26.2 Quest: 2011

The Georgia Marathon – Christmas Giveaway

We are only a short time away from when we start to look at our physique and wonder what we should do about it. Yes, it is the time of year when the New Years Resolution craze causes gym memberships, even with their high prices, to skyrocket. Running, on the other hand, is one of the least expensive sports, but it can still offer many of the same benefits that are being sought out during this time of redirection.

While many are looking at their bank accounts to try and figure out how they will pay the trainer next month, the Publix Georgia Marathon wants to give you a chance to focus more on your running and less on how you will pay for it.

The much anticipated winner of the Publix Georgia Marathon race entry is about to be announced. Thank you to everyone who read, entered, and helped by promoting this giveaway.

Keep in mind, that if you are not the winner, you can still walk away a winner by using the $10 discount code: 262QUEST. This code is good for $10 off either the full marathon or the half marathon and can be used online up until the online registration closes.

This past month I was given the opportunity to participate in a Running Form Clinic offered by West Stride in cooperation with running form expert Kyle O’Day of Continuum Sports Solutions. I, like most runners, am aware of my form, but I am never absolutely sure if I am doing it right.

If you read much about running form you know that a lot of emphasis is put on foot strike and what type of shoe you wear or maybe don’t wear. Too many times people try to fix their form and bent toward injury with shoes or other gadgets instead of seeking professional help with tuning up their form.

Many of you have just finished a full marathon, while others of you are merely a week or two a way from your 26.2 mile journey. For some of you this will be just another marathon, but to many others it was or will be the first after a long yet exciting journey. If you are like many of the others who have made their way to the only finish line with ancient Greek roots, it will only be the first of many more to come.

Do you need a discount or a free entry to fit it into your budget?

The second week of the hands on form clinic which Kyle promised to be the more difficult did not disappoint. The first week at the track we worked on upper body form which was pretty easy to pick up on and to feel if you were doing in right or not.

True to his word, Kyle did not let us down and give us more easy work. All I can say is that I did not start off looking like a rose, and I am not sure there is even an ugly flower that would be a good comparison with what I looked like.

We started off the evening with drills and everyone was given the time to once again get comfortable with what would be the stepping stones of the work we had in front of us. Following the warm up Kyle O’Day from Continuum Sports took center stage and demonstrated the lower body form that we would be working on. It looked easy enough while he was demonstrating it, however once we started to attempt to put it to the test things fell apart rather quickly.

It has been a long time since I have run a distance that I would previously call a long run. My running has recently been cut back so much that I affectionately referred to even a three mile run as a “Long Run” not too long ago.

It doesn’t seem too long ago that I would talk about 10 miles like it was no big deal, even priding myself that I was perpetually in half marathon fitness – but then life happened. Work and then ultimately injury stepped into the picture and I found myself sitting instead of running, even to the point that I went more than just a few days or weeks without lacing up for a single run.

Some people think they have near perfect running form and can be found talking about it all the time, while others haven’t even thought about it at all. There is, however, a third group of runners that I like to think I can most closely relate to – those that think about running form and try to do the right thing, but are not quite sure if they are getting it completely right.

This third group of runners may read books, magazines, and blogs and think they understand, but without a knowledgeable individual giving an honest assessment they can never be completely sure they are correctly implementing what they have understood from their research. This is where I have found myself for so many years. I am proud of what I do know, but truth be told I have a lot to learn.

Running Form is not something I have given a lot of thought to up until now. Sure I have tried to relax and pay attention to my stride, but it has always been a passing thought and something I convinced myself was other runners problems, and not mine.

Previously, when thinking about running form, it was always with how it related to my speed and premature fatigue during long runs, and yet I rarely questioned if it had anything to do with any of my recent injuries. In my mind, injury has always been associated with overtraining or shoe choice. The only time I ever have related injury with form has been with extreme form issues, which I have always convinced myself I do not suffer from.

The much anticipated weekend for many Atlanta runners has arrived as The North Face Endurance Challenge arrives with it’s flurry of races. Since this is only the second year the challenge will make it’s way to Atlanta I am sure there will be many who will be running it for the first time. F.D Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain will no doubt be the place to be for Trail Runners and Ultra Distance Runners from more than just the surrounding area.

This race was on my list for some time, but with my recent injury and lack of mileage lately I dropped it from my calendar. A recent email prompted me to rethink that, but unfortunately I was not quick enough to get registered in time to join in the excitement.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post about the 13.1 Atlanta race, I was lucky enough to meet up with Barefoot Runner Michael Sandler before the race. Michael didn’t run the race because of some extensive traveling he is doing for his recent book launch, but he still ran up to me in his bare feet on Sunday morning in Town Brookhaven.

It was fun to talk to Michael about barefoot running and some of the more interesting and difficult barefoot runs he has had. One race he mentioned was one that he and a barefoot running group ran through some horrible road conditions. Because the road was rough they all decided to hit the grass on the side of the road only to find that the grass was full of cactus and then so were their feet.

I once again was able to enjoy the 13.1 Atlanta, however this year was a little different than the previous two years. I was really looking forward to running this year and trying out the new course, but alas it was not meant to be. It is crazy how fast you can lose fitness while injured and eating too much, I just wish I didn’t know so much about it.

I have been talking a lot about the 13.1 Marathon Atlanta both so you could have a chance to win race entries and also because it has been one of my favorite races to run these past two years. I won’t go into a lot of details today, but sadly I won’t be running it this year. I waited this long because I was hoping that I would be able to somehow get ready for it, but I am not in the condition I need to be to run a half marathon.

In every race there are so many different types of runners, and many different types of winners. Of course there are the ones we all hear about, the ones that cross the finish line first. The ones we don’t hear about as much are those that are completing a new distance, or crossing the finish line for the first time. Some have overcome insurmountable odds, and others are out running as part of their commitment to take their health and fitness serious for the first time in their life.

If you hang around me at all you know that I am not shy when it comes to talking about running. The blog is just a natural extension of something I like to do in person, and anybody that spends more than a minute or two with me is painfully aware of this. I guess that is what happens when you are passionate about something, you just can’t keep your love and experiences to yourself.

Because of this, I occasionally get an email, tweet, or message on Facebook telling me how I have been an inspiration or at the least an encouragement or motivation for starting or continuing when things get tough. By far, that is the most fulfilling part of the journey I have taken, and brings a undeniable smile to my face regardless of how things are going at the time.

We are inside the last 30 days and the weather is starting to change to prepare for the cool morning temperatures that are sure to greet us as we line up on October 2nd in Town Brookhaven for the third running of the 13.1 Atlanta and the Karhu 5k. The fall weather in Atlanta is some of the best when it comes to running weather, and the Atlanta stop to the 13.1 Marathon Series takes full advantage of it.

I have been extremely quiet about this for multiple reasons, but most of all because I just haven’t had the time or energy to talk or write about it. Work has been crazy lately to say the least. I have been working non-stop for the past five weeks, putting in anywhere between 70-90 hours a week. I have been working between 13 and 15 hours a day, 7 days a week. Many parts of life get put on hold with this type of schedule and with the lack of sleep that goes along with a work schedule like this, many things are possible.

The 13.1 Atlanta is getting closer every day and the anticipation is building. Whether you are running this half marathon, another half marathon, or even a full marathon or beyond this fall, you are well into your training by now and probably have been both enjoying it and dreading it.

There are many of you that have been out there training and putting many miles in, but are still waiting to see if you are the lucky winner of the race entry giveaway for the October 2^nd stop of the 13.1 Marathon Series in Atlanta. Your wait is over as the winner has been chosen.

A lack of commitment with anything brings inaction and in most cases failure. It would stand to reason that the opposite would be true as well, and time and time again I have proven it to be. The problem comes with varying degrees of commitment, which lead to varying degrees of success.

When it comes to running I so often find my self wavering, easily swayed, and in some cases lazy if I don’t have a goal or specific race on the horizon. That lack of goals and specific races was one of the factors in my less than stellar recent months. It is easy to skip a run when you don’t have a specific schedule, and it is easy to neglect having a schedule if you don’t have a race and goal which you have committed to.

The 13.1 Atlanta is sneaking up on us and it is time to make a commitment. October 2nd will be here before we know it, and once again we will be lining up to run the third annual running of the Atlanta stop of the 13.1 Marathon Series. I have once again committed and will be running for the third year in a row.

If you have been reading my posts lately, or find the 26.2 Quest Fanpage posts making their way to your Facebook News Feed, you are probably asking yourself if I am crazy. I think I will leave that question for you to ponder a little bit and will hopefully take your mind off of it before you come to any conclusion that could possibly get me locked up with a new white jacket and no view.

As I look back on the past week there is only one way to look at it from the perspective of running – a complete running failure. As I type this I am getting ready Sunday night to run for the first time since Monday morning when I went out for an easy two miles to kick off the week.

This past week had obstacles I knew would be there as I wrote in my blog post last Sunday, however that post makes this confession that much more embarrassing. You see, last week I wrote about how many obstacles I have had over the past months and how they had gotten the best of me. I also mentioned the upcoming obstacle of long work hours and the challenge they would be, but was very positive on how they would not win over my determination and drive.

As runners we are always talking about the ups and downs of running. We may talk about how hilly a course was, how bad “that hill” was, or how much the hill repeats we did last night took out of us. Some of us talk about loving hills, while others talk about how much they hate them, but unless you never leave the track, the truth is we will all run them.

Hills are just one example of the ups and downs we go through as runners, and in fact are not the ones I am writing about today. The other all too familiar ups and downs we experience as runners are the roller coaster rides our training, running ability, and overall fitness seem to take us on as our running career builds over the months and years. If runners were completely honest about it, every one of them would tell you they experience varying degrees of these ups and downs for more reasons than we can even begin to touch on in a short article.

The 13.1 Marathon Series stop in Atlanta for the first two years was centered around Oglethorpe University. After some issues with the start in the inaugural running in 2009 some changes were made to the start of the race for the 2010 running which turned out to be more troublesome than the original start. While I believe there are still some changes they could make to keep it at Oglethorpe, the challenges were big and the running community was starting to lose confidence that they would be able to pull it off.

I normally do not admit to this, but this race report is way over due. Work and life has been very busy and very stressful and this race report has suffered the consequences. This Peachtree Road Race will always be a special one because I was able to line up and run it with both of my daughters, something that may or may not happen again.

As with every Fourth of July for the past 5 years my day started off much earlier than any sane person would allow. I have been awake and out running earlier than this, but always with a reason that I was training for a marathon or something impressive like that, but the Peachtree Road Race gets me out of bed that early so I can make the trip to Lenox by 6:30 to prepare for a 7:30 race start.

I will go into much more details soon, but I have to share this while it is still available on CBS Atlanta. Watch till the end and you will see in my own words why I run the Peachtree Road Race each Fourth of July. They interviewed my daughters and I just 10 minutes before the start of the race from our Wave A corral, but I was sad to see my they didn’t make the cut in the spot they aired. We saw them after the race as well and they continued the interview a little bit and Payton’s t-shirt did make the cut as you will see.

Tomorrow morning the Fourth of July will once again be celebrated by thousands as they make their way down Peachtree to the finish line at Piedmont Park in Atlanta. The Peachtree Road Race is an Atlanta tradition which will be enjoyed by 60,000 runners and walkers this year, each with their own unique reasons for running the worlds largest 10k, and each coming away with their own unique stories and experiences.

I ran my first Peachtree Road Race in 2007, and have participated each year since making tomorrow my 5th year. I did however finish quite a bit slower in the 2008 event due to a running accident resulting in a broken collar bone just a couple weeks before race day. The run down Peachtree in 2009 was quite uneventful, while last year was quite exciting as I ran the Peachtree for the first time with my daughter Payton (at least the first 4 miles).

With today being Father’s Day what better way to celebrate the weekend than to run the Atlanta Track Club Father’s Day 4-Miler with my kids – all three of them! The race was run Saturday morning at 7:30 starting just outside Turner Field in downtown Atlanta, and finishing between first base and the Atlanta Braves Home Plate along the dirt track.

Last year my daughter’s Ashlee and Payton ran it with me, but this year took it to the next step when my 9 year old son Brady joined us as well. This was the first time Brady had run 4 miles so I anticipated there would be a few walk breaks to get the distance, especially considering the hills in the course.

Just over a week ago I was contacted with an opportunity to give the Alter-G, an Anti-Gravity Treadmill, a test run. I have been on the path trying to lose some weight and what better option than to change the world around me rather than changing what and how much I eat! After a brief visit to fantasy land, reality once again set in and I decided it would be quite an inconvenience to walk around everywhere with this treadmill strapped under my feet, so I guess I will still need to get back to that healthy eating thing after all.

The Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill is much more compact than I would have originally anticipated. While it does take up a little more room than a traditional treadmill, it is not as big as I expected it would be. While I am thankfully not injured at this time, the Alter-G was adapted from a design originally conceived for use by the NASA astronauts with just that in mind – to help recovering athletes continue to get the benefits of aerobic training without the stress from the constant impact experienced while running or walking with full weight.

How many times can you say that you have met an elite runner, the one destined to win the race you are running, while riding the shuttles to the start of the race? That is the story that Mary, aka The Running Green Girl, is telling after her experience last week in the windy city.

Mary was selected as the race entry winner right here on 26.2 Quest after a couple rounds of others that were randomly selected first, but could not use the entry for one reason or another. I have to say now that it was destiny that it turned out the way it did, considering the turn of events that day for The Running Green Girl.

We all have our favorite running videos, but yet there are also many running videos that we have missed for one reason or another. While seeing some new videos recently I thought of this cool idea to get everybody sharing their videos…. with a twist, which I will get to shortly.

Maybe your favorite video is one that makes you laugh like the videos that show the pain in the days after a marathon, or maybe it is one that makes you cry like the ones that show perseverance through insurmountable odds. Some of my favorites give me the motivation I need to get out the door when I would rather watch just one more video posted on my favorite social media site, while others do all of the above. Maybe it is none of the above, but it is a video of you doing something running related. Whatever it is, there is a reason that makes it your favorite and some of those same reasons may be the reason it appeals to others.

Lately Minimalism has become all the rage. It is either barefoot running or differing levels of minimalist shoes. Have you jumped on board yet or are you still watching from the sidelines? This past year we have seen some sort of minimalist shoes from nearly all the top running shoe manufactures. One of the most interesting of course has been the Vibram Five Fingers as I mentioned in a recent post, but Saucony has recently taken it to a new level.

Today Is National Running Day, Did You Run?

Our yearly holiday is once again upon us and it is time for everyone to get out and run. It doesn’t matter how far or how fast, just get out and RUN! Today is a good day to remember what you are running for as so many websites are asking, but this website is not asking why, but more importantly IF.

Sure knowing why you run can help with the motivation to get you out the door each morning, afternoon, or night, and I am not saying you don’t need a reason to run, all I am saying is that sometimes while we are finding a reason to run we find many more reasons not to run. For that reason I am asking IF you ran, and not why you ran. I will leave that question to everyone else to ask today.

Well, this officially is one of the shortest giveaway’s I have ever run. With some changes today to the registration deadlines for the 13.1 Marathon Chicago I was afraid if we waited till the original closing date that the winner would not have a chance to register for the race before online registration closed.

I am excited to get the amount of entries I did given the timing of this giveaway for a free race entry to the 13.1 Chicago with the race just one week away. I am even more excited with how many people “Liked” this giveaway and Tweeted it from the buttons on the page. This is a true indication about how much you liked this giveaway, even if you were not able to run this race. Hopefully we can turn that enthusiasm into more race entries for upcoming races…. we will have to see.

The 13.1 Marathon Chicago is just over a week away and I am sure there are many people that are getting both excited and nervous. The course runs almost completely along the banks of Lake Michigan using the Lake Front Path. If you have plans to run the Chicago Half Marathon in September don’t forget if you run both races you need to sign up for the Windy City 26.2 Challenge for some awesome rewards!

Let me start by mentioning that if you are planning on telling me how you run in the early morning before the sun comes up during the summer, and that I really should do the same, thanks…. I know. I will follow that up by saying, please feel free to still leave those comments and be as hard on me as you would like to because sometimes it takes me a while to learn or in this case re-learn from my mistakes.

Yesterday my three kids and I went out for a run as soon as we got home from church, before even getting anything to eat. The original discussion was that we would run after lunch and a short break to let the food digest, but as I looked at the weather the temperatures were going to be climbing steady all afternoon and with the temperature already near 90 degrees I knew the sun was already planning some destructive behavior at the current temps.

To Be Fair To BodyMedia

A couple weeks ago you may recall when I posted a review about the BodyMedia Armband. I was given an opportunity to take the BodyMedia FIT Weight Management System for a test drive, but I really wasn’t happy with it. I was intrigued by the device and the service because of my history of being grossly overweight and the subsequent loss of 90lbs in 2007.

This morning was not about running and was also not about the lack of miles. This morning was defined by the fact that I got up and got my butt out the door to run, even when I was trying to talk myself out of it starting even last night.

My ankle hurt a bit over the weekend so I took yesterday off. It was still hurting a little bit last night so when I went to bed late I had almost already talked myself out of running. I even had my excuses lined up and ready.

This past Saturday Brady ran the Peachtree Jr. 3k put on by the Atlanta Track Club as part of the Peachtree Road Race that will run as always on the 4th of July. He had a great time, and ran a great race. It was cool enough, but very humid with a chance of thunderstorms. Luckily the thunderstorms never came and the only ran we felt was right as we were getting to Piedmont Park shortly after 8 am.

Brady hasn’t been running lately. In fact just last week when he ran a 5k run with me, it was the first time he had ran with me for around a year. Since he had not been running I hadn’t even thought about entering him to run the Peachtree Jr. this year, but when a friend of mine contacted me on Friday saying that his son wasn’t going to be able to run I figured…. why not? Their last name is also Wilson so I didn’t figure I would have any issues picking up the number, Brady would just have to be 10 instead of 9 and go by a different name this time :) Thanks Kevin and Noah!!!

Barefoot and Minimalist Running–Really?

It has been some time since I first saw someone running barefoot. At first it was a shock since this person was running through our neighborhood on the roads, and crazily enough – in the dark! When I first saw him I had read a little bit here and there, but really never thought too much about it. I thought of barefoot or any type of minimalist running as something that only a special breed of runners did, runners that were both much more dedicated, and honestly a bit crazy.

OK, I need to start by saying that this was not an official race, but rather just a run with dad. Given the fact that he had nothing pushing him but desire I think that makes it all that much more impressive.

Brady is my youngest and is 9 years old. He has run with me plenty of times in the past, but it has been nearly a year since he ran with me last. At that time, about a year ago, he told me he didn't want to run anymore. I decided not to push him because he is active in other ways and if I pushed him he would get a negative attitude towards running and the chance of him coming back to it later would be hindered.

I have had the conversation many times with other runners about why I get up early in the morning to run. While I have found quite a few other early morning runners over the years, by the time I back the time up to 5:00 am the group gets much smaller. The 5 am time allows me to get my run in before work and really kicks the mornings off right.

If you read my post earlier this week you can see I have been struggling getting back to those early morning runs since coming back from injury. when I have talked to other runners that run in the evening I have been pretty blunt - if I left running to the evening it just wouldn't happen. Life gets in the way too often for me.

As runners we all love our shoes, unless of course you are from the barefoot running crowd. Barefoot running and minimalist shoes interest me, but I am still in the hmmmmm phase. Today Mizuno launched the new Wave Prophecy in one of their biggest shoe launches to date.

I personally have not run in any Mizuno shoes, but my daughter's have, and have been very happy with their shoes. The Wave Prophecy is a very cool looking shoe and will be sure to turn some heads and prompt some questions. With the new infinity wave plates the shoe has a unique look, and one that will at first make you question what kind of support or cushion the shoe has.

If there is one thing that I don't do very well it is take my own advice. As you will recall, during my training for the Publix Georgia Marathon this past March I was in a hurry to build my mileage because of the late commitment on my part to running the full marathon. It isn't new with me, but I repeat the 10% rule often when talking to people about building their mileage, but I unfortunately didn't listen to my own advice.

It didn't take long before that mileage building took it's toll and I was busy trying to deny that I was injured. I slowed things down and cut back my mileage hoping that I hadn't sabotaged my marathon, but unfortunately the damage had been done. I will let my training since the first of the year speak for itself, but you can see when it started to hurt and when I started to cut the frequency of my runs back to hopefully keep healthy.

A few weeks ago I was contacted with an opportunity to take the BodyMedia FIT Weight Management System for a test drive. The test drive was 4 weeks long and ran parallel to others test driving it at the same time I was. I was provided with a BodyMedia Armband, which retails for $249, and a one month subscription to the online Activity Manager, which starts at $6.95.

Like many other bloggers I was contacted by Build A Sign some time ago with the offer to make some Custom Bumper Stickers for my blog. I loved the idea, but didn't really know where to start other than my logo. Megan was more than helpful to step me along in the process and help me ultimately get a great looking product.

The phrase "Tuesday night runs" to many people may not have the best memories, but for the over 100 people that have been coming to Tuesday Night Runs at the Fleet Feet in Lawrenceville lately, it is a phrase that will hold many fond memories.

I want to be careful to not talk of the Tuesday Night Runs, or the Tuesday night runners in past tense. There will be many more humid, sweaty, stinky (everyone else but me), and fun Tuesday night runs in the future, and even if (which they won't) the runners begin to dwindle over time, there are many friendships that have formed over the past few years that will no doubt bond for a lifetime.

Thank you everyone for stopping by and entering the Running on Empty Book giveaway. Please accept my apologies for not announcing the winner earlier, but work somehow took over the past week+ of my life and the blog and it's community was one of things that suffered the most (sleep and running were two other on the deprived list unfortunately)

If you have not yet picked up Running on Empty by Marshall Ulrich you need to head out and pick it up. The story of how Marshall had his toenails surgically removed as well as the many other stories will not tell themselves.

Without further ado, lets see who the lucky (and very impatient I assume) winner is.

We had a total of 21 entries. Some of the comments were from those who did not want to be entered, and one from me so I pulled them out before the count.

Tonight is the first time I have run since Sunday's six mile tempo run. I ran five miles which was all my body could take me. I have worked nearly 60 hours in the past 4 days because of some stuff going on at work that left me no choice but to work.

After working 15, 16, etc hour days I had nothing left to run by the time I got home at night. I also didn't get up before work to run because I neither had the time, the energy, nor was I getting enough sleep.

Just a really quick post at the beginning of a very busy week. Good luck and enjoy to all the Boston Runners!

I know many more people (bloggers) that are running this year and I think it is very cool. I don't really have any hopes of speeding up that much, but who knows, maybe I will still be running when I am old enough for the qualifying time to get to where I can do it :)

I will leave you will this funny video that was sent to me from Improv Asylum last week. If you have run a marathon before this all rings too true.

Thank you everyone for stopping by, entering to win the Road ID and sharing it with all your real and virtual friends. I am sorry this has taken a couple days longer than originally planned but I was having issues with Photobucket and my blog was looking a little bit funny so I opted to wait until all was back to normal.

We had 195 total entries, and many good comments along the way. My brother in law who I talked about in this post entered as well, however I am hoping he doesn't win because then it will appear to be a bit fixed. I have decided that I will be buying him a gift certificate myself to avoid any appearance of being biased. I am so proud of him and how he has quit smoking and started running recently, and with some specific medical issues he really needs a RoadID when he is running on his own.

I know not everybody is driven by or even interested in running anything further than 26.2 miles, but that doesn't preclude them from getting any benefit or inspiration from Marshall Ulrich and his book Running on Empty which goes on sale today. Running on Empty is An Ultramarathoner's Story of Love, Loss, and a Record-Setting Run Across America and shares all the behind the scenes information on what he had to go through to complete the 3,063 miles in just 52 days.

The book is an easy read with a relaxed style and in many ways I find it reads similar to a very long blog. You feel like you really get to know Marshall as you read it and you become part of his journey. At any age it would be a challenge to run across America, but at age 57 Marshall had more to deal with than if he was much younger, not to say there is a prime age to be an Ultramarathoner.