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.

Veloway!

You know, I think that this was the first time I’ve been out to the Veloway this year. That’s a very nice bikes/blades only track near my house. Rolling hills, 23 feet wide, one way, and about 3.15 miles long. I did seven laps (22.07 miles) in 1:31, which I don’t think was too bad considering my lack of biking practice and the fact that I was on my cheap but fun mountain bike (2002 Giant Yukon, stock except for my Eggbeaters). That’s an average speed of around 14.5 mph.

My right knee is a little sore, but not too bad. I did stop a couple of times, once to raise my saddle about 1/4″, and once again to tighten my preload down to about 90% (leaving a little comfort space, but not so much as to rob me of all my power when I stood to power uphill).

I really need to do this about three times a week to get into condition for the Urban Assult race on the 20th. I think that I’m good enough to do it right now without embarrasment, but I’d like to be able to do better than that.

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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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Activity

2 total comments, leave your comment.
  1. The veloway sounds really nice. Last year, I sold a brand new Gary Fisher Wahoo, because it was too big to have in the apartment, and too big of an annoyance to get outdoors with for how rarely I used it. Now, I’m envious for ANY bike right now.

  2. I’m actually thinking about getting a road bike to go along with it. Trouble is, getting a tolerable bike is quite expensive. It seems that ebay has some pretty good deals, but I wouldn’t be sure that it would fit me properly before time. Maybe I should go to a local bike store and get fitted properly, paying them for the time it takes to do it after being up-front that I won’t buy from them? Don’t know if they’d go for that or not.


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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