TT Running Club

“gotta like them fast women. ;o)”

“Hey! Me too! I ran twelve minutes today and Sunday, along with lots of fast walking. All in the comfort of my family room, on a treadmill @ 2.5% incline. Can't take the kid out for a jog in this kinda weather. I'm indoors til spring.”

“Thats quite the schedule you got there aero! My knees hurt thinking about a 75 mile wk...”

“Oooops, that was me not Sass.”

“So, anybody know where the walker and bikers club is?”

“I was deeply involved in distance running for about 12yrs. I ran in high school and college, then for only a few yrs after college. At the time I was 6ft tall and 150lbs. My high school won the state championship 3yrs in a row. That was 20 yrs ago and people around town still talk about the "Dream Team" we had.

I ran in college 4yrs and got a good scholarship for it. When I was at my peak, I ran in a 10K against Bill Rogers, you know, the Olympic runner...well I finished 11th in the race and he won! He was super fast and also a tiny dude.

When I was about 25yrs old I decided I was tired of being skinny, so I started lifting weights and hiking. Now I'm 200lbs with about 17% body fat. I love being the size I am.

At the time of my retirement, I had ran 11 marathons and probably over 100 10K's. Running helped put me through college and also kept me healthy and out of trouble. I highly recommend sports for kids, if only to keep them busy and their minds off trouble.

Running was very good to me...and I hope you all get a lot of enjoyment out of it!

I still run at the fitness center, but only to warm up before doing weights. Usually I run about 20 minutes on a treadmill and I'm all ready for pumping iron. LOL

Run On Dudes!!!!”

“Someone was going to post that running log??

Michigan women - Who wants to start with a 5K in the spring and shoot for a 10K in the fall?? We can have a support group for the workouts and maybe a group run every month where we compare notes. I get newsletters on many of the events and even some relays. Not that we want this to take over hiking time completely but the activities complement each other. How about a first monthly run Saturday 2/2 at Maybury State Park or something?? E-mail me if you have any other ideas.

Everyone else, keep posting tips and Thanks for thinking of this thread.”

“dhutch, sass sent me a training schedule for a 5k run. we're planning to do one in the spring. i'd like to try some trail running.”

“btw, i don't feel like i'm 'qualified' to be in your running club. you all are way out there with this running stuff!”

“I was flying on the way out today.

Literally . . .had a couple of good 25mph gusts at my back.


Just had to worry about crossing my feet . . .and, of course . . .the trip back.


It was 16 degrees, wind chill of 1.

Crossing back over the river into the wind was a chore. The side of my face got quite chilled. I put my mitten over it for several strides.

Once off the height of the bridge (highway bridge over the CT river, probably 75 feet up), and down beside the dike I was more protected.

4 miles. I even ran (inspired by Aero) over my old 'usual' path. The snow had be packed down by wind and feet. It required careful attention and foot placement for that 100 yard section but otherwise was fine.

Not sure I will make it for the rest of the week. Business lunches.”

“OK, here is a link to my not-quite-completely updated Excel training log. You'll need to unzip it - I used PKZIP to compress it.

I created this several years ago, and have been using it ever since. However, every year I have to update it to make sure the monthly totals are in synch with the correct dates, etc. I have done this through March (thus the worksheet titled "March - OK"; the following monthly total sheets do NOT have the "OK" indication). Check it out, start using it if you want, then I will post the fully updated one within the next few weeks.”

“MDS, that's one heckuva running career. Lots of stuff to be proud of...”

“Dhutch, we're working on getting ready for a 5K. Wolfeyes suggested it and Smiley, Tarabull and I are all for it...you too? Haven't choosen a race yet. Let us all know what's coming up please! I keep checking the FRee Press, but it must be too early, nothing listed in "The Body and Mind" section on Tuesday.”

“Yes, I'm in. I'll send you e-mail this weekend. Any of you interested in trail running, Island Lake and Silver Lake out by me are great for that. Except for evading collision with mountain bikers.”

“Body and Mind did have a couple things...

I called Cranbrook about the "Cranbrook Sunday Runners". I should hear back from them tonight on details. The ad says "Year-round Sunday breakfast runs in Bloomfield Hills, 8am, all levels, 4-8 miles for runners, 4-6 miles for walkers." Bloomfield Hills, around Cranbrook's campus, is gorgeous. I'd love to run there.

The only "planned" 5k listed wasn't till June. But it sure sounded good... Galyan's Solstice Run on June 21 in downtown Northville.”

“Yesterday was 0 degrees and 10 below windchill. We had about 8" of snow, on top of about 4" from earlier in the week. Anyway, our run was a real slog- it took forever! We went about 5 miles, up a long hill to the airport, out a ways, then back on a trail, slipping all the way. Afterwards, we hit the weight room. Makes me appreciate the nicer days a little more. Today, more of the same........maybe a ski day on Friday.”

“Aero, you're truly an inspiration. I've been wussing out with running because of the ice and all. Time to get off my arse! I haven't ran in probably three weeks and it's really starting to get to me.”

“It helped to have two other guys to go with. No one wanted to be the one who wussed out so we all showed up!”

“Our first race out here is a couple's relay around Valentine's Day. The women go first, run a 3 mile loop and then the hand off to their partner. So far it's been a heterosexual event.

Oh, I forgot about the Bowl-a-thon on Saturday! I think you run 4-5 miles then bowl a line. You get time off for the number of pins.

March is the Shamrock Run 5K-10K.”

“Artex, I ran 5 miles yesterday morning...10 deg, chill factor 0. It really isn't that bad. One layer on legs, two thin layers plus a mid-weight fleece on top, thin gloves, headband....for a guy who loves the cold, I don't know why you can't get your sorry arse out there to run a couple of times a week. :)”

“That's exactly what I was wondering. [:-)”

“On the days when I just can't get out the door, I tell myself I'm only going out 10 minutes and then back, any pace, just to do something.

Usually, once I get out I'll go further, but 10 minutes seems do-able.”

“I can pick up the applications and send them out or give them to Sass..whichever is best. Then, everyone can pick and choose what it is they will want to do and we can go from there. I live right next door to Hanson's Running store so picking up the apps is no problem for me.”

“I wish I were posting to report my running progress. Alas, the reason for this post is to acknowledge the incorrect usage of an apostrophe early in this thread. I wrote "it's" when it should have been "its". I have not been able to sleep since then. Perhaps now I will be able to get on with my life. And running.”

“Your administrative assistant should have caught that before it was posted.

Fire his butt. :)”

“I ran 10 minutes on Monday, another 10 today. Damn, I'm good! ;)”

“good job smiley! shoot for 11 minutes this coming week!

running girl (too lazy to logoff as baume)”

“Did my long run tonite, 12 miles on the cursed treadmill...BORING!!! Next wk is my easy week, YIPPEE!!!”

“Smileygirl rocks!”

“Good going smiley girl, keep it up! :-)

I just ran 6 miles, it was my first time running in several weeks. I felt a bit winded at first, my lungs were working harder than they normally had to. But by the last two miles I didn't feel winded at all. Interesting...”

“OMG! 6 miles! I'm only planning to work up to 5....running really isn't my favorite form of exercise...


I ran 13 minutes today. Kinda lucked out my sister bailed on the walking this morning, or I prolly wouldn't have run at all. PLannint to hit the path again tomorrow!”

“Smiley, getting through the first few wks is the hard part. Hang in there and by 6-8 wks you should be able to trot for quite sometime. Its amazing how quickly your body will adapt when you push it.”

“Well, I've been thinking about running this 10k race for the past three weeks, and decided a few days ago that I was definitely going to do it. My son Ian (18) also planned to run.

Then I had a nightmare week at work, esp. the end of the week, and was exhausted by the time I got home from work on Saturday around 5:30. Also, I was feeling bad about the prospect of being gone again and leaving my wife with the kids. But my son seemed disappointed when I said I might not run, so I asked my wife and she assured me it would be fine for us to go.

I have just completed two 20-mile weeks for the first time in five years. I have been running 3 or 4 times a week for the past 6 weeks, before that it was 1 or 2 times a week for a couple of months. Almost all of my training miles have been between 8 and 9 minutes a mile. I have had two runs of 6.4 miles, and two runs of 8 miles, those are my longest runs.

My original goal was to break 8 minutes per mile in this race which I thought was pretty aggressive for me. Then I had one of those 6.4 mile runs where I was under 8:00/mile and that goal was achieved. But I didn't alter my goal for the race, partly fearing that the training run was either a fluke or not measured correctly.

We arrived at the Lehigh Valley Road Runners' clubhouse at 9:30 for a 10:30 start. It was warmer than expected, high 20's. I decided to forgo the ear-warmers and run bare-headed (always my preference,) but stuck with the original plan of wearing my lightest-weight nylon pants vs. just shorts.

Disaster almost struck around 10:00 when I blew my nose and it started to bleed. I get nosebleeds sometimes that last for 30 minutes, an hour, no way to make them stop. I knew I couldn't run with a nosebleed so I was rather upset for a few minutes, but the nosebleed did stop.

At 5 minutes to start time, I was in line for the porta-potty. I thought I was just going to do a little #1, but got in there and realized #2 was the ticket. (Sorry if this is TMI--too much information.) Had to rush to get to the starting line which was a couple of hundred yards further away than I thought.

There were about, I dunno, 140 runners? The siren went off and I headed down the road. The first 1.2 or so, and the last, were in a community park in Allentown, PA. The rest of the run was on residential streets. It was a primarily out-and-back course with a couple of loops. Everyone said it was hilly, and I guess it was. For some reason, those hills didn't seem that bad to me.

I tried to interact with the runners around me but people were rather quiet, intense. I guess a 10k in January tends to attract more serious runners than a 5k in October, which was my last race.

After the biggest hill on the course, a guy I was passing said, "we were at 15:12 for the two mile." I hadn't seen the marks, and hadn't gotten the splits, so I thanked him and said, "Too fast for me. I'm either going to die...or I am going to surprise myself."

I hit 3 miles at 22:50, 4 miles at 30:28. I was later to calculate that my first four miles were 7:36, 7:36 (based on the 15:12 split), then 7:38, 7:38. Pretty consistent.

Then we hit mile five, the big downhill, and I said to myself, "You've come this far, no need to hold back now...just let it take you...then either finsish strong or go down in a blaze of glory." Well, OK, I didn't say that exactly, but I did let the hill take me, and my mile 5 split was 7:12!

The last 1.2 was mostly flat, no hills to help me, and of course I was pretty tired by then. I just pushed and pushed, passing about 10 people in that final mile.

I had told my son that I was pretty confident I'd finish somewhere between 49 and 51 minutes. I finished in 46:16 unofficially. I was thrilled, needless to say. I later calculated that my last 1.2 was 8:36 for a 7:10 pace. Overall average pace: 7:27!

All in all, that was a pretty stinkin' good effort for a fat old fart like me who just started running a few months ago, and has spent very little time running faster than 8 minute miles!

By the way, my son finished in 37-something, he thinks he was in 14th place. Unfortunately he got sick afterwards and we left before the awards and official results.

P.S. I know this sounds like a lot of self-congratulations, and...well..it is! I hope no one minds. I am just sharing my enthusiasm. I'll be here to share my inevitable failures, too. Just happens that today was a great day for me.”

“Self-congrats, my arse! I think it's killer to read stuff like that. Good job, Fritz, I know you've been working hard for all of this. It's been cool to see you looking thinner each time I've been hiking with you. Keep it up, and let's run some races together soon (as well continue to climb mountains!).

GO BUCS!”

“yea Fritz!!! Great story! Good for you. You can brag all you want with a story like that.”

“That's awesome Fritz! Congrats to you and Ian. I've done several races in Allentown and the LVRR puts on nice races. I'll try to pick up a Morning Call tomorrow and see if Ian placed for an award.”

“Yea Fritz! That's awesome, great time!!!!









I'm up to 15 minutes for today and the next run then on to 16. I finally managed to keep the same pace and not have to slow down part way through.”

“Fritz, if anyone has a reason to brag you got it!! For one its awesome that you and your son were able to do this together. Second you put forth the effort to reach your goal (which you crushed!!!). I am so encouraged when I read stuff like this. To me this is what running is all about, setting a goal working towards it and succeeding,wether its running your first mile or your first ultramarathon. Congrats Fritz for your accomplishment.”

“Nicely done Fritz!”

“go Fritz! it's your birthday! get busy!

running girl, you are hilarious :-D”

“Thanks all for the encouragement, I appreciate it.

Pennsy - that would be cool if you find the results in your local paper.

lyra - huh???”

“All in all, that was a pretty stinkin' good effort for a fat old fart like me who just started running a few months ago, and has spent very little time running faster than 8 minute miles!
Fritz
05:47:09 PM
01/26/03

Fritz, you give the rest of us fat old farts something to look forward to.
Congrats!”

“And us fat young farts.”

“that's phat with a PH, Sass...right?
:-)

i know it's not really your birthday, Fritz...it's just a dumb saying! it means GO YOU.”

“Fritz - the race didn't make the Morning Call this morning but perhaps tomorrow. There was some kind of football game going on somewhere yesterday that somehow dominated the sports section.”

“Good job fritz! Those races in the middle of winter are tough when your body naturally wants to hibernate! Your even splits are encouraging; it means you didn't die out there!”

“Forgive me Aero . . .for I have sinned.


Though I would have run through the valley of the shadow of frostbite . . .I feared the wind and cold . . .and did not.


I looked out of the gym window at the flags whipping in the wind. It is 15 degrees and blowing hard.


I hopped on a vacant treadmill and let it roll. I just couldn't go out. [a very attractive young woman WAS headed out . . .i almost went, you know . . .to be sure she was okay]

Anyhoo . . .not wanting to get my butt kicked by a young lovely, I stayed inside and did 5 miles on the treadmill.


Birch . . .how in Aero's name did you do 12 miles on a treadmill??!!!!!!!! Aaaaaagggghghghhghghghghggh!!!

What speed do you set it at (or do you vary????)

I would have to have something pretty rowdy to entertain me either on a walkman or tv if I was gonna last a stinkin 12 miles.

I mean, for me, that's like an hour and twenty minutes.”

“Don't worry lee, I only got 60 miles in last week because of the weather- it was terrible! This week should be better.

12 miles on a treadmill? I'd end up like Jack Nicholson in "The Shining"!”