Veggie Fueled Runner

Race Report: 15th Annual Murdick’s Run the Chop Challenge 5 Mile Road Race

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 18:33:00 +0000

This last Monday July 4th I toed the line of the Murdick’s Run the Chop Challenge 5 Mile Road Race for the 3rd time. In the few years since I started racing this event has stood out in my mind as one of my favorites as well as one of the hardest; and most interestingly this race is the marks the 2 year anniversary of the my training seriously with my coach Joe McConkey of the Boston Running Center, as such it is a great marker of my current fitness as well as the huge strides I have made in my personal fitness in the last two years of applied training. But first the race!

As in previous years the race attracts a larger crowd than most island races, this year there were a total of 609 entrants, including a decent subset of faster runners including a couple of collegiate runners, Martha's Vineyards Mikey Schreoder being included in this group and a few faster club runners from the main land. As usual registration was well organized and the race got off to a timely start at just a few moments past 9:00am. For me the race broke down as follows:

Mile 1: The first mile of the course is steeply downhill and has only the gentlest of rises as you get to the end of the downtown section of Main St. As usual this mile went pretty quickly given the downward slope and the excitement of the pack, I made an effort to keep the pace reasonable and ran a relatively controlled 5:24.

Mile 2: Mile two runs away from town staying on Main St. and it includes the longest downhill as well as the longest up hill. Like mile one I stayed within my limits at this stage of the race while we dropped most of the pack that had started the race together, in fact by the end of mile two we were down to three runners, Mikey Schroeder, an unknown runner (high school or early college age?), and myself.

Mile 3: Around the Chop. Mile 3 is always the deciding mile of this race as it features the steepest hills of the race and a sharp corner that tends to break up the rhythm of the group. Early in the third mile the runner who had been leading (the young guy) started to faulter and eventually fell off the pace Mikey and I ran on together for a few hundred more meters before Mikey made what would ultimately be the deciding move. As we came into West Chop Mikey powered up the last hill and around the sharp curve I mentioned before, I stuck with Mikey through the end of the 3rd mile but started to drop off after that point.

Mile 4: Mikey worked to consolidate his lead through the penultimate mile but I limited his gains to only about 10 seconds, other wise not much happened as the pace remained steady.

Mile 5: The last mile was a slog-fest with the pace staying steady but the effort level climbing exponentially. I managed again to limit Mikey's gains, but by the time we crossed the line he had stretched his lead to a few more seconds. In the end we crossed 20 seconds apart with Mikey running a solid 28:01 and myself finishing in 28:21.

The final time of 28:01 is somewhat significant because it is nearly 90 seconds faster than the time I ran here 2 years ago shortly after I first started running. Not only is that a huge improvement in a very short time, it is an improvement in precisely my target distance as I have been focusing on races mainly from 5k to 10k in length. Not a bad outcome all and all!

Back to Martha's Vineyard

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 19:33:00 +0000

I moved back to the island! Yay!!!

Okay, I suppose that statement requires some further explanation... I had been living in Seattle for the past year and half, and don't get me wrong it was great and all, but it was time to move on. As those of you who are close to me know I made the move out west in order to be closer to a girl whom I had been dating and with whom I wanted to pursue a more serious relationship (see this post). At first that plan worked out, but eventually, as most relationships seem to, it fell apart. That however was not enough for me to move on, I liked my job and my roommates were fantastic so I stuck around a bit longer and in due time got into another serious relationship, which also imploded in due course, and then a bit later my roommate and coworker told me he was planning on moving on from Seattle as well. With the prospect of my living situation changing and the job become less interesting I decided it was time to move on, and given that summer on MV is awesome I thought why not do it now while the weather is fair and the beaches are warm!

So here we are, I'm back on this tiny and island and setting up a brand new life in an old place. So far I've been back 3 weeks and I'm already 2 weeks into my new job and comfortably housed in a decent room which I'm renting from friends. Come this fall I'll be in a permanent place and should be as comfortable and happy as can be.

The logical question of course is how this has been effecting my running? Well so far it's been great! I've been running more with friends in the past few weeks than I ever have in Seattle, and the new job is much lower stress than the old one, which has been a major relief and made it much easier to recover between workouts. And finally unlike Seattle I have access to great trails right from my doorstep, which among other things means less wear and tear on my body and more opportunity to vary my workouts.

All in all I'm pretty happy to be out here!

Miles of Trials and the Trial of Miles

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 17:24:00 +0000

It's odd to think that in our sport I'm still very much a beginner, I tend to think that with almost 4 years of running, and nearly 2 years of systematic training under my belt I'm a little bit more on the advanced side of the spectrum, but among competitive runners I'm not. In a recent conversation with a local coach I learned about the 3 stages of development for the competitive runner:

Stage I Conditioning - Approx. four years of building general fitness and increasing mileage to a the level necessary to begin more specific and rigorous training. In the typical progression this would be one's high school years. Note: This is four years of intensive conditioning, meaning a runner such as myself is only 2 years into this period.

Stage II Develop Specific Fitness - Again this is a four year stage, only in this stage one builds specific types of fitness such as increasing one's speed and developing the capacity to absorb massive training loads. In the typical progression this would be the college years were racing becomes more competitive and training volume and intensity increased a considerable amount.

Stage III Performance - This stage is a good deal more open ended than the others, it could for example last only a few years, or extend to more than a decade depending on the intensity of training and the frequency of competition. In this stage most of the development that is going to occur has done so and the athlete is really just polishing up the finer points of performance and racing at the highest level they are likely to ever compete at.

I lay the timeline out like this because it underlines the point I'm hoping to make with this post - that running is the very definition of a long game, it is in fact a sport which rewards an extreme degree of patience and determination. The long term commitment that running requires for success is something that I've been ruminating on quite a lot recently and which has been a major grounding force in my life.

I've had a rather difficult year since moving to Seattle; the relationship I moved out here for dissolved in a pretty ugly way several months ago and my job has become an increasing source of ire due to very high staff turnover and a lack of support from management. The theme in booth of these situations has been a lack of consistent effort and commitment to a cause; something which in everyday life seems to be an ever decreasing priority, but which is a prerequisite to successful distance running. It is this long term commitment that has been rewarding these past months and the precise aspect of the sport I've been ruminating upon.

When one starts out in running the gains come fast and the progress is easy to see even day to day, however not long after those first steps the gains slow and the effort required for each additional inch of progress increases with every step forward. It is precisely this point, the beginning of training's diminishing returns, that most people either stop running or stop increasing their training. In his book The Daniel's Running Formula Jack Daniels separates runners into various categories based on there innate talent and motivation, while he reminds us that talent in important he spends far more time discussing motivation and commitment then he does talent. I think that Daniels and others value their runners' motivation over their talent precisely because a high level of commitment and determination is so rare (either within running or life in general).

For me personally the act of committing myself to this sport has been a saving grace when dealing with life's adversities, it's encouraging when things are tough to be able to point to something and remind yourself that you can handle hard things, and that moreover there is a definitive value to long term commitment to a task. My closing point is that the "trial of miles" pays dividends, not just to your performance as a runner, but also in the rest of your life, the continued triumph over adversity that running provides really does build character and have a hardening effect on one's will. It may make us runners a bit eccentric, but given what the rest of society looks like I'm not so sure eccentricity is a bad thing!

Magnuson Run Series Half Marathon: Not Great...

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 17:10:00 +0000

I ran the Magnuson Run Series Earth Day Half Marathon this past weekend, and even though I won and was also told I have the course record for the half marathon (I can't find the 2014 results to confirm), it was not a great race. I ran a 1:20:01 which sorta sucks compared to other recent results.

There are a few things that could have contributed to my lack-lustre time: 1) the course (see map above) has a number of very sharp corners which force you to slow down and accelerate back out the other side; 2) runners in the half marathon run a 5k loop 4 times before finishing on a small side loop, the problem is that this arrangement necessitates that the faster runners lap the slower runners multiple times in some cases, again causing a slowing and accelerating effect; 3) finally it was hot and I'm not used to the heat just yet.

While I would like to believe that without these minor inconveniences I would have run something much faster than 1:20:01 (I was hoping for sub 1:18) I think that it may just be a bit of an excuse on my part, and in the end the point of running is to register the best time possible given the conditions, and on that count I can say I am pleased with how I ran, even if the time was on the wrong side of 1:20...

My disappointment in my time does not however extend to the race itself, the organizers and volunteers did a fantastic job running things and for $39 I more than got my money's worth. The event started on time, the course was well marked, the marshals were in their place and help in directing us and the timing folks were efficient at processing the results (even if my watch does disagree with the officials, 1:19:57 v. 1:20:01). Finally, there was one volunteer, a pretty blonde girl who was stationed near the mid-point of the 5k loop, who loudly and enthusiastically cheered every single runner on and reminded me of my position on every loop; I'm not usually one to care about cheering but hearing her encouragement on every lap was a huge boost to morale!

All an all a good experience but a bad time, I guess it's time to double down on the endurance building.

Ditching the GPS Watch

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 19:12:00 +0000

Lot's of hours and miles with this watch.

I'll admit I've been as devoted to my GPS running watch as anyone out there. As a device it's a very attractive thing, it validates your efforts, can keep you on task and promises to improve your performance through constant feedback... But is it really as useful or necessary as we in the modern era of running have come to believe? I for one am beginning to believe it's not.

My interest in ditching my watch started as I began to ramp up my weekly mileage this spring. As with any increase in one's weekly mileage you'll tend to see a decrease in your pace as you increase the distance, this is a crucial part of the ramp up as doing more mileage while trying to maintain a set intensity is a well known recipe for burnout and injury. The problem of course is that as a runner going slower sucks, especially when you're cranking out 10+ miles per day at 20-30 seconds a mile slower than you're used to. In this instance the constant feedback of my GPS enabled watch was doing far more harm then good by reminding me how slowly I was going (as if being passed by the occasional weekend warrior wasn't enough). Those runs prompted me to think a bit more about my GPS use than I had before; what services was the watch really doing for me, and what value did the data it provided actually have on the run? These questions led to more questions and a then to a complete rethinking of my GPS use.

1) Perceived Effort vs. External Data

This is the big (and usually only) complaint I hear from people regarding GPS watches, that it is hard to go easy when you're constantly reminded how slow an easy pace really is. I hear from a lot of newer runners, and I include my self in that group, that a GPS watch helps them to maintain a good effort, however that isn't always the help it seems. I for one tend to run too fast GPS watch or no, and when it comes to easy runs I regularly hammer my easy days to the point that I'm flat when I need to really go hard in a track workout or tempo run... So what is the point of relying on a device that tells me my pace when what I'm aiming to measure is my effort, isn't my own nervous system a better guide to that specific measurement? Yes, yes it is...

This is the main point that convinced me to ditch the watch. As I've become a better and stronger runner I've noticed that I easily settle into the correct pace for a given situation, I slow down just the right amount to maintain my effort on a hill, speed up enough when the wind is at my back, and that my legs no exactly what pace they can handle that day for a 10 mile tempo. The fact of the matter is my body is great at figuring out what it can and can't do... Except for when I look at my watch. When I glance down at my watch I inevitably determine that the pace that my body has selected is wrong in every way and then I make a decision to speed up or slow down, and that decision is rarely the correct one.

2) Running is Supposed to be Low-Tech Right?

So what are some of the features of running that drew you to the sport? If you're like me the simplicity of the activity was a big draw. Coming to running from the world of cycling I quickly embraced the lack of equipment and low cost of the sport; aspects which are somewhat tarnished by the wearing of a $200+ watch which needs to be charged between uses. Now one may argue that the striping away of technology doesn't necessarily enhance the sport, for some it maybe in fact detract from the experience, and as with everything in running it is a matter of personal opinion, but for those of us who got into running in part for the simplicity the thrill of disconnecting further is a huge benefit. Not having to pack another charger when traveling is also a nice side effect.

3) Running "Exactly" 10 Miles...

I think everyone has done this at least once... You get back from your run and realize upon reaching your front door that you have run 9.896748 miles (or something else close to a whole number) and instead of shrugging your shoulders and heading in for a shower you instead run up and down you block like a crazy person until you have run exactly 10 miles, not a step more or less. Note that you're probably tired and/or cold and all you really want to do is go back inside because you've already had a productive workout, but you keep running to reach an arbitrary end point which represents no meaningful training stimulus. The reality is of course that GPS watches are never truly accurate and it is almost certain that if you've run 10 miles exactly per your watch's calculation you've in fact run some other distance which +\- 10 miles. Why not just accept that some days you'll run more and some day's you'll run less; instead of focusing on distance why not run for time?

4) Really, Why Not Run for Time?

We tend to believe that distance is the great equalizer, if you run 10 miles today it'll be the same as running 10 miles tomorrow. But what if today there's not a breathe of wind and tomorrow is nearly hurricane force? First off why are you out running in a hurricane? But more to the point how are the two even remotely equal? Running into a strong wind sucks and no one with an ounce of logic could possibly believe that a 70 minute run on a calm day is equal to an 75 minute run into a gale, so why pretend they are? Why not instead run for a set amount of time and then sort the mileage out later? This is a technique my coach uses when we're working on ramping up the mileage or increasing intensity, it is in fact a lot less risky because it builds in a safety valve for exhaustion (i.e. if I run 8.5 miles in a 60 minute easy run today and only 8 tomorrow it means I'm tired and should be running less, it also signals to me and my coach that I'm worn down because it demonstrates a decrease in output).

None of the above if to say mileage is not significant, it's just to say that setting arbitrary mileage goals is more likely to cause over training that are time goals, and that time better indicates training volume in most instances. When training for longer distances for example Time on Feet (TOF) is considered a more important training stimulus than is distance run, after all few runners will run the full 26 miles 385 yards of a marathon in training but many will run the full time of their race (though far more slowly) during their long runs. For me this type of time first training is easier without a GPS tech strapped to my wrist.

5) Fly by Wire Racing

And finally my chief concern, racing. In my experience racing is best done by feel and that GPS data is only useful for post-hoc analysis, this is not to say that one cannot race well with continuous GPS data, but it is one additional piece of additional information which can confuse and complicate what is essentially a simple endeavor. For many runner, again myself included, racing with a GPS watch can turn into a game of matching pace to an idealized goal, this can sometimes be helpful but other times it can cause you to out run you capabilities or even worse hold you back from a breakthrough performance. It is chiefly the urge to look at my watch and my inability to ignore this impulse that leads me to ditch the watch.

I recognize that this is not a prescription that will work for everyone, but for me at least it may be exactly the change in my training and racing that I need, a way too disconnect further from the world while running and return to the aspects of the sport that I loved when I first started. With that thought I'll say goodbye for the time being, in the mean time keep the rubber on the road!

Update (Agian...)

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 18:21:00 +0000

So I've been away again... I hate to admit it but I'm always going to be a bad blogger and there's nothing I can seem to do about it, so instead of promising to be more diligent in future I will simple embrace my flaky posting and update y'all on the past few months.

Since it's been a while and much has happened I'll sum it up quickly with a few photos and a couple quick sentences about select races. For those who want a version quicker than that: I broke all my PR's except for 8k and 50k, I competed in USA XC Nationals in San Francisco and did well, and joined Dark Horse Int'l (a local XC team).

Losing on the track in Victoria.


Half Marathon on Martha's Vineyard.


Celebrating a 1:18:40 finish.

I ran a lot of XC this season!

At USATF XC Nationals!

All in all it was a great year for running, lot of good races and I made a lot of progress as far as fitness and racing skills are concerned. I'm looking forward to what 2016 will bring after a very productive 2015!

4000 Miles!

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Sun, 10 May 2015 09:58:00 +0000

So I was looking at my watch the other day (a bad habit of all runners) and I realized that I have officially reached an important milestone, 4000 lifetime miles!

If I'm honest I most likely reached 4000 miles a few months ago, however I'm not very good with using my watch as designed, for one I rarely remember to charge it, and for another I often don't wear it when I run... So in reality I guess what I'm really celebrating is having logged 4000 miles of the more like 5000 miles I've actually run. The important thing therefore is not really the mileage, instead it is the time spent running and the step towards becoming a truly fast runner that this step represents.

It's not hard to tell that I love running, and this number is a metric which represents that love in cold hard figures. Ironic I know to represent love with a number, but it's very much in the spirit of running!

The Move to Seattle and Running in the PNW

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Sun, 10 May 2015 09:38:00 +0000

So I recently moved to Seattle... I did so for a number of reasons, and as one might expect at least one of the reasons involved running. However it was a lot more than the temperate weather and multitude of races that led me to set up a new home here, for one I found a new job that has been especially kind to me, but the main reason I'm planning to stay out here is to reconnect with my girlfriend Kennedy.

As many of you who are close to me know Kennedy and I were together for nearly 5 years when we broke up due to distance and confluence of other factors, many of which were outside of our rather limited control. Our citizenships for instance (she's Canadian while I'm American), had caused us a lot of grief and made it exceptionally difficult to remain together. I moved out here mostly because I wanted to live on the West Coast again, however once I was here Kennedy and I quickly reconnected and before long we had again become an item so to speak. It is this connection with Kennedy which I currently the find the most compelling reason to remain on this coast, and thereby near enough ti Kennedy to maintain a relationship.

Winning the Nanaimo 5k

But besides my personal life, the running is also great! So far I've raced twice since I've been out here, and though I haven't shown as well as I would have liked on either occasion I have continued to grow as a runner. The first of these races was the 2nd Annual Nanaimo Cure for Cancer 5k which I won in a time of 16:36 which is slow... The course however wasn't ideal so I'm willing to accept the time, and as the photo's both below and above show I had a good time and spent the weekend with Kennedy, so all in all it was a good time. The second race, which I most certainly did not win was the 6th Annual Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5k which I ran in a slightly faster 16:24, which not as bad was not as fast as I would have liked given the huge build up in training I've accomplished over the past several months, of course it could have ultimately been this build up that was the very problem...

Despite the not very fast times I've run recently I'm pleased to have had a few good races under my belt here, and I'm glad to be running as much as I have been. But most of all I'm happy to have Kennedy back in my life!

Today's Tempo Runs > Last Year's Races

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 06:59:00 +0000

It's strange to look back at the state of my running a few months ago and see the major changes that have already been wrought by such a short period of hard work and improved sports nutrition. Last Saturday's workout was a perfect example of this change.

In the past I would consider 4-5 miles at about a 6:45 pace to be a pretty solid tempo pace, and at the time that was just that, a good hard tempo run. However Saturday's run made that look like a walk in the park, even though it didn't feel nearly that hard at the time. As the photo shows my tempo effort amounted to 8 miles in 48:11 yielding an average pace of 6:01/mile, and passing through 10k in 37:31! I can still remember a time (last spring) when an effort like that would have been a good race pace. In fact on July 4th of this very year I ran a 5-miler in which I only managed about 5 seconds a mile faster, and that was a race!

Forgive me if this seems like I'm bragging about the increases I've made the last few months. It's not meant to be bragging, it's more like awe at my new found speed, and surprise at the increases a good coach and nutrition can wring out of an athlete.

Fastest 5k This Year

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 21:45:00 +0000

This last Sunday I ran a 5k here in Boston, which I won! For those of you keeping count that is the 4th race in a row, not that it means too much given the caliber of races I have been running. This race however gave me genuine pleasure to win, not only because it was larger (about 700 runners) and hence more competitive than others I have run this year, but also because I ran a very good time for me (16:22).

The race itself was a pretty uneventful affair, myself and the other leaders got off to a quick start and by about 400m into the race I was in the lead, where I stayed for the remainder of the race. The second place finisher was pretty close on my tail until a few hundred meters from the end at which point I was finally able to open up a larger gap ad cruise away (painfully).

Fresh Pond 5-Miler

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 21:34:00 +0000

There is a local race around Fresh Pond (the reservoir here in Cambridge) that takes place every Saturday and has done for nearly 30 years. The race starts at 10 AM every Saturday and does either one lap of the pond for the 2.5 race or two laps for the 5 miles version. The race is free and loosely organized but has developed a devoted following within the Boston running community, and has even attracted the attention of some pro runners when they happen to be in town. Despite the popularity and fame of this small event, and the fact it is a block from my house, I had never heard about it until the day my coach entered on my running schedule as an assigned event, the goal not being some much to treat it like a proper race, but as a hard tempo effort.

The race itself was low key as advertised, and the group that amassed at the start line was small but obviously familiar with one another, and before long I was talking eagerly with a few of the other runners and the organizers. As start time approached the group massed around the point accepted by tradition to be the start/finish line, the organizer gave a quick rundown of the event (including the Popsicle stick based timing system) and then the race was on.

Given the small field I quickly went to the front of the field and simply made an effort to stay there for the rest of the race. My pacing left a bit to be desired, likely do to the lack of other runners around me, and as I crossed the start/finish line for the first lap (13:55) it became apparent that I was way out front and would likely not see anyone for the remainder. I finished with a final time of 27:42 and took the win by a couple of minutes.

While the competition that day was not overly strong it was a great time and I thoroughly enjoyed the friendly environment this race provided and I would very much like to participate again should the opportunity arise in my schedule.

First Race of the Running Year

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 05:53:00 +0000

I had my first race of this year long experiment we've begun, and if I'm honest the results were well, meh...

That's not to say they weren't good in a few respects, I did win overall and the time was a 2 second PR (16:56) but I had expected to run a fair bit faster than that, and would have liked to have set a time closer to what I think I am currently capable of.

The reasons for the mediocre result are many, but the wind was by far the largest factor at 18 mph and with much of the course exposed and running along the water. The extent of the problem was best summed up by my mile splits: Mile 1 5:23; Mile 2 5:44; Mile 3 5:20 with the middle mile (the bad one) being the mile that ran along the water and experienced the most wind of the race. My hope it that on a flatter and less windy course I would be able to run something closer to 16:30 which would put me well on track to my goal of running sub 16:00 in time for a competitive track season.

As for a proper race report (yes I'm done whining now), the race drew about 250 people, small by most standards but pretty good considering it was held on a cool day in October on an island now mostly empty of tourists. The conditions, as I alluded to earlier, were not ideal. The wind was of course the largest factor one which definitely effected the rest of the field as well. The course as usual was a challenging one, the hill are pretty killer and I never remember that until I get to them, I think it's years of racing bikes that makes me underestimate the size of hills in general, and believe that the island is completely flat, which it is not...

As for how my race progressed, there's really not much to tell. I would like to say that I battled it out for first but in reality I started at the front, trotted along with everyone who was willing to go out too hard and then waited until everyone faded in the first half mile. After that I just ran my own rather slow race... In the ended I crossed the line with a huge minute and a half lead on second. At least I can honestly say I didn't have much left at the end, as illustrated by the photos below.

The best thing I can say about the weekend is that I will be training harder than ever to make the most of the next flat, and non-windy race I find.

What I've Been Up To

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 17:16:00 +0000

Time for a little catch up. Now that you know what I'm doing, how about painting a quick picture of my life as it appears now. I do this not so much to tell you the boring details of my life, but rather to provide a detailed starting point at which we can look back from time to time and see just how far we've come. Hopefully we'll really be going somewhere worth looking back from, but that remains to be seen!

First off my current situation, as of today I am living in Cambridge, MA, which is probably a good place to be living if you want to become a fast runner; the place has got a certain panache when it comes to running. More specifically I'm in West Cambridge, sort of near Freshpond and Mount Auburn cemetery, living in a comfortable old house with my two lovely roommates, it's a pretty cozy existence if I'm entirely honest and does little to paint the picture of a working class hero I'm trying to engender.

As for career, or what amounts to a career at this point, I'm a student of psychology. This past spring I finished my masters degree, and at present I'm applying for PhD programs to be started next fall-ish. As with my living situation, I'm happy with where I am, but the keen mind will notice that there is really not much for me to do between now and PhD, hence the plan for the next year. I will of course need to work for the next year to pay the rent etc, for that I'll be doing a few things: 1) working on an ongoing research grant; 2) working at Landry's Bicycle Shop; 3) route setting at Boston Universities climbing gym (yes I climb a bit too); 4) selling shoes at REI (they give me a discount). Somehow between the four jobs I should be able to make ends meet, though I plan to do a minimum of each!

And of course the running! I have been running over the past few months, though if I'm honest not in the way I'd have like to. For one I was experimenting with distance, and for that I lost speed, though for a time a 20 mile long run seemed like a walk in the park, and that was nice in a sense. Other than that I've been out running with friend lots, and even put down a few decent times, but not PR's and not even overly competitive times. As for a brief recap:

Martha's Vineyard 20 Miler: I did this as part of my quest to become a distance runner, I finished in 2:15:30 and about ten minute before it started snowing. The highlight of this was winning the fastest islander, which is given to the first person from the island to cross the line; overall I was mid 20's somewhere. Other than that is was cold and hard, but not too much of either so not so bad really. This event showed me that long distance running, can be a pretty enjoyable experience.

TARC 50K: Turns out running 31.09 miles is hard, especially when it's raining and 40 degrees... But I did it, it was a once in a life time experience and one I needed to check of my list. It was also a confirmation that this sort of distance just isn't what I'm built for, fancy that! All told the main point of the race was to have fun with friend and ended up 20th overall which wasn't bad either. Oh, and 4:45:00.

Murdick's Fudge 5 Miler (8K): This is always a painful and somewhat slow race, this year was no exception, it was very humid and hot, and as always hilly. The result wasn't too bad for me however, after all it is hilly and humid and hot for everyone there. I ended up in 4th place overall with a time of 29:40, not blazing fast but not too bad either, it was very painful though.

Martha's Vineyeard 70.3 Relay: Obviously I did the running leg of the relay. This was a spur of the moment sort of race, and instead of racing it all out I treated it as a tempo run, thankfully that was still enough for us to win the day! I ran a 1:26:30 and was pretty happy with the performance given my lack of training for distance and not tapering my training at all.

This post should give a good idea of how little I've been racing as well as how I have not really made much improvement in my running lately, hopefully that will be changing soon.

Oak Bluffs Columbus Day 5k Race Report

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 20:04:00 +0000

I suppose I should start with the obvious high light... I won! Okay now that we've got that out of the way we can move onto my race report.

The Oak Bluff Columbus Day 5k is an island institution, now in it's 24th year running. The event benefits the Vineyard House, which is a half way house for struggling islanders. The event is usually somewhat small (200 this year) in comparison to other 5k's around the state, but pretty decent size for an island race. The course is quite a nice one and is USATF certified, and is used for the Oak Bluffs Memorial Day 5k as well. While the course very scenic it is not a course to set a PR on, first of all it is hilly the hill coming out of Oak Bluffs is steep and long, and there are more to come when you get out along the water along the second half of the course, additionally it is always windy along the water, and it never seems to be at you back!

My personal experience with this race was interesting to say the least. I went came back down to the island to get away from the city for a few days and visit a few old friends, the race was just a little extra incentive on the side. Since I wasn't really prioritizing the race in any way, I wasn't opposed to going out for a drink or two with a few people the night before, which given my incredibly low tolerance (I average about a beer a month) was enough to give me a bit of a hangover, which coupled with the fact I didn't go to sleep until 2 am was enough to shake my confidence for race day... Given my assiduous preparation (and the fact that I forgot my watch) I thought it best to race conservatively and concern myself solely with placement, which as it turned out was a very wise decision given the outcome. In following my plan I kept myself comfortably in 3rd place for much of the race only to bridge the 300 meter gap to 1st in the last 1/4 mile or so.

In wrapping this up I would highly suggest running this race, the turnout may not be huge, and the organization is so so, but the sense of community is always good, and the people who show up tend to hang around for a while afterwards and interact quite a bit. Of course I will definitely be back next year to defend my title!

My First Impressions of Running in Boston

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:27:00 +0000

I have only been in Boston for a few days now, but it already feels quite comfortable, even if I still have only a rudimentary idea of where I am at any given period. It is simply the number of things to do that have given me my new sense of home, firstly my new masters program is very good, the professors really seem to care and the work load doesn't seem as though it will be unreasonable (though I still reserve the right to change my mind come finals). Additionally the other students in my program seem to all be good people, they are all as one might expect fairly bright, and nothing if not motivated to be there.

All of the great things about my location and program pale however when compared with the really important things about being here in Boston, the sports opportunities. While running is the main concern I will save the best for last and first turn to the facilities kindly provided by the school firstly there is a rock climbing gym, which as you may know if you have read my previous post (I highly doubt anyone has) was a tremendous hobby of mine at one time, and something which I plan to return to this year as my main form of cross training. In addition to the well appointed climbing wall there is also an indoor track within the fitness center, which means no having to do speed work in the freezing cold and snapping a tendon!

Finally there is of course the running, which I have left until last because quite frankly the options in this city are rich to the point of being a tad overwhelming. So far I have yet to join a club or take part in a group run as I have been simply wanting to enjoy a few slower runs around my immediate area. This however does not mean that I have been simply plodding along the side walks of some residential maze, instead I have been running along the quite frankly sublime trails that follow the Charles river. The river, which lies a mere .7 miles from my front door provides an immense variety of option for the eager runner, there are trails running on both sides of the river and connected by a number of foot and automobile bridges, all told one could run a full 27 mile loop around the river basin without once touching the same piece of asphalt twice!

While I intend to join a group soon I need at least a few more days to savor the variety of the river basin before I move onto further pursuits, and start to explore the rest of this amazing city.

Shoe Review: Brooks Glyscerin 10

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 19:59:00 +0000

Lateral view or the Glycerin 10's

I've just received my pair of Glycerin 10's in the mail, yes I know that the 11's are out now, which makes this review somewhat obsolete, however it is because the 11's are out that I am now running in the deeply discounted 10's.

The new, or simply less old Glycerin 10 is largely similar to the old shoe, as in my opinion it should be given the quality and overall success of the older models, however there have been a few changes the first thing one will notice is the updated upper, which despite it's many stylistic changes has not been greatly altered from the previous iteration. This is both a good and bad thing however, while old upper was certainly comfortable it had it's own problems, namely durability and the new upper, while I have yet to test it to destruction, does not look as though it is designed to be much stronger. If you have read my previous review of the Glycerin 9's you will know that the upper did not fail catastrophically, and that it began to fall apart only a little bit before the shoes was ready for replacement, so it is not a major issue, just one which may bother those who tend to run in a single pair of shoes for an extended period, i.e. past the recommended 300-400 miles.

Lateral and bottom view

In addition to the changes to the upper the Glycerin 10's have seen multiple changes to the sole, the most noticeable of which was the connecting of the fore foot and heal of the shoe via the lateral edge of the shoe.This change means that the plastic support shank which once ran through the middle of the shoe from edge to edge has now been reduced, this means that the Glycerin 10 is now more of a neutral runners shoe than the old 9's used to be. For those runners like myself this is an improvement as it means the shoe now provide more road feel while still retaining the cushioning the Glycerin are known for. As with the old shoe my favorite feature of the Glycerin's sole is the cut off heel which allows for mid foot or fore foot strikers to have a more natural stride while still having a large heel toe drop to promote Achilles health.

As always with a cushioned shoe the Glycerin's are a bit on the heavy side in fact in my size they are reported to weigh a very robust 11.8 oz, while this is not heavier than other shoes in their class, it does mean they will not be overly fast for tempo or speed work, and that they will be best suited to longer runs, recovery days or for larger runners. Additionally the height of the shoe does mean that they are not necessarily a great choice for runners who want a show that can work both on and off the road.

Back In New England

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 19:12:00 +0000

I'm back on the east coast and back to running in my old haunts, at least I was for the last week. I have returned to the east coast in order to pursue further education, as I mentioned in my last post a few months back, however I got a chance to visit the island (Martha's Vineyard) for a week or so and spent my time working a bit and running as much as I could before having to head up to Boston permanently.

While most of my runs on the island where pretty mellow I was able to get in a few really spectacular runs with favorite running mate. As he has been training for and competing in ultra marathons these days we planned to do mostly long mellow runs either on twisting single track, or on one of our favorite road loops. Of course this being a meeting of two avid runners, all of the runs we went on ended up becoming long tempo runs through the blazing heat and humidity, so much for self control I suppose.

These recent runs through the woods have been quite a refreshing experience, despite being fast and hard, and they have made me realized that despite my natural affinity for the road, there is a lot of potential in trail running, after all there is a reduced risk of injury, an increase in the quality of your work out, and virtually zero risk of being involved in a traffic accident. All and all, I am thinking that this season may be a good one in which to do a little bit of cross country, in addition to the other big runs I have planned, and which I will comment on at a later date.

I'm Finished With My Undergrad, and Got Into Grad School!

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:06:00 +0000

Over the past few months I have not been to diligent with my posting, generally this has meant that I have only posted once a month tops, and at some periods less than that. However I have just finished University, and this means I should have a bit more time to post things at least until the end of the summer when I start my masters studies at Boston University this Fall.

In the mean time I plan to put up a few new reviews, as well as race reports for the track series I'll be doing this summer as well as any road races I get the chance to do. Also, I plan to make few tweaks to my stale training schedule and post about how that goes as well. Thanks for your patience during my absence, and look for some new posts starting today or tomorrow.

Shoe Review: Last Runs in the Brooks Glycerin

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 07:53:00 +0000

I've been running in the Brooks Glycerin line of shoes for about a year now, I've logged about 1600 miles (2600km) across several pairs and over a wide variety of terrains, and while they have been good and faithful shoes I am moving on. As I mentioned a few posts ago I'll be getting a pair of Pearl Izumi Syncro Float's on pro deal (they should finally be arriving this week) and as a result I'll be retiring my Glycerin's for good. However I think the Glycerin's deserve one last post and a final review based on the many miles I have run in them over the past year, and I feel that now after so many miles I am especially well prepared to write a review on the shoe, not just the initial quality but on the full experience of ownership.

As a few of you who follow this blog may recall I initially purchased my Glycerin's in response to the bad experiences I had while trying out the whole minimalist running craze. I had been running in a pair of Saucony Kinvaras, which despite being nice at first caused a whole host of Achilles problems over the several months I ran in them. The Glycerin's I hypothesized would help me to heal from my Achilles injury and once finally healed allow me to run injury free; I had made these assumptions based on my observations of elite runners most of whom log mega miles on "bulky" traditional trainers like the Glycerin. And after a year now I can say that most, if not all of my assumptions were fairly accurate, though there's a bit more to it than just that. All that having been said here are my final thoughts on the Glycerin:

Performance: Most of what I wrote in my initial review of the Glycerin's still holds true after my many miles in them, though there are a few additions I would like to make. Firstly though I failed to mention this in my first review, the DNA gel in the heel and mid foot is phenomenal, just as advertised it provides very good cushioning from impact, but still feels firm upon push off and very stable throughout the stride. And while I cannot definitively attribute the recovery of my Achilles to the Glycerin's I'm pretty sure that the combination of heavy padding and their large heel to toe drop help my recovery greatly.

Durability: The main addition I would like to make to my remarks however regard the Glycerin's durability. When I wrote my initial review I had only run about 200 miles in the shoes, certainly enough to get an idea of their character, but no were near enough to get an accurate picture of their durability.

For the most part the Glycerins have held up to my abuse well and have worn much as one would expect. The EVA mid sole wore in the familiar way such things do, as with the rubber sole, both of which began to cry for retirement around 400-500 miles. The DNA gel, seemed to wear in, i.e. lose a bit of padding effect almost immediately, and then remain stable over the rest of the life of the shoe, even at the end of their lives the gel was still working, and only to a slightly diminished degree.

The one area that saw premature wear was the upper, most of the upper survived well, but the mesh in the corners of the toe box (were your forefoot bend when pushing off) began to tear on both sides fairly early on. The tearing was significantly worse on the lateral or outer side of the foot, beginning at about 200 miles of wear the tear grew to be about 1.5 inches long by the time the shoes wear retired, while this was not what I would consider a huge issue to was a bit annoying as my small toe was essentially exposed and was a bit more exposed to the elements than my other toes.This problem may simply be the result of my foot shape, since that particular area was clearly subject to more rubbing than other areas of the shoe, however that being said I have a fairly standard foot shape, and do not have a particularly wide fore foot.

My final judgement is still favorable for the Glycerin, while the durability issue with the fore foot mesh was a bit of a problem, it was not the sort of problem that would have stopped me from continuing to buy them, as may be obvious from the fact that I purchased a total of three pairs back to back. That being said I would suggest them most heavily to those with a narrow fore foot, and suggest against them to any one with a particularly wide for foot as the issue I encountered could be a bigger problem for someone whose foot was any wider than mine.

Running With a Full Time Life

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 06:04:00 +0000

Over the past few months I have been a bit neglectful with the blog, something that I certainly regret, however it has not been without good reason, and that reason is that I have been busy, and not just making an excuse busy but properly so. I've been busy attending my university classes, working full time at the Fairfield Bicycle Shop, applying for graduate school and of course running!

I guess I should start out with a bit of an explanation about school, as I may or may not have mentioned (probably have but I cant be bother to go back and check), I'm psychology major, and I'll be finishing my B.S., that bachelors of science not bull s**t (though I've yet to be able to pinpoint any precise differences between the two). And while finishing my bachelors is a nice milestone and all, it's sort of worthless given my chosen field, with a bachelors in psych alone one is roughly qualified for a position as a cashier, though additional training may be necessary; as such I have been applying to grad school in order to avoid the a fore mentioned fate. As such I have been busy filling out the required forms, taking the tests (GRE and MAT), writing the application essay, and procuring recommendation letters from my professors, which is easily the most annoying part. All in all I have probably spent at least a hundred hours or more processing all the forms and running around getting them where they need to go by the deadline...

Next I've been working, which compared to last year, not being able to work for a few months due to my lack of a work permit has been great. I found a job at the Fairfield Bicycle Shop within a very soon after getting up to Victoria and it has since turned out to be a very good place to work, staffed by good people and generally not too stressful or too boring, and it has been exposing me to a different type of cycling culture than I've experience on the east coast or elsewhere abroad.

And finally the whole point of my posting, I have also been running lots as usual, my mileage is slightly down from its all time peak, but I have been following a bit of a different training program as I have a slightly different set of goals for the coming year. In the past I have been focusing, like most runners, on only distance events, in my case anything from 5k to half marathon, and I have done well at most of these distances. However I have recently been thinking that my physiology may be better suited to the much shorter events, i.e. sprint and middle distance events such as the 3000m, 1600m, 800m and 400m.

This epiphany, if it really was one, was the result of running a lot of shorter intervals this last year and finding that I was routinely coming in way faster in the shorter intervals than required and that I could still go yet faster at those distances should I choose, additionally I began to realize that all of the elite runners with my general frame were running in these events and not in the half marathon. I am after all a head taller than most of the truly fast 5k-half marathon guys and I have significantly wider shoulders, and despite my efforts to remain willowy for the distance events I have been cursed with the ability to put on muscle just by looking at a pair of dumb bells.

So long story short I have been beginning to actively train for the sprint events, and I plan to race in Victoria's track series this summer, where if all goes well I will be more successful than I have been in the distance events, though I do intend to continue to compete at the distance level, though maybe not as often as before. However more on that in a following post.

Race Report: Great Hyannis Road Race Half Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Tue, 29 May 2012 23:17:00 +0000

I`m on the far left, the runner in white with the white hat was the winner.


Finishing in second place out of about 1000 runners...

Hey everybody, since the last time I have posted I have run the Great Hyannis Road Race Half Marathon, and it was brutal!!! I was expecting and preparing for 60° weather, but what we got was 80° + temperatures, and almost no shade, on top of all that there were far to few water stops given the conditions (one every two miles) and when you finally finished the buckets of ice and water were on the other side of the Hyannis Common! Other than all of that it was pretty good.

As planned Dave and I left the island on Saturday night and used his VW camper to sleep in the Falmouth Walmart's parking lot. The next morning we got up drove to Hyannis and got ready to race.

The race itself was interesting to say the least, the forecast for the day had called for over cast and 60° however by start time on the day of the event it has reached the high 70's and was climbing steadily, by mid race it had reached 80° on the asphalt. When the siren sounded I took off like a bat out of hell (dumb move) I`m pretty sure my legs thought I was running a 5k, UI ended up running the first mile in about 5:40 which gave me a pretty strong lead. half way into the second mile I smartened up and slowed to around a 6:10 pace which I held for the next several miles. By running a steady pace I was able to maintain my lead through around the 8-9 miles mark, however that is when my dehydration really started to kick in...

Like I said there were not a whole lot of water stops along the route and as a result I started to over heat in the sun and lose more water than I could replace at the infrequent water stops. It was at this point that my pace started to slip from a solid 6:10-20 and dropped to around a 6:40ish pace, and the second place runner was able to come around me and take the lead. Fortunately I was able to maintain my pace at that reduced level and hold on to second place and a not very exciting 1:14:31 finish time.

It was a rough day all around and most runners including myself and Dave reported time between 5-15 minutes slower that anticipated, which for me is a first as I have usually been able to accurately predict my finishes to within a few seconds. I guess I`ll just have to run another half soon to make up for this one... For more info on the race check out the Cape Cod Times article at http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20120528%2FSPORTS%2F205280306

Great Hyannis Road Race Half Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Sat, 19 May 2012 01:45:00 +0000

Nice looking course.

It's been roughly seven months since my first and only half marathon last October, and I think it's high time I enter another one. Thankfully my training partner Dave had the same idea and we are going to be leaving the island next weekend for the Great Hyannis Road Race Half Marathon! It's a pretty small race when compared with some of the bigger ones out there, but it is relatively flat, very picturesque and offers a good chance of getting a medal or at least placing competitively, needless to say I'm excited!

I'm pretty unsure of what sort of time I'll run on the day of the race, I ran a 1:27:00 last time, but that was 7 month and about a thousand training miles ago, and I think I can do better than that this time, the question is how much better. It's hard to make any sort of good assumptions given my lack of specific distance training, and especially the amount time which has passed since my last half. My only good recent data that could shed some light on my possible performance was last month when I ran a half marathon in training in only 1:35:00 and I was still able to run the rest of the week. All of that being said I think it would be reasonable to expect something in the low 1:20:00 range, I'm planning to run around a 6:15 ish pace which would yield a 1:22:00 finish time, not bad but not it great either. I'll post further updates as race day approaches.

Group Runs And Sunburns

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:26:00 +0000

This is sort of what I look like...

In my last post I mentioned that I had found a few people on the island to run with and that I was planning to run with them for the first time on Sunday. Well, Sunday has come and gone and I went for a really nice run around the state forest with a group of local runners and triathletes who get together for a long run every Sunday. Unfortunately this was the Sunday before the Boston Marathon so the group was a bit thinner than usual as many of its members were planning to run the race, however our group of four still had a great time chatting and generally just enjoying the company and the good weather. While this was only my first time running with this particular group I felt very welcomed and I’m definitely planning to run with them again.

I also joined one of the island runners for a run this Tuesday during lunch, in stark contrast to the group run on Sunday we ran a blazing fast pace even though it was over 80 degrees outside. In fact instead of running the set pace of 7:15 or so that we had planned on we ran a very quick 6:59 pace over the course of the 9.2 miles we covered. While that pace isn’t too fast for that distance, the problem was that we did the first 4 or 5 miles at a 6:30 pace and then sort of limped through the rest at 7:30 ish since we had wrecked ourselves going out to fast. While I usually like to run even splits I am glad that I have found someone out here that can really push me on some of these runs, even if it hurts I’ll be able to make some good progress over the summer and maybe be in good shape for some of the local races as well.

Finally on Tuesday’s run I decided to run shirtless since I haven’t been able to in quite a while, however I had lost more of my tan than expected and I burnt myself to a crisp... My biggest question now is how running hard on Thursday will feel with a bad sunburn on my shoulders, hopefully I can complete it without too much discomfort.

Running Without GPS

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 03:56:00 +0000

One last thought for the night before I bid you all adieu and finally crawl into bed, and that thought is on the topic of GPS watches. If I were to say that I am not at least a little bit addicted to my Garmin Forerunner I would certainly be lying, in fact it would be a lie roughly on par with the entire Bush administration taken as a whole. With that being said it has been a bit of a change running without my Garmin for the past week and a half.

It's not something I would have done willingly (for those who didn't read my earlier posts which I assume is most of you reading this I left my Garmin's charger in Victoria, BC) but it has had a few benefits. For one I just recently realized that when you run outside you travel through a continuum of non-digital images that when taken collectively are commonly referred to as "scenery," or so I am told by those familiar with the concept, oddly enough despite looking at all aspects of this "scenery" I still can't find the portion that contains one's running data...

Apart from the necessary sarcasm the sensation of running without a watch and data is quite unique after so many miles logged with a watch, the irony though is that I seem to run better without the watch than I do with it. For the most part I seem to be better able to run the pace and perceived effort I should be and not what the watch says. I suppose it is a good thing for now but I'll comment again after a few more weeks...

Running With A New Crew

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Greathouse) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 03:42:00 +0000

I looks like I have now found a new group of folks to run with on the island, there are a lot of good runners on the island, as well as very talented cyclists and triathletes, the trick is mostly in finding them. So far I have done a lot of my running on the island alone, especially last summer when I had just started in the sport and had zero contacts in my new sport, thankfully today we have the wonder of Facebook and I was able to scout out a group to get some information from.

The really suprising thing is that one of the guys I will be running with is in fact someone I have known for quite some time (though more through reputation than anything else) I never even knew he ran before he messaged me last night and mentioned that we should run together. I guess the moral of the story is you never know who is a serious runner and who isn't, not that I assumed that this particular person wasn't athletic, it was more that I failed to realize we were both a part of the same club and didn't even notice. Long story short I will hopefully be joining a few people for a nice long run this Sunday and perhaps on a few other runs later on next week, things are looking up for my running on the island, now I just need to get my heel to finish its trip to recovery and I'll be golden.