Moore On Running

Army Pics from the Past

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:19:08 PDT

Me and my buddy Robert - he hated to run more than me!

This being Memorial Day weekend, I thought I would share a couple of my old Army pics.

A few years ago, well - way more than a few, I was in the Army.

I was in pretty good shape (other than the mustache I was trying to grow) and even exercised regularly. Although, I remember hating every time we were forced to run!

I loved being in the Army and had some of the best friends a guy could ever have.

I do remember dreading the physical fitness test more than anything else.

The APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) consisted of doing as many push ups and sit ups in two minutes as you could do and a two mile timed run.

I mean, who in the world runs two miles (in the same day)???!!!

This was when Humvee's were new!

So I just checked and for 17-21 year old males you only have to run two miles in 13 minutes to get a perfect 100 score!

I am not joking, I used to think that was some unattainable time that only professional athletes could run...

Oh how I wish I knew then what I know today...

I hope you all have a safe Memorial Day weekend.

To all my friends I served with who gave the ultimate sacrifice, I salute you and will always remember you.

Me and some of my buddies at Fort Knox, KY

My Mother's Advice (no cost)

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:22:30 PDT

Me and my Mom

Not really a running post, but thought I would share this anyway…

I remember the morning I left for college (it was a while ago, but stay with me). It was early in the morning and my mom was still in bed. I walked in her room to say goodbye and she said something that has always stuck with me.

For this to make any sense, I'm going to have to give you a little background information (sorry).

I grew up as the youngest of five kids (only boy - you can start feeling sorry for me now). My dad had left us when I was pretty young (he kind of disappeared while we were a family of missionaries in Haiti – not going into all that right now – you’re welcome).

The Moore's in Haiti

Anyway, my mother raised all of us pretty much on her own. She worked a ton of jobs while getting her GED and then while I was in middle school and high school she went to Morehead State University and graduated with her college degree.

I always knew I was going to college, but we really didn't have much money and my mom was not going to be able to help me with any of my tuition or living expenses (I know she would have loved to help, but she was still trying to work and pay back her own college loans).

I was lucky enough to have been accepted to a really good school (a really good school that was really expensive). I had already joined the military; served a year and transferred to the reserves before starting school, but that was still not enough to cover the costs.

The deciding factor for me going to this school ended up being a generous academic scholarship that I received to help cover a big part of my tuition. I knew I still needed to find a way to live, but at least I was going to be able to go.

Me and my Mom on my 40th Birthday

I was nervous, but not about the academics. What really had me on edge was that I knew there were going to be kids at this school with families that were way better off than mine. For the first time in my life I was nervous about the car I drove, the clothes I wore and pretty much all the other usual crap that goes through a kid’s mind when they go off to college.

I also knew that although my scholarship was going to cover some of my food expenses it was not going to cover them all (I ended up being right about this part and spent plenty of days eating crackers and ketchup that I took from the cafeteria). Some of my classmates from that time will probably remember my weight fluctuating and my fraternity brothers will probably remember how often I was late with my dues, sorry – a guy has to eat sometimes J

Kind of strange to think that this might have been the beginning of my need to eat as much as I could whenever I had the opportunity (wow, I had not even thought of that until I wrote that last sentence – thanks for sharing in my therapy session)…

So, back to that morning…

As I sat on the edge of my mother’s bed saying my goodbyes, she looked at me (somehow she knew how I was feeling) and said something that I will never forget; something that made it okay; something that got me through some really tough times.

She said, “Noah, just remember who you are. Remember where you have been and where you want to go” and then she added the thing that has really stuck with me, “and remember it costs nothing to be a good person and to be good to other people”.

Think I’ll go for run now…

Group Speed Work

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:05:11 PDT

Even long distance runners need speed work, but speed work (off the track) is not always easy with a group.

Each Wednesday morning my group meets for a five mile tempo run. There are four of us (me, CSR, LA and NSM).

Even though we all run different short distance paces (LA is the fastest and youngest of us all) we really like to run together.

Our tempo run is pretty standard. We warm up for a mile and then take off at tempo pace for about one and a half miles until we hit the midway point of our out and back. We regroup, recover for half a mile and then go back to tempo pace for another mile. We finish together with a one mile cool down.

I always enjoy these runs, but I noticed that we were getting more and more spread out. I also noticed that not all of us were getting the speed work we really needed.

So I decided to come up with a type of workout that would keep us closer, but also keep our pace up. Here's what I came up with for our last two workouts (Note: I used Garmin Connect to program these workouts on my Garmin 405):

1 mile warm up
2 min (5K + Pace)
2 min recovery
1:30 min (5K + Pace)
2 min recovery
1 min (5K + Pace)
2 min recovery
30 sec (5K + Pace)
1 mile recovery
2 min (5K + Pace)
2 min recovery
1:30 min (5K + Pace)
2 min recovery
1 min (5K + Pace)
2 min recovery
30 sec (5K + Pace)
1 mile cool down

We were all able to run at our own pace, but stayed close enough that it felt like we were running together. One thing I noticed was that we were all running faster. Even LA was pushing herself harder because we were right behind her (okay, not right behind her...).

I adjusted the next workout for shorter repeats as well as shorter recoveries:

1 mile warm up

1:30 min (5K + Pace)
1:30 min recovery
1:30 min (5K + Pace)
1:30 min recovery
1 min (5K + Pace)
1 min recovery
30 sec (5K + Pace)
1 mile recovery
1:30 min (5K + Pace)
1:30 min recovery
1:30 min (5K + Pace)
1:30 min recovery
1 min (5K + Pace)
1 min recovery
30 sec (5K + Pace)
1 mile cool down

Once again, we were able to stay close and everyone moved at a faster pace.

I am lucky that my running group is okay with me experimenting on them and are open to new workouts. They are also all experienced runners and know when to slow down and when to speed up so they don't get injured.

Do you do speed work with a group? What workouts have worked for you?

Marathon Group Training

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:44:51 PDT

Reading my blog will only get you so far (when I say far, I mean not very)...

Although, I like to share some of my training practices and I think I am a pretty good coach, my blog is really about what I think and what I do.

I have two coaching sites that I really like and suggest to anyone looking for real advice: RunnerDude and CharlestonRuns.

Runner Dude

Recently, I saw a post from Runner Dude that is perfect for this time of year, "Nine Reasons a Marathon Training Group is Good For You". Thad (Runner Dude) is also a contributor to Active.com so some of the article is on their site as well.

Runner Dude gives some really good reasons for training with a group (motivation from others, makes you faster and safety). Most people who do train with a group end up having a great experience not only with their race, but with their training.

Some of my closest friends have come out of the groups I have trained with (I know that was not grammatically correct, but "groups with which I have trained" just sounded stupid).

Anyway...

The other site I like is CharlestonRuns. My disclaimer is that I coach with CharlestonRuns and some of the articles are written by me (the really funny ones), but a lot of the training and advice is from Coach Greg.

Greg is my running coach and he has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to running (he also knows a bunch of useless stuff, but that's for another post all together).

He coaches a Marathon / Half Marathon group for both Fall and Winter Marathons that goes through the hottest months of Summer (another good reason to train with a group is that long, hot, runs by yourself suck).

So check out these sites and let me know what you think.

Do you have sites that you go to for information? What do you think about group training?

Last Night I Ran with My Son...

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 08:59:15 PDT

I have been running with my son for several years now, but last night really felt like the first time we actually ran together...

It was after six and I knew we would be eating dinner soon. Peyton, who had been playing with his friends all day, looked like he needed a change so I asked him if he wanted to go for a run. He perked up and gave me a thumbs up (strange kid). His buddies went home and we changed in to our running clothes.

Earlier in the morning I had run with my group and we started from Alhambra Hall. I thought this would be a good place for us to start as well.

I have taken Peyton on trails, the track, the Cooper River Bridge and even raced a few 5ks, but we have never really done road running for any distance. This would be off the sidewalk and on the road (not closed like in a race), but in a nice laid back neighborhood so I knew it was pretty safe.

We parked at Alhambra Hall, took a quick picture and started running. This is where it seemed a little different than in the past. We were moving! I looked down and we were cruising at about a 9:00 pace and talking the whole time.

He was really taking in all the sites of the harbor, the houses, the trees and even other kids walking with their parents.

We ran out to the old Pitt Street Bridge (now a park) and stopped for a few minutes just to take in the sites.

This is one of my favorite places to run. Although I run here with my friends on occasion, its usually a place I run alone. It's a part of my time that is, for the most part, mine alone. But being with him and watching him take it all in and enjoy just being there was awesome!

I grabbed him and gave him a big hug!

I guess I just got caught up in the moment...

We watched a bird dive in the ocean for a fish and then made our way back. Again, we were moving! Peyton lead the pace and dropped us down to sub 8:30 minute pace for the rest of the way back.

As we made the last turn to our car, we ran by a little girl from Peyton's class. He waved to her and smiled and then got all embarrassed (he is eight years old) and sprinted to the car.

I guess he was just caught up in the moment...

Palmetto 200 - SAY SOMETHING!

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:19:04 PDT

Only three more days until the Palmetto 200!

My team this year is a six person Ultra team - SAY SOMETHING!

We are named after one of our favorite "motivators" soon to be US Marine Lt. Emde.

One of his favorite ways to motivate us is to yell, "Say Something!".

At one point during a Boot Camp session, he yelled so much he was coughing up blood! That is just hardcore!

Friday (the 13th) we will start our epic two hundred plus mile trek from our state's capital (Columbia) to the South Carolina coast (James Island).

If you want to watch our progress live (kind of), follow us on either Twitter (@mooreonrunning) (#palmetto200) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/mooreonrunning).

Thank you to our awesome sponsors!

Apology from the Cooper River Bridge Run

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:58:01 PDT

Yes, the 2012 Cooper River Bridge 10k had some problems...

The delay - sucked!

Running out of water - inexcusable.

Vanessa Hill (emcee) - irritating!

People hoarding food and water at the end - unreal!

But...

I still had fun and I sill love this race!

The Bridge Run Board of Directors wrote an apology letter and sent it to all the runners / walkers (36,000 +). The Post & Courier published it as well.

I thought I would share it and see what you all think. Is it good enough? Did you run/walk the race? If so, are you planning on doing it again? If not, does this make it even more likely that you will not do this race?

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Apology Letter

On behalf of all of us associated with the management of the Bridge Run, as Chairman of the Board of Directors and as Race Director, we both offer our most sincere apologies to each and every one of you who endured the unprecedented problems that you were faced with during this 35^th and largest edition of the Bridge Run. As a testament to our continued efforts for perfection, we will be taking the necessary steps to help ensure this will never happen again. We pledge to do our very best to present to you the highest quality 10K race that Charleston Area residents and visitors deserve and nothing less!

At this time we are working to confirm the details and facts surrounding the delayed start. We do know that transporting runners to the start line did not occur in a timely manner, which was the initial cause of the delay that we all experienced. There have been numerous reasons reported and discussed on various social media and news outlets, but until we determine exactly what happened, it is all speculation and rumor and it would be irresponsible for us to act on anything other than facts. The Board and staff are meeting this week to work on confirming the causes of the delay and to develop appropriate solutions.

The loyalty of the thousands of runners and walkers that return year after year is one of the reasons that the Bridge Run has grown and attained the level of success and recognition that it receives. Those of you who have been involved with this race before know that we have always worked hard to provide the very best experience possible. To those new to the race, let us assure you that what you experienced at this year’s race is not typical. We, the CRBR staff, Board members and supporting agencies, appreciate your participation and we owe it to each and every one of you to do our collective best to provide you with the highest quality 10K race anywhere.

Your high expectations for this race and our commitment to meet those expectations is what drives us toward perfection in planning and providing for your safety. Keep those expectations high and don’t settle for anything less! Whatever the causes were, we will fix them!

Most sincerely,

Ken Ayoub
Chairman, CRBR Board of Directors

Julian Smith
Race Director, CRBR

I think I'll update my tips for the Bridge Run after I hear what changes they make.

Let me know what you think.

Cooper River Bridge Run Tips (from a local)

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:58:56 PDT

Tips from a local...

Updated: 3-29-12 (who knew so many people would read this...)

The Cooper River Bridge 10K (3-31-12) is an incredible race. The race organizers cap the registration at 43,000 people (raised this year from 40,000) and it has sold out the last two years!!! Note: it sold out again this year, but there are still some of the 1,200 $150 charity bibs left.

Even though I run over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge (that's the actual name of the bridge) almost once a week (sometimes more) it is still amazing to do it with 42,999 other people.

The scene is unreal and something everyone should do at least once (this is my seventh time running the race).

That's me up front in the middle - man I am short!

Here are my tips for making this a great experience. My perspective is from someone who has started in the back corral and finished in 1:17:37 (16,966 overall finisher 2007) to someone who has started in the third corral and finished 48:02 (1,989 overall finisher 2011). Also, I live in Mount Pleasant (near the starting line) and work in Downtown Charleston (near the finish line).

I am assuming you have already trained for the race, but if you need a coach or a group to join (next year) check out www.CharlestonRuns.com:

Relax and enjoy the crowds. Its a huge race, one of the biggest in the world. That's one of the cool things of being part of something like the Cooper River Bridge Run. Watch all the crazy people and just laugh. It will get you through some of the lines and the waiting.

If you are in town and are near Mount Pleasant before Wednesday (too late this year), go get your packet at the Bridge Run Store. You don't have to go to the expo!

If this is your first time running this race or any big race, go to the Expo! You do not want to miss walking through all the vendors and checking out all the running stuff. There are very few 10K's that offer an Expo as big as this one.

If you go to the Expo, go on Thursday (trust me on this one).

If you are flying into Charleston, you are actually flying into North Charleston. Not really a tip, just a fact. The tip is don't pack your running shoes and (if you had your packet mailed to you) your race number in your luggage. Put them in a carryon. My sister flew all the way from Indianapolis to run the race and her luggage was lost...

Carbo loading is really for races that last over ninety minutes (half and full marathons). Don't stuff yourself on pasta. But if you want to eat pasta, just remember that there are 42,999 other runners out there with the same idea and they have guests too... Okay, if you have to eat pasta then I suggest eating in Mount Pleasant. La Pizzeria is right over the Bridge and Steel City Pizza (used to be Giuseppi's) is on Coleman near Sullivan's Island. Easy and you will get to drive down Coleman Blvd to see the starting line.

Organize your clothes the night before. Put on your race bib (number). There are no chips to attach to your shoes (its on your bib) so this will save you some time. Oh, the blue Boeing bracelet from 2011 was a flash drive (you did not need to wear it during the race - that still cracks me up...). This year there will be a credit card size flash drive with all the race information on it (please do not wear it on your shoe - although it sure would be funny to see).

Eat breakfast. The race starts at 8:00am (well, there are now wave starts so you might start as late as 8:33 - or later). Eat at least two hours before the race. Oatmeal is good, whole grain bread with almond butter and honey is great!

If you park Downtown, either take the shuttle (be in line by 6:00am, they stop at 6:45am - don't be pissed if you show up late) or get someone to drive you to Mount Pleasant. If you know someone that lives in the Old Village ask them if you can park at their house and then walk to the start. I am hesitant to share this, but if you take 526 to the very end in Mount Pleasant and then get on Rifle Range Road it will take you into the Old Village. Very little traffic and your ride can drop you off near the start... Shhh...Don't tell anyone.

Yes its Charleston, but its not Key West. It may be cold at the start. Bring a throw away sweatshirt so you stay warm until the start of the race (sweatshirts are about $4.00 at Goodwill and some are fun to wear for a few hours).

The Old Village is a great place to do a warm up run.

Get in your corral as soon as possible. Enter from the rear and move as far up as you can (in your area).

Tips for running the course:

Mile One - this is mostly down hill, but look out for the median after the Shem Creek Bridge. As funny as it is to see hundreds of people tripping over it, I don't want someone who reads my blog to bite the pavement or slam into a lamp post.

Mile Two - this is the last mile before the incline. Again, not really a tip just wanted you to know.

Mile Three - the Bridge starts here. You are going to hear a bunch of Garmins going off before the mile marker (this happens every year - not sure why the marker is off). Anyway, its only one mile to the top! Push through this and it is smooth sailing down the Bridge.

Mile Four - the top of the Bridge and the decline. Don't take it easy here. Run like a kid! You don't have to come back up, so have fun running.

Mile Five - you will still be going down hill, but this is where the off ramp is located. Don't stop to sample the energy drinks at the bottom of the ramp. It will waist time and you will feel like crap afterwards.

Mile Six - I love this part of the race. The crowds will be cheering like crazy and you will go past the finish festival (the Kenyans will have already showered and cashed their checks at this point).

Last .2 - there are some turns at this point. When you are on Meeting Street going back towards the finish festival you are almost done. Kick it and sprint through the finish line! Don't look down at your watch or be surprised with your time, your finish picture will look pretty stupid...

The Finish Festival is great! There will be plenty of food and water (this is one race that has never failed me).

Tell your friends where to meet you before you leave them. Its crazy and you need to be specific (the bright orange TrySports tent is a good place). Check out the bands and just relax and enjoy the finish. Cheer on others as they come in.

If you are local (or not) join the Charleston Running Club. Yes, they have great meetings and races. But the CRC Tent at the finish festival is awesome! For $20 ($25 for a family membership) you get a year's membership and you get to have breakfast at their tent! I know this sounds crazy, but its well worth the money.

Don't rush to get back to your car. Relax... If you parked Downtown, you are already there. If you parked in Mount Pleasant, you have a few options. You can run back (really, there are a ton of people that do this every year, just head to East Bay Street and follow the sidewalk to the Bridge). Or you can take the bus back. There are free buses (school buses) that shuttle thousands of runners back to Mount Pleasant. Here are two things you need to know. First, wait until the Bridge has opened before you take the bus. If not, they will drive all the way around 526 to get back to Mount Pleasant. Second, the bus drops you off at Mustard Seed in Mount Pleasant. This is a little over a mile from the starting line. Make sure you Google this location so you can find your car (you will notice the thousands of people who did not read this blog wondering around trying to figure out where they are).

Update (3-27-12): There is a new Bridge Run App available! I do not usually like to pay for anything extra when it comes to races (Rock n' Roll does that all the time and it sucks), but this new app is pretty cool. The download is free, but to get the cool stuff it is going to cost you $1.99. You can set it up to track your splits as well as anyone else running the race (I set up four people in my favorites and it looks like I could add more). It also has a place for results so you won't have to look all over the place to find your official time. I won't be able to say whether it worked well or not until after the race, but I have high hopes.

Don't forget to the check the Bridge Run site for updates (they also have a Facebook page) and the Post and Courier (make sure you pick up the Thursday paper!).

If you have more tips or better tips please add them in the comments and I will try to include them next year.

That's it! Have fun and good luck!

I will be sending out updates on Facebook (www.facebook.com/mooreonrunning) and Twitter (@mooreonrunning).

Thank you for reading my blog and giving me a place to share my joy of running! If you like my blog and would like to show your support please click on this link "The Top 100 Running Sites" and click the "Click Here to Enter!" button to vote for MooreOnRunning. Thanks again for stopping by.

SofSole Fit Insole Product Review

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:17:05 PDT

Sweet!

It’s Product Review Wednesday (because it’s Wednesday and I’m reviewing a product).

I love trying out new stuff, but I am really picky when it comes to anything that touches my feet or could possibly cause an injury to me while wearing or testing something.

Sooo…

When I was asked to try out SofSole insoles I was a little nervous.

I checked them out online and saw that they had been around for a while and their products are sold all over the place. I said yes and sent them my shoe size.

I received a package that included a pair of SofSole Fit Insoles and three pair of SofSole CoolMax Performance Socks.

I decided the best way to try the insoles was to use them on several runs with two different shoes. I used them with my Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12s and my Brooks Ravenna 2s. You should know that I love the Adrenalines and I hate the Ravennas.

Here are the basics:

The insole has a 3.0cm Arch Height (this was the neutral arch type I was wearing). It has an anatomical nylon plate that provides torsional stability while maintaining flexibility and range of motion. It’s also made of high rebound EVA foam for support.

Yep, that’s about all the technical stuff that I can stand writing so here is what I thought.

When I wore the insoles with my Brooks Ravennas my first thought was, “Damn! Maybe I do like these shoes!” Really, it made a huge difference in how these shoes felt. I had pretty much stuffed them in the closet and was not even thinking about wearing them anymore. So that’s a pretty big difference.

I like the cushion and I like the slight lift in the arch. I wore them on several 10-14 mile runs and on shorter 4-6 mile runs. They held up fine on all my runs (about 50 miles so far). The other thing I found is that I like to wear these insoles in my shoes I walk around in as well. They are that comfortable.

As far as the socks go, they seem pretty standard and are not really what I use for running. I liked wearing them after running though. They are soft and felt nice, just not as thin as I like for running (if you like thicker socks you may really like these for running).

So, technically speaking it looks like the SofSole Insoles are made of pretty high tech material (now that is some incredible writing on my part). They pass my comfort test (actually saved a pair of shoes from the trash) and they seem to be holding up so far (if they fall apart in the next month I will update this post). The socks are really comfortable, but not really my pick for running.

By the way, the price on both the insoles and the socks are really reasonable so they are absolutely worth trying out.

Check them out at www.sofsole.com

Have you tried anything from SofSole? Let me know what you think?

www.mooreonrunning.com

Palmetto 200 in Pictures (2010 and 2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 10:45:16 PDT

One of my favorite races of all time is the Palmetto 200. This 200+ mile relay race in South Carolina starts in Columbia and ends on Folly Beach (this year it ends on James Island).

For the past two years I have run this race with a standard 12 person 2 van team. This year I will be running it with as an Ultra team (6 person 1 van). I am both excited and nervous as I sit here planning for the race.

I thought one of the best ways to get ready would be to look back at some of the pictures from the past two years. I have so many great memories of those 30 hour adventures (and even some sleep deprived hallucinations)!

Here are some pics from both years (2010 and 2011).

2010

Team Name: IHNBTDTR200MTW

(I had nothing better to do than run 200 miles this weekend)

2011

Team Name: TrySports Believe Achieve

Have you ever run a relay race? What's your favorite one? Are you running the Palmetto 200? What team?

Catch the Leprechaun 5k

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:50:26 PDT

One of my favorite races just keeps getting bigger and better each year.

Peyton doing the Captain Morgan with the Leprechaun

This year the Catch the Leprechaun 5k in Mount Pleasant, SC, was featured in Runners World and almost reached its cap of 1,000 runners!

The weather was perfect and the Leprechaun was awesome!

Even my eight year old son, Peyton, had a blast and set a new PR (28:14)! He wanted to beat the Leprechaun! He ran this race three years ago in 45:56 and completed his Kids Marathon.

Check out my interview on Endurance Planet.

This race has great views of the Yorktown, the Cooper River Bridge and one of the best after parties around.

The race director is awesome and the shirts are always cool.

Be sure to put this one down on your race calendar next year. There are even hotels near the start/finish if you don't want to drive home :)

View of the Yorktown!

Great view of the Bridge at the after party

Best Leprechaun around!

See more pictures of the race on my Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/mooreonrunning

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Why I Smile So Much

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 12:04:54 PST

Cooper River Bridge

Sometimes I need a little motivation and a reminder of why I smile so much...

Like when my alarm clock goes off early in the morning and I just want to go back to sleep.

Lucky for me, I got up this morning and I went for a run.

Not only did I get to run over the Cooper River Bridge and see an amazing sunrise this morning, I was experienced one of my favorite things.

As my running partners and I made it to the end of our run I saw a runner who had started with some of my other friends. She had a glow about her and was smiling. I asked her how her run went and she said (joyfully) that she had run to the other side and back for the first time!

She was so excited and so were we! It was so cool getting to be there to experience that joy with her and it just made my day.

Charleston Runs

Last night, as I was leaving work I saw three of my co workers getting ready to go for a run. All three of them are new to running (two of them were in my last Couch to 5K group along with four other people from my office).

As I walked passed them I wished them a good run and could not stop smiling. I still can not believe that there are now so many people running in my office!

Later, when I got home, one of those co workers called me. She was so excited because she had just run her longest distance without stopping! I could hear her joy and again I could not stop smiling...

Today, I stumbled upon an interview I had done with Endurance Planet about my son completing his first "Kids" Marathon. Even though the interview was about my son, it reminded me why I share my adventures with everyone. It reminded me why I write this crazy blog and why I wish everyone could feel this joy that motivates me so much.

It reminded me why I smile so much.

Smiling with my wife during one of her longest runs

Check out the podcast at http://www.enduranceplanet.com/three-beautiful-words-i-did-it

Peyton after completing his Kids Marathon

Friction

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:31:30 PST

Friction:

(From Webster’s Dictionary) noun \ a: the rubbing of one body against another b: the force that resists relative motion between two bodies in contact

Ex:

The friction of sandpaper on wood.

Oil in a car engine reduces friction.

(From Marine Corps Bulldog Challenge) noun \ a: sand bag that your crazy ass will carry during the Bulldog Challenge b: 15 obstacles your crazy ass will carry the above mentioned sand bag through during the Bulldog Challenge

Ex:

The Bulldog Challenge is a grueling six mile (10k) endurance course that will push you and your three team mates to the limit while sucking the energy right out of you. Your team will encounter 15 obstacles that will add “friction” to your 10k run; what you once thought of as easy will become seemingly impossible; all while running throughout the campus of The Citadel, part of the City of Charleston, and our life-draining marsh.

So with this definition in mind and with the BulldogChallenge less than two weeks away, my team (SAY SOMETHING!) has been training with friction to get ready.

Ninja Stunt Man and Sandy

Two of our teammates (CSR and NSM) ran stadiums a few weeks ago while passing off a 48 pound sand bag to each other. They ran the entire Citadel Bulldog stadium!

One night we all ran the Cooper River Bridge and brought the sandbag (aka Sandy), but we made Ninja Stunt Man run with it the whole time.

I did practice running up the Bridge carrying LA though.

Noah and LA

Last Wednesday we ran without the bags, but added one minute of exercise (push ups, crunches, Russian Twists, etc...) after each three minutes of running at tempo pace (followed by two minutes of running at recovery pace). Much harder than you think (the exercises not carrying LA)!

This past Saturday the whole team ran a seven mile route that included the Bridge. We ran with 20 pound bags of rice and stopped at the foot of the bridge to do squad push ups. We then ran to the top and back and did ten pull ups each.

The “friction” of carrying 20 pound bags of rice definitely slowed the group pace and added a whole new dimension to the long run.

We are still working on a trip to the Citadel O Course, but we all feel pretty comfortable with all the obstacles (additional friction).

The nice thing is that after running seven miles with friction (20 pound bags of rice), you totally feel like you are flying on your next run!

End of the BDC 2011

And the Winner is...

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:00:19 PST

And the winner of the awesome Sport Science giveaway is...

Maribel S.!!!

Thanks Sport Science for giving Maribel one of your MultiPaks and a Smarter Basic Shirt! You guys are awesome!

If you didn't win (stop crying), you can still get some of their cool stuff at Sport Science.

Okay, that's it for the giveaway.

By the way, I received a record number of emails for this giveaway, 83!!! The winning number from Random.org was 11.

Sport Science - cool shirts!

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:52:58 PST

Just saw that Active.com did a review on the Sport Science's shirts. Check it out at:
http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Sport-Science-Tie-Dye-Review.htm

Don't forget, Sport Science is giving away one of their MultiPaks and one of their Smarter Basic Shirts to one of my readers. All you have to do is visit their site and send me an email with "Sport Science" in the subject line. I don't send span so you don't even have to sign up for anything!

Here is the info:

Sport Science is going to give one of my lucky readers one of their new MultiPaks AND one of their awesome Smarter Basic Shirts!

Sport Science is a very cool company that has some really nice products. I bought a shirt for my wife at an expo last year and she loved it!

This is all you have to do:

Go to Sport Science and…

Email me at noah@mooreonrunning.com (Subject Line: Sport Science) - I will not share your email and will not send you spam.

I will pick a winner from all the emails I get up to February 19th at 11:59pm.

That’s it.

Good luck!

Running Over the Hill (Bridge) - open invite

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:09:46 PST

Tonight (Friday) at 11:45pm I am meeting my friend Greg for a run to celebrate his 50th Birthday!

This is an open invitation to anyone in the area to come join us on our run over the Cooper River Bridge as he goes over the hill :)

We are meeting at the gas station at the foot of the Bridge and you are welcome to run as much or as little as you want.

By the way, this is great night training for the upcoming Palmetto 200!

Read more about Greg and why this run means so much to him at: CharlestonRuns

I am proud to call Greg my friend and thrilled to usher in his next 50 years in such a cool way.

Hope you can join us!

Don't forget to enter the Sport Science Giveaway!

Here are the details:

Go to Sport Science and...

Email me at noah@mooreonrunning.com (Subject Line: Sport Science) - I will not share your email and will not send you span.

That's it!

Sport Science Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:59:05 PST

I don’t do this much, but I have a giveaway that I am really excited about!

Sport Science is going to give one of my lucky readers one of their new MultiPaks AND one of their awesome Smarter Basic Shirts!

Sport Science is a very cool company that has some really nice products. I bought a shirt for my wife at an expo last year and she loved it!

They have a cool mission statement:

"Our mission is to create products that do more so you can do more (or less) in style and comfort. When true technical performance fuses with incredible comfort and versatility, smarter performance™ is the result."

And and awesome philosophy:

better living
thru sport science

the philosophy behind our clothes

run a marathon, run a 5k, run farther than you did yesterday. do yoga, lift weights, jazzercise. eat well. get big, trim down a little. get in beach shape, get in game shape, get match fit. work late, take off early. have a coffee. ski, snowboard, skate, surf, roll around in those awesome shoes with the wheels in them. chill out. drive to work, bike to work, carpool. have a drink, drink water. take the trash out, recycle.

do more. enjoy.

So how do you win?

At the end of two weeks (February 19^th at 11:59pm) I will use a random number generator to select a winner from all entries received.

This is all you have to do:

Go to Sport Science and…

Email me at noah@mooreonrunning.com (Subject Line: Sport Science) - I will not share your email and will not send you spam.

That’s it.

Good luck!

It Just Doesn't Seem So Silly Anymore...

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:27:54 PST

I was in bed reading a book and I could not get this thought out of my head (so now you get to read it).

When I finally decided to start exercising, I kept thinking how silly I must look walking around my neighborhood listening to books on tape with my old Sony Walkman (actually my wife's).

But each day I kept going out and walking a little more.

Eventually it just didn't seem so silly anymore...

Thank you for reading my blog and giving me a place to share my joy of running! If you like my blog and would like to show your support please click on this link "The Top 100 Running Sites" and click the "Click Here to Enter!" button to vote for MooreOnRunning. Thanks again for stopping by.

Charleston Marathon: mixed review

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:52:40 PST

As you can tell from the title of this post, I have some mixed feelings on this one so here it goes.

First, this was my first attempt at pacing a half marathon. I loved it!

My running partner CSR and I paced the 2:30 group for TrySports. We got to wear some cool bright yellow pacer shirts and hold “2:30” signs the whole race (that was the hardest part of the race – the signs, not the shirts).

CSR and I had just run the Goofy Challenge last weekend, but the 39.3 miles did not bother either of us at all. CSR came up with a new name for what we were doing, “Marathon Sandwich”. That’s a half marathon, full marathon, and another half marathon within a week. I think the name will stick!

I was so inspired by the people I met on this run. Some people were either running their first half marathon or were going for a PR in this distance. I met a guy who had lost over 100 pounds (like me!) and a woman who just had a baby ten weeks ago (not like me)! I ran with locals, people from other parts of the state and several people from out of state. I absolutely loved hearing their stories, I loved crossing the finish line with all of them and I loved being part of their amazing journeys.

Here is what I did not love…

There were only 14 port-a-lets at the start of the race (there were over 3,000 people registered for the race). There was very little signage at the start to direct people and I cannot even remember if there was an emcee at the start.

I don’t really have much to say about the route. It’s a long race - some parts are nice, some parts are not. What I did not like was that at mile four there were no cups! In fact, there were no cups after this point until the table at mile twelve!

Luckily, the weather was cool enough that this did not become a safety issue. But I could tell that the people around me, who had never run this far, were starting to panic. People were even picking up used cups from the ground to get some water or PowerAde. The volunteers were so apologetic and I could see they were really upset that the race organizers had not given them enough cups for the runners.

The finish was not much better. There was food, but no water bottles. We did manage to find some volunteers who were filling up cups with water toward the back of the finish area.

I later found out that the race had run out of medals for the finishers after our pace group (almost as bad as not having cups).

The finish festival was nice. It was inside a tent (although it was a little cramped) and they had shrimp and grits (every race should have this at the end), but there was no water! Plenty of sweet tea, but again no water…

I do want to end this post on a positive note. My son ran the Youth Marathon the day before and had a blast! He received an awesome shirt and his medal was over the top!

I really hope this race gets better.

Charleston is an amazing place to run and I want people to come here and enjoy this place I call home.

Disney Recap – It’s not about your time, it’s about the time that you have...

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:16:22 PST

What an awesome weekend! I had such a good time running this race…

Our group (Jen, Cathy, Annie, and I) left Charleston (SC) at around 8:00am (we were shooting for closer to 7:00am, but coffee and pickle juice called our names - more about the pickle juice later).

Oh - one thing about driving to a race with a bunch of runners is that everyone is trying to stay hydrated,
so everyone has to pee all the time (including me)!

We drove to Orlando and got in pretty early (I think it took us about seven hours). We stayed at
Disney’s Pop Century (they put us in the 80’s building - nice). Not much to say about the hotel, it was inexpensive compared to the others so it was fine with me.

Perfect hat for Jen!

As soon as we checked in we went over to the expo at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. The expo had a ton of people, but was really well organized. We were actually looking for some Hammer Gel, but it looked like GU had the monopoly on the gel market so no luck (we had enough, just wanted an extra one or two for emergencies)…

Cathy, Annie and I were doing the Goofy Challenge (Half Saturday and Full Sunday) so we actually got three shirts in our bag (sweet)!!! Not much else in the bags, but the shirts rock! Jen, my wife, picked up her bag and I could see a little nervousness in her smile (this was going to be her first Full Marathon!).

FYI - the real challenge of the “Goofy Challenge” is trying to get enough sleep. The races start at 5:30am each day! Not only that, but we had to be on the bus to the starting line no later than 4:00am! I woke up at 3:00am on Saturday and 2:45am Sunday! Crazy, I mean Goofy!!!

Oh! As we were leaving the expo to get dinner, Cathy was interviewed by ESPN Latino! The best part was when the reporter asked her what she thought of the race “curse”. She looked shocked and asked “what curse?!” In fact, we all looked at each other trying to figure out what curse he was talking about. Finally, the reporter noticed her confusion and said “what do you think of the race COURSE?”. We had a lot of fun with Cathy after that!

After we finally pulled Cathy away from the cameras, we headed out for dinner. We ate at a nice Asian place in Celebration, FL, and then headed back to our rooms to try to go to sleep. "Try" is the key word. I tossed and turned all night thinking that I was going to oversleep and miss the race (and I had to get up a million times to go pee!).

Fortunately Jen did get a chance to sleep in while we were running, but she woke up when I was getting dressed. She looked at me, half awake, and said “I have been running all night! I’m done!”
It was too funny!

Good thing we picked up throwaway sweat shirts!

Anyway, after I got dressed I walked with Cathy and Annie to the lobby to catch the bus. The line was crazy long, but went fast and the bus trip was pretty uneventful.

We stopped at a port-a-let and then dropped off our bags (very well organized). Then we walked for about 20 minutes in the dark to the start!

This part was really strange, you are basically following a bunch of people who you hope know where they are going. Luckily they did and when we got to the start it was well worth the walk.

The start was so cool (oh, it was a little cold out too, but not cool that way, the other cool way)…

We got settled into our coral and then waited for Donald Duck to count us down. Fireworks went off for each wave start (who does that?!) - it was awesome!

It was a good thing we decided to take it easy on this race (our pace would be slower than our training long runs). It was so packed that there was no way to get a fast pace going anyway. Luckily, this race was about finishing the challenge not setting a new PR.

The course took us around Epcot and then the Magic Kingdom (did I mention this was my first time
at Disney?). I was like a little kid looking at everything. We stopped a few times to take pictures
(something I had never done in a race before this one).

We really just kept an even pace and took it easy (until the end)…

With about 2 miles left, I jokingly said we should race the last .1 miles. We laughed about it and decided
we would be "Goofy" and hold hands as we went through the finish (I really think this was to keep us all honest). Anyway, as we came through the finish line we held hands and raised our arms in victory!

And then it happened…

I could see Annie start to make her move! We were about to cross the actual finish line and she was
going to try to beat us! I took off at full sprint! Cathy started to sprint ahead as well and I cut her off (that’s right – I cut her off at the finish line…).

Cathy almost ran into the photographer! We were laughing like crazy as we made our way to get our medals (can’t wait to see those pictures from Disney)…

The ride back to our hotel was super fast and easy. Disney knows how to move people!

That day we walked around Disney Downtown and had a late lunch. We were all trying to stay awake for the whole day. We tried to stay hydrated and fueled and then we were back in bed (after peeing a million times)!

I slept a little better, but decided to get up at 2:45am (we cut it a little close the day before). As soon as
I saw the smaller line for the bus, I knew we could have slept in longer…

We all peed in the woods this time and then headed to the corals (Jen was only starting two back from
us). I kissed Jen goodbye and wished her luck. I was really excited for her, but nervous too.

I remember my first race and how hard it felt. I also remember the emotions I went through as I made it to the finish. I actually thought about running this race with her, but everyone I talked to said it would be harder on her. I get the reasoning (it was her race, she might try to run at a faster pace than she should, etc…), but if I had it to do over again I would have run with her...

The start of the Full Marathon was just like the Half (other than it was Mickey counting us down this time). I was still really excited though! I had no idea I would be such a kid about this stuff .

Oh! We ran with another runner this time. Stephanie of See Mom Run. Cathy actually ran with her during her amazing Rock n’ Roll Savannah Marathon (PR). Stephanie fit right in with our group (although we actually lost her for a few miles when we stopped (to pee!), but somehow among all those people we found her again!

When we got to the Magic Kingdom we stopped to take pictures (we were testing pickle juice on this race so we made a toast!). I know, you should never try new things on race day, but we were really taking it easy.

The Full was a lot like the Half, but we did get to go through Animal Kingdom and Disney Hollywood (both very cool, but Animal Kingdom was kind of a letdown – not many animals out - I guess they had better things to do).

The support on this race was nothing like I have ever seen! The volunteers were amazing (I know people say that to be nice, but I mean it! They were incredible). There was water and PowerAde at every aid station. They had bananas and even chocolate! There was a GU station. And there were more medical stations than I have ever seen!

I really wanted to pick up the pace, but I was still worried about my calves cramping as we got to mile 20. If you have followed my blog you know I have a problem with my calves cramping around this point.

We kept the pace even until mile 24. That’s when Annie got super excited and decided we needed to drop the hammer on the pace!

I was still worried about my calves cramping, but they actually felt great!

The one thing I was thinking about was an article I had read about what doctors thought could be causing men to die at the finish line of marathons. One of the things they were looking at was the sudden increase of speed or adrenaline at the end of marathons.

So, knowing that Jen would kill me if I died during this race, I backed off a little and ran through the finish right after Annie, Stephanie and Cathy (next time I'm cutting them off).

After we finished, we picked up or medals and bags. I knew Jen was a little ways behind us so I checked my phone for the Disney Tracker (another very cool thing about this race - and it was free!). She was about an hour back, but I could tell her pace had slowed after the 20 mile mark. I had a feeling she might be hitting the wall.

I found a spot at the finish line and waited (Annie and Cathy stayed near the bag check so they could find her as she came through - they are so awesome!).

A few minutes later my phone rings (it was Jen!). She said, "It's going to be a little while, you guys go ahead and go back to the hotel and I'll see you later". Now I knew she was bonking!

I said "Shut up! We're not going anywhere! We'll be right here when you finish. Put one foot in front of the other and keep going forward!" I told her I loved her and was so proud of her and said to call me as much as she wanted. She never called back, but she finished!!!

It was awesome to be there as she ran through the finish line!

I could tell she was hurting and dehydrated (later I found out that she was only drinking about 2 oz of fluid every other mile). I gave her a kiss and she walked over to get her medal (her Marathon Medal!).

There was another medical tent at the end and they iced Jen's knees (love that picture).

I still can't believe the race is over... It was such an incredible weekend.

People have asked me about my time for the race and all I can say is I had a great time! This race has nothing to do with your time, it's about the time that you have...

Big Amazing Weekend at Disney!

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:41:17 PST

My wife ran a marathon!!!

If you have read my blog in the past this is a big deal. If you have not read my blog in the past, well it’s still a big deal!!!

What most people don’t know is that my wife had pretty major back surgery a few years ago and the fact that she is even walking is a miracle. To finish a marathon is just unbelievable! (Can you tell I’m a little proud of her?)

I was able to watch her come through the finish line and even got a picture of her getting her medal! (Do you think I could use more exclamation marks in this post or what?! I’m excited, shoot me!!!!!)

Her race was not easy and she pushed through some pretty tough times to finish. I hope at some point she will be up to writing her thoughts down and sharing them here.

Until then, I will be working on my race recap of the Goofy Challenge (wait until you hear about the sprint finish) that my amazing running partners (CRS and LA) ran with me at Disney!

Checkout my Facebook page for more pictures from the race (www.facebook.com/mooreonrunning)

Awesome Start to a New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:43:53 PST

A couple of weeks ago I decided I wanted to run 12 miles on New Year’s Day. There were no races in my area so I figured I would just get up that morning and run.

I ended up sending out an invitation to run on Facebook (because telling a bunch of people you are going to do something is the best way to ensure you do it!).

I figured a couple of people might show up and if not I would just run the 12 miles on my own.

To my surprise, people started to reply to the invitation!

I showed up Sunday morning to find fifteen people waiting to run. How crazy is that?!

I knew two or three of the people that showed up, but the rest were complete strangers to me. It was so cool to not only start off the year with a run, but to do it with a bunch of people I had never met. There was even a boy my son’s age riding his bike with us!

We ran one of my favorite routes from Alhambra Hall to Sullivan’s Island over Breach Inlet to Isle of Palms and then back to the start.

One of the runners (Lisa) had even gone to the

turnaround spot earlier and set up a table with

water bottles – so cool…

After the run I asked some random guy to take our picture (because that's what you do when you meet a bunch of people you don't know and go for a group run). A few runners had taken a detour so they were not in the picture, but the picture turned out great.

I thanked everyone for coming out (they all thanked me for organizing it). To be honest with you, there was not much to organize. I just asked people to come join me for a run and they did. I am so going to do this again!

Later that day, my son and I went back out to Sullivan’s Island and participated in the Polar Bear Plunge. Don’t freak out. It was like 70 degrees!

It was still cool to see all the people in their costumes acting crazy and jumping into the ocean. We had a blast in the water and then hung out on the streets (blocked off) and ate lunch with one of my running partners (CSR), her son (who is the same age as my boy), and another bunch of strangers.

What an awesome way to start off a new year…

New Years Day Run (an invitation)

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:32:09 PST

I am inviting anyone who wants to run on New Year’s Day to meet at Alhambra Hall (Mount Pleasant, SC) at 8:00am on January 1, 2012.

I noticed that there are no races scheduled for January 1^stin the Charleston area. There used to be a race called the Resolution Run and it was awesome! It was held on New Year’s Day and it was at the River Dogs stadium in Charleston. The organization that ran it was Trident Untied Way and they were starting to build a really good race.

Unfortunately, they decided to start having the race on the first Saturday of January and then decided to hand the race over to another nonprofit which ran it for one year and then gave up on it…

It’s too bad because this is a great way to start off the New Year. Not everyone gets hammered New Years Eve. Even the ones who do can still run the next day (plenty of people puke during races).

So I am just going to run that day and I am inviting anyone who wants to run to come out and do it at the same time! I put this out on Facebook (www.facebook.com\mooreonrunning) and there are already a few people who have responded that they will be there (cool!).

I am going to run 12 miles that morning (to bring in 2012), but anyone who shows up can run whatever distance they want.

The route is easy: start at Alhambra Hall (there's a restroom in the park), run up Center Street, turn right on Ben Sawyer Blvd to Sullivan’s Island (turn left on Middle Street if you want to go further) and then go back.

View Larger Map

No pace groups, no t-shirts, no pressure, just a bunch of people getting together to run!

Hope to see you there!

Noah

Running Groups, Partners and Family

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:43:31 PST

I started my running life as a loner (this is not to say my family did not help, they just did not run with me at the time), running hours at a time with only my Ipod and my crazy thoughts to entertain myself...

I remember my first really long run (okay - at one point one mile was a very long run, but that's another story). I woke up early and ran from my house toward the Cooper River Bridge for a three mile run. I made it to the turnaround point feeling good and had extra time so I kept running. I passed the three mile mark and realized I was getting really close to the Bridge, so I kept running (this really sounds like Forest Gump right now). When I reached the Bridge I knew I was at four miles (crap, I had to run back)! When I finally made it back to my house I felt incredible! It was the beginning of my long distance running.

I used Google Maps to figure out routes long enough for my runs and would wake up early to drive the route in order to find places to drop water bottles. I read a book about running long distance and tried to emulate the training (although I had no idea what it meant by tempo runs, intervals, track workout and a bunch of other crazy runner stuff).

My runs got longer and longer as I moved from the half marathon to the full marathon. My wife and son started to drive out to the islands and bring me water, but I spent hours alone running those roads, counting the street signs (I think the streets are numbered just for this reason).

One day I ran with a group from TrySports. This was my first real group run and I was terrified. I had run three half marathons and a full marathon, but I still did not consider myself a runner and running groups are for runners (right?)...

The group was large enough to have about three pace groups. People greeted me and welcomed me to the run. They talked about the route and then we just started running. I had my Ipod with me and was about to turn it on, but a guy was talking to me and I thought it would be rude (what was he thinking - talking while running).

Trail Running with the Saturday Morning Group

The group of guys I was running with talked about a ton of stuff and I even found out one guy was going through a tough divorce. I found it strange, but cool, how the people in this group (joined together by running) shared their lives with each other so freely. They shared running advice and talked about races they had done. I could not believe how much I had learned about running in one run!

2011 Mud Run

Over the years I have found a group of people I like to run with on a regular basis. There are people that have come and gone from our group and we always welcome others, but our core group has remained the same for a while now. I consider them my close friends and would do just about anything for them.

2011 Bulldog Challenge

We have competed as a team in several races and we have raced as individuals. We celebrate each others victories and accomplishments as if they were our own. We are an odd combination, covering three decades. Strangely, two of us are in the legal profession and the other two are in the healthcare profession. We live in different parts of town, but run together every Wednesday and Saturday. When one of us needs to run early, so we can make it to our child's practice or some other family event, we are all willing to get up at a crazy hour in the morning and make it happen.

My newest running partner is my wife. In the past few months I have had the chance to run with her on some of her long runs. She knows that her pace is slower than mine and is always telling me I can run ahead, but running at a different pace is such a small thing compared to sharing something I love with someone I love.

Savannah Marathon

This weekend my wife came out and ran with our Saturday group. I could tell she was taking it all in the same way I had years ago on my first group run. It did not take long before another runner started talking with her as we ran our first mile. There was another runner going at her pace and we all stayed together for about nine miles. We learned a ton about him (even found out that a one time he was a running back for the San Diego Chargers!). My running partner Cathy joined us on the run and we all ran together on the same islands I used to run alone.

It took a while for my wife to ease into her pace and relax, but I think she was enjoying having company on her longest run.

Jen and I on a Long Run

My wife and I finished our 15 miles and Cathy left to finish her run. It was Cathy's birthday so we met her near the end of her run with cupcakes and sang happy birthday to her. That's just the crazy stuff you do for your running partners.

I still do most of my runs alone, but the time I get to spend with my running group is very valuable to me and the time I get to spend with my running family is priceless...

Coaching and Stretching on Charleston Runs Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Moore On Running) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:03:45 PST

This month I started coaching a Couch to 5K program in Downtown Charleston (SC). It has been an incredible experience and very motivating.

For the past two Thursday nights I have shown up to see over 25 people ready to run - absolutely amazing!

During this time I have written two blog posts for the coaching site www.CharlestonRuns.com to share with the group. Both blog posts dealt with stretching and covered what I showed the group.

Here is one of the posts in short form, if you want to read the originals just go to www.CharlestonRuns.com

There is also a cool post that Coach Greg wrote welcoming me to the coaching ranks!

Kiss My Glute, Just Don’t Pull It!

Posted on December 12th, 2011 CoachNoah

That soreness in your backside may not be your boss. It could be that your gluteus maximus and gluteus medius are just tight (oh the jokes just keep coming)…

One of the places you may feel tightness and a loss of flexibility after you run is in your glutes. This may lead to back pain and stiffness, especially when you get up from your office chair or first thing in the morning as you get out of bed.

There are a lot of benefits to stretching each day and having an after run stretching routine.

Increased mobility
Reduced stiffness
Reduced injuries

I shared a few simple stretches last week with our Couch to 5K group and added one more to the routine:

Sitting Glute Stretch

Sit on the ground with both legs stretched out. Cross your left leg over your right leg while raising your left knee to your chest. Gently pull your knee closer to your chest. You will feel the stretch in your glutes at this point. You can also slightly rotate your upper body (while holding your knee) to the right for a deeper stretch. Hold for 15-20 seconds and switch legs.

As always, there should never be any bouncing while you stretch.

Add this to your routine and tell stiffness and injuries to kiss your gluteus maximus (and medius)!

Coach Noah