeling Young Now came out yesterday. I downloaded it last night and ran with it playing in my head as I ran Kent Ridge this morning. The music has familiar instrumentation but defies genre. Movement and Location is the first song and I have had it for a couple of weeks - such a rhythmic song and great to run to. It just gets better from there. They cover Radiohead with Kid A. I wonder what Radiohead thinks of their music through a banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar, violin and stand-up bass? It is all too good. I really like the new music from the Punch Brothers and I think the more I listen the more I will like it.

Week 1

So the tattoo healed very well and I started week one of marathon training last Monday (the 6th). It went great. I ran 32 miles this week with a “long run” of 8 miles around MacRitchie this Saturday morning. I felt relatively strong and my feet are holding up well. At least three of the runs have some hills on them and I felt strong on those runs.

The problem is that this morning my legs felt full of lead. It is my fault. I went from 20ish mile weeks to 32 without much of a build-up or rest. So tomorrow I am taking off and I will take my scheduled Thursday rest break and see how it goes from there. Saturday is 9 and I will run it around MacRitchie adding miles on rifle range road to get to the correct distance.

It feels good to be training again. I just don’t want to mess it up.

Realizing potential

You always hope for your kids to have a better life than you do - to accomplish what God has set out for them and to live well. I know that Tori, Jakeb, and Anna have the potential to live a very good life and Andrea and I pray for them to reach for their full potential.

In running Jakeb has already run faster and farther than me. Last weekend he ran a fifty mile race in 9:33:46. He had lots of help from his big sister. Read his report here -> link.

Time off and then marathon training

Running has been good. My foot feels better after what I think was probably the beginning of plantar fasciitis. I took time off when I got my tattoo so it would heal and it helped my foot as well. When I started back I eased in to running. Lately running has been one of those things I just do without too much thought. It feels good not just when I am done but during the primal act of placing one foot in front of the other.

Yesterday afternoon I went back to see Moon so he could finish my tattoo. I wanted it to extend inside my arm and as usual he did an amazing job. In the photo you can tell which part of the tattoo is new by how red it is. While it heals I will take a week or so off. Then it is time to start training for the Perth Marathon. It is not until June but I am going to do a long slow ramp up. My main goal is to run well. I will see how the training goes before I formulate any more specific goals.

2011 --> 2012

In 2011 I ran 1290.1 miles. If I would have known that is the number of miles I would finish with I would have found time to run 9.9 more but the end of the year kind of snuck up on me. 1300 is just another arbitrary number anyway, right?

In 2011 I started the year with a marathon PR at the Texas Marathon on January 1. I also ran another marathon in New Zealand and hiked in Nepal all with Jakeb.

In 2012 I hope to run in Italy. We are going there at the end of February. I plan to train for the Perth Marathon in June and then spend the week afterwards exploring some of the western part of Australia - just Andrea and me. If we are in Singapore long enough we may go visit the North Island of New Zealand and while we are there run the Speights West Coaster. It looks like fun and how cool would it be to have a tech shirt with the Speights logo on it?

Running has helped me. Running is good for my mental, spiritual, emotional and physical health. I know someday my body will not let me run. I hope it is not for a long long time. I am a runner.