Engineered to Run

Before I start this week's post, just a little housekeeping note. I've gotten some nice feedback on a few of my recent blogs, so thanks to everyone who has provided that. It is definitely appreciated. I think the portion of the blog that precedes my training breakdown likely has the broadest appeal, so I'm trying to keep the more detailed running discussion "below the fold" so to speak, in order to allow anyone who isn't interested in that to stuff to skip it if necessary. I know I've said this before, but if anyone has anything they'd like to see me discuss feel free to ask a question or suggest a topic. It's not always easy thinking of what to write, so any suggestions would be welcomed. :) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ One important aspect of training as a runner is to diversify your workouts. For most of us, we start out just running. We don't thin...

When I wrote my post last week, I said that I was feeling off with my training and that I had to switch something up this week to help jump start things. I started the week by going for a run with a running buddy on Monday night, which was a nice change from my normal lunchtime treadmill run. I then decided to continue with my Tuesday night track sessions. For the remainder of the week, I rested. I didn't go to the gym, didn't do any yoga, and didn't run. It was nice to have 5 days off, and I definitely feel rejuvenated and ready to start my full training program tomorrow. Part of that rejuvenation came from volunteering at a fun run that our club hosted on Saturday morning. I always enjoy getting out and helping with our races when I can, and in particular I love to see runners and walkers of varying ability levels doing their best and enjoying the sport. Yesterday morning there were families and friends running together, new runners and veterans, and even a mother pushi...

When I decided to write a blog this year, there were a number of factors that played into the decision. I enjoy writing and discussing running, so I thought it would be interesting to attempt to put my thoughts out there on a weekly basis. I figured that by making my training log public, it'd give me a little extra accountability. I also hoped that I could provide some insight into running topics that may be useful for those who are just starting out. After writing 6 of these, I'd like to think I've started to accomplish each of those tasks. One other reason I chose to do this was to attempt to shine a light on the reality of training. In today's world, we document our lives on a daily basis via social media; however, we quite often only show the highlights. This can also be true of the way we portray our running/fitness lifestyle. If you were to view my running only through the lens of my race results and the smiling pictures at the end of runs, it'd be easy to a...

I started running in the summer of 2013, and in the summer of 2014 I became a member of the Paradise Running Club. I was a member in name only until the 2016 running season, and since then I have discovered that being part of a running club is a tremendous experience that I would highly recommend to anyone. In this post, I'm going to list just a few of the many reasons why I would make that recommendation. (1) You've always wanted to be a runner, but you're unsure how to start - What better way to start then to join a group of people brought together through running? Joining a running club is a great way to learn to run. In fact, our club offers a Learn to Run program a few times throughout the year where you can meet other runners at the same stage in their journey, and each session is led by one of our existing club members. (2) You are already a runner, but you don't have any running buddies - This was me for 3 years. I ran thousands of kilometers on my own. Eve...