New Shoes!

Daily Quote:

"No doubt a brain and some shoes are essential for marathon success, although if it comes down to a choice, pick the shoes. More people finish marathons with no brains than with no shoes."

-- Don Kardong

Found a good deal on running shoes, $79.00 for "New Balance 768!" I decided to wear them today for my medium-long run of 12 miles.

9:45 a.m. Medium-Long Run. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% grade. 12 miles. 4 miles at 6.3 mph, 4 miles at 6.4 mph, and 4 miles at 6.5 mph. Average heart rate: 148 bpm. Cardiac Drift 157 bpm. This is my first medium-long run done on the treadmill for the summer!! New shoes worked well, didn't even notice they were on my feet, which is always a good sign for good running shoes. I'll be alternating these shoes with my older pair of Nike Air Structures.

Tomorrow morning I must awake at 5:00 a.m. as Checker Cab Company has shift bid! It's going to be a very long day. Now I must work 12 hours (2 pm - 2 am) and will be lucky to get two hours of sleep tonight.

Need New Shoes Soon

Daily Quote:

First we will examine typical mileage values for how long running shoes will last. The generally accepted consensus is runners will require a new pair of running shoes every 300-500 miles. This means a runner who has purchased a new pair of running shoes recently will require a new pair after he has logged approximately 300-500 miles on his running shoes. This distance is best gauged by keeping an accurate training log which includes a section for accumulated mileage. The runner may record the amount he has run each day but should also keep a running total of the total distance he has run since he purchased a new pair of running shoes. This will make it easy to see when the runner is approaching the threshold of the range of 300-500 miles which typically signifies the need for a new pair of running shoes.

--The Runner's Guide

I currently have 502 miles on my ASICS GT 2102, which I rotate with my Nike Air Structures (currently 220 miles), and need to replace them soon. I'm not a slave to any particular name brand, but I do make sure the shoes are stability shoes as I have flat feet. Time to start looking for a good sale at the local shoe stores.

Yesterday was a Rest Day as I took my wife to see "Phantom of the Opera" and to a nice Italian Restaurant inside the Venetian Hotel and Casino. I've ran six days this week and hope to increase running seven days next week.

10:15 a.m. General Aerobic Run. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% grade. 7 miles. 2 miles @ 6.3 mph, 2 miles @ 6.4 mph, 2 miles @ 6.5 mph and 1 mile @ 6.3 mph. Average heart rate 147 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 155 bpm. Comfortable run at conversational pace, listened to Cure's CD "Bloodflowers" that was a good escape from the gym's humming noise.

A Little Tempo Run

Daily Quote:

Tempo-pace running is designed to maximize aerobic capacity and increase aerobic efficiency. Regular threshold training enables runners to increase pace without suffering from lactic acid accumulation. Athletes should do these runs at a pace that can be maintained for 15-35 minutes. Tempo runs should be done at a pace that acclimates the athlete at, or slightly above, the anaerobic or lactate threshold.

--Paul Greer's Running Weblog

Today was my first speed training for the summer, a little tempo run of three miles at my half-marathon pace of 8:06 minute miles (7.4 mph on the treadmill.)

9:30 a.m. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% grade. Warm-up: 2 miles at 6.3 mph. Tempo: 3 miles at 7.4 mph. Cool-down: 1 mile at 6.3 mph. Average heart rate: 159 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 172 bpm. The first two miles of my tempo was tough and the last mile was a struggle! Man, I'm really out of shape!! I plan on doing one tempo run per week during this base building phase.

I'm so happy that today is Friday and I have two days off from working!! Tomorrow I'll be taking the wife to see "Phantom of the Opera" at the Venetian Hotel and Casino...nope, I'm not a big spender, received two free tickets from the Venetian because I'm a cab driver.

A Mix Bag of Exercises

Daily Quote:

"BTW, I still think the WS trail is one of the most beautiful places that I have vomited."

--Mary Gorski, 1999 WS attemptee and 2001 finisher

Today I did a little of everything in regards to exercise!

2:20 a.m. (after working 12-hours) Practiced bowling with three games at Gold Coast Bowling Alley, bowled 177, 210 and a 183 (my league bowling average is 164 pins)

11:30 a.m. (after sleeping eight hours) Warm up, 10 minutes on upright stationary cycle. 30 minutes of weight circuit training...then immediately jumped on my favorite treadmill.

Today is a Recovery Run. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% Grade. 5 miles. 6.1 mph (pace 9:50 minute miles) Time, 49 minutes. Average Heart Rate: 141 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 145 bpm. (Note: my maximum heart rate is 190 bpm) Listened to the Beatles "Revolver" CD, which is my favorite Beatles album! Comfortable run and within my zone for an easy run, next week all my Recovery Runs will be 6 milers.

Devine Racing Tries to Sell L.A. Marathon

Daily Quote:

Devine Racing's cash-flow problems have grown increasingly public in recent months. Zappos, the online shoe retailer, on May 30 severed its ties with Devine Racing's Las Vegas race, citing the company's financial problems. And some business owners in Los Angeles continue to complain that payments are slow in coming.

--Los Angeles Times, read article, "L.A. Marathon operator scrambles to make good on debts"


I was considering replacing the Las Vegas Marathon with racing in the L.A. Marathon instead, but Devine Racing is not paying its debts in L.A. either and is trying to unload the L.A. Marathon...geez, Los Angeles is fairly close to Las Vegas, only a 4-hour drive, I may have to research Phoenix for my next marathon. I'm getting discouraged, hopefully Devine Racing will have Las Vegas Marathon's bills paid before June 15th as promised and my fears will be for naught.

Today is a General Aerobic Run. 10:00 a.m. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% Grade. 2 miles at 6.3 mph, 4 miles at 6.5 mph, and 2 miles at 6.3 mph. Average Heart Rate: 155 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 162 bpm. (Note: my maximum heart rate is 190 bpm.) The gym was very warm this morning and was sweating up a storm! Only brought small bottle of water, next time I'll bring a larger bottle of Gatorade.

I'm finding it more difficult to work, run and bowl AND keep this blog up-to-date! I'll just do the best I can...how I wish I work a normal eight hours rather than my current 12-hour work nights!!

Las Vegas Marathon Title Sponsor Quits

Daily Quote:

Las Vegas Marathon title sponsor quits, cites race finances

ASSOCIATED PRESS
7:31 a.m. June 3, 2008
LAS VEGAS – The title sponsor of the Las Vegas Marathon is walking away, citing financial troubles involving the race owner, Chicago-based Devine Racing.
Zappos.com sponsored the 2007 race had been expected remain on to sponsor this year's race, scheduled Dec. 7. It had an option for the 2009 race.

But spokesman Chris Peake says the Henderson-based Internet shoe and apparel company was upset to learn Devine Racing hadn't paid pay some vendors, charities and last December's men's overall winner, Christopher Cheboiboch.
Devine Racing chief executive Chris Devine issued a statement thanking Zappos.com for sponsoring the race last December, and saying he's confident a new sponsor will be found.

Devine promised last month to sell two unspecified “significant assets,” and use the proceeds to pay race bills by June 15.

The company also owns the Los Angeles and Salt Lake City marathons and the Chicago Half Marathon. Devine also has a financial interest in several radio companies.

I'm very worried that Devine Racing will cancel the upcoming Las Vegas Marathon in December due to not paying its bills and now losing their main sponsor, Zappos Shoes. I have ran the last eight Las Vegas Marathons and fear my streak will end this year. I should look for a backup marathon for this late winter or early spring.

Today is a Recovery Run. 9:30 a.m. Life Fitness Treadmill set a a 1% Grade. 5 miles. 6.1 mph (pace 9:50 minute miles) Time, 49 minutes. Average Heart Rate: 142 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 146 bpm. I adjusted surprisingly well to the treadmill after many days of running on the roads! I'll now be running on the treadmill exclusively until fall season...it's going to be a long summer!!

Last "Road" Run Until Fall

Daily Quote:

Proper ‘easy’ training should feel utterly easy, like there’s no effort at all. And the obsessive don’t like that, not at all. It doesn’t feel like it’s accomplishing anything (No pain, no gain, right) so the intensity starts to climb. Where it should be an easy 130 heart rate or lower, it’ll start climbing to the aerobic range or higher. Suddenly, what should have been easy days start becoming medium days.

But it’s even more insidious than that: these medium days end up being too easy to really stimulate fitness, but too hard to allow complete recovery. It’s this weird no-man’s land that doesn’t accomplish anything good.

Which has another major consequence, without the ability to recover sufficiently, the hard days can’t be as hard. Because you can’t do a quality session when you’re tired. So the hard days start becoming medium days as well. And it all goes wrong.

The hard days can’t be hard enough, the easy days are too hard and the whole week ends up being this weird sort of medium intensity across the board.

--from the blog, "body recomposition" by Lyle McDonald.

Yesterday my 5-mile Recovery Run was ran in the mid-90's, and today's 12-Mile Medium-Long Run was in the upper 90's, hence it's now time to say good-bye to road running for the summer...my summer runs will be on the gym's treadmill.

10:30 a.m. General Aerobic Run. 12 miles. Time, 1:56 (Average Pace, 9:40 minute miles). Out and Back on Alta Road. Sunny, 93-97 degrees, Winds south at 11 mph. Average Heart Rate: 150 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 161 bpm. I pushed too hard in the heat and suffered dizziness after the run; believe I was very close to sun stroke, yup, it's time for the dreadmill throughout the duration of the summer.