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.

Fabulous run

Well, as you can tell I didn't get any running in on Sunday. The weather outside was, to coin a phrase, frightful. Actually it wasn't that bad, but it was grey, wet, and depressing. Besides, I had other stuff going on. Nothing that I couldn't have ...

Come Run with Me!

Thinking about a nice, warm run come February? The first 40 people to make a reservation with American Airlines between November 15 and December 15 using the marathon discount code (#2125AC) will receive one free entry into this year's Freescale Marathon or Half Marathon along with one pre-race dinner ticket, one ...

One Full Year

So. It was a year ago today that I started this blog with my initial welcome post. And what a difference a year makes. There have been a lot of changes during that time, both physical and otherwise. Let's deal with the easy ones first. Think back ...

12.7 easy miles

That was great! The weather in Austin right now is perfect for running. Fifty degrees outside, 70% humidity - the wind felt a little stronger, and colder, than the 8mph that weather.com is reporting, but other than that, it was a beautiful day. There was even plenty ...

For every bad spin class…

For every bad spin class, there is a great spin class. Its Friday, its 5pm, and that means that its time for Jenn's downtown EOW class. And she's back! Everything I hated about the substitute on Tuesday was perfect today. A great mix of non-stop music, ...

Getting Better

First, let me say that I didn't do anything yesterday. Bad Richard. I was slated to do a 3 mile run and a 90 minute elliptical workout, but other things - including the desire to spend some evening time at home - kept me away from the gym. ...

Hill workout

Well, I'm sure that my interval spin class didn't really help me out this morning, but I had a good time anyway. I first parked at South 1st and ran out to W. 11th St - 2.6 miles at a 9:45 average pace. I tried pretty hard to ...

Crappy spin class

Well, this was my first really bad spin class. Jenn was out sick, and whoever we had as a replacement - she never did give her name - was pretty bad. Hard to understand, not a very good leader when we did understand her, and no sense of ...

Seven miles easy

I'm trying to keep these runs nice and easy - just getting the miles in, making sure that my joints, etc, have a chance to get comfortable with the added distances that I'm asking them to take. Cutting my midweek runs last year was one of my biggest mistakes, ...

Surprising Paces

Looking back at my weekly summary while I finish my lunch, I realized that my easy seven mile run was done at an 8:36 pace, on the trail. Figure the soft surface is good for sapping a few seconds per mile here and there as well. It was ...


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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November 9th 2008
Tags: Running

One Comment

2008 Marine Corps Marathon (long)

I'll say its long - 26.2 miles when you haven't run more than about 16 all year is way too long! Let me recap my training schedule for the last two months, just in case you haven't been paying attention (or I haven't been posting it): September 6: 60 mile ...
November 9th 2008
Tags: Running, Races

No Comments

2008 Gazelle 10 Miler

It was great getting to see everyone today. I wasn't sure that I would race - hell, I knew I wouldn't race, I wasn't sure I'd even bother to show up. Packet pickup had come and gone without me, and I was out 'til late last night getting ...
October 26th 2008
Tags: Running

3 Comments

2008 Marine Corps Marathon (quick)

Turns out that yes, I was ready. Kinda. This was my first marathon since I started triathlon and the cardio benefits really showed - my breathing was always under control and my HR stayed low. My legs were really feeling the fact that I only ran ~25 miles in the ...
October 25th 2008
Tags: Musings, Running

One Comment

Am I Ready?

Tomorrow morning, at 5AM (EST of all things), my alarm will go off. It will go off again at 5:15, 5:30, and 5:45, just to make sure. And its not just one alarm, its a combination of the hotel clock radio, the wake-up service, and my iPhone. I think that, as ...
October 22nd 2008
Tags: Workouts, Swimming

2 Comments

Swim Clinic

My swim times have been, well, let's be nice and just say "abysmal." That's fine for now - at the beginning of the year I could barely make it to the other end of the pool, and just a couple of weeks ago I did a half Ironman. ...
October 5th 2008
Tags: Races

4 Comments

2008 Longhorn Ironman 70.3

Wow.  That was the hardest thing I think I've done - certainly including my first marathon.  The big difference was that I went into this knowing that - if I made the cutoffs - I was going to finish.  No question. And I did - some 45 minutes slower than I'd ...

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Famous Marathon Times

RunnerTimePace
Al Gore4:58:2511:23
Oprah4:29:3010:17
P. Diddy4:14:549:43
Sarah Palin3:59:369:09
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
Haile Gebrselassie2:03:594:44

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