All about that pace.

Way to go Mike! Definitely the fettuccine.

More fettuccine, less water. Support the rabid :)

Congrats on the PR. May there be many more this year.

Great job on the PR!

Congrats on the PR!

Holy Fastness!!! Great job on the race and a PR to start the year off. I can not think of a better way to start the year than that. YOU ARE BACK!!!

Great picture, very handsome/beautiful family. Your hair is not so red anymore?!?

Back in black err, um gray? I am pretty fast for a grandpa huh?

Wow you are FAST! Great job!I love the family of runners photo!

LOL! I'm glad YOU said that RT. I had to bite my tongue.

Unbelievably fast, grandpa or not.

Congratulations on a PR, and a solid sub-20:00!

Thanks for posting the picture! Great shot of everyone looking cheerful and healthy! Congratulations on your race!

I was just looking at my splits from the turkey trot and they are more similar to this race than I remembered. I went out pretty fast, slowed down a little on mile 2, picked it back up in mile 3(but still not as fast as mile 1), then had a really good kick for the last .1

If I have enough left in the tank for that kick, should I be pushing a little harder through mile 2 and 3?

Nice work!

It is never a bad idea to try to push for longer at the end of a race instead of saving for the kick. But often it is not possible due to the lack of the specific fitness. Usually, the more time and the more miles you run, the better able you are to have a long kick at the end of a race. As you get out of shape, the kick becomes shorter and more pronounced. Aside from that, specific speed work - long intervals with short rest, can help build that type of endurance.

Do I appear to be getting out of shape? I was happy with the kick and thinking that I should have put more effort into the rest of the race. I felt much more relaxed across the middle of this race than my last 5k PR.

The term "out of shape" is relative. In my terminology, "out of shape" means "aerobic potential far away from being maxed out". So with this definition, almost everybody is "out of shape" most of the time. The good news is that you are getting PRs while having symptoms of being "out of shape". Which means that you should be able to run a 5 K around 18:00 once more fully in shape.

In your opinion, what would be the ideal pacing/splits for a 19:34 5k?

I guess what I was really wondering is if I could have run "smarter" and finished faster at my current fitness level.

Mike:

If you could have run faster, it would have been marginal. Your pacing was reasonable.

Here is what I am talking about, though. Suppose you have two guys. One has been running 80 miles a week for 5 years. The other is you. You race a 5 K, and finish within seconds of each other. His splits would be pretty much the same as yours, except his kick will be no faster than 5:50 pace.

Why? Because the years of aerobic development took him to the point where he runs his 5 K not that far away from his all out sprint. When you have only 0.1 of a mile left, the lack of oxygen supply to the muscles and their capability to use it is not as much of a limiting factor. You can borrow, and go into oxygen debt with no consequences that will affect your time. For him this does not matter, because his muscles and nervous system just cannot do a whole lot better than he is already doing, with or without oxygen. For you it makes a world of difference because all of a sudden you can run at your true neuromuscular capability without having to worry if there is enough oxygen to support it.

The good news is that this allows you to show your true neuromuscular capability, and we can see how fast you'll be able to go once the aerobic support has been built.

Thanks Sasha - The second part of that wasn't exactly what I was fishing for, but it is very helpful. The more I understand about my performance, the better equipped I am to improve it.

Great run! Do you switch weeks with long long runs and short long runs? Or is this an every three weeks take it easy sort of thing?

I'm alternating 10 and 15 mile weekend runs for a while and only doing 3 short ones during the week. I'm hoping I can maintain where I'm at fitness-wise for another month or two like this before I start increasing mileage for the marathon in June.

Acts will do that to you.

It's strange how I used to periodically check out from the audio because I was concentrating so hard on my running. Now I get all wrapped up in the Word and the running just happens. I like that!

Try reading 1st Nephi, it's money! :-)

Yesterday I did a 1 minute on, 1 minute off run for 40 minutes. My minute on was at a 6:40 pace---you do that for a mile (with lots of other super fast miles to go with it). CRAZINESS!!!!!

I did put in a solid effort today but, that pace seems so much easier now than it did last spring. Sometimes I wonder if my watch is malfunctioning when I see those splits.

That pace will never be easy for me!! The 1 minute on's were supposed to be at the pace I can run a mile. 6:40 was the pace everyone was telling me I SHOULD be able to run a mile, but I can tell you that is not possible!

You are fast. Seriously, I am so impressed with your running. That injury may have forced you to take some time off and messed up your plans a little, but it did not slow you down! This is your year!!!

Thanks Kelli - that means a lot coming from someone faster than me. You can see my marathon PR over there to the left :)

We'll see how fast I really am in June when it counts. Until then I'll be working on scratching out last year's Resolution Run PRs. That 20k is going to be a tough one.

BUT had you not gotten injured, that marathon PR would have been blasted out of the water and killed mine! The only PR I have you on is the marathon, darn your injury!

I am excited to see how your races go this year. When is the marathon going to be?

June 5

COOL. Stay healthy.

Why are you on the Lone Faithful list? Well, I guess this is just a pity comment.

I think it is cute that he attempted to go with you!

It would have been cuter if he finished. I try so hard to get him to exercise and nothing motivates him.

He almost made it half way.

Yeah, at least I got him off the couch :) I shouldn't complain. I was such a lazy teenager, I have no room to talk. The only things I was ever motivated to do were against the law.

I was a lazy teenage too. I hid in gym class!

Great job! I'm glad I"m not the only one that skipped the long run this week!

Tremendous speed there RT. Good luck in the 10k.

Thanks. It's going to be tough to beat all those PRs on 30 mpw.

I've come to the conclusion that you're flat out crazy. The new spelling of your screen name confirms it, too.

Now that I've got some rest and thought about it; I don't really have a good argument against that Burt. Sleep deprivation seems to have severely affected my pace too, I haven't seen a +8:00 mile for a while. I don't think I'll be trying this again anytime soon. FWIW I feel pretty good now.

Sorry about the sleep, that makes a long run HARD!! Glad you had that power burger as fuel.

Wow now that is a long run!

Maybe you were sick of the wind.

I don't know about that, but I was right about today being better. I slept in, went out for lunch and plan on going to bed early. I call that a good day.

That is WAY too long, I did not know you were moving! I hope it comes together soon, what a PAIN!!!

Rest up so you can blow that 10k out of the water (or wind or snow, whatever the weather may be)!

Get 'er done!

Good luck!

Thanks. I'm struggling to keep a positive attitude today. The title company messed up the paperwork so our home purchase didn't close today :(

So far, from Agent to Escrow these guys are all getting paid for substandard work. I wish I could dock their pay.

I hope I can channel some of this negative energy into my race tomorrow without burning out in the first mile.

Man, I feel your frustration. I hope you voice your displeasure.

Wouldn't it be grand if all people could be paid according to performance? I hope things get better for you and you are able to close soon, use that frustration in your race! You will do great!

You smashed it RT! Awesome. Also pretty cool little deal about keeping your kids of the soup. That $1000 will haunt her if she wasn't honest. Does cold syrup count?

Nicely done. Congrats on another PR for the year. Your setting quite the standard for the rest of us to meet up to.

Happy Birthday to your daughter.

I KNEW YOU WOULD SMASH IT!!!!!!!! YES!

Way to go! You dominate! And that is awesome about your daughter - did you really get a thousand $1 bills?!

Thanks everybody!

Burt - Cough syrup didn't count, but I don't remember her drinking much of that either.

Twinkies - I have a long way to go before I start setting the bar for FRB. I do feel like bragging up that sub 20 second half though. I'm feeling pretty good about that

Kelli - You were right! I don't know why I ever doubted you. You're still a faster marathoner than me though :)

Nicole - I guess I did dominate, at least in the 40-44 group. And yes, we really gave her 1000 one dollar bills. I just added a pic of it to my post. So where were you today? We NW FRBers need to race together more. I get kind of jealous of all that camaraderie they have in Utah.

Smoking time...nice!

Way to go!!! What a GREAT time :) I love the $1000. smart parents!

Dave - That is a pretty smokin' time for an ex-smoker huh? :)

Marion - Our intentions with that deal were good, but it didn't work on her 2 older sisters. We're really hoping that seeing Karina succeed will help keep her younger brother(14) on track. We made an extra-big deal out of the presentation mostly for him.

With raising kids these days, and so many things that really can ruin their lives before they have even started, we (their parents) have to really be creative (aka inspired), with ways to help them make the choices that will bring them happiness. This parenting thing is way more tricky than most of us expected ;)

it's so fun to have a kid that is smart and get's it ;)

Awesome job on destroying your old PR and winning your age group!

My parents did the same thing with smoking by my 18th bday (both my parents are smokers and I am NOT!)

Great job rocking the crap out of that race!

I am cherishing every minute of being a faster marathoner than you!!!! It will not last, but I will enjoy it while I can and be so happy for you when you are the faster marathoner.

I forgot to comment on the $1000. My husbands parents did the same thing for their boys if they could make it to the age of 18 and still be a virgin. NICE. We do not extend that same deal, I like yours much better!

We made that deal with our kids too. Only the payoff is that we pay for their honeymoon if they wait. Karina recently cashed in on that one too and went to Hawaii for a week with Danny. She sure has cost us a lot of money lately, but it's worth every penny.

Great job on your race, and congratulations on the AG win and the PR. What a funny story about your daughter and the cash.

Thanks Sno. These races are a lot of fun even without champagne and piles of dollar bills :) There's still two left in the series and Steilacoom is only an hour away...

Thanks for the kind invite! I will seriously consider for next year. (Mr. Sno and I love Steilacoom and almost moved there instead of Snoqualmie.) But I have to concentrate on the last month of serious training before my taper for Napa (early March).

Again, congrats and thanks for the great report and all the pix!!!!

SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!! Love the new pictures.

well done!!!

An excellent job! Very impressive and inspirational for us other "fast" runners!

We have offered our kids (15, 10) $100 if they go for a year without soda (pop to you Utahns). They've each done it a couple of times. Maybe $1000 would work to keep their rooms clean for a year...

Baldnspicy - Thanks, I never felt like a "fast runner" until I joined this blog.

We never found anything that worked for keeping rooms clean. Good luck with that one :)

Would that include Root Beer? I think my kids would die rather than give that up. BUT, maybe I should offer it and see how long they can go! Better yet, how about a hundred bucks to not eat fruit snacks?

Rat - yep, I still don't feel particularly "fast" but if I put it in quotes I feel like I am.

Kelli - I know in Utah where they brew a special version of Barqs, Root Beer may not be included in the list of "pop" but on the East Coast, anything carbonated is included as soda. Therefore, ANY and ALL soda is included in the deal. This includes all birthday parties, Martinellis on New Years, etc. Well, maybe not the New Year...we're mean parents, but not THAT mean.

I think my kids would die without their root beer floats. It is all we use the root beer for (that is also what they order when we go out to eat, but they would happily order chocolate milk!)

Have you ever paid them for eating no sugar? I hear of that a lot, but i can not even do that for a week!

Wow! I hope I can maintain that kind of pace Saturday.

YOu are too funny! You hav 121 miles for the month! I wish that was low mileage for me! Remodeling is so much fun! Not! We have a few projects that could use some attention around here...one day they will get it!

30 mpw is pretty low considering my goal.

I hate remodeling too and I know I'll never get "around to it" if we don't just bite the bullet and do it all before we move in. I know I'll be glad I did when it's over.

Woo hoo!

6's at mile 20?? See, you are one of those runners that amaze me. It is so hard for me to fathom running that fast (for longer than a sprinting mile to the finish). It really is so cool to me that there are runners that consistently run marathons at my sprinting all out speed and faster. That was one heck of a 21 mile run.

Hopefully you are enjoying a restful Saturday, you deserve it!

Wow you are amazing! What is your secret?

Kelli - That last split was only .1 and mile 20 was all downhill. I did get to relax a little on Saturday; Kym and I went to Seattle for a little getaway at a nice hotel. The rest of the weekend was back-breaking work at the new condo.

April27 - No secret. Just a lot of determination :)

Man! Every single mile was faster than the previous one. Great job!

That progressive pace kicked my butt. I'm still feeling it.

I like that 6:34 mile in there.

Are those flames coming off your shorts in your profile pic? You're flyin'! Nice 8 miles!

Burt - I kind of like that one too. Those fast finishes are getting to be a lot easier than they were last year.

Baldnspicy - Those are flames! There's something about flaming shorts that make me want to run fast. Someday I want to look that good at the end of a marathon.

Regarding the shorts - completely agree! I'm a huge flame fan! I had a shirt very close to this one: http://www.casualapparel.net/NewBlackFlame.jpg

Imagine what you would have looked like wearing that shirt and your shorts? Plus the red hair would have looked like you were on fire! I'm seriously jealous!

Yes, I said "had" a shirt like that. My wife bought it for me as a total joke - it was on clearance - and I would wear it all the time. It was polyester so it never faded or looked old. The day I wore it to work was the last day I saw it. Good thing I got pictures of me wearing it...I'll have to dig them out. Good times...

I have the exact same shirt! Seriously, I wear it to work once in a while too :) Maybe I'll wear it on the 15k...

NO WAY!! That is sooo awesome, and I am sooo jealous! I'd suggest wearing it, but if it's 100% polyester like mine was, be careful...it doesn't breathe well. lol Definitely post pictures if you do wear it!

Just noticed you're up in my former stomping grounds...kinda. I grew up in Vancouver, WA. Hit the East Coast after graduating from college, but we get back to Vancouver every once in a while. Maybe we'll do a race in our flame shirts and you can show people how fast you truly are...I'll just act like I caught fire from your flames as you flew past me. :-)

That last mile+ was smokin'. Love the big weekday miles (in a slightly jealous way). :)

Yeah, those splits are a bit slwoer than usual. But that's good for ya.

He is faster than you? I didn't think that was possible!

Snoqualmie - Don't be too jealous. I work 4 tens so fridays are actually part of my weekend, but that didn't stop the man from calling me in today :(

Burt - I'm still convinced that running fast makes me faster.

April27 - Preston is a lot faster than me and it sure feels good to outrun him on an off day :) I have no doubts that he will punish me on our next run.

Nice splits! How are you doing? Pain all gone and healed?

I am feeling great! I think I'm even ready for a new 15k pr on the 20th.

Nice paces! I'm jealous...have I said that before?

My wife would love it if I cross trained like that for a few days...my honey-do list would be drastically reduced!

BTW, you're profiled on my blog... :-)

Hey, I ran one super mile like you today and now I am even more amazed as I almost dies when it was over and you always run that fast. WOW!

Are you done with the gun?

baldnspicy - I could not wear that tigger hat. Chester Cheetah is my favorite kool kat. "It ain't easy being cheesy"

Kellie - Those sub 7's get easier every time you do them. Yes, I am through with my work in the garage finally. I was doing wiring and insulation out there while my painter was making the inside of the condo look pretty for Kym. Now it's my turn inside the condo. I get to install laminate flooring in there while the painter hangs drywall and paints out in the garage. We are on schedule to move in by the end of February :)

Yeah that guy on baldnspicy looks real goofy. Rattletrap looks more daffy.

Chester makes sense - he's MUCH faster than Tigger!

Burt - I was going to say he looked real cheesy, but goofy also works.

Runners can put up with any weather but wind. Wind is the worst, so I am glad it left you alone!

Have a good weekend! What projects will you be working on?

I finished my run just in time! It was stormin' big time the rest of the day. Fortunately, I was staying nice and dry working inside at the condo. My soon to be son-in-law helped me prep the floor and install "wood" laminate flooring in about half the living room. Tomorrow we should finish the rest of that and the dining room. The carpet was also installed upstairs today. I left that task to the professionals and they did a great job! Once I finish the floor downstairs and buy a couple appliances we'll be ready to move in.

Yeah to being almost DONE! That will feel so good to be over and moved in.

You may not be a carpenter, but at least you're trying to be like Jesus.

Great run, by the way.

Remodeling is so fun! We finally finished our living room. Finally!

Thanks Burt. I'm tryin' to be like Him, but it ain't easy all the time :)

I wonder what Jesus would have said if he hit his thumb with a hammer? (really hard... a couple times)

April27 - What did you do to your living room?

He would say that didn't hurt as bad as the time I suffered for Rattletrap's sins. :)

True that!

Well it was aproject that started 3 years ago. the So built a wall and it was never painted. And we still need to add some sort of a table top to it (it is a 1/2 wall with pillars)

Then he finally put the second coat of paint on the walls and then painted the wanscoating. Oh and he finished painting the of the frames of the windows. That was tough b/c there was soo much gunk on it. I'm glad it is done!

Now on to the kitchen! maybe new drywall-paint-fixtures etc

Just a face lift so it doesn't look like it was built in the 50's

WOW!!! Incredible race, especially considering your "burning the candle at both ends."

Yes, LOOK OUT THAINE!!

Way to go! Still very impressive and a PR!

Wow you have some competition!

Nice job! You gotta wear the flame shorts & shirt for the 20k! If that doesn't intimidate Thane, I don't know what will.

Thanks everybody. This remodel job on our new condo is taking it's toll on me for sure, but that's no excuse. I need to get serious and kick this guy's butt just like that old dude :)

Last year I did a faster pace on the 20 than I did on the 15... so my goal for next month will be 1:25:45 (6:54). That flaming shirt and shorts combo should buy me at least a few seconds per mile right?...

That's a long distance to keep up such an agressive pace. Good job, tho. You'll get that Thaine. I don't know him, but I hate him. lol!

Congratulations! That's quite a race considering your less-than-100% condition. Go get him!

Wow! Who knew that doing heavy construction on a condo will get you down into the 6's! Nice run! That's getting ya close to WTF!

For being distracted, you sure kept up a nice even pace! Too bad you're on the other side of the US from me or I'd offer to come help you move in. I've even got my UHaul shirt with a flame patch with my name on it. No, I didn't work for UHaul...I bought the shirt off ebay as a joke since I rented so many Uhaul trailers to move and haul stuff. Plus, helping everyone and their dog move. My wife ordered the patch as a surprise after I had bought the shirt. It looks pretty sweet. LOL

Too funny. I have a U-Haul souvenir too. It's a U-Haul pen from when my motorcycle broke down 900 miles from home in Gillette Wy. and I had to truck it home :( My wife still reminds me about that fiasco once in a while and it was almost 10 years ago. It cost me over $1000 + gas to get home.

Nice pacing and great consistency on your splits I have not figured out how to keep the pacing like that I always seem to get faster then slower peaking in the middle somewhere lol great work

I'm not sure when I figured out how to pace myself. I used to really suck at it. My mile splits on a flat course would vary by up to a minute sometimes.

With your dedication, this is my prediction for next month's race:

YOU: http://img2.photographersdirect.com/img/91/wm/pd421230.jpg

THANE: http://www.yuwantitwhen.com/blog/wp-content/images/exhausted-runner.jpg

WTF!!!!

Okay so that is some good motivation! I think it would be awesome if you made him eat your dust! and how awesome that you ran 4 in a row! congrats!

Good month. I was hoping to get 100 miles for the month, but it didn't work out. I think I'm averaging 100 miles/month on the year. I'll do the math later.

I'm surprised that I'm still setting new PRs running only 30 miles a week. Moving up to 40mpw should put me in good shape for that 20k if I can balance it with enough rest.

Wow, great pace! Isn't it nice how you can just fly and not really realize it's as fast as it is after a few days rest? Gotta love it!

awesome splits! Enjoy the ride!

My splits were all over the place, but 18 and 19 look pretty good :)

The ride was awesome! 100 miles of sunshine, twisty roads and good friends. Now back to work...

Whoah dude! Talk about scary. You just don't know what you'd do in a situation like that until you're in it.

Wow! Sounds scary. Be safe out there.

Wow! I"m so glad you are okay!

I think it probably scared him just as much as me. I should have gone over and talked to him when I saw him the second time. It was nearly an hour later and still dark; I wonder if he would have tried to say it was someone else...

You weren't wearing your flames, were you?

Glad you dodged that bullet!! Be safe out there!

I'm thinking about wearing those flames for the 20k.

Flames = a guaranteed WTF!

lol! I wondered if that was possible!

The outfit is the most important part of the plan!

I love how your average pace is my tempo pace. You are so fast, I think it is GREAT!!!

I wonder how much you will knock off on this next race?? Your other PR's have been INCREDIBLE. Maybe we should start making predictions??? I say 6:49 will be your average pace.

My goal pace is 6:54, but I'll be happy if I just beat Thaine :)

I don't believe your story about the treadmill today ;)

Just keep crossing off PR's on your Running Accomplishments.

I am behind on the Thaine Filkins story, bring me up to speed? Is he like 21?

I have no doubt you will get your goal pace and even faster. Last year you did the 20k faster than the 15k, so I am hoping for the same.

Thaine is in my division and had I not been second to him in the 15k last month I would have taken first in the resolution run series. Now it is me or him depending on who takes first in the 20k and he is going down. He's going to get beat by a grandpa wearing a ridiculousy obnoxious flaming dress shirt. If you're reading this Thaine, I don't really hate you, but I am on a mission to redeem myself and claim that blue ribbon :)

I see, I must have missed that last race report! I wish i could be there to see the series end.

Thaine, you are going down!!!!!

rattletrap.fastrunningblog.com/blog-02-20-2010.html

You can bet he's going down. I upped my mileage, I've been running in the rain, dodging cars... I'm ready!

Dang mile 9 on that race! You got him, he is running scared I am sure!

I like the no pain part, that is what is important!

Me too. I felt so good I would have kept going if I wasn't already over 40 for the week.

I see we were both insane Saturday morning!

Very solid run. Good job.

Thanks, I only have one more run to put in the bank before my race on Saturday. I'm feeling pretty good about sub 7's.

I think you are ready too! Kick WTF's butt!

WEll on second thought if you kicked his butt you would be behind him...instead make him eat your dust!

I have three goals on Saturday:

Better than 7:01 pace for new 20k PR

Better than 6:55 to beat my 15k PR pace again

and WTF

Not necessarily in that order :)

you've got it in the bag. trust the training, and you'll hammer that time...

Saturday's report is one I won't miss! You're looking great! WTF!!!

YOU ARE SO READY!

Just chillin till Saturday? I can always count on your update by the time I get going in the morning. :-)

I wouldn't actually call it chillin with all the work I'm still doing around the new house. I have been trying to rest for two days before my races as much as I can.

If I go more than one day without running I get pretty restless so I think it helps.

I'm rootin' for ya 'trap.

YEAH!!!!! You did it! You beat him (and made a running friend for life), you PR'd, and you ran AMAZINGLY. It must have been that outfit, you crazy guy!!!!

All righty then, what is the next goal?????? You are ON FIRE!

All I'm worried about now is maintaining my current level of fitness until the Green River Marathon without getting injured again. I think I'm ready to BQ, but I still have 2 months until my next attempt. No more races before that, just moderate training, maybe 40-50 mpw.

NO INJURIES, that is KEY!!! You are gonna do GREAT! You will BQ easy.

Nice race and very nice improvement over last year. I saw all the flames but I thought I was hallucinating!

Congratulations! Awesome AG win in your magic running clothes. ;) Best wishes in the next phase!

Atta boy! Sounds like you had a lot left over in the reserve tanks. Great job!

Way to go. I like the flames. Like Kelli said, YOU'RE ON FIRE.

It was totally the flames! You did great!

Way to go, Rattletrap! I *KNEW* the flames would help you WTF!! I'm so happy for you and you even turned a foe into a friend! The outfit is AWESOME and the results are amazing! You've got to be super excited about this finish! Good luck training for your BQ. You're well on your way! Flame on!

Thanks for the nice comments everybody. This was a great race for me and gave me lots of confidence for GreenRiver... Unfortunately, I just found out yesterday that they had to change the course and GreenRiver won't be a Boston Qualifier this year :( Now I need to find another qualifier that works with my schedule and my wallet. I'm thinking about Wenatchee(4/17) or Eugene(5/2)...

Bummer! I would ask Sean Sundwall which one he recommends.

Eugene is lovely; you would like it I think. And now they finish inside Hayward Field, which is so cool. I definitely want to run it again sometime soon. But you know, all the cool people are running Newport this year! ;)

Eugene is looking like my best option so far. Newport is sold out, but they might make room for one more if they saw my excellent running outfit :)

I just hate paying $100 to run a race. I was really looking forward to a freebie. I may run GRM anyway if I can BQ before then. Or maybe I'll just run the 1/2 with Kym and pace her...

Burt - I did send Sean a PM. Thanks for the tip. Hopefully he can offer some fastrunning wisdom.

You mean which run you BQ at, right? ;-) Seriously, you're ROCKIN', dude! Keep up the great work and nice splits...just don't hurt yourself. You're lookin' great!

BQ is right. I'm feeling really good about moving things up a month. May 2 is great timing. I have three more weeks to train and I'll be on the road to Laughlin, NV during my taper so I'll be able to get in a few high-elevation runs right before the race. High elevation for me is anything above sea level.

Still on your winning runner's high, yes!

I'm going have to go up to Laughlin for a run with you while you're there.

Burt - For sure. We should meet somewhere while I'm in the neighborhood. I'll actually be staying right across the river from Laughlin in Ft. Mojave, AZ Thursday 4/22 through Saturday 4/24 and maybe Sunday too.

wowzers, a 3-banana lunch! nice eating. nice running.

Not very healthy except for the bananas. I can't figure out how a "roast" chicken could be so greasy. This thing was soaked, but so tasty :) I told my coworker who watched me devour the chicken that self control is having a third banana instead of a second cinamon roll.

you probably did have pain but tensed up and that is why the rest of you hurt! Good idea about the massage! and I'm amazed! 20 miles...I'll be running 17 on monday! Yippee! I feel like I"m entering the big dawg club!LOL

Nice running! When's the next marathon? You're definitely on pace for a BQ.

April - Good luck on your 17. That's a long one for sure!. I hope you have a better time than I did this week :)

Rockness - I just registered for Eugene, May 2. I was going to run Green River on June 5 but they had to change the course so it won't be a qualifier this year. I hear Eugene is cool, but I'm a little nervous about moving it up a month.

Good run and nice pace!

Nice speed.

Thanks Burt. I'm actually trying to slow down a little bit since I'm increasing the mileage.

Awesome! I don't know how you do it at 4:45am! I guess I could handle it since that's 7:45 my time, but still! ;-)

Are you running this route again this evening? Why two furs?

I'm curious how it will compare to doing 20 all at once. After last week I'm not really looking forward to my long run so much.

I'm loading Revelation on my MP3 and hitting the road now before it starts raining...

I'm just going to call you Dr. Consistency! Sweet pace, dude!!

nice running today. i just saw on the discussion forum that you are running eugene. so am i! what pace/time are you shooting for? maybe we could pace together for a bit? hope to see you there.

Baldnspicy - My initials are MD

Allie - I'm shooting for 3:15 - 3:20 so about a 7:30 pace for me. I'm guessing you'll be moving a lot faster than that, but hopefully we will have a chance to meet and say hello even if we can't run together. I'll be the guy in the flaming shirt and shorts :)

I like the rainy part...not the cold part!

Super incredible splits! I'm jealous! :-)

I do not mind rain, as long as I have hat!

Nice run, great attitude!

LOL

This is so funny!

PS: Your training runs are awesome - you should rock in Eugene next month!

ROFL

The consistency just kills me! You're awesome! I don't know what route you take, but you hit some incredibly consistent splits. You must not have Pittsburgh hills to run over. :-) Kick some booty in May!

Wes - is this where you stole that picture from?

Guilty as charged. I'm not original enough to find something this cool on my own.

I make sure I get in a few good hills on every run because:

"Running without hills is like motorcycling without corners" :)

Wow, I have even more respect for your incredibly consistent splits and mileage! To hit each mile within seconds of the previous even with hills? Wow. Oh, and I have even more respect after today's workout when I decided to run a 400 in under 7:00 pace (1:45) after running a few miles. I did it, just barely, but you do this consistently mile after mile. I cannot even fathom the true elites that run 5:30s for a marathon! Unbelievable! You're awesome, man!

Totally funny!!!

Wow! Awesome job! I tend to do better later in the day, but then again, I avoid the 4:30am hour anyways so I have no idea how I'd do at that hour.

Slow!?

Ditto April's comment....plus, not consistent?? Your consistency standards are waaaay higher than mine! Consistent for me is a split anywhere between 8:00 and 10:00. If I'm doing that, I'm being consistent. :-) Seriously, great run! You're going to continue to kill your PRs this year! When I'm running and I start to slow up, I always think, "What would Rattletrap do?" and I start to sprint. :-)

I meant compared to the previous day on both counts. I only have one PR left to kill, 26.2. After that I'm not sure where my running will go.

When you start to feel slow don't think about me, just remember that it's the hard miles that help you grow the most and press on; just like life and our walk with God :)

Spoken like a true runner - humble and inspiring! Thanks! I heard that after you kill all your PRs and WTF - all within a period of 5 months, you kick your feet up and eat an entire box of Twinkies...can't remember who told me that though. Hmmmm :-)

twinkies are for twinkies. I'm a pop-tart guy... chocolate chip cookie dough pop-tarts are so good they should be a controlled substance.

oooh poptarts...I like mike and ikes...seriously I wish they would ban it so I would be so tempted!

Man! Awesome run! When is this marathon, because you're ready.

Ditto Burt! You're going to rock it!

When? May 2

Only one more long run before raceday!

That is an awesome run, but I think the NO BLISTERS part is the best! That is quote the accomplishment for a 20 miler, especially one in new shoes!

Wow! You're definitely ready. Love the way you saved the sub-7's for the end. Keep up the great work!

I still can't believe I did that in brand new shoes. I love Asics!

Those sub 7's weren't really part of the "plan" they just sort of happened because I was feeling good. Feeling good at the end of a 20 miler is definitely a good sign! I was worried after my last 20 miler. Now I am officially looking forward to Eugene!

You didn't eat yesterday? What, did you join the Mormon Church? Because you know, Mormons fast one Sunday out of each month, so that's what I was doing yesterday. Welcome aboard.

Nope, I went to my usual church yesterday and I wasn't fasting, I was just busy and never stopped to eat. I'm still trying to get stuff done around the house before I leave for AZ next week. Yeah, I know, there goes the neighborhood...

you are very consistent both in mile splits and distance. just curious, does this pace feel "hard", "comfortably hard" or "easy" ??

i would guess that it feels rather easy, since you do it consistently every day.

if it DOES feels easy, your marathon pace may be faster than you think. 6:40? 6:30?

alright, i just looked at last week's 20-miler.

my two cents: adjust your MP. just my opinion, though. it's always best to do what you feel comfortable with.

I would say that pace is "comfortably hard". Strangely, a truly easy pace is very uncomfortable to me. I get anxious, impatient and dangerously close to bored. I guess I'm in it for the adrenaline.

yes, i know how that goes. sorry, i don't want to mess up your race strategy. just know that whatever pace you run you are ready! your training has been great. best of luck to you and maybe i will see you there.

Depending on the conditions

Depending on the conditions I might try for a 7:15 pace to qualify with the youngsters at 3:10. I don't think I'll push any harder than that though. A BQ at 3:20 would already be quite an accomplishment for me. My fastest marathon so far is 3:47:17.

I'm so envious of your pace for that much running. Is that a sin?

Dang! I looked at this when you had only logged the first 10. I find it humorous that you call your paces inconsistent sometimes. For me, as long as I stay within the same minute (8:00 - 8:59.99) I consider myself consistent. LOL

Burt - if it is a sin, I'm guilty as charged. I don't care and I'm not changing. You can't make me! :-)

My pace is usually floats about 30 sec per mile not counting the last couple if I kick at the end. I read somewhere that keeping an even pace is the most efficient way to run long distance. I still have plenty of room for improvement. Call me lazy, but I want to make this marathon as easy as possible :) I'm shooting for slower and more consistent splits on Friday.

LOL! Slow and easy run!

Mr. Consistency. Solid man.

You should daydream more. LOL Nice job! I'm always amazed at your consistent split times. You would think you were running on a treadmill not running the roads with hills and stuff. Seriously impressive! And you've got to love those runs that are just plain enjoyable. It makes the ones that are less so tolerable!

I'll admit I did check my pace once or twice during each mile today. Usually I just look at the end of each mile when the Garmin beeps at me.

I am really looking forward to running in Winnemucca (4300') on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. We'll see what all that elevation does to my pace.

Ha! Nice picture.

I'm totally saved the pic. I may send it to the SO once he decides to actually quit. At this point it would just sound like nagging!

Definitely next year with those splits! Rock on!

love that song

Cool, man!

SOUNDS LIKE FUN!!!!!

What sounds like fun? The bad concert, the other concert, or the uphill run?

The upcoming concert and the HILLS, of course!!!

Cheap Trick rocked! They played all their hits and some new stuff too. What a great show!

The Furnace is teaming up with The Iron Maidens. I was thinking of going and watching.

You should go. I think they were actually pretty good, but their mixer really sucked. The drums and bass totally drowned out the vocals and lead guitar. We were there for the first show too so it probably got better as they warmed up and fine tuned things. At least I hope it did :)

Of course I'd be going mostly to watch The Furnace. You'll remember them from that YouTube video I posted earlier this year.

yeah, that was a great song and a cool video too.

See, I knew it would be fun!

Head on up to Utah on your way back up. Looks like they've got some elevation you can enjoy. Nice job running while on vacation? work?

Annual trip to the Laughlin River Run and a visit with my parents in Fort Mohave, AZ. Utah is a little to far out of our way.

Good luck this week!

Thanks Dave! If you think about it, say a little prayer for me on Sunday.

I'd be worried about all the mucca I might step in.

No worries, we all have those days. I think your times are still great, especially for being run down. Do you have something big coming up? I can not keep track anymore!

Eugene on Sunday :)

Is that a full marathon??

are you going to taper?

Kelli - Yes! BQ or bust!

Allie - Well, sort of I guess. I skipped my long run last week in favor of a couple high elevation and hilly 10 milers, but still logged 50 miles. This week I've only done 2 10's and will probably just chill out for the next two days. What are you doing tomorrow and Saturday?

I am really out of the loop here, I thought you had another month or so. What was I thinking??? BEST of luck, you will do awesome, that I am sure of. BQ and I will mail you some more cookies! I made some last night and, as usual, got sick eating all the dough!

You are doing great!

Kelli - Cookies?! Now I have some serious incentive. I'm sad that I couldn't meet you and Scott in Boston this year to collect those cookies. I did watch all your splits on the boston website though. It was really cool seeing both of your times coming up together at each checkpoint.

April - Thanks. I really appreciate all the encouragement I get here. I just wish I had time to spend all day at work on the blog like Burt so I could give back some of that love ;-)

Good luck!!! You'll totally get your BQ! You've been running some really impressive times in training.

Thanks KP. I'm ready, but a lot can happen in 26.2 miles. I'm trying not to count my chickens just yet.

You'll rock it, Mike! Stay positive...you've got the whole FRB community behind you!

No worries, we will be there again next year!!! You will be there next year, right???

Thanks for tracking us, the Boston tracking system is pretty cool!

Wes - I'm gonna do this thing! With support like that how could I fail?

Kelli - I plan to be there and I'm really anxious to meet you guys. You have been a great encourager for me. Maybe you can take some more time next year. We are going to make it a family vacation and spend a week or two there after the race. Everyone is so excited, now I just have to do my part...

You will do it!

For a minute there I thought you were telling me to run it slower next year! We were actually there for 6 days, so we got to see some of the sites, but not all. So, sadly, we must go back!

I am not sure what you are planning on as far as hotels, but they jack the prices WAY UP from Saturday to Tuesday for the hotels right in Boston. If you go through MarathonTours.com (and right away) you can get the hotels for about half of what they will charge you. However, if you are willing to stay a little ways out, you can get better deals. Just thought I would let you know, I am mailing my deposit on Monday (yes, a year out!) The hotel we stayed out was like 2 blocks from where we finally came out of the finish line, it was perfect.

We'll probably just stay one or two nights in Boston. After that Kym has big plans of touring New York, DC, etc. What hotel did you stay at?

The Raddison

I won't issue a spoiler alert, so I'll leave it at CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! :-D

Congrats

Awesome race! Looking forward to the report.

I look forward to the report--so far I like your time and you did it!

YEAH!!!! Great job, anxiously awaiting the report.

Congratulations!! what a great race!! I guess you should sign up for Boston today, to make sure you get in next year!

Look how far you've come since your 2005 Portland Marathon, then two years later at Tacoma. You've just rocked it this time around! Congrats on your BQ (Bonnie said it, not me! :-)! So exciting!!!

Oh snap Rattletrap! Great job! Let us know when the report is up and running :)

Congrats on BQing!

Thanks everybody! I added a few details about the race. Sorry I'm not a better writer than runner. I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE all the encouragement and advice from everybody at FRB. I would not have done this without you! I'm looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible next year in Boston!

Congratulations! I am so happy for you. You have really earned this, Mr. Burnin Up Fast!!

YES! I am so darn excited to meet you, I can not believe I have to wait a year. Are you gonna wear the same outfit at Boston???

I loved your comments to your fans, that is great! Some people are so darn serious at races, it is just no fun.

I totally get what you mean by releasing the hostages. Don't worry everybody. It's an inside joke.

I'm going to be flat up honest with you. As far as being social in a race, I can understand why you never have been before. You look intimidating! Look at your picture right now. You're all business. And the very first picture you had when you're running over that bridge, you look like you'd kill me as soon as look at me. I think it's the whole biker thing. It's scary. Of course, that hasn't stopped me from flipping a whole line of bikers coming down the highway the bird before.

Divided highway, of course.

Snoqualmie - thanks, I did work pretty hard for this, but I doubt I would have stuck with it without FRB. Especially after my injury last summer. Now I just need to earn some $ to pay for that trip to Boston :)

Kelli - Heck yes I'm gonna wear that outfit! I'm not gonna let my fans down :) It is now my official racewear only to be used for those special occasions.

Burt - You crack me up! I am not scary. I am a scrawney little Christian biker that wouldn't ever hurt anybody.. unless maybe they messed with one of my daughters.

PS. For your own safety, always use all of your fingers when you wave at bikers.

Congratulations on a great race and BQ! It is very cool that you had such a good experience and enjoyed yourself.

Nice job!

Thanks Jon and JimF. I hope I enjoy Boston as much as Eugene.

Burt - Have you looked at my master of disguise photo album on facebook? You'll love "Grandma and Grandpa goth". Kym and I dressed up like that for a youth group scavenger hunt at the mall. I'll admit we both look a little scary there :)

Awesome!

Burt, you didn't mention that you were 200m from your car when you flipped them off. Chicken!

RT - thanks for the shout out, lol. Nice report! You did great and I'm especially glad to hear you wore your outfit! When do we get to see some pictures??

i am sad that i missed you, as i was really looking forward to seeing that flame outfit! great race though! nice job on the awesome time and the BQ.

You ROCK! All that hard work really paid off. Way to go!

I need in on the FB photos, guess I need to become a friend or fan or whatever....

Thanks Allie, Nicole, gdoc. It funny, I've run races with 4 or 5 different bloggers now, but never actually met any of you. How is that possible?

Kelli - check your FB for a friend request if you want to see those pics.

You are right! Grandma and Grandpa Goth are scary! You are very good with the Halloween costumes. The one that is the profile pic, could not even tell it was you!

Congrats on the BQ and PR. 30 minutes huh? Nothing like a *little* improvement!

Kelli - Several people I knew didn't even recognize me in person in that profile pic getup, including my Pastor. He actually introduced himself to me like I was a newcomer at our Men's breakfast :)

Dale - Thanks! It's a big PR, but it wasn't exactly overnight. My previous time was from May 2007.

WOW 30 mins. that is so great!!! Way to go, this is what it is all about:)

Super job! Wow, what a PR!

Hey--you're a redhead too! I didn't realize it. Well, I hope you didn't end up with a sunburn. When the sun peeped out a bit toward the end, I felt some of my strength fizzle, but I kept telling myself that cheetahs actually like the sun.

Josse - Thanks. This IS what it's been all about for 15 months. What a milestone!

Coach Cara - No sunburn for me. I was already a little crispy around the edges from a few days in Arizona before the race, but it didn't get any worse. I thought the weather was almost perfect.

love your report!! I felt the same towards the race... i love it so much I never once looked at my watch or the time on the clocks...

good job man! looks like u had an awesome mgr at the hotel where you stayed.

Wow a 30 minute PR! YOu are awesome!!! You kick marathon butt! Now you get to kick boston butt!

Congratulations! What is even better is that your splits show you are more of a 3:05 guy. Something to look forward to once you recover and are able to run injury free for long enough to achieve that fitness.

Thanks Sasha. What do you think is a realistic goal for me next year in Boston?

3:05 assuming you can train without injuries.

Sasha - I'm surprised you think I could do that well in Boston. I hear so much about what a difficult course it is, I'm a little intimidated by it.

Mike - you are not a 3:16 guy. You ran 3:16 because you are not yet a marathoner. When you become a marathoner you will be running in the low 3:00 or maybe a little under.

I agree; I am not a marathoner. I hardly even consider myself a runner, although I guess I could say that now.

I do like how you say "WHEN you become a marathoner" and "you WILL be running..."

I just wish there were more hours in the day so I could realize all the potential you see.

Mike - as long as you can find an hour and 20 minutes on a weekday, and twice that long on a weekend, this will be enough for you to run in the low 3:00.

Oh, is that all :)

Seriously, I realize that's not a huge amount of time, but it is a matter of perspective. I'm the one doing all the running and it still seems a lot longer to my wife :)

It will die down in a bit, then December will roll around and it will all come back. At least that was what happened to me.

Awesome job on your run, that marathon has not slowed you down.

You're as giddy as a school girl.

Someone pinch me. Didn't you just run a smokin fast marathon last weekend? And you're already into progression runs? That's just wrong. ;)

The progression part didn't actually happen. I wanted to start a 8:00 and take off about 5 sec per mile. I wasn't about to try that starting out at 7:27.

Maybe tomorrow...

Um yeah. So it appears you found my homies from the street in their true character. Seriously, Burt (the one in the pic) is like David Hasslehoff - even though he's totally hammered, he can still get through the scene without looking like a total wino. Get him on the weekends and it's not pretty. Don't hassle the Hoff!

Hey Mr 3:04 marathon guy (is that the time he said??) I think you are a marathoner, but I do agree that you still have a lot in you! You need to come to Utah and run the St George marathon, it is so super fast you would have an awesome finish time.

Maybe someday I'll get over there for a race. My traveling schedule is maxed out for a while with a wedding in Puerto Vallarrta in July and then a trip to Boston in April.

Hey, maybe there is a race you can run while at the wedding???

I wonder if we have any bloggers in PV?

I would have to figure out how to spell it before I could figure it out. Better yet, put Burt on that task!

Yeah, I misspelled it earlier. I don't know how that got by Burt. He must not read my blog anymore.

I used the blog search and there's only 3 bloggers in all of Mexico and none in PV. Bummer :(

Maybe I can still find a race down there.

I didn't commit fast enough and missed my chance for a spot on a ragnar team in July. Now I don't really have any race plans until January.

Well, then you can just take it easy and eat donuts and ice cream!

No, something good will come up. I know it will Come Together.

Wow you are coming along nicely mister!!!

perhaps the best blog entry i've ever read.

i'm sure burt will agree...

I've got a feeling it's all too much for him :)

You really came out of the marathon in great shape and seem to be kicking it into another gear!

Thanks. I'm feeling a lot better than I expected. Probably because I wasn't really training at 100% I was a little paranoid about re-injuring my leg and missing another chance at that BQ.

You dirty dog!

I love the mileage! You are too cool for school!

Great song for the video!

Thanks. I'm feeling pretty good about the mileage too. I think I'm fully recovered from the Marathon and considering a 5k on Saturday.

For some reason I just can't get the Beatles out of my head.

nice paces there. you are in great shape. good luck with the 5K.

Yeah, good luck with the 5k.

I haven't committed to the 5k yet. I'm not sure I want to do it unless I feel like I can PR. Should that really matter?

You're an animal! Nice paces. I say do the run even if you don't PR. It's good experience and keeps you FAST!

Is the Tshirt cool? That is what would help me decide! LOL

I'm going to try 3 more fast miles at the end of my run this morning and see how I feel about it.

I don't know what the shirt looks like, but I agree. That is exactly why I don't run the Tacoma Sound to Narrows 12k any more. Their shirts always suck and and end up getting used as motorcycle washing rags.

Dang dude. Those are some awesome splits. And you did that without a warm up too. That is just crazy fast.

Thanks. I was trying to push it a little to see if I'm ready for a 5k PR this weekend. My last 5k was 19:33 in January. I'd like to bust 19, but I'm still not sure if I'm ready.

So consistent! (your splits) And a very nice kick. Congratulations, and I hope you got some nice hardware.

The video made me chuckle. Nice leopard suit.

Wiping out and landing in the bushes would have made for a much more interesting report. But third place overall is pretty exciting too.

You know, the first and last letters of your name are R and P. Put them together and switch them around, PR. Another mystical connection.

Nice job on the pr and your running looks great!

I like when he rolls his tongue. It was quite the tongue lashing. And what a dramatic entrance just to sing a song about life being a fantasy. They were certainly on a mission.

Speaking of your new blog title, did you know Nan's real life sister played Trisha in that movie?

Sno - Thanks. They didn't do anything for the overall winners, but I got a pretty sweet medal for my division win. I'll post a pic later.

Burt - Nothing gets by you! My running record is a real Magical Mystery Tour. I'll try to spice things up a bit more next time with a good wipeout. "If I fell", oh my, another Beatles tune :)

Rockness - I hope I can continue this trend. I'm going to try to run one race a month to keep sharp until Boston.

Burt - I think I commented on that Trisha thread. something like "I could totally draw her" :)

I wonder if 20 years from now I will look back and think I look as stupid in my flame shirt as Aldo does in his leopard suit?

Another PR. Way to go.

Twinkies - Thanks. I still can't figure out why you love trail races. Just a little bit of mud had me all freaked out.

Sno - I added a pic of the medal to my post.

Very nice!

Flames are timeless, RT! I'm totally late on this post, but hey, great job and congrats!!

great song and great miles!

Man, they look so young to me now!

I was thinking ALICE myself with all of that white rabbit talk.

Nice work out MiKE! Great paces as always.

Grace Slick was 27 at that time and so beautiful. I love her voice almost as much as Stevie Nicks. Surrealistic Pillow is my favorite JA album.

I'm still working on those splits. Eventually I want to knock out a 10 or maybe even a 20 miler with 5 or less seconds difference between my fastest and slowest miles.

Sam will be so glad to hear you're blogging about bunnies now, too.

No one beats Stevie Nicks.

I could not perform a run that consistent, so what you do now is very impressive!!!

Impressive would be finding that same groove somewhere down in the 6's. I've got a long ways to go for that.

That would just be MORE impressive.

i love that song!

The lyrics always make me laugh. I think he says "Scooby Doo" around the 4:50 mark.

love this song..I always like watching music videos b/c I never got to see them growing up ..never had cable!

i love orphan teams!

hopefully you will not get murdered, like when burt meets new bloggers. i bet you could outrun all of them...

KP - We're not a super competitive team, but we have a couple folks that will be running in the 7's. According to Burt nobody would try to murder me; I'm too scary looking.

I hate all the orphans in the world. KP is murdering us all with her good looks. Make sure to put some Icy Hot on the nether regions :)

Burt - You're right about KP and I guess you're right about me too. I MUST be scary looking if I can use winnie the pooh words in my blog and nobody makes fun of me for it. I tried the icyhot, but first I prepped with some rubbing alcohol. How refreshing!! I think I'm ready for another 16 miles now.

I'm totally jealous of the chaffing! LOL ..um and your crazy? icy hot on chaffing on netherreagions??? um nooooo vaseline or even some neosporin!

April27 - That's how us scary bikers roll.

No, seriously this is the best stuff in the world for chafing: http://www.buttpaste.com

that's a fast run with a berry sundae in your belly. nice job. i FINALLY ordered some little hotties. just in time for summer :)

Um, if you haven't had a tetanus shot in a while, you should really get a booster as soon as possible to prevent complications from the nail puncture wound. BTW, you are a darned impressive runner!

allie - I'm still a little queezy from the sundae. Those little hotties are dirt cheap at costco in the Fall.

cookielegs - I thought rattletrap was an odd name :) I just had a tetanus shot about a month ago. Lucky me. Thanks for the compliment, I don't have much natural running ability (quality x as Sasha would call it) so I have to work pretty hard at it.

Foot ok?

Man, your splits are so classic looking. Do you typically run a flat course?

My foot is still a little sore, not bad enough to slow me down though. My regular route is pretty flat compared to what I was running last year. There is only one significant hill that rises a little over 100 feet during miles 2-3. The rest has just barely enough little rolling hills to keep it interesting :) I'll be doing a lot more hillwork before Boston, but for the next few months I want to try and get comfortable at a sub-7 pace.

wahoo! that means you are improving!

KP - wahoo is right :) My increase in pace over the last week or so was a little unexpected. For some reason it just got easier? I hope I can hang on to it.

You should try stepping on nails more often.

Burt - I'll try the other foot tomorrow and see what happens.

Boys.

Great splits, Mike. No one can say you're not consistent!

wow look at those sixes!

Go speedy! Rock on with your bad self!

I'm here to help. Glad I could be of service. See how only one mile was above 7? My methods never fail.

Now, do you need a shoulder massage?

Burt - That first one was just my warm up mile. Things really picked up after that once the end of that nail wore down flush with my shoe.

Um, yeah, a shoulder massage would be nice :)

Have you ever thought about coaching?

Is that an Arrested Development joke?

Do you have a niece named maebe?

WORST...CHOREOGRAPHY...EVER!

Burt - I thought you were talking about my run.. you do mean the video right? :)

Of course. :) The run looks pretty good.

It does not appear that the nail slowed you down much this week! OUCH. I hope you are current on your tetanus shot.

But, hey, you started the week with a berry sundae from Costco and not much can beat that!

Kelli - I just got a tetanus shot in April. I could hardly move my arm for three days. I think that was actually worse than the nail in my foot.

The only thing that beat a berry sundae was the soft cheese pretzels that Costco doesn't sell anymore. Those were the best!

I do not think they had the cheese ones, but they did have cinnamon ones that were the best! I miss the pretzels, the churros are not as good. I think I am a junk food expert!!!

Mmmm Costco! I love their dogs and their chicken wraps! Sooo good! Last night I had the 1 pound Pittsburgher burger...again. It is sooo good too. My daughter almost put the whole thing down. My son and I had wings and nachos for our appetizers, so we both knew we'd only finish half and take the other half home to enjoy for lunch today.

Oh, and your run looks awesome, Mike. Those are some speedy paces for 18 miles! Keep on keepin' on!

Thanks for the video. It actually got that stupid love drug song out of my head. Not sure if this one is any better, though.

Churros are gross! I was sure they would bring back the pretzels after a while but they never did :(

Chicken-bakes are awesome! That's what I had for lunch today. Yeah, my pace really surprised me today. I'm thinking 3:10 might be a pretty realistic goal for me in Boston if I keep this up.

I love a good Costco dog with sauerkraut.

I've had one hit wonders going through my head all day long, buddy. Thanks sooooo much.

3:10 in Boston EASY.

Let's picket for the return of the pretzels!

That 3:10 might be easier than getting the pretzels back at Costco.

I complain every time I care, but I kinda get the picture that they do not care!

Hope things get better forhim!

I like to stop and pray in the middle of a run as well. Peace be with you and your family.

I am sorry to hear that, but I get it. My daughter has been quite the challenge as a teenager!!! Hope things get better, I am sure the prayers will be heard!

Thanks, for the encouragement. Our prayers have got us this far, I'm sure we will make it. After all, we're on the home stretch right?

Your faith will bless you in ways you may not understand, but eventually you will. Thanks for the reminder to take the time to stop and ask for the Lord's help.

The home stretch! That sounds good. How old is your son??? My daughter is 17, but I think she will be sending me to my knees for a long time still!!!

He's almost 15 and faced with a lot of challenges most kids (or parents for that matter) don't ever have to deal with. Sometimes it's difficult to identify and separate the mental issues from the heart/attitude issues.

17 was the hardest year with my daughters for sure!

Hang in there!

Good luck, Mike. The running looks great and if you're like me, it's a great place to meditate. I have to admit, though, that most of the time when I'm praying on my runs it's for me to be able to get back to my starting point in one piece. lol I'll be praying for ya!

my goodness you start early!

I think 4:30 is a good time--it is too hot at 7 by the time I wake up...stupid summer break has made me lazy!

I work at 7 so I have to get going early. It's so peaceful at that time I really like it anyway. When I go later on my days off it's just not the same.

I just used your link instead of mine, and it worked!! Finally!

Guess what the 2 words were that I had to type in to vote???? Democrats Pigs. How funny is that?????

I text with my eyes close while driving. I don't know what the problem is.

agree RT!! It scares the heck out of me when I see all the people who are not paying attention while they are driving.

holy moly! i can't believe you ran those splits pushing the jogger. it is so hard!

nice pics. he is absolutely adorable!

6:37 pushing a baby stroller? Unreal.

He is pretty cute huh? That 6:37 was mostly downhill.

Sweet playground! He's a cutie!

Even though I'm on the knot...and I could enter myself--I voted for them. I couldn't resist the costumes!

So when is your big day? Have you picked a date yet?

So you stepped into Wonderland? If you see a cup that says drink me, just run the opposite direction.

Oct 2nd! Everything is pretty much set except for my dress!

Sorry, but I'm not seeing the hill in your splits. :-)

Wes - Miles 2 and 7 :)

i am always amazed at the consistency of your splits. nice run!

Nice run!--when will you know if she won?

Rockin splits, once again! You're da man! I hope your daughter wins! I've been voting!

Ha ha ha :) Kelsey isn't my daughter, she's a blogger

http://kelseystraining.fastrunningblog.com/

My daughter Sabbatha is getting married in Puerto Vallarta on July 17. My other two daughters, Karina and Meghan are already married.

Yay! Kelsey won!

that is awesome! I never knew anyone to win those contests before!

Congratulations to your "daughter!" Definitely a side benefit to being a FRBer! I feel like an idiot again. :-)

You are consistently consistent. Does that even make sense? Keep rockin! Nice run!

you are so awesome....I wish I could be so consistant as of late.

Thanks guys, I need a little encouragement today. I was a total slacker and skipped my run this morning. I have a race on Sunday and I should be raising the bar instead of sleeping in if I want to continue my PR streak. The pressure is on :)

Think of it as tapering. You've got an incredible base. You'll do great! Good luck.

Wow, I don't want much huh? I just looked at my goals over there to the left. I just want to keep it fun AND keep beating my PRs?? What am I thinking? That takes work and I'm supposed to be chilling for a while :)

how do you keep track of that? I have to be even. I'm either 4 steps in and out or one in one out...can't fix that. Maybe that is why I'm not that fast?

i've never even paid attention to that. maybe i should...

I started paying attention to it when I learned that exhaling when you step with the opposite foot would help relieve a side stitch. That works really well so I took it a step further(no pun intended) and figured that always exhaling on the same foot might actually encourage a stitch on that same side. Are ya with me so far? So then I had this bright idea that if I took an odd number of steps for each inhale/exhale cycle I would alternate which foot I exhaled on with each breath and balance things out better. Long story short, I don't get side stitches anymore :)

Sometimes I still revert to 2 in and 2 out when I'm sprinting hard, but I'm working towards 1 and 2 for that.

Very interesting. I shall have to try that on my next run

Your splits are so beautiful they bring a tear to my eye! BTW, I don't count my breathing, but now I'm going to have to. I just focus on in and out so I don't have to use my RoadID. ;-)

Look at those fast times! Thanks for the heads up about the 5k - are you going to do it? I'm doing the RnR half, though kind of not looking forward to it with how my knee is feeling! Good luck at the 5k!

What is that 7:01? You better step it up. :)

Nicole - Good luck in Seattle! I am doing the 5k on Sunday. It should be fun if it's the same course as the Veteran's 5k they did last year.

http://rattletrap.fastrunningblog.com/blog-11-07-2009.html

Burt - That 7:01 mile was all downhill and I was daydreaming. Yeah, I know that's a lame excuse, I will try harder next time :)

Best of Luck this Sunday. Whatever you do, try to beat everyone!

i like free too! Good luck!

Wow - very strong 2nd mile on the hills! Congrats on the PR. :)

Nice PR and 2nd place! You are just full of PRs this year. 4 on the 4th you say? If I can walk by then I may have to show up for that!

Nicole - If you can walk? I hope you're just sore and not injured. Be sure to say hello if you come to 4 on the 4th I'll be easy to spot in my flames.

Sno - that hill was brutal, but it felt great passing everybody on the way up. Especially the ones that were snickering about my running gear at the start :) You should come to 4 on the 4th too. The course runs along Lafayette to Sunnyside Beach and back. Great view of the Sound and the Olympics the whole way.