Fast Finishes

I hate getting passed at the end of a race... well, I hate getting passed at any point during the race... but the end just seems worse because I've managed to stay ahead of that person for 99+ percent of time. But, alas, it only matters who crosses the finish line first. So, is there anything you can do to make sure your the passer and not the passee?

• Run a longer warmup before an interval session so that you're more tired than usual
• Drop the pace by 20-30sec / mile for the last 1/3 of your long run (I'm thinking this should be expressed more as a percent and not as a fixed time, but that's just me)
• Ladder Workout: 1-mile @ 5k pace, 1200m 1sec/lap faster, 1000m 2sec/lap faster, 800m 3sec/lap faster, 600m 4sec/lap faster, 400m 5sec/lap faster with 1:1 time recovery (I think the pace decrements are from the first mile, but it might be from the previous interval- i.e., the 400m would be 15sec/lap faster than the mile?... that seems way too fast)
• 10-mile acceleration run (dropping pace by 20sec every two-miles)

And, although easy/recovery runs are supposed to be easy, there's no use fighting yourself to stay at the same pace... most people speed up a little bit at the end!

Peanut Butter

I have always heard that natural stuff was sooo much better for me than the regular stuff. And, since it's a staple in my diet, I figured I'd better choke up the extra $ so my arteries wouldn't clog... my heart explode... or whatever other doom and gloom might ensue. However, one day after finally making it through the door at Food Lion, there was a display of peanut butter right in front of me. The kiosk promised me "wicked savings"... and it was a lot less than I usually pay... but it was the "regular stuff". So, I decided that I'd finally evaluate for myself how "good" natural peanut butter was and flipped the jar over. I noticed that the regular peanut butter had 0mg of cholesterol... didn't seem to have a lot of salt and sugar... the first ingredient was, in fact, peanuts... so why was this sooo bad for me? I carried it back with me, expecting that it would all make sense when I compared it to the natural peanut butter... but no. Then, I figured that in order to be totally scientific about this (because that's necessary when grocery shopping), I should compare products within the same brand. Luckily, Skippy makes both (nutrition labels shown below... left- regular and right- natural).

Nutritionally... ho hum... about equal. The only major difference was in the ingredients- regular peanut butter contains hydrogenated vegetable oil whereas the natural peanut butter contains palm oil. Obviously, the former is better for you than the later... but, all the same, you probably don't need to worry about your arteries clogging and heart exploding because you ate "regular" peanut butter!

5/5-6 Race Reports

Lots of races = lots of good results for Team RRO/FASTcoaching:

• Bobby B. was 1st in his age group at the Wake Forest Rotary Club 5k, and Jacci P. and Bill C. were 2nd in theirs! (results)
• James L. was 1st overall by a long shot in the WakeMed Distance Festival 5k (when I saw him at the turnaround, there was not another person in sight). Kelcey C. and Meghan H. were 1st and 3rd female respectively in the 10k, and Linda W. was 1st in her age group. Mike C. ran a great race as well, placing 4th in his age group (because that age group is crazy competitive)! (5k results; 10k results)
• K. Mayhew was 2nd open female at the White Lake Half and two relay teams with some of our teammates and friends (E. Lawrie, K. Fowler, and D. Meeker) did great! B. Gaal was 1st in her age group at the White Lake Sprint Tri (Half results; Sprint results)

I'll post more results as I find them. The Titus Van Rijn Run (see how far you can run in 1hr on a track) also went well this morning. Keith killed the rest of us... I'll post the exact distances we covered when I find them out. CONGRATS CONGRATS CONGRATS WAHOOO (to all those who raced)!

Weekend Outlook

In case you haven't had enough racing lately, there are about a million 5k's/10k's going on this weekend:

• Wake Forest Rotary Club 5k (Sat. 8:30AM, Wake Forest)... this is an RRO-sponsored race!
• WakeMed Distance Festival 5k/10k (Sat. 8AM, Cary)
• Philosopher's Way 7k/15k Trail Run (Sat. 8AM, Chapel Hill)
• Purple Cloth 5k (Sat. 8:15AM, Cary)
• Cary Park 5k (Sat. 8:30AM, Cary)
• Jaycees Fit to Lead 5k (Sat. 9AM, Cary)
• BaySix Southern 5k Classic (Sun. 3PM, Raleigh)
• White Lake Half (Sat. 7AM) and White Lake Sprint (Sun. 8AM) 

Brad's annual Titus Van Rijn Run will also be held this Sunday at Martin Middle School (7AM)... let him know if you plan on attending!

And, to end this week on a lighter note... it's Star Wars Day (May the fourth be with you)! I don't think that any of the cast of the original trilogy has run a marathon... but Harrison Ford and James Earl Jones totally should have. I mean, how freaking awesome would that be (as long as they didn't run Boston)?! I wouldn't even care what time they ran, they would make my top 5 list! And, they should totally run in the PureProject shoes because the color schemes remind me of lightsabers (and I make lightsaber noises in my head when I open the box). I'm not even remotely kidding... I was so disappointed when the women's PureFlow switched from Skywalker to orchid... and wondered why the men's PureCadence went from Yoda to Sith. I know I've probably put way too much thought into this... but if I were to name a shoe line, I think I would settle on Star Wars. So friends, remember when you're racing this weekend... Do Or Do Not, There Is No Try!

A Place For Celebrity (and charity) Runners

And now for some final thoughts on this week's topic...

There's a time and a place for everything. I have no problems with celebrities (and others) running a race for charity. In fact, I support the premise of doing so because it raises awareness and funds for a lot of different causes (honestly, I had never heard of Prader-Willi Syndrome until I ran a race last year). However, in races that cap registration and have strict qualification standards, I think that everyone running should have to meet them (which clearly some celebrities can). This doesn't mean that people can't run for charity... they just have to qualify too (aka they should be treated like everyone else trying to run the race of their dreams). And it doesn't mean that every race has to work this way... there are plenty of marathons and other races for celebrity and charity runners to choose from.

I know this sounds harsh, but I feel that there should be some races that should be reserved for faster runners (and by faster, I'm not talking about anything crazy, just quicker than 4hrs, which I think is around the average finishing time for marathons). I mean, the Wesley Korir (winner of the 2012 Boston Marathon) said, "To me, running the Boston Marathon is an Olympic Event". Yup, he compared the Boston Marathon to the Olympics. They don't let just anyone run in the Olympics... not even Oprah could buy her way into that one! So, why not set aside a few races every year that you have to qualify to run in? I'm thinking Boston, New York, and Chicago right off the bat (these are World Marathon Majors events). With that, you might be able to make the qualification standards for these races a bit more reasonable, or at least ensure that everyone who does qualify and wants to run gets to (and then you can open it up to celebrity and other charity runners)!

The Best and The Worst

The Best:

• Alan Turing: 2:46:03 (1947 Leicestershire Amateur Athletic Championships Marathon)
• Nell McAndrew: 2:54:39 (2012 London Marathon)
• Dana Carvey: 3:04:21 (1972 Ocean to Bay Marathon)
• Mike Malinin: 3:23:56 (2000 Chronicle Marathon)
• William Baldwin: 3:24:29 (1992 New York City Marathon)

The Worst:

• Sean Combs: 4:14:54 (2003 New York City Marathon)
• Oprah Winfrey: 4:29:20 (1994 Marine Corps Marathon)
• Lisa Ling: 4:34:18 (2002 Boston Marathon)
• David James Elliot: 4:57:23 (2000 Boston Marathon) 
• Valerie Bertinelli: 5:14:37 (2010 Boston Marathon) 
• Katie Holmes: 5:29:58 (2007 New York City Marathon)
• Mario Lopez & Ali Landry: 5:41:41 (2002 Boston Marathon)
• Freddie Prinze Jr.: 5:50:49 (2006 Los Angeles Marathon)
• David Lee Roth: 6:04:43 (1987 New York City Marathon)
• Al Roker: 7:09:00 (2010 New York City Marathon) 

*** the green highlights denote celebrities who ran in the Boston Marathon without qualifying

The Beer Mile

I thought I posted something about The Beer Mile a while back, but I can't remember when (good thing I started tagging posts). So, being that I can't find it, this "first Tuesday of the month's installment" will be dedicated to the topic. First off, yes... The Beer Mile is actually a contested race with documented rules and records and everything (there's apparently a 5-min barrier for this rendition of 5280ft)! The rules differ by "region"- the US favors 12oz cans and issues a penalty for puking, whereas they drink 20oz out of a pint glass in UK, Australia, and New Zealand (and no penalty is issued for "chundering"). In German-speaking countries, they prefer Kastenlauf to The Beer Mile. For this sport, a team of two must carry and consume a crate of beer over 10-kilometers.