tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83453736915817304062026-02-17T02:25:55.609-08:00Is that a possessive or an apostrophe?Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-32667314542920241952016-02-23T11:31:00.003-08:002016-02-23T11:31:59.311-08:00

Last weekend I attended the Dragon Door Russian Kettlebell Certification (RKC) course in San Jose. We were lucky to have great instructors leading the event: Dan John, Dr. Chris Holder, Chris White, Robin Sinclear and Seth Munsey. The workshop was nothing short of PHENOMENAL. 2016 San Jose RKCPhoto: John Du Cane I will spend time in another post to describe how working with kettlebells has

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-45095384624353631882013-06-17T14:08:00.000-07:002013-06-17T14:08:27.544-07:00

I have been struggling with my weight this year through a combination of irregular exercise and poor diet. In mid-November I weighed my usual 193 lbs but by first of February I was up around 200 lbs and by mid-May topped out at 204 lbs. Three things contributed to my irregular exercise - new job, severely rolled ankle first week of January, and bronchial infection last part of January.

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-62201206493938402942012-04-12T07:04:00.002-07:002012-04-12T07:04:18.923-07:00

I have avoided the GPS watch craze for the past few years that I've been running. Trust me, I like data and being able to compare my progress in my running against benchmarks but there is a certain allure in "running naked." In fact, I have not run with a HRM for two years and so my trusty Polar 625x has been relegated to a glorified stopwatch. The new Suunto Ambit, however, has made

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-73976708179011709242012-04-06T15:05:00.000-07:002012-04-07T13:33:03.550-07:00

2012 was the second year of the Badger Mountain Challenge and my first 100. I decided to sign up after Seattle marathon with my friend Desiree and later Jeremy. I put my training in place and started to pack on the miles. Unsurprisingly January and February were my highest volume running months ever. Jeremy and I at the start Desiree and I at the start I've now run enough marathons and

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-22522411787371192602012-02-20T12:42:00.000-08:002012-04-06T15:22:08.060-07:00

Ran the TMT Sunday morning in a group of six runners. The TMT (Tiger Mountain Trail) starts at the Tradition trailhead, snakes around West Tiger to the east, up & over the saddle between Tiger West 1 and Tiger West 2 and then winds its way south toward and around Middle Tiger. It's a beautiful, plush, single-track trail with far less traffic than the other Tradition trails seem to have. There

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-42714065252114360292012-02-14T19:16:00.000-08:002012-02-14T19:16:28.293-08:00

A couple of follow-ups on Orcas. First, the elevation profile. I have it around 7600' which is "close" to the course description of 8000' of gain. I generally don't trust my Polar much but the start / finish altitude seem to be similar so this all seems reasonable. Overall the profile is just sick looking at it. I would not have thought the Mt. Pickett climbs were as high as they were but it

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-82130873606236458322012-02-08T09:41:00.000-08:002012-02-08T09:41:34.636-08:00

Views of Mt. Baker and surrounding islands from Mt. Constitution photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama Orcas 50k is put on by Rainshadow Running and this is the event that they started with (I believe) and has been on my list for a couple of years. I had to DNS last year due to lingering ITB issues so I was raring to go this year. The race is itself just an excuse to hang out on Orcas Island (a

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com70tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-79170983072329647162010-08-09T11:18:00.000-07:002010-08-09T11:18:33.194-07:00

Trail runs and 50k's are a funny thing with respect to personal records (PRs) - the trail conditions, elevation gains, altitude and even distance can vary widely from race to race. But when you get a two hour PR on a trail 50k it's more than just a difference in course conditions - it's a reason to be proud. Happy to be finishing! Grand Ridge is one of my favorite parks to run - it's just

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-49311391204012508502010-07-19T21:07:00.000-07:002010-07-21T13:40:39.066-07:00

This is the third part of a likely four part series. In short I'm attempting to try a new coffee shop each day in July. You can read Part I here or Part II here. July 12 - Elliot Bay Cafe Previous home of the Elliot Bay Book Store (a Seattle stalwart which recently moved locations ... after changing owners) this little coffee shop is underground. It's also famous for being

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-70661915646460483362010-07-15T18:25:00.000-07:002010-07-21T13:40:18.440-07:00

This is the second part of a likely four part series. In short I'm attempting to try a new coffee shop each day in July. You can read Part I here. July 5 - Original BakeryThis is the nearest coffee shop to me so I've been there a few times. It is definitely a bakery so the espresso quality is not as consistent as other places. I actually had a really nice cup on this day (last time the owner put

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-74787457732000225532010-07-15T18:05:00.000-07:002010-07-15T18:05:26.047-07:00

I was recently talking with a couple of online peeps (@RagDoll_Inc and @dorthybitestoto) and I was ... well let's say scolded for taking by business to Starbucks rather than one of the local coffee shops. Let's forget for a moment that Starbucks is local to Seattle (yeah, they know this). Admittedly I am a creature of habit - don't know the last time I didn't eat Phad Thai at a Thai restaurant or

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-219769878373680142010-07-13T11:51:00.000-07:002010-07-13T17:18:35.695-07:00

The Grey Rock 50k is billed as the "Toughest 50k in Washington" - while I have no experience with other 50k's let alone others in Washington - I'm inclined to believe this. I ran the Grey Rock 50k on July 10. To be honest I didn't have much expectation coming into this "race." This was my first ultra and I wanted to run well. Some part of me thought I was conditioned enough to run in the six

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-87526509378043379052010-06-28T11:04:00.000-07:002010-07-12T12:21:28.300-07:00

This was the second annual Seattle Rock N Roll Marathon and my second attempt at it. This is a large race (25,000 entrants with about 6000 doing the marathon) and will probably be my last RnR and my last large marathon for quite awhile. I had a bit of redemption given my performance in the 2009 race. I had trained very well for this run and felt quite ready with my base, tempo training, etc. Of

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-56065382246399228262010-06-17T14:06:00.000-07:002010-06-18T07:59:15.194-07:00

After reading Anton Krupicka's blog yesterday I decided to screw my taper plan and go for a trail run (of course as a couple of my friends and I have been discussing what use is a taper when you're running a marathon one weekend (Seattle Rock 'N' Roll) and a 50k (Grey Rock Trail Run) two weekends after that?). The trail I really like is at Grand Ridge Park which I ran a month ago for

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-82604163122759143432010-06-11T17:06:00.000-07:002010-06-11T17:06:44.481-07:00

One year ago I was two weeks away from running my first marathon - the inaugural Seattle Rock 'N' Roll (race report). Two weeks from now I will compete in my third marathon - the 2nd annual Seattle Rock 'N' Roll. As I begin my taper I thought it important to take a look back and take stock of where I am. Training Time This time last year I had put in a measly 37 hours and 21 minutes of

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-25527060056185998212010-06-07T10:06:00.000-07:002010-06-09T08:33:42.825-07:00

The Green River Marathon is a free marathon put on each year (this was the 14th annual) and is what I would describe as a community-driven event. I had not run a race like this in awhile and frankly I was looking forward to it. I have three "big" marathons on the books this year - Seattle Rock N Roll, Portland, and Seattle and after this year I plan on seriously limiting myself to trail runs and

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-7394440779840669132010-04-28T21:05:00.000-07:002010-04-28T21:05:42.942-07:00

Dear HostingRails.com, I am unsure who to contact as I have tried on numerous occasions today to contact you by phone, email and through your support system. Given the lack of response from your team I am understandably disappointed. Let me say this first: I have had two websites that have been offline all day, during business hours. From 9am PDT to 8pm PDT. Actually, only one site is

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-3568827446257016212010-03-31T20:52:00.000-07:002010-03-31T20:52:17.498-07:00

We're 10 days into spring and already I'm starting to see more of my online running posse hit the doldrums, weather through injury, mentally, or like me, through sickness. The training in starting to pile up and it's leaving its toll. I was knocked out by some kind of flu for three solid days. Nothing like sitting around grousing when you're unable to run. I remember well - I was a miserable

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-71698032021434143662010-03-25T16:39:00.000-07:002010-03-25T16:52:20.196-07:00

Seattle is fortunate to have a program called Town Hall which regularly invites renowened guests for lectures - economist Paul Krugman, Moby, etc. Annie Leonard was at Town Hall on March 24 to discuss her new book named after the famous web video The Story of Stuff. If you have never seen The Story of Stuff it is an articulate and digestible movie about ... stuff. Material.

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-60118003120538509452010-03-23T21:13:00.000-07:002010-03-23T21:13:04.884-07:00

I really love running. Especially right now. In mid-January I broke the 4th toe on my left foot - clean fracture. From mid-December through the injury I had been running at least once every two days and my New Year's resolution (which I never make) was to hold that pace all year. Needless to say my injury put a severe cramp in my style. I would be sidelined for six weeks. I was immediately

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-38765137806304811492010-03-21T12:05:00.000-07:002010-06-11T16:08:12.502-07:00

The Mercer Island race has turned into quite an event - I ran the 8k in 2006. Today's race was quite bigger and quite and very well run. Lots of volunteers. The anchor of the race is the half marathon but over the last four years they've added a 5k and 10k and removed the 8k. The race also starts at the community center at Luther Burbank Park v. downtown which is quite nice. I decided to run the

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-84227263668998766592010-03-17T23:33:00.000-07:002010-03-22T10:59:58.919-07:00

It's always fascinating to me when I can look back and recall a specific moment in time when my life took a distinct turn. As it relates to barefoot running it occurred on April 21, 2009 when I read The Daily Mile article The painful truth about trainers: Are running shoes a waste of money?  Part of why I run is to challenge myself both physically and mentally. Something in this

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-89936779973760426292010-03-16T23:57:00.000-07:002010-06-11T16:08:44.297-07:00

The inaugural event was announced summer of 2008 - I believe I was #508 to sign up. The marathon bug had bothered me for several years and I had bailed on several races for a variety of reasons which is really the subject of a separate post. Suffice to say I was going to commit to this one. As noted previously I did not put in a lot of base running miles in over the winter. I made a

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-30472223556253456692010-03-16T21:13:00.001-07:002010-06-11T16:10:19.762-07:00

I have not done a remotely good job of maintaining this blog ... at all. Want to start off by doing some short and sweet race reports from the past 2+ years. Christmas Rush - Dec 8, 2007 I have run the Christmas Rush three times and it has grown in popularity each year. I PR'd my 5k in 2006 with a 23:37 (and place 3rd in my age division). The course is built for PRs - it's flat, along the Green

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8345373691581730406.post-78147445340429419902007-10-20T14:17:00.000-07:002010-06-11T16:09:29.354-07:00

I decided to run the Kansas City Marathon for a few reasons: It's for a good cause - leukemia and lymphoma research I've been wanting to run a marathon for quite some time The run would be in the fall hence a likelihood of good weather (meaning a bit cooler) It would be near home so would have family support Well, things being the way they are, I got busy over the summer and didn't get as much

Jeff in West Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13621362192262863605noreply@blogger.com1