Running Towards Fitness

Personal Awareness
The ancient Greeks used to believe that a healthy mind and a healthy body not only went together, but were both critical for happiness and a successful life. They were also intertwined, meaning that a weakness in either area would affect the other. When I started this transformation I was overweight and full of excuses. And by overweight I don't mean just a few pounds - I weighed over 70 pounds more than I do now. I finally took my life into my own hands and started exercising. At the time, I had no idea where it would lead - to a stronger body, a happier, more nimble mind, and a chest full of race medals. Healthy mind, healthy body, indeed! It hasn't been easy, or without issues, but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

Not running yet

Well, my IT band is still aching. So far, I've been icing it for 15 minutes twice a day, and doing stretches when I think about them. It seems to have improved a fair amount between Saturday and, oh, Sunday evening. Since then - not much. ...

So that’s where my IT band is.

Damn. Well, that sucks. There I was, running along, happy to be hydrated (at least more so than last week, where I got a calf cramp). This was a nine-mile optional run. No big deal. Or so I thought. Headed up Riverside to 35, over the bridge, and ...

Was that even a workout?

Well, its the holidays. And that's a pathetic excuse, but its all I've got at the moment. After missing Monday's 20 minute scheduled run, I was supposed to do 30 today. Hit the gym, found a treadmill, and did ... 20. Maybe 22. Still, for ...

Downtown Workout

Well, my calf is still bugging me a little bit, but its Monday which means its time to work out for lunch. And, since he has to be down here, we're going to do the downtown gym which is always convenient for me. Starting out, I do about ...

First 25K

Well, this was it. I'd been hearing horror stories about the 25K run for the past week from others in the group - that this was the hardest run before the Marathon. Needless to say, this wasn't exactly appreciated. To top it off, on Friday I think ...

Whoo… tiring workout!

Okay, so we hit the Golds on 290. 15 minutes of elliptical to warmup, then over to bench. I did 10x25, 10x35 and then, well, 3x45 (more like 2 1/2). Then ended the last set with 10x25. Getting better, nonetheless - I think that that was ...

25 minute run

Alright, so this was nothing special. 2.85 miles in 25 minutes - basically, I ran at an 8:35 pace (7mph). I wanted to do 30 minutes, but I was in the gym. Between my congestion (and the fact that coughing up phlegm indoors is generally frowned apon) ...

Treadmill Speedwork

I think that my favorite form of speedwork has to be on the treadmill. And, in a possibly related note, my only really fun treadmill activity is usually speedwork. Oh, and long, constant impossible hills - but I don't do those very often. Anyway, today we were supposed to ...

Heavy Legs

Eight miles, 85 minutes, 44 degrees. And it felt more like Eighteen miles. For some reason, my legs just did not want to move this morning. Also, after about 6.5 I started to bonk a little - just a mushroom wrap for dinner last night, after noodles ...

Pre-Noodle Workout

The best thing about working out at the Golds at Burnet and 183 is that a trip to Pho Cong Ly inevitably follows. But enough about that... Started out with 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, not wanting to run since I'll be doing the AustinFit thing tomorrow. After ...


About

I'm Richard Stanford, a fit, happy runner. Of course, that wasn't always the case. Dip into the archives to follow my progress from couch potato to sub-four hour marathoner.

I also like to cook, write, code, and play with power tools...

Personal Records

DistanceRaceTimePace
Marathon2006 Freescale3:54:078:56
20 Miles2006 RunTex3:00:089:00
30K2005 RunTex2:42:448:45
Half M2006 3M1:42:577:51
20K2005 Decker1:40:428:06
10 Miles2005 Pervasive1:20:138:01
10K2005 Dublin Dr Pepper48:437:51
5 Miles2005 Turkey Trot37:017:24
5K2005 Margarita Run22:327:15
4K2006 Fila Relays17:247:15
1 Mile2006 Congress Ave6:236:23

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May 20th 2007
Tags: Running, Races

One Comment

2007 North Trail Half Marathon

I'll start out by saying that this wasn't a PR.  Not even close.  It was, however, a really fun race, taking place in the middle of a fun weekend, surrounded by fun friends. Fun! Going into it I knew that I wasn't going to PR.  To be honest, I was more than ...
May 19th 2007
Tags: Running

No Comments

Update

Well, so much for keeping the blog current, eh? I've been doing pretty well, most of the time. I'm currently in Dallas just a few hours away from running in a small half marathon (400 people, give or take) - and I've only managed to get up to 10.5 miles ...
April 10th 2007
Tags: Running

No Comments

Lunchtime Ladera

This was my third time to run Ladera Norte, and its actually getting easier.  I walked once, about 3 minutes into the hill, for a minute (timed), then ran the rest of the way.  Not that I was fast - the remainder took me a solid 5 minutes - but I ...
March 4th 2007
Tags: Running, Races

9 Comments

2007 BagelFest 5K

I'm very glad that I did this race.  I almost didn't - the idea of doing something where I know that I wasn't going to come close to a PR was not terribly enticing - but I've done it every year since I started running, and its been a whole ...
March 1st 2007
Tags: Running

One Comment

Unplanned 3 Miler

Well... I know that I said that I wasn't goint to run today... but I did anyway.  You see, at lunch today Thon offered to run his 3 mile hill loop with me this evening.  Naturally I stuck to the gameplan and told him that I wasn't running until Saturday.  ...
February 27th 2007
Tags: Running

One Comment

Rollingwood Revisited

I went to Rollingwood for the second time - or at least the second time since my recovery - and while ended up running a slightly different course due to inattention, it was a fantastic run.  Last time I averaged a 9:41 pace (9:54, 9:30, 9:46) around the hills, and it felt ...

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Famous Marathon Times

RunnerTimePace
Al Gore4:58:2511:23
Oprah4:29:3010:17
P. Diddy4:14:549:43
Will Ferrell3:56:129:01
George W. Bush3:44:528:35
John Edwards3:30:188:01
Carrie Sapp3:29:067:59
Boston Qualifier3:10:597:17
Lance Armstrong2:59:366:51
Gilbert Tuhabonye2:23:075:28
Paula Radcliffe2:15:255:10
Paul Tegat2:04:554:46

People I Train With

Alex - Addicted to Exercise
Carrie - Tri to be Funny
Erine - Thousand Miles
Frank - Running Blog
Gilbert - Gilbert's Gazelles
Jay - Leotian Blog
Mike - BROTH