Now before you get all excited thinking that this post will either be a)witty, b)educational, or c)spiritual, please don't get your hopes up. In fact, if you are thinking along those lines, please be prepared for disappointment. As you all know (I think there are more than 2 of you now), I am none of those things. And no, I am not being facetious. I understand and embrace my limitations. To do otherwise would be to suffer a life of failure and that is something I am not psychologically prepared to do. I'd rather be the King of Mediocrity (in my own mind) than the guy who tries so hard to be so good, but it just never really happens, unless he gets really lucky, which doesn't happen all that often (I can count two times - 1)Liz agreeing to be my wife (I read a book on trickery) and 2)Conning my way into my current job, although really is it that great of a job? Well for the average/mediocre person that I am, as long as I can continue to talk a good game and pass responsibility and blame on to others, then yes, it's a swell job.)
Anyways, sorry for the rambling. I just wanted you all to be prepared for a very average, very dull Salt Lake City Marathon report.
I finished in 3:26:32 or about a 7:54 average mile. Now using average pace per mile is pretty deceitful when it comes to this marathon. I'm not actually sure if I ever ran anything close to a 7:54 mile. That's the thing about averages. If you're performing during the same race as two distinctly different runners, who are running two very different paces, you end up with a skewed average result that really reflects nothing about your race.
The first thing you need to know is that I knew 11 people who ended up running this. 11. Yea, I know. Did I ever think I would personally know 11 marathoners on a personal basis? Nope. I grew up thinking that my father and the people he ran with were 100% crazy and that they were few and far between. Little did I know that marathoning would become the phenomenon it is today. It has come to the masses, which is hard for the King of Mediocrity to accept, but at least the King has more subjects now. Sorry for the slippage into the 3rd person. It's annoying, but it seemed appropriate given my Royal Majestyness.
Anyway, 11 people I knew ran the race. I planned on pacing three of the runners to 3:30, which for two of them was their Boston Qualifying time. However, it was not to be so smooth. I went to the designated area after dropping my stuff off and making a port-o-jon run, but nobody was where they were supposed to be. So I stood in place for 5 minutes after the gun went off watching everyone I knew run by and then at last one of the 3 appears. Do not fret faithful readers. Although the clock had started, there are these magic things called mats that are able to magically sense when your shoe, which has a little chip in it, crosses it and your official start and end times are tracked by this chip. Chip time. It's wonderful. So I didn't lose 5 minutes, except for being 5 minutes behind the other two who were going for 3:30.
I really wanted to push it and make up the 5 minutes, but I also didn't want to kill the other guy shooting for a 3:30 in the process. As a primer for the unmarathon initiatied, the marathon is broken in three phases. First 10 miles - very social, everyone is happy, talking, blah, blah, blah. Second 10 miles - less social, people still feel good, running strong. Last 6.2 miles - no talking, serious pain, survive.
So back to me and my friend. I could tell immediately that it wasn't his day. He was just tired. His muscles were fine, no pain, but he wasn't going to be able to average the 8:01s necessary to make a 3:30. We had spoken prior to the race about our strategy around this considering that there were other people running that I wanted to support and had said that if we fell off pace for two miles that we would have an honest discussion about if he could make it up or not. If not, I would go and support the other two.
Before we get to where we separated, let me just say that starting 5 minutes after the gun was in all respects, except for one, outstanding. I saw everyone else, including my dad and a friend from Kansas that I hadn't seen in a year, as we ran by. We would run a few steps together and then push on. It was very nice. I'll get to the one non-outstanding moment in a minute.
At about mile 9, we fell off pace. Two miles later, we had our discussion and he told me that he just didn't have it. It was time to go. I told him to have a good race, passed two others in our group who were close by and told them to have a good race and then I was off. Now at this point, I estimated that I was 7 or 8 minutes behind the other two, so if I wanted to catch them and I did, I really did, that I was going to need to run swiftly. You know, like a deer. So run swiftly I did. 6 minute mile after 6 minute mile. I passed the 3:40 group after about a mile. The 3:30 group based on where we were in the race was only about 5 minutes ahead. Charge, charge, charge. Well, making up those five minutes was the one unoutstanding thing about starting the race 5 minutes behind everyone else. It was tough. It took me another 5 miles to catch them, with some of my miles being in the 6s and some of them being in the low 7s. By the time I finally caught them at mile 19, I was done. (And by the way, for those doing the math. Don't. This race report is all about perception. It's my reality. It's mediocre. Don't challenge it or I'll just need to point out just how mediocre you are as well.)
But, I had finally caught them. However, I was spent. I had not trained to run 6s for that far. I had trained to help my friends to run 8:01s. When I finally caught the other two, I didn't have much left. And we hit concrete. Let me tell you about running on concrete. It sucks. Particularly when the majority of the time you run on trails and asphalt. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. While I'm here, the course was forgettable, although the post-race party and food was outstanding. All marathoners should expect pizza and wings after running a race. The King of Mediocrity will now declare it so. It is so.
I hung on for five miles until mile 24. At that point, I let one of my friends go. After another mile, where I think I ran an 8:38, I let the other runner go. Although as I did that I smiled to myself a little. I had a little surprise for them at the end, which was the fact that I started five minutes after the gun and hence after them. Once I finally dragged myself across the finish line, we hooked up and of course the first guy to finish asked my time and I told him. He was confused and asked how I had gotten in front of him. When I told him that I had started five minutes after the gun, he looked a little crestfallen. Hey, I wasn't going to say anything, but he did ask. Such is the life of a super-competitive average person. I think it was even better when the paper and web site published results according to chip time. I know. I'm not very nice. Sorry. Most average people aren't very nice. We're too busy being angry about being average.
On Saturday if you had asked me about running a sub-3 hour marathon this year or ever, I would have said no way. Now, after much reflection on my training and how I should approach a sub-3 hour attempt, I have changed my mind. The #2 will appear at the beginning of a marathon finish time. Probably even this year.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Get A Move On
That was one of the phrases that came out of my mouth this morning as I ran around Briones Reservoir alone. Apparently the ranchers have moved their cattle to the reservoir as they felt that there wasn't enough cow dung along the path to fertilize all of the thorns and briars.
It was pouring rain this morning and yet I went out. I hadn't run all week due to work being a little more crazy than usual. Remind me to tell you what it is like working with a team that consists of the client and four different consulting firms. Lots o' fun.
The rain didn't bother me too much as it was a warm rain (50s). The hills bothered me a little and I just decided to relax and go slow. The mud really bothered me. The clumpiness factor on a scale of 1 to 10 was a solid 7. The only solution was to run through the grass, which of course has thorns. Fun stuff.
At about mile 7, I started noticing many piles of fresh cow crap. I wish I had had my camera as there is nothing quite like clumpy mud, fresh cow poo, and rain. I guess it was kind of like running in diarrhea.
About half a mile after noticing the diarrhea mud, I encountered my first herd. Probably 30 or 40 cows. No bulls. However, there were about 10 calves. Remembering the lessons learned from Grandma F's ranch back in the day, I knew that just trying to run by them wouldn't work. I had to scare them off. It was at this point that I started shouting, "Yeaaawwwww! Get a move on! Yeaaawwww!" and waving my arms. I almost took off my hat, but due to the rain, I decided against it. Also, I was looking ridiculous enough. Adding a waving white running hat would have been too much.
The cows moved aside and as I ran by, they all mooed at me. I was a little tired at this point, so I didn't moo back, but believe me, next time I see that herd, we're gonna have us a moo-down. About a mile later, another herd. Only this one had about 60 cows and one bull. Fortunately, the bull decided that I was pretty scary and just took off. I hope the cows remember how he wussed out against a skinny pale white guy dodging cow patties.
I thought I was done with the cows, but at the top of a ridge about two miles later, I encountered a very large herd. Probably a 100 or so cows. The problem with these cows was that they were on the trail and there was nowhere for them to go. Both sides of the trail were just too steep. So here I go with my arms waving and my "Yeeeaaaawwwww!! Get a MOVE ON!!" routine and the only place they can go is right down the trail. We did this for about a half mile before the ridge flattened out and they were able to bolt to the side. Seriously, there needs to be a camera crew following me around when I run. I was herding cows. It was somewhat ridiculous, but at least they didn't slow me down.
It reminded me of when I begged a cowboy at Grandma F's ranch to let me ride a horse when I was seven or eight and he said he'd get a horse ready, but only if I chased all of the cows in another field down a path to another field. Sure, I said just wanting to ride a horse. So he saddled up a horse for me and off I went to the field to chase cows. The problem is that I had no idea how to chase them in an organized fashion so that they would all go down the path. I spent about 30 minutes chasing individual cows across the field before the cowboy came riding up to me on his horse asking me what the hell I was doing. I of course told him I was chasing cows. He spit, told me to go back to the barn and then proceeded to chase the herd down the path to the other field in less than ten minutes.
As you can tell, I remembered that lesson today. All the cows went where I directed them. That cowboy would have been so proud.
It was pouring rain this morning and yet I went out. I hadn't run all week due to work being a little more crazy than usual. Remind me to tell you what it is like working with a team that consists of the client and four different consulting firms. Lots o' fun.
The rain didn't bother me too much as it was a warm rain (50s). The hills bothered me a little and I just decided to relax and go slow. The mud really bothered me. The clumpiness factor on a scale of 1 to 10 was a solid 7. The only solution was to run through the grass, which of course has thorns. Fun stuff.
At about mile 7, I started noticing many piles of fresh cow crap. I wish I had had my camera as there is nothing quite like clumpy mud, fresh cow poo, and rain. I guess it was kind of like running in diarrhea.
About half a mile after noticing the diarrhea mud, I encountered my first herd. Probably 30 or 40 cows. No bulls. However, there were about 10 calves. Remembering the lessons learned from Grandma F's ranch back in the day, I knew that just trying to run by them wouldn't work. I had to scare them off. It was at this point that I started shouting, "Yeaaawwwww! Get a move on! Yeaaawwww!" and waving my arms. I almost took off my hat, but due to the rain, I decided against it. Also, I was looking ridiculous enough. Adding a waving white running hat would have been too much.
The cows moved aside and as I ran by, they all mooed at me. I was a little tired at this point, so I didn't moo back, but believe me, next time I see that herd, we're gonna have us a moo-down. About a mile later, another herd. Only this one had about 60 cows and one bull. Fortunately, the bull decided that I was pretty scary and just took off. I hope the cows remember how he wussed out against a skinny pale white guy dodging cow patties.
I thought I was done with the cows, but at the top of a ridge about two miles later, I encountered a very large herd. Probably a 100 or so cows. The problem with these cows was that they were on the trail and there was nowhere for them to go. Both sides of the trail were just too steep. So here I go with my arms waving and my "Yeeeaaaawwwww!! Get a MOVE ON!!" routine and the only place they can go is right down the trail. We did this for about a half mile before the ridge flattened out and they were able to bolt to the side. Seriously, there needs to be a camera crew following me around when I run. I was herding cows. It was somewhat ridiculous, but at least they didn't slow me down.
It reminded me of when I begged a cowboy at Grandma F's ranch to let me ride a horse when I was seven or eight and he said he'd get a horse ready, but only if I chased all of the cows in another field down a path to another field. Sure, I said just wanting to ride a horse. So he saddled up a horse for me and off I went to the field to chase cows. The problem is that I had no idea how to chase them in an organized fashion so that they would all go down the path. I spent about 30 minutes chasing individual cows across the field before the cowboy came riding up to me on his horse asking me what the hell I was doing. I of course told him I was chasing cows. He spit, told me to go back to the barn and then proceeded to chase the herd down the path to the other field in less than ten minutes.
As you can tell, I remembered that lesson today. All the cows went where I directed them. That cowboy would have been so proud.
Monday, April 02, 2007
The Fast and Furious
That's our team name.
Where to start? I'm not sure, as I'm still on a little bit of a high from the whole event. This is definitely going to be a stream of consciousness post.
It was nuts. I'm still sore and it is Wednesday. Here's the setup:
- 12 person team (6 women, 6 men)
- 188 miles from Wickenburg to Scottsdale
- Two cars, six people in each car
- The first six runners are in the first car and once they finish running, they go somewhere and take a break for 4 or 5 hours while the next car with the next six runners does their thing. Repeat 3 times for a total of 36 legs that were between 3 and 8 miles.
My first leg was around 3:30pm. It was 6 miles, with the first 3 being a gradual uphill. I was too anxious and tight the whole time being amped up for the race, but I did decently and averaged 6:51 miles.
After our team finished the first six legs, we went to a high school, which was where the next major exchange was and ate and relaxed. I paid $5 to take a cold shower and use a wrestling mat to lie down on. Cold shower. Not happy. Oh, did I tell you that my main source of food was Diet Dr. Pepper and Ruffles Masterpiece BBQ chips? I also ate some good salami and cheese.
My next leg was at 1:30am and was almost 7 miles along a gentle downhill the whole way. I felt great, especially because it was nice and cool and I averaged 6:33 miles. I was pretty impressed with myself until I stopped and felt my hamstrings tighten up immediately. They are still tight by the way. I felt even less impressed with myself when a guy came in about 5 minutes after me having averaged 5:42 miles. Wow, that's smokin'.
After we finished our second leg, we went to a member of our team's house and relaxed. Notice, no sleep. We layed down and relaxed. No shower this time.
My last leg was at 8:30am. It is considered the hardest leg out of the 36 legs of the entire race. Only 5.5 miles, but the first 3 are uphill and the last 1/3 of a mile there was a 300 foot elevation gain. It was brutal. Hot and no sleep made me completely exhausted. It was out in the middle of the desert, which was pretty, but i was totally dead. I ended up averaging 8:00 miles.
I was just glad to run as early as I did. It was only in the high 70s when I ran. The rest of my teammates had to run in temperatures that reached 93. Ouch and ouch.
One of my favorite legs that I didn't run was Richard's second leg. Dirt roads at midnight through what appeared to be a very posh neighborhood. I'm sure all of the people loved hearing the roar of the Escalade as it powered over some of those hills. The funny part is that might be the first time that that particular Escalade has ever been on dirt. I think I also enjoyed it because Richard has some power and overtook some people as we went through some slow rollers (hills).
Overall, it was totally fun. I ended up riding the bike with Julie Ann, Lisa, and Melanie while they ran, which was nice and relaxing. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Everyone did great. Out of 73 total teams, we finished 27th. In our division (Mixed), we finished 9th out of 31, averaging 8:32 miles.
Here's a link to some pics. Unfortunately Richard, our fearless team captain, was also our photographer, which means there are not any pics of him, primarily because I'm a slacker. Actually, his leg was right before mine and because I was busy skipping, warming up, and getting myself psyched to kick some butt, I forgot all about pics. Such is the mindset of the insane runner.
The moral of the story is that running two times within an 8 hour period, including the middle of the night, just isn't that tough. Running 3 times in a 16 hour period, with only about 90 minutes of quasi-sleep is very difficult. The clincher is that there really isn't a good way to train for that.
Next year, we will decorate our vehicles and maybe even have a more clever team name. Any theme ideas?
Oh, I forgot to tell you, my middle leg is the hardest. And, "Who's that coming down our chute? It's Amy! It's Amy!"
Thank you to our volunteers mom, Erin, and Kevin, as well as to Chris and Anne for seting up our living quarters.
Where to start? I'm not sure, as I'm still on a little bit of a high from the whole event. This is definitely going to be a stream of consciousness post.
It was nuts. I'm still sore and it is Wednesday. Here's the setup:
- 12 person team (6 women, 6 men)
- 188 miles from Wickenburg to Scottsdale
- Two cars, six people in each car
- The first six runners are in the first car and once they finish running, they go somewhere and take a break for 4 or 5 hours while the next car with the next six runners does their thing. Repeat 3 times for a total of 36 legs that were between 3 and 8 miles.
My first leg was around 3:30pm. It was 6 miles, with the first 3 being a gradual uphill. I was too anxious and tight the whole time being amped up for the race, but I did decently and averaged 6:51 miles.
After our team finished the first six legs, we went to a high school, which was where the next major exchange was and ate and relaxed. I paid $5 to take a cold shower and use a wrestling mat to lie down on. Cold shower. Not happy. Oh, did I tell you that my main source of food was Diet Dr. Pepper and Ruffles Masterpiece BBQ chips? I also ate some good salami and cheese.
My next leg was at 1:30am and was almost 7 miles along a gentle downhill the whole way. I felt great, especially because it was nice and cool and I averaged 6:33 miles. I was pretty impressed with myself until I stopped and felt my hamstrings tighten up immediately. They are still tight by the way. I felt even less impressed with myself when a guy came in about 5 minutes after me having averaged 5:42 miles. Wow, that's smokin'.
After we finished our second leg, we went to a member of our team's house and relaxed. Notice, no sleep. We layed down and relaxed. No shower this time.
My last leg was at 8:30am. It is considered the hardest leg out of the 36 legs of the entire race. Only 5.5 miles, but the first 3 are uphill and the last 1/3 of a mile there was a 300 foot elevation gain. It was brutal. Hot and no sleep made me completely exhausted. It was out in the middle of the desert, which was pretty, but i was totally dead. I ended up averaging 8:00 miles.
I was just glad to run as early as I did. It was only in the high 70s when I ran. The rest of my teammates had to run in temperatures that reached 93. Ouch and ouch.
One of my favorite legs that I didn't run was Richard's second leg. Dirt roads at midnight through what appeared to be a very posh neighborhood. I'm sure all of the people loved hearing the roar of the Escalade as it powered over some of those hills. The funny part is that might be the first time that that particular Escalade has ever been on dirt. I think I also enjoyed it because Richard has some power and overtook some people as we went through some slow rollers (hills).
Overall, it was totally fun. I ended up riding the bike with Julie Ann, Lisa, and Melanie while they ran, which was nice and relaxing. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Everyone did great. Out of 73 total teams, we finished 27th. In our division (Mixed), we finished 9th out of 31, averaging 8:32 miles.
Here's a link to some pics. Unfortunately Richard, our fearless team captain, was also our photographer, which means there are not any pics of him, primarily because I'm a slacker. Actually, his leg was right before mine and because I was busy skipping, warming up, and getting myself psyched to kick some butt, I forgot all about pics. Such is the mindset of the insane runner.
The moral of the story is that running two times within an 8 hour period, including the middle of the night, just isn't that tough. Running 3 times in a 16 hour period, with only about 90 minutes of quasi-sleep is very difficult. The clincher is that there really isn't a good way to train for that.
Next year, we will decorate our vehicles and maybe even have a more clever team name. Any theme ideas?
Oh, I forgot to tell you, my middle leg is the hardest. And, "Who's that coming down our chute? It's Amy! It's Amy!"
Thank you to our volunteers mom, Erin, and Kevin, as well as to Chris and Anne for seting up our living quarters.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Quads
You've heard me complain about my hamstrings. You've heard me complain about my ITBs. You might have even heard me whine about my arches. What you've not heard is any complaints about my quads. You see, long distance runners don't really hammer their quads like they do to their hamstrings. Quads are a sprinting muscle. The only time distance runners seriously use them is when they are going downhill. Well to my surprise, my quads have been sore for a week.
Last Tuesday I did my usual track workout (5 x 1600s). Wednesday I was fine. Thursday morning I woke up and my quads were sore. This was surprising, but it wasn't painful, just sore, so I ignored it. However, the soreness has continued. It's a little baffling. I went faster than normal last Tuesday (about 30 seconds per mile faster - 6:30s) in anticipation of Richard yelling at me to run faster for our relay this weekend, but it didn't hurt at all. I've run a 1/2 marathon doing 6:30s the whole way and I wasn't sore afterward. I haven't run any massive downhills lately.
The only thing I can think of is that my shoes have broken down a little earlier than normal. They have 480 miles on them right now. Usually I retire a pair of shoes at 500 miles, even though I know they probably have another 100 miles or so in them. I just do it to avoid injury. However, the only other time I've run in shoes for too long and felt the pain, the pain was in my foot and calf, not my quads. It's puzzling.
The other thing is maybe I'm just getting old. I thought I had another 5 or so fast running years left in me, but maybe I was wrong. Or maybe I'll still be able to run fairly quickly, but will be made to pay a price. I really am not looking forward to the breaking down of my body. Maybe I need to look into the whole Barry Bonds regimen. So I live to 85 instead of 100. Not that big a deal.
Last Tuesday I did my usual track workout (5 x 1600s). Wednesday I was fine. Thursday morning I woke up and my quads were sore. This was surprising, but it wasn't painful, just sore, so I ignored it. However, the soreness has continued. It's a little baffling. I went faster than normal last Tuesday (about 30 seconds per mile faster - 6:30s) in anticipation of Richard yelling at me to run faster for our relay this weekend, but it didn't hurt at all. I've run a 1/2 marathon doing 6:30s the whole way and I wasn't sore afterward. I haven't run any massive downhills lately.
The only thing I can think of is that my shoes have broken down a little earlier than normal. They have 480 miles on them right now. Usually I retire a pair of shoes at 500 miles, even though I know they probably have another 100 miles or so in them. I just do it to avoid injury. However, the only other time I've run in shoes for too long and felt the pain, the pain was in my foot and calf, not my quads. It's puzzling.
The other thing is maybe I'm just getting old. I thought I had another 5 or so fast running years left in me, but maybe I was wrong. Or maybe I'll still be able to run fairly quickly, but will be made to pay a price. I really am not looking forward to the breaking down of my body. Maybe I need to look into the whole Barry Bonds regimen. So I live to 85 instead of 100. Not that big a deal.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Nicknames
I've been called many things over the years, most of them I will not print due to sensitive eyes (Who am I kidding, I just don't want both of you to start asking for Miggidy Mixmaster Mike (Triple M) when you call and Liz picks it up, which would then lead to her asking me to put on her blue sequin blouse and spin my Kenny G records). However, I've learned over the past year in consulting how clients view consultants. Clients. Not those affected by the work that consultants do. Huge difference there. How clients view me has led to an interesting nicknaming phenomenon.
My two favorites are:
- The Quiet Tornado
and
- The Sledgehammer
My two favorites are:
- The Quiet Tornado
and
- The Sledgehammer
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Mo, Compel Me
During break time when I should be buying another 20oz Diet Coke or perhaps just stretching my cramped hamstrings, I instead have taken to commenting on this blog. Mo, you posting about politics has got to be the single worst thing you have ever done to me. And you have done some pretty terrible things to me. We won't discuss those things. Will we. Ever.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Gravy
I'm a decent cook. Actually, I don't cook very many things, but those things that I do make, I make better than average. You see, I've discovered the secret to food that tastes good. It's called fat. My main ingredients are butter, cream, chicken fat, and whole milk. Although I'd much rather use cream than whole milk, as whole milk just isn't fatty enough.
Well, Liz has recently discovered that I have perfected my gravy and now desires it above all other things. All. Other. Things. The sounds that emanated from her yesterday made me a little jealous. I kept telling myself that at least I was the indirect cause of so much ecstasy. After 30 minutes of ooohing and aaahhing, I decided that it was little consolation. I might make her wait a month for the next batch.
Well, Liz has recently discovered that I have perfected my gravy and now desires it above all other things. All. Other. Things. The sounds that emanated from her yesterday made me a little jealous. I kept telling myself that at least I was the indirect cause of so much ecstasy. After 30 minutes of ooohing and aaahhing, I decided that it was little consolation. I might make her wait a month for the next batch.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Briones
The five of us training for the SLC Marathon, plus three others, went for a 20 miler on Saturday. We met in Orinda, ran 3 miles to Briones Reservoir, ran the 14 miles around it, then ran the 3 miles back. You'll notice a sudden drop in elevation right before mile 16 and that my total mileage on my watch was only 18. Both were due to me forgetting to turn my watch back on as I was waiting for some other runners to catch up.
The run was inspiring, as any run that has the climbs that this run has should. I think that going forward I am going to incorporate two 20 mile hill runs into my training schedule. The current schedule has five 20s and two 22s, but it is all on flat ground. I have a feeling that having two of my 20s be on runs like this can only help.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Last
I've noticed that oftentimes I am the last person to comment on a particular blog entry, usually after I've commented about something I feel strongly about. I've come to the realization that this phenomenon occurs because I am right. Oh, you could say it's because I'm a troll and others don't want to feed the troll. You could also say that most people really just don't care what I say. And finally, someone could say that I'm often late to the party and others have moved on to newer blog pastures, but I know the truth and deep down, so do you.
PTC is on the money. Don't forget it.
PTC is on the money. Don't forget it.
Market Research
Apparently I don't know my audience very well. Maybe I should put some of my marketing knowledge to work here.
Market Potential - about 2 billion
Current Market Share - .0000000000000000000000095%
Market Concentration - we'll go with geographical concentration - primarily a 15 square mile area in the East Valley with a few outliers
Market Demand - almost 0
Elasticity of Demand - well, since this is a free site, we can't really measure it, but let's assume that my content is so good that it's about .2
Here's where it gets fun:
Market Segment - if you simply looked at my posts, you would assume that I am targeting runners and readers (although really, who am I kidding, my real target audience is myself)
However, if we measure how well my content is received by the number of comments that each particular post receives, we can plainly see that my content needs to change if I want to drive up my readership.
Popular culture appears the way to go. Running, gone. Reading, gone. The Lottery, stays. WoW, not sure yet. 8.5 million current subscribers can't be all wrong. Stay tuned for my next post about the Anna Nicole mystery, to be followed by my post on Tom Cruise's bizarre love triangle that involves a donkey.
This change in strategy should increase my comments, drive up my earnings, and give me an overall boost in self-esteem. I probably should have caught on to this trend a long time ago, but you know me, I'm a little stubborn, prone to delusions of my own self-importance, and basically not too bright. Thank you all for this revelation. I didn't even need to fast to receive it. It would have helped if someone had told me this 25 months ago when I started this thing. I could have been living off of this site by now.
Market Potential - about 2 billion
Current Market Share - .0000000000000000000000095%
Market Concentration - we'll go with geographical concentration - primarily a 15 square mile area in the East Valley with a few outliers
Market Demand - almost 0
Elasticity of Demand - well, since this is a free site, we can't really measure it, but let's assume that my content is so good that it's about .2
Here's where it gets fun:
Market Segment - if you simply looked at my posts, you would assume that I am targeting runners and readers (although really, who am I kidding, my real target audience is myself)
However, if we measure how well my content is received by the number of comments that each particular post receives, we can plainly see that my content needs to change if I want to drive up my readership.
Popular culture appears the way to go. Running, gone. Reading, gone. The Lottery, stays. WoW, not sure yet. 8.5 million current subscribers can't be all wrong. Stay tuned for my next post about the Anna Nicole mystery, to be followed by my post on Tom Cruise's bizarre love triangle that involves a donkey.
This change in strategy should increase my comments, drive up my earnings, and give me an overall boost in self-esteem. I probably should have caught on to this trend a long time ago, but you know me, I'm a little stubborn, prone to delusions of my own self-importance, and basically not too bright. Thank you all for this revelation. I didn't even need to fast to receive it. It would have helped if someone had told me this 25 months ago when I started this thing. I could have been living off of this site by now.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
$370 Million
That's a lot of clams. Every news site has a headline on it. The radio personalities keep talking about what they would do with that much money. I'll admit, I'm not immune. That much money would be very nice and I can imagine many things I would do with it, not all of them frivolous. However, when it all comes down to it and as has been said by many others, "The lottery is a tax on the stupid." If you're going to gamble, play something with a little bit better odds, like craps or poker or insider trading. Not that I am encouraging gambling.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Guilty Pleasure
Not every book I read is about history, war, politics, and economics. I do have my guilty pleasures. Stephen King's Dark Tower Series is one of those. I had read books 1 through 4 many years ago and at Christmas, when I received a Barnes & Noble gift card, I decided not to add to my non-fiction library, but to add to my science fiction library and bought the last three books of the Dark Tower. I started reading Wolves of the Calla two days ago and am now about half way through it. I'm not going to summarize it because if you haven't read books 1 through 4, you'd be completely lost. It's a very good read. The series is unlike most of King's writing. When I read book 1, The Gunslinger, I was immediately hooked. There's a broad theme of showing humanity how tiny we really are that resonates with me. That and all of the gun play of course. Although if you start at book 1, know that it is the slowest of the books in terms of action. When King wrote it originally as a short story, I'm not sure he meant for it to become what it has become.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Clarification
Some have asked about moving your VO2max. Technically you cannot move your VO2max. It is determined solely by genetics. The purpose of the VO2max workouts is to be able to run at your VO2max for long periods of time. What you are moving is your current ability to transport oxygen to your heart. Let's say my VO2max is 100. However, today, my current ability to transport oxygen to my heart is 70. What the VO2max workouts do is allow me to achieve my ceiling (my VO2max). However, everyone's ceiling is different. If my ceiling is 100, Lance Armstrong's drug-free ceiling is 300. With drugs, it's probably 350. I kid. I kid.
I'd Forgotten
What a workout this is. I was home early yesterday and because my training partner begged off of our morning run due to injury, I decided to not wake up at 4:30am and to run after work with the little guy. Well, he's not as little as he was seven months ago. I would have thought that my recent speed and hill training would have given me a boost, but apparently either Zane gained 25 pounds or I am weaker than I was when I was training for Tahoe.
Yes, yesterday was a tough 8 miles. Of course Zane fell asleep about 1 1/2 miles into it and woke up about two blocks from our house. He missed the two giant hills, one of which left me feeling like I was about to vomit. He missed his dad sprinting at the end barely able to breathe so that he could make his goal of averaging under 8 minute miles, which I did, but it took a 7:20 last mile to do it. He did not miss opening the garage door when we arrived home though. Pushing the "button" is his favorite thing to do. I'm sure our neighbors love how many times a day the garage door opens and closes and opens again, particularly because it needs some oil.
Yes, yesterday was a tough 8 miles. Of course Zane fell asleep about 1 1/2 miles into it and woke up about two blocks from our house. He missed the two giant hills, one of which left me feeling like I was about to vomit. He missed his dad sprinting at the end barely able to breathe so that he could make his goal of averaging under 8 minute miles, which I did, but it took a 7:20 last mile to do it. He did not miss opening the garage door when we arrived home though. Pushing the "button" is his favorite thing to do. I'm sure our neighbors love how many times a day the garage door opens and closes and opens again, particularly because it needs some oil.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Interval Training
Aside from long runs at goal pace, the key to running fast for long periods of time is long interval training. Long intervals combine VO2max and Anaerobic Threshold or Lactate Threshold training. A long interval is a distance of 800m to 1600m. However, my personal feeling based upon experience is that intervals of 800m only really contribute to helping your VO2max, while intervals of 1600m contribute to increasing both your VO2max and anaerobic threshold.
For those that did not click on the links. VO2max is your maximum capacity to transport and utilize oxygen. Your lactate threshold is the point at which lactate begins to accumulate in your blood stream faster than it can be metabolized. Exercising at a greater rate than your lactate threshold means that you are exercising without oxygen (going anaerobic) and will tire faster than if you were exercising at below your lactate threshold. Fortunately, doing specific workouts can increase your maximum oxygen capacity, as well as push your lactate threshold back (to a point pre-determined by your genetic make-up).
My long interval workout is as follows. Once a week I go to the track (in NY, I did my long interval workouts on a treadmill). One week I will do 800m intervals. The following week I will do 1600m intervals. Today was an 800m day. One mile warmup, then right into the first 800m interval. You typically want to run each of your intervals at exactly the same pace. I'm training with someone whose Boston Qualifying time is 3:30 and according to Yasso, our intervals should be 3:30 each. Read the article. Apparently there is a correlation between running 10 800m repeats in terms of minutes and seconds that tells you how fast you will run a marathon in hours and minutes with the same numbers. Again, read the article. For me and many others, this has proven itself time and time again.
When I qualified for Boston, I was running my 800m intervals in 3:10 and my 1600m intervals in 6:20. Later this year, when I go for a sub-3 hour marathon, I will be running my 800m intervals in 3:00 and my 1600m intervals in 6:00. Yea, that'll be fun.
So back to this morning's workout. We're not up to 10 800s yet. This week, we only did eight. After each 800m interval, we slow down to about 1 minute slower than marathon pace (9 minute mile) and do this for 1/2 a lap (200m). Once we hit the 200m mark, we go right into our next 800m interval. Every fourth 800m, we slow down to 1 minute slower than marathon pace for a full lap (400m). Once finished, we cool down with a very slow 1 mile jog. And you're done. Today, our times were 3:28, 3:29, 3:31, 3:32, 3:29, 3:29, 3:33, and 3:22. The last 200m of our last interval we just sprinted for kicks. Hey, we felt good. The keys are consistent speeds and not slowing down too much during your rests. You need to train your body to experience the peaks and valleys of the marathon gruel. This includes brief periods of recovering by slowing down, but not jogging or walking. If you cannot do 8 or 10 intervals in this fashion yet, then I'd recommend to start off with 3 or 4 and to slowly build up until you can do 8 or 10. It's better to do less right than to do more incorrectly.
1600m intervals are similar, but significantly harder. Same total distance. Next week, we will do 5 1600m intervals at 7:00 pace. Between each 1600m interval give yourself a full lap (400m) of running 1 minute slower than marathon pace. Every 4th interval, give yourself two full laps (800m) of running at 1 minute slower than marathon pace. 1600m are more difficult because of the need to sustain this speed for a longer period of time, but they are also more beneficial because not only do they increase your VO2max, but due to the distance, they increase your lactate threshold. Again, aside from the long training run that incorporates marathon pace, there is no other workout that will help you as much as 1600m repeats.
I typically start my speed work 14 weeks before a race beginning with 5 800m intervals and 3 1600m intervals increasing the number of intervals each week until I am at 12 800m intervals and 7 1600m intervals. My last 1600m interval workout is 3 weeks before the race. Two weeks before the race, I do 800m intervals and 1 week before the race I do 400m intervals just to keep the leg turnover going and not to wear out my legs.
Hope this makes sense. If you have any questions, let me know. Next week, I'll talk about the tempo run, which is the more traditional form of lactate threshold training.
For those that did not click on the links. VO2max is your maximum capacity to transport and utilize oxygen. Your lactate threshold is the point at which lactate begins to accumulate in your blood stream faster than it can be metabolized. Exercising at a greater rate than your lactate threshold means that you are exercising without oxygen (going anaerobic) and will tire faster than if you were exercising at below your lactate threshold. Fortunately, doing specific workouts can increase your maximum oxygen capacity, as well as push your lactate threshold back (to a point pre-determined by your genetic make-up).
My long interval workout is as follows. Once a week I go to the track (in NY, I did my long interval workouts on a treadmill). One week I will do 800m intervals. The following week I will do 1600m intervals. Today was an 800m day. One mile warmup, then right into the first 800m interval. You typically want to run each of your intervals at exactly the same pace. I'm training with someone whose Boston Qualifying time is 3:30 and according to Yasso, our intervals should be 3:30 each. Read the article. Apparently there is a correlation between running 10 800m repeats in terms of minutes and seconds that tells you how fast you will run a marathon in hours and minutes with the same numbers. Again, read the article. For me and many others, this has proven itself time and time again.
When I qualified for Boston, I was running my 800m intervals in 3:10 and my 1600m intervals in 6:20. Later this year, when I go for a sub-3 hour marathon, I will be running my 800m intervals in 3:00 and my 1600m intervals in 6:00. Yea, that'll be fun.
So back to this morning's workout. We're not up to 10 800s yet. This week, we only did eight. After each 800m interval, we slow down to about 1 minute slower than marathon pace (9 minute mile) and do this for 1/2 a lap (200m). Once we hit the 200m mark, we go right into our next 800m interval. Every fourth 800m, we slow down to 1 minute slower than marathon pace for a full lap (400m). Once finished, we cool down with a very slow 1 mile jog. And you're done. Today, our times were 3:28, 3:29, 3:31, 3:32, 3:29, 3:29, 3:33, and 3:22. The last 200m of our last interval we just sprinted for kicks. Hey, we felt good. The keys are consistent speeds and not slowing down too much during your rests. You need to train your body to experience the peaks and valleys of the marathon gruel. This includes brief periods of recovering by slowing down, but not jogging or walking. If you cannot do 8 or 10 intervals in this fashion yet, then I'd recommend to start off with 3 or 4 and to slowly build up until you can do 8 or 10. It's better to do less right than to do more incorrectly.
1600m intervals are similar, but significantly harder. Same total distance. Next week, we will do 5 1600m intervals at 7:00 pace. Between each 1600m interval give yourself a full lap (400m) of running 1 minute slower than marathon pace. Every 4th interval, give yourself two full laps (800m) of running at 1 minute slower than marathon pace. 1600m are more difficult because of the need to sustain this speed for a longer period of time, but they are also more beneficial because not only do they increase your VO2max, but due to the distance, they increase your lactate threshold. Again, aside from the long training run that incorporates marathon pace, there is no other workout that will help you as much as 1600m repeats.
I typically start my speed work 14 weeks before a race beginning with 5 800m intervals and 3 1600m intervals increasing the number of intervals each week until I am at 12 800m intervals and 7 1600m intervals. My last 1600m interval workout is 3 weeks before the race. Two weeks before the race, I do 800m intervals and 1 week before the race I do 400m intervals just to keep the leg turnover going and not to wear out my legs.
Hope this makes sense. If you have any questions, let me know. Next week, I'll talk about the tempo run, which is the more traditional form of lactate threshold training.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Azeroth
As I've made my way through Azeroth, I've come to the startling realization that there are more active members of World of Warcraft (8 million) than there are active members of my church globally. WoW has more active members than any religion's total number of active and inactive members in the United States except for the top four. And WoW players don't even knock on doors. I feel an entirely improper anecdote that I could share in fast and testimony meeting, minus the fasting, coming on.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Sometimes
My cheapness creates interesting situations. Some might even call them awkward. I've been at a client site in the South Bay for a few weeks. That means I am able to drive, rather than BART to work. It's nice because I get to listen to KNBR, a sports radio station. However, I only get to listen to it from the front left speakers in my car. You see, I am driving our Brooklynized green 1997 Toyota Corolla and all of the other speakers have blown.
I will post a picture of it one day, but most of you have already seen it. First of all, it's green. Second, there is a large dent on the front left side from the kids playing stickball on the street in our last Brooklyn apartment. Third, there is a large key mark that starts from one side of the car goes around the back of the car and then back up the other side of the car from when Liz and her friend 'stole' an angry white man's parking spot at the Macy's in downtown Brooklyn and he decided that keying our piece of HUD was the appropriate response. Fourth, the right headlight is out. And fifth, on the hood of this car, in large keyed out letters, is the F-word from when we went apple picking in New Jersey. NEW F*%#!+@ JERSEY!!! Anyways, this car is a piece of work. But it is a paid off piece of work that gets almost 30 mpg. Buy a new car? No way. I'm driving this thing into the ground and then Zane is going to drive it to high school.
Well, last night, the team at this client decided to go out to dinner in the city, which is about a 45 minute drive. A principal at my firm (that's the highest level) who is from out of town asked me to pick him up from his hotel and drive him to the restaurant. I swallowed my pride and said sure, I'd be happy to give him a ride in The Green Hornet. He laughed and I said, no, I'm serious, it's The Green Hornet. He then just looked at me funny and I just smiled.
When I was about five minutes away from his hotel, I called him and told him I was close and to look for the green Corolla with one headlight. I'm sure he was very impressed. He mentioned on the way back that he had ridden with an analyst once who did a fantastic job on a project, but who also had a beater of a car. He said that the only feedback he had for this person once the project was complete was to get a new car. I can only hope he has the same feedback for me.
And yes, I've probably written about my car before. Redundancy strikes again.
I will post a picture of it one day, but most of you have already seen it. First of all, it's green. Second, there is a large dent on the front left side from the kids playing stickball on the street in our last Brooklyn apartment. Third, there is a large key mark that starts from one side of the car goes around the back of the car and then back up the other side of the car from when Liz and her friend 'stole' an angry white man's parking spot at the Macy's in downtown Brooklyn and he decided that keying our piece of HUD was the appropriate response. Fourth, the right headlight is out. And fifth, on the hood of this car, in large keyed out letters, is the F-word from when we went apple picking in New Jersey. NEW F*%#!+@ JERSEY!!! Anyways, this car is a piece of work. But it is a paid off piece of work that gets almost 30 mpg. Buy a new car? No way. I'm driving this thing into the ground and then Zane is going to drive it to high school.
Well, last night, the team at this client decided to go out to dinner in the city, which is about a 45 minute drive. A principal at my firm (that's the highest level) who is from out of town asked me to pick him up from his hotel and drive him to the restaurant. I swallowed my pride and said sure, I'd be happy to give him a ride in The Green Hornet. He laughed and I said, no, I'm serious, it's The Green Hornet. He then just looked at me funny and I just smiled.
When I was about five minutes away from his hotel, I called him and told him I was close and to look for the green Corolla with one headlight. I'm sure he was very impressed. He mentioned on the way back that he had ridden with an analyst once who did a fantastic job on a project, but who also had a beater of a car. He said that the only feedback he had for this person once the project was complete was to get a new car. I can only hope he has the same feedback for me.
And yes, I've probably written about my car before. Redundancy strikes again.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Warning!
Scroll down only if you'd like to see the roof rat that was killed in our garage last week. Hey, at least I didn't need to chase it around in my garage with a shovel like Tom Tolbert.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Two Months Early
Apparently I should have looked more closely at the race links I posted earlier. The Salt Lake City Marathon is not in the first week of June, as it was last year. It is on April 21st. That's less than 14 weeks away. As I'd only been averaging about 20 miles a week, that means that I need to quickly kick up the mileage and do so while not injuring myself, which as both of you know, is a tough task. My foam roller will help, but I'm not sure if it can accomplish what cortisone shots and physical therapy could not. Keep the ITB pain away during serious marathon training. We'll see.
The good thing is that SLC is not my goal marathon, but my warmup marathon. I'd be happy with a sub 3:20 and will probably run a 3:15. The fun part about this training schedule is that I have a running buddy that is pretty close to me in terms of how fast he is. We're running together Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays are easy days of 4 to 6 miles.
Tuesday mornings = speed workout. We're rotating 800m and 1600m repeats at 45 to 50 seconds faster than goal marathon pace, which for him is about 7:50. We had our first speed workout this past Tuesday at 5am at the local track. It was 29 degrees, which sucked at first, but was nice once we finished our warmup and was great when we were on our 5th 800, which we did in 3:30. Nothing popped and everything felt good. Next week, we'll drop the time by another 10 seconds or so. We'll peak at doing twelve 800s and seven 1600s. Those should be pretty interesting days. Maybe I'll work from home.
Thursdays = Hills or Tempo workout. We're rotating an 8 mile trail run in the hills, again at 5am with our headlamps with a tempo run, which for the non-runners is a run where the middle 60% of your run, you run it at your 10k pace, which for my friend is about 7:15 pace. Our first run is tomorrow and we're starting with the hills. At 5am. I don't think I'm going to be able to give up caffeine for this training cycle. I do need to stay awake during most of work.
Saturdays = Long workout. Notice that I didn't say long and slow. I don't believe in running slow. To run fast, you gotta run fast. Our schedule includes three 20 milers and two 22 milers. For the first four weeks, our long runs will be 75% at a nice easy pace and 25% at goal marathon pace. The next seven weeks, we'll run 50% easy and 50% at goal marathon pace. Then of course is the taper.
WoW continues to progress slowly, although I haven't played for the past couple of days. My main character, Vlabba is at Level 15, but if I focus tonight, I think I can get him up to 16. The other day I meandered into contested territory the other day and was quickly felled by some dude riding a dragon that shot a lightning bolt at me. I told you that I hate The Horde, right? Well, at least Vlabba does. I haven't told Liz yet about the role playing aspect of this game and the dwarf costume I must buy. It's pretty tough.
The good thing is that SLC is not my goal marathon, but my warmup marathon. I'd be happy with a sub 3:20 and will probably run a 3:15. The fun part about this training schedule is that I have a running buddy that is pretty close to me in terms of how fast he is. We're running together Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays are easy days of 4 to 6 miles.
Tuesday mornings = speed workout. We're rotating 800m and 1600m repeats at 45 to 50 seconds faster than goal marathon pace, which for him is about 7:50. We had our first speed workout this past Tuesday at 5am at the local track. It was 29 degrees, which sucked at first, but was nice once we finished our warmup and was great when we were on our 5th 800, which we did in 3:30. Nothing popped and everything felt good. Next week, we'll drop the time by another 10 seconds or so. We'll peak at doing twelve 800s and seven 1600s. Those should be pretty interesting days. Maybe I'll work from home.
Thursdays = Hills or Tempo workout. We're rotating an 8 mile trail run in the hills, again at 5am with our headlamps with a tempo run, which for the non-runners is a run where the middle 60% of your run, you run it at your 10k pace, which for my friend is about 7:15 pace. Our first run is tomorrow and we're starting with the hills. At 5am. I don't think I'm going to be able to give up caffeine for this training cycle. I do need to stay awake during most of work.
Saturdays = Long workout. Notice that I didn't say long and slow. I don't believe in running slow. To run fast, you gotta run fast. Our schedule includes three 20 milers and two 22 milers. For the first four weeks, our long runs will be 75% at a nice easy pace and 25% at goal marathon pace. The next seven weeks, we'll run 50% easy and 50% at goal marathon pace. Then of course is the taper.
WoW continues to progress slowly, although I haven't played for the past couple of days. My main character, Vlabba is at Level 15, but if I focus tonight, I think I can get him up to 16. The other day I meandered into contested territory the other day and was quickly felled by some dude riding a dragon that shot a lightning bolt at me. I told you that I hate The Horde, right? Well, at least Vlabba does. I haven't told Liz yet about the role playing aspect of this game and the dwarf costume I must buy. It's pretty tough.
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