Running Up North:

A few things that I have learned while running up in Northern Minnesota this week is that it is a lot better than trying to run on the streets of Shanghai with 20 million other people, cars, scooters, and bikes. Also that there are still drawbacks to getting away from everything, such as horse flies.

However, there is a slight silver lining to this in that I have found out that horse flies without any wind can fly almost exactly at a 7 minute mile pace. This is only really good when you workout calls for a tempo run faster than a 7 min pace, but good to know none the less.

The Great Fire Wall of China:

First off I apologize for lack of posts and updates the past 3 weeks. My reasoning is that I was in China for work and the Chinese government has managed to censor the internet, this means a lot of sites are simply blocked while in China. You may have heard about the problems that Google has had with China.

Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and many blogs, especially on Blogger( a google run site) are blocked. So my absence from the blog was a forced one. Unfortunately for many running, I was quite busy while in China and did not have a whole lot of opportunity to run. I stayed in Shanghai, which has about 20 million people and it is less than an ideal place to run. Too many people, cars, bikes, scooters, buildings traffic, crazy drivers and pollution.

I did manage a few runs but the weather was nearly 90 degrees everyday with nearly 100% humidity, so even when I did get out it was difficult to get any quality runs in. Here are a few pictures from the trip and I'll be posting again on a regular basis, don't worry.

Quote of the Day:

"When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute, and it's longer than any hour. That's relativity."

-Albert Einstein

I am not too much for physics but I did find this quote quite interesting and I think that it certainly relates well to distance running. I think that most distance runners can recall a workout, race or even just a section of a race that you felt like you were flying and the miles flew past. Then there are races that feel like the are an endless and pain stricken endeavor. I don't know that it is quite as complex as Einstein's theory of relativity but I think that some of those concepts can apply to running.

Lunchtime Runs:

I have recently done a few lunchtime runs, mostly because I have been too lazy to get up in the morning and get my AM miles in so I have had to get them in over lunch time.

A few of the problems that I have run into are:

1. Not having enough time.
2. Refueling
3. Continuing to sweat after my cool down and shower.

Overall, it is actually a good opportunity to get in a run though only a short one. Here is a pretty good article from Running Times magazine that talk about some good example of how to refuel after those noon hour runs.

Enjoy!
Lunchtime Runs? How to Refuel Fast!

50 Healthy Foods for Under $1 a Pound:

Nutrition is a major part of running and just being health in general.

There is an unlimited amount of products and foods that you can buy

to help your performance to lose more weight or heal a sickness. But

you don't need to spend a lot of money to eat healthy. Here is a great

article that list 50 healthy foods for $1 or less.

Enjoy!

50 Healthy Food for Under a $1 a Pound:

Grandma's Marathon 2010:

Well, another great Grandma's marathon in the books. 2010 was a little light on runners this year, with 5,500 finishers, but the competition was even stronger than last year and the post race festivities were just as fun.

This year only one of friend ran with me at the marathon but I had about 8 or 9 other friends from my run club run, which was great to get to see a bunch of people that I knew. This year the weather was actually pretty good, it stayed in the low 60's for most of the race. I managed to improve upon my time from last year by about a minute, but about 8 minutes off of my PR.

Unfortunately, I seemed to have died again the last 6 miles of the race, despite taking it a bit easier the first half, running a 1:22 first half slit. I think that my big problems is lack of leg strength and more specifically my hip flexors. I think it is more to do with muscular balance than anything. I think that too much of my strength training this year was focused on my gluts and calves or the back side of my legs. I guess I have about 3 months to strengthen up to get ready for Chicago. I really feel that I can run at or around a 6 min pace for the entire race, but just need a little more strength.

All in all it was an amazing time again in Duluth, I think that Duluth is one of my more favorite cities to visit, especially for someone you like to get outside and enjoy the outdoors there is so much to do in the Duluth area and there is so much beautiful areas near by. Hopefully I can get back up there sometime this summer or fall and get back on the trails and do some running.

Link to my Race Results

Finish Line Video:

The Rule:

What do you do when you meet a fellow runner on a trail or path?

Give a nod?

Little hand wave?

Keep your eyes locked forward and pretend they are not there?

Well, I have had mixed experiences with other runners, I generally try and give a little wave or a head nod. Some runners are very friends and give you a nice hello or a wave, but it seems like with the growing number of ipods out there now that there is a little bit of the social aspect that is lost out there. Below is a podcast form Endurance Planet that talks about this subject.

Enjoy!

Endurance Planet Podcast

It's Never Easier Than Now!

Ok, I this will be a little bit of a stretch to relate to running but here goes. Running is a relatively inexpensive activity to participate in, all you really need is a good pair of shoes and you're set. Now if you want to get into racing that is another story, here is a previous post where I figured out how much I spent on running (Opportunity Cost included for you economist out there).

Whether you are just running to stay active or are serious into racing and training. With the current economic situation we all should make sure that our finances are in order, so we can participate and enjoy activities like running and other things. I follow a very informative blog that it meant provide you with a basis of financial information so that you do not waste your money and most importantly you are enjoying that hard earned money. Ramit Sethi is an author of the book I Will Teach You to be Rich which I think it a great book that outlines very simply some basic guidelines that everyone should follow. No this is not a book to get rich, but to provide you with a template to make sure that you are being smart with your money and not wasting it, so that you can use it for things that you enjoy, such as race entry fees. I highly recommend the book and this blog it is full of a lot of great information.

It Never Get Easier Than Now:

Running Jargon:

"Negative Split"- A negative split simple means that you run the second half of a race faster than you ran the first. World class marathoners will often try and run equal or "negative splits" during a marathon.

Haile Gebrelassie the current world record holder for the marathon ran a slight negative split during his record setting race.

Minneapolis Marathon:Race Report

My first marathon of 2010 is in the books, and it was a good start but a painful one. I set a new personal record (PR) with a time of 2:45:45 and got 2nd place overall, but I did it the hard way. Overall the Minneapolis Marathon was great, with 1146 marathon finishers, nearly perfect weather the whole time and a really nice course that takes you through a lot of Minneapolis it really was a great race.

I felt excellent for the first 16 miles, but as you can see from the miles splits below that after miles 15 I slow down quite a bit, the big problem that I ran into was my legs, they felt fine for about 15 miles but the last 10 miles were the toughest 10 miles I have ever ran, that includes the last 10 miles of the 50 mile trail race that I ran with two blown hamstrings. I would have done that over again in a heartbeat. I think the combination of going out a bit fast, not doing as much strength training and running in racing flats for the first time contributed to the pain. Though I did set a new PR by 5:42, so I really don't have anything to complain about, other than the miserable last 10 miles of the race.

I am optimistic that I can run a 2:40:00 marathon this year despite today's effort, the reasoning being that if it weren't for my legs feeling so bad I would have been able to put together a more even 1st and 2nd race, my cardio was fine the whole time, so hopefully I could even try and improve upon my this time in two weeks at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth.

Official Results

Minneapolis Marathon 2010 by jhanlon31 at Garmin Connect - Details

Results:

Overall Place: 2nd/1146 finishers

Chip Time: 2:45:45

13.1 Time: 1:18:45

Average Mile Split: 6:18

Miles Splits:

1-5:53

2-5:53

3-5:52

4-5:32

5-6:09

6-5:29

7-6:17

8-6:05

9-6:06

10-5:45

11-5:55

12-6:38

13-5:47

14-5:51

15-6:06

16-6:38

17-6:31

18-6:19

19-6:37

20-6:16

21-6:51

22-6:56

23-6:55

24-7:02

25-8:00

26.2-2:18 (.2 miles)