Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Monthly Miles Past Three Years

I had a great three plus years living in Arizona and will always look back on my running days in Arizona with fond memories.  Here are the monthly miles for the past three years:

Month               2008               2009            2010
Jan                       58                 246               286
Feb                      95                 236               190
Mar                     88                 182               242
Apr                    103                  86                205
May                   106                 227               237
Jun                     164                 294               260
Jul                      212                 287               234
Aug                    225                 228              222
Sep                    213                 215              406
Oct                    153                 267              301
Nov                   149                 188              288
Dec                    214                 275              345       
Total                  1783               2732           3218
Ave                     4.88                7.49             8.82

Hared Huachuca Hash 1274

Had a GREAT time Haring the 1274th running of the Huachuca Hash House Harriers.  It was so much fun setting the course through thick shiggy, over a wall to an apartment complex (one person detained shortly), and on a slightly long run for this group (they usually like 3-4 mile runs and I took them a little over 5 miles).  Also the trail took through a little more than a mile of sandy washes. 

The year is almost up and right now I'm sitting at 272 miles for the month and 3145 for the year.  It has been an incredible year and I'm ready for a little rest.  Across the Years 24 Hour Race is on New Years, but after that I make my move up to Chicago, and plan on not putting too much stress on myself while I get settled and while I get used to the new climate.  I did pay for a 50 miler in April, which should be my tune up and start of my build up to the National Championship 24 hour race.  If things go well I will really train hard and shoot for >110 miles, but if things don't work out I'll just enjoy the race and the incredible people who show up to that race. 

I can not wait to be home with my wife and kids over Christmas!  I'll be taking a rest from running then come back and hit it for a hard 24 hours where I should hit >100 miles and secure my second 100 mile buckle. 

Once I return from the holiday, there will be just a few more days of school, then off to a new chapter of life!!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

November Totals - 288

Well I got a total of 288 miles this month, with four days off.  Very little fast running and a little bit of a break for a change.  As you can see from some of the latest posts I only "raced" once and didn't pay, which caused a huge storm.  Anyway, I kept cost down this month.  This post tracks my cost per mile.  I'm sitting at .65 cents per mile through the end of November.  December will be a little higher due to the $180 fee for Across the Years, but throughout the year I will be under $1 a mile, which is pretty good for a hobby that I love so much and that has positive health benifits. 

KM 100

I just signed up for this race: 

Registration Id: 11030160042BJ2835


Submit Date: Sunday January 30th, 2011

Submit Time: 4:00 pm (USCT)

Payment Status: Completed

Your registration is complete. We look forward to seeing you at our event!

I just signed up for the 100K; not sure I want to do another 100 Miler anytime soon; they are so incredibly hard and take so long to recover from.  I like 100K because you finish them in one day and go on with your life/weekend.  Here is the link to last years runners information booklet.  I really like that the race is only 72 miles away from home and that I will not need to stay overnight (cuts down on costs!).  Anyway, that is three good races planned for this year (Quicksilver 50 in April, KM 100K in June and 24 Hour Race in Sep....those are paid for, but I will probably sign up for the Chicago Marathon that is held in Oct). 


Really looking forward to getting up to Chicago and starting a new chapter in my life.  The next 100 I'm going to throw my hat into the ring for is the KM100; which is only a couple hours away from my new home.   Above is the next swag that I'm looking forward to achieving.  The race is to be held on 4 June 2011.

This website looks like a good one for me to plan future races around.

Also, there is a 24 hour (April 30th) race in Iowa CBRC is the lead.  This race in Eldridge, IA is about three hours away and would let me get back on a track to see how far I can go in 24 hours.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

New Idea About Bandit

I want to make sure I make this clear that I do not condone Bandit Running in races and will not do it again, but I came across a very interesting topic that an experienced runner/race director wrote about the subject.  It is interesting to see the different ideas on the topic:


devil's advocate: organized races use public land, streets, parks, etc. plus cops, plus whatever other pieces of publicly owned infrastructure. a running race is not ever "yours." it's like a parade. i pay taxes. i paid to have the roads paved, trails maintained. i'll run that race or walk in that parade if i want! U! S! A!




in the case of a "cause" i.e. breast cancer or whatever, hey, i'll always pitch in some dough for the rego, but if someone runs it bandit, you (as race director) gotta relax about that...you're putting on a fundraiser using land that isn't yours, blocking traffic, etc. and should be pleased with the money raised and be happy (this is coming from a guy who's organized a few fundraiser races).



on the other hand, an "official" type of race where everyone gets their running shorts in a bunch over times and places...well...you know what official time you ran and you know what official place you got...if a bandit wins pikes...well he doesn't get the special prize now does he? boo hoo. but practice harder next year, 'cause you still got beat.



and when i ran as a bandit in the Big City Mega-Bank Life-Insurance Half-Marathon...well i could not care less about them, the race organizers or the money they didn't get from me. if they don't like that, don't hold races. your companies suck at doing what they purport to do. plus, the city does not belong to you beyond your front lawn. are there new yorkers who think ING owns them? ha. could you imagine telling a new yorker that? telling anyone that?



bottom line: whoever runs fastest wins. all these debbie downers need to spend less time on the internet and more time in their running shoes! to anyone short on funds and long on legs...go run the hell out of those "stolen" races! personally, i welcome competition no matter what.



if i weren't so hammered i wouldn't have posted anything at all. this whole big argument is silly. that poor guy shouldn't have apologized for anything. calling his military service into question over a running race? the list of better ways to spend your time is so long it's covering up your common sense, apparently.







i can't remember how i came across this collection of blogs, but i couldn't help but 2-centing on it.

run well guys. healthy, wealthy and...something something.


=======
So end of quote.  I do not want to stir things up again, just offering different perspective.  Some races are really "known" for their bandits too.  Bay to Breakers in SF would not be the same without the bandits, and the same thing with Boston.  So maybe there is a time and place?  Having said that I gave my word that I would not do it again; and God forbid I surely would not write about it.  I was surprised that anyone read my blog, but when I really think of it, Race Directors want to know about what people think about their races and once a topic of controversy comes up people tell all their friends and it goes from there. 
 
Now to think about the root of all this, I have thought of some opportunities that are a result of high cost races.  There will always be people who want to the t-shirt and want to see their "official" results, so I don't see an end to people paying for races, but it seems like the more experience (especially ultra runners) are looking for alternatives to spending big bucks for those little returns on investment.  Once I retire and have more time, I plan on setting up a series of non-official runs that are bare bones and the only payment is that you help every third or fourth race.  They would have to be small and called fun runs, and probably run on trails, but the savings are huge; no insurance, no security.  People can help out with aid station food or bring a "recommended" donation to help with the food/water/trail marking.  We could keep official time (stop watch/sticks given to match up splits/time/person.  Finally we could hang the results up on a cheap website to give people a more "official" feel to their finish and competitive standing.  This would probably fill in the gaps between the few official races that most of us want to do a year.  Anyway, just some low cost ways to bring people together and "race" without putting down $60-$450 that is now the common cost for races in the length of half marathon to 100 mile ultra races.