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.

Six in the heat

Phew, but it was hot out there today. I couldn't get out until about 10:00, so I decided - in my infinate wisdom - that rather than running in the local park, or down by the lake on the nice shaded trail, that I would run out on the ...

Taking it Easy

I've been taking it easy this week to let my tendonitis go away, and just because its been a really busy week. Still, I found time at lunch to do my Friday upper body workout at least: As last time, high weight with three sets of 8/6/4 reps, supersetting two ...

Stitches from the FAQ

There's been a lot of discussion lately about stitches - what they are, and how to prevent them. I thought I'd toss this tidbit out there, from the rec.running FAQ:In the May-June 1992 issue of Running Research News there is an article by Dr. Gordon Quick about the causes ...

Mile Breakdown

Just for fun, I wanted to see what my splits were for the mile yesterday: .25 - 1:30 - 1:30 - 6:00 pace .50 - 2:58 - 1:28 - 5:56 pace .75 - 4:50 - 1:52 - 7:36 pace 1.0 - 6:38 - 1:48 - 7:12 pace So not exactly negative splits. You can ...

2004 Congress Ave Mile

I've never done a one mile race before in my life. On the one hand, that means that today's time was a guaranteed PR. On the other hand, it meant that I didn't really know how to prepare for the distance. On the gripping hand, even with ...

Weekly total

Monday: 2.5 Tuesday: 5 Wednesday: 2 Friday: 4 Saturday: 5 Total run: 18.5 Workouts: 2 Not a bad week, all things considered. I was probably most happy that I ran for five days - and that I had my first speed workout in a few months, even if it was on the treadmill.

Short yet Satisfying

I had to go to a different gym than my usual one to find somewhere open at 9pm before labor day - still, not that far afield. I was a little tight in my upper body from Friday, and wanted to just get a little motion in. This ...

No Running Today

Well, my left knee (mild tendonitis) is being a touch achy today, and I did do my (not so) long run last night and want to move my runs to the morning, so I used that to decide not to do any running today. I may go to the ...

Five Slow Miles

I know that these miles are supposed to be slow. I know that today is "listen to your body" day. I also know that after the first mile I was running in the dark on a two lane road without shoulders or sidewalks, and had to jump ...

Race Entry

Well, its been on my calendar, and my schedule, but today I finally got around to registering for the Congress Avenue Mile. Its a twisted one mile race - starting on the steps of the Capital (that's the one down in Austin, y'all, not the fancy one up North) ...


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