24, the Art City, and a little rain

We have been visiting Lani's family for the last few days, and her brother introduced us to the show 24. If you've not seen it before, DO NOT START! Especially late in the evening, and especially not before a race. It's so addictive that we just couldn't stop. Thursday night we stayed up pretty late, but Friday night we stayed up so late that by the time we went to bed, we had less than 3 hours before we had to get up to go run the Art City Days 5k. We woke up from our nap to pouring rain (something we've never seen in the 6 years of us doing this race). Luckily, it had slowed to a sprinkle by the time we got to the start.

Even though it was kind of a miserable morning, we had fun run. I was a happy to oblige when Lani asked me to run it with her rather than run on my own. I knew I wouldn't be able to run the race I wanted under the circumstances (minimal sleep, the rain, and the much higher elevation than I am used to). It was definitely much more satisfying running with Lani and pacing her to a new PR. Her previous best was about 33 minutes. Today she ran it under 29! I'm so proud of her. It is so cool to see how much she is progressing and enjoying running. We have a 10k coming up in a little less than a month, so we'll see how that one goes.

For your viewing pleasure...

I changed the layout of my blog. I tried to keep a similar color scheme and make it a little more unique. The picture up top is from a negative of a picture Lani took at the Boston Marathon. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Move a Million Miles for Ryan Hall

You may remember my post from about a week ago asking if anyone is interested in logging their miles to support Ryan Hall as he prepares for the Olympic Marathon. Here's a link to a motivational video from Ryan himself explaining the purpose of the movement. I've gotten a few responses regarding logging your miles as part of a group. So now the question is what should we call ourselves? I kinda like the simplicity of "RBFs." What do you all think? Unless anyone has a different idea, let's go with that. All you have to do is type the group name in the "Group Affiliation" box, and submit your miles. Thanks for running with me.

Running in the AZ Heat

I never considered myself a heavy sweater. That is until I moved to Phoenix last summer. I don't recommend a move to Phoenix in the middle of June. By August, we were starting to wonder if we made a mistake moving here. We ended up having over 30 consecutive days of 110+ temps. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the heat. I'd take 100+ temperatures over below freezing temperatures any day.

Here are a few things I've learned to help with the heat:

1. Your body adapts to the heat. At first, running in super hot temps was utterly miserable. I am too addicted to quit, so I kept going anyways, and was able to enjoy it before too long (even though I'd come home dripping with sweat).

2. I am capable of getting up super early to run. I like sleeping in as much as the next guy, but when it's already in the 80s and 90s by 7 AM, getting up at 5 (or earlier) is much more motivating.

3. Always have plenty of fluids available. When I lived in Utah, I never took water or Gatorade with me unless I was going to be gone for more than an hour. In Phoenix, I needed it on runs lasting about 30 minutes.

4. Misery loves company. I started running with a group last summer, and even though the heat was awful, we had a great time socializing.

5. Only run in moisture-wicking gear. Duh.

6. Do part of your workout indoors. I coached cross-country and track at the middle school this year. It was much safer to keep the kids indoors for stretching, warm-up and cool-down. That way the kids were out of the heat as much as possible and had plenty of water available.

7. Possibly the most important tip I can give you is this: Wear a headband! They are very fashionable ;-) and extremely functional.

The heat is not something we need to fear. If we approach it wisely and are prepared, we can have a very successful and enjoyable summer.

This post is part of the Runner's Lounge Take It and Run Thursday, and can also be found in the Runner's Lounge Know-How section of their online community website.

Calling all creative minds! Contest!

I love running bloggers! They are so creative and witty and clever and fun. I need your help. Lani and I recently purchased a used car, and it really needs a name. It is a 2007 Chevy HHR. It's a pretty sweet ride, but saying "Hop into the HHR, girls" or "I'm gonna take the HHR" is kinda cumbersome and awkward to say. HHR? What is that? I know what Chevy says it means (Heritage High Roof - Lame!), but we want a real name.

So this car has the initials HHR, and we need some help coming up with a fun name for him or her. We want YOU to tell us what those letters stand for--first, middle, and last name. Lani is posting about this little contest on her blog, and after the deadline of 10:00 p.m. (AZ time) on Sunday, June 1, she and I will go through the entries, pick a winner, and they'll get some kind of prize (to be determined). Unfortunately, the prize won't be a sweet bike or anything fancy like that, but it'll be something you might like. So get creative and post a comment below. Thanks for your help!

Mile attempt #4 and other stuff

Today's attempt was sort of spontaneous because my running schedule was off with the holiday on Monday. I enjoyed a nice easy run on Monday without having to get up early before work. I've been doing my mile attempts on Tuesdays, so I thought I'd do it on Thursday this week. But last night, I felt like I really wanted to run. So I went out today after my wife got home from her run. I did my mile warm-up out to the start and took off. My first quarter mile was right on pace, but I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it up all the way, so I slowed down a smidge and was at 2:39 at the half. Apparently I slowed down another smidge or two because I ended up with a 5:29. I was pretty surprised with that time because I felt like I was going faster and pushing harder than I did last time. I blame it on my workout from last Saturday. I did three 1-mile repeats at 6:00 pace because I have a 5k coming up on June 7th, and thought I ought to get some speedwork geared toward that. I guess I can't improve every time.

Stay tuned for attempt #5.

Wow, I just looked at that paragraph and realized how boring it is! But, I'm too lazy to go back and rewrite it. I will share some other random thoughts, though.

1. Lani and I will both be doing the above-mentioned 5k on the 7th. This is a run we have been doing every summer for the last 6 years or so. It's become sort of a tradition. I've done it every year, and Lani has done it 3 or 4 times. She hopes to really see what she can do. I think her best 5k is about 33 minutes, but that was when she wasn't the runner she is today. I think she'll be closer to 27 minutes. Expect to see a race report from her early June. They also have tons of big prizes randomly given away after the race. We've never won anything, so cross your fingers for us.

2. I've been seeing a lot about the USATF Stretch Study lately, and can't decide if I want to do it or not. I read about it last summer, and I still have the same hesitations now. I would really like to participate, but I am afraid that I'll be put into the stretching group, which would require me to stretch prior to a run. I never stretch before a run, and I am afraid of what might happen. The purpose of the study, after all, is to look at the rate of injury between the stretching and the non-stretching group. What do you think about it?

3. I've only received one response to my solicitation to start a running blogging group to Move a Million Miles for Ryan Hall. It's just a simple way to show support for Ryan as he prepares for the Olympic Marathon. All you have to do is log your total weekly miles on the website. If anyone is interested in doing it with me and Shilingi-Moja, just post a comment.

4. We are looking forward to our summer. School is almost out (Friday is my last day before summer vacation) and I am definitely looking forward to some time off from work and more time to be with my family (and more time to run, too). In addition to the 5k on the 7th, I'm also planning on a 10 mile race on the 14th. Lani and I will also be doing a 10k on the 4th of July. Should be a lot of fun.

Get movin'!

I was amazed watching the coverage of the men's Olympic Trials Marathon last October. Those guys can really move! Since then, I have tried to keep up with what is going on with the U.S. marathoners. About a week ago, I read a post from Shilingi-Moja about a movement to support Ryan Hall as he prepares for the Olympics. It is not a fundraiser or anything, just a way to show some support and encourage people to live a more active lifestyle. I thought it was pretty cool, and signed up. The goal is to Move a Million Miles by means of any human-powered activity (e.g., running, biking, swimming, walking, etc.) before the start of the Olympic Marathon on August 24th.

I got an email this week saying that there are currently over 1600 participants covering over 200,000 miles. As of today, every participant would need to move 5 miles per day to reach that goal. Not too bad, but I sure don't run 5 miles a day every single day. Needless to say, more participants are needed. So, click the link, sign up and start logging you miles and support Ryan Hall and the rest of the U.S. Olympic team.

If anyone is interested, there is an option to report miles as a group. Maybe we can start a group of running bloggers. Post a comment and we can come up with a group name. Pass the word along, and let's start adding up the miles.