I’ve had the chance to meet some great people who happen to be amazing
runners, including one (Martin Hyman) who was a world class 10,000 meter Olympian back in 1960 and
another (Iain Donnan) who is a national-class runner and has to be the fastest runner I’ve ever known (13:50 5k).
I have run at 3 club runs lead by Martin and Iain was compassionate enough to humor me on a 9-mile trail run where I was running hard and he was at something shy of warm-up pace. These runners have been very generous with their time and have really changed my ideas about training.
During an outing to Loch Lomond, where Iain and I ran while Al, Marianne, and Sagan were shown the sights by Martin:
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Running nerds update: Scotland in summer is quite a place to train.
Highs usually in the 60s, green hills everywhere, newbie-friendly
running clubs, and enough murderous history, castle-y architecture, fluffy sheep, and general
differentness to keep things interesting.
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In just the last two weeks I’ve been able to get in two speed (hard
intervals) sessions with some fast locals, along with a 10-mile urban
hike with Alison, dozens of miles of sightseeing (Sagan still loves
riding on my back in his carrier), and other runs of 8, 9, 12, 16, 18,
and 23 miles.
August 1, 2010 at 4:15pm · 
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Martha Ledezma McMeekin likes this.
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Jessica Carter Dang, and I was excited we did another 1/2 yesterday. You ROCK!!!August 2, 2010 at 10:01am · Like -
Mike Randall JC, I’m looking forward to your race report. You and Matt run it together?I just finished my first back-to-back long runs in about a year. Very slow but not much pain for 23 yesterday and 16 today. But in case you are wondering, “just” 13.1 is still definitely a long run, especially when running fast. Good job for dedicating yourself to the training and enjoying the race.August 2, 2010 at 12:30pm · Like -
Jessica Carter Kind of together… I ran with my cousin Jill, and Matt scooted on ahead of us. Jill and I averaged about 10min miles, but Matt wiped out all previous pace records for himself by averaging about 8.5 min miles – barefoot. He amazes me! And thanks for the support – I guess since 13.1 is the longest I’ve ever run, and probably ever want to run, then yea, it is long 😉August 2, 2010 at 1:45pm · Like
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Here’s how Sagan and I do push-ups:
This morning’s half-marathon outside of Dublin (Clontarf) had a delayed start and included full warm sun, then cold rain, back to sun, with sustained winds in excess of 30 miles an hour throughout.
Though flat, the out-and-back harborside course had a total of about 3 miles on a sandy beach (particularly interesting given the wind), two crossings of a wooden-planked bridge, a bit of auto traffic, and multiple 90 degree turns onto changing terrain.
Crazy running and I’m quite pleased with a 1:44 given the conditions. The effort felt PR-worthy and some sub-7 minute miles (when we had a bit of shelter from the wind) felt suprisingly natural. I think Id have been a solid 10 minutes faster today on a similar course, minus the sand and wind.
I think the time was off on the clock but here’s me finishing nonetheless:
Three talented veteran runners were among those who I overheard afterwards saying it was the toughest conditions they’ve experienced in a race. I’m awaiting final posted results but hoping I placed in the top 50 or so out of the field of probably ~600.
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Jessica Carter That sounds like quite the adventure! I can imagine that the run was quite gorgeous even with the crazy weather. The only thing I can’t understand is the wooden plank bridge – how many of you crossed that thing at once? and was it swaying? That part sounds a little scary.July 26, 2010 at 2:05pm · Like
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Mike RandallThere were only a few hundred runners in the race and by the bridge – which had wooden planks but on a fixed structure, i.e. no swaying – there wasn’t much bunching up. Though there have been many beautiful runs over here, I can’t say that…See MoreJuly 27, 2010 at 6:22am · Like
What seasoned mountain runners might consider a deep valley but I must say it is nice to be on such steep terrain and still be able to breath.
Windy summit run over Taos with knee-high snow at 70 degrees. Colorado visible in distance. Im taking a chocolate covered espresso bean reload at 5.4 miles of today’s 10 miles on mountain trails. Give me a call if you want to talk me through some uphills.
Happy effing birthday to me! Lazy morning at cafe reading Fight Club, a hands-on introduction to Brazilian jui jitsu, then a moutain run through an unexpected whiteout snowstorm. Headed out for some low-key miles and ended up in white-out (couldn’t see my feet), with lightning, running unfamiliar trails by myself. Just what I needed. Really!
I meant to ease into this mountain trip. Really. Instead, I found myself up here roughly 2 hours into today’s 3+ hour solo hike/run. Perhaps the most climbing per mile of any training run or race I’ve ever done. Probably 4000 total elevation gain over 8 miles.
Got my marathon goal today (3:30 – a 29 minute PR) at the tough and hilly Austin race. That shortens the 2010 goal list, with official (chip-timed) PRs for 10k, 10m, half marathon, full marathon, and 50k. All since January 9!
Today’s 3M race: 13.1 in 1:35:06, good for a new half-marathon PR (7+ minutes!). In the process, beat previous race PRs for 10K and 10M but not counting those towards the 2010 goals since they weren’t in stand-alone race
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