Thursday, November 3, 2011

Elixir 7

As you know, I run, rep and love Mizuno Running.

My all-time favorite running shoe is the Mizuno Wave Elixir 6. I'm currently about 75 miles into my 5th pair, and with the Elixir 7 on the horizon coming in mid-January, I'm kinda amped on it...

But much like a bad doctor, I have no patience... so Mizuno was nice enough to hook me up with a promo copy.... dudes, this thing is the fucking bomb.    Stay tuned for more info....

Sunday, October 16, 2011

lists.

tentative races I'd like to focus on 2012:

02.05 - Mid Winter Classic 10miler
03.18 - New Bedford Half Marathon
04.15 - BAA 5k
06.17 - Sea Dogs Father's Day 5k
10.21 - Baystate Half Marathon

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Breaking News....

Blogging is boring.

but I promise with training for Philly winding down.. i'll get back into it.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

:04 seconds, and a Lighthouse...

Yo.   Yesterday was my goal 5k race of the season, and :04 fucking seconds came between me and finally being a 16:XX 5k'er.    I'm bummed, but ran real well... and this is the part I'd like to write a bunch of excuses like "it was too humid", "the 5-6 different 90degree turns on the course slowed me down", "that stupid lollipop turnaround was horrible" blah blah blah....   screw it, I'm learning to "control the controllables" and that crap does not matter.

Mile 1: 5:21
Mile 2: 5:32
Mile 3: 5:32
Push:   0:39:9
I didnt push when I needed to, and I learned a lesson.  I've learned so much this summer in racing not only about my abilities, but just HOW to race overall... and thats pretty awesome.

With the help of my coach Tyler McCandless, we decided that although it's now 100% time to focus on the marathon specific training for Philly... we are going to give the 5k one more shot in September.  We'll see...

Anyway, by contrast... a shot of me in the Mizuno Wave Universe at the 5k in the morning vs. me in the same shoe last night at a beautiful coastal wedding.



Thursday, August 18, 2011

Workouts...

I was asked this week why I stopped posting my workouts on the blog.
The honest reason is... I'm lazy and believe it or not, this blog is not the biggest priority in my life (unlike some run bloggers). 

But also, I pay a lot of money for my coaching and don't want my competition knowing what I'm doing every single day, because I'm gonna outwork all you fools and be waiting for you at the finish...

Monday, August 15, 2011

Forget everything..

As a self-diagnosed “shoe geek” I think about shoes a lot. Not sometimes, not often… but A LOT! I also own so many pairs of shoes it’s sometimes hard in the morning to decide which lucky pair to bring on the day’s workout. I have certain pairs I use on the easy/recovery days, I’ve got a designated pair for tempo and fartleks, obviously a special race day pair that I also take once a week to the track, and of course… I’ve got multiple pairs of my all-time favorite shoe that I use on MOST days, my Wave Elixirs.


When I get to work my problem is multiplied, as I work in run specialty and actually make my living talking to runners about running and running shoes. Seriously, I get paid to obsess over my obsession… I’m stealing money huh?

Ok follow me here… It’s not just shoes I love, it’s everything about running. I average 70-80 miles per week, pay close attention to my nutritional needs, try to sleep as well as I can (anybody with a newborn at home will understand my struggle there) and like many runners, I’m my own worst enemy with over analyzing it all. I pay too much attention to what the Garmin says, if one 400 rep in a workout doesn’t go my way I get frustrated, I worry I’m running my recovery runs too fast or too slow blah blah blah… But worst of all, I worry about shoes:

“Am I heel striking?”
“What’s my cadence?”
“Is this shoe too heavy… or wait, is it too light?”
“What’s the heel/toe offset?"
“Wait… am I pronating too much?”

Here’s my solution to the problem. Let all that crap go! This came to me this past weekend, as I was just out for an easy recovery 6 miler. I decided to go with the Wave Prophecy, as I had only about 25 miles on the shoe, and every single one of those miles I was over thinking the technology and trying to come up with witty words to write in an earlier review… instead of just letting it all go, and enjoying the run!

As to be expected, my first couple of miles out the door I thought about the Infinity Wave plate within the midsole, I experimented with different foot strikes to see how the shoe adapted, I played with my speed to get a better feel, then something magical happened. At mile 2 I merged with my city’s mayor, who is an outstanding runner and also training for a Fall marathon. Soon, we were casually running discussing my son keeping me up all freakin’ night, how awesome the new cafĂ© in town is, which local microbrew is our favorite, and how we need to get our families together sometime.

Not once in the run did we talk about running or shoes, mile splits, foot strike, and can you believe we didn’t even argue about millimeter drop in shoes? CRAZY! We talked about life and just enjoyed the run! At the end of the run we bid each other farewell and headed towards our respective homes on the other side of town… and then I realized I was wearing the Prophecy still.
I just had the most enjoyable run I’ve had all summer in a shoe I earlier deemed a bit too heavy and built up for me. I’ve always said the Wave Prophecy gives me a sense of just flowing, and only when you finally let go of all the outside B.S. that doesn’t matter will you be able to experience the true sense of flow. The ride the Prophecy gave felt amazing as I was able to enjoy good company, great conversation and a fantastic run, with superb cushion and responsiveness... without thinking about it!

I urge all runners to try at least once a week to forget about that upcoming race or tomorrow’s hard workout. Leave the GPS at home. Forget about your cadence, foot strike, speed or how high your heel is off the forefoot. Don’t worry about the inbox at work, the deadline for that project or all the yard work awaiting you at home. Lace up your favorite pair of shoes, and just get out the door and remember what it’s like to enjoy the run.

Sometimes we forget… this shit is supposed to be fun.



Friday, August 12, 2011

me vs. fagan.

He may be faster, have better abs, and a cool Irish accent.... but I've got better tattoos and don't have to run in Reeboks!  so who wins?

Dude is gnarly though...