I just noticed that the wheels fell off the bus. It has been over a year since my last post. For various reasons, I got away from running and running related activities and gained about 30 pounds. I just set a goal for myself to place in a race in 2016. I am usually humble with my goals and finishing is my goal. I am moving into a new age group (55-59, if you are wondering), this give me a chance to place. Placing in a race is very hard. I may not meet my goal but I am going to try.
Ted’s rules for for a goal. Note; Ted is Alamedarunners
Create a goal.
It does not matter what the goal is, come up with a goal.
Work toward the goal
I have a lofty goal; I will start by getting out and running.
Find a target event
Create a training plan around my lifestyle
Find ways to implement the plan
Do not give up
Do my best to achieve my goal.
To do my best in achieving my goal, I must do my best in training.
No excuses.
I post my goals because I know that I used to have a lot of readers who followed me and took what I said to heart. This site was created to help others. My current goal is to help me. I hope that my selfish objective will help others in their ambitions to help themselves.
This site was created to help a group of people obtain their goal of finishing the inaugural Oakland running festivals half marathon. Now, I am using the site to help me with my own ambitions to get back into shape. I may never meet my earlier standards but I hope to get better than I am today.
For the record, the inaugural Oakland running festival was about 6-7 years ago.
I could run a half marathon in about 1 hour 40 minutes.
This is a good post to bring up every year. I am preparing for another triathlon this weekend and I need a checklist for my stuff.
I was getting my stuff ready for an International distance triathlon when I decided to take a picture and post my plan. I am packing up to drive a few hours to the race location where I will spend the night in a hotel then ride my bike about 5 miles to the race start area.
It is always a good idea to create a list of triathlon gear you are going to use and how you are going to use the gear. You can organize the list in any order that suits you. For this event, I used a towel on the floor, the equipment and a picture as my list. My list shown below is based on importance of the equipment. Some things are just required for most triathlons.
Required: Bike – Tuned and in good working order Bike helmet – I am not a good one to ask about helmet requirements. If it fits, I am happy. Running shoes – I have the added optional upgrades from RoadID and SuperFeet inserts. Bike shoes – Running shoes will work but your feet will hurt and you will lose power on the hills. Shorts – I have some Snazzy TYR Tri shorts that work well for all 3 events. Any shorts will work but I really like the tri shorts. The pockets are in good places and they don’t chaffe. Shirt – Required at most races and they protect your back from the sun.
Optional: Bike pump – I like to pump up the tires right before I leave for the race. Water bottles – I have 3 bottles
One to rinse my feet after the swim
One for the bike that is filled with an electrolyte mix
One bottle of water for the bike
This course is very hot for me. I will drink half the electrolyte before I get on the bike and drink one bottle of water on the bike. I will discard both bottles at the bike water stop for fresh ones, filled with cold water. Two towels – one for the ground and one to use after the race. Bike gloves – Just in case I feel like wearing them. Body glide – Great for preventing chaffing from the wet suit. It also protects your neck from the sun. Food – I bring it but I probably won’t eat much. I will probably eat a stinger waffle after the swim. Spi Belt with bib hangars – A great place to put your bib and it only takes one clip to put it on. Socks to help prevent blisters on your feet. Super thin underwear – Some people like them, some don’t. I like them. Swim goggles – tested and adjusted to fit properly. Multi-tool kit for bikes – In case something goes wrong while getting ready for the race. Wet-suit – fit tested with operational zipper. I like to lubricate the zipper with body glide. Bike pouch:
Spare tube
CO2 dispenser
CO2 cartridges (2)
Tire levers
Spare tube
Patch kit
First aid kit
Allen wrenches 3,4 & 5 mm
Bag to carry goods to and from the start line.
Sunglasses are in the car and I have not made up my mind on the bike jersey yet.
Prepare for your distance. For my current level of fitness, an Olympic distance triathlon is a short event where I don’t need to worry about nutrition. I do have to worry about the heat and water. Practice with your equipment, including nutrition before the event.
It is officially the off season for me. Since I did not plan on running a marathon in December, my off season began in October but I kept on training in hopes of another Rapha 500 challenge in 8 days event around Christmas. I tried the challenge two years ago and failed miserably but this year looks promising. I discovered both Rapha and Strava at the same time for that challenge and I am happy that I did. They are both good organizations and I owe to myself to complete the challenge.
Back to the off season training article. Most of us pick an event as our main or “A” event. Sometimes we do two “A” events in one year but we still have the same feeling when we finish our main event. It is a feeling of accomplishment. We achieved our goal or we did not achieve our goal. If we did not achieve our goal, we will either quit or dedicate ourselves to achieving our goal next year. My message here is for the people who achieved their goal and then asked “Now what?” It is a weird feeling when a mission has been accomplished and you have no follow up goal. Most of us find ourselves in this predicament at one time or another. I am bringing this up because I am in the “now, what” stage myself. Here is a list of things I do to keep myself ready for the next season.
Find next “A” event
Maintain core strengths
Lift weights
Swim a mile at least once a week
Ride my bike farther than 40 miles at least once per week
Run close to 10 miles per week
I also like to do a couple trail half marathons during the off season to keep my endurance up
Check your calendar for the last season. Did you get injured? What were you doing before you were injured? No calendar? Create a plan to track your workouts.
Pick your next event
Develop your training plan for the event
Decide what your fitness level should be when the training begins
Picking your next event is usually the most fun part of the process. There are so many events in so many locations; it can be hard to choose. If you are picking one of your first events, it is so exiting when you realize that you are going to be an athlete. I still remember my first race, when the race director raised his bull horn and said “athletes, gather around”.
Developing the plan is not easy. There is no plan that fits everyone. We all have to come up with our own plan. I recommend looking at other peoples plans to use as a reference for your own plan. I do the same thing myself. I can take my own plans from 10 or 15 years ago and tailor them to my current needs. As I get older, my recovery is not the same as it was 15 years ago. My nutritional needs are certainly different from 15 years ago. In fact, the grocery store is different from 15 years ago but that is another matter entirely. I encourage everyone to put at least one rest day per week in their training plans. I tend to be more prone to injury when I am training over 20 hours per week. I used to consider a 2 mile swim day as my rest day. That was not a good idea. Rest means rest.
Whether your “A” event was a couch to 5k or the western states 100, rest up, pick your plan and have fun.
A lot of people are nervous about doing group runs or working out with a group. I hear a lot of reasons why people don’t want to join a group. I think the number one reason people don’t join a group is because they are afraid of something.
Afraid of being dropped
Afraid of being bad-mouthed or teased
They don’t want to be seen at the back of the pack
Nervous of being around people who are in great shape
Don’t want to commit to a routine
Do any of these excuses sound familiar? If they do, don’t worry. Most experienced people who run with groups, understand group running and what it is like to be the new guy. We all started at one time. Most of us understand what it is like to be a beginner and run at the beginners pace.
Don’t worry about being at the back of the pack. When I did my first triathlon, I did not care where I finished. I wanted to finish. As I progressed, my goals changed accordingly. I am racing in a half ironman triathlon next week. My goal is to finish healthy. Every now and then, I will pick a half marathon that is suited to me and try to place in my age group. I the idea is to get out and do it. Have fun while you are doing it.
Group runs can be fun for everyone. Last week, I went out on a group run and wound up with someone who wanted to pick up the pace and distance. Since he was tired, I did all of the talking. Since I am training for a long triathlon, that is all I have to talk about. When we got back from the run, my running partner was telling the group to run with me because you hear the craziest things. I told him about how tired I get after a 6 hour bike ride if I don’t eat properly. To me that is normal. To most people, it is odd.
Get out on a group run. You will add something to the group. The more people who are in the group the better options there are for everyone.
I was getting my stuff ready for an International distance triathlon when I decided to take a picture and post my plan. I am packing up to drive a few hours to the race location where I will spend the night in a hotel then ride my bike about 5 miles to the race start area.
It is always a good idea to create a list of triathlon gear you are going to use and how you are going to use the gear. You can organize the list in any order that suits you. For this event, I used a towel on the floor, the equipment and a picture as my list. My list shown below is based on importance of the equipment. Some things are just required for most triathlons.
Required: Bike – Tuned and in good working order Bike helmet – I am not a good one to ask about helmet requirements. If it fits, I am happy. Running shoes – I have the added optional upgrades from RoadID and SuperFeet inserts. Bike shoes – Running shoes will work but your feet will hurt and you will lose power on the hills. Shorts – I have some Snazzy TYR Tri shorts that work well for all 3 events. Any shorts will work but I really like the tri shorts. The pockets are in good places and they don’t chaffe. Shirt – Required at most races and they protect your back from the sun.
Optional: Bike pump – I like to pump up the tires right before I leave for the race. Water bottles – I have 3 bottles
One to rinse my feet after the swim
One for the bike that is filled with an electrolyte mix
One bottle of water for the bike
This course is very hot for me. I will drink half the electrolyte before I get on the bike and drink one bottle of water on the bike. I will discard both bottles at the bike water stop for fresh ones, filled with cold water. Two towels – one for the ground and one to use after the race. Bike gloves – Just in case I feel like wearing them. Body glide – Great for preventing chaffing from the wet suit. It also protects your neck from the sun. Food – I bring it but I probably won’t eat much. I will probably eat a stinger waffle after the swim. Spi Belt with bib hangars – A great place to put your bib and it only takes one clip to put it on. Socks to help prevent blisters on your feet. Super thin underwear – Some people like them, some don’t. I like them. Swim goggles – tested and adjusted to fit properly. Multi-tool kit for bikes – In case something goes wrong while getting ready for the race. Wet-suit – fit tested with operational zipper. I like to lubricate the zipper with body glide. Bike pouch:
Spare tube
CO2 dispenser
CO2 cartridges (2)
Tire levers
Spare tube
Patch kit
First aid kit
Allen wrenches 3,4 & 5 mm
Bag to carry goods to and from the start line.
Sunglasses are in the car and I have not made up my mind on the bike jersey yet.
Prepare for your distance. For my current level of fitness, an Olympic distance triathlon is a short event where I don’t need to worry about nutrition. I do have to worry about the heat and water. Practice with your equipment, including nutrition before the event.
I just posted an article about going from being a desk jockey to running a 5k the other day. Today, I found a similar article from active.com in my inbox. Their article is similar to mine. We both encourage you to get out and do it. Do not overdo things. There is no shame in walking. Slowly build up to the 5k distance.
I am a firm believer in getting multiple opinions and making your own decisions. It is amazing how many things work well one day and not so well the next. Read up on things and draw your own conclusions. Do your best to not come up with excuses to rest.
Acitve.com is a great place for articles. They are like the Microsoft of event management. They reign supreme but they know there a lot of options available. To stay relevant, they have an online magazine and wordpress style blog. Their blog is excellent. The articles are well written and pertain to most sports for all levels. They are a “for profit site” but I have never noticed a bias in their writing. I give them kudos for keeping the bias out. I have people send me stuff to review and it is so hard to not cheer on the little guys who are just starting out or the people who contact me.
If you are not a member of active.com, I encourage you to browse around their web site. It is a good idea to sign up for their service and have your credit card on file. Some of the events we do sell out quickly. It is good to be on record when you sign up for these events.
Thanks for all of the phone calls and e-mails voicing concerns for my safety. I did not run the Boston Marathon this year. As all of the readers who know me can attest, I love running and I love people. I can’t comprehend why someone would want to harm anyone for any reason. It makes me sad to see people getting injured. A lot of my friends have been making comments and asking me questions about peoples reactions and how I would have reacted if that happened to me.
Here are my responses to some questions regarding the bomb blasts at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
Did you see what happened at the Boston Marathon? First of all, I did not watch the coverage of the bomb blasts. When I saw it on the news, I turned it off or turned to something else. It breaks my heart to see senseless violence.
What about the guy who got knocked over by the blast then got up and kept going? My response is, marathons are hard. When you get to the finish line after 4+ hours of running, the only thing on your mind is that finish line. The first two hours of a marathon are easy. The third hour becomes more difficult because you worry about your preparation. The fourth hour is hard. The excitement from the day before is starting to take its toll on you. The lack of sleep from being in a hotel and getting up early are starting to wear on you. The fourth hour, of a four hour marathon is pure hell. When you are that close to the finish line (a couple hundred yards), the only thing in life is the finish line.
Would I have stopped to help people? I am not a medic but I am trained in first aid. I do not know if my training would help, but I would have stopped to make sure everyone was okay. If I did stop, I would have done my best to help and stayed until released by the authorities. After I was released, I would have finished the race even if I had to crawl to a finish line that was taken down.
Would I have been upset if I was told the race was cancelled when I was at mile 25? I would have been devastated. You have to qualify about a year in advance for Boston. That means most people have to invest more than two years of training to run the Boston Marathon.
At mile 25, you have been through hell and are running on determination and the promise of almost finishing. You immediately know you have to stop. A bomb blast is entirely up to the imagination. The implications don’t really sink in for a few hours because the body is so fatigued. I don’t know how I would feel if that happened to me. I imagine that every thing about it feels horrible for the poor people who were out on the course.
I will stop here because it hurts me to imagine how the people involved feel. I hope something like this does not happen again. Mike’s Thoughts: Sorry to hijack Ted’s post, but I share a lot of the same thoughts … it’s such a tragedy that three people lost their lives, along with those injured in the bomb blasts. They are all in my thoughts as they face a difficult and painful road to recovery.
Recovery is important for athletes looking to heal fast and continue training and racing – but ensuring we give our bodies the right nutrition post-race can be extremely difficult.
Ultimately, trying to figure out how much protein is needed comes down to a math and biology lesson, so I hope you’re prepared!
Very active people need 0.75g of protein per pound of body weight Moderately active people need 0.6g of protein per pound of body weight Mildly active people need 0.5g of protein per pound of body weight
So, a person who is moderately active and weighs 170 lbs. should consume around 102g of protein every day – though that number can fluctuate depending on overall activity level.
Ideally, you’ll want to consume something with protein within 10-15 minutes after your workout. I try to drink a little bit of water, and then worry about consuming some carbs and drinking a protein drink.
This commercial is what we have been telling our readers for a few years. Go do it. Find your greatness, do not worry about what other people are doing. Go do your own thing.
I don’t really have a favorite company. I have stuff from a lot of athletic companies and wear what is comfortable. After I saw this ad, I broke out my Nike gear and wore it proudly for my daily run. It was really hot in Fremont today. When it was time to slow down for the last two miles, all I could think about was – shuffle, shuffle, shuffle; “find your greatness”.
I was moved when I saw that kid out running for the commercial. He was working hard. Good job Nike.
Alameda Runners is about more than just running, cycling, and maintaining an active lifestyle.
As such, I want to briefly discuss the benefits of shea butter, which is based from the nuts of the African Shea tree. It’s best used for skin care, such as healing scars and skin imperfections, moisturizes the skin, and reduces skin irritations.
There are a wide variety of different shea products, and I’ve owned several products from Essence Unlimited – a small Oakland-based outfit – but have tried other products. I don’t even think Essence Unlimited are out there anymore, so don’t go looking.
However, heading to your local flea market, in Alameda, Oakland, Berkeley, or San Francisco, you should be able to find a variety of different products.
I look for the shea butter products that are simple; all of my shea butters I purchase tend to have just shea butter and aloe vera, while any of the added junk simply isn’t necessary. Feel free to purchase products that have added ingredients, but just make sure they are natural – you may find products with root extracts, plant extract, and coconut oil as well.
Shea butter might be something for you to take a look at – you can pick it up at your local flea market, or head to the cosmetic section of a grocery store. You can spend anywhere from $5 up to $50+ for a small container of the skin lotion.
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