Meeting New Runners

When you are away from your running family, there is a void — a missing link.  Your running group is comparable to the TV show Cheers, a place where everyone knows your name.  You feel comfortable, relaxed, accepted and happy.  When you’re away on travel or a vacation, although you still probably get in your miles, it’s just not the same.  Things are missing such as your motivation, mental focus, competitiveness and overall connection you have when you’re running with your friends–basically you are on your own.  Sure, you pass other runners and say hi, but it’s really the same as passing cars going in the other direction.  Once you finish your run, you just move on with the day.  No spice!   Conversely, when you finish your run with your running family, there’s conversation, connection and maybe breakfast, dinner or just a beer.  You get the whole package with your running family and it  makes you feel fulfilled and whole.

Red Reaching - LEGO® Sculpture by Nathan Sawaya

This week while on vacation, my wife Debbie and I took a walk along Keawakapu Beach (in Kihei, HI) to the Shops at Wailea.  We like to go there so we can have our favorite coffee (that a fellow vacationer recently turned us on to) at the Honolulu Coffee Company.  As we were walking through the shops, I saw this sculpture through the window of the Eclectic Image Gallery and it spoke to me.  It’s made completely out of LEGO® bricks (yes, legos!).  It’s the vision and creative artistic work of Nathan Sawaya, who actually published a book titled “The Art of the Brick: The Pictorial” that’s a collection of photos of some of Sawaya’s most amazing sculptures and portraits.  This particular sculpture is called “Red Reaching,” and when I saw it, I instantly thought of a runner crossing the finish line.  Many runners raise their hands in the air when crossing the finish line and us runners know exactly what that feeling is like.  This picture (taken w/my iPhone) honestly does not do this sculpture justice!  In person, it has many more obvious details, even down to the nose!  Seeing it in person is both mesmerizing and breathtaking.  Click here for a more detailed picture.

Mike Fontes - Jim Lynch - Randy Caley at the 2011 Tucson Marathon

It is amazing how running can be the catalyst to establish new friendships.  Many of my friends are runners and I cannot think of a better group of friends to associate with.

During one of our Saturday runs with Runners Edge of the Rockies in Denver, I stopped at one of our aid stations, looked down at the ground, and found an iPod Shuffle.  I hung on to it and took it home.  Immediately, I posted on our running group’s website asking if anyone lost an iPod Shuffle and that I had found it.  A member, Mike Fontes, responded that it was his, so I wrote back to let him know I would bring it to the next run.  I actually had no idea who Mike Fontes was so, after asking around, I found him.  Turns out that at that time, Mike was running in a slower pace group and actually weighed more than he does today.  He was just getting the running bug.  I gave him the iPod Shuffle, he said thanks and that was that.  I then headed off for my run with my pace group.  Little did I know, Mike would soon become a standout in our running group.

A $1.00 Wristband Taught Me a Lesson!

About five years ago I noticed everyone wearing a yellow rubber bracelet with the words LIVESTRONG on their wrist.  I knew it  had something to do with the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Cool I thought.  One day shortly thereafter, while working out at my 24-hour fitness, I  noticed they had them for sale for just $1.00.  So, I bought one and have been wearing it ever since.  Besides being an inexpensive piece of “jewelry,” it’s also become the biggest $1.00 lesson I’ve learned, and I now wear it proudly today for a reason.

Trading My Run for a Walk on Keawakapu Beach - Taken Today 4-27-2012

Vacations are so relaxing and sometimes are extremely relaxing.  My wife, Debbie, and I are spending time in Maui, specifically in Kihei town (which just borders Wailea, where mostly the rich and famous stay!).

This week was a fantastic running week for me.  For some reason, the heat, humidity and pounding sun did nothing but enhance my running this week.  My body felt great and even the hills were easy for me.  I was actually running a faster pace than normal for a training run.  I’ve not been an especially good runner in the heat the past few years, so it’s a mystery why I’m feeling so good.  Nonetheless, I accept it and hope it continues throughout the summer!

Today however, since I have a good base of miles in for the week, I decided to treat myself and go for a walk on the beach with Debbie.  Usually as I am finishing my run while in Kihei, I cool down by walking the last half-mile on the beach, usually soaked in sweat.  So this was a nice alternative, especially since I was able to just walk with Debbie, and enjoy the views, sounds and smells.  We even talked to a few friends that we passed along the way.

Don't Fear the Wall!

“The Wall” is one word that runners fear most.  It’s the point of a marathon where your body basically falls apart due to depletion of glycogen stored in the muscles and liver.  This in turn increases lactate acid build up in your legs.  Your leg muscles become so sore that it’s almost impossible to keep running and threatens to destroy your race.  This  can happen at any time during a marathon, but is usually somewhere between miles 18 and 22.  It’s long been immortalized at mile 20.

I’ve seen many marathon runners hit the wall during a race and, yes, I’ve hit the wall.  It’s crazy; you’ll be cruising along at mile 17 feeling great and BAM, it hits you as if you actually ran right into a brick wall.  It generally doesn’t creep up on you; it just suddenly happens.

Self-Motivation on Vacation is Tough!

I’m currently on vacation in Maui, Hawaii (yea tough) and am completely off my regular running schedule.  You would think, man, being on vacation (especially in Hawaii) you should be running 100 miles a week!  Well, that’s just not the case.  Have you ever been on vacation and been super-motivated the first couple of days, then found your self-motivation just dissolves?

Vacation is a time to relax and enjoy, right?  That means good food, drinks and fun times with your spouse, family, significant other or yourself.  Plus, Hawaii brings some additional distractions such as the ocean, beach and plenty of warm sun.  Kinda gets in the way of running.  Right now, if I don’t get up at the crack of dawn, chances are my run for the day will quickly fade away.  Sometimes when I get up while here, I just don’t feel like running — I’d rather stare at the ocean (understandably).  Plus, I don’t have my running group nor running friends to drag my lazy butt out like I do in Denver.  So, I gotta do it completely on my own and that’s where self-motivation needs to kick in.

Just Like 2004! Fun Times!

A marathon is like a vacation.  You wait for months planning and training for that big day and, like a vacation, it comes and goes at lightening speed.  Once over, the feeling’s the same; it’s done, it’s just a memory.  Maybe even a little post marathon blues set in, just as you feel when your wonderful vacation is over.  Well, your experience at Boston this year brought back memories for me of the 2004 Boston Marathon.

Yesterday, was the Boston Marathon and now it’s over.  All those months of training and excitement building up to the big day.  The heat was a curve ball, not really thought about nor planned on during all your months of training.  Chances are, you didn’t hit your goal, and even found some new things out about yourself since you had to dig deep to finish this one.  For me, a hot marathon sucks and I basically turn off my watch and just focus on getting to the finish line.

When Running, You Live in the Present!

I was with a friend recently and he shared this Dalai Lama thought on “man” with me.  It resonated with me in so many ways that I asked if he could email it to me.  I’ve looked at it a few times and then pondered upon it being a runner.  Now, I ‘m not going to get all spiritual on you, but if you think about it, runners really are closer to living in the present than most people.  What do I mean?

Lets break this down: “Man… sacrifices his health to make money.”  Okay, we all need to make money to live, but runners balance it all out by living an active lifestyle to maintain not only physical but also mental health.  Next, man “sacrifices money to recuperate his health.”  All in all, most runners live an active and healthy lifestyle.  Therefore, the money we invest is in running shoes and active wear.  Sure, we runners do get colds, flus and other common illnesses, however, all in all, we reduce the risk of many diseases due to the health benefits realized by running.

Running is Popular and Really Big Business!

As I was mentally drifting during one of my runs this week, I was thinking about the popularity of running and how it’s grown over the years.  And honestly, since I’m finishing up my book, I was also wondering how big the running market really is, and the extent of my potential reach, so I did some fact-finding digging.

First, I know that running’s popular, much more popular than when I first started running marathons in the late-1980s.  I was, however, blown away to find out it’s over a $2.6 billion dollar industry.  Wow!  That’s a lot of scratch (and gels, orthotics and clothing, etc.).

To illustrate, in 1995, roughly seven years after I ran my first marathon, total entries were about 74% men and 26% women.  Today, 59% are men and 41% are women.  Conversely, half-marathons entries today are flipped; 59% women and 41% men.