I'm Not a Group Runner

Ok, I admit it this whole group running concept is still foreign to me.  I’ve tried it a few times.  Most notably a practice run a few weeks before the Mercedes Marathon.  I started out in the group then realized I could not keep up with their pace and then ended up in no man’s land between two other sets of running groups.  I usually get frustrated by then and start refocusing on the run.  This is the usual ending of my story when it comes to group runs. 

In theory I think they would be a lot of fun.   I know there is a commonality.  We are runners.   I think it would be fun comparing battle scars and race stores.    I just can’t seem to find the right group.  I am not exactly frustrated with this.  Running has become “me” time.  I have become selfish with this time and really don’t want to share it with someone else.  Having to worry if I am holding them up by the pace I am running or vice versa.  I also do not always have a set schedule when I run especially on the weekend.   During the week I definitely don’t want to commit to a run especially at 5AM in the morning.  I also am careful where I run.  I am not a big fan of running on busy streets and usually keep to parks (Veteran's Park)  or dedicated walking trails (Lakeshore Greenway).   This allows me to use my Ipod (I know, I know, many runners believe running with an Ipod is a cardinal sin) so I can listen to music or sometimes talk radio.

My compromise so far to the “group run” is the “group talk”.  I know several other runners and we always get together and talk about where we ran over the weekend.  What race we have coming up.  What injury we just incurred.    I especially enjoy talking with a group at the end of a run or race.  There is always good interaction and discussion.   This gives me the fix I need.  I have not given up hope that there will be a running group for me. But for now just getting together with people to talk about running gives me the motivation I need to continue my running routine.

Bury the Cows

Back when I was a young child long car rides were excruciatingly boring.  Two hours in a car seemed like an eternity.  Today, kids have the luxury of tablets, portable DVD players and other electronic devices to make the trip go by faster.  But, even though these items are great to have on a trip, shouldn't part of the traveling be used to spend time and interact with your family?

Even with all of these electronic devices  I am glad to know that the old fashioned car games are still being played.  I recently learned of a game for the car I had not heard about before.  The game is called “Bury the Cows”.  It’s a simple game. Each side of the car looks out the window and you count the cows that you see.  So it’s the left side of the car vs. the right.  If you pass a cemetery you lose all of your cows.  Thus the name “Bury the Cows”.    I thought this would be a simple game at first.  How many cows do you see on a trip?  How many cemeteries do you pass?  I quickly learned a lot more than you think.  This game is a good diversion for a trip and is fun for children and the adults.  Like most games the rules start out simple but as you play certain modifications will come up.  For example, what happens when you see a truck transporting cows?  This has developed into a controversy.  Some people I know ruled that these cows should be treated as “special” and these cows are granted immunity from ever being buried.  However, others feel those cows are probably closer to getting buried than other cows and should not be counted at all.  And what about the Chik- -Fil- A cows?  You know the 3D ones on the bill board or in front of the restaurant.    And then there is the person dressed up as the cow in front of the restaurant.  And, do chickens get counted as a ½ a point since Chik-Fil-A cows tell you to “Eat Mor Chicken”?  As you can see many sub rules can be added to make the game even more competitive.  Half the fun is making up crazy rules.

At some point the rules do get too complicated and then you move onto another game.  License Tag Bingo is always a safe alternative.  That’s about as straight forward as you can get.  Try to get all 50 states license plates while on your trip.  This one ends up being a longer term game and can stretch into weeks and even months before it is completed.  The last time my family played this it ended about six months later and that was after an initial combined ten hour trip.  Finding a car that has Alaska or Hawaii is not that easy.  Of course there is the old standard “Punch Bug” game.  This can be played anytime you get in the car.  My family has played it so often I catch playing it by myself when I commute to work.  We use the pretty standard rules.  The person who sees the VW Beetle first and is able to correctly identify the color gets to count that car in their total.  We did add a few rules.  Classic Beetles circa 1970 get counted as two.  If you identify a car that turns out not to be a Beetle you get one subtracted from your total.  

Another fun game is Trip Scavenger Hunt.  If you know the route you are traveling or you can use your favorite search engine to find interesting landmarks along your route.  Make a list of these items and have your passengers look for these items.  If you are not on the trip have them take pictures (not when they are the driver of course) when they find the item and email them to you.  That way you know where they are on the trip and you get to take part in the trip.   I traveled from Birmingham to Tallahassee quite a bit.  It's a boring drive so you have time to identify obscure items.  If you travel that way via I65 through US231  Look for these:  1.  "Go to Church or the Devil Will Get You" sign (I65 between Birmingham and Montgomery.   2.  The golden peanut (Dothan).  3.  The rooster made out of car fenders (US231 between Montgomery and Dothan).  4.  The metal pig (also between US231 between Mongomery and Dothan).  There is also a house along US231 that sells ghourds.  They have been doing this for over twenty years.   I never stopped to buy one, maybe I should.

All of these games accomplish many things beyond just passing the time.  It helps you notice things on your trip that you might not have seen.  You get family interaction.   So, give one of these games a try the next trip you take with your family or co-workers.  Happy motoring!

PR

The first time I read/heard the term “PR” was when I purchased my first copy of Runner’s World Magazine.  I kept seeing phrases like these:

“How to run a PR”

“Get a PR on your next 5K“

“Why you did not hit a PR in your last race”

I had no idea what a “PR” was.  I thought it must be important.  Typing “PR” into Google did not help.  I was pretty sure it had nothing to do with public relations or Puerto Rico.  So I had to swallow my pride and ask a “rookie” question to some running veterans.  It turns out that “PR” stands for personal record.  Apparently when you are a runner you have to be obsessed with doing better in a race than you did the last time.  I knew there was a reason I took up running!  

My first 5K was in January of 2011.  My time was a little slow for me even though it was my first time to run a race in a very long time.  In that particular race they changed the route from the previous year so all the runners who ran the year before turned right when they should have gone straight.  Like a well-trained lemming I did the same.  That added several minutes to my time.  I ran my next 5K a month later.  My first “PR”!  I have to admit it did feel pretty good and it did add motivation for that race and the next.  Three months later I ran my next 5K and ran it even quicker.  Wow, another “PR”.  I am an awesome runner!  Then reality set in.  The next 5K a month later my time was higher than my previous race.  How could this happen?  A temporary bout of runner’s depression set in for me.  I got over it.   It was a great motivational tool for me to work harder and I did.

My first and second years of running I had a lot of “PR”s.   I was pretty proud of my time improvements.  However, I have found that the longer you are a runner the harder it becomes to “PR”.  Heading into my third year of running I have noticed a disturbing trend where my times are several minutes higher from the previous time I ran that race.  I attributed this to changing my running strategy from speed to endurance.  The last year I was training for a marathon and primarily focused on endurance.  I am refocused on speed training.  My next race is one I ran last year.  I am very interested to see if I can better my time from last year. 

For me “PR”s can be a great motivator.  However I can no longer use this as my only motivator.   I have to understand that some races are not going to be “PR” races.   For 5K’s it will be a long time before I “PR” again.  I ran a 5K last year that was basically downhill the entire way.   I have not come close to the time I had in that race for a 5K.   When I run 5K’s now I know that the downhill race I ran is not a good benchmark for a “PR”.  I still have some races where there is room for a “PR”.   Specifically half-marathons, I have a time goal in mind for these races and I hope to hit the goal by the end of the year.   

Don't Die on Saturday Night in Birmingham

About 10 months ago The Birmingham News parent company decreased circulation from seven days a week to three.   In Birmingham we get the paper on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.  First off, call me "old school"  if you want.  I liked getting the paper seven days a week. Obviously I use the Internet.  I read news reports online. But, the newspaper allows me to do something that the Internet will never be able to do. It lets me relax and unwind at the end of the day. I sit at a computer screen all day long and the last thing I want to do is come home and keep doing the same thing just to find out what is going on in the world.  I can skim through an entire newspaper in less than ten minutes, filtering the news reports I want to read.  Try doing that on the Internet. 

Since the Birmingham News executed this plan the level of timely and relevant information has diminished.   For example, the Mercedes Marathon was held in Birmingham on a Sunday in February.  The news did a pretty good job on Friday letting everyone know there was going to be race on Sunday.   However, the after race coverage was non existent.  There was a brief article published on The Birmingham News-AL.com  web site Sunday and Monday morning but coverage was non existent for the Wednesday paper edition.  This scenario has occurred over and over again for major news events that break late Saturday or Sunday since the circulation reduction was implemented. 

Even dying does not fit into the news cycle anymore.  If you die Saturday night the earliest your obituary can be posted in the newspaper is Wednesday.  On Wednesday we get Dear Abby and all of the comics for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on Wednesday.  Talk about sugar over load. It's like holding your desserts for three days and then eating all three of them at once.  My kids used to be avid readers of the newspaper granted it was mostly comics but they were still reading something that did not involve a plug.  I've noticed a decline in their interest in reading the paper due to the circulation  change. 

So, our local paper has said that newspapers are a dying industry and since it's gonna die anyway let's go ahead and kill it off.  I suspect The Birmingham News will eventually go away.  Somebody will either come in and take it over or they will go to once a week just so there can be some venue to send out all of the weeky flyers. I am still hanging on to getting the paper three days a week. However, my loyalty to the paper is fading fast.  I am even considering subscribing to The Tuscaloosa News.  They somehow have figured out how to publish a paper seven days a week.    I hope someone comes in and realizes although there are competing media alternatives  out there if you put a quality and timely product out there people will buy it regardless of what format it is in.

I Run for ......

Dick's Sporting Goods recently finished up a thirteen week series of videos.  The campaign was called "What do you run for?".  Each week they posted a very inspirational video of why this person or group of people ran.   I  somehow came across this right at the beginning and followed it religiously.  Here is a link to these videos:

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=20154356&ab=ACR1_ASpot_RunFor

These videos were very well done.  They were very inspiring stories and I took something away from every one of them.

These videos got me to thinking why do I run?  Well I hate to say the initial reason I started to run was ice cream.  I love all kinds of ice cream.  Mayfield, Edy's, Breyer's, and even the store brands.  Publix makes some awesome ice cream by the way.  Their Chocolate Trinity is one of the best ice cream flavors I have ever had.  I am sure you can already tell I have a passion for this subject.  In fact I just finished a bowl of a new flavor called Breyer's  Orange Creamsicle ice cream.  Wow,  why didn't they think of this before?  This ice cream literally tastes like someone opened up a box of Creamsicles and put them in a carton of ice cream.  Again I digress.  You have to know by now I really like ice cream.

So that was the initial reason.  I was getting a little larger than I would like to be and knowing the ice cream passion was not going away anytime soon something had to give.  My running regimen began.  What started as a superficial reason for starting to run opened up a new world for me.  I feel better.  I think better.  I see the world better.  I have accomplished goals I never thought were possible.  After being a runner for a couple of years now, I am even more in awe of the people telling their stores for The Dick's Sporting Goods series.  It makes me want to continue running and the motivation from these people's stories makes it a little easier to run that extra mile or to get up on that cold winter morning knowing that each mile is making be a better person, physically, mentally and spiritually.

Ode to Harmony Mendoza

The Birmingham television market has an incredibly talented group of meteorologist.  They all do a great job of keeping us in the loop on what is going on with the weather.  When there is severe weather they do an exceptional job giving us information to help us stay safe.  I strongly believe this group has saved lives over the years when we have experienced severe weather.  Luckily we don't have bad weather all the time in Birmingham so there is some down time when all the local meteorologists have to tell us it's going to be sunny, hot and humid.  One of the meteorologists in Birmingham that makes the most of this down time is Harmony Mendoza.  She's good with the weather but also adds an element of fun.  One of my favorite spots she does is a weekly segment with the Birmingham Zoo.  This past Sunday's segment was particularly entertaining.  Click the link below for a fun filled three minutes.

http://www.alabamas13.com/story/22663738/birmingham-zoo-dino-discovery-extending-until-labor-day-weekend


Harmony has a very dry sense of humor and this often comes across when she is live on TV.  She will often make off the wall comments about what you should be doing with your day and or about the previous news story.  Her Twitter feed is also entertaining @HarmonyAla13.  She will often tweet pictures of her shoes or some other inside joke that is going on during the newscast.  Sometimes she loses track of time during her segment and I can envision a frantic producer yelling into the microphone to refocus her.  She mostly does weather on the weekend in the morning.  Sometimes she fills in during the 4:30am weekday news and you get that extra dose of Harmony that makes your day a little happier.  Don't get me wrong I can see why someone might not share my enthusiasm but I like her style.

Hey N.S.A. Read my blog!

There has been a lot of discussion lately about the N.S.A. (National Security Agency for those of you that are acronymically challenged) monitoring emails and other various forms of communication.  As a blog “newbie” I say the more the merrier.  I could use a few more people looking at what I am posting.  Actually I welcome it.  You gotta figure once one person reads something at the NSA they gotta pass it onto their supervisor who has to pass it on to their supervisor.  C’mon it is the Government.  I also think there is a great opportunity with the NSA looking at emails.  95% of my emails are junk.  I get emails about this sale or that event.  I subscribe to Runner’s World and made the mistake of giving them my email address.  I get at least six emails a day about some book they are trying to push.  This morning I got about ten emails with “Breaking News” in the subject announcing the name of Kim and Kanye’s baby…..North West… really?     All I would ask of the NSA is if you’re going to read my emails at least delete them for me especially all of the worthless ones.   

No really, I get the whole privacy thing but if you think about it our lives have really become more public by our choice.  Many of us willingly sign up for Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Seriously people it’s called the World Wide Web.   And cell phones, do you think that’s private?  Any of you who watch 48 Hours, Dateline or any other real crime shows know they can track your every move when you “ping” a cell phone tower.  I run with a GPS watch, talk about creepy.  You run your miles and plug your watch into a computer and it knows everywhere you ran and what pace you ran it at.  Every store has cameras now and most busy street corners do as well.    I think Uncle Si from Duck Dynasty would say it best if you asked him.  “Man, I don’t care if it’s the NSA, FBI, ACC, SEC, ABC, DEF, or GHI.”  “Just bring it all on like Donkey Kong!”   Ok, maybe he would not say that but I have been trying to work an Uncle Si quote into a blog all week. 

Yes, there is a complicated and fine line between our nation’s security, right to privacy and crossing over into George Orwell’s 1984 territory.  Some of these invasions into our privacy come with welcomed benefits and some are somewhat disturbing.  Maybe some of these lines have been crossed maybe not.   In theory you can still take yourself “off the grid” you can choose not to have a cell phone; you can choose not to use the internet.   Most of us would not find this to be very practical and very inconvenient.

BTW, North West, best of luck as you start your life, you’re gonna need it.

4:10AM….Snooze….4:20AM…..Snooze…..4:30AM

Twenty plus years ago I decided to become an early morning exerciser.    It’s not an easy decision to make but as my life got busier it became harder and harder to exercise in the evening.   So I took the leap one morning.  It was a difficult transition at first.  You are a little sleepy in the morning and by 10:00AM you are usually starving. But for me the rewards to this schedule far outweigh the hurdles (no pun intended) adopting this strategy.   There are many epiphanies I have experienced while working out during this time period.  First, I am not the only crazy person that does this.  There are many people out on the road during this hour.  I am not the only one at the gym.  It’s not the chaotic mess at 5:30PM.  It’s very laid back but be warned you still have to get there early for a bike in a spinning class most of the time these classes are full.

I start my day the night before.  I put together everything I will be wearing to work the next day.  I also pack my lunch.  I have it all packed and ready to go.  Why do I do this?  Because at 4:30AM I do not think clearly and inevitably I will leave something out.  There is nothing more frustrating than driving to the gym and realizing you left your pants at home.  I am usually in bed by 10:00 but sometimes I can stretch that to 10:30.  Anything after that and the likelihood of me getting up at 4:30AM diminishes.  The first alarm goes off at 4:10.  I hit the snooze bar and go to sleep for another 10 minutes,  I do that one more time before the dreaded 4:30 time is upon me.  The hardest part is getting out of bed.  Once I make that “commitment” it’s a good sign I will make it to the gym.  I put my gym clothes on and grab a light breakfast.  I also get in a few minutes of the local news and weather.  Yes, the local news starts at 4:30AM on three of the local channels.  This lets me know what the weather’s going to be like for the day.  I have had a few mornings where I made the call of not working out due to the weather.  On April 27^th 2011, watching the weather stopped me from going to work out.   That morning a tornado crossed one of the roads I take to the gym.

I head out around 5:00-5:10 and I am usually at the gym by 5:30.  I either take a class as part of my cross training regimen or run.  This time of year is great due to the long days.  By 5:30AM it is daylight enough to run outside.  I run through the neighborhoods around the gym. During the winter months I usually run on the gym’s indoor track.  It takes nine laps to make a mile.  Some people find this to be tedious but for me I prefer it over running on a treadmill.  In addition to using my Nike Sports Watch I bought a clicker counter at Office Depot that helps me keep track of how many laps I have ran.  I can’t mentally keep track of this on my own ESPECIALLY at 5:30AM in the morning.  I usually work out between 1-1/2 hours.  When I am through I shower at the gym and head directly to work.   I always have a morning snack when I get to work.  By this item it has been over three hours since I have eaten and I am hungry! 

There are some drawbacks to this workout strategy.    Things that are not so great include the winter time.  22 degrees, wind blowing and the darkness at 4:30 in the morning is not fun.  I mentioned this earlier but have to bring it up again.  Forgetting an article of clothing is frustrating.  The items I have forgotten the most are socks, t-shirts and underwear.  I keep a backup pair of socks and underwear in my gym bag.  I have been known to stop by Wal-Mart on the way to work if I have forgotten a belt.  Dress shirts, pants and shoes are a deal breaker.  I usually have to head back home if I forget one of these.  That throws the whole morning off.

These drawbacks do not outweigh the positives for me.  I love the feeling of accomplishment when I am through working out.  It makes the rest of the day more enjoyable.  I love the people that work out at this time in the morning.  They are all there to do one thing, exercise (a novel concept for the gym…right?).  It’s a close group of people that will usually give you a hard time if you miss a morning.   I love the calmness of the morning.  Whether I am running or just working out it seems less hectic.  Lastly, depending on the time of the year you get to experience amazing sun rises. 

 

 This is why I love this time of the day more than any other time.   

Mr. Marathon: I thought I Was In Shape

I started my running regime back in November/December 2010.  Since then I have run nine 5k’s, three 10k’s, one 8k, two 15k’s, two 10 miles, four half marathons, and one Full Marathon.  Some of these I even placed or won my age group.  So I must really be in shape right?   Well, after reaching my goal of running a Full Marathon in February of 2013 let’s just say I got a little complacent.  I have not been running as far and sleeping in a few more mornings then I should.  I am also experiencing the dreaded post marathon weight creep.  I knew it was time to shake things up a bit.  I got back into doing some cross training, more weights at the gym and spinning classes.  I was not exactly getting the results I wanted.  A few weeks ago I decided to take this class at my local gym.  The name sounded pretty innocent.  They call it “Sports Conditioning”.   I was still resting on the fact I was a Full Marathoner now and surely I will be able to keep up in this class.  Boy was I wrong.  The first class I took consisted of the following: 

2 Laps around the track

20 triceps push-ups (on the half ball)

20 lunges with medicine ball (jumping at the end of each lunge)  10 each leg

2 times up and down the stairs.

20 regular push-ups (on the half ball)

20 V ups (lie on your back, lift your legs and arms up to make a V)

You had to do this as many times as you could.  I got through three.  The goal was five. Every week this instructor dreams up new exercises like this.  On top of that he has one of those photographic memories.  All he has to do is ask your name once and he knows it every time he sees you.  This allows him to call your name out when he sees you doing something good and in my case when he sees you “slacking”.  Let me say it is a fun filled hour each week.   

What I have learned from this experience so far is that even though I love to run, it is only one aspect of an exercise program.  I have always known that cross training was important.  When I was training for the full marathon I ran more than I cross trained strictly due to lack of time.  I am not a fast runner and when you are using a training program that says you have to run 40 miles in a week there is not much time to do anything else, especially when you work a full time job and have a family.   The moral of the story today is cross training is very important if you want to continuously improve as a runner and help lessen injuries.  And, especially if you want to keep up in your local “Sports Conditioning” class!

Red Mountain Park

Have you been to Red Mountain Park?   Wow what an amazing place this is!  As a lifelong resident of Birmingham I have to say this is a great addition to the city.  I was one of the lucky people who got to be one of the first runners at the park during the Birmingham Track Club’s Resolution Run back in December 2011.  I have worked near Red Mountain Park for over twenty years and never knew this area existed.  My first run at the park was very disorienting.  I had no idea where I was going there were no markers and the trails were somewhat primitive.  I went with the 10 mile group and tried to hang on.  This was also one of my first experiences with trail running.  I knew this place was special when I came to the first clearing and saw what appeared to be the remnants of a significant structure (the background picture on this blog page).  The next leg of the run included running up a significant hill.  All I could see were the television towers ahead.   I never thought you could actually go up all the way to the top of where these massive structures are.  As you could imagine the views were amazing.   We then traversed through a more primitive trail.  Along the way you see remnants of buildings, various cables and rail lines.  We approached another clearing that is known as Grace’s Gap Overlook.  What an amazing perspective of the city.  On one side you see the downtown area and on the other side you see Shades Mountain.   Here is a picture of the downtown side.

Since my 2011 run, I have frequented the park sporadically.  This past weekend I went there for a 7.5 mile run.   I ran a similar path to what I have done before but mixed in one of the more complex trails.  I would not recommend one of these trails the first time out.  They are clearly marked as being a more challenging trail.  However, once you get your bearings in the park I would recommend taking this route.  It is hilly, rocky and there are plenty of roots to trip over but it’s a great run.   The transformation of the park from my first run in 2011 is amazing.  The trails are well marked.  There are maps along the way.   There is the zip line area.  There are various stops along the way with markers that give you some insight on everything that occurred in this area back when Birmingham was a steel town.   Yes there are mines throughout the entire park.  One area along the trail has a blocked off waist high fence.  I had never noticed this before and stopped my run to investigate.  This was one of the openings or vents to the mine.  As I leaned over the fence I felt a very cool breeze coming from the vent.  I thought how great is this?  An air conditioning pit stop on a warm summer day!

Here are two links to some of the background of this area and the location of the park.

 General Info:

http://www.redmountainpark.org/

 

History of Area:

http://www.redmountainpark.org/park-overview/history 

One last word of advice, parking is not the greatest.   A lot of people park on the side of the road.  This is a somewhat busy road so be careful as you enter or exit your car.  I usually park at a vacant office building about 100 feet from the entrance to the park.  It’s a little more of a hike to the entrance but it keeps your car off the road.

 

Happy Running!

Phil

It has been reported numerous times over the past few days about Phil Mickelson never winning the US Open.   During the coverage over the weekend the announcers felt compelled to mention this every time Phil was shown on camera.  Hopefully no one was using this as part of a drinking game.  You know the one where you take a sip every time you hear the agreed upon phrase.  They surely would have been very inebriated by 11:00 on Sunday morning.    First off let me say I like Phil always have.  He and I have something in common.  He golfs left handed but writes with his right hand.   Do I feel sorry for Phil that he has never won the US open?  Not really.  The guy has won a lot of golf tournaments AND he makes a very good living play golf.   With that said, I understand his frustration. Is six times being the runner up better than finishing 1^st one time?   A true champion is never satisfied with second place.  However, there has to be a fine line in how you deal with this and what you are willing to accept.   Watching the final round on Sunday I kept seeing Phil miss opportunity after opportunity to pull ahead.  One shot here one shot there and the ending would have been different.   Did the thought of “here I go again” go through his mind. I am sure it did as would anybody in his situation.   In life we are all faced with decisions or situations where we come up short.  Many of these situations occur multiple times.   It’s what we learn from these situations that determine whether these misses were a part of a life lesson that helps us build toward achieving the desired goal or a life set back that leads us down a path of mediocrity. 

I hope that one day Phil gets this “elephant” off his back.  However if he never wins the US Open I hope he can at least say he gave it all he had and he did not let past setbacks undermine his future.

Twitter!

Red Mountain Squatch is now on Twitter.  Please follow me at @RMSquatch