June 2012
3 posts
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Lentil-Mushroom Burgers (from Scott Jurek)
(Photo Credit: Photographer: David Prince (at Outside Magazine); food styling by Megan Schlow)
After several months of anticipation, Scott Jurek’s book Eat & Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness finally hit the shelves. I picked up a copy at B&N today and am already a few chapters in and enjoying every minute of it. I’ll probably post a review of the book in...
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"Long-Distance Running Is the Only Sport That's... →
Those who have read Born to Run are unlikely to encounter much “new” information; nevertheless, the article proves to be a good read.
May 2012
12 posts
3 tags
When Running Shoes Die
I have found that I standardly have a pretty bad sense of when a shoe is reaching the end of its life. One day I am out on a pleasant run, and the very next day I start to feel as if all of the cushioning is gone. It’s as if someone, just to spite me, has removed a small section of foam in the shoe and replaced it with a small, jagged rock. This happened for the first time back in February,...
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“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than...”
– Abe Gubegna, as quoted in Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run.
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The Tough Mudder Philosophy
It is not that I have a problem with the Tough Mudder, per se, but ever since hearing about this “race” I have had a major problem with the proclaimed philosophy. In some cases this irritation filters down to the Tough Mudders, themselves. I know (and have met) a good number of really great people that have participated in this event, and I have also read a good deal of blogs from...
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Runner meets Logician
When two runners approach one another, the increase in their rate of pace is directly proportional to the decrease in distance between them. When the value reaches 0, the decrease in rate of pace is directly proportional to the squared value of the decrease in distance.
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When The Cool Down Hurts Worst
Today was my second to last speed session before I start focusing more on my weekly mileage (right now I’m at around 35-40 mi.). The total run ended up being 7.9 miles––1+ mile warm-up, 11 x 400 meter intervals @ 5:40 min/mi pace, and a 1+ mile run back home. When all was said and done and I was nearing that last stretch back to the house, I started thinking, “You know, this has to be...
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“What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they...”
– Once A Runner, by John L. Parker Jr.
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On Running Too Fast
When I first returned to running, I found that I really only had, at most, three different paces: “very slow”, “comfortably difficult”, and “very hard”. I seldom made use of my “slow” and “hard” paces, seeing as to how the former was an uncomfortably (or, even, unnaturally) slow speed and the latter was so fast as to be unmaintainable...
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Build Your Own Protein Powder
If you are an athlete and have ever spent any time searching for a protein powder, you will immediately identify with the frustration I have experienced looking for a product with the best protein/ingredient/cost ratio. I’ve found this problem to be even more exacerbated by the fact that I’ve been looking for a plant-based option (though Whey users shouldn’t stop reading(!))....
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“The principle of specificity means that to become accomplished at an activity,...”
– Jack Daniels, Daniels’ Running Formula, 2nd. ed., page 9.
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Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself
(Borrowing a line from the Rolling Stones)
In January 2011, I was signed up for the Camp Pendleton Mud Run, a difficult 10k trail run occasionally interrupted by Marine Corp style obstacles. Notice that I said “I was signed up” rather than “I signed myself up”. While there was a bit of concession––”Alright, alright…I’ll do it”––the impetus for running the...
