Closing the Gap

Good Job on the splits. I would love to carve 10 minutes off my PR any suggestions I am so close to Boston qualify. I need 8 minutes carved. Great time in Death Valley that is almost my time in Ogden 2009. 3:23 was my time.

Hi Todd! I'm on my way out the door for most of the day, but when I return, I'll take a peek at your blog and see what your speedwork looks like--if you've posted it there. If you haven't posted it, let me know what you're currently doing to improve your time! I'm sure you can take those 8 min off!

Look at you blogging like a pro! Woo hoo! Oops, maybe I spoke to soon. You should enter the number of miles in above the blog entry box. That way, you know how many miles you've run for the week, month, year, etc. You can always go back and add it in. Just hit the edit button on your calendar.

Thanks Coach, As far a speed work I have been including the 800 Yasso, I think they call them. I have included some downhill work to speed up a little. I need some Yoga or some good stretching, I think that would help me out as well. I am starting to train for the Ogden Marathon at this time and I am running a half marathon in two weeks in St George, so any help for making up 8 minutes will help me out.

Hi Burt, yes, you have driven me to blog. Once I resume training, it'll be interesting, but for a little longer, it'll seem pretty undirected, which actually is a NICE CHANGE!!

OK, Todd, I did a quick skim of your training leading up to your last marathon and didn't see much consistent speed work. The Yasso 800's are great, but you should also mix it up with other speed work because the body adapts--that's a blessing and a curse! (Blessing because adaptation means we have improved; curse because that means we will stagnate if we don't change it.)

For instance, a speed workout on the road might look like this: 5 miles total--1 mile warm up, 1 mile with surges, 2 miles at 6:55 pace, 1 mile cooldown.

A track workout might look like this:4x1000 meters; set 1 1:36/lap, set 2 1:35 per lap, set 3 1:33 per lap, set 4 1:30 per lap.

There are NUMEROUS way to approach speed workouts, and the variety is GREAT!

Of course, you can't gain much in the next 2 weeks for your 1/2 since you are about to taper. But you can start now training aggressively for Ogden and get an exciting PR. I understand that Ogden is mostly downhill--right?

As for hills, yes, you can train the fast turnover and the eccentric contraction going downhill. How about uphill? How do you approach hills? You can do sprints and repeats up, and then typically you'd take the downhill pretty easy. Hill workouts are considered a hard training day, so you'd do it instead of a speed workout, and you'd have a recovery day (easy run) the next day. There's a GREAT article about hill workouts in this month's Running Times on page 20.

Also, I don't know if you do strength training, but that can REALLY help you with your speed, particularly if you strengthen your core and glutes.

As for stretching, pre-run, you can do some active-isolated stretches, which are much like range of motion--you keep moving and you contract the opposing muscle. Post-run you do the static stretches. We runners especially need to stretch quads and hip flexors and calves. Do you know how to stretch those? I'm hoping to set up a website to demonstrate some stretches, but I don't have it yet.

So, those are just little notes on how to train for a PR, but there's also race strategy to consider. Of course, strategy is something that CAN help your upcoming race! Do you already have a plan for race day?

Whew, sorry, I didn't mean to say so much!! :-) I hope it gives you some ideas, Todd, and if you haven't been doing consistent speed and strength work and YET you're only 8 minutes from qualifying for Boston, I'm quite sure that you WILL succeed (and probably with FLYING COLORS )once you've integrated speed and strength!!

OH, one last thing as I end my day, don't forget REST. The easy recovery runs and rest days are SO important. You can't gain speed if you have inadequate rest.

And so, goodnight. :-)

Welcome to the blog!

Like Burt said you can enter the number of miles run, then you can join in the fun of the Mileage Board LOL

Thanks for the tip to join the blog, Coach! I'm going to give it a shot. Seems to look like a great option over the active.com Trainer log. Plus, this will give you the insight into my training and be able to track my workouts and progress toward joining me in Boston by 2015. :-) You're an awesome coach, thanks for all the help so far!

Great run today. I really appreciate your advice to Todd - I need to improve on my speedwork. Welcome to the blog!

Some thoughts on speed work.

Yasso 800s make sense when you can do them somewhere around the speed 33% slower than your all out 100. So for somebody running 15.0 in 100 meter sprint this would be around 2:40. A little variation based on the individual is possible, but I would say if you can run 100 in 15.0, but are struggling to do 6x800 in 3:00, your problem is not speed, and that workout becomes a less effective form of aerobic conditioning.

To run a good 5 K to the marathon distance you have to balance two aspects of fitness - aerobic and neuromuscular. Aerobic responds primarily to the duration of a workout once a rather moderate intensity has been reached. Neuromuscular is a whole lot more responsive to intensity, but it also responds to duration.

So here is the problem. We have a guy that is aerobically underdeveloped (most recreational runners are), and we have him work on his neuromuscular fitness by a workout like 6x800. Because he lacks aerobic support he cannot power his muscles to reach an adequate neuromuscular stimulus. So in essence, he is jogging through his intervals, except he is out of breath. He would kill you if you told him he is jogging, because it hurts pretty bad, but from the neuromuscular point of view he IS JOGGING! His muscles can do a whole lot better, and need to work a whole lot harder in order to develop.

He will progress to a point, because he does get to run 3 miles at high aerobic intensity, and that is probably equivalent in aerobic stimulus to running 5 miles at a comfortable pace, but this is a rather extravagant and thus less effective way to do it. Because he will be too tired to run as much as he should, or otherwise could have, in the next couple of days.

He will get much better results if he focuses on aerobic development until his aerobic strength is sufficient to support a neuromuscular challenge of this kind. He can still give himself a neuromuscular challenge by doing 20 second strides during his easy runs, but no more than that. A general principle is that if subsystem A is much stronger than subsystem B, anything that attempts to develop subsystem A at the expense of subsystem B is less effective. So we never want to do anything that hampers aerobic development for as long as aerobic conditioning is our limiting factor.

In practice, the aerobic fitness is going to lag behind the neuromuscular fitness for most runners that have not run 60 miles a week for a period of at least two years. Todd, among many others, fits into that group. At this point he should focus on mileage. Occasional speed is fine, but it must not affect his ability to run the miles.

The above is not just some theory. We have proved this in practice. A typical Fast Running Blog story is that a runner joins the blog with the background of a typical Runner's World and other fad style training. 3-4 days a week, maybe 30 miles a week. A speed session, and a long run. We tell them - ditch your plans, and just run six days a week at a comfortable pace. Go half the distance of your long run on a normal day. No fancy plans, no speed work until you are aerobically developed. In a year we see them run 30+ minute PR in the marathon!

If you showed this to anybody who coaches world-class distance runners, he would say "Duh! Of course! What else would you expect!" But why do we not see this in popular running publications? I have come to the conclusion that the reason is simple - it may work, but it just does not sell. There is no drama, and you are asking people to be consistent instead of looking for a magic shortcut. That just does not sell in our culture. And those publications have to sell, or else they are broke.

Word count Sasha - 679.

Word count Cara - 485.

The winner by TKO - Sasha the Russian Buzzsaw Pachevvvv!

Welcome to the blog! I have been waiting for you to post so I could make a comment! You seem like an amazing runner with some great times and advice, I look forward to "tracking" your running (as opposed to stalking!)

Thanks Sasha, great insights. Of course, I totally agree on the necessity of the basebuilding. And, as you say, it's something that an ambitious runner HATES to hear: the need to run slowly and build up distance gradually! 30 minute PRs are pretty amazing if you're talking about a runner who's already at 3:23. Most often, I've only seen such an impressive PR with runners whose previous marathon has been so much slower. I am TOTALLY inadequate when it comes to technology, so I would not be shocked if I made a mistake when I was looking up blogs, but I thought I had read that Todd had run a number of marathons and an ultra! So, I was certainly not considering him a novice with inadequate basebuilding.

In any case, I do agree with you that the first phase needs to be complete and with very strong aerobic development. And that's not something that can be quickly assessed in one quick snippet of conversation.

Thanks for this website. You have done a wonderful job with it!

Thanks for the welcome, Kelli! Wow, everyone is so friendly. I just wish we could ALL go on a big group run together! :-)

Me, too!

Burt - You crack me up!

Coach - Welcome to the blog.

Burt cracks me up too. But this is how not-hip and not-techy I am: I don't know what TKO means. In fact, I don't text. And I only carry a cell phone about 1/8 of the time. I do know what BTW means, though!

TTFN,

Cara

I think TKO is a boxing term of some sort...

Nice Kelli.

Clearly you are a poser when it comes to kickboxing Coach. LOL! (laugh out loud)

TKO = technical... (I'll get you started.)

Oh, boxing! Burt must be multi-talented. It sounded like one of those texting things that the young whipper-snappers do these day. Why, when I was a kid....

Poser? Poser? Haven't I told you about all my, um, medals in all those, you know, boxing things? And Burt, you have seen my kickboxing picture, how intimidating I can be. Ferocious, even.

Do you tow know each other?????

KNOCK OUT

Oh, I've known Burt for months, or YEARS maybe.

No, actually I just "met" him last week, but it seems like a long time. :-)

He recruits from all over, so I just had to check. ;o)

Thanks Sashsa and Coach Cara, I really appreciate the feed back. You are right Coach I have completed 17 marathons and one Ultra and when I first started in 2004 my time was like 4:45 and from there it has come down to 3:23 so I am there just need to fine tune a few things to reach my goal. Once again thank you for your help.

Oh good, whew. I'm glad I wasn't hallucinating about what I thought I'd seen in your history. (Hadn't had time to go back and double check because the kids have kept me hopping today.)

Such a great improvement you've made since 2004! Way to go!

Cara - some blogs you might be interested in looking at. You can see everything they did to achieve the breakthrough. Just use the search box on the Other Blogs page to find them, I am too lazy to copy/paste URLs.

Clyde - 2:58 to 2:25 in two years.

Cody - 3:44 to 2:38 in a year.

Logan - 2:41 to 2:21 in six months.

Kory - 3:02 (or somewhere around that) to 2:36 in two years.

It does not matter how many marathons you've run. What matters is what kind of training you've been running them off.

A 3:23 guy off 150 miles a month or less is usually at least a 3:05 guy off 300 miles a month. 5 K speed is a big clue of the marathon potential, although it is often quite dormant in the absence of proper aerobic development.

Burt, don't rule out Cara in the word count contest (or me for that matter). She can hold her own!

Cara - all this time I thought you were understanding my emails! They must have looked like ABC soup, but apparently you got enough out of them. haha Here's a site to help you:

http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp

There's a ton there, so I'll have to put together a list of the more common ones. TKO isn't on the site above, so Burt would have stumped you on that one even without the cheat sheet.

This is also a great resource (this one would have helped you with the TKO):

http://www.acronymfinder.com/

TTYL!

John - I noticed.

Sasha - Let's not forget Burt.

5:20 to 4:35 in two years.

Of course I know I need to up my mileage drastically for a couple of years and I'll be in the low 3's. I haven't put in even a third of the miles those guys have.

Thanks, Sasha, for those blogs references! I'll definitely study them, and that saves me the work of having to search through ALL the blogs. I'm particularly interested in this topic right now because I've been reading about Lydiard's method lately, and it's such a different approach from that of my coach (who I'm actually not working with now). He had me back off the mileage, and he gave me some wonderful speed workouts. Also, he had me do long runs at a pace that many, many coaches would consider too fast. It was very different from the RRCA training, but he was not a real fan of that organization anyway.

Of course, as with so many other aspects of life, there are the golden standards that ALL experts easily agree on, such as the need to build a strong base, and then the hotly debated issues, such as what exactly constitutes a "base." And how many miles is best for the peak, and do we really need to stretch, etc, etc! I chatted with Jeff Galloway when he was in Portland in Oct, and he told me to actually "fire" my coach (who will remain unnamed for obvious reasons)! But then other experts heartily recommended that coach to me.

So, sticking to the non-negotiables is obviously wise, and beyond that, there's a ton of research to investigate! I am fascinated and excited to read what those amazing athletes have done! Thanks again for pointing me to their blogs.

OK, Burt, how many words is that?

You ought to know that I taught writing for several years, and I have worked as an editor. So watch out! ;-) I can be as wordy as your dictionary!!

Marathon coach skill evaluation. A coach must have a proven capability of taking somebody with the initial marathon time/5 K time ratio of over 10 and lowering it to 9.6 or less, or at least close. Lydiard would have that to his credit.

If a coach does not have such results, he might be a good mile or even 5 K coach, but his methods have not proven him yet as a marathon coach. I do not care how many articles he published, or how many Olympians he coached.

If you want to calculate ratios, you can use the calculator on the Add Entry/Edit Entry page. It knows time arithmetic.

Regarding base. Anything less than 60 miles a week for a couple of years is not a good base. Proof - nobody ever broke 2:10 without it. If a good base could possibly be achieved with less, we would have seen at least sometimes a speedy guy with a 13:30 5 K PR try a marathon off lower mileage, and run 2:10. But it NEVER happens. In fact, it is almost unheard of for somebody running less than 70 miles a week consistently to break even 2:20, which is a good 5 minutes slower than the ladies' world record!

OH NO, someone else to correct my grammar and typos! CRUD.

cool video! You are a movie star!

I have two of Lydiard's books (as a follow-up to your blog conversation of yesterday which I decided not to specifically respond to ...), they are good reads. Did you read the Running Times articles last month on Lydiard? Lorriane Moller wrote a great article and Greg also has written some things about Lydiard and his training (Greg traveled with Lydiard in the months before he died). Greg and Nobby (Nobby coached a Japanese corporate team with Lydiard) both wrote a response to a reader that had some questions about the apparent conflicts in interpretations about what types of workouts Lydiard prescribed during base training. It is a good read too (I think ;-))

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=18496

Happy running!

EUGENE!! Allie, from the blog, is running it and it is a great marathon!

Tacoma has a nice marathon on May 2nd.

http://www.tacomacitymarathon.com

It's a little later and a little(maybe a lot)smaller, but I'm running the Green River Marathon on June 5th. It's unique because it's the only FREE Boston qualifying marathon anywhere.

http://www.greenrivermarathon.com

Yes, Eugene is a BIG one for Oregonians, right after Portland. I'm sure a lot of my friends will be running Eugene.

WOW! I never heard of a FREE marathon--that's pretty cool. And for a frugal mom of 4 like me, that might be compelling. Although, I must say, when I hear "Green River," I think of its tragic past. I bet Tacoma would be nice. I do mostly prefer small marathons, with the exception of Boston, of course! :-)

Cara, I prefer small races too, I thought Eugene was a perfect size ... plus they had start corrals. No bathroom lines, and parking near the start was easy as pie!

Way to get out there in the chilly weather! Nice miles!

I was just thinking about how we used to run in harnesses in high school with someone pulling us. That's cuz I was watching the 2009 Strong Man Competition.

Nice cross training! I need to add more weights to my workout - it would make me such a stronger runner.

Thanks! I really do love strength training, especially with all the proprioceptive stuff they have these days, plus the bolistic exercises, and then just plain, old traditional wt lifting. It's something I especially like when there's not a race in the near future. For distance runners who hate strength training, I think that focusing on the entire core is at least a great minimum that we should strengthen.

Plank, anyone? :-)

Nice looking splits, Cara! I'm sure you'll kick some Tri-D boys butts! :-)

I'll be working off my dinner tonight for a while.

I HOPE you're right! They are assuming I will, but those guys are tough!! Did you watch the Youtube video of the Tri-D Fitness tire flipping? The 2 guys who will race up Weir Rd are the 2 winners of that tire flipping contest (and I was the loser!): Jim and Casey. They're SO nice, but incredibly competitive. They all know that I'm the big runner among them, so I'll hear about if I don't win!! YIKES! ;-)

BTW, I just now sent you a schedule for next week via email!

Burt, I haven't heard from you for a while! What did you have for dinner?

We went to a celebration dinner for the Buddy Walk committee I was on. It was a pot luck Mexican dinner. I just started my diet this week. The funny thing is, I didn't eat more than I'd normally eat, but I actually felt guilty. Ha!

Yum, Mexican can sure be a killer!

Next week I have so many little coffees planned,one of which is at my fav. bakery. Very bad. I know I'll be bad.

Have you had your body fat %tage checked?

What a terrible thing to discuss right before bed!

This week the Chamber had their mtg at our studio, and I ran around checking all the body fat readings on people. They probably all hated me.

Here's the tire flip video. I'm the red head without the mustache. All the cute blond kids meandering around in the background are my wee ones. :-) I know I look really weak in this video, but I had JUST run and won (for women) the 5K! I was really tired and sore.

So, Wes, THESE are the guys I have to beat up the big hill. HA! We shall see...I'm not so sure!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwpJxMvq79c

Shesh...those guys have nothin' on you! Sure, they're big and buff, but from the video it's obvious you've got the lean, mean, running machine that's gonna kick 'em to the curb! Good luck!!!

Go coach go!

It's always fun when fartleks are involved. I just like saying that. Fartlek.

I know, who thought up that word anyway? I'm sure it was a boy. Here's another one: Burpee. That was a boy too. I have boys, so I know these things.

the best workout in the world consists of fartleks, burpees and gassers. nice running today.

Fartlek is a Swedish word, means "speed play"

I know those origins, but it's still fun to make fun of it. :-)

New Del Sol maps were posted today Paul. Thanks.

Dang! I was sooo looking forward to hearing how you kicked bad-boy butt! Guess they weren't going to video that anyways, right? It's only fun to video when you beat the girls rather than getting seriously chick'd up a hill. ;-)

Well, Wes, for the sake of your satisfaction, then, I'll tell you about when I "seriously chick'd" a workout buddy up that very hill. He was a very strong athlete and an amazing sprinter. We got to Weir Rd, and I began my slow jog. He dashed off with his powerful sprint. I think we'd gotten less that 1/4 mile up when he suddenly stopped and turned around. By that point, I was already right behind him with my slow, steady run. He just looked at me as if to say, "This is really a joke--right? There's no way to get up that hill." I smiled and said, "Don't stop, we still have a long way to go."

He walked the rest of the way up. I ran up, back to where he was still walking and shaking his head, and then I kinda pushed him the rest of the way.

It was pretty funny, but just one of those times when pacing is key!

I've run up that hill with various friends many times, and I've always been first except ONCE. That time I'd eaten out at a wonderful restaurant the night before--I'd eaten WAY too much,and I woke up that morning feeling SO sick! But I went to Weir RD anyway, since I'd organized the group. One of the guys beat me that time, but at least I still beat the rest.

I mean, it's not that I'm competitive, you understand. ;-)

You should have pushed him down the hill and watched him roll right after calling him a wuss.

Yeah, Burt. ;-)

Inwardly, I was thinking "woo-hoo!" but outwardly, I said, "Well, you're a sprinter, you can beat me at track any day."

I'm too much of a wuss to ever feel like I made someone feel bad!!

Your sprinter friend probably got wind of the challenge, called Tri-D and told Da Boyz the story. We all know who would have won, so it really doesn't matter. ;-)

Speaking of pushing people down, I used to call my boss "Slinky" (behind his back, of course) because I hated him. You've heard the quote "Some people are like Slinkies - not really good for anything, but you still can't help but laugh when you see them tumble down the stairs." I think I still have a picture of a Slinky on my wall at work. Boss is long gone though...

Nice job, Coach! I haven't done the twice daily runs yet, but maybe in the future...

Did you work up a sweat at those pedestrian paces? ;-)

Wow - a double! I wish my body could handle it! Nice workout!

Wes, I'm not sure if it was sweat or rain on my tank top, but something was wet.

I'm not sure yet if my body can handle doubles. We shall see, but I feel good so far!!

Sweat or rain is fine...blood is not!

Good job! :-)

http://burt-mccumber.fastrunningblog.com/blog-Ah-joys-of-upping-your-mileage-n/11-06-2009.html

Running doubles is a good way to safely increase your mileage and have an opportunity to get in good quality miles. Start slowly then increase as you get more used to it. I have been running two-a-days for several years to increase my milege and have stayed injury free and improved my performance.

That's so great that you have stayed injury free all these years! Yes, I will take it slowly, and I assume that the

Burt - I can seriously sympathize with your nipples! I went out on a long run early in my training and came back in serious pain. Not bleeding as bad as you, but still bleeding. I can't believe how long it takes to heal! I never run any longer than about 5-6mi without lubing up. When I ran my first half, I put bandaids on because I knew I was NOT going to suffer that pain again. Ouch!

Ha ha, I read this wrong the first time.

Still pretty speedy.

It was hard because I've been doing maintenance miles for a month now with only ONE workout even resembling a speed workout (recall our discussion of the word fartlek). So, doing a little speed today was harder than it was a month ago, for sure! But that's OK--it's what the body does.

Yeah, it annoys me when I have to slow down so the traffic can keep up with me too. ;-)

Oh yes, you know how it is. We don't want to shame the drivers.

What is this world coming to???

Is your gym in the ghetto? Nice run, btw!

Sounds like it, doesn't it? But no, it's in Murrayhill, a pretty upscale neighborhood. That's why it was WEIRD!

Whew! I was worried about where you were working out. :-)

Of course, some of those upscale people are (certifiably) nuts anyways. Run your key along their Ferrari on "accident" and they get all up in your face. Shesh!

Hmmm....Alberto, Prefontaine, Bowerman? Are we supposed to know those names? They sound so familiar but I can't put my finger on it.... :-p

Oh that's right--they're all from Oregon, as all great runners are (I can say this because I'm actually from Virginia). Y'all from Utah (or PA) wouldn't have heard of those guys. ;-)

Ah yes, from growing up in neighboring Washington, I remember hearing something about some Oregon university that had some good runners. Weird! Small world!

Oh, and I met with Coach Rick Lovett today, who has written 2 books with Alberto Salazar! Very nice meeting and discussion with him.

You're a legend yourself.

You're so cute, Burt. Well, at least I'm a legend in the mind of 4 people. My little ones are still young enough that they are confident I'm the best mama in the world, the fastest runner, and the most beautiful woman. :-) It's great being Mommy!!

Wow - that is awesome you are having him as your coach! The waiting game is so hard, but will be totally worth it!

Yay! I'm on your Favorite's List!

Hi Burt-yes, it took me a long time to figure out how to add you to the favs--I wasn't using your last name.

Much as I'll miss marathoning this Spring, I will be excited to get fast at shorter distances in the meantime. Yay!

Who is this mysterious woman we call Cara?

You should join me for a leg workout, Burt! You'd be begging for mercy! ;-) You'd say, "Are you a professional athlete???"

You mock, but I'm tellin' ya. ;-)

How do I do a leg workout with you? Is it on a seperate blog?

Oh, I'm sorry, I was really just kidding, since I'm in Oregon and everyone else seems to be in Utah! :-) But if ever I'm in Utah, I'll put together a leg bootcamp for all the fast bloggers. :-)

Locally I am in the process of creating a bootcamp for runners, to focus on training the muscles we runners specifically MUST have nice and strong, and to work on leg speed and strength. When I finally get it together, maybe I'll see if I can video it and get it on Youtube.

Hey those P90X leg workouts are hard enough. You would kick my be-hind!

That's a long time to work on those muscles. You must have Popeye arms now.

You're so funny, Burt! Yes, my biceps are as big as a bus! ;-)

I have been a slacker on recording my running lately!! Life has gotten so chaotic. I need to figure out how to organize myself better. I'll try to catch up on the blog soon; the only problem is that now I can't remember exactly what I've done--it wasn't all on the Garmin.

Cara - have you named your biceps yet? :-P

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=353311

Oopsy.

Tell Stampy and Lightning hi for me.

file:///C:/Users/Cara/Pictures/2009/2H/IMG_0629.JPG

Does this work?

Can't see it, Cara. You'll need to upload it somewhere...maybe in your blog post? Burt always has some very interesting pictures he finds posted there. :-)

Well, I can't figure out how to upload it. It was just a silly picture of me from last summer when I was flexing my biceps in front of a gym. I thought, in context, it would be funny! :-)

I just sent you a powerpoint presentation on how to post pictures to your blog.

You're so cute trying to send us a link to your access files on your personal computer :)

You can call it "cute," I call it PATHETIC!! :-)

Thanks, I'll see if I can figure it out.

Ok, pics passed via email. Take my word for it, Stampy and Lightning are pea shooters compared to the guns Cara's got!

Burt - Popeye had scrawny biceps and HUGE forearms :)

That is true RT. How can I get like that? Maybe by pummeling Bluto in the face over and over.

Way to get those easy miles in that would totally kill me.

You'd love the bootcamp--anyone who enjoys pushing him/herself as far as possible and with all sorts of creative toys would love that workout.

Hey, I just noticed that Wes is on the Lone Faithful list. What does that mean?

Lookin' good! Nice splits!

Good Splits :)

My knee is starting to hurt today. Possibly the IT band. I'll have to stretch it good. I guess?

Oh no, not you too, Burt! Seems like we're all injured these days!! Anyway, yes, you can stretch the glutes/piriformis. Often the ITB gets tight because a tight glute is pulling it. Also, foam roll the glutes and the ITB. Also, you can try the approach of the PTs and LMTs, and "strip" the ITB by firmly running your thumb along it to break adhesions. I do that to myself when the ITB acts up.

Fun, huh? ;-)

I hope you feel better ASAP!!

Sorry to hear, Cara! Hang in there! I'd run on our track too, but they don't plow it so it's under 2' of snow. Where DO my tax dollars go? Between emergency services and track snow removal, I'll take the clear track! Priorities!

Hi there! I didn't even think about the snow on the track! well, we sure don't have that problem here--it's been sunny and mild.

I'm subbing for a couple of instructors this week, which is why I'm just doing my best to have time to breathe! If I can just make it through this week...

You're right--the city ought to have its priorities straight and plow the TRACK first!!!

7:40 miles is taking it easy?

Sorry it took me a WEEK to reply!! I'd say for a track workout, 7:40 is easy! :-) On the road, that's more like my marathon pace.

How was your Valentine's Day, Burt?

It was good. We saw two movies. If you saw my face book post, you'll know how I felt about one of them. The other was Dear John, and it wasn't too bad. Then we were going to go out and eat, but we ended up taking the whole family out to Chinese. Yours?

I haven't even looked at my own blog, and have neglected everyone else's too! I am in the process of restructuring my schedule because right now I'm totally unable to keep up with 4 kids, 2 jobs, one house, one husband, and me! And church! Goodness, it's crazy. At some point I'll get life organized.

Anyway, Tim's in Costa Rica, so I took the kids out on a date: Baja Fresh and a movie--The Young Victoria. It's a documentary. We had a GREAT time!

How romantic. What's Tim doing in Costa Rica? Helping earthquake victims?

Work! And fun too, I'm sure.

Hope it gets back to 100% soon.

Yeah, oops. LOL!

Ha Ha! I don't run 7:24 miles yet, but I'm sure it's pretty tough to tell the difference between running 8:00 and 7:24 LOL Rock on with your bad self!

Yeah, that's pretty ridiculous! :-) I mean, I knew I'd picked up the pace a bit, but see, in that mile, I kept seeing other runners ahead of me, so I lost track of myself and subconsciously started racing with them all. Left 'em in the dust, brother! ;-)

Nice workout.

Keep it up, Cara! One of these days I've got to get to one of your races so I can chant Cara! Cara! as you break the tape! Of course, I'd take the opportunity to tell everyone around me that that's my coach. I'm sure they'll be thinking, "Then why the heck aren't YOU out there running?" LOL

Maybe one of these days you'll PASS me!!!! :-)

How dreamy :)

Over an hour on chest and abs? Yeah...like you need it. LOL

Aren't alpacas llamas indigenous to South America?

I'm more curious about how you attract them.

Just today my daughter asked me what the difference between an alpaca and a llama is. I don't know--they look exactly the same. I only know that their fur is used for wool, and that they come running when you call in a high-pitched voice, "You-whoo! You-whoo!"

High pitched? No wonder none have ever been attracted to me.

My daughter loves them, but I don't know the difference either. Sounds like Burt's an expert though, so I'm sure we'll hear about it. :-)

Burt - you're so lucky I'm not that great at Photoshop (yet) and that I'm exhausted or I would have had some fun!

Funny you say that Wes, when I already have your picture ready and waiting to post.

Maybe I'm not *THAT* exhausted...

That's quite the workout Coach!

You and your tight glutes go with your bad self! Nice miles.

The amazing thing is that I feel SO much better now than I did before the run! Something about that run really loosened up my rebellious glutes! :-)

Yeah, those glutes can be a real pain in the butt! Sometimes you just want to kick 'em! Nice run, Coach!

Who's Wes? Never heard of him. Hee hee.

Why, he's the coolest runner in all of PA! ;-)

Nice 12. How's the weather up there?

Thanks! It's about 40 by the time I get out to run, and it has been a bit rainy, though we had a nice weekend. When I started running yesterday, there were HUGE thunder clouds blowing my way, but somehow they never let loose the rain, so it was a windy but dry run.

How is it in your area? I imagine it gets very cold!

Haha! It's not that cold. I just complain when I feel a breeze. You're just kidding though, right?

Nice run! Gotta love those 40 degree days. We'll all start complaining when it gets over 60, so might as well enjoy the 40s, even if there's a little wind/rain.

Hi Burt! What do you think I'm just kidding about? I wasn't kidding about anything. :-) I run when it's chilly and dark in the morning, usually. If it's below 35, then I wear pants instead of shorts, and if it's above 40, then I wear a tank top and shorts.

Today's high was 86 :)

YOU'RE kidding--right???? This is MARCH. It can't be 86!!

Weather.com doesn't lie.

http://www.weather.com/weather/today/85242:4

Y'all from Utah outta move to Oregon. That's what I think!!

Girl! I'm from Arizona! Don't get me mixed up with those folks! :o)

Oh yeah, I was thinking everyone was from Utah, except me and Bald n Spicy.

Ah, now you know why I thought you were kidding. LOL!

Cara, they have to catch you before they can kick you off.

Nice job! Looking great, Cara!

Catching up on your blog I see. Great job on the 15. That's weird about the ankle pain. I hope you don't spontaneously combust.

Yup--I'm having trouble keeping up these days...not to mention that I wish I had time to read more of OTHERS' blogs!!!

Do you ever get those weird, sudden, severe pains in your ankles? Sometimes I get them in my toes. They're completely debilitating, but the good thing is that they don't ever really stick around long. Whew.

Nope. I get stomach cramps from time to time.

Nice run, Coach! Glad to hear things are back to normal. I get a pain on the bottom of my ankle bone once in a while, but it goes away. I've always figured it was from my shoes rubbing there or something...that and I'm getting old. :-)

I'm scared of you, too.

Burt, I just went to find your blog from yesterday, and I didn't realize I was on some other Burt's blog. He did a bunch of speed work and pushups, and I thought, WOW! Burt has really picked things up.

I can't find your blog right now, but I want to hear how it went yesterday for ya! I'm off to church, so I don't have time to figure out how this blog works--I always have trouble finding people!!

Silly girl. I'm on your Favorites's List. Have a nice time at church.

Ha ha ha! I'm such a goof. I knew you were one of my favorites, but I didn't know that I could just click right on so easily. You don't know how many times I've tried to find out what you or Wes have blogged, but it has taken me too long to hunt you down, so I give up. NOW I know I can just click directly on you guys.

OK, I'm SO pathetic!!!

Fantastic workout.

Fabulous workout.

Funky fresh workout.

Hey, it's almost been a month since you blogged. Just stopping by to wish you a happy birthday. I want to make sure all my bases are covered.

I know, I've been so bad about it, Burt. OK, I'll try to do a little catch up work. I've been SO busy, though, I barely have time to think these days!!!

You're such a sweetheart for caring! :-)

Unmotivated on your birthday? Boo!

I'll let you in on a secret: today isn't really my official bday! My husband doesn't want that kind of info on FB, so he entered a slightly incorrect bday date. It's very close, so I still consider bday greetings to be at the right timing. :-) It's fun because I kinda get to celebrate twice each year by hearing so many happy bdays on TWO different days!!

Of course, I'm turning 39 this year, so maybe that's why I'm unmotivated. I'm getting O-L-D!!!!!!!!!

How funny. Well, you're not 40 yet!

LOL! I did that for my daughter, but that was to discourage the pedophiles. Maybe your husband is worried about them too.

Only 39 this year? I'll be 40 this year so it's all downhill from here for me...all that downhill should get me to Boston though, so it isn't as bad as it sounds!

Is your heart in San Francisco?

Yes, Burt, that's exactly right! That must be why I love to run up steep hills. :-)

Nice! My HR is usually around 153-155 at that pace, so I can tell you have a very big heart!

Such a slave driver.

I'm assuming by "everyone" you mean everyone BUT you. Way to make them feel the burn!

You're bringin' on the speed!

When's the race?

Hi Burt! The race is Sunday.

The weirdest thing happened to me today--I was stretching in the sauna and began to feel too hot, so I got out. But when I exited, I began to feel so dizzy. I sat down on the floor for a bit, but really felt the need to lie down, which I didn't want to do on the nasty cement floor. So I eyed the bench, which was only a few yards away. I got up to walk over there, and next thing I knew, I was looking up at the ceiling, just feeling a ton of hip pain and wondering where I was. So odd.

Well, my first thought, once I remembered what had happened, was that my race is the day after tomorrow, and I REALLY hope I didn't injure anything when I passed out. I'm glad I didn't hit my head in the fall though.

Oh my, that's scary. I hope you're okay. Maybe you were dehydrated or something.

Can't wait for the report! So many good showings at Eugene from the bloggers!

What a great report! I loved the part about sabotaging yourself. And I loved the part about forgetting your bib in Bob's car. And I loved the part about your family surprising you. And I loved the part about your little girl tripping one of the other runners. I bet she was T-O'd! And I love the part about cursing someone out as you pass them. That really doesn't happen. And I loved the part about cheetahs and tigers and bears, oh my! Rock and roll Coach!

What?! another blogger in Eugene and I didn't get to meet you? Did you see a scary looking dude in a flaming dress shirt and board shorts? Good job on your race! Top 2% in your division and 5% overall is very impressive.

Thanks Burt! I loved the food part--in fact, I'd like to do the food part all over again!!

Rattletrap--I didn't see you. Did you see the beautiful red head who ran like a cheetah? :-) I'm kidding, I'm kidding!! But really, that sure would have been fun to connect with a fellow blogger. I have yet to do so. Do you have any other Oregon races coming up?

I don't have anything else planned for Oregon, it's pretty far from home. The only reason I ended up down there was because my original target marathon had to change the course this year and won't be a Boston qualifier. It cost me a couple hundred bucks, but I am very, very happy I made the trip! Next on my list is the Northwest Passage Ragnar Relay in July. After that there's nothing on the radar until the 2011 Resolution Run Series which should prep me well for Boston if I don't get too lazy in the mean time :)

Those sound like great plans. However, you really need it make it a life's goal to run the Columbia River Gorge Marathon one of these Octobers. It's such a fantastic race! Hood River is a community of orchards and craftsmen, and the post-race food and awards reflected that. The medals were all handmade and painted ceramic. The food was locally grown produce, along with fresh baked crusty bread and made-from-scratch bean soup. I won in a couple of categories, so I received a huge basket of local produce and wine, along with 2 handmade mugs and a knit beanie. (I'm not a beanie-wearer, but it's awfully pretty.)

Finally, the course. Oh, what a course! The scenery is shockingly beautiful, breath-taking. It's VERY hilly, but basically you run straight up for the first half and straight down for the second, so you can truly fly at the end.

It's worth several hundred bucks to run it! :-)

That sounds awesome!What is happening to me?I'm not even a marathoner. My first one was just a bucket list thing. My second was only because it was the inaugural in my hometown (Tacoma) and I know the race director. I swore that would be the last one. When a friend talked me into doing the inaugural RnR in Seattle last year I decided I would try to BQ and joined FRB. Unfortunately, that one was a DNF due to injury, but by then I was on a mission and couldn't let go of my goal. So I've finally reached that goal in Eugene and you already have me dreaming about another one before I even get to Boston. Where does it end? :)

Soon you'll be hooked!

It will all be worth it when you set your eyes on the Columbia River, winding through the dramatic cliffs of the Gorge; when you bite into a tender, sweet, juicy pear that was freshly picked for you, as your reward.

Sorry, but you still need to do just ONE more marathon! :-)

Well, one more other than Boston, right Cara? :-) One day I'll make it out there for that one too! Great report!!

I've got a strange feeling that there will be several more.

I enjoyed your race report very much. Extremely entertaining! I'm happy to have discovered your blog. Maybe I can learn some new tricks. :) Sno

Thanks, Sno! Just be sure to not learn the trick of stretching too long in the sauna. ;-)

Actually, the real reason I stayed in the sauna too long was because I was engaged in a debate about whether barefoot running is a good fad or not. I just didn't want to give up on the argument.

Hey, here's one more event you all should consider: http://www.run4oregonwine.com/

I'm doing that one in Sept!

Coach - you know the sauna just sucks the moisture right out of you. You'll get dehydrated in a heartbeat. No wonder you passed out.

I know it, I know it! But I was having so much fun! :-)

Happy Mother's Day Coach! Enjoy your run.

Have not checked in for a bit! Hope all is well!

Happy LATE mother's day right back at ya!

Hi Kelli! It's so sweet of you to check in on me--I really appreciate it! I really have been doing very well. The thing is, I made a big mistake. I decided that for the summer, I wouldn't try to gain more clients; I'd take things easy so I can spend more time with my kids. Famous last words!!!! All of a sudden, I had an influx of new clients and bootcamp instruction opportunities, and I've been SWAMPED! It's good, but I'm so busy that I have trouble keeping up with anything but the bare essentials. Of course, running is a bare essential, so I AM still on track.

I did a 5K last week and was #2--right after a 51-year-old woman!! I was thrilled to see how fit we can all still be when we're in our 50's--super fast!

I hope you are doing well too! Hopefully I'll get back into blogging soon.

Oh, I'm also studying Chinese 8-10 hours a week to prepare for a commercial I'll be in for Rosetta Stone. As if I need to add more to the weekly schedule--yikes!

I'm checking in on you, too. Have fun with the commercial. The camera loves you.

Thanks Burt! The producer said that she and the crew love watching me talk. I dunno--is that a compliment? :-)

They actually hooked up a web cam to my computer so they could record me struggling like a fool through these language lessons.

How have you been, Burt? Are your kids just about out of school?

WOW, you have a ton going on this summer! Good luck with it all! Chinese seems difficult, how well do you have to learn it???

I'm not sure how well I have to actually learn it, but I am expected to do 8-10 hours a week. I'm sure they hope I will learn it reasonably well so that the software looks effective. I think I really do like the program, though. I like how Rosetta Stone uses immersion instead of translation. It IS a hard language--that's for sure!

So, how did that all come about???

It was through Sports Unlimited, which is a modeling agency here in Portland. I get a few opportunities here and there through them. Nothing big, but when they shoot an ad, they have such excellent caterers. I'm in it for the food! ;-) OK, and maybe a bit of money sometimes too!!

Yep. The kids are all out of school,and we're all moved in to our new place.

WOW! YOU have been busy, Burt! Moving is SO time consuming. Was it a big move, or are you in the same area?

That is very cool!!! Have fun with it!

We moved about 20 miles away from Queen Creek to Mesa. No more long bike rides to work. Nice and short ones now.

I saw your name on the Lost Bloggers list :(

That's very sad, Burt. :-( I'm sorry--life has gotten SO busy now that I have more clients than I even wanted, AND my kids are home from school AND I've had to learn Mandarin for a commercial. In fact, I know this sounds gross, but the other day, I realized I hadn't had time to even shower in 4 days!!! Thankfully, my sweat smells like freshly bloomed roses--or something like that--so I can get by sans shower. :-) Ha ha, well, at least I seem to think so!!

Anyway, yes, I've had to become a "lost" blogger. Maybe when the kids are back in school, I can find more time, or if I can possibly cut back on my hours. It's a blessing to be so busy, but OH MY, it's hard too.

How about you? How's your summer going?

Take care!

Cara

You and Kelli and your non-showering antics! I don't know if I'm grossed out or turned on. Just kidding. Totally inappropriate.

So speaking of Mandarin, there's a young man I know that gave his farewell address today at church before he heads on his mission to the Washington D.C Mandarin Chinese speaking mission. He's going to be a good missionary.

And speaking of stinkiness, the other night on the group run the one and only girl that ran with us brought us all salsa. When she walked by me she smelled real good, like she had just put on some kinda scentsy smell-ums, and I thought, "She smells quite pleasant." Then as she sat down by me I got another wiff of her actual sweatiness, and I knew why she put the perfume on.

Summer's going okay. I got a 30% pay decrease, so I got that going for me. I signed up to be a Beachboody coach, but I don't know if that will make me any money anytime soon. This week we'll be getting the kids enrolled in school. Should be fun.

Showers are over-rated!

That's right! Who needs a shower, anyway? :-)

I am not sure how Burt knew my secret, maybe he can smell me all the way in AZ???

It's not secret Kelli. You blog about it all the time. Maybe not directly, but I know how to read in between the lines.

As for your smell, I sat next to you on the way home from Ragnar. You smelled good. Cara smells like freshly cut roses, and you smell like chocolate strawberry peaches.

I think that's a compliment, Kelli! :-)

Thank you, Burt! I'm sure you smell like something very wonderful too. Like, um, homemade lasagna?

Chocolate covered strawberry peaches?? That actually sounds very good.

I try to shower each day at least i time for my husband to get home from work, I would not want him to think i just sit around all day doing nothin'!

Hi Cara. Hi Kelli.