RunRunLive 4.0 - Running Podcast

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-319 – Brad Beer – Running Injury Free

(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4319.mp3]

Link epi4319.mp3

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://finishcancer2015.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

Intro Bumper:

Hello my friends? Nice to see you again.  And by ‘see you again’ I mean in that weird unidirectional podcast way.  I feel the karma.  No worries.  

I’ve been busy.  Winter is coming.  It’s hot and sticky outside but I know better.  Winter is coming.  I’m working on my wood pile for the fireplace and making ready for the snow and ice filled 9 months that are coming to New England. 

I love cutting wood.  You get yourself a nice big stick of red oak.  You chew it up into bite-sized pieces with your chainsaw. Then you get to whack it repeatedly with large pointy metal bits and stack it all up to dry.  It’s just a great combination of effort, utility skill and art.  You should see me swing a maul.  It’s a thing of beauty. 

Big news this week is that I had my 90 day follow up with Dr. Silver on Thursday.  If you weren’t paying attention I managed to give myself the gift of exercise induced A-Fib and they went into my heart after the Boston Marathon to perform some crafty medical shenanigans with the hope of fixing that.  

Looks like they did.  I ran a 1:20 step up run on Wednesday and was able to not only control my heart in a hopeful asymptomatic way but also lay down some sweet paces that I haven’t seen for over a year.  

I posted a YouTube video of these cardio results on my YouTube channel at cyktrussell – where I walk you through the Garmin output.  If you’re into that sort of thing.  The young Doctor also said I don’t have to take anymore Xeralto blood thinner meds – which is a bonus considering how often I run into trees. 

This week I have a conversation with a friendly physical therapist from Australia.  Brad Beer.  Brad is an accomplished runner and triathlete.  Like many of us he struggled with the question of why almost every runner, including me, and probably you too, gets injured.  

Why? And then he decided to answer the next question, “If you could, how would you prevent injury in runners?”  Brad wrote a book that methodically strips down the source of running injuries, answers some of the hard questions and tells you how to prevent them.  

Will we listen?  Of course not! I should be doing my yoga right now instead of this! 

Seriously – it’s a great reference work and a gift to all of us if we could manage to follow the advice! 

In section one I’m going to give you a piece that talks about how all marathon plans have the same 3 elements in them and if you understand these you can understand the whole plan. 

In section two I’ll talk about awareness.  

I’ve had a busy, active and wonderful couple weeks.  I’ve been working very hard on myself and taking some big risks (for me) to gain some transformational momentum in my life.  

It’s tiring to step out of your comfort zone and force yourself through road blocks and try things that you have no certainty with.  But it’s also exhilarating.  Once you kick the chock-blocks out from under your wheels much of the mental inertia falls away.  

Take my hand friends.  Let’s leap. 

On with the show!

Section one - Running Tips

The 3 Universal Elements of any Marathon Training Plan

 http://runrunlive.com/the-3-universal-elements-of-any-marathon-training-plan

Voices of reason – the conversation

Brad Beer

BIO

Copy

I am a physiotherapist, Author of Amazon Running and Jogging Best-seller You CAN Run Pain Free, and founder of POGO Physio. I specialise in helping active people perform at their physical best. Over the last 8 years I have delivered in excess of 25,000 physiotherapy consultations, with thousands of these being for injured runners, and runners looking to prevent injury. I have helped my clients achieve some remarkable results, from the successful first time marathoner, mum running 5kms, through to helping athletes win world championships and Olympic medals. I am an avid runner and former junior elite triathlete. My marathon PB is 2:46 and my half marathon PB is 1:12.

Bullet points

B. Physiotherapy/ B. Exercise Science (APAM)

•Delivered over 25,000 physiotherapy consultations

•Aamazon Best Selling Author of  ‘You Can Run Pain Free: A Physio’s 5 Step Guide to Enjoying Injury Free and Faster Running’ (released March 2015)

•Media commentator (4CRB and Juice 107.3FM Radio, Gold Coast Bulletin, Run for Your Life Magazine)

•Triathlete: Silver Medallist 2012 ITU World Age Group Triathlon Championships &2012 Australian Triathlon Champion Olympic Distance (30-34yrs).

•Runner: many marathons and running events.

•Living at the intersection of maximising potential and physical performance.

Links

To order http://www.pogophysio.com.au/running-book/

Book resources e.g. videos  http://www.pogophysio.com.au/book-resources/

Running blogs http://www.pogophysio.com.au/running-blog/

Twitter @Brad_Beer

INSTA Brad_Beer

 

Section two – Life Lessons

Awareness - > http://runrunlive.com/awareness

Outro

https://finishcancer2015.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

That’s it my friends.  You have made it to the end of August and the end of episode 4-319 of the RunRunLive Podcast.  

Good luck to all the crazy bastards running the Leadville 100 this weekend.  Earn those buckles.  My buddy Tom road the mountain bike version a couple weeks ago and got his buckle.  Kiss the Llamas for me. 

I’m heading off for some vacation and the Hood to Coast Relay next weekend. I managed to pull something in my left calf this week so I’m sitting out a couple days but I should be ok for next week.  Sounds like we’re running an ultra-team.  I’m probably the slowest runner on the crew.  Should be fun. 

Still time to give me some cash for my charity if you can – put me over the top. 

The weekend after that, Sept 6th, is the Wapack Trail race.  I hope to see some of you up there.  Then, I think, given that my heart seems to be kinda fixed that I may have to train for my 50th marathon and put a BQ beat down on it. 

I’ve been participating in the V-log every day in August with Zen Runner.  If you want to see my ugly, hairy mug you can search on #ZenVeda or just go to my youtube channel.  

Winter is coming and I’m starting my beard.  It’s coming in quite grey.  But hey, I’m happy to have any hair at all! 

…

Let me tell you a story.  I always wanted to be a writer.  Ever since I was a kid I knew I had a gift with words.  I was married, and working and owned a house by the age of 22 so there wasn’t much room to indulge in writing. 

I told myself that I’d start working on it as soon as I had a place to write.  I needed an office and a computer or I couldn’t do it.  I made up all these barriers to the act of writing.  I needed a place to write.  I needed a computer.  

I ended up building an office in the basement of the second house I owned.  But, besides a few fitful chapters that book never got written. 

You know what?  I’m still writing that novel in my head. 

You know why?

Because having a place to write and having a computer had nothing to do with it.  I was afraid to write.  This thing I had built up in my head as uniquely mine became such a big thing I couldn’t do it. To try would be to risk failure.  To fail would take that special dream away.  

I’m still writing that book in my head and it may make it to the light of day this year, or maybe next…

People disparage hope.  But I think sometimes hope is the only thing that keeps us alive.  When Pandora opened the box of all the bad things that came out to inflict pain on mortals the one thing that keeps us going came out too, hope.  

They uncovered a Greek city in Turkey recently where a man named Diogenes had written all of his thoughts on the philosophy of Epicurean thought.  He wrote them on an 80 meter long wall that stood in the city of Oenoanda in Lycia (modern day Turkey).  Now that’s putting yourself out there for everyone to see. 

What gift for the world do you have trapped in your head because you’re too afraid to bring it into being?  

Maybe it’s time to build your epicurean wall? 

And I’ll see you out there. 

https://www.facebook.com/wapacktrailrace?fref=ts

http://wapack.freeservers.com/

…

One of the things that frustrates me is when people have an attitude of scarcity.  Scarcity is a form of fear.  It’s a low-level fear that comes from the fear of not having enough or losing what you have.  It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  When you have an attitude of scarcity you invite scarcity into your life. 

You are born with everything you need.  Everything else is gravy. Life is not scarce.  Life is abundant.  

I see people acting out of scarcity and they tend to hide, and hold back, and hoard.  They don’t move out of their comfort zone because of that low level fear of what they might lose.  Scarcity eats you alive. 

The way out of scarcity is to move.  Even if you don’t know where you are going.  Even if you don’t know your purpose. Even if you don’t have any discrete goals. Just move.  Roll those dice and pick a direction and move.  

Once you start moving you’ll find abundance on your journey.  And I’ll see you out there. 

Closing comments

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://finishcancer2015.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

Http://www.marathonbq.com

http://runrunlive.com/my-books

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-318 – Barefoot Traveler Jake Brown

 

jake(Audio: link)

 

 

 

 

 

Link epi4318.mp3

 

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://finishcancer2015.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

 

Intro Bumper:

 

Hello my good friends.  I’m grateful for you.  Even though I don’t know you.  Sometimes I wonder who you are.  My voice, tired and somnambulant drips wearily into your semi-circular canal every fortnight, and yet we have never met.  It’s like that old saying, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there does it hear Chris’ voice?”  Am I making a noise?

 

My avatar and I have been pushing out the RunRunLive podcast for over 7 years.  Do you and I have the 7-year itch?  My computers tell me that some thousands of you download these episodes.  I don’t know if that means my slippery words are actually worming their way in, around and past your tympanum.

 

It could be some wrinkle, some fold, some chaotic echo in the interwebs – a ghost protocol in the machine and maybe I’m just talking to me.  You know what?  I’m ok with that.

 

I’m grateful for the opportunity, the breath and the energy to spew forth this endurance sports manifesto every couple weeks.  Boo rah! Hooray for us, you and I the ghosts of the roads and the tracks and the forest trails.  The echoes of the footfalls in the dim mornings.

 

We live!

 

You know I’ve never had advertisements on the show.  But, of course we have expenses.  I have 2 mistresses now and the price of ammo and yak food keeps going up so this week’s show is brought to you by “Box-of-sticks.com”.

 

You know how it is.  You can never find good quality sticks when you go to the store.  And when you do find them they are overpriced and low quality.  Well Bill and Bob Fluglewort recognized this problem and founded ‘box-of-sticks.com’

 

Each month they’ll send you a personalized box of sticks right to your front door. How do they do it? Well let me tell you…The FLuglewort twins bought an advanced stick factory in Brazil and source their sticks direct – cutting out the middle-man.

 

And the best part?  It’s only $9.99!  Box of sticks.com – use the coupon code DUMBASS for a 10% discount if you order yours now.

 

How much fun are we having?  If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right!

 

On today’s show we have an interesting chat with Jake Brown who is running around the US barefoot meeting people, having adventures and promoting the universal good.

 

In section one I’m going to revisit Fartlek runs because, let’s face it after 7 years of podcasts I’m out of running topics to talk about!

 

In section two I’ll share some thought on the role of travel in formulating your life.

 

My training has been interesting over the last two weeks.  When I last talked to you coach had thrown me into a high-mileage week and I did not respond well.  I was over-tired and all my runs were awful.  Classic over training symptoms. The hot and sticky weather didn’t help either.

 

But we rectified that by backing off for the last two weeks and I’ve bounced back.  This week has been good and my energy level is back up.

 

The warning signs are very obvious.  My runs were a struggle. My heart rate was elevated. My sleep patterns were off.  My old injuries started flaring up.

 

The Buddha said ‘when the universe wants your attention it throws a pebble, if you don’t listen it throws a rock, if you still don’t listen it throws a brick and if you still don’t listen it throws a wall’  Your body is very good at telling you when you’ve done too much.  You just have to listen.

 

I also was trying to work the Miracle Morning routine into my life at the same time.  This meant getting up early to practice a morning routine of meditation, affirmations, reading and writing – but when combined with the heavy workout schedule it just led to sleep deprivation – which made me stupid.

 

I couldn’t remember anything.  I was cranky and short tempered.  I had weird food craving and lack of will power.  I ended up eating some Cheetos at work that messed up my digestion for two days. (Shouldn’t Cheetos have the same dire warnings as the pills they peddle on TV?)

 

I’m back in balance now.  One thing I realized is that the powerful part of the Miracle Morning routine is not the getting up early part.  It is the daily practice part.  No matter what time you get started just make sure you give yourself the gift of the first hour before you check your email or log into facebook.

 

I asked a serious question in the Miracle Morning community on facebook.  I said, my wife likes to stay up late watching TV in bed and I can’t sleep with the TV on.  I need to get to sleep so I can get up.  What do I do?

 

Many people said TV’s should not be in the bedroom and I should throw it out the window. Others, hilariously said I should trade sex for TV.  But an excellent suggestion was to get earplugs.

 

The problem with earplugs is how do you hear the alarm?  The solution is to get a Fitbit with a vibration alarm. Yes, I ordered a Fitbit because I can’t sleep with the TV on.  I bought the Fitbit HR.  I’ll get my daily HR too which is good for someone like me who has the dodgy heart.

 

On with the show!

 

fartlekSection one - Running Tips

 

Fartlek revisited - > http://runrunlive.com/lets-talk-about-fartlek

 

Voices of reason – the conversation

 

Jake Brown - http://www.thebaresoleproject.com/the-story.html

 

I believe we can affect great change in small ways, do a little more with a lot less, and that everything we do is significant and so should be done consciously.​​ I also think it is important to realize that everything we're conditioned to think we "have to" do is actually a personal choice. My goal isn't for everyone to kick off their shoes and go live in the wilderness; rather, it is to help others appreciate what they have for what it is, and what it's really worth.

 

The Basics:

 

http://www.thebaresoleproject.com/transcon-2015.html

unrun​The Bare Sole Project is my private initiative to promote a Global Community and Conscious Lifestyle. My expeditions and sub-projects are funded by my awesome sponsors and generous donors. I raise money for charities and donate up to 51% of my personal income to 501(c)(3) organizations which were introduced and recommended to me by the people they've helped. In my travels I encounter artists, writers, craftsmen, activists, and such; many of whom have a platform here to share ideas, sell products, display and sell art, share ideas, and be heard; some I am helping to kick-start and others are partners who give me a commission - we're all here to help each other.

As a foundation for this work and to provide examples of the real connection between us and our neighbors thousands of miles away, and to show the benefits of living consciously, I have spent over two years living on the road, beginning in Fall '12, and (though this could change) estimate I have another two years to go. I travel the United States on foot and by hitchhiking; meeting, engaging, changing and being changed by thousands of people from all places and walks of life. I've spent most of the last two years in a tent, though since Fall '14, it seems the BSP network has increasingly fewer holes and I often am within reach of friends and fans (who are friends, waiting to be met).

 

So basically, the "Bare Sole Project" is my way of saying: This is your story too and I'm proud to be a part of it. I hope you like it, but more importantly I hope you will learn something from each other; even if you're only entertained, just remember that what you see here, read in my posts or in the news, is all a product of the countless individuals who have met and influenced me over the years and miles.

 

travel

 

Section two – Life Lessons

 

The Traveling attitude - > http://runrunlive.com/vagabonding

 

Outro

 

https://finishcancer2015.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

 

Great job my friends.  You are accomplished citizens of the RunRUnLive communal congregaqtion.  You have made it to the outer reaches of Episode 4-318 of the RunRunLive podcast.  How do you do it? I’m impressed, I really am.

 

I supposed to go up to Vt to do the Bike and beer weekend with my Buddy Dan.  Who we have interviewed here before – way back in the dawn of time.  He was in my wedding party and my freshman dorm in undergrad.  It’s amazing that our trajectories have synched over so many years. He’s the one who got me into Mountain bike ultras.

 

But, alas, my darling wife has other plans for this weekend that involve new toilets at our Cape house.  I’m ok with that.  Installing toilets is like a sprint triathlon, it sounds hard but it’s actually quite simple.

 

So it looks like my next race will be my Hood-to Coast Adventure at the end of the month.  I can still take donations if you’d like to help me fight cancer.  The links are on my website at RunRunLive and in the show notes.

 

After that we’re running the Wapack Trail Race.  Come up and join me.  18 miles of beautiful trails.  4 mountains twice. But they’re small mountains.  It’s very friendly.

 

To take you out I’ll share with you a short piece I penned one morning while deep in the trance of the Miracle Morning.

 

“Mastering others is strength.  Mastering yourself is true power.” – Lao Tzu

 

I have said it often and I will say it again.  You cannot hope to influence others unless you know yourself.  This is what holds us back through most of our lives.  Our ability, not to ignore our inner demons, but to invite them in and make peace with them.

 

Nagging wives, busy politicians and invasive bosses all lack the ability to lead people.  They have not learned to lead themselves and instead manifest their weakness in their attacks on others.  If you are centered you can surf above the tumults of this tacky world and see it from a position of strength.

 

They world won’t teach you this.  You have to seek self-knowledge on your own.  The world doesn’t want you to live at peace with yourself because there is no profit in that.  The best way to control people is to let them be filled with fear and unsettled.  Then they will mindlessly take any answer and buy any product and give away any liberty for a chance at inner peace.

 

You don’t have to.  Inner peace is inside you.  Your true power is waiting for you to walk naked through the doors of perception.

 

Look inward.  Make peace with yourself.  Understand what your strengths and weaknesses are.  Understand what makes your happy and what troubles you.

 

Start to think.  Start to absorb.  Start to review and communicate what makes you powerful.  Start to believe.  Build that strength every day by stacking one rock on top of another until you have a castle of self-power.

 

That is the power of daily practice.  Practice in the discovery of self and then the affirmation of that self and THEN the projection of that self out into the world, out into the universe.

 

This is not a project that has a completion point.  This is a lifetime of effort and practice. This is the process of wearing away the messy dirt of the world and scrubbing clean the windows to your soul.

 

Begin today.

 

…

 

And I’ll see you out there.

 

https://www.facebook.com/wapacktrailrace?fref=ts

 

http://wapack.freeservers.com/

 

…

 

 

 

Closing comments

 

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://finishcancer2015.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

 

Http://www.marathonbq.com

 

http://runrunlive.com/my-books

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-317 – Tim Lee Qualifies for Boston

(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4317.mp3] Link

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research -

Intro Bumper:

Well hello my friends. Welcome to episode 4-317 of the RunRunLive Podcast. I hope you’re doing well and enjoying your summer – or your winter – if you’re on the other side of this rock we live on. 

Today I’m going to change up the format a wee bit.  Because I can.  Because it’s my podcast and I can do whatever I want with it.  But it’s not about me.  It’s about you.  And I hope you can get something, some small glimmer of insight into your own soul from listening to me do things and talk to people and ask questions. 

That’s my purpose here.  That’s how I find fulfillment.  I use my, albeit miserably poetic, communication skills and my passion for endurance sports and my love of learning to give you the spark to do your own thing and have your own adventures.  I’m the poster child for proof that the everyman can work adventure and learning and struggle into his life. 

And if I can do it and so can you.

I don’t care if you give Audible.com your credit card.  I don’t care if you get your razors and ointments and unguents from Harry’s. I don’t care if you use stamps.com or legalzoom or mailchimp – although I think mailchimp has a better sense of humor than constant contact – I just want you to get up off your bum and do something, learn something, feel something.  Live.  Have an adventure.

So…anyhow…I’m going to lead right in today with my interview of Tim Lee who qualified for Boston just recently using the plan I laid out in my latest book ””. 

This is not intended to be self-promotional.  Don’t get me wrong - It tickled me to death that he was able to do this, but I thought you folks could gain some value from Tim telling you he didn’t think he could do it, but he did!  He took a leap of faith, went outside his comfort zone and surprised himself. 

People always act like there’s some sort of secret code to running faster.  There isn’t.  All you have to do is consistently run more volume and more quality.  That’s it.  There are lots of plans that embody this.  Actual most plans embody this.  My philosophy was to look at that concept and distill it down to the simplest, direct path from where I was to where I wanted to get to – which was a qualifying time. 

After Tim I’m going to give you my overly long race report from the Olympic triathlon I did after we last talked.  I might even sneak in some music.  Because I feel like it.  

Again, I don’t do race reports to be self-congratulatory.  I do race reports to understand that truest crucible of our sport where that daily mental and physical training meet the reality of race day.  It’s where we are laid bare.

I’m coming to you live from a hotel in Atlanta Georgia where I’ve been hired by the local shadow government to take care of a couple bad apples.

It’s hot and humid down here.  Coach is ramping me up and has me doing 1:30 worth of work every day.  It’s hard to squeeze in.  Even if I go out in the morning it takes 30 minutes to stop sweating after.  And your clothes never dry. You know I wear the anti-fashionable tech short-shorts and even those won’t dry.  It’s super icky. 

I wasn’t going to climb back into wet clothes so I washed them out in the tub and dried them in the hotel’s laundry room.  But my Hokas are totally stinked out and slimy.  It’s not pleasant. 

Coach has me doing some surge runs and I’m playing with my pace to see how my heart responds and to see if I’m ready to increase the quality of my training and get some speed back.

The other thing I’ve been working on is trying to get 8 hours of sleep.  I know I hint at being a bit of a wizard at time management, but having such long workouts and trying to get enough sleep is killing me.  If I get up at the crack of dawn to do it I’m barely getting to work on time and have to go to bed at 9:00.  If I do it after work it’s time for bed by the time I stop sweating!  I’m not getting anything done!

But I’ll just keep plugging away…

…

I’ve been testing out Backgammon apps on the iPhone.  You kids may not believe this but when I was in college we didn’t have a TV, (let alone internet or cell phones).  My roommates and I would have epic card games, bridge and hearts and we’d also play a lot of Backgammon. 

What I like about backgammon is it’s a luck based game.  You have to have a little skill but it’s not chess.

The first app I downloaded was fine but after a couple games I figured it out. It was very timid, very risk adverse.  It made poor decisions because it avoided risk at all costs.  I was able to beat it 95% of the time because I took calculated risks.  I finally deleted it because it was boring. 

Then I got another one that was totally the opposite.  It just blitzkrieged me every game.  I couldn’t win.  The closest I ever got was to be up 8 games to 2 and I lost that match 15-8.  I deleted that one too because I think the dice were rigged. 

Again, it’s not chess.  Skill level can only offset the luck of the roll so much.  It’s statistically improbable that I could lose 95% of the games. 

Now I’m testing one that’s playing against other people on the web.  It’s slow and you have to be online but at least it’s real. 

That’s the way it is in life.  You’re never going to get anywhere unless you take some risk.  It’s the fine art of balancing risk and return that makes the chaos livable.  Just make sure you’re not over estimating the risk and underestimating the reward like most people do.  Really, what’s the worst that can happen. 

Roll the dice.

On with the show!

Section one - Running Tips

Not this week!

Voices of reason – the interviews

Tim Lee

Left Coast living Canadian. Husband and Dad of 1 teenage boy. Determined to run and cycle my way through my bucket list. London, Athens, Tokyo, Honolulu, Alpe D'Huez, Ventoux, Tourmalet, Stelvio, Mortirolo. Just to name a few. 2016 Boston-qualifier. 

 

Twitter: @acmedragon337

 

Massachusetts Triathlon Olympic Distance Tri Race Report

 -

Outro

There ya go. Another race in the bag and another podcast in the can.  That triathlon had some nice swag too. I got a bottle, a shirt, a nice medal with a bottle-opener in it and a nice bike bottle. 

I have some new electrolyte replacement stuff I’m testing too.  Seems to work well in the heat and sits in the stomach lightly.  Whenever I start testing any powder-based drinks I always mix them half strength to start.  If the directions say to add a scoop, add a half a scoop instead and see how that works. 

I like the UCan but it doesn’t’ sit easily in the gut when the weather is hot – even though I have a pretty strong gut.  I’ve never had any instances of ‘losing’ my drinks but it does get rumbly and it can be a naggy annoyance during a race.

I’m gearing up my fundraising for the Hood to Coast Relay at the end of August.  I’m taking a whole week off and meandering across the country from South Dakota to Portland Oregon with my wife.  Our marriage has survived 30 years. We’ll see if it survives this!

Check out any page of my website for the donate link.  I can really use your help.  Remember – 7 years’ worth of Ad-free podcasts for you – the least you can do is throw $20 towards cancer research!  I mean it’s Cancer Research not my personal hot tub and floozy fund.  I don’t see any of this money, it goes directly to the Portland Cancer Research place.

Like I intimated last time I’m going to bail out of the mountain bike race in August.  Instead I’m going to go up to my buddy’s house for a Beer and Bike weekend.  Then I’m going to run another relay with my club called the 100 on 100 in Vt which is basically a one day race where I’ll run three legs of 10k or so. 

Not sure what I’m going to do in the fall.  I have one eye on my Heart to see how much of the AFIB is gone and whether I want to push it or not. 

My garden is producing beans and red raspberries like there’s no tomorrow.  I’ve got a few apples.  My squash, peppers and tomatoes were a bust this year. 

The body count on the back yard vermin stands at 3 juvenile woodchucks, 3 bunnies, a raccoon and a grey squirrel.  I still haven’t caught the momma yet, but I my parsley is starting to grow back unmolested.

And, finally, after my run last Sunday I took my chainsaw and went out into the woods.  I removed that oak tree that was across the trail.  The one that knocked me off the head and broke my teeth.  It is no longer hanging over the trail.  It is cut and stacked.  I intend to sneak out there with my truck and fetch it for the fireplace at some point.

…

Don’t forget to say yes to adventure and sign up for the Wapack Trail race on September 6th at the Windblown ski area in Ipswich New Hampshire and join me for some mountain running smack down fun.

We added a Facebook page and an event for it.

…

One of the things that frustrates me is when people have an attitude of scarcity.  Scarcity is a form of fear.  It’s a low-level fear that comes from the fear of not having enough or losing what you have.  It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  When you have an attitude of scarcity you invite scarcity into your life.

You are born with everything you need.  Everything else is gravy. Life is not scarce.  Life is abundant. 

I see people acting out of scarcity and they tend to hide, and hold back, and hoard.  They don’t move out of their comfort zone because of that low level fear of what they might lose.  Scarcity eats you alive.

The way out of scarcity is to move.  Even if you don’t know where you are going.  Even if you don’t know your purpose. Even if you don’t have any discrete goals. Just move.  Roll those dice and pick a direction and move. 

Once you start moving you’ll find abundance on your journey.  And I’ll see you out there.

Closing comments

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research -

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-316 – Matt Crehan - Graphic Running

(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4316.mp3]

Link epi4316.mp3

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://finishcancer2015.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

Intro Bumper:

Hello, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, depending on where you find yourself physically located on the space-time continuum relative to the orbit, tilt and spin of this muddy rock. This is Chris your host and this is episode 4-316 of the RunRunLive podcast.  

Why 4-316? Well, my current numbering scheme topology reflects the different incarnations of the RunRunLive Podcast over the last 7 years.  Some of these incarnations were due to new or failed technology, some because I just felt an inflection point creep up on me like stern, but stealthy, thief in the night.  So…this is version 4 of the podcast and the 316th official episode. 

Anyhoo…the current version comes out every 2 weeks.  I try to get them out on Fridays because I know most runners have their long runs on the weekends.  I try to keep it under an hour in length so it fits into your workout.  I cover topics related to endurance sports that interest me.  I interview people related to this, and I salt in some life motivation and balance topics to assist you on your journeys.

In today’s show we chat with Matt Chrehan who has produced a graphic novel around the Prefontain story.  I was interested in this because, at least for me, endurance sports is a highly emotional and impactful endeavor – but this epic-ness tends to translate poorly into communication mediums, such as film.  

In the first section we’ll go into more detail on water bottles than you ever imagined could exist.  In section two I’m going to give you the race report on my first Olympic Distance triathlon – that I haven’t done yet.  It’s actually this weekend, but through the power of visualization I’m going to tell you how I win my age group.  

I’ve had as great couple weeks of training since we last talked.  I feel strong.  I ran a nice 2-hour trial run in the big rain storm a couple weekends back and managed not to run into anything, hit my head OR fall down. 

This past weekend was out 4th of July holiday.  I went down to my house on Cape Cod and got some excellent volume in.  Thursday I biked down to Chatham light, ran a 1.5 hour out and back on the beach and biked home.  

I got a bit turned around on the ride home and the whole session ended up being close to a 2.5 hour brick.  I always get lost on the Cape because it all looks the same.  It’s like those old Flintstones cartoons where they just repeat the background scenery to save money.  The Cape has no landmarks it’s the same scrub oak and pine and cottages repeated on an infinite loop.  

Saturday I did a 1 hour ocean open water swim across Pleasant Bay in Harwich.  It was low tide and I had some challenges trying to stay out of the boat moorings but not scraping my nose against the horseshoe crabs on the bottom.  Then I hopped on Fuji-San and spun out a 2 hour ride on the rail trail. 

The rail trail was nuts.  Jammed with holiday traffic.  I was just trying to go for an easy spin and catch up on podcasts.  Whenever I passed a real cyclist they felt compelled to catch me and ride with me.  I guess when some old dude on a rusty old Fuji passes you on the rail trail you have to justify your roadie-credentials.  

Then on Sunday I went out for a 2.5 hour long run in the heat of the day.  It was a bit rough, but good preparation for this weekend’s tri.  So, yeah, around 8 hours of endurance training over the weekend plus yardwork and I got to spend some quality time with my wife. 

I patched up the small tears that have been appearing in my wetsuit as I use it more.  I have a can of that “Seal Cement” which is this viscous black goop like roofing tar.  It’s like that stuff they use up hear in the North East to fix the cracks in the roads. It works great on wet suits.  I made a bit of a mess with it, my application is not going to earn any artistic awards but functionally it does the trick.  

…

That sure sounds like a lot of activity as I read through it.  

I get the sense that sometimes people think I’m a workaholic.  I don’t think so.  I think that moniker applies to people who are out of balance in the way they pursue their work.  They subsume all aspects of their life to the mindless pursuit of work.  Mindless because they work for the sake of work and not because that work aligns with some purpose.  

Workaholics try to lose themselves in work because they are afraid.  They are afraid to confront themselves, to look in the mirror and have to see themselves.  They use work and struggle as a mask or a drug to justify not engaging in life, because it scares them. 

It’s an addiction, and like any addiction it allows the addict to abdicate their free will to some other power.  

I’m active.  I’m kinetic.  I don’t like idle time.  I believe there is something worthy in spending yourself fully in a noble cause. But I’m not addicted to work.  I drive my own boat and I’m accountable for the direction of that boat.  I’m ok with the chaos of the ocean and the random winds of change that buffet upon it.  

That’s what I would like you to think about.  Why do you do what you do?  How does it align with your purpose?  How could you rebalance your life to find more positive stress?  

I’ll tell you a secret.  The times when I am most at peace, when I sleep soundly, are those times when I’ve executed well and fully some work that makes a difference.  

And for that I am grateful. 

On with the show!

Section one - Running Tips

Water Bottle Deep Dive - http://runrunlive.com/water-bottle-deep-dive

Voices of reason – the interviews

Matthew J.J. Crehan - www.mattcrehancomics.com

On 30th May 2015, Matt Crehan Comics will release The Art of Running: The Steve Prefontaine Story, which tells the story of the legendary American distance runner Steve Prefontaine.

 The Art of Running details Prefontaine’s extraordinary life in graphic novel form for the very first time, from growing up in Coos Bay and attending the University of Oregon, to his visit to Munich for the 1972 Olympic Games, and his unfortunate and tragic death at the young age of 24.

 Publication of the graphic novel was funded by a Kickstarter campaign in 2013 which raised £5,261 and helped to pay for the artwork and printing costs.

 As Prefontaine always saw running as a work of art, his love of the sport is beautifully told through the graphic novel medium where the movement of running can be explored and detailed perfectly. The book will feature a foreword by British distance runner and 1974 European 5000m Champion, Brendan Foster CBE, and will be launched to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Prefontaine’s death.

 When asked about The Art of Running project, Matthew said: “I wanted to show the sport of track and field as a real art form, as Prefontaine always thought of it, and give athletes a book that was something different but also inspiring.”

 The Art of Running is Crehan’s first published graphic novel, his previous work included the re-launch of classic British comic character Alf Tupper: The Tough of the Track in the pages of Athletics Weekly, as well as having several short comics published by GrayHaven Comics and Ninth Art Press.

Matthew J.J. Crehan

Writer / Letterer / Marketing Executive

www.mattcrehancomics.com

(+44) 07432 688 034

Section Two – Life Lessons

Massachusetts Triathlon Olympic Distance Tri Race Report

 - http://runrunlive.com/massachusetts-triathlon-olympic-distance-tri-race-report

Outro

Ok my friends – that’s it.  Nothing left to do now except gracefully slink towards the exit an hope nobody notices that we split our pants laughing out loud at the antics from episode 4-316 of the RunRunLive Podcast. 

I’ve got that triathlon this weekend.  I’m not worried about it.  Assuming I can avoid all the B-movie obstacles it should be fun.  Forecasts are calling for a hot day but even at my leisurely pace I should be back in the barn by 10:00 AM.  

I have Fuji-San all cleaned up and ready to go.  I bought as new helmet and have so far avoided bashing my head on anything.  

After this race I was going to ride the Hampshire 100 but my MTB buddies aren’t doing it so I may pass.  After that is the epic road trip to Hood to Coast in Portland at the end of August.  I’m still offering a size large, brand new, Team Hoyt, Addidas Jacket with a $65 price tag still on it.  The rules of the game are if you contribute $50 or more to my cause you get a chance to win the jacket!  So far your odds are very good! 

Check the show notes for a picture – it’s a super nice jacket.  

https://finishcancer2015.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

…

On the domestic front my garden is having up and down.  Looks like I’m going to get hundreds of pounds of potatoes form my potato box. I’ve got lots of beans.  I’ve got a great crop of berries.  I’m going to get some apples because I managed to prune and spray this year.  

My tomatoes and squash aren’t doing very well, which is a disappointment.  And I’ve got a rodent problem.  Not the Chipmunks.  Not the rabbits.  I’ve got a population explosion of woodchucks.  They’ve eaten all my parsley and lettuce and even snacked on some of my cilantro.  

They are quite brazen.  I’ve seen a momma and several babies hanging around the yard.  I moved my remaining parsley pot up onto my back deck and they climbed the stairs to get to it! 

I decided to bring the fight to them.  Frist my wife and I had some fun throwing smoke bombs down the holes in the front lawn, which although I’m sure is quite useless, creates quite a show and makes you feel like you’re doing something. 

I brought out the big trap and baited it with apples.  I’ve caught two of the young ones so far.  You may ask, “What do you do with them when you trap them?” Well, I know it’s bad karma but I was going to drown them in a water barrel.  I mean, I’m a tough guy.  I’ve watched several Al Pacino movies.  

But when I tried that the trap was about 4 inches too long so instead I just gave it a nice refreshing bath as it clung to the top of the cage looking at me.  

Now, as we all know, it’s illegal to transport and release wild animals.  But if said wild animal just happened to be taking a relaxing ride in the back of my truck, for, you know, purely enjoyment purposes…and the cage just happened to be open when I parked at the trail head for my mountain bike ride…and that hypothetical wild animal chose to exit the cage and the truck at that point in time…well that’s more a case of free will in action than the unlawful redistribution of gophers. 

You’d think that old border collie that lives in my house might scare them off.  

…

Well it’s getting late and I’ve spent too much time on this today.  I’ve got to go grocery shopping and pick up my mountain bike from the repair shop.  

Don’t forget to say yes to adventure and sign up for the Wapack Trail race on September 6th at the Windblown ski area in Ipswich New Hamshire and join me for some mountain running smack down fun. 

http://wapack.freeservers.com/

…

You remember Bruce Van Horn from a couple episodes ago?  I was listening to him recently and he did this bit about how he loves everyone.  He tells people every time they meet someone new to think in their heads “I Love You” and it will force you to have empathy in the interaction.  

Well, being from the North East, we are not a very touchy-feely culture.  And the thought of telling random people “I Love You” cracked me up.  

I tried this with some of my interactions during the day, and you know what?  It works for me.  It totally changes the interaction.  Not because I love anyone but the process of thinking it is just so culturally absurd it makes me laugh internally, which breaks me out of my frame, which pulls me into the interaction in a new light.  

It’s the equivalent of imagining everyone you meet with bunny ears.  It breaks your frame and allows you to approach the interaction unbiased. 

Give it a try.  But don’t try to hug me.  And I’ll see you out there. 

Closing comments

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://finishcancer2015.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

Http://www.marathonbq.com

http://runrunlive.com/my-books

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-315 – Gary Allen and I talk running

 

(Audio: link)

 

 

 

 

 

garyallenLink epi4315.mp3

 

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://give.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

 

Intro Bumper:

 

Hey there! This is Chris your steward for today’s ride along the colorful roadway of endurance sport. Practically, this makes for three podcasts in three weeks for you from the RunRunLive headquarters (Located in a dank cave in Western Pennsyvania that at one point in its history housed bandits, velociraptors and coal miners), just kidding, I’m actually in my home office.  I did have a trip to Denver, but it got canceled.

 

Episodes 4-313, 4-314 & 4-315 should be in your inbox, slightly out of order, due to a disruption in the space-time-chance-&-luck continuum.

 

mayflower-smallI seem to remember closing Episode 4-315 with the note that I intended to run a ½ marathon in Plymouth.  That would be two weeks ago now, and I did indeed run it.  First actual race for me since the heart procedure so my main goal was, as is my practice now, not to die and have fun.

 

My top concern was that I might pull something or otherwise hurt myself, given that I have not been doing much road work since Boston.

 

Coming off of Boston having run 8:30’s I figured that something in that range would be easy enough.  On the top end, if I felt good, sub-8’s would not displease the running gods.

 

I told coach to NOT taper me for the race, just treat it like a long tempo run.  I kept a nice training load right up to a bike and hard swim workout the day before.

 

A bunch of us from my club got up and drove down in the morning.  Brian had looked at the course map and said the first half was flat-to-down-hill, with big, long hill at mile 6 and then rolling hills to the end.

 

This was a first year race, but there were close to 2,000 runners.  The first mile was a bit jammed up, but I broke free and was feeling good enough spinning out the downs and flats, going a bit too fast, like I am wont to do.

 

I had my Garmin on but wasn’t looking at it, just running, chatting up the pretty girls, thanking the volunteers and having fun.  Looking at the data, those first 5 miles were in the 7:20 range, and that’s a bit fast (right now) with no taper, no training and a wonky heart.  I knew it was non-sustainable going into the hills.  My Heart rate was good – nice zone 4-5 effort but no flipping out into the 180-190 Afib range.

 

There was a water stop at mile 6 with porta-potties, so I stopped to have a rest, and reset my pace a bit.

 

There was a mile-plus hill from Mile 6, through the 10k and mile 7.  And it turns out this wasn’t the only one.  What Brian had called ‘rolling hills’ was a set of long steep hills over the last 10k that must have really beat up the back of the packers.

 

I just geared down and worked the hills, giving back some time but not suffering too much.  My legs weren’t all that peppy from the lack of taper.  I came in, according to the timing chip right on 8 minute miles, and looking at the data, my HR stayed in bounds for the most part, so I’m going to call that a win.

 

I mean, I could worry myself by remembering that I was trying to break a 1:30 ½ and ran a 3:23 at Boston 4 year’s ago, but that’s another season.  I feel like I’ die for a good run now, pun intended.

 

We’re done with the ‘happy-see-the warm-sun’ part of summer up here and into the ‘hot-sticky-horsefly-infested’ part of summer.  I was down in Atlanta last week when they were having a mini heat wave.  I got up in the morning to run and it was awful.  There was no oxygen in the air and I ended up coming back to the hotel soaked like I had been swimming.

 

Which is a pain in the butt, because then I had to pack up and get to work.  First, what you have to do is rinse out your wet stuff in the sink to remove some of the toxic man juice.  Then you roll them up in a couple towels and walk on them.  Then you put them in a plastic bag and pack them.

 

This worked ok except my Hokas were sweat soaked too.  I put them in a plastic bag and packed them but forgot about them until Tuesday this week and that was a horrible thing to have to put on those still-wet-festering shoes to go for a run. Ewwwww.

 

Then, after that Tuesday run I was soaked again, even though I exercised my rule of thumb that you can run shirtless under two conditions, 1) you have an attractive body or 2) you’re over 50.  When I got home I put those clothes directly into the washing machine, as a form of hazmat isolation.  But I didn’t run it because I wanted to wait until the morning.

 

My daughter decides to do some laundry.  She finds the wet clothes in the washing machine and decides that they must have been washed and puts them in the dryer!

 

Domestic adventures…

 

 

 

Today we have an interview with Gary Allen who we have talked to before in version one or two of the podcast many years ago.  Gary is the race director of the Mount Desert Island Marathon.  But, more relevant is that Gray is a bit of a historian for the local marathon scene having been involved at a near-elite level for many years, and still involved.

 

I’m hoping it come off as two old guys talking passionately about their sport, not two old guys bitching at the kids to get off their lawn!

 

In Section one I will continue my series of how to start running from scratch with a piece on how to build your support team that you’ll need as you progress.

 

In section two I’ll pull some nuggets from the book I read last week called “Happy is the new Healthy, 31 ways to relax and enjoy life now!”

 

…

 

I had a person I was interviewing ask me a question recently.  You know how it goes in an interview, where at the end I smile and say “Do you have any questions for me?”

 

They asked “Are you happy?”  I think the question was actually are you happy in your choice to work for this company?  Are you happy at the company?

 

I answered the question the way it was asked.  I said, “Well, first of all, I’m happy because I choose to be happy.  My happiness has nothing to do with where I work or who I work for.:”

 

Of course your environment does influence your emotions.  I get pissed off at work situations.  I get blind-sided by irrational people.  I have to deal with idiocy on the same scale as everyone else.

 

But, I try to remember that those are environmental things and really only effect my happiness if I let them.

 

On with the show!

 

Section one - Running Tips

 

newrunnerBuilding a support network - http://runrunlive.com/building-a-support-network-as-a-new-runner

 

http://runrunlive.com/back-to-basics-how-to-become-a-runner-from-scratch

 

Voices of reason – the interviews

 

Gary Allen – Race Director of the Mount Desert Island Marathon

 

Gary Allen - Team Run MDI

founder & race director

 

gary at runmdi dot org

Mount Desert Island Marathon • Half • Relay

 

"Get Real Maine: Run MDI"

 

The Mount Desert Island Marathon is the premier event of host running club Crow Athletics

 

1991 - CROW ATHELTICS IS HATCHED

 

The exact origins of Crow Athletics are not that difficult to trace. In the early 1990's a group of Mount Desert Island runners were heading to the now extinct Boston Primer, a 15 mile road race held in Readfield, ME. As they were traveling down I-95 heading south (in a Buick station wagon as big as a house) the car full of runners suddenly thought that running as a team might be fun. The various names thrown out for selection (most of which are not fit to print) ranged from the utterly ridiculous to generic and much over used terms such as roadrunners, striders, racing team, track club and so forth. By the time the crew drove through Newport, (which is incidentally 26 miles from Bangor) someone pointed out how knarly the crows are that line the highway eating dead things that we all seem to run over in our big Buicks. After passing another group of blackbirds that literally wouldn't get out of the road (even with a ton of Detroit's best iron heading for them), the team name for our day of racing at Readfield was born. "Road Crows". We won the team division and the team name was used loosely over the next decade.

 

Moving all the way forward to winter 2001-2002 another group of Mount Desert Island runners decided our island needed an organized running club. Again, many potential names were proposed and thrown out (most again, not fit to print -- why do runners think up such sick stuff?) Gary Allen, who was in attendance on the Readfield trip told the story of the original "Road Crows", and Crow Athletics as we know it today, was formed.

 

Our club has since slowly and steadily grown into one of the most forward thinking, fun oriented, outrageous running clubs in the universe! We love to point out to anyone who asks, 'Why crow?', that we runners (like crows) won't get out of the road, we're afraid of nothing, we are found in every state and nearly every corner of the world, and we are impervious to the weather.

 

Our members are of all abilities and hail from all over the US, Canada, and beyond. Some are among the best runners on the roads, while others run purely for fun! Our namesake mascot has even appeared as a tattoo on several Lifetime Members! We are a happy-healthyrecognized not for profit organization and annual membership dues (only $10 bucks) helps us to further our club and mission.

 

PS - Roadkill is a friendly little term we like to use in describing what we like to do to our race competition! CAW! CAW! CAW!

 

Section Two – Life Lessons

 

Book sample – Happy is the new healthy - http://runrunlive.com/happy-is-the-new-healthy

 

Outro

 

Ok my friends that’s it – the terminus of Episode 4-315of the RunRunLive podcast.  Those who arrive, survive.

 

One quick technical note:  At one point when I created a new version of RunRunLive a second podcast feed got added to iTunes.  If you search on ITunes for RunRunLive, two shows will pop up.  I’m going to ask Apple to eliminate one of them.  So if you find RRL-Feedthat the podcast disappears or you aren’t getting the fortnightly updates, go to iTunes and search again and subscribe to the other feed.

 

This is the correct iTunes Feed Link2

 

I bought new mountain bike for my daughter and last Sunday we went out for a ride.  I know all the trails around my house for miles and decided to take one that cuts behind the local ski hill.  It’s old farm road in the woods that runs behind one of the tubing hills.

 

I’m flying down this hill and I look up and there’s a rope across the trail about 3 feet of the ground.  I do some split second calculus and decide to lay the bike down and try to slide under it.  My intentions did not translate well and I bounced my noggin off the trail.

 

IMG_3213I had no idea where I was for a few minutes.  I gave myself a nice concussion.  Turns out I broke my helmet too.  I stopped taking the blood thinners and took it easy but I had a headache for a couple days.

 

It seems that they are running some sort of trial race over in the trails behind the ski area and had roped off the course.  I started to get a lot of comments on the social media that maybe I should stay out of the trails.  But, you can’t run scared.  You can’t live scared. You take the precautions you can, you wear a helmet and you don’t do anything stupid, but you can’t hide under a rock.

 

Remember, I’m looking for help with my Hood to Coast run the end of August.  I’m running to support Cancer research, because cancer sucks.  I’ll tell you what I’ll do.  I got a nice Team Hoyt running jacket from the Hoyts.  It’s a large.  It’s still in the wrapper.  Factory sealed. Pristine.

 

Biggest donation, let’s say $50,  in the next 30 days gets the jacket.

 

hoytjacketSupport my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://give.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

 

I’ve got a great trip planned.  I’m going to fly into Rapid City, SD and drive west over the divide to Portland.  I’ve got the flights and hotels booked.  It’s going to be a hoot.  I’m taking my wife with me to give her something to complain about.  Anyone live along that route want to catch a run or have dinner or coffee let me know.

 

You folks remember Bruce Van Horn from a couple episodes back?  He just launched a new book called ‘Worry no More’ that he’s offering pre-release on the Kindle for 99ø if you like his stuff. amazon link for Bruce's new book

 

I’m training away and my next race is the Olympic Distance Triathlon up in Winchendon.  I feel pretty good about it.  I’ve gotten a couple swims in the open water of over a mile and as long as they let me wear my wetsuit I’ll be golden.

 

I bought this wetsuit a couple years ago when I was entertaining doing an ironman.  I hadn’t really used it much because my foot healed and I switched back to marathon racing.  I’m using it now in the open water and oh my goodness it is like having the swim cheat code.  It hold you in a nice balanced position so you can swim straight and easy without any struggle at all.  Wonderful technology.

 

After that I haven’t signed up yet, but I’m leaning towards riding the Hampshire 100 again.  I have to do some work on my 29er and learn how not to crash so much – but It’s a good challenge and my bike legs are coming back.

 

The one race I’m realwapackly looking forward to is the Wapack Trail Race on Sept 6th.  This is one of my favorite races.  It’s a hard race.  18 miles of mountain, technical trails.  Not for the 5K crowd.  But if you can run a marathon, you can run the Wapack and you will not find many other races like this one.  Consider it. Try something new.  Have an adventure.  Come run the Mountains with me.

 

http://wapack.freeservers.com/

 

I’ve got two interviews recorded for the next two shows.  One is with Matt, from Manchester England who created a graphic novel around the Steve Prefontaine story and the other is with Tim who used my MarathonBQ plan this spring to qualify for Boston.

 

…

 

Buddy-2015Buddy is sitting in the front yard barking at me through the door as I write this.  He wants me to come outside and play.  He’s old now and his hips bother him.  I don’t take him on long runs or on the road but we still get out in the woods for shorter stuff.

 

He loves it.  He loves to explore the woods and sniff everything and wallow in the mud holes even if it’s only 2-3 miles.  He’s been a good running partner and a good friend over the last decade.  I’m going to miss him when he’s gone.  It’s going to be hard to celebrate the big part he played in my life without feeling the loss, and the empty space he leaves.

 

I remember the time in he and I and Brian did a practice run of the Wapack. 20+ miles in the mountains and we had so much fun.  I can picture the way he used to fly through the air to catch a Frisbee.

 

I’m going to go take him for a walk now.  Because he’s my brother and he deserves the moment no matter how busy I am.

 

And as you’re walking your dog, I’ll see you out there.

 

Closing comments

 

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://give.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

 

Http://www.marathonbq.com

 

http://runrunlive.com/my-books

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-313 – Jens takes on the internet startup

“The lost Episode”

(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4313.mp3]

Link epi4313.mp3

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://give.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

Intro Bumper:

Hello and welcome to episode 4-313 of the RunRunLive podcast.  It’s a beautiful day and I feel very lucky with all the gifts I’ve been blessed with.  

Part of the blessing is all of you, the people I’ve befriended over the years doing this show.  My life is so much richer for it.  So, thank you.  

I got to see one of my online friends this week.  I was out in San Diego and I originally planned to hop the redeye back but decided to stay over instead.  And ZenRunner drove out meet me.  We went for a run together, had a quick supper and a great talk. 

I love talking with Adam because he’s super smart and has a deep well of intellectual experience to draw from.  

I was telling him how I was working my way through the Head Space meditation app and how some of the days it was super hard to get my mind to quiet down.  

He told me that your mind is like water, sometimes it’s calm and sometimes it’s choppy.  You can’t really control that but you can manage your life around the knowledge of what state your mind is in.  

I think in practice it’s similar to how I sleep on airplanes.  If a plane is super noisy I’ll visualize that I am inside a clear box, a force field of sorts.  Inside the box all is quiet and calm.  All the noise and chaos is outside the box.  In much the same way I’m hoping my meditation practice, as pitiful as it is, will allow me to create that patch of calm water for myself within an angry sea. 

I’ve been getting in some awesome runs, especially trail runs.  I’m close to setting my race calendar for the summer and we’ll talk about that in the outro today. 

I went back to the cardio doctor for my 2-week review after the procedure.  They seem to think everything is well but they won’t declare success or failure for 3 months.  I guess there’s a burn-in period.  I’d better get the extended warranty.  

I’ve been watching my heart rate in my training and it seems to flip less.  We’ll see.  The trail runs have been really fun and it’s great to get back out into the green bosom of the world.  I got a pair of Hoka trail shoes and I love them so far.  Go figure, all the free shoes that I’ve gotten over the years and I fall in love with the ones that cost $130 a pair! 

Today we have an interesting chat with Jens who has started an on-line, peer-review, web site for running shoes.  He’s got a big idea about using the power of the crowd to rate shoes.  You might ask, “What does that have to do with running, Chris?”  

Well, you know I have a deep affection for entrepreneurs and also a fascination with the evolution of the internet and its ability to democratize and disintermediate.  Listen to what Jens and I chat about and see if you can tease out the larger moving pieces.  

In the first section I talk about what people see as their ‘purpose’ when they start running and what we can learn about it. 

In the second section I’ll chat about some stuff (that’s a technical term) that I have learned from hanging around venture capitalist and how some of the stuff you assume isn’t really true. 

It’s great to have summer here.  I feel good about the future.  

On with the show!

Section one - Running Tips

You purpose to start running - http://runrunlive.com/your-purpose-to-start-running

Voices of reason – the interviews

Jens Jakob Andersen

Here are a few links:

http://runrepeat.com/ - read the text on the footer on the right

http://runrepeat.com/about - I'm the only founder and owner. 

http://runrepeat.com/compare-running-shoes - check this tool. It will blow your mind. A completely new way of comparing running shoes.

http://runrepeat.com/ranking/rankings-of-overall-running-shoes

http://runrepeat.com/research-marathon-performance-across-nations - got massive media coverage from this research. We also did this one: http://runrepeat.com/research-women-are-better-runners-than-men. Together those two got us into +100 newspapers/magazines around the world. Examples: http://www.wsj.com/articles/boston-marathon-which-countries-have-the-fastest-recreational-runners-1429488981?tesla=y, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/the-worlds-fastest-everyday-runners/?_r=0, http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/women-are-better-marathon-pacers-on-average-than-men and http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/12/09/marathons-and-male-egos-just-about-the-result-youd-expect/

Section Two – Life Lessons

Managing like a VC - http://runrunlive.com/managing-like-a-venture-capitalist

Outro

What did I tell you?  Isn’t Jens an interesting thinker?  What, you don’t like what I’m doing here?  You didn’t like this show? I’ve got good news for you then, you have reached the end of episode 4-313.  

In a few weeks we’ll mark 8 years since the first episode of RunRunLive came crawling ugly and badly recorded to life.  

That’s nothing.  Steve Runner of Pheddippidations is a having a 10 year anniversary this summer.  Adam is putting together a celebration audio collection for him – so send Adam your audio and let Steve know how much he’s influenced your life. 

Do you know who my first interview was?  My buddy Frank.  I actually went for a nice easy ride with Frank out on the Minuteman Trail down to Alewife last Saturday.  

He can’t run anymore because he’s got a bad hip but I’m going to talk him into buying a mountain bike and doing the Hampshire 100 with me this year.  

Yes, I’m going to spin up my mountain biking this summer as a change of pace.  I got a bike for my youngest and I’m going to see if I can corrupt her as well.  

I’m also quite close to pulling the trigger on an Olympic distance tri.  I’ll have to spin up my swimming – which is hard for me because I suck at it, but again, it will be good for me to get off the road marathon hamster wheel and let my body heal.  

And that, my friends is I guess the biggest news, and the hardest thing for me to do.  I’m not going to try to qualify for Boston this summer.  The new qualification deadline of Sept 1st just doesn’t work for my life balance.  

We’ll see how I do this summer and come back to it with fresh eyes, fresh legs and a fresh perspective in the fall.  You know it will all work out.  When you stop seeking the answer sometimes appears for you.  

The other race on my calendar is the Hood to Coast Relay that I’ll be running for cancer research.  Please lend me your support – Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://give.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research 

I haven’t locked down plans yet but I want to take some time, go out early, and drive through some of the states I’ve never been in on my way out there.  

The MarathonBQ book is doing well and I am starting to see success stories from people who have used it to qualify this spring.  If you know someone who yearns to qualify or just to take 30-40 minutes off their marathon time get them a copy of MarathonBQ.  It’s the real deal of how I qualified for Boston with my limited time and talent. 

…

Here’s a thought to take you out. 

As I mature in my years I begin to understand that life isn’t about a series of discrete goals.  Life isn’t a straight line.  Life is a compilation of seasons.  Each season is different.  Each season has its challenges and its gifts.  The season you are in is neither good nor bad, it just is.  

You have to be present in your current season of life and live it.  Don’t live in past seasons, don’t live in future seasons – live in the now that is your season. 

And as you turn, turn, turn, I’ll see you out there. 

Closing comments

Http://www.marathonbq.com

http://runrunlive.com/my-books

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-314 – Bonnie Talks Easy Yoga 

(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4314.mp3]

Link epi4314.mp3

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://give.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

Intro Bumper:

Hello and welcome to episode 4-314 of the RunRunLive podcast.  Yes it’s been a month… or two fortnights… since you last received a RunRunLive podcast.   But now, your wait is over.  As you sleep I have silently packaged up another greasy ball of endurance sports content and slid it down the pipes of the internet to your electronic familiar.  

And it’s been a weird month indeed.  In my last missive from the field I told you how I had lost my computer, a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 that I have been using since last November.  And how with that missing computer went all the files for Episode 4-313 – ‘the lost masterpiece’.  

This week, two weeks later, after I had gotten a new Surface, procured all the magic software that I require for my clandestine audio wrangling and tickled my ganglia into producing today’s replacements show – Delta sent my old one back to me.  

Yeah, I got it back.  So next week I’ll double down and release the stillborn Episode 4-313.  It will be our little game of time travel! 

What’s crazy is how attached I am to my devices. When I lost it, it was like losing a friend.  I went through, denial, anger, grief and acceptance – then it shows up! 

My training has been epic over the last couple weeks.  I’m back on the Mountain Bike and back in the water and back on the trails.  As you didn’t hear in the missing episode I decided to get off the road marathon merry go round and have some fun this summer.  And fun I am having by the bucket load. 

I signed up for an Olympic Triathlon in Mid-July.  Is that where I line up with nations from all over the world and march around the infield representing my country in full splendor?  No, it’s not. It’s about a mile swim, a 22 mile bike ride and a 10K.  Twice as long as a sprint tri.  

Swimming is my weakest sport.  Weakest is probably the wrong phraseology.  Swimming is the part where I have the least racing confidence.   I’ve been trying to get into the pool and do some drills because I haven’t swum at all for almost two years.  

Last Saturday Coach had a 1700 yard pool workout on the schedule with a 2 hour bike.  It was a nice day so I decided to just go down to the pond and do it as a brick.  (Meaning do an open water swim in the pond and then take my mountain bike out for a tour.)  

I eyeballed the pond and guessed it was probably 1/3 of a mile across.   I got my wetsuit on and set out.  After I warmed up I fell into a nice rhythm.  The pond is still cold enough to be comfortable, maybe 75 degrees. The water was black and murky and full of pollen, and I was basically looking at nothing.  The sky was overcast so the sun wasn’t in my eyes when I rolled to breathe.  

When I had been doing a lot of pool work a couple years ago when that Plantar Fasciitis sidelined me, I managed to work out a 3-stroke alternate breathing pattern. Stroke – Stroke – Stroke – Breathe Right, 1 2 – 3 Breathe Left, and so on.   Miracles of miracles this seems to have corrected most of my slice.  When I sighted I was swimming fairly true towards the horizon.  (With My old 2-stroke cadence I basically swam in a circle and had to site and correct constantly.  

The cold water flowed by in a murky silence.  Dark and deep.  The grey skies muffled the world outside my goggles.  The tri-wet-suit kept me easy, balanced and true in the water.  The ear plugs completed the deprivation.  I fell into a deep meditative practice and pulled silently across the lake.  

When I got close to the end I turned around and pulled back.  There was a bit of a head wind and a little chop on the return but I was relaxed and strong, considering it was like my 3rd time in the water in 2 years.  

I had stuffed my Garmin under my swim cap to see if I could at least get the distance estimate.  It won’t pick up your HR through the water, but it will track the GPS, and if you put it under your cap it gets jostled around less.  

When I climbed out of the water at the town beach feeling tired but settled I checked the watch.  According to Mr. Garmin I had been in the water for 56 minutes and had swum 1.49 miles.  Really? I was blown away! Even if it was off by 30% that was a hell of a swim for my 3rd time in the water.  

I hopped on my 29er and rode the trails for another 2 hours – for a heck of a workout.  

So the lesson, my friends, is that your body doesn’t forget the training.  Once you have the endurance engine and the endurance mindset it doesn’t go away.  I rolled out tools that I trained into my body in the winter of 2013 – and my machine remembered them. 

I hope that Oly lets us wear wetsuits.  My two-piece leopard print bikini just has too much drag.  

…

I went out for a run the next day in the trails.  I was supposed to do like 1:45.  I’ve started taking Buddy for a first 2 ish mile loop, then I stick him back in the house and go out for the rest.  He’s getting old and his hips bother him  20 minutes is enough to get him some exercise but not wreck him. 

I’m pumping up this little hill on the trails behind my house, with my hat on, my head down and my headphones in, lost in the run and WHAM! I take an overhanging oak tree right off the noggin like somebody hit me with a 2 x 4.  

There I am laying on the trail seeing stars and I feel bits of teeth in my mouth! This tree fell across the trail about 5.5 feet off the ground and I ran right into it.  When I hit it it jammed my jaws and broke a couple of my teeth! Crazy.  So I took the dog home, put the tooth pieces on my desk and went out and finished the run.  No worse for wear but I did have to visit the dentist and get a bunch of teeth bonded up. 

Tuesday I ran 1:45 with my buddy Bob in the land locked forest and Wednesday I rode my mountain bike the 18 miles to work and back.  I feel like superman but I’m beat! I love summer! I love multisport training! 

We’ve got a great show for your today.  I have a chat with Bonnie Kissinger, triathlete, mom, engineer and Yoga instructor.  I used Bonnie’s yoga routines for my Boston training this year.  I think it helped and I definitely learned some new tricks.  (Old dog – new tricks). 

I wanted to plumb her thoughts on the current popularity of yoga and meditation and how we can make it more accessible for every day runners like you and me.  

In the first section I’ll chat about how beginning runners can find the time to start their fitness routines.  In the second section I’ll review a book I read last week called “The Art of Work” – that is about how to find your calling. 

Everything is cool.  It’s summertime and the living is easy.  The catfish are jumpin and the cotton is high.  

On with the show!

Section one - Running Tips

Finding time to start running - http://runrunlive.com/creating-space-in-your-life-to-start-running

http://runrunlive.com/back-to-basics-how-to-become-a-runner-from-scratch

Voices of reason – the interviews

Bonnie Kissinger

http://bonniekissinger.com/

Coach Bonnie Kissinger is a 500 RYT and mechanical engineer, specializing in yoga for athletes. She is also a certified health coach and Ironman Triathlete. With 10 years of experience teaching yoga and focusing on functional movements in yoga, her instruction focuses on cultivating more balance within joints and better kinetic movements.

30 Min Hamstring Y Class:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-RawDwT_00

Meditation 101:  Lesson 1:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slILB--WCds

Triangle Chat:  http://bonniekissinger.com/online-yoga/

http://bonniekissinger.com/online-yoga/

Section Two – Life Lessons

The Art of Work - http://runrunlive.com/the-art-of-work

Outro

OK My friends, you lucky devils, you herd of catastrophically fortunate humans, you got to the end of the episode 4-314 of the RunRunLive Podcast and next week, if all goes according to plan I’ll post-date-launch episode 4-313 with some sleight of hand, so that future generations will never know there was a gap! Re-writing history we are.  

As it turns out, I’m racing this weekend.  Getting up at the crack of dawn on Sunday and driving down to Plymouth for the Mayflower Brewery ½ marathon.  I’m treating it as a tempo run, not a race.  I haven’t been training for road racing – so I just have to not hurt myself and get a little exercise with friends. 

My heart seems to be working ok.  With the multisport I don’t drive as much direct stress into it but it seems to be staying in zone 2 well and it recovers very quickly from efforts.  There’s an AFib support group on Facebook that Paula pointed me to.  It seems that this malady is quite common.  

You might say Chris, you’re pushing it too hard, but the multisport training is more of an overall body stressor than a heart stressor. It’s actually quite well balanced. I’m not worried about it or giving it much attention at this point – I’m just having fun. 

You know what else is really prevalent?  Cancer!  That’s why I’m continuing to support cancer research this summer.  I set up a page for the Hood to Coast Relay.  The link is in the show notes.  I’m still fleshing out my campaign, but any donation you can make helps.  Cancer sucks.  

Also I n the show notes are links to a few of Bonnie’s yoga videos that I used, and continue to use, in my training.  Check out her site and the resources she has there.  

It is summertime! I’ve already started harvesting salad from my garden.  My hops, my berry crops, my herbs and my beans are all thriving.  My peppers and tomatoes are a bit sad, I’ll have to give them some chemical encouragement this weekend. 

But my biggest success is the new potato box that we are experimenting with.  You build a simple board box, with 4 upright posts and flat boards up the sides.  I made mine 4 X 4 – which is a little large in retrospect.  

You start by putting one row of boards on – so in my case like 8 inches high.  You fill that up with soil and plant your potato sets.  As the potatoes grow you add boards and soil so the box keeps getting higher.  I’m up to 4 boards now with no sign of stopping.  I’m going to have 300 pounds of potatoes.  

In theory, you are supposed to be able to remove the bottom boards and harvest from the bottom.  We’ll see how that works.  That seems to run counter to Newton’s laws.  But, I’ll try.  You have to keep learning new things.  

I guess that’s what scares me or disappoints me about this heart problem.  It might mean I have to stop going longer, deeper and harder in my sports pursuits.  To me that means a curtailing of adventure.  I don’t do all this stuff for achievement, I do it for adventure.  That’s the itch that needs to be scratched. That’s how I’m wired. 

I like to learn.  As they say in the business world; “I’m a hunter, not a farmer.” How about you?  When was the last time you tried something new?  Something outside your routine?  Something that forced you to learn?  Something that, maybe, scared you a bit?  

How are you positioned to rise to a new challenge?  What would you do if you lost your laptop? How would you react if you learned you had a heart problem or something worse?

These people in this AFib FaeceBook Group are very scarcity and fear focused.  They bemoan all the things they can’t do.  Like a recent post where a bunch of them gave up sex due to fear of triggering a heart-racing episode – (which is kinda what sex is about, no?) 

All they can focus on is loss because they started with the wrong mindset.  They were never comfortable with what they had to begin with.  They weren’t grateful for what they had. With this existing negative mindset they are less capable to deal with any new challenges. They essentially see their heart problem as a confirmation of their negativity bias.  “See? I told you life sucks!” 

What if, and stay with me here, you instead saw your life and everything in it as a gift? How would that position you to deal with new challenges? Would, you maybe see them as opportunities?  Opportunities to break with the old, embrace a new beginning and rewrite the future? 

Maybe these things, as we have heard from so many challenged athletes on this show over the years, are not challenges per se, but gifts.  Ask yourself, what if you were given the gift of an eraser for your chalkboard.  What if you were forced by some event or challenge to wipe that future clean and start from scratch? 

And, how about this?  What if you didn’t wait until that car crash or divorce or disease to slap you up-side the head?  What if you started now and designed this cycle of renewal into your life? 

All interesting questions.  But what action can we take? 

It’s up to you.  There’s lots of tools out there for facilitating direction changes.  I would suggest having an adventure before the summer is over.  Take a leap.  I don’t know what an adventure is for you.  Maybe it’s hiking the Appalachian Trail.  Maybe it’s taking a sabbatical to work in a homeless shelter.  Maybe it’s writing that book that’s been kicking around in your head. Maybe it’s a road trip across the country with your kids (god help you). Maybe it’s walking into your boss’s boss’ office and saying “I have a plan!”. 

Large or small.  Take a leap.  Schedule an adventure in the next 3 months.  Large or small.  And let us know what it is.  

Cause some chaos in your life…and I’ll see you out there. 

Closing comments

Support my Hood-to-Coast Relay for Cancer Research - https://give.everydayhero.com/us/chris-russell-hood-to-coast-for-cancer-research

Http://www.marathonbq.com

http://runrunlive.com/my-books

Honey, I lost the Podcast...

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-312 – Randy Pierce – Mountains, Dogs and Inspiration

(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4312.mp3]

Link epi4312.mp3

Intro Bumper:

Chris Russell, a man barely alive…Heh, heh.  Yes I am old enough to have watched the 6 million dollar man when it premiered in 1977.  

Well Hello my friends.  Welcome to Episode 4-312 of the RunRunLive Podcast.  This is Chris, your host, and I’m glad to see you.  Won’t you come in, grab a towel and sit with me for a bit while you cool down from your exertions of the week?

It’s been a busy spring for me.  At the end of April I capped a worthy training cycle by running my 17th Boston Marathon.  6 Days later I fulfilled my role as titular figurehead (i.e. Race Director) at the 24th annual Groton Road Race.  Last week I spent a couple days in the hospital to have a special bionic powers installed.  

I prefer to think of it as an upgrade rather than a patch.  They didn’t fix a bug in my heart, they upgraded me to Chris 3.0.  Now I’ve got super powers, similar to Peter Parker, or Steve Austin.  

This week I rolled out to Phoenix at the crack of dawn Monday for a conference, bopped over to Denver to meet a guy for dinner last night and grabbed the Red Eye back to Boston.  (It was on the way). 

As I write this I realize how ridiculously busy that sounds, and I was a bit tired this week, but it’s not unusual for me, as you know by now, I run pretty fast in my life, so to speak.  There’s nothing here that coffee, running, meditation and denial can’t fix. 

I don’t want to make this about me, but I guess some of you might be interested in the exercise induced A-fib that I have/had and the procedure to have it fixed.  From what I’ve learned this condition, or this related family of conditions, where athletes develop anomalies in their heart beats, is very common.  

Typically they treat it with drugs and tell you to stop being such a type A butt-head, but there’s a whole range of pharmacological and surgical solutions as well.  

In my particular case the A-fib manifested when I went long or hard, basically any time I loaded my heart.  It developed over the course of 2-3 years and got worse enough for me to figure out something was up and I got a real diagnosis in January.  

It manifests as an irregular heart beat in my case and in exercise this means you lose efficiency and power.  The worst case scenario is that your blood pools in the heart chamber causing clots and stroke.  

It is caused by anomalous electrical signals that originate in the sheathing of the pipes of the upper right chamber of the heart, in my case. 

The procedure that I had is known as cryoablation.  They snake a catheter up through the big arteries in your groin into that chamber of your heart.  I suppose it’s a bit invasive but they don’t crack your chest open, which is a plus.  

When they get the catheter into that chamber of the heart they use a balloon with liquid nitrogen in it to ‘ablate’, in this case freeze the tissue where the pipes come in.  In this way they create a dam of scare tissue that block the signals from getting into the heart muscles and, best case scenario, cure the A-fib. 

So…yeah…that’s what I did last week.  They did all the blood tests, ekg and Catscan on Monday and then I went in Thursday morning for the procedure.  I was a bit of an anomaly myself in the hospital.  Those hospitals, as it turns out, are chock full of sick people.  

The nice nurses got me naked and shaved me up.  My wife finally got to have my back hair shaved like she’s been trying to get me to do for years.  I don’t remember it, but when I woke up they had given me the personal manscape as well.  

I know in the mens’ magazines this is sexy, but on me it’s like Golum on a bad hair day.  The entire area where they went into the groin artery was shaved up leaving Mr.s Happy with cute little Furor mustache.  

I was under for the procedure.  Out like a light switch.  I woke up in the afternoon, a bit groggy, but apparently successfully upgraded.  They said everything went well except that I was a bit fibrous in the core and they had trouble feeding the catheter up.  My abdomen is still sore a week later. 

I had to spend the night in the hospital.  I had my wits about me and was up and about by early Thursday afternoon so I was left trapped in a room in a hospital full of sick people with really bad food options and a lot of free time on my hands!  I cleared all my email and got caught up on work stuff and watched Netflix.  I can put up with anything as long as there is good Wi-Fi. 

Meanwhile a parade of smiling nurses came into my room and asked “Do you mind if I look at your groin?”  To which I’d reply, “Knock yourself out!”  It’s the most attention my groin has gotten in decades. 

Friday Morning they processed me out.  They told me not to run for a week or to lift anything heavy.  The concern is not for the heart but for the insertion site.  They don’t want you rupturing that groin artery because it will bleed a lot.  

They also put me on blood thinners.  The good news is that I won’t get a clot but I could very well die in a messy shaving accident. 

What’s the punch line?  I held off running until Thursday morning because my abdomen was still sore and I didn’t want to push it.  I walked a bunch through the week.  

Thursday morning in Phoenix I put my heart rate strap on and set out with not a small amount of trepidation (that’s a big word that means ‘fear’).  Yeah, I was, as much as I ever am, afraid of what might happen.  How would my heart react?  Would I pop my groin and bleed out in the gutter? I know it’s silly but you have these crazy thoughts, right?  Fear isn’t rational.  

I walked a 5 minute war up then brought my HR up into Z2 for 15 minutes and it was quite comfortable.  After 20 minutes in I threw in a little Z3/Z4 surge and the heart didn’t flip.  I was able to bring it up and bring it down without anything weird happening.  

Very encouraging data.  We won’t really know until I go long or do a significant long tempo run.  But, all in good time.  

To quote the late, great Hunter Thompson, “It got pretty weird, but it never got weird enough for me!” 

We have a great show for you today.  I have a great chat with Randy who is a blind runner from my area who talks about his inspirational summiting of all the peaks above 4,000 feet in the NH White Mountains with his guide dog, some of it in the winter!  He also ran Boston this year and we have a number of mutual friends in the local running community.  

In section one I tackled the question “What would I do if I had to create a good runner from scratch?”  The script I wrote for this piece is in outline form and I recorded it in a hotel room in Phoenix so it is a bit more conversational than my usual prose. 

The second section is a rant about why I can’t get a decent salad conveniently in the world. 

But – of course I’ve got my vegetable garden in too. And it is springtime in New England.  I built a new raised bed and used my compost in it.  The soil is a bit ‘young’ but I’m going to try growing beans in it.  Beans will grow in anything.  

I also built a potato box, which should prove an interesting experiment.  And I’ve moved my raspberries around and should have a bumper berry crop.  I managed to prune my fruit trees so we’ll see if I can actually get some fruit this year.  

The hops are up and going crazy already.  I’ve got some lettuce and cabbagy things in and some herbs seeded.  And I’ve got my chipmunk traps up.  With any luck I’ll be having fruit and veg from my own garden a month or so from now. 

On with the show!

Section one - Running Tips

How to create a runner from scratch - 

http://runrunlive.com/back-to-basics-how-to-become-a-runner-from-scratch

Voices of reason – the interviews

Randy Pierce

As for links well our website is a pretty solid overview of many of the accomplishments and undertakings:

www.2020visionquest.org

The In the media highlights plenty of reference material on Running, Tough Mudders, hiking and beyond. Meanwhile a couple of video clips on our documentary link will highlight still more for you. If you wish to understand more reference from the year long progression to the Boston marathon then I’ll call out a few specific links.Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my running my first Marathon (Cox Providence 2014) and in that year I’ve had quite the journey including a national Championship in my division (B1) and most recently Boston.

Post Boston Reflection:

http://2020visionquest.org/Blog/2015/04/the-power-of-purpose-as-boston-strong-goes-quinn-strong/

Pre-Boston Celebration with links to key past articles like “Qualifying for Quinn”

http://2020visionquest.org/Blog/2015/04/celebrating-the-2015-boston-marathon/

That probably will flood you with photos and information aplenty to be ready but let me know if you would like more still.

Section Two – Life Lessons

I just want a decent salad! - 

http://runrunlive.com/all-i-want-is-a-decent-salad

Outro

Alright my friends, it’s Friday, I’m working on 3 hours of sleep and losing altitude fast, but we have made it to the conclusion of episode 4-312. Congratulations. Now let’s move it to the exit before I fall asleep on you. 

Now that I’ve got the green light I have to figure out how to spin up my running again.  My next event is a ½ marathon in the middle of June called the Mayflower Brewery Half Marathon in Plymouth Mass.  

And then the Hood to Coast Relay at the end of the summer.  If anyone wants to join that we still have legs available – it’s relay and it will be an adventure.   I’ll be setting up a fundraising page for that and looking for help.

…

As you may have figured out I read a lot.  And I don’t just read within my areas of expertise.  Yes, I read business books and running books but I also read fiction, biographies, science fiction, short stories and any other topic that I find interesting in the moment. 

I would offer this up to you as a life lesson.  Study things you know nothing about.  I’m always pleased by the connections I can make between topics that are on the surface not related. But, my friends, everything is related.  Feed your brain a varied diet and you will see the connections. 

So…Watch what I do next…I am going to draw a connection between picking up beautiful women, sales processes and tantric sex.  How about that.  And I’m going to do it without garnering an explicit rating. Feel’s a bit like a dangerous high-wire act but what’s life without risks?

I should note, not that you’re going to believe me, but, this is all an academic exercise for me, I’m not in the middle of some bizarre midlife crisis where I jet off to the Caribbean with my secretary.  I don’t actually even have a secretary.  Although I do dig the Caribbean. Great SCUBA diving. 

The connection between sales process and pick up technique should be obvious.  In both cases you have to have a methodology to approach the target, get their interest by demonstrating high social (or professional) value, build attraction through a push-pull process of demonstrating interest but also challenging.  When you build enough trust you can test compliance and naturally move towards a close. 

Simple right?  It is amazing how much a sales cycle and a pickup cycle have in common.  But how do I tie in tantric sex? Here we go.  

In all three examples the first thing that you are told to focus on is letting go of the result.  If you are focused on the end result of the process it clouds your ability to execute the process and it prevents you from being in the present moment.  

For a sales cycle this means you have to let go of the desire to close the business.  For the pickup artist this means you have to let go of your desire to get the woman.  And for the Tantric sex you likewise reset your focus on the ‘now’ and not any particular climactic event.  

If you think about it there is an underlying life lesson here.  The ability to live in the present moment and be present to your partners, whether business or social, is your ability to add value and connect. But you can only do that if you are willing to let go of the end result. 

My friends, we spend so much time in our lives rushing from one thing to the next, from one goal to the next, from one result to the next that we forget that every moment in itself is truth and purity.  Are you free-wheeling peripatetically downhill to a frenzied end?  

Maybe you need to take the time to be present, especially in your interactions with the people in your life?  Don’t forget about right now, this moment, and appreciate it.  

And If I happen to run into you I will be sure to appreciate it and see you out there. 

Closing comments

Http://www.marathonbq.com

http://runrunlive.com/my-books

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-311 – Boston Marathon 2015 Wrap-up

(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4311.mp3] Link

Intro Bumper:

Hello, Hello and Hello, my friends.  Wow! A busy couple weeks since we last spoke.  This time of year always makes me think about whether or not we have too many balls in the air.  I’m really torn between whether having so many project going on at the same time is a bad thing or a good thing.  I think it’s a little bit of both. 

Having a lot going on forces you to focus on those things that are really important.  But, when you do that you let other things slide and someone in your universe is bound to suffer.  The other thing that I don’t like is when my life gets so full of activity that all the slack time is taken away.  It means that any new or cool opportunity that floats by necessarily has to be neglected in the wash.

Since we last talked I ran the Boston marathon.  I had a good day and I’ll give you the brief version of the race report in the first section today.  I also got coach on the phone to talk about the race and my training because I think there’s a bunch of take-aways and learning form this one. 

I managed to fundraise successfully for Team Hoyt.  I did not catch Bryan and Rick.  Even though it looks like Bryan had your typical first Boston experience he had too much of a head start on me.  I made up 45 minutes on him but that wasn’t enough!

In the second section I answer a question about how to stay in a healthy lifestyle when you travel for business.  Someone had asked the question in one of the LinkedIn groups I’m a member of – so I thought I’d give it some inspection. 

The other major event I was involved in was the Groton Road Race.  We pulled it off with no casualties and had another good day.  We had a big change this year where we ran the 10K and the 5K simultaneously on the same course.  It seemed to work out, we’ll see what the feedback is. 

I ran the course in the morning and it really is a beautiful course on a spring morning with the sun coming up over the hills. The cows and barns throwing long shadows in the pastures.  The old farm tractors resting in agricultural repose on the big hill up Common Street.  The quiet punctuated by spring-busy birds and the occasional wild turkey call.

It’s close to a spiritual experience for me.

In the intervening week between Boston and Groton I did a couple bike rides and some yoga work.  I took Fuji-san my old road bike out on Wednesday and felt pretty strong.  I was able to get down into areo and feel comfortable. 

On Friday I had a blast when I took my 29er out into the woods for the first time in a long time.  I thought that I might not be able to ride the technical trails after so much time away from it.  I had alswo forgotten how much fun it is hopping rocks and climbing and ripping though the mud-holes with my mountain-bike.  I had a blast!

This time of year is busy.  Busy for me.  Busy for you.  But that busyness can also be a time of joy and creativeness.  Instead of lying around waiting for inspiration (literally ‘to be injected with spirits’) you are forced to do the job.  And when you are forced to do the work the inspiration appears.  The creativity appears.

Don’t be afraid of doing the work.  Don’t be afraid of having too many things to do because as you start to execute on them the inspiration will come to you and the creative will find you when you embrace the work.

On with the show.

Section one - Running Tips

Boston Marathon 2015

Voices of reason – the interviews

Coach Jeff Kline from PRSFit

Home page

Facebook page

Patagonia Expedition link

Podcast on aerobic base

Section Two – Life Lessons

Following a healthy lifestyle on the road.  

Outro

So my friends that’s a wrap of all the busy work I’ve been doing in the last few weeks.  We have swept it all carefully into the collective dustbin of Episode 4-311.

Next week I’m going in for my heart procedure.  They tell me I’ll have to take a week off from training but that I’ll be back to normal after that.  I’m curious to know what normal is.  If the procedure works what kind of shape am I in with this big base I’ve built up?  How much of a leap would it be for me to get my speed back on top of that?  How much of my speed will come back? 

It’s new ground to be tilled in this adventure we call life.

I’ve got two races scheduled on the calendar.  The first one is a ½ marathon with my running club buddies down on Cape Cod in July.  The second, and certainly more auspicious, is the Hood to Coast Relay at the end of August.  This is the oldest relay in America.  It’s a bucket list item.  I’ll be fundraising for a Portland cancer clinic and I plan to wrap some sort of mid-life crisis adventure around the race.

I’d also really like to run the Wapack Trail race this year which is the following weekend. 

Depending on how I feel after the procedure I might take a swing at a qualifier, but I’ve been pushing the road work for close to 2 year’s straight now and the little voices in my head tell me I should probably switch sports this summer for a change of pace. 

A quick note on the ‘how to qualify for Boston’ e-book that I wrote.  I’m probably going to pull it off of Amazon and market it directly instead.  I started writing a book plan for agents and publishers and realized that I had more social reach than they do.  It would be silly for me to give up control and profits to them.  Why not do it myself?  If any of you want a copy just shoot me an email and I’ll give you one in trade for a charity donation or a review.  You’re my friends and I love it when you read my work.  

Breaking news! I acquired the domain “Qualifyforboston.com”  I’m going to take a shot at building out a niche website and monetizing it.  If any of you know how to do that – please help me out!

Since May is going to have some downtime in it for me I’m going to take a cue from Zen runner and try to write a blog post every day in my business blog, just to see if it makes a ripple and to experience the discipline. 

I think the value of these ‘every day’ streaks whether it’s running, reading, writing or meditating is the transformational power.  The repetition actually changes the way your brain works and you gain some great insights.  The repetition reprograms the brain and takes advantage of the neuro-plasticity.

I’ll probably try to get the miracle morning routine kick started for that as well.  Last thing I want is too much free time.  Idleness for me is indeed the devil’s workshop.

Another project I’m working on is setting up a mastermind.  A mastermind is a group of 4-7  like minded individuals that meets or has a weekly call to help each other solve problems, make progress towards goals and learn. 

Here’s the offer; if you are a business person who wants to join my mastermind group shoot me an email.  I’m looking for entrepreneurial and goal-oriented people that are willing to trust and share and help people.  I’m looking forward to hearing from you.  This isn’t about running.  This is about business.

Finally, I want to talk about struggle.  I see every day on social media, especially this time of year, people who are working through tremendous struggles.  And I know it’s hard to realize when you’re in a struggle, but these are the best times. 

These times of struggle are what you will remember as defining moments in your life.  These are the things you will look back on as having outsized impact on your life’s trajectory.  That is why we create struggles for ourselves when we don’t have any.  We take on a race or a new job or a big project or a taxing relationship issue.

Why?

Because the truth is we strive on struggle.  It brings out the best in us.  But you have to know this when you are inside the struggle.  You have to, at least in some small corner of your mind, realize that this time of struggle is an opportunity to define yourself.  

And the way you define yourself in the middle of a struggle is the way you react to it.  How you deal with it.  You don’t have to be strong, but you do have to be honest and good.  That might manifest as strength and bravery or it might manifest as empathy and leadership. 

When you are inside the storm it’s hard to imagine.  But it’s the struggles that define us – that’s the good stuff.  That’s what brings out the best in us.

And as you, my friends, are struggling down the road, I’ll see you out there.

 

Closing comments