RunRunLive 5.0 - Running Podcast

Interludes 1.0(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/Interludes1.mp3]Link Interludes1.mp3 Introduction:Hello my endurance friends and welcome to a crack-stuffing version of the RunRunLive podcast that I’m going to call “Interludes”.  I didn’t want you to think I fell into the abyss as I work to figure out the format for RunRunLive4.0.  I’ll keep passing along some content as I go to keep your interest. You can always go back and sample one of the previous 300 episodes that are filled with so much fluff and stuff about long distance running and endurance sport.  I was going to call it interregnum, but that seemed a bit imperious.  But, it does lead us to a discussion of the value of a good command of Latin and Greek roots when trying to discern the language.  As you may have guessed the prefix ‘inter’, (technically a ‘morpheme’) means between or among.  In this case Inter means between.  Inter should not be confused with ‘intra’ which means ‘within’.  Intercompany would mean “Between companies” whereas “intra-company” would mean “within company”.  See how that works?  You can figure out the meaning of most words by looking at the morphemes.  Interregnum means between kingships.  The Latin root Reg is king.  As in Regicide, Regent, etc.   Now, as far as interlude, I thought at first that second bit, the ‘lude’ was a form of the Latin root Luce which means light – as in Lucid, Elucidate, Luminescent, etc. But I was wrong.  It turns out to be Middle English for ‘play’.  Which, is perfect, because what we have here is a pause between plays.  And I ‘d like to thank my 9th grade prep school English teacher Mr. Mitchell, for making me memorize all the Latin and Greek roots.  Very handy for dismembering meaning from any of the Latin languages. Oh…We were supposed to talk about running, right?  Or atleast Zombies.  Did you like my zombie story in episode 300?  Can you imagine poor Andrew Kastor listening to that episode and having to suffer through all the self-indulgent schlock? Heavens!Speaking of Andrew Kastor, I get to run with him in the morning.  I’m safely ensconced in the New York Palace Hotel (5-stars) on Madison Ave across from Rockefeller Center.  They flew me in today and got me a limo into town.  I’m having drinks with them later.  I do feel a bit like Cinderella.  (but I’ll still never a Disney race)  I just made a successful foray into the wild metropolis (greek word) and managed to forage a bag of fruit and a kale salad with avocado, so the city isn’t too bad. Today, well, we’ll see what I can get done.  I’ve got too many plates spinning at the moment, but today we’ll squeeze in an interview (see there’s that Morpheme again) interview with Jim from the seeker podcast who is a certified nurse.  I asked Jim to talk me through some of the things people should be looking for when they get a physical.  I’m also going to try to write up my Marine Corp marathon report for you…and maybe even something else.  I’ve got more ideas than time to birth them! Last time we chatted, two weeks ago, I was getting ready to volunteer at the BayState Marathon and the Groton Town Forest Trail Race.  I did volunteer at Baystate, we work a water stop each year.  It’s fun.  We’re at the 7 and 17 mile marks of the Marathon.  I try to coach people and encourage them.  I know most of the local running clubs so I can call them out when I see the singlets.  It was a bit of windy day, as it is sometimes at BayState, and that knocked a lot of the folks down who were looking for times. That’s why you need to train outside in real conditions.  Learn how to run in the wind and the rain.  There are techniques for all of this that can save your race.I had a 10 mile pace run on the calendar as my last taper run for Marine Corp that day.  I didn’t manage to get up in time, and instead decided to run the trail race, which is 9.5 miles as a substitute.  If you’ve never run the Groton Town Forest Trail Race you are missing out.  It’s a gnarly single path with plenty of vertical.  We had great trail conditions and a nice cool day.  The wind didn’t bother us in the trails.  I started out in the back with the baggage train and used the first 20 minutes to warm up.  Then I accelerated through the pack for the next 7 or so miles.  I’ve run the course plenty of times so I know how hard it is.  You’d better be in top trail shape if you decide to attack it.  In the last couple miles I caught all the people who underestimated the course and overestimated their abilities! Yeah, I felt great, had a good race.  I had forgotten just how much fun trail running is! Then, of course, I was down in Marine Corp last weekend.  Got that done without breaking anything, much. And now I’ve got The New York City Marathon this weekend, (which apparently has been outsourced to the Tata Consultancy).  Spinning plates…On with the show…Section One: New York City Marathon Speech - http://runrunlive.com/gratitudehttp://youtu.be/xHYCClSGnfo?list=UUHxGvauB2-_J1qvR_oDobeg….Intro to Interview: I got my physical last week and everything checked out, but they handed me a bunch of blood work results which are mystifying to me.  I figured I’d share those and chat through them with Jim and see if we couldn’t save some lives. My resting pulse, or heart rate is somewhere in the 36-42 BPM range, which is not normal, but it’s perfectly normal for me.  It’s partly genetics and partly endurance sports.  My blood pressure is 117 over 80, which I guess is normal.  My Prostate is okey-dokey on both the ever-pleasing digital exam and the PSA blood test.  By the way – men, get yourself tested.  As many men die from prostate cancer as women die from breast cancer and it’s 100% curable if they catch it early.  Ladies, make your men get tested. The blood test they do checks all sorts of stuff, your sugar, your salt, your liver function and even if I was pregnant.  All of which I’m in the normal bounds on and (I’m not pregnant).  My liver function was borderline high but this is also one of those long distance running things.  I always go into these physicals after a hard race or workout and when you do that it can throw off your blood work, especially your liver function, because your liver is trying to clear all that crap from the workout out of your blood.  If you want a copy of my blood results with all the explanations I can send them to you. Lean back and relax now while Jim and I discuss saving your life.   I didn’t have time to edit this so you’re getting our raw conversation.  Section two: Marine Corp - http://runrunlive.com/2014-marine-corp-marathonOutro:Was that fun?  I bet it was.  Over the next couple weeks, if I survive New York, I’m going to dial back the training for November.  I have many balls in the air this month.  I have to get through a colonoscopy.  I’ve also got an appointment with the cardiologist to see if we can figure out what’s going on with my heart rate.  I went in yesterday to my doctor and I brought some HR graphs from some of my runs to show him what I’m experiencing.  About 40 minutes into a workout my HR will flip to max and I’ll feel it.  There is no way my heart rate should be getting up into the 180’s and 190’s unless a bear’s chasing me.  A zombie bear.  An alien zombie bear.  I’m perfectly ok if the answer is ‘you’re old’. But I want to make sure it’s not some new adventure that’s going to cause me to not return from a run.  Therefor – If I hit the cement hard in the NYC marathon and don’t get up, tell my wife I’ve got 3-4 interviews on the hard drive that need to be edited and released. I will see you out there. Chris,

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Expisode 300 – Coach Andrew Kastor and much frivolity…(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4300.mp3]Link epi4300.mp3Intro:Hello my friends and welcome to episode 300 of the RunRunLive podcast.  For those of you who have been friends for a bit you’ll realize that this is a necessary departure from our standard format to celebrate our Tri-centennial.  For those of you who may be new to our little endurance sports journal, well you’ll just have to figure it out by listening to some of the other shows.  Thanks you to Tony for the marathon prayer intro.  Tony does a regular segment called Tony’s Trials on the Marathon Talk UK Podcast (link).  One of our executive editors, Alex form the UK got permission from them for us to use it. Marathon Talk UK -> All about running. A weekly podcast dedicated to keeping you on the inside track to successful running. Presented by Martin Yelling and Tom WilliamsTony Audenshaw - Tony's TrialsI’m guessing we are going to go long today, so you’d better schedule a long run or ride or whatever for this one.  I’ve invited some of my friends to submit audios and I’m going to be completely frivolous and indiscrete with too many musical interludes.  Just sit back and let it wash over you like a wave of warm molasses.  Chill out.  No rules for this one. It’s going to be a long show and the format is going to be different than usual, but you want to hang around until the end because the ASICS team has asked me to give some shoes away and I’ll set up the contest in the show outro.  Everybody likes free shoes.  It’s been a long run, huh?  We’ve seen births and deaths and marriages and divorces.  The cycle of life.  For everything there is a season and you’ve certainly ornamented my life for the better through these many seasons.  In today’s 300th official episode I’m going to talk about community at some point and this strange and wonderful long distance relationship we all share wrapped around our sports.  I may tell a zombie story, for the Halloween season, just for fun.  I’ve gathered up some guest commentary for you to enjoy, if for no other reason than to quiet the voices in your head. But, Fear not! We are going to wrap all the frivolity around a great interview with coach Andrew Kastor who I met through the ASICS NYC marathon Editor’s Choice boondoggle, I mean ‘program’.  I really enjoyed talking to Andrew about altitude training and geeking out on training topics in general.  It’s a great running-content-rich interview and I feel I’m doing it a disservice by sandwiching it into all this 300th episode frooforal. Nothing significantly new in my training.  I’m feeling fairly strong.  I got a nice 2:30 long run in over the weekend that was significant in that I was able to maintain my HR and pace consistently throughout without power failure.  Too many of my long runs over the summer ended with a death march – so I think that’s progress.  I’m still trying to find my racing speed.  Maybe it’s gone for good.  I appear to be healthy, so maybe I’m just entering a new phase of slowness.  It really doesn’t matter because either way I’m going to get up every day and throw myself at my workouts as part of my balance.  With the MCM and NYC coming up in couple weeks on back to back weekends my plan is not to race them but instead try to walk away healthy.  Then we can throw in a targeted cycle for either a mid-winter race or a spring race.  I’m looking at some shorter stuff too to fill the gaps.  Looking forward to some grand adventures with new and old friends alike. So…my friends, bear with me as we take off our shirts and dance on the tables today, throwing all rigor and caution to the wind, because, hey, we’re among friends, and friends take the time to celebrate their accomplishments.  On with the show! Steve RunnerWhat can you say about Steve that hasn’t been said?  He’s the five-star General of running podcasts – a landmark – a fixture – a guiding light for all of us.  And, even though I know he doesn’t listen to my show he caught on to the zombie theme and submitted a slickly produced mini-episode.  Brilliant as always. Katy ThereuxIt always warms my heart when I hear from women who listen to the show and get something out of it.  Katy sent me this very nice missive.  Apparently we resonate in some way through the universal mastermind.  That’s one of the dynamics of the digital world – your ideas can slip free of the physical and resonate with like minds in the ether. Section OneThe Sleepless in Seattle Effect - http://runrunlive.com/sleepless-in-seattle-effectMusic -> Bombskare –“I’m so Happy!”CarlosI’ve been listening to Carlos and watching him run through his beloved Pacific Northwest Mountains and forest for many years.  I would have never had the opportunity to know Carlos if it wasn’t for being part of the online running community.  He’s always got the Grateful Dead playing in the background.  It seems like an idyllic life to me, running in the forest and listening to the dead.  How could it get any better? Ann BrennanSo sometimes in the digital world you get to meet actual crazy people.  I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting Ann and her husband and kids and I’ve learned a lot from her trials and resiliency and openness.   If everything goes right I’ll get to eat dinner at her place with the Miles to end Prostate cancer team before the Marine Corp Marathon.  The world is a better place with Ann’s life force.  Steve ChopperSteve was one of the original running podcasters with his high quality show “A mile with me” I always aspired to be as professional as Steve.  His first shows were works of art, like BBC documentaries.  I’ve met Steve in the flesh and broken bread with him.  When we met we immediately bonded and of course we ran and raced each other like kids in the schoolyard. Featured InterviewCoach Andrew Kastorhttp://www.coachkastor.com/about/About The CoachAndrew started his running career in the early 1990’s, at the young age of 14, when he competed in cross county, track and road racing while attending Fountain Valley High School in Southern California.He then went on to pursue a degree in Exercise Physiology (B.S. 2000) from Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado. While in college, Andrew’s commitment to the sport of running continued to grow, as he competed in cross-country and track, specializing in the middle-distance events.Post-graduation, Andrew moved to Mammoth Lakes, California, where he created and coached a non-profit running club called the High Sierra Striders. He is now the head coach for the ASICS Mammoth Track Club and the LA Road Runners.Andrew currently resides in Mammoth Lakes with his wife Deena (Olympic Marathon bronze medalist and American Record holder in the marathon and half-marathon) and their daughter, Piper Bloom.Music Big D and the Kid’s Table – “Myself”Duane Hespell Comment: Obviously I caught Duane on a good day.  I think he was just waiting for a chance to bust out with some creative audio.  He went all extra-mile on me.  That’s another fun thing about our community – you discover people’s hidden talents! Thanks Duane.  Maryro Mendez commentI’ve been having conversations with this young lady for a long time but I seldom hear her voice!  Wow! What an amazing voice!  I can die happy now.  We made a bet one time when we both had marathons on the same weekend. I happened to have a decent race so I won!  I don’t care so much about the lobster dinner but I am happy to have made a friend that I’m grateful for.  Section Two: Zombie Apocalypse - http://runrunlive.com/zombie-apocalypse-300-act-onePeter HerridgeI first got to know Peter through Phedipidations as he and Steve traded philosophical arguments.  Peter is a thoughtful man and I enjoy listening to him turn big thoughts over in his head and look at them in a fresh, learned and interesting way.  I’d never get that chance if it wasn’t for joining this community and my life would be poorer for it. Eddie and Adam:What does it sound like when two long lost friends get together after a long absence and start drinking craft beer?  I guess this bit from Eddie and Adam answers that question.  I’ve spent time with both these guys and can confirm that when they’re not addled on homebrew they’re both way smarter than I am.  I’m hoping someday my association with them rubs off and I graduate to a better person because of it. Outro: Drag your tired body out of the mud.  Push back the ravenous hoards.  Celebrate! We’ve come to a milestone.  We’ve survived.  We’ve grown. We’ve run, we’ve run some more and maybe we’ve even lived a little.  I hope to keep that streak alive. Frankly, I’m not sure what the show format is going to be going forward but I will do what I can to fill the void, to light a candle, to shine my feeble light into the dark and murky corners and find forgotten or unnoticed treasures, to weave into the tapestry of our mutual, digital experience.  ASICS Gel Kayano 21 NYC Shoe Give Away!Go here & post a comment to win some shoes -> http://runrunlive.com/asics-gel-kayano-21-nyc-shoe-give-awayMy friends at ASICS America want me to give away a pair of NYC GEL-Kayano 21.  These are $160 shoes.  I’ve never run in them (although I’m up to 5 different pairs of shoes that I’m testing to run NYC in ).  They are decribed on the ASICS website as follow. The new GEL-Kayano® 21 NYC special edition was made for the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon and is updated with nothing but the best in ASICS technical innovation, featuring the next generation of FluidRide™ and an Ortholite X-40 sockliner for the lightest and most luxuriously stable ride yet. Mild to moderate overpronators will run the streets of New York City in secure comfort, thanks to the new uniquely designed FluidFit™ upper and Heel Clutching System™.So, it sounds like a light stability shoe.  If that sounds like something you want I’ve set up a post on my website at RunRunLive.com and all you have to do is go register.   We’ll pick a winner on NYC race weekend.  Just make sure you give a real email address when you’re posting or we won’t be able to find you! So my friends, as hard as it is to find the time to slap a show together every couple weeks, I really do enjoy it.  If it wasn’t for the RunRunLive Podcast to keep me occupied I clearly would have written a best-selling novel by now, and then I would have sold the rights to Hollywood, gone out there, hooked up with the drugs, the alcohol and starlets with questionable morals. I would have gotten divorced, and I’d be sleeping in my own filth in a West Hollywood gutter right now...so you’ve saved me from all that. I am almost done with my MarathonBQ book.  15 chapters in.  I had a couple people raise their hands for editing and I sent them drafts, but never heard from them again…  It took longer than a month but I wouldn’t have gotten it done at all if I hadn’t challenged myself.  I’ll edit and polish it up and do a launch in the next couple months.  Here’s an actual value added tip that I heard a couple weeks ago.  When you work on a creative process the emotional energy and momentum is shaped like a ‘U’.  When you first start you are all excited and full of energy and you make progress quickly, like the straight side of the ‘U’.  Then when you get part way through you start to realize all the things that need to be worked out and you get mired down.  You start going sideways into distracting offshoot.  You lose your momentum and your excitement for the project.  This is the bent part at the bottom of the ‘U’.  It is here that many people give up on their creative projects.  It becomes work and the light at the end of the tunnel seems so far away.  This is where experience helps.  You might say this phase of the creative project is similar to ‘the dark place’ that I talk about in training cycles.  You have to put your head down, soldier on and push through.  Then as you approach the end of the creative project everything start to coalesce.  It all starts coming together.  Everything becomes clear and it is joyous again as you wrap things up and birth the finished product.  This is the other straight side of the ‘U’.  Remember the ‘U’ process and it will help you stick to your path when things get hard. It’s been close to 2 years since we rolled out version 3.0 of the RunRunLive podcast. As always you can find me on Gmail or most social networks as CYKTRussell.  All of my slightly bent U-shaped projects are available at my website RunRunLive.com.  And you know what?  I’ll see you out there. Music: Tim Armstrong – “Hold on” Music in this show (All from Music Alley and Podsafe!) The High Fidelics – “Spy_Smasher”The High Fidelics – “Mondo Rondo”The Vibro-tones – “Nova Express”The Vanes – “Bad Mea or Good Cheese”Benuts – Turn off your radio”The Fighting Cocks – “No Candy”The Fashionistas – Keep it underground”Big D and the Kid’s Table – “Myself”20 Riverside – “Throwin it down beside the sea”Unsteady – “Tokyo”Bombskare –“I’m so Happy!”Tim Armstrong – “Hold on”

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The RunRunLive 3.0 Podcast Episode 3-299 – Coach Kristie(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi3299.mp3]Link epi3299.mp3Support RunRunLive; Purchase an audio book of running stories.  Written and performed with love by Chris Russell  ------------->>>>>>>http://bit.ly/1cH2Fr7

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The RunRunLive 3.0 Podcast Episode 3-298 – Grace Kim - LeanGirlsClub(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi3298.mp3]Link epi3298.mp3Support RunRunLive; Purchase an audio book of running stories.  Written and performed with love by Chris Russell  ------------->>>>>>>http://bit.ly/1cH2Fr7

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The RunRunLive 3.0 Podcast Episode 3-297 – Nutrition Case Study – Rachel Shuck(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi3297.mp3]Link epi3297.mp3Support RunRunLive; Purchase an audio book of running stories.  Written and performed with love by Chris Russell  ------------->>>>>>>http://bit.ly/1cH2Fr7

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The RunRunLive 3.0 Podcast Episode 3-296 – Prostate Cancer – Coach and a Training Cycle Case Study(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi3296.mp3]Link epi3296.mp3Support RunRunLive; Purchase an audio book of running stories.  Written and performed with love by Chris Russell  ------------->>>>>>>http://bit.ly/1cH2Fr7

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My friends.  What follows is a piece I constructed specifically for my friend Eric who is running his third Leadville 100 this week.   But, you are welcome to enjoy it on any of your endurance races or workouts.  I had in mind a modern, endurance sports version of a Pilgrim’s Progress or Dante’s Journey or any other spiritual journey metaphor you like. Those spiritual journeys that strip away the dirt and fluff of life and lay bare the soul.  It’s a bit of performance art, an endurance poem or prayer and I hope it makes you think, or, even better, makes you feel. …Breath deep the gathering Gloom…Is everybody in?  Is everybody in? The Ceremony is about to beginAwake! …Let me tell you a story. A story not about a runner but about a soul.  The core of a transient being that strives and learns and grows and fights is the soul – the spirit, the essence, that thing which is unbreakable and infinite within each of us. …Picture if you will a small house nestled closely in the jack pines.  A rustic fence runs close by.  The grass is tall and wild, not with neglect, but in keeping with the nature of the place.  There is a sense of warmth and comfort and homey-ness.This soul awakes in a comfortable, warm bed in a homestead on the edge of the prairie to the shout of bird song and glow of a rising sun.  The bad is warm and well-worn with the wakings of many morns. But today after many years of comfort the soul is restless.  The soul sense an emptiness.  Nothing particular, just a ghostly nag of a feeling that tugs at the fabric of the mind like a cat clawing the curtains. …The kitchen is warm and the coffee soothing. The wooden chairs creak with comfort.  The soul’s gaze crosses the prairie to the great purple mountains.  The one forbidding peak majestic among the rest, rising from the prairie like a great cruel master.  Restlessness and the stirrings of wanderlust climb up the soul’s spine.   …The soul is a searcher.  The searcher could stay here behind the gnarled fence posts of day to day existence but the purple mountains call.   A whispering buzz on the wind like the cooing of a seductress – the mountains song a sirens paean that is stitched into our souls.   The soul could stay but the searcher cannot.  To stay is to give away that unknown part of life that calls us.  To stay is to give up.  To choose an empty comfort over a fulfilling hardship is for the weak and equivocating – the cold and timid souls.  The searcher puts on shoes and socks and wraps in skins.  The searcher stuffs some sustenance in a bag and strides forth into the dry grass of the Prairie.  Pausing at the fence the searcher is filled with the joy of adventure.  Not the completion of the adventure, not the embarking of adventure – the searcher is filled up to the brim with the ambition of adventure.  For in the ambition of adventure is infinite possibility. The searcher does not know what is out there. The searcher does not know how the mountain will be climbed.  The searcher does not know how to survive.  The searcher knows only that the kinetic joy of moving forward into the unknown greatly outweighs the pain of sleeping through life.  …Hours into the journey to the mountain the searcher is tired and thirsty.  The feet are hot and the back is sore.  There is doubt.  There are those small voices that nag and promise to forgive all if only we can turn back now.  But the die is cast and there is only one way out. There is only one way through.  That way is forward. Forward into the unknown heights of perilous adventure.  The searcher stops to slake at a cold clear stream the cuts the prairie mounds. Stooping to splash cold water on a hot neck and head.  The great refreshment of effort and rest well earned.  The great trial not yet beginning, not yet known.  The searcher is filled with joy.  The joy cascades through the body like the cold water running down the neck and back.  It is the joy of freedom.  The joy of tossing away constraints and assumptions.  The joy of throwing all caution to the wind and swaggering like a fool into a fight with an adversary bigger and meaner than oneself. The joy of passion and the joy of the fight. To give oneself fully; truly fully in a worthy fight. That is to know Joy. …As the ground begins to rise up to the purple mount the sun p high and hot.  This day will come and go on this quest with this loss of self and the searcher is at peace.  The ground begins to slope steeply into a rough trail filled with loose rock and bounded by dry, prickly chaparral.Sweat drips from the eyebrows and runs down dusty arms in brown rivulets tracing ancient waterways.  Feet slip and knees grind with hands for purchase in the dust.  The searcher pauses and looks upwards into the purple mist, in the moment unsure.  And in that moment the seed is found and the searcher becomes the climber.  Serenity falls like a great dark carpet and the climber pulls upward with purpose.  To do this thing, to do this work. From one crumbling foothold to the next with the metronome cadence of labored breath – the climber climbs on.  The honest purity of the work cleanses sin and absolves the climber of all earthly dues and in the moment the climber is alone against the mountain and free. Hands on knees, bracing, pushing the mountain into the gravity of the earth, climbing towards the purple summit.  Peacefulness and serenity in the motion.  First one leg, first one foot, followed by the next over and over in peaceful communion with the mountain.  The simplest thing in the world is to defy gravity and climb.  The climber is in the moment.  The climber does not see or imagine the top of the mountain or the other side the climber simply climbs and in that climbing is truth and beauty and soul. …The summer sun is now falling into the horizon, slipping like a raw egg into the purple void.  Long shadows lick the trail and sweat chills in the small of the back in memory of the climber’s efforts.  Afternoon insects lift up their voices and afternoon birds shake the heat from their wings. The trail hooks upwards behind and ancient outcrop of reddish-brown sandstone heaved up for the bottom of some forgotten sea swarming with trilobites and fairy creatures.  The climber is tiring.  The sweat has wrung the water from the soul.  Humanity is stretched thin as a silk thread and an aching tiredness fills the body and soul and brain.  Adventure is fine.  Ambitions is great. But the body is a physical thing and has its limits.  The muscles run out of fuel.  The tendons tire and lose their elasticity.  The joints creak from the repetitive impact and strain.  Fluid filled blisters grow in shoes as the feet swell and rub with each labored push.  In a flash a tired foot fails to raise a tired foot and a tired toe is caught on a wayward root concealed in the mottled sun of the afternoon.  Before conscious mind can engage the ground rushes up.  Knee impacts rock and dirt.  Hands and elbows reach out feebly to save the climber.  The dust settled around with a rush of adrenaline and clarity.  Red, red blood, rich and wonderful drips from the knee and the elbow like some ancient sacrificial right.  The climber sits in the dirt and collects thoughts and emotions and feelings to weigh and balance the event.  The climber smiles then curses and laughs.  The climber pushes erect to tired legs and spits, wiping the excess grit off. The Climber rears back and straightens up in the trail, hand on hips, expelling a great weary sigh of breath to the gods.  But the climber knows that the truth lies, not on the other side of the purple mountain but on the other side of tiredness and exhaustion.  The truth can only be found by striving through the haze of exhaustion, through the veil of the known and into the sweet pain of the unknown.  The climber let’s out another great tired breath and with that the Striver bends and begins to push through the loose dirt upwards.  Beyond the tiredness of exhaustion is the goal which has ceased to become a thing but has been lost in the simple act of moving forward.  …The Striver grimly and gamely puts one foot in front of the other pushing forward up the trail.  The striving is cut at times with a weird and senseless euphoria.  At times the cloud of tiredness will break with great rain storms of laughter.  Snippets of half remembered songs from the past will emerge with have broken trebles croaked up as offerings.  The act of striving replaces the point.  The means become the end. Stunted trees give way to gnarled bushes and the trail becomes rougher and broken.  The Striver with sweat dried dirt and clotted blood works onward.  Above the tree line the altitude starts the thin the air and life comes in gasping breaths.   At times the trail drops precipitously down into the scrub and rocks waiting for the miscalculated step. Beside the trail are the sun-blanched bones of some pack animal long dead.  That animal lost its bet with adventure.  That animal’s contract was collected here on the hot dry slope of the mountain.  The final commitment.  The striver pauses and wonders about final thoughts as that animal gave up the fight. The striver has spent all that can be spent and stops to drink warm water from a carried flask.  It soothes but slightly the burned lips and throat and lungs.  Doubt now hangs in the air like a fetid smog.  Sadness comes and the great joy of adventure, the peacefulness of striving is subsumed in a great brown wave of emotional exhaustion.  Dirty and drawn the Striver fights the tears and mumbles nonsense vitriol into the gravel.  Until sadness and defeat tickle the depths of a third emotion – Anger.  Anger like a great bomb explodes into the body and mind.  The anger of the trail.  Angry at yourself.  Angry at the world.  Angry at this stupid quest and this stupid mountain.  …Anger fills the void where exhaustion has left a hole.  Anger fills the void with a red energy and the Fighter is born.  Cursing the trail, cursing the heavens, cursing the world the fighter drives numb legs and feet into the dirt and pushes an uncooperative shambling body forward. The purple peak looms near now.  The purple has grown into black as the evening expands across the barren steeps.  A pale moon hints in the low horizon of the night sky.  Night breezes push unbroken against the landscape chilling the fighter’s core.  The fighter laughs maniacally and curses the wind.   Clawing with angry tenacity at the storm and slope the fighter feels nothing and rejoices in the numbness of pain and effort.  The dirt and fluff of life is stripped away and inconsequential.  The fighter is left bare at the core punching out against the force of gravity and nature.  In this battle, victory and failure hang in the balance with each tired swing of the leg, each angry punch of the hand and each stubborn movement.   There is a purity in thought and motions when all humanness is stripped away by effort.  There is a suppleness found in wandering deep past physical boundaries, deep past exhaustion and deep into the pit of trial.  To have a great endeavor hang in the balance and not care, just fight, that is honesty in the human animal.  …In the cold gloom of the evening the summit solidifies in the climber’s field of vision.  It is a surreal march, the last few meters, after these many hours of ricocheting between suffering and joy, between sadness and euphoria, between the wretched sands of defeat and the golden shores of triumph.At the summit is triumph.  A golden shower of self-affirmation that when all is said and done you have the strength and power to rise about petty things of this existence and do the impossible.  Triumph in the knowledge that we can do anything we set our minds to and cannot be constrained by what is known. We are have risen above the common.  We have shirked off the skin of comfort and adventured far from our warm cabins and tender beds.  We are Spartans to our sport and to our world.  What can challenge us? What can beat us?  What are we afraid of?  Nothing.  The soul is indestructible.  The will transcends the body.  The journey of the spirit transcends the mind.  We are indestructible.  …Indestructible.

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The RunRunLive 3.0 Podcast Episode 3-295 – Michael Wardian  – American Distance Runner(Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi3295.mp3]Link epi3295.mp3Support RunRunLive; Purchase an audio book of running stories.  Written and performed with love by Chris Russell  ------------->>>>>>>http://bit.ly/1cH2Fr7

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The RunRunLive 3.0 Podcast Episode 3-294 – Jaquie Millet – Late Bloomer Success (Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi3294.mp3]Link epi3294.mp3Support RunRunLive; Purchase an audio book of running stories.  Written and performed with love by Chris Russell  ------------->>>>>>>http://bit.ly/1cH2Fr7

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The RunRunLive 3.0 Podcast Episode 3-293 – Boston Marathoner Jill Maguire Trotter           (Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi3293.mp3] Link Support RunRunLive; Purchase an audio book of running stories.  Written and performed with love by Chris Russell  -------------à>>>>>>>Introductory Comments:Hello my friends.  We find ourselves once more together to share an episode, episode 3-293 of the RunRunLive Podcast. It’s been busy few weeks training-wise since we last talked.  I made the mistake of telling my coach that I wanted to qualify and was willing to do the work.  He reciprocated by hammering me with hard, long workouts that have kicked my running life out of balance in a good way. I’m still only running 4 times a week but last week that included an 8 mile tempo run, a 10 mile tempo run and a 20 mile long run.  This week is more of the same.  I’m hanging on by my fingernails but it’s all good.  It’s a great way to narrow your focus. I was down the Cape over the 4th of July holiday.  Nothing really eventful but it’s a different climate down there.  Very hot and humid.  I think it is somehow closer to the sun.  It’s all well and good when you’re snoozing on a beach towel but not so much when you’re trying to hammer out a run.Today we are going to chat with a local marathoner and running friend of mine Jill Maguire Trotter.  I was interested in getting her take on running because she’s one of those people who manages to live her life, train and compete at a high level. In section one I’m going to share an essay I wrote about work.  And in Section two I’m going to get you fired up to face the daemons of discomfort.  I didn’t travel this week so I got some good Miracle Morning time to cogitate on these themes.That first week of getting back into the hard work of training was discouraging.  I’m heavy and my legs are slow. But I know that I can do it.  I believe that all I have to do is battle with the effort and keep bringing my best work and have patience.  I believe it will turn around and the fitness will come and the training effect will kick in. I’m beginning to see signs of life.  I’m completing these workouts successfully and it’s encouraging.  It’s tempting to declare victory and just walk away from the hard training at my age and ability level.  I’m never going to be more than average no matter how hard I train.  I’ve got nothing to prove.  But it just feels worthy to be training to exhaustion.  It feels right. My garden is coming in nicely.  I’m eating cucumbers and chard and kale.  The hops are budding up.  The berries are ripening and soon I’ll be sharing fresh tomatoes with the squirrels. Buddy doesn’t like the squirrels.  He doesn’t like the rabbits either.  For some reason we have a proliferation of rabbits this year.  And they are a brazen lot.  They sit in the yard and mock the dog, smugly devouring my parsley.  I wonder where all the local hawks and eagles and coyotes got off to? We are through the nice part of summer up here in New England.  Now we are into the hot and humid, turn on the AC time of year.  The dog hates it.  I can’t take him running.  He’s exhausted by going to a walk.  The mosquitoes and deer flies are out in full force.  It’s a quiet and languid season.  The dog days.Toss your fresh salads and let’s Get On with the Show!…You should really sign on to my email list.  Rather than basking in safe obscurity you can declare your allegiance to RunRunLive and get my drivel directly in your inbox.  I mean, really, you’ve made it to 289 episodes and sucked the vital life force out of my narrative for 5+ years you should subscribe or at least join the RunRunLive Facebook group.  or just search FaceBook for “RunRunLive”.On with the show!Section one:Work - Featured Interview:Jill Maguire TrotterFrom Level Runner ->  Jill Maguire Trotter has hopped for east coast to west and back east again, getting a little bit faster with each successive leap. Growing up in the Worcester suburb of Millbury, MA, Trotter played youth soccer, softball, and most notably field hockey. She intended to play the latter sport in college (Babson) just like she did in high school (Notre Dame Academy), but those plans never came to fruition. After a brief stint as a sedentary person, Trotter became antsy and joined not the field hockey team but the cross country one. Although she “lacked the mental toughness” (her words) to be competitive, she stuck with it up to and through graduation.After moving to San Francisco in 1995, she joined the Leukemia Society’s Team in Training and starting ramping up for her first marathon on the trails of Mt. Tam. In June of 1996, she ran 3:33 at the Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska and qualified for Boston. Of course, this led to a return trip to the east coast in both ‘97 and ‘98 where she ran 3:33 and 3:30, respectively.Finally, in 1998, after all those trips from the City by the Bay to the City of the Beans, she settled for good (so far, at least) in the Merrimack Valley. She married, started a family, and took a break from marathons but not running.She gave birth to her first son in 2001, then a daughter in 2003. Having missed the 26.2 distance, she started up again and ran a 3:22 at the 2005 Boston Marathon while unknowingly pregnant with her 3rd child, and a mere 9 months after giving birth to #3, she won the 2006 Baystate Marathon in 3:11. Three children under the age of 5 led to the purchase of a treadmill, and like many a dedicated runner/parent she snuck in her runs while the kids napped.In 2007, with her children almost out of diapers, Trotter got serious. Encouraged by her Baystate performance, she joined the Greater Lowell Road Runners and recruited Nate Jenkins for coaching duties. Her goal: run sub 3:00. About enlisting Jenkins as coach Trotter says, “I credit Nate for teaching me how to train for the marathon; he instilled in me that it is about hard work and I should have confidence in my marathon goal times since they are based on results that I’ve achieved during workouts.” Her hard work paid off. Trotter ran 3:00 at the Vermont City Marathon in 2008 and then 2:58 at Cal International later that year. In addition to Jenkins, she credits Jim Rhoades with a valuable assist as they did most of her long runs together.Trotter turned 40 in 2012 and has been one of the best master runners in the region. She considers her best event the marathon, and her competition would likely agree as she placed 1st in the masters division at the USATF-NE GPS Manchester City Marathon. Her time: 3:09. She is inspired by Kara Haas, Trish Bourne, Liane Pancoast, Nancy Corsaro, Cathy Pearce, and Barbara McManus and credits them for contributing to her success. She says, “I find that while I like to be competitive with women from other clubs, I also want them to succeed in their own goals; the New England running community is amazingly supportive.” Beyond running, Trotter aspires to be a good influence on her 3 children. Above all, she wants to teach them that if they work hard they can achieve their goals. I’d say that’s on The Level.PRs 5k – 18:42 @ Hollis 10k – 39:55 @ Tufts 15k – 61:37 @ Boston Tune-up Half – 1:28 @ Hyannis Full – 2:58 @ Cal International Section two:The Dark Place revisited at middle age - Outro:That’s all we have for you today.  Hope you’re all fired up to go throw yourself at some tempo workouts.  But, seriously you draw your own line.  Don’t base your self-image on what I say.  If you have never done speed or tempo training then give yourself 3-4 weeks to ease into it with strength training.  Make sure you’re form is right.  Do your stretching and physical therapy before you hit it hard. Any weak spot or chink in your armor will turn into a injury when you go to the dark place.  Your ability to figure out what’s a real injury and what’s another bothersome niggle will be needed to stay with it.  When I’m in the throws of one of these hard, big bounce cycles something always hurts. There were a couple days last week where I had trouble sleeping due to the exhaustion of my leg muscles.  Pain is a signal but it’s neither good nor bad and you have to be able to figure out what’s real and what’s not.  There’s no black and white. If you’re going to drop into crazy big workouts make sure you stretch and warm up well.  Make sure you fuel well before and after.  Make sure you stretch and massage and ice where necessary.  Because all the fitness in the world can’t help you unless you make it to the starting line. If you have the discipline to do not only the workouts but also the whole package of things you need to do to stay healthy then the dark place is the shortest path to your goals. I successful moved the RunRunLive website over to a new hosting service.  I’m still working out some bugs and I haven’t gotten a chance to back update the episodes and articles that fell into the gap.  I’ll get to it over the next couple weeks.  At some point I’ll revamp the whole site because it is getting a little long in the tooth. For the next iteration of the show I’m collecting blog posts from others.  I’m going to read them.  So if you have a post you’d be willing to share with me just send it along.  I’m also going to look for some guest interviewers to add some new voices in as well – if you’re interested in doing an interview for me let’s talk. Get ready for RunRunLive 4.0.Just trying to spread the RunRunLive love.Cheers,  or just search FaceBook for “RunRunLive”.And I do have an email list that I shoot the shows out to.  I’ve been writing some extra posts on my website RunRunLive and I may start recording them as a bonus for those of you who are paying attention!Happy Mother’s Day people. Be good to each other – party on.Cheers,Outro BumperThanks for listening folks I appreciate your support.  RunRunLive is a free service for you because I like writing and telling stories. I also love to meet folks so feel free to reach out to me at Gmail or any of the other social networking sites.  I’m CYKTRussell.  And as you know that’s Chris-Yellow-King-Tom-Russell with two Esses and two Ell’s.My Website is and most if not all of this content is posted out there.   If you want the show notes to magically show up in your inbox when I publish a show in a beautiful HTML wrapper you can subscribe to the mailing list at my site.  It’s a useful thing if you are moved by something I say and would like to see if what I wrote is the same thing! It also has all the links to everything and everyone I talk to and about.Other than that, thank you for your attention, do epic stuff and let me know if I can help.CiaoHappy Song – Super Hero - Other products from Chris Russell you may be interested inThe Mid-Packer’s LamentOn Audio (Read by the author) – The Mid-Packer’s Guide to the GalaxyStandard Links:Contact:Cyktrussell At gmail and twitter and facebook and youtubeBioChris Russell lives and trains in suburban Massachusetts with his family and Border collie Buddy.  Chris is the author of , and short stories on running, racing, and the human comedy of the mid-pack.  Chris writes the Runnerati Blog at .  Chris’ Podcast, is available on and at . Chris also writes for () and is a member of the and the …Tags -> Running  Podcast, podcasts for running, podcast for runners, free podcast for runners, Running Blog, marathon, triathlon, mileage, sprinting, run, track, training, running clubs, running groups, running shoes, exercise, health, 5k, running, swimming, sports, injuries, stretching, eating, jogging, biking, trail race, 5K, 10K, Ultramarathon, jogging a good exercise, road runner, jogging tips, benefits of jogging, free running, running shoes, marathon training, running, jogging, health and fitness, runners, runner, Boston qualification, Marathon BQ, Boston marathon

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