What's Next?

So what’s your favorite winter race? I ran my first winter 5k back in January on a snow covered golf course. It was brutal, passing other runners was next to impossible unless it was attempted on the down hills. Running through the 3 inch snow felt like running on the beach in loose sand, only much colder. At least there wasn’t any concern about being passed by a guy wearing a turkey suit. Yes, there was a danger of rolling your ankle, but I’d have to say it was worth it and I will be attempting it again this year.

Thanksgiving Hangover

It's December first and it’s that time of year again, I can’t even get in regular runs, let alone regular posts on this blog. I did a cool seven miles on a new trail the other day, then BAM, some snow came down and I’ve done nothing since. It’s going to be tricky, working off all of that food from Thanksgiving. Keeping my miles up this winter with no treadmill, or as of yet, no access to an indoor track. What will the new year bring, new friends, new goals, new races? Hmmmmm, stay tuned, my access to wireless internet has increased.

Monday Morning Marathon Hangover

So in preparation for today's post, I wanted to read about some of the highlights from the NY Marathon. There certainly was not any coverage on NBC Sport's website. Don't get me wrong, I love the NFL, but come'on how about some sports diversity? Even news about the World Series of Poker was easier to find. (Sorry, but poker isn't a sport.) All I really know is that the course record was broken by someone not from the USA. What does that mean to the average person reading this blog? Hmmmm. Well, instead of watching the Colts get their asses handed to them yesterday, I put in 11.5 miles. Like most runners out there, I'm a weekend warrior. I may not ever break a 7 minute mile for anything other than a 5k. I may not ever run a big marathon like NY or Boston and unfortunately my mileage will most likely wind down for the winter months. (My treadmill is sort of homeless right now.) But I will keep running. Not because I want to be on TV. (The live marathon wasn't on TV anyway from what I can tell) But because it makes me happy. I'm certainly no expert on existentialism, but I'm pretty sure happiness has something to do with it.

NYC Marathon

The NYC marathon started this morning, I was hoping to catch some of it on the TV, but from what I can tell no one is televising it. Bummer.

Sometimes, after a nice long run, all you need is a cold beer.

Camels and Such

Saw this guy during our LSD run last Sunday. Interesting scenery along the Pumpkinvine.

The Hills And Such

This afternoon I came to the impasse that every runner comes to at one point or another. I stood at the window of my office, carefully examining the windshield wiper of every passing car. According to my own experimental/fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants training program, I needed to do a hill workout today, then two days rest before a ten mile run on Sunday. All in preparation for the “Hilly Half” I will be running in just over two weeks. The only thing standing between me and calves like cement blocks was a little precipitation. Should I go, or stay and eat spreadable cheese and watch the Detroit Tigers? You could always do hills tomorrow night. I told myself. Except that I knew the temptation to skip tomorrow would be even greater. Finally I decided that the intermittent use of windshield wipers were a sign from the Running Gods, Carpe Diem or whatever. So I went, and I ran the S shaped curves in the small town where I went to high school. Other than a guy burning trash at the top of the hill (at the exact point where my lungs begged for more air mind you) it was good. In fact it was great. It was transcendental.

We Are of the Thirsty Kind

We are of the thirsty kind.  It is doubtful that you will see a 55 calorie beer in our hands. (Unless of course there is no other beer because diet beer is better than no beer.)  This is the first week getting back into long run Sundays in prep for October 29^th.  We did 8 miles on the new section of Pumpkinvine and it was niiiiiiice.  Cool fall weather, leaves just beginning to change.  First opportunity to break out the running tights.  The afternoon called for football and a mini-beer tasting.  A stashed bottle of Infinium was popped.  Infinium is made by Sam Adams, it’s the champagne of beers, or beer of champagnes.  Whatever.  It was delicious.  Keep running.  Keep tasting good beer.  Enjoy these fall days before the ice covers your routes.

So I Bought Another Pair of Shoes.....

So with birthday money in hand I walked into my local (30 minutes away) running store with the intention of trying on 3 pairs of shoes.  1. New Balance Minimus, 2. Saucony Kinvara 2, 3. Saucony Hattori.  Guess which one stole my heart?

Now with what is left of my birthday money I plan on entering the Haunted Hills Half Marathon in Middlebury, Indiana on October 29th.  Which leaves me less than 4 weeks of training time.  I feel good, I just need to be disciplined enough to bump up the Sunday long runs.

This is the best time of year for running (in my humble opinion) have fun out there.

Peacock Strut 2011

I made a trek up to Kalamazoo the other weekend to run a 10K, oddly named the "Peacock Strut."  There were no peacocks involved, in fact the only image of a peacock I saw anywhere was on the XXL shirt I received instead of the large I had requested.

I haven't been training much since the half I ran back in June.  Not much at all really.  But I surprised myself on a 4 mile run on the morning of my birthday. I went out for a leisurely jog and ran it in 8.5 minute miles and I felt strong.  That's pretty fast for me and like I said I haven't been doing any conventional training.  I have, however, been working on a roofing crew for the past few months.  Going up and down a ladder with a bundle of shingles on your shoulder gets you in shape pretty quick.

So the morning of the 10k myself and about 194 other people are standing at the start line when a police officer climbs a ladder with a bullhorn in his hands.  Watch out for deer, he explains.  Apparently they are camped out in various lawns along the route, ready to take out unsuspecting runners.

Whilst drinking Bells Oberons the night before the race I decided that I would go out strong, run hard the first part of the race and suffer through the latter half.  You know, really find out what I'm made of.  This is different from my usual, pace myself and finish strong approach.  It worked.

November 25th, 2010  Turkey Stamped 10k - 56:45.5

September, 17th, 2011 Peacock Strut 10K- 49:51

I think I'm on to something.

Training Aids

The EMRS was created in the spirit of lack of funds, low tech, and the simple rewards of running. However....

I'm in training for one, if not two more halfs that I have yet to sign up for. This time around I would like to better my time significantly and have made more of an effort to keep track of times and mix up my training routine.

This morning an email popped up in my inbox advertising the Adidas Mi Coach. It looked intriguing and got my mind working. Audible real-time feedback? Yes please. Of course, unless your a pro runner and have the luxury of receiving promo items to test the Mi Coach is going to cost you a few dollars. I went to the website to find out exactly how many of those dollars and stumbled upon a training planner. (Free I'm assuming) I'm debating on whether or not to take advantage of it, sacrificing my Gmail inbox to the spam Gods. Just plug in the race date, how many days a week you want to run, and what days your long runs will fall on.

Of course to actually receive the plan you must create an account (yet another password I will inevitably forget) Appealing. Very.

Does it go against everything the EMRS stands for? Well, the EMRS was created to include all types of runners so technically I would say no. Would I judge you for judging me? Hmmmmm.

Head for the Hills

We (Garrick and I) attempted a track workout last night, not thinking about the fact that high-school football has begun. So there we were, standing in a parking lot trying to think of an alternative. One of the other members suggested a hill workout, which I will admit I hadn't really given much thought to. We turned on the GPS and started down the sidewalk of the nearest hill. We jumped over gorge sized gaps, small hills formed as roots grew up through, glass shards, and trash cans that were left in the middle of the sidewalk. Our search for the perfect hill continued, including running under a GPS killing overpass.

Finally, we found it and after a mere four trips up it, my calves and thighs were pleading for mercy. It pushed me to my limits, which was good. Garrick is running the Chicago Half on September 11 and I probably won't race again until the end of October. I plan on training differently this time, focusing on speed first, then building up distance. Of course after our hill runs we had to rehydrate with a couple of Oberons.

The Dog Days (are not) Over

I'll admit, since running in my first half-marathon on June 4th my ambition to run and write about running has suffered. My lack of initiative coupled with the hottest summer in years has led to very few accumulated miles. Then I started working with a roofing crew.

I'm looking for a job in a different state at the moment, and needed something to fill in. A friend needed some assistance and it wasn't long before I was cutting the sleeves off of all of my old t-shirts. Yes, I embraced the good 'ol American hard work ethic. I'll admit it has been nice to get away from the computer screen and work outdoors all day long.

After the first week of roofing I decided that I don't care what my work schedule may end up being this fall, I'm going to train for the Middlebury Hilly Half and I'm going to run it in under two hours.

I'm back to training, I put in some solid miles last week. This time however, I'm taking a different approach. For my first half, I only concentrated on going the distance. No matter how long it took me to run the race, I wanted to build up to 13.1 miles. This time I'm starting from the bottom up. I want to nail down an eight minute mile pace before I start to build up the miles. I'll let you know how it all works out. Until then, I'll get double training by lugging shingle bundles up onto the roof.

Keep On Keepin On

It's been just over three weeks since the completion of my first half-marathon. Since then I've ran a total of about 10 miles. There has been a lot going on in my life as of late, but when it comes to running sometimes the excuses to skip a run overcome the reasons to run.

So, the question is how can I stay motivated to train when I'm not staring down a race?

I've been doing some cross training, riding my bicycle somewhat regularly with a friend. I never finish with the "runner's high" but it keeps me from sitting in a lawn chair drinking Bell's Oberon in my backyard all summer long.

Read a book. Ok, there's no Book Club faction of the EMRS, but the world existential does imply a certain amount of contemplation and use of that organ jostling around in your skull. Reading a book (like the one I reviewed Thursday) can help with the mental aspect of running, which is possibly more important than the physical aspect.

Friends don't let friends quit running. Get someone out there with you. Running can be a great social activity, running with a partner just may push you harder than you push yourself. The aerobic workout is greater because explaining your homebrewing aspirations to your running bud also increases your breathing aspirations.

Sign up for a race. Let's face it, we all have running goals, but sometimes the best motivation is a deadline. We all need to be pushed and the best person for the job is yourself.

Born to Run; A review for Barefoot Thursdays

There are a many books about running out there, most dealing with technique and form; others are biographies of the great runners of the past. My favorite book that I’ve read on running, in fact the book that changed my entire mindset about running is the book, Born to Run, by Christopher McDougal.

Before reading the book I was in the mindset of a lot of would-be runners, I thought that I was genetically predisposed with bad knees and I would never be able to go running on a day-to-day basis. McDougal’s book literally changed all of that. His book is an intriguing blend of storytelling, anthropology, biology, and other sciences.

It follows him as he travels to Mexico’s Copper Canyon to observe the Tarahumara Indians, a group of people that are able to run distances many would find insane. The Tarahumara begin running at early ages, and McDougal highlights a particular social game that they play, a sort of soccer like game, that also prepares them for proper running technique.

Along the way McDougal and his travelling companions, the infamous “Barefoot Ted”, a female competitive Ultramarathoner, and two young running enthusiasts compete in a 50 mile race with the local Indians.

He espouses the virtues of the forefoot strike over the heel strike. (a technique that helped me to overcome my own assumptions about my “bad knees”) He also explores the increasingly popular barefoot running craze.

Another notable scene in the book also mentions the practice of persistence hunting. This style of hunting has been confirmed by anthropologists. Persistence hunting involves a small group of humans slowly and consistently chasing prey until it overheats and dies.

I read the book nonstop, finishing it within a few days, and though it was January when I read it, I couldn’t wait to get out and start running. One of the main themes of the book is that running shouldn’t be work, or a punishment for eating too many calories. Running should be a reward unto itself. The book tries not only to teach a better technique for running, but also a better mindset and love of running.

So, are you one of those people that say, I’m just don’t have the knees for running, or, I’m just not built to be a runner? If so I highly recommend this book, it just may change your mind.

New Balance Minimus MT 10

My running buddy was kind enough to let me go for a jaunt in his New Balance MT 10's last Sunday. We went seven miles at a pretty good clip and I must say I was impressed. There was plenty of room in the toe box for splaying, and I could definitely feel a nice forefoot strike. I did experience a slight amount of knee irritation, but it was absolutely not due to heel-strike.

I payed close attention to my left foot, which usually tends to swing around from the outside to the inside as I run. None of that.

The terrain was mixed, probably half limestone trail and half asphalt. The last mile we kicked it up to a 7.5 minute mile (probably why my knee was slightly tweaked) and I felt and finished strong.

My biggest complaint was that the orange color and wide rounded toe box reminded me of Ronald McDonald's shoes. No cheeseburgers for me though, I'm too busy trying to develop a bacon wrapped fried pickle.

Barefoot Thursday (Late Edition)

Ok, I already messed up on only my second barefoot Thursday post. Here it is anyway, even if it is a day late.

I was browsing through my seemingly daily arriving Eastbay catalog, when I noticed a new minimalist running shoe! The Saucony Hattori pictured here. They look pretty similar to the New Balance Minimus trail shoe, but I would still love to give them a try. Anyone want to donate a pair for me to test?

I would love to take a spin in them, a quick jog in the parking lot of the shoe store just doesn't cut it. I need to go at least four miles to really get a feel for what they will do to my knees. They are pretty reasonably priced, cheaper than the Vibram Bikila LS's I bought.

After three pairs of Vibrams my wife has put her foot down. (pun intended, haha) No more running shoes for a while. I still love my VFF's but I certainly wouldn't mind trying the Saucony's. My running partner has a pair of Minimus and he would probably let me take them for a spin. I'm not sure what the etiquette would be though, it's not the same as borrowing someones underwear, right?

Sunburst Results

Well, it was a hot day, but I made it through the race without having to walk very much. I didn't quite hit the two hour mark like I had hoped, but I was only over it by 10 minutes. Garrick was right at 2 hours. About an hour and a half after we finished they black-flagged the race because of the heat and picked up all of the remaining runners on the course.

I was pretty dehydrated the rest of the day, I was the DD for my wife and her friend Saturday night and drank about 3 gallons of ice tea which rehydrated me and I felt a lot better.

It's been nearly a week and I have yet to go on another run, but I have been riding my bicycle quite a bit. I've also been fighting a cold the past few days.

I'm already trying to decide the next half-marathon to run. I can't wait to get back to training mode. Oh yeah, I got a special haircut just for the race.

Barefoot Thursdays

image courtesy of http://thenaturalmovementstudio.com/barefoot-running/

Every Thursday my post will be in regards to the subculture (within a subculture) of barefoot running. A quick note, barefoot Thursdays is also synonymous with minimalist Thursdays, meaning that Thursdays will deal with both. I will do my best to designate which I am writing about, but I think it will be somewhat clear.

To those are not aware, the increasing movement of barefoot running is just what it sounds like. We believe that the modern running shoe causes more injuries than it prevents. Humans ran for millions of years (or at least very very many depending on your beliefs) without Nikes. The idea is that cushioning and support atrophy your feet's muscle development. The excess cushioning also increases the likelihood that you will land heel-first, a landing that sends impact force directly to your knees.

Minimalist running is the wearing of minimalist shoes when running. I myself generally wear Vibram Five Finger's when I run. Yes, they look a little goofy, but they lend to a better running form. When I wear them I have no knee pain whatsoever as compared to when I wear a traditional running shoe. I plan on wearing them this Saturday to run a half-marathon.

The usual knee-jerk reaction fear I hear is, "What if you step on something sharp?" Well, as it turns out I did step on something sharp. My wife and I recently repainted our bathroom, and I cut my heel stepping off of a stepladder. The culprit was a metal basket holding the toilet paper. The gouge immediately began to bleed. Lucky for me, I have been running in Vibrams for the past year and a half, and I have built up thicker skin on the bottom of my feet.

Don't get me wrong, it bled like a...... I still have a gouge like in my heel. But after a 12.5 mile run last Sunday my Injinji socks were still white.

13.1 Miles of _________.

This Saturday, June 4th, 2011 thousands of people will be running through the streets of South Bend for the Sunburst Races and I will be one of them. In 2010 I ran the 5k. This year I decided to add an extra 10 miles to that.

The gun goes off and a mile into the race there is an eery lack of conversation. Thousands of people are in the streets and all that you can hear is heavy breathing and footsteps in unison. Looking around you imagine yourself in a post-apocalyptic world, the streets devoid of cars, the tall downtown buildings looming above.

The endorphines begin to surge, tiny bumps like a plucked bird's skin appear on your arm, and you can imagine how easy it would be to abandon your civility. You start to envision yourself as some sort of animal, devoid of everything but raw unexpressionable emotions . You don't know what you're running from, but you're all running together, in a herd and it feels amazing. You look at those lagging behind and you know that if a predator gave chase, you would not be the one that it's claws and teeth sink in to.

After 13.1 miles of asphalt, Gatorade, and sweaty camraderie, I will collapse onto the cool green grass of the Notre Dame football field, able to call myself a half-marathoner.

Microsoft Approved Picture of the Day: How Not to Live Your Life Through a Screen.

As we roll through our everyday life more than likely we will be spending part of it in front of a monitor. That monitor may be in the form of a computer monitor or a television.

What is this picture trying to say? Is it that the world can be reached from your home with the Internet? The internet is a great tool to entertain, communicate and educate.

Increasingly, we experience the world through a screen. We interact with our friends through facebook, skype, or communicate through text messages, read on the screens of our cell phones.

The existentialist defines themselves through their actions, but what if the actions we partake in are all digital, done through a screen? I’m not advocating an off the grid revolution, but I would highly recommend turning it all off for a few hours out of the day.

Find a community trail where you don’t need to worry about vehicle traffic. I guarantee there is one near you. Put on a comfortable pair of shoes (I enjoy running barefoot, but that’s a whole other blog post altogether) and get out there. Go by yourself, or with a friend, run fast, jog slow, or walk if you need to. Get out there and experience some quiet and dare to be left alone with only your own thoughts to entertain you.

Also, be sure to "Like" the existential mustache running society page on facebook. It's full of inspirational quotes, family friendly pictures, and miscellaneous tomfoolery.

About This Blog

The existential mustache society was founded in the fall of 2010. Until that point I had enjoyed running, but only as a solo activity. After bumping into an old high school acquaintance at a 5k race, we got together for a four-mile run on the campus of Notre Dame.

I realized that while running alone provides lots of opportunity for self-reflection and daydreaming, running could also be a social activity. Running in a group can push you to go farther and faster than you would alone.

As for the name… As a English major in college some of my favorite readings were of Kafka and Dostoevsky, classic writers dubbed existentialists. Running is an existential activity, it becomes part of your identity, part of how you define your existence.

The most simple explanation for the mustache part of the name is that my friend, the co-founder, at times cultivates a handlebar mustache. It is also symbolic, mustaches aren’t exactly in fashion, the EMRS does not attempt to be fashionable. We aren’t running to break records or to have six-pack abs.

The mustache is also a reference to Steve Prefontaine (a famous runner of the 1970’s) and to nearly all great philosophers who have some sort of fantastical facial hair.

The last and most important component to the name is Society. It was purposefully dubbed a society rather than club because club infers a hierarchal structure. The group was meant to be loosely organized with no president, no fees, and no meetings other than on the running trail.

So when people ask, "What do
you do?" What is your answer?

"I am a 
son?", "I am a student?" or is it, "I'm a runner."