August, 2011 Monthly Archive

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21 Aug 2011

What to do when you’re bored

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal | 5 Comments

Distance: 0.09km Time: 0:01 Pace: 6’31” kCal: 7 Heart: 117/123 RPE: 5 Type: 343-10

Yesterday I went out for my long run. It’s been a while since I considered my weekend run a long run with everything that’s been going on. But things worked out in the sense that, my friend said she couldn’t make it and my wife decided that a warm comfortable bed is better than hitting the pavement at 5am amongst heavy crashing waves, blowing sand, and surfer dudes down by the beach.

So off I went all excited and determined to just do a nice slow-n-easy pace to get my time in. For once I decided that the miles were not important but, rather, the amount of time I put in. My goal was 90 minutes or more. That way, I’d pass into the ‘I’m bored’ part of my running and work on my cognitive perceptions, iron will, lotus of focus, and all those other things that you read about for marathon training.

Translation:
Get out there and do it. Don’t complain, don’t whine, just have a good time!

So off I went and did my first 30 – 40 minutes like any other training run.
Then the boredom started to settle in…
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17 Aug 2011

Don’t you just hate it when…

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Various Posts | Comments Off on Don’t you just hate it when…

Distance: 6.00km Time: 0:49 Pace: 8’17 kCal: 579 Heart: 133/157 RPE: 4 Type: 343-10

Wow. What a beautiful morning. I woke up a little after 5am and the fog was so thick it reminded me of a perfect Halloween. Or in this case, a perfect morning for a run!

The temperature was in the low 60s and the sprinkling of moisture was perfect so I couldn’t tell if it was the weather or me sweating!

So off I went. A mile and a bit to the reservoir and then a nice run two times around the lake.

 

I could only see 50 feet in front of me and that was great ‘cuz I didn’t have to think about how far I had to go. Just keep going and enjoying.

My breathing was good and I felt that I could run for hours. Then all of a sudden it hit me.
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16 Aug 2011

I booked my Hotel for Portland

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Blaine's Weekly Review | Comments Off on I booked my Hotel for Portland

Distance: 12.43km Time: 1:11 Pace: 6’42 kCal: 1044 Heart: 143/165 RPE: 5 Type: 10k


I’m so excited.

It’s only a few months until the Portland Marathon and I finally called up and booked my hotel.
The flight’s already booked and after going to the Portland Marathon web site, I’m getting even more motivated because there are a lot things going on that weekend.

 

I’ll be staying at the hotel that has the Health Expo (and get Hilton Honor Points!). Plus, the starting line is only a few blocks away.

I must admit that I’ve been getting ‘cold feet’ about things since my knee has been causing problems. But after reading about the course and how friendly it is for first-timers like me, the worries have all gone away. As a matter of fact, I was so excited that my run on the weekend ended up being a lot of fun – and… no post knee problems at all (i.e., swelling, popping, etc). This week I’m back on track and looking forward to all my training runs. And I’m really looking forward to my long run next weekend!

And as for Portland, I have a friend that’s now living there that I haven’t seen in almost 10 years. I’m hoping we’ll meet up after the race. It’ll be a great reward after doing 26.1 miles!

Only a few months to go and it’s going to be fun!

12 Aug 2011

And the Doctor Said…

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Various Posts | 3 Comments


It took me a while to make this post because I wasn’t too sure of what to think and what to say about my experience.

First he was very good and the people at the clinic were in a good mood. Of course being the first there at 8am did have its advantages.

They took some extra X-rays and the knee specialists did a lot (and I mean a lot) of bending on my left knee.

He asked me what was wrong and I felt a little sheepish. After all, after waiting a whole month to see him, there was no swelling and hardly any pain. He then looked at me right knee to get a comparison and ended up telling me that my right leg as worse than my left. Huh? Go figure.
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07 Aug 2011

The OC Fair 5k Fun Run

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Posted in Racing Recaps | 1 Comment

Distance: 5km Time: 0:33 Pace: 6’29 kCal: 579 Heart: 155/163 RPE: 5 Type: 5k Race


I took this weekend easy and signed up for the Orange County (OC) 5k Fun Run and Walk.

I did this event last year and ended up walking some of it, so I have this feeling of coming full circle. This time, however, the 5k was not difficult and I ended up taking it nice and easy, pretending that it was just one of my weekly training runs.

There were a lot more people this year, too. Probably because it was only one event instead of two. And…

There was a traffic jam for the first 1 mile!

I ended up being a little slower than usual, but that was due to the congestion of people.

 

The fun part of this event was that I got a (non-running) friend of ours to join the event.
And of course, my wife joined me as well so we had a fantastic time!

More Photos Here
The first mile was around the parking lot and the last two miles were inside the amusement park.

It was a lot of fun running through the fair and checking out the rides with nobody on them. Thirty-three minutes later (yes, my famous 33 minute runs!)… it was all done and we got free admission into the fair before it officially opened. They also gave us an additional ticket that we can use anytime over the next week. Pretty cool…

I also posted a few other pictures online. Hope you have time to check them out!
http://bit.ly/ocfair5k

02 Aug 2011

Taking it Easy

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Blaine's Weekly Review | Comments Off on Taking it Easy

Distance: 12.26km Time: 2:11 Pace: 10’42 kCal: 1024 Heart: N/A RPE: 3 Type: Recovery


Wow – Another week!?!
Just like that. Work has been keeping me waaaay too busy, and it’s getting hard to find the time to get out and run.

But, I’m still dedicated and I even got a (non-running) friend psyched to come out and join me last weekend for an 8 mile (12k) walk-n-run in Newport Beach. Newport Beach has some amazing sunsets, by-the-way.

Yes. You heard me right. Walk-n-Run!
Thanks to all my Twitter, Blog, Facebook, and local friends for support and advise. I’m talking it easy and enjoying my ‘outings’. This coming weekend I’ll be doing a little 5k race at the OC Fair. Not so much for running as for getting free admission into the Orange County Fair. Howz THAT for motivation!?!

I did this event last year. Wow – last year…
Needless to say I was a non-runner back then and could only run half of it. 5k is now a piece of cake and it’s part of my regular running schedule. But still, one week to go before seeing the knee specialist, so I won’t push it… I plan on taking it as a regular daily run and get my free admission – Yeah!