Category Archives: General
RUNNING FUNNY: BAD JOKE #52509
Have you had your coffee yet? Might want to get a little caffeinated before you read today’s installment.
I’m so sorry about this one.
Run funny… and Run on!
Source: Jokes4us.com
HILL REPEATS AND “LUCKY 7″…
There’s an often used idiom, “The calm before the storm,” that I think appropriately describes my immediate running future.
C’mon… lucky 7.
My previous race was the REVEL Big Cottonwood Half Marathon in mid-September.
For the last few weeks, ever since I pounded the mountain pavement in Salt Lake City, I’ve just been concentrating on having solid training runs and dealing with my troublesome orthotics. My right foot had been experiencing a sort of “blister fest” while I anxiously awaited the arrival of my new & improved orthotics.
Well, on Wednesday my new orthotics arrived and so far my right foot is “blister free.” Keeping my fingers crossed and a four-leaf clover handy.
Back to the idiom and the aforementioned pre-storm calm.
Starting next Sunday I enter my craziest running month ever.
FOR A TREMENDOUS CAUSE
Hi Trippers!
Run on with T2!
October 1st marks the start of registration for the Los Angeles Marathon. The date also signifies the start of something else… something very important to me.
Today is also the day I start my annual fundraising campaign for Team To End AIDS (T2), my running charity.
This will mark the 6th time I’ve trained for the Los Angeles Marathon with T2 and it’s something I look forward to every year.
Each week between Oct. 18th and March 15th (marathon day) I’ll be pounding the pavement with the T2 gang.
The runners, coaches and staff of Team to End AIDS aren’t just my friends… they are my “running family.”
T2 is a wonderful organization that raises money to assist APLA (AIDS Project Los Angeles) as they help people whose lives are affected by HIV/AIDS. Read the rest of this entry
GEAR CHECK: “TRANSFORMING” TRANSITION TOWEL
Fact: when you run, you get sweaty.
In my case, you get stupid sweaty.
Cover your sweaty self!
It’s not so bad being covered in sweat right after a run or race. It’s like a testament to the workout and you’re simply showing the world that you’re drenched with “liquid awesome.”
But as the minutes tick by, that glow of accomplishment is quickly replaced by the harsh reality… you’re just sweaty. And probably rather fragrant too.
And who wants to get in their car and drive home dripping with sweat? It feels awful and you can just imagine your sweat seeping into the car’s seats, creating a permanent potpourri of runner’s funk. Read the rest of this entry
GUEST REVIEW: BIG COTTONWOOD HALF MARATHON
Hey Trippers!
Running happy!
Another TTK tradition starts here, as we’ve got our very first guest writer.
Ashley McDuffie was the winner of our “Salt Lake Shuffle” contest and received a FREE entry into the Big Cottonwood Half Marathon.
She let her inner speed demon loose as she ran the race in a “damn fast” 1:26:36 (6:37 min/mile).
I had hoped to bump into her on the course, but clearly all I would have seen would have been her vapor trails as she rocketed by.
Well, Ashley’s put together her review of the race (along with some snapshots).
So, take it away Ashley!
RACEDAY: SATURDAY VS. SUNDAY
Shouldn’t it be a beer for Saturday?
Life is full of choices:
- Coke or Pepsi
- Paper or plastic
- The Beatles or The Rolling Stones
- Star Wars or Star Trek
- Window or aisle seat
- Steamed rice or fried rice
- Ginger or Mary Ann
Often there is no clear cut choice, rather just the subjectivity of personal preference.
When it comes to racing, we have a plethora of choices at our disposal: Regular shoes or minimalist, iPod or sans music, walk breaks or not, half or full marathon, etc…
And as I ran the REVEL Big Cottonwood Race last Saturday, I thought about another preference we get to consider…
Saturday races vs. Sunday races. Read the rest of this entry
RUN DOWNHILL AND SAY “CHEESE”…
Hey Trippers!
My legs are finally feeling like legs again as I continue to recover for last weekend’s half marathon.
And the goodies keep rolling in from the REVEL Big Cottonwood race.
One of the great runner’s perks from the race is FREE photos. Instead of having shell out almost $30 for a single digital photo from races series like Disney and Rock ‘n’ Roll, the folks at REVEL want you to be able to display a whole slew of fun shots without the word “PROOF” forever tattooed across your torso.
Here are my candids from Salt Lake City.
Oh, and there’s still one more fantastic freebie to go as REVEL will be using my photos to cut together a personalized video summarizing the race experience. I’ll be sure to post that puppy when it’s available.
Have a great weekend everyone… and Run on!
SORE NO MORE… FINALLY!
Fun run on Saturday!
The REVEL Big Cottonwood race is a well-known downhill course that promises really fast times. Depending on your race choice (half or full marathon) participants can expect a decline in excess of 3000′- 4000′ during the race.
In the weeks leading up to the race, I checked out the race website to see if they had any pointers. And they did have a nice section on training specifically for a downhill race. You can check it out here (Big Cottonwood Training).
I took their advice about not worrying about the altitude; I made sure to hydrate properly and I even did a little hill work training to prep myself for the declines.
REVIEW: REVEL BIG COTTONWOOD HALF MARATHON
Big Cottonwood Bling
Ready to get back to nature and chase a PR at the same time? If so, then look no further than the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon/Half Marathon. As the flagship race in the new REVEL series (also includes the REVEL Rockies and REVEL Canyon City races) this scenic downhill course is situated in the mountains just outside of Salt Lake City. Although a relatively new race, Big Cottonwood has already earned a reputation as a well-run event and also serves as a prime Boston qualifier. This year’s race sold out and drew in excess of 2500 runners for the half marathon and over 1500 participants for the full marathon. Read the rest of this entry
THE REVEL BIG COTTONWOOD HALF MARATHON EXPERIENCE: GETTING SALTY
Hey Trippers!
“Go Big.”
Greetings from Utah and the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon/Half Marathon.
It’s already been a blast of a day (that started pre-dawn) and we don’t even run until tomorrow.
After waking up at 3:45am and treking to LAX, I met up with my friends BustA Groove and Donielle for a fairly quick Southwest Airlines jaunt (about 90 minutes… enough time for some peanuts and a few games of Candy Crush Saga) to Salt Lake City.
Needless to say, Salt Lake City is a very pretty place and we were all pretty impressed with the scenic mountains in the distance… the very same mountains we’ll be running down tomorrow morning. Read the rest of this entry
A LITTLE BREATHER
Hi Trippers,
“Take 5” everybody.
TV programs have re-runs, do clip shows or go on hiatus.
Broadway and Vegas shows have their “dark” nights.
People take vacations and professionals at times take sabbaticals.
Even runners have their off-season or rest days.
After 9 months of near daily blogging (approximately 230 posts), I think my keyboard (and the fingers that pound it) could use a couple of days off.
So, TTK is going to take a breather for a week.
But don’t worry as I’ll be back next Friday reporting from Salt Lake City and the REVEL Big Cottonwood Half Marathon.
Catch you all next week… and Run on!
REVIEW: DISNEYLAND HALF MARATHON
“Hi Ho Hi Ho, it’s off to run we go!”
Disney bling!
Disney, the uber-company which owns Marvel, Lucasfilm (aka Star Wars), Pixar and is responsible for some great family films and wonderful theme parks, has also become quite the upcoming player in the marathon game. With numerous races each year at Walt Disney World in Orlando and at Disneyland in Anaheim, Mickey and Minnie Mouse seem to lace up their running shoes almost every other weekend.
This past Sunday (of Labor Day Weekend), Disney staged the 9th annual Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend (which also included a 10K, 5K and other family events). Amidst the heat and humidity of summer’s final “unofficial” weekend, over 15,000 runners donned their respective Disney costumes or mouse ears and lined up to “Let It Go” (yes, they played the song again and again) at the “Sweatiest place on earth.”
THE DISNEYLAND HALF MARATHON EXPERIENCE: POST MORTEM
The high point… I finished.
So I woke up this morning (or I should say last night, as it was 2:30am) and made the trek down to Anaheim without incident for the Disneyland Half Marathon.
Unfortunately, the race itself was not “incident free” for me. High heat and humidity (it was 70+ degrees at 5:00am) made for some rather hot racing conditions.
That said, the weather was the least of my problems.
One thing for certain, I was “off” from the get go. Some people would say it was “one of those races,” but I know I wasn’t firing on all cylinders when the gun went off and “Let it Go” started playing for the umpteenth time.
As I’ve mentioned, my running has been less than ideal the past few weeks and it definitely culminated in a heap of suck today.
While I knew I was off pace after mile 4 (my original game plan had me aiming for a 2:10- 2:15 time) I wasn’t horribly behind and since this was really supposed to be glorified “training run,” I wasn’t overly upset.
THE DISNEYLAND HALF MARATHON EXPERIENCE: UNEXPECTED EXPO
What’s the saying: “The best laid plans of mice and men…”
Kind of a fitting statement because my plans involved a mouse named Mickey.
Anyway, I had originally intended to spend my Saturday down in Anaheim with Lindy, staying at the Marriott near Disneyland. We’d hit the expo and then wander around downtown Disney this afternoon before I carbo-loaded tonight while watching some serious Badger football (and a few zzzs) in preparation for tomorrow’s pre-dawn start to the Disneyland Half Marathon.
Well, life got in the way and plans have shifted a bit.
So I made my way down to Disney yesterday to hit the expo and pick up my race stuff.
Now I’m back in LA taking care of business and combatting my runner’s OCD as I gather up my gear.
And I guess I’ll be getting up at “ass o’clock” tomorrow morning (aka 2:30 am-ish) in order to get down to the “Mouse House” for the race.
Have a good “football” Saturday everyone… and Run on!
LABOR DAY WEEKEND: TRADITION, TRANSITION… AND THE MOUSE.
Not much labor to be done this weekend.
Welcome everyone to Labor Day Weekend, the “symbolic” last weekend of summer (even though the calendar says we’ve got another 3 weeks o’ summer fun left).
I remember as a kid saying it seemed kind of funny that we celebrated this “Day of Labor” by relaxing, grilling out and generally goofing off. It was typically one of the least laborious weekends of the year.
Works for me… and yes, I’ll have another burger.
For those of you wondering, Labor Day first became a national holiday in 1894 and is a celebration “dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers” (or at least so sayeth Wikipedia). Read the rest of this entry
Tripping The Kenyans 