Running

A tradition whenever I'm on my way to the Keys. Memories of college at UMiami and photo ID research with friends

First stop, lunch at Woody's in Ellenton.

And so the adventure begins.

Sarah Lavender Smith, one of my favorite trail runner/writers and fellow Inside Trail Racing team member, did a Q&A with me this week and posted it on her site, TheRunnersTrip.com. It was a lot of fun! Check it out here, and be sure to leave her a comment if you liked it! (Gary Gellin, Sarah Lavender Smith, and me) Hope you are getting out on the trails this weekend! - SD

Recently, a few familiar HURT runners got together to share a few Trail Miles, and do a little catching up. Read the Grand Canyon Rim Crossing run report here. a-loha ;-) Download GCR2R2RrunReport3

Remember when every Memorial Day you could count on a really, really long race report from me? Yeah, those were the days. Just as we head into a holiday weekend known for grilling outside, the temperature drops back in time to March. The chill is on, as Glenn Frey likes to say. This weekend used to mark my only 5K entry of the year, but not anymore. After four consecutive years, I stopped running the Tallmadge Memorial 5K and haven't been back since 2010. The race falls on the absolute worst day because my sister holds an annual party the night before, which always meant there was no "proper fueling" or "getting a good night's sleep" before race day. I was always hung over, but still always set a new personal record. (#humblebrag) Furthermore, total kudos for the race organizers for supplying decent shirts, except for that hideous golden diarrhea colored shirt the one year — that was the worst. But still, two of the shirts remain in constant rotation among my running gear. My first year running the race was my fourth race overall and my first 5K ever, so automatic PR! With a 24:19 finish, it also marked my highest age group placement at sixth. The next year was the year I broke all the rules, but still managed to slip into the top 10 in my age group with a 23:28 finish. New shoes, no sleep, no pre-race registration, no free shirt, no problem! And then there was the epic showdown with Mike at Running Is Funny, and when I say "epic" I mean the race report was very long (although the 2008 report may be longer). Also this was the only time my first mile of a 5K was the slowest, aiding me to a 22:29 finish. My last year running the race was the year I reversed course on the long 5K reports and wrote it all in haiku. The shorter post seems appropriate for what is still my shortest time on a 5K course with a 22:26 finish. Once again, I won't be racing the Tallmadege Memorial 5K this year. Looking back, though, I wonder why I stopped running this race. It was always fun and well organized. Maybe I'm too scared I'll break my PR streak. Have a happy Memorial Day weekend, teammates! Run well and drink well. Cheers!

This is part 16 of the Freelap Friday Five Series, 2013 Edition. To review the 16 part 2012 edition, click here. Part 1 was Matt Scherer, Professional Pacer-Rabbit. Part 2 was Stuart McMillan, Bobsled and former UKA Sprint Coach. Part 3 was Dean Starkey, PV Coach and former Elite Pole Vaulter. Part 4 was Mike Hurst, Journalist and Australian 400 meter Coach. Part 5 was Craig Pickering, UK Sprinter and Bobsledder Part 6  was April Holmes, Paralympic 100m Olympic Gold Medalist Part 7 was Chip Jenkins, former 600m AR, and 4x400m 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist Part 8 was Kevin Tyler, former UKA Head of Coaching Part 9 was Liam Collins, a 400mH, Bobsledder, and dancer with Faces of Disco Part 10 was Doug Logan, former CEO of USATF and MLS Commissioner Part 11 was Adarian Barr, Coach and Innovator Part 12 was Bill Collins, former WR holder and Masters Sprinter Part 13 was Jothy Rosenberg, of Who Says I Can’t? Part 14 was Steve Walters, Paralympian Guide for Visual Impaired Part 15 was Gary Reed, Canada’s 800m Record Holder From 2009 to 2012 Derek Evely was UK Athletics’ Center Director for the Loughborough High Performance Centre (the other being in Lee Valley with Dan Pfaff as Center Director) Derek also coached a young group of throwers in the UK, including Sophie Hitchon, who broke the British Record in the hammer throw at 19 years old, as well as qualifying for the London 2012 Olympic Final at the age of 21! He always had a knack of finding young talent who eventually move on to the International stage, such as 400m sprinter Shane Niemi, 800m man Gary Reed, and shot putter Dylan Armstrong (I know I am leaving out a few more) Prior to UKA, he was the Sport Science Manager at the Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre (CACC). Friday Five is sponsored by Freelap Track and Field, a leader in electronic timing. Interview with Derek Evely Q1)  First, the obvious question (from Stu’s blog). We know you are a huge fan of Dr. Anatoly Bondarchuk (author of Transfer of Training in Sports and Transfer of Training (Volume 2))   That being said, how do you go about in post-event specific exercise selection? I am referring to weights and plyos, and how that can be transferred to the track (sprinting). If I have to give an example, let’s use a Jr College male with PRs of 11.0, 22.0, and 50.0 for the 100 -200-400? From your experience, could you address what mechanisms and systems such as posture and coordination enable the lifts to transfer to sprinting and jumping? (and yes, people should buy his books!) Derek Evely:  First off, thanks for allowing me to share some thoughts with your readers, Jimson. Your site is a great resource for coaches and a great asset to those looking for quality information. I am not sure “fan” is the word I would use to describe my reverence towards Dr. Bondarchuk (aka Dr. B) . He was / is an important mentor of mine and I am very fortunate for that. I use his system of training but (and I always start off lectures saying this) I don’t feel comfortable saying that what I am describing is his system because there is much to it I don’t fully understand, and probably never will. I do, however, feel comfortable saying that I run my own system that is strongly based upon his methodology. The important aspects of it are true to his procedures but I monkey around quite a bit with things and implement a lot of different ideas I have learned elsewhere but always stay true to the core concepts and so far it has seemed to work quite well. You ask a very important question, because this strikes right to the core of the “nuts and bolts” application of his method, and it is a part of it that everyone struggles with conceptually. Having said that, the answer is quite simple: experiment. But experiment with some kind of rational awareness of what should work, based upon research, experience and intuition. And remember, you can’t make accurate cause-and-effect assumptions regarding training transfer if y

Currently my arms are so sore from this morning’s CrossFit class I can’t lift them over my head. Should make washing my hair in the shower rather interesting… In non-fitness news, do you remember when I tried StitchFix a while back and totally loved it? If you’re not familiar, StitchFix is a service that let’s you fill out a style profile online and then they ship you several fun and fashionable pieces right to your house so you can try them on with things already in your closet. Whatever you don’t like, you just pop in the return shipping envelope and send back. Anything you do like, you pay for online and get to keep. Last time I did StitchFix, my box was full of pretty awesome stuff, including this dress that I love and wear all the time. I got my second Fix in the mail yesterday, and I have to say, I was kind of disappointed. After having such a good experience the first time around, I was really unhappy with the styles and pieces in my second shipment. Nothing was very “me.” Here’s a glimpse at what came in my fix: Black and White Dress I love black and white things, in fact, a very large part of my closest is black pants and black and white tops, but there was just nothing flattering about the way this dress fit…at all. It makes me look short and squat. Jeans and top I actually really liked the jeans, they just didn’t fit well. What you can’t see in this picture is just how tight they were across my thighs. Fairly certain I wouldn’t have been able to walk up steps in them. The shirt itself is actually sort of cute. It’s not something I’d normally pick out, but I kind of liked the colors. I can’t really wear button down shirts though, because they never, ever lay correctly and I always get that awkward button popping across my chest. Cardigan Sweater Thing I don’t even know what you call this, but man did I hate it . I don’t do billowy flowy clothes. I like things that are clean cut with crisp lines and this top was the exact opposite. Unfortunately, this shipment was just really off the mark style wise, which really bummed me out since I liked it so much the first time. I ended up not keeping anything. I should say that I’m not totally writing off StitchFix entirely after this. I did have a really good first experience, so I think I’ll probably just wait a few months, update my online style profile a bit and hope the third time’s a charm. If you’re interested in trying StitchFix for yourself, you can sign up here to try it out! The post StitchFix Take Two appeared first on Jess Runs.

This has absolutely nothing to do with Ultrarunning--much of what I post here doesn't--but I was proud of this step project in a new flower bed and wanted to brag.Below is the finished project. The stone at the bottom is a large natural slab of limestone from my property. The others are purchased natural flagstone (origin unknown). Below is the "before" shot, showing the behind-the-scenes landscape timber framework to support the stone steps. The main key was leveling the cut timbers front-to-back and side-to-side. Then it was like stacking Legos.

A few weeks ago, to celebrate the Paris Marathon, I posted some of the most commonly used* runners phrases translated into French. Continuing in that linguistic vein, I thought it might be nice to put together some more phrases, this time intended to break down the language barrier between runner and non-runner. So feel free to show this to your long-suffering wife, husband, partner, colleagues, postman, or anyone else you like to bore and bemuse with talk of PBs, Splits and marathon-ness. We say: “It’s a well-known scientific fact that you should change your running shoes after 500 miles to avoid injury” We mean: “The shoes I like have just been released in a new colour” We say: “I really maxed my lactate threshold during last night’s 5k tempo” We mean: “I went for a run last night” We say: “I tried for a negative split, but overcooked it early on and now my ITB hates me” We mean: “I went for a run last night” We say: “I went for a run last night” We mean: “Okay, you caught me out. I spent the evening in a seedy hotel with a trio of broad-minded Swedish cheerleaders and a large tub of brandy butter” We say: “I think we deserve a holiday. I’ve heard that has some lovely beaches, and Tripadvisor.com described it as one of the most romantic getaways in the world” We mean: “I’ve just spent three hours looking at Google earth, and has some awesome trails” We say: “The marathon stick and foam roller are both excellent tools for achieving self-myofascial release, and will help prevent injury” We mean: “I know these things look like giant sex toys. Stop looking at me like that” We say: “This new head torch has a really wide throw and an output of 300 lumens. I need it for my night runs to avoid tree roots, potholes and low-hanging branches” We mean: “This new head torch has a really wide throw and an output of 300 lumens. I need it for my night runs to avoid tree roots, potholes and low-hanging branches. But mainly I’m just scared of werewolves.” We say: “I realise that an £80 entry fee might sound expensive , but you have to appreciate that it’s famous for being a really technical course while still retaining fantastic PB potential” We mean: “There’s a race. I heard that last year they had some really nice fudge in the goody bags. I like fudge” We say: “So anyway, how are you?” We mean: “I really want you to ask me about this medal I’ve been wearing for the last three days” * if you’re a bit odd. Lovely readers, a gentle reminder that you can follow me on the twitter (@borntoplodblog) or on my new-ish Facebook page. Other contact details are in the contacts section above, strangely enough. More from The Running Bug Dictionary of Running Words pt 1 Thunderstruck pt 1 FThunderstruck pt 2 Get Out of My Way!!! Like most other hobbies, sports and warlike Star Trek aliens, running has its own lexicon. (or, My Long-Winded and Largely Off-Topic Race Report of the Adidas 24hr Thunder Run 2012) (or, The Second Instalment of My Long-Winded and Largely Off-Topic Race Report of the Adidas 24hr Thunder Run 2012) A lot of stuff has been written about how we interact with our fellow runners. New to the Running Bug? We're the online community for runners with over 120,000 members! Join today - it's free and easy - and you'll get access to all our running events, training schedules and advice, shop, groups, blogs and forums. You will also be able to share and communicate with the running community in bugmiles and the great debate. JOIN THE RUNNING BUG HERE! It's free and takes just 30 seconds.