I’ve been most delinquent in getting this posted – but in my defense there was a sick T that needed to be nursed back to health, plus a horrid summer cold that did me in for a few days. Not that those excuses hold much water, but they’re all I’ve got.
Here goes:
We left for Taiwan on Friday night – flight left LA at 1 a.m. Quite possibly the best flight I’ve ever been on in my life. Although the ambien might’ve had something to do with that as well. Managed to sleep for about 6-7 hours (I was actually asleep before the plane left the terminal) and then killed the rest of the time watching movies and talking to the guy next to me. He was on his way from Florida to Viet Nam to visit his family. Garnered some wisdom – when in Viet Nam, best place to exchange your cash is the black market.
Unlike in Anaheim when we arrived at the hotel, The Howard Plaza Hotel, our room was ready for us, plus we had a breakfast voucher for each of us for every day we were there. Nice accommodations. Even had a copy of “The Teachings of Buddha” in the nightstand along with the New Testament.
Being the adventurous sorts that we are we decided to walk from the hotel to the conference center so T could pick up her materials/etc. Uhm, not the smartest move on our parts. Let me describe the weather in Taipei City while we were there: temperature at 9 a.m. – 35 C (which converts to 95 F) and while I have no data on the humidity, I’ll put it this way, walking from the door of the hotel to the corner, a distance of maybe 100 yards you were drenched (soaked through t-shirt) in sweat. To say we were sweaty/smelly is not exaggerating in the least bit.
Oh – biggest thing that was hard to get used to? Being stared at. Worse for T, her being a tall woman, but still felt like everyone was looking at me at times.
Best Experience: Tuesday night we went to dinner with all the people in attendance that were associated with the University of Oregon (all of T’s lab mates). One of the current students in the lab is from Taipei. Her parents treated us all to a nice sit-down dinner. There were 12 of us, all seated around a large round table. Table had a giant lazy susan in the middle. The people from the restaurant came in and asked if there were any food preferences – T piped up, no beef. Next thing, food just starts appearing. You just rotated the lazy susan until you could get what you wanted. Not sure all of what I ate, but I do know that the shrimp were to die for!
Learned a Taiwanese and Japanese toast that night – gan bei (Taiwanese) and kampei (Japanese). Means the same thing in both languages: bottoms up! Lucky for me as we went around the table I’m not sure how many times toasting everyone individually with this, that in Asia they drink out of what we would consider juice glasses. Helped on the individual toasts but they did add up. Amongst the 12 of us we consumed 23 L of beer.
After dinner we went for a traditional Chinese foot massage – wow, was that nice. For $55 US T and I each received a 15 minute head/neck massage followed by a 45 minute foot/ankle/calf massage. To say it was relaxing doesn’t do it justice!
As you’ve seen in the pictures we took a tour of the northeast coast region, later that night we ventured out to one of the night markets. Only way to describe the night market is part flea market, part “taste of…” festival, and part black market. And we managed to get there and back on mass transit.
Last night there was spent at the National Palace Museum, gala put on by the conference. Had the chance to see some great artwork/pottery. I can honestly say I’ve seen Ming dynasty vases.
Flight home – ugh. Too long, too bumpy, not as good of seats as the flight over. Then we had to spend the night in LA before flying home on Saturday.
All in all…great experience. Once in a lifetime experience. As I/we wade through more pics, some more might show up on here.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
uhg
I truly hate being sick in the summer. Have come down with a cold. T is out of commission with strep throat.
Lots of fun around the house these days.
I apologize for not getting the pics from Taiwan up yet. I'm a slacker and my head hurts.
Lots of fun around the house these days.
I apologize for not getting the pics from Taiwan up yet. I'm a slacker and my head hurts.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Finally...
Trip Report...California first. The highlights:
Don't stay at the Anabella Hotel in Anaheim. While the facilities themselves were fine, the service sucked. I've travelled quite a bit over the years, business and pleasure, and I've been told my room isn't ready. We waited six hours for our room, and after being guaranteed it would be ready by the 4 p.m. check in time, we were finally in our room at 4:30. One day of our stay, the maid service hadn't been by at 4:30 p.m., and no, we didn't have the "Privacy Please" on the door.
One night we had dinner at The House of Blues in Downtown Disney, T, myself and two friends. Outside table. This woman walks by, conversation at the table stops due to the fact that she is very well endowed. From the table next to us this guy leans over and says to me, "I'm gay and I noticed those!"
At professional meetings/conferences women will wear some crazy "cute looking" shoes to look good and you can totally tell they spend about 10 minutes a year wearing them from how they walk.
Downtown Disney
- "Jedi Mickey" at one gift store.
- Lego Store...life size Darth Vader
and R2-D2. Need I say more?
- Friday night we're walking back to the hotel to get ready to leave for Taiwan and I hear the President of the Oregon Athletic Trainers' Society scream "PARKERS" from the balcony of the "New Orleans" restaurant. Naturally I flashed her my boobs and promptly received some beads from her.
Don't trust the Super Shuttle guy to drop you off at the proper terminal. We had about a ten minute walk to the correct one in order to catch our flight to Taiwan. The look on our faces had to be priceless at the Air China counter when the woman asked us where our entry visas were as she quickly flipped through our passports. That's right we were flying China Airlines. We were in line to go to Beijing, not Taiwan.
All in all a great time. Had the chance to catch up with some great friends, and actually learned a thing or two at the conference!
Don't stay at the Anabella Hotel in Anaheim. While the facilities themselves were fine, the service sucked. I've travelled quite a bit over the years, business and pleasure, and I've been told my room isn't ready. We waited six hours for our room, and after being guaranteed it would be ready by the 4 p.m. check in time, we were finally in our room at 4:30. One day of our stay, the maid service hadn't been by at 4:30 p.m., and no, we didn't have the "Privacy Please" on the door.
One night we had dinner at The House of Blues in Downtown Disney, T, myself and two friends. Outside table. This woman walks by, conversation at the table stops due to the fact that she is very well endowed. From the table next to us this guy leans over and says to me, "I'm gay and I noticed those!"
At professional meetings/conferences women will wear some crazy "cute looking" shoes to look good and you can totally tell they spend about 10 minutes a year wearing them from how they walk.
Downtown Disney
- "Jedi Mickey" at one gift store.
- Lego Store...life size Darth Vader
and R2-D2. Need I say more?
- Friday night we're walking back to the hotel to get ready to leave for Taiwan and I hear the President of the Oregon Athletic Trainers' Society scream "PARKERS" from the balcony of the "New Orleans" restaurant. Naturally I flashed her my boobs and promptly received some beads from her.
Don't trust the Super Shuttle guy to drop you off at the proper terminal. We had about a ten minute walk to the correct one in order to catch our flight to Taiwan. The look on our faces had to be priceless at the Air China counter when the woman asked us where our entry visas were as she quickly flipped through our passports. That's right we were flying China Airlines. We were in line to go to Beijing, not Taiwan.
All in all a great time. Had the chance to catch up with some great friends, and actually learned a thing or two at the conference!
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Friends...Continued
I’ve gotten some very thoughtful comments on “Friends” – Mary, I’m holding you to yours.
I’m glad I’m not the only person out there struggling with this issue.
The internet is a great thing, it’s made people around the world accessible – hell, and I was able to return email while we were in Taiwan and spend a few minutes chatting with a friend who lives in Boston! But as much as the internet has been a good thing it is also part of the problem.
Yes, without the internet I wouldn’t have met a significant portion of the people I call my friends, but it’s also the bane of those friendships! Until we all have a Star Trek holodeck installed in our houses there is no way to meet up with them on any type of regular basis, kick back, have a good beer and solve the world’s problems.
That’s the reality. We’re here in Michigan while they are scattered throughout the country, and most are not in an easy driving distance.
So, yeah, I’m thankful for the internet bringing the world closer, just feels like its put us on an island at the same time.
Ok, pity party over…back to regular stuff.
Promise to have stuff on the trip later this weekend. LOTS of pics to download and figure out the best way to post.
I’m glad I’m not the only person out there struggling with this issue.
The internet is a great thing, it’s made people around the world accessible – hell, and I was able to return email while we were in Taiwan and spend a few minutes chatting with a friend who lives in Boston! But as much as the internet has been a good thing it is also part of the problem.
Yes, without the internet I wouldn’t have met a significant portion of the people I call my friends, but it’s also the bane of those friendships! Until we all have a Star Trek holodeck installed in our houses there is no way to meet up with them on any type of regular basis, kick back, have a good beer and solve the world’s problems.
That’s the reality. We’re here in Michigan while they are scattered throughout the country, and most are not in an easy driving distance.
So, yeah, I’m thankful for the internet bringing the world closer, just feels like its put us on an island at the same time.
Ok, pity party over…back to regular stuff.
Promise to have stuff on the trip later this weekend. LOTS of pics to download and figure out the best way to post.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Homeward Bound
We're heading back to the states today. Will arrive in Grand Rapids on Saturday.
Full trip report plus pics to follow hopefully by the middle of the week.
Full trip report plus pics to follow hopefully by the middle of the week.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Taiwan Update #2
Hey everyone...back at the gaming den/Internet cafe while T is at the conference.
Ok...so we made it here no problem. T gave her presentation yesterday. In fact she ended up being asked to stand-in for the co-moderator! Lucky for her, her former office mate at the University of Oregon was the other co-moderator. Ended up with a nice shirt as a gift for stepping in.
I spent yesterday walking around the area around the hotel. To say this is a busy place would be an understatement of EPIC proportions! There is a large department store about 2-3 blocks down from the hotel along with a plethora of shops, but the thing is they don't open until noon, and don't close until at least 11 p.m.
In fact the whole city is a night owls dream! The shops are actually busier at 10:30 p.m. than they are at 10:30 a.m. Evidently the place to do shopping (you know who you that should be expecting gifts!) is a the night markets. Planning on hitting one of them either tonight after our dinner or tomorrow.
So, while I was walking around by myself yesterday I was trying to figure out some sort of plan for lunch...MANY small restaurants/food stands along my route, BUT absolutely none of them had English anywhere near the menu. So I threw in the towel and headed back to the hotel to take advantage of the lunch buffet. Set me back $650 in new Taiwanese dollars (exchange rate is 1:32 US to New Taiwanese)so roughly $20. Good food.
T and I walked around trying to find a place to eat dinner. Found a great place. We get seated. Handed menus. Nothing but Chinese characters. I'm getting nervous. Luckily they sent someone over who spoke English. Small dinner, some pork dumplings, shrimp fried rice, and we split a Taiwan beer. Total cost: $517.
We both got a laugh about that.
We're taking pics. Won't be able to post them until we get back though.
Once we get home Saturday it will probably take me a few days before I can get them edited and put together along with a complete summary of the trip - there were some funny moments in Anaheim as well.
OK...gotta run. Who knows when I'll get online again. Talk to all most of you when I get back (you know who you are!)
Ok...so we made it here no problem. T gave her presentation yesterday. In fact she ended up being asked to stand-in for the co-moderator! Lucky for her, her former office mate at the University of Oregon was the other co-moderator. Ended up with a nice shirt as a gift for stepping in.
I spent yesterday walking around the area around the hotel. To say this is a busy place would be an understatement of EPIC proportions! There is a large department store about 2-3 blocks down from the hotel along with a plethora of shops, but the thing is they don't open until noon, and don't close until at least 11 p.m.
In fact the whole city is a night owls dream! The shops are actually busier at 10:30 p.m. than they are at 10:30 a.m. Evidently the place to do shopping (you know who you that should be expecting gifts!) is a the night markets. Planning on hitting one of them either tonight after our dinner or tomorrow.
So, while I was walking around by myself yesterday I was trying to figure out some sort of plan for lunch...MANY small restaurants/food stands along my route, BUT absolutely none of them had English anywhere near the menu. So I threw in the towel and headed back to the hotel to take advantage of the lunch buffet. Set me back $650 in new Taiwanese dollars (exchange rate is 1:32 US to New Taiwanese)so roughly $20. Good food.
T and I walked around trying to find a place to eat dinner. Found a great place. We get seated. Handed menus. Nothing but Chinese characters. I'm getting nervous. Luckily they sent someone over who spoke English. Small dinner, some pork dumplings, shrimp fried rice, and we split a Taiwan beer. Total cost: $517.
We both got a laugh about that.
We're taking pics. Won't be able to post them until we get back though.
Once we get home Saturday it will probably take me a few days before I can get them edited and put together along with a complete summary of the trip - there were some funny moments in Anaheim as well.
OK...gotta run. Who knows when I'll get online again. Talk to all most of you when I get back (you know who you are!)
Sunday, July 01, 2007
TAIWAN BABY
If this doesn't make any sense, it's because I'm in the middle of what could be called at best an online gaming den, and at worst an internet cafe.
Trip is going well.
Getting stared at by just about everyone.
It's hot - 35C, not sure what that is in F - and humid here. To hot to do any running outside even though I want to, and even if it was cool enough to run the maniac drivers would get me.
Let's just say that lanes seem to be a fluid concept at best. There's also nothing like almost being run down by a scooter as you walk down the sidewalk.
Ok, gotta go now...my hour here is almost up.
Becky - if you read this, tell Grandma/Grandpa all is well and I'll call 'em Saturday when we get back!
Trip is going well.
Getting stared at by just about everyone.
It's hot - 35C, not sure what that is in F - and humid here. To hot to do any running outside even though I want to, and even if it was cool enough to run the maniac drivers would get me.
Let's just say that lanes seem to be a fluid concept at best. There's also nothing like almost being run down by a scooter as you walk down the sidewalk.
Ok, gotta go now...my hour here is almost up.
Becky - if you read this, tell Grandma/Grandpa all is well and I'll call 'em Saturday when we get back!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Friends
WARNING - this post may result in introspection and deep thoughts - WARNING
T and I leave for the NATA Annual Meeting in Anaheim, CA, on Tuesday morning. There will be familiar faces that we haven't seen in any number of months. There will also be familiar faces absent due to any variety of legitimate reasons.
This has started me thinking about the topic listed in the title of this blog.
I've lamented to both of you reading this that this past year has been a struggle professionally and socially. Professionally has been covered in a previous post.
So, this one is about the social aspects of our adaptation to life in West Michigan. In a nutshell, haven't made a lot of friends. Have made plenty of acquaintances, but just a very small number of friends here locally.
We haven't been able to find our niche. But to be honest, we haven't put forth a lot of effort. Unlike past situations coworkers have not resulted in the friendships and regularity of spontaneous interactions. Maybe part of it is the location we actually live in...while we tell people we live in Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids proper is about a 15 minute drive. We're really out in a rural area on the very outskirts of Grand Rapids.
Not a horrible place to live, just not the kind of place to which T and I would naturally gravitate. Lots of churches around us, not a lot of local neighborhood restaurants, 99.9% of our food options are chain restaurants,
and virtually no neighborhood bars. I would kill for a place like Cornucopia in Eugene. A place you could decide to go to, get there in five minutes, and then call friends to join you for a drink.
Back on topic - so we haven't found a place to meet new people with similar interests that we can interact with on a personal level here in Michigan. "here in Michigan" the key part of the previous phrase. I've mentioned a few times before the online running community that I am an active member of (ok, I like to think I'm an active member), www.coolrunning.com, and more specifically the group of 30-somethings that post on a daily thread in the newbie forum.
Great people, a lot of them are from Minnesota - go to my post "Nice People" to see the difference at least one of them from Minnesota made - and have a great interaction with everyone there. I've really made some great friends there. Unfortunately they aren't the kind I can call up and say "hey, come on over, I've got a growler of Mad Hatter" without giving them at least a month or twos notice so they can check airfare and to see if they have any vacation left. Kind makes it difficult to have a drink with them.
So while my face-to-face interaction has been limited, I'd just like to say thank you to all of them for making this past year a bit more friendly.
You know who you are, I don't need to bother listing your names.
Thank you.
T and I leave for the NATA Annual Meeting in Anaheim, CA, on Tuesday morning. There will be familiar faces that we haven't seen in any number of months. There will also be familiar faces absent due to any variety of legitimate reasons.
This has started me thinking about the topic listed in the title of this blog.
I've lamented to both of you reading this that this past year has been a struggle professionally and socially. Professionally has been covered in a previous post.
So, this one is about the social aspects of our adaptation to life in West Michigan. In a nutshell, haven't made a lot of friends. Have made plenty of acquaintances, but just a very small number of friends here locally.
We haven't been able to find our niche. But to be honest, we haven't put forth a lot of effort. Unlike past situations coworkers have not resulted in the friendships and regularity of spontaneous interactions. Maybe part of it is the location we actually live in...while we tell people we live in Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids proper is about a 15 minute drive. We're really out in a rural area on the very outskirts of Grand Rapids.
Not a horrible place to live, just not the kind of place to which T and I would naturally gravitate. Lots of churches around us, not a lot of local neighborhood restaurants, 99.9% of our food options are chain restaurants,
and virtually no neighborhood bars. I would kill for a place like Cornucopia in Eugene. A place you could decide to go to, get there in five minutes, and then call friends to join you for a drink.
Back on topic - so we haven't found a place to meet new people with similar interests that we can interact with on a personal level here in Michigan. "here in Michigan" the key part of the previous phrase. I've mentioned a few times before the online running community that I am an active member of (ok, I like to think I'm an active member), www.coolrunning.com, and more specifically the group of 30-somethings that post on a daily thread in the newbie forum.
Great people, a lot of them are from Minnesota - go to my post "Nice People" to see the difference at least one of them from Minnesota made - and have a great interaction with everyone there. I've really made some great friends there. Unfortunately they aren't the kind I can call up and say "hey, come on over, I've got a growler of Mad Hatter" without giving them at least a month or twos notice so they can check airfare and to see if they have any vacation left. Kind makes it difficult to have a drink with them.
So while my face-to-face interaction has been limited, I'd just like to say thank you to all of them for making this past year a bit more friendly.
You know who you are, I don't need to bother listing your names.
Thank you.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Saturday
Summer time…what do all the cool kids do? That’s right they ride bikes! What are two 30-somethings going to do on a beautiful Saturday? That’s right, go for a bike ride. Well, I went for a five mile run this morning and then on the bike ride.
A 15.64 mile bike ride.
Rode on the Kent Trails Bike Path…goes from the suburbs into downtown. It runs along the Grand River, and the pics of us on the bridge is where the trail crosses it. The Grand Rapid Marathon and the 5/3 River Bank Run are run on this trail.
We pretty much did a loop. My legs are shot, and I’ve got a long run on the schedule for tomorrow.
We get back to the truck and T decides to see what it’s like for triathletes to run right after the bike ride (probably because we passed a guy on the trail doing a brick workout…as we passed him I asked how far he was going today. His answer, 112 miles on the bike, now a 7 mile run. Nearly fell off my bike!)
All in all a pretty good Saturday.
Now tomorrow, we just need to start packing.
A 15.64 mile bike ride.
Rode on the Kent Trails Bike Path…goes from the suburbs into downtown. It runs along the Grand River, and the pics of us on the bridge is where the trail crosses it. The Grand Rapid Marathon and the 5/3 River Bank Run are run on this trail.
We pretty much did a loop. My legs are shot, and I’ve got a long run on the schedule for tomorrow.
We get back to the truck and T decides to see what it’s like for triathletes to run right after the bike ride (probably because we passed a guy on the trail doing a brick workout…as we passed him I asked how far he was going today. His answer, 112 miles on the bike, now a 7 mile run. Nearly fell off my bike!)
All in all a pretty good Saturday.
Now tomorrow, we just need to start packing.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Sad Day for the Miami Family...
In my four years at Miami University, I had to opportunity to meet many remarkable coaches as I progressed through the athletic training education program. Two in particular stand out: Randy Walker, the head football coach at the time, and Terry Hoeppner, an assistant and future head coach of the football team.
Both of these men took the time to express gratitude/appreciation for what we were doing as athletic training students, would interact with us like we were people, and were genuinely nice guys.
Randy Walker died of a heart attack almost one year ago.
Terry Hoeppner died today of complications of a brain tumor.
They are, and will be missed.
Both of these men took the time to express gratitude/appreciation for what we were doing as athletic training students, would interact with us like we were people, and were genuinely nice guys.
Randy Walker died of a heart attack almost one year ago.
Terry Hoeppner died today of complications of a brain tumor.
They are, and will be missed.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Frustration
Mentioned earlier my struggle to occupy the massive increase of free-time that I have due to the summer months/10 month work contract. Still haven't made much progress on that front, but I'm trying.
The thing I have realized is this: being back on in the eastern time zone you can only watch Sportscenter so much before you want to poke out your eyes in the morning. Back in Eugene I was lucky to be able to catch the last hour it was on because my mornings consisted of getting my run in, breakfast/coffee, and reading the paper.
I mentioned back near the start of this blog that I was unimpressed by the paper here in the greater Grand Rapids area. These lazy summer mornings would be perfect for reading the paper, if it was only worth reading!
Just makes me miss the Register Guard that much more.
The thing I have realized is this: being back on in the eastern time zone you can only watch Sportscenter so much before you want to poke out your eyes in the morning. Back in Eugene I was lucky to be able to catch the last hour it was on because my mornings consisted of getting my run in, breakfast/coffee, and reading the paper.
I mentioned back near the start of this blog that I was unimpressed by the paper here in the greater Grand Rapids area. These lazy summer mornings would be perfect for reading the paper, if it was only worth reading!
Just makes me miss the Register Guard that much more.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Check This Out
If you want to see how incredibly bold/brave/crazy T is, just head over to her blog for a stunning reveal of something that she has been working on over the last month and a half.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Tattoo Update
Well, here it is. It's completely healed so I had T take another photo (god love her, but she can't hold the camera still enough so she had to take about 8 pics for one to turn out clear enough to post).
Mr. Cramer, since you asked: the design is one that I found on a logo for a running store in Eugene...with some modifications: made it bigger and the artist changed the shape of the head a bit. As for the colors, as you can see the yellow is a bit brighter now that it is healed. I liked the idea of red/orange/yellow to make "him" look like he is made out of flame.
So far the response has been good...hell, my mother didn't flip out so that's cool.
Mr. Cramer, since you asked: the design is one that I found on a logo for a running store in Eugene...with some modifications: made it bigger and the artist changed the shape of the head a bit. As for the colors, as you can see the yellow is a bit brighter now that it is healed. I liked the idea of red/orange/yellow to make "him" look like he is made out of flame.
So far the response has been good...hell, my mother didn't flip out so that's cool.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Green Thumb?
Posted pictures when we first potted the plants and put them out on the deck. It's been about a month since then so I thought I'd put up some pictures of their progress.
Lastly, here is proof that we actually have tomatos already!
Lastly, here is proof that we actually have tomatos already!
State of the Blog
I've been putting this post off for about a week now. Wasn't sure how big of a deal I should make out of the 100th post. I was trying to come up with something profound to say...instead I thought I'd just go with this:
I started the blog as a way to stay connected with some of the friends I have scattered all throughout the country when we moved to Michigan. Still trying to do that.
Then I provided some comparisons between Michigan and Oregon. Plan on re-visiting that in an upcoming post.
And, I've tried to keep all three of the people reading this updated on my attempts at running. Check.
So, I guess you could say I'm making progress on what I intended to do when I started this whole thing.
I started the blog as a way to stay connected with some of the friends I have scattered all throughout the country when we moved to Michigan. Still trying to do that.
Then I provided some comparisons between Michigan and Oregon. Plan on re-visiting that in an upcoming post.
And, I've tried to keep all three of the people reading this updated on my attempts at running. Check.
So, I guess you could say I'm making progress on what I intended to do when I started this whole thing.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Interesting...
Wanted to share the following with all of you - some may recognize it (yes, I asked him first and screen names only) but it's worth reading again.
As indicated by the link to the right, I frequent the forums on www.coolrunning.com - more specifically the 30's thread in the newbie cafe. Good group of people. When it comes to running ability we run the gamut there...from people just starting to someone who is a member of the Clifbar pacing team. The following was posted in response to someone new to the endeavor and their frustrations by PhillyTom (tomjanosfky@gmail.com):
It's hard to read advice online and not read between the lines but just keep in mind that most people here are just trying to help each other through the same sort of thing. I'm not trying to be critical, just to help.
First, patience. I know people have said this before, but the only impatient runners I know at our ages are ex-runners. We have all been there. There are people for whom running just comes naturally, and pain-free, but none of them post here as far as I know. There is an absolute wealth of knowledge coming from the 60+ people who hop in and out of here on a given week. I get more out of here than the books I read by coaching pros. (And keep in mind even they aren't sure about what they are talking about.)
Running can be a cruel master. But grappling with the fact that there is so much mystery in making our bodies do something that they are clearly genetically selected to do (i.e. run) is to me, half of what makes it fun.
There is no magic formula for how to get there. 3 x shoe size + 2 ^ sqrt(pi) will not give me my magic weekly mileage. C25K is not "right". It is also not "wrong". If the same thing worked for everyone, it would be easy, and it's not.
My $.02.
You are running too fast. Slow down. When you think you can go no slower, slow down. The key sentence to me in your post was that you ran a PR mile on Saturday and you are hurt now. I ran a PR 5K on Sat and I hurt. That's what PRs do. I have the benefit of having a bigger mileage base and faster recovery since I've been doing this longer (1.5 yrs) but since Sat I've run nothing but easy.
Recovery. To me the point of C25K and any training plan is to get the right balance of stress and recovery. I think this is the central idea of any plan. From the micro (run 200m, jog 200m), to the mini (hard day, easy day), to the macro (3 weeks hard, 1 week cutback), to the seasonal (~3 weeks down time after race season) it is all about tearing yourself down and letting your body build back up (recover).
Barring a pre-existing injury or genetic predisposition, if you are getting hurt it is likely overuse - i.e. you are tearing down too much and not building back up.
How do you recover better?
Don't work as hard. I remember last winter having to walk downstairs backwards on Mondays because I ran my 6-7m long runs too hard on Sunday. I was running too hard.
Recover more. RICE. Walk more. Cross train. Swim. Bike.
Use the resource here as best you can.
You want to know more about how to balance running and xtrain? Email LL or Theia. They do it right.
Maybe C25K is too aggressive. Work through the ideas there and come up with a less aggressive plan. Post it for feedback.
Lose weight. How much do you weigh? How tall are you? Running itself is hard enough, and added weight makes the stress even greater. You can lose 0.5 to 1 lbs a week while in a running plan without killing yourself (ask Moon, or Bard, or Voodoo, or me). The lighter you are the easier it is to recover.
The better you can recover, the more you can run. It's a virtuous cycle.
But even best conceived and best laid plans don't always work. Ask anybody here. Sometimes you think you are doing everything right and the goal race isn't there. There are surprise injuries, weather that screws up a goal race, and sometimes that training plan doesn’t give us the result we thought it would.
When people use that phrase 'listen to your body' this is what they are talking about. It's not about slowing down when it hurts. That, as you've seen, is probably too late. You need to find your personal line. Mine isn't yours and yours isn't anyone elses.
Oh, and I'm no expert either.
Great perspective and very well expressed.
As indicated by the link to the right, I frequent the forums on www.coolrunning.com - more specifically the 30's thread in the newbie cafe. Good group of people. When it comes to running ability we run the gamut there...from people just starting to someone who is a member of the Clifbar pacing team. The following was posted in response to someone new to the endeavor and their frustrations by PhillyTom (tomjanosfky@gmail.com):
It's hard to read advice online and not read between the lines but just keep in mind that most people here are just trying to help each other through the same sort of thing. I'm not trying to be critical, just to help.
First, patience. I know people have said this before, but the only impatient runners I know at our ages are ex-runners. We have all been there. There are people for whom running just comes naturally, and pain-free, but none of them post here as far as I know. There is an absolute wealth of knowledge coming from the 60+ people who hop in and out of here on a given week. I get more out of here than the books I read by coaching pros. (And keep in mind even they aren't sure about what they are talking about.)
Running can be a cruel master. But grappling with the fact that there is so much mystery in making our bodies do something that they are clearly genetically selected to do (i.e. run) is to me, half of what makes it fun.
There is no magic formula for how to get there. 3 x shoe size + 2 ^ sqrt(pi) will not give me my magic weekly mileage. C25K is not "right". It is also not "wrong". If the same thing worked for everyone, it would be easy, and it's not.
My $.02.
You are running too fast. Slow down. When you think you can go no slower, slow down. The key sentence to me in your post was that you ran a PR mile on Saturday and you are hurt now. I ran a PR 5K on Sat and I hurt. That's what PRs do. I have the benefit of having a bigger mileage base and faster recovery since I've been doing this longer (1.5 yrs) but since Sat I've run nothing but easy.
Recovery. To me the point of C25K and any training plan is to get the right balance of stress and recovery. I think this is the central idea of any plan. From the micro (run 200m, jog 200m), to the mini (hard day, easy day), to the macro (3 weeks hard, 1 week cutback), to the seasonal (~3 weeks down time after race season) it is all about tearing yourself down and letting your body build back up (recover).
Barring a pre-existing injury or genetic predisposition, if you are getting hurt it is likely overuse - i.e. you are tearing down too much and not building back up.
How do you recover better?
Don't work as hard. I remember last winter having to walk downstairs backwards on Mondays because I ran my 6-7m long runs too hard on Sunday. I was running too hard.
Recover more. RICE. Walk more. Cross train. Swim. Bike.
Use the resource here as best you can.
You want to know more about how to balance running and xtrain? Email LL or Theia. They do it right.
Maybe C25K is too aggressive. Work through the ideas there and come up with a less aggressive plan. Post it for feedback.
Lose weight. How much do you weigh? How tall are you? Running itself is hard enough, and added weight makes the stress even greater. You can lose 0.5 to 1 lbs a week while in a running plan without killing yourself (ask Moon, or Bard, or Voodoo, or me). The lighter you are the easier it is to recover.
The better you can recover, the more you can run. It's a virtuous cycle.
But even best conceived and best laid plans don't always work. Ask anybody here. Sometimes you think you are doing everything right and the goal race isn't there. There are surprise injuries, weather that screws up a goal race, and sometimes that training plan doesn’t give us the result we thought it would.
When people use that phrase 'listen to your body' this is what they are talking about. It's not about slowing down when it hurts. That, as you've seen, is probably too late. You need to find your personal line. Mine isn't yours and yours isn't anyone elses.
Oh, and I'm no expert either.
Great perspective and very well expressed.
Briefly
I apologize about not posting anything in over a week.
Real life got in the way. T and I had to make an unexpected trip to Cincy over the weekend and into the first part of the week for my Grandmother's funeral.
We will return to regularly scheduled programming in a bit.
Real life got in the way. T and I had to make an unexpected trip to Cincy over the weekend and into the first part of the week for my Grandmother's funeral.
We will return to regularly scheduled programming in a bit.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Additions Part 2
This one not quite so permanent as the tattoo (more on it later), but T and I both just upgraded our cells phones...we had them for two years and it was time for a new phone.
T got a cool red razr and even though I got a new PDA back in Dec/Jan I got this and let me tell ya...mine is AWESOME.
Without revealing details of our plan, we are getting more stuff and paying less than before.
It's pretty cool to be able to check my email from the middle of Costco, and to have everything at the ready...contacts/tasks/calendar. I've only had it less than a week and it has been nice.
For example, T and went to some wineries this past weekend and I was able to type in a few notes about specific wines that we both enjoyed without having to pull out my PDA or a notepad. Just typed it into my smartphone.
Tattoo Update: it is healing quite nicely. Since I posted the picture (it was taken right after it was done) the colors have changed quite a bit. The yellow is much brighter and I will post another pic in a few days after it has completely healed along with some other thoughts about it as well (just because Mr. Cramer asked so nicely).
T got a cool red razr and even though I got a new PDA back in Dec/Jan I got this and let me tell ya...mine is AWESOME.
Without revealing details of our plan, we are getting more stuff and paying less than before.
It's pretty cool to be able to check my email from the middle of Costco, and to have everything at the ready...contacts/tasks/calendar. I've only had it less than a week and it has been nice.
For example, T and went to some wineries this past weekend and I was able to type in a few notes about specific wines that we both enjoyed without having to pull out my PDA or a notepad. Just typed it into my smartphone.
Tattoo Update: it is healing quite nicely. Since I posted the picture (it was taken right after it was done) the colors have changed quite a bit. The yellow is much brighter and I will post another pic in a few days after it has completely healed along with some other thoughts about it as well (just because Mr. Cramer asked so nicely).
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Additions
Not that I intended it to (hell, I'm not exactly sure what my intentions for this were when I started it) but a significant portion of my recent blog entries have been about running and my attempts at the Grand Rapids Half Marathon and then the Flying Pig Half Marathon. I've been running consistently for four years now...started down this path so I wouldn't look like a Jabba the Hut impersonator at our wedding back in 2003, and I'm still at it. It's something that I enjoy doing (and enjoy the health benefits) and it has afforded me the opportunity to meet a great bunch of people, both locally and around the country via the interweb and the 30's thread on Cool Running. See link to the right. It's also provided a sense of accomplishment. That's hard not to realize after crossing the finish line of a race like the Flying Pig.
Hopefully I'm not boring you too much with all of this...
So, I decided to make a statement. I consider myself a runner - race results are not a criteria - and decided to commemorate that fact. With a tattoo.
Maybe I'm crazy but I like it.
And before anyone asks...no, it really didn't hurt. More of an irritation than anything.
Hopefully I'm not boring you too much with all of this...
So, I decided to make a statement. I consider myself a runner - race results are not a criteria - and decided to commemorate that fact. With a tattoo.
Maybe I'm crazy but I like it.
And before anyone asks...no, it really didn't hurt. More of an irritation than anything.
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