Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. Okay, now fess up. Who's going running today. I went for an easy four earlier. I love running on Christmas morning (no traffic).

I believe Cami said she would be there Sunday morning to carry the torch. I certainly will be back on the 3rd. Lots of races on the horizon. Everyone have a safe and happy holiday.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Running Blog

http://petemagill.blogspot.com/

This is the blog I mentioned on the run this morning. Best to everyone over the holidays and may the New Year be filled with many PR's!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Palmetto 200

Ok - so I looked at this - and then I looked again - and I looked at the Southern Blue Relay http://www.southernbluerelay.com/ about the same time, thinking it was a trail run - but as far as I can tell it's on (albeit hilly) roads. As such, we may as well race on roads closer to home.

I reckon we should give the Palmetto 200 a bash - it is approx 48hrs from April 30 (NB this is a Friday) - May 1, 2010 - who's up for it ??

Details here: http://palmetto200.com/index.html

We need at least 4 of us (minimum - this will have us running apx 50 miles each- but preferably 6 - to average 33 miles each over the 2 days). My missus has already kindly volunteered to help drive one vehicle - we probably need two, depending on how many runners we end up with. $450 between us before end Jan. Who's in ??

Monday, December 14, 2009

Gale Force Marathon

Hats off to a hardy Kiawah crowd, who had to brave tough conditions this past Saturday. Gordon, Rusty, Ricky and the Swaz put in some stellar performances in spite of rain, low temps, and high wind speeds. Gordon improved his last year's performance by 5 minutes. Ricky captured 2nd place in his age group. And Swaz cranked out a 3:22. (no one will notice my edit) Well done.

General Question for the group: What's coming up on our respective race calendars? I need to clean up our column on the right. I'm planning on running Save the Light. Who's doing Myrtle Beach, North Charleston Half, Charlie Post?

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Good Luck

... to all of us racing the Kiawah Island Marathon and HM.
Your training went well, and now it is time to reap its rewards.

Hal Higdon is in town and will give a talk tonight at the CRC meeting in Daniel Island. I am trying to make it.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Sunday Run

What's on everyone's schedule for tomorrow? I was looking to go 12-14. What about other folks?

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Turkey Day

Let's hear it for Annie, whipping out a 19:15 and a seventh place overall finish at the Turkey Day Run. Not too shabby, when you consider that the race had over 4,000 finishers.

The West Ashley crowd continues to represent. See everyone on Sunday morning.

Trying to train at 8000 feet...


With the roads in the neighbourhood covered in snow, the safest place to run is on the trails where no attempt has been made to clear the snow - so there's no lethal ice. It's pretty heavy going wherever it's deep and I've only managed about a 9'30" pace on my long run.
Hill repeats are no problem. Start at 8000 feet and run/fast walk up 7 minutes at a time up to 10,000 feet - running downhill for 25 minutes home is kind of fun....
Only managed 3 runs since I got here - hope the Altitude effect is going to carry me through Kiawah, because I'm about 2 weeks behind my schedule.
Will try and snap some pics from a training run or two. Miss you guys :)

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Phoenix update

Ran the Undy 5000 Road Race on Saturday in downtown Phoenix. Flat and scenic.

This photo was taken this morning at South Mountain Park, a park approximately the size of James Island (by which I mean the entire island) full of trails. It was packed with runners, hikers and more mountain bikes than I've ever seen in one place.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Fast 10 Miler

Let's hear it for Cami who finished 3rd overall at the Folly 10 Miler (1:09:29). This crowd just keep getting faster, and just in time. Kiawah looms on the horizon.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Good Luck

To all those running in the races this weekend. Sunday may be a little quiet.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

New David Quick Blog

As highlighted in this Post and Courier column today, David Quick is launching his new blog (click here to see it). In addition to running, he indicates that "It will encompass cycling, swimming, adventure racing and related health stories." I put a link to it on our "Local Running Resources" list.

We had all the usual suspects on Sunday morning. In addition to our folks training for Kiawah, we also had some discussion about the upcoming shorter races. So many choices. We'll see if we can get a short list of races we definitely intend to run.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Kiawah Prep

I am off to Colorado on Friday for 2 weeks. Planning on doing a long run out at Kiawah on Thursday, if anybody is interested ?? Talk details tomorrow.

James Island Connector 10k

Entered this with the intent of running it as a tempo run at Marathon Pace, but got caught up in the race and ended up more at Half Marathon Pace. Finished in just over 44mins, which surpisingly took second in 40-44 category. Not much of a turn-out for what is really quite a good race and a nice change to the %#@&ing plethora of 5k runs around here.

OVERALL RESULTS
1 Anne Clinton 27 Charleston SC 38:19
2 Guinn Garrett 24 Charleston SC 40:52
3 Andrea Criscio 20 Charleston SC 41:12

1 Neville Miller 26 Mt. Pleasant SC 33:26
2 Wells Johnson 22 Summerville SC 34:52
3 David Quick 45 Mount Pleasant SC 36:45

Hats off to Jenny, my wife, running her first 10k and finishing with a 1:12 after getting out of bed just 25 mins before the gun!!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Sunday Nov. 8th

Not sure what is on the agenda this weekend? I'm going to try to make it - hope the legs do too. Not sure if anyone is racing this weekend but the James Island Connector 10k is on...I think we all know part of the course!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Historical day for the USA as Meb Keflezighi wins men's title in the NYC Marathon

Big day today for the american distance running!

Sopagna Eap was the 14th woman to cross the finish line. I felt honored to have met and run with her when she was still in Charleston.

Congrats to the american team!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

All Heart


This is Trevor's racing shirt after the MCM marathon! Ouch. Cheers to Trevor for his performance! I did buy him a beer.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Marine Corps - preliminaries

So John looked to be on for a sub 3 at the 35K mark - frustratingly, Active's live results seem to have stopped at that timing position - did he manage the 2:55 they were predicting ??

Trevor started reasonably well going through the half at 1:36 although Annie must have passed him somewhere around the 28K mark, making up a more that 3 minute defecit at times.

At the 35K mark, John led, passing through at an incredible 2:25:52, followed by Annie at 2:44:55, then Trevor at 2:51:11 and Gordon at 3:00:15

Will John beat 3 hours ? Has Annie bitten off more than she can chew - or has she timed her first long one to perfection ? Will Gordon manage to catch Trevor before the finish line ?

All this and more when the website actually posts the final results !!!

Well done All

Saturday, October 24, 2009

News from MCM

Here we are. Huge expo, big city, great beer. Weather outlook improving, but it's really warm right now. We need it to get cooler.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Good luck to our Marine Corps Marathoners

Wanted to wish all of you well and good luck! Marine Corps marathon is just around the corner.
I know that all your hard work and determination will pay off. Some of you are veterans, some of you are at their first marathon ever. You've worked hard in the heat and humidity of Charleston' summer, and now you will reaping the reward.

So, have a great run, great weather and fun!. Come back home with PRs, and do not forget the post race celebration. I heard that Annie is buying beer for everybody.

As far as the rest of us, will keep it going on Sunday- the three of us Rusty, Swaz and myself will be there on Sunday at 7 am sharp. We will be following the race (no pressure).

Monday, October 12, 2009

Sunday Morning 7:00 a.m.

Please note that the Sunday Long Run start time will now be moved up to 7:00 a.m. I repeat, the Sunday morning start time will now move to 7:00 a.m.

We're moving into our winter mode, and it appears that the tempuratures may finally begin to drop.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Autumn ain't here yet.

89 degrees today. It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow. In theory, this will help us (assuming it finally gets cooler by each of our respective race dates). But it is supposed to be slightly cooler by Sunday morning.

I've got 18 on my schedule for Sunday morning, but I could run with the crowd and tack on a few at the end. What about other folks?

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Question and a Correction

Question:
What are folks planning to run on Sunday? I've got a really long one scheduled (24 miles) and I'm thinking about running a few before we begin at 6:30. That would work if anyone else is planning to run 18 or so.

Correction:
There is a correction from my previous post: Rusty placed 3rd (not 4th) in his age group in Omaha. That's a top three finish in the Omaha Half Marathon! (Read it again).

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Dr. Speedy

Let's hear it for Rusty finishing 4th in his age group at the Omaha Half Marathon with a time of 1:41:03.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Good luck to Rusty

Here's to wishing Rusty a good, safe trip to Omaha and a good race. We'll be watching those results (no pressure).

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Mileage

We've been able to continue the string of guest runners for a few months now. Thanks to Thomas for joining us. We're starting with big crowds, but we have a nice mix of mileage. Some are sticking with 10-12 miles. But those training for Marine Corps and New York are stretching them out.

I've got 20 on my calendar for tomorrow's run. What about other folks?

Friday, September 11, 2009

Sunday Run

Just when we thought autumn was here, the hot weather kicks back in. I've got 18 scheduled for Sunday Morning. What about other folks?

See you guys Sunday.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Sunday the 6th!

I know some people are out of town - what's on the agenda? I'm going out slow this weekend regardless!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Sunday's Run, 30 Aug 2009

Hi everyone. What's on the distance/pace calendar for people tomorrow?

Monday, August 24, 2009

Fall's getting close

While our new papa is learning to change those diapers, the rest of the crowd had a fast Sunday run. Thanks to Ann for joining us. We went for a brisk 12 miler downtown with a fast finish.

For the Marine Corps and New York marathoners, the training mileage is beginning to creep up. It sounds like we'll have a set of folks each week who will want to add a few miles on to the end. Let's hope some cooler weather is on the way.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Evan Nelson Douglas


Finally got a chance to take some photos off the camera.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

I am a DAD!

12:28 this morning we had a baby Boy named Evan. 5 pounds 4 ounces 18.5 inches long. A healthy just a little early! See you guys soon

Friday, August 14, 2009

Dog Days

We had a great run across the Cooper River Bridge on Sunday. We picked up the pace more than usual with Annie leading the way. We also had a brief chance to chat with our Mt. Pleasant buds at the foot of the bridge. Folks are prepping for the fall.

Looking forward to Sunday morning. What do folks have on their schedule?

Thursday, August 6, 2009

sunday run

Just was curious to get a feel on what everyone was wanting to run on sunday?

Monday, July 27, 2009

Summer Guests

This was the fifth week in a row that we new faces join our Sunday morning group. Each week it's been great to meet new runners. Yesterday, Greg joined us for a brisk 12 miler as we also continue to churn out the sub 8:30 pace. Seems like everyone's gearing up for some fast fall races. Here's hoping that running through these dog days will pay off dividends when the temperature drops in a couple of months.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Sunday Run

We had a good group on Sunday Morning. We did our usual 12 mile downtown loop (perhaps we're getting too predictable since we were visited by two team cars: Rusty and Trevor).

A tip of the hat to Robin and Roxanne, who joined us for our run. As always, its great when we have visitors to share the miles and the conversation.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Saturday morning question

Hey guys I will not be able to make it out on Sunday because I have to help lead the trysports ride. Seeing if anyone wanted to run 12 or so on saturday morning?

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

CSTS Tri

Trevor kicked my a$$ - need to stop calling him a pansy, now....

Report here: www.swaz.net

Results here: http://www.setupevents.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=event_results&id=1375 , codename Keith

Monday, July 13, 2009

Smaller crowd

Rusty and I started out on Sunday morning, keeping the streak alive. Obviously our numbers were smaller than last week. But the morning was beautiful.

Just as we were turning onto the battery, we picked up another runner. Hats off to Adam, a recent N.C. transplant with much running and triathlon experience. We hope he'll join us again soon.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Sunday Run

Lots of people are racing or traveling (or both) this weekend. But Rusty and I will be there bright and early at 6:30. Hope to see a few more faces to join us.

Sunday 12th

I won't be running, peeps - I'll be trying to avoid drowning then attempting to catch up / stay away from Trevor at James Island 2moro...

.... unless the rain keeps him away of course :/

TriSpan 10 K

Tri Span 10 k is a very interesting race in a beautiful city- but this is no news to folks who know Wilmington or did this race. I have to thank John for warning me about the hilly course and giving me step by step description of the course- it really helped. The weather was perfect, but not so perfect was my finish time. The morale of this story is do your hill work! I almost wanted to jump in the water from the third bridge. And there are other relatively steep inclines besides the bridges. The sponsor was NB, so there were shoe prizes from Omega Sports- got one for one of my friends.
I am enjoying myself today visiting and I will come back to Charleston tomorrow.
Hope that you will have a nice long run tomorrow. See you next Sunday!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

RAIN ... GO FIGURE

Hope everyone is having a great week. I just got in from a run in the rain just figured I would share that! Hope you all have a great time on sunday.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Summer Crowd

We had a full crew on Sunday, with a few new faces. Eight folks braved the warm weather for a 12.3 miler that we kept under an 8:30 pace. We capped it off with a fast finish over the JI Connector. I've updated our Sunday Long Run description on the "Group Runs"(the upper right of this page). I've put our pace range down to 8:15 to 8:30 pace. That's basically what we've turned in the last few Sundays. Seems like we're getting faster.

Hope to see folks Tuesday evening.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Back from Romania








Just got back from a refreshing vacation. Running there was a different experience, as people run only in parks and not on the streets. Luckily there are many parks and the one in the photos is 5 minutes from my house in Bucharest (walking distance). I was pleasantly surprised to find many fellow runners during the early morning hours, sign that people started to become more active. The park is about 2.4 miles one loop around a beautiful lake (measured by my precious Garmin, which took a long time to capture the satelites) ; it had been restored, cleaned and well maintained, with many trees, flowers, and handball and tennis/soccer courts on the side. Another nice surprise was the cool dry weather in the morning hours (you could run until 10:30 am without feeling the heat). As a matter of fact, since I am well adjusted to Charleston humid weather, my throat became scratchy and dry as I ran.

I also spent a few days hiking in the mountains (about 3 hours from Bucharest by train).

See you soon - this Sunday I have an 1 hour fast finish run on my schedule.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Sunday Morning - 6:30 a.m.

Well, our 6:30 a.m. start couldn't have been more timely. It was hot last Sunday, and it promises to be hot again tomorrow. (Cami will be faring slightly better; the Bucharest forecast high for tomorrow is 85.)

We'll see everyone at 6:30.

Monday, June 15, 2009

New Start Time for the Summer - 6:30 a.m.

Please be advised, our start time for the summer months will be moved up to 6:30 a.m.

We had a good crowd and a great time yesterday, but things got hot near the end. As we did last year for the summer months, we will move our start time to 6:30 a.m. In the fall, when things get darker and cooler, we'll move it back.

So once again: our Sunday morning long run will now begin at 6:30 a.m.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

A Healthy Helping of Seconds...

A successful outing was in the cards for our group at the Floppin' Flounder. Cami, Rusty and I each got second place in our age groups. Things were hot (as usual), but our crew held it together till the end.

Sounds like the double race weekend plans are off for now. We'll see everyone at 7:00 tomorrow.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Sunday long run + Run for the Nine Memorial 5K?

Is anyone interested in finishing our long run Sunday morning w the "Run for the Nine" Memorial 5K at Palmetto Islands County Park? Sort of an ultimate Cami "fast finish"!!
Registration that morning is $25, but for a good cause - almost 2 years since the tragedy happened. We could meet at ~7 or 7:30 am at the park, run for a while in the park, then run is at 9 am.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Chatooga 50K - Sunday 7th June

With maybe 12 miles of "running" in my legs between October and April, I knew this ultra trail race was going to be a bit of a big ask, which is probably why I only got 3 hours of restless sleep the night before, camping in Oconee State Park (You don't want to camp in the wild up here - this is where they filmed "Deliverance" !)


71 souls of various ages showed up at Burrells Ford trailhead for a 32 mile slog out-and-back along the south-western end of the Foothills Trail. I started well behind the self-proclaimed front runners, determined to keep my pace in check. I had researched the previous years results, winners time was 5h30 mins, 1st lady at 7h11m and figured with my 3 week crash course in flat mileage in Charleston I'd be doing well to finish under 7hours. I soon found myself frustrated at runners picking their way around the rocks and roots in front of me and started moving up the field. I knew Jenny was at the aid station at the road crossing, the highest point of the race at 10.4 miles and was pleased to get there in 2h06m. I reckon I was about 21st going through this point.


The next section had a long 700 ft descent and bees stinging unsuspecting runners! I got one right on the pip! I clocked 1h03 for the 5.6mile section to the turnaround and then 1h08 for the slog back up to Jenny's aid station. I had made up some 8 places over the 11 miles, as the 83 degree heat and the 90% humidity began to take it's toll on the field, despite the extensive leafy canopy throughout most of the course.


It was great to see Jenny again to fill up bottles and stuff my belt with goodies before heading back to the river for the final stretch. She told me later that many of the other competitors were a bit peeved not to be receiving the same kisses I was at the feed station !!


The wheels started falling off with about 6 miles to go. With tired legs it was taking me much longer to negotiate the fallen trees, rocks and roots and I ran out of water with about 3 miles still to cover. Although I had made up 1 more place another couple of folks passed me plodding uphill, so eventually I finished in 14th, scraping under my 7hour target at 6:53:35. I reckon there was at least 3600 feet ascent along the whole course - so I am really happy with that result. The winner came in with an incredible 5h08 - I swear he wasn't running - more like floating.


More info and official results should be here soon.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

A Little Rain

In the comments section of Swaz's May 24th post (see below), Mr. Douglas writes "Never again will rain stop me." Hmmm. That was a bold statement.

On an entirely unrelated note, we had a little rain today. Cami, Gordon and I started out in the midst of a downpour. But by mile 3, the rain tapered off. The rest of our 12.5 mile run was quite pleasant. The team in training folks were out in full force. We saw a slew of fellow runners all over the peninsula.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Hot Trot

Last Sunday was a scorcher but we managed through a great 15 mile run! We were averaging 8:30-40 pace before the bridge -key word before. Nice refreshments afterwards at bucks. What's up for this weekend?

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Track Night

We had a full crowd on Tuesday. The workout was a descending ladder. Some folks began with a one mile. The longer variation began with a two mile. Then all descended to 800's, then 400's. The heat is getting more noticeable. We'll soon revert to shorter fare.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Corbett hill run

Gordon, (and anybody else interested in hill running) Here is the link for my pal, Manny's epic:

Manny's Corbett run epic 2009

He's planned 1073 miles of hill running, 994 miles on his road bike, 183 miles on MTB and 240 miles Sailing in 60 days. Feel free to post comments of encouragement for him and his girlfriend, Brenda who is driving a camper van around for him to sleep in at night.

Here's a good site to explain what a Corbett is:

Hill bagging scotland

Suddenly these runs don't seem like such a big deal !!

sploosh fest

Good to see a couple of new (for me anyway) faces out - Annie and Bill, despite the weather. Along with Rusty and Gordon, who joined us at Colonial Lake we splashed out into the deluge.

We didn't get as far as the bridge, but did some hilly laps in the aquarium parking garage after running round the battery in the ensuing monsoon. I nabbed a few more inclines in the Memorial Hospital parking structure before returning to West Ashley via the JI connector - ended up about 15 miles:

Click for route on mapmyrun

Can't walk very well now :(

PS - Trevor - you're a pansy !

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Running Article

David Quick wrote an interesting article in today's Post and Courier. It is a sad testament to drivers who loose their temper, as well as their perspective.

For those who haven't read it, Click Here for David's Article

What's on people's schedule for Sunday morning?

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Cooler Weather

We had a good crowd at the track last night. The cool weather got everybody motivated. A few folks went on a run through the neighborhood. The rest of us did 800's on the track. Rusty is in Los Angeles for a few days. We spoke on the phone and I asked him to check out the west coast running scene and report back to us.

What does our Sunday run look like? What distance are folks looking to go?

Friday, May 8, 2009

Mother's Day

The storm clouds threatened on Tuesday, but it didn't amount to much. Did we have a sparse crowd that night? I didn't make it.

What's everyone's plan for Mother's Day? I might be letting my wife sleep in. Who's going to make it Sunday morning?

BTW Trevor, in case you don't already know; Yes, you do have to purchase a gift for your wife.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Track Night

We ran 12 on Sunday. We hit our standard downtown loop. As the temperature rises, setting a course with lots of water stop options becomes more important. Like most runners, we know where to find pretty much every water fountain on the peninsula.

Does anyone have a track workout planned for tonight? The last few Tuesdays, the larger group has been amenable to whoever shows up with a plan. At this point, I'm fairly open to anything with short recoveries and a total distance around 5,000.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Sunday Run

We had another big crowd on Tuesday night. A few more people appear to be prepping for fall marathons. We have a healthy number of folks signed up for Marine Corps Marathon and NYC Marathon.

Tomorrow, I've got 12 on my schedule. See you guys in the a.m.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Summer Weather

The warm weather is here. The group went 13 on Sunday with a run to the top of the Cooper River Bridge. We mixed things up at the end with a return trip over the James Island connector. Looks like everyone is back in town. Hope to see a good crowd on Tuesday at the track.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Routine

After a whirlwind of running events last weekend, it looks like we're back to our normal routine. For tomorrow, I was planning to go 12 or so. What are other folks thinking?

Click on the link below for your daily running laugh from The Onion News:

Deriba Merga Dedicates Boston Marathon Victory To Pit Crew

Monday, April 20, 2009

Boston - Follow up




The rain held off for a memorable day in Bean Town. I waited with my family just at the last turn on to Boylston St. The crowd noise was truly amazing. Watching the elite and non-elite runners was equally inspiring. It seemed every runner was giving that little bit extra just because it was Boston! I have some great pictures and stories to share - see everyone Sunday morning. The pictures to the left are: elite women's race unfolding; Ryan Hall; Deriba Merga.

Big Race Weekend

Top tier finishes were in the cards for everyone this weekend, so I've included lots of links in today's post. Click on the highlighted text for results.

Rusty started things off on Thursday with a strong finish in the iFiveK. Trevor and I finished near the top at the Green Village 8K on Saturday. Trevor did the two-fer with the East Cooper Triathlon on Sunday.

Now Gordon can say that he was 14th in his age group at Boston...for the 5K. But, when you consider that he finished 166 out of 3,523 finishers, it's even more impressive.

If you want to follow the Boston Marathon race day action, Click Here.

We had a good crowd and great weather for our long run on Sunday. We'll have lots to talk about at the track on Tuesday evening. See you there.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Boston - Saturday

Arrived very early yesterday morning to a very warm Boston. The airport was already filled with people from all over the country/world wearing the blue and white or blue and yellow boston jackets from previous years. Off to the Expo this morning - looks like the weather is not going to be good for Monday.

Monday, April 13, 2009

B2B and other 2009 targets

Hi All !

I will be back in Chas from about mid-May. Still have no summer job so hopefully lots of running and tris to keep me sane.

Trevor - I don't know if you (or others) plan on doing B2B again - but looks like a good end of season target for me and will also be 5 years since last ironman so keen to see if I can beat my time 5 years on....

Anybody else got this one in their plans ?

I'm keen to run a fast Marathon too - I've never trained specifically for the distance as a run on asphalt alone - want to set a decent PB before I get too old !! What are some fast courses for PBs about Sept time ?

Cheers for now
Bill from Virginia and sometimes C-towne forwarded this me. Scroll down the page a little to check it out. Very inspirational. Good luck next Monday Bill!

http://www.boston.com/sports/marathon/blog/2009/04/qualifying_for_boston.html

Friday, April 10, 2009

Thursday workout

I did the Thursday lunchtime workout at the Citadel again (third time in four weeks). Starting at Brittlebank Park, with warm up and warm down, I did the whole workout in almost exactly one hour. For this Sunday, I've got 12 on my calendar.

There are a slew of races coming up. I plan to be at Green Village. What about other folks?

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Running Camp

This is the Camp I was talking about last night at Track. One of the coaches writes for the Running journal and he is pretty good. Check out the daily schedule!

http://www.zapfitness.com/?page=24

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Second most

With active.com reporting 31,448 finishers, the Bridge Run didn't quite set the record (it was 33,603 in 2006). But it was only the second time we topped 30,000 runners. Not too shabby.

I was at a post race party and spoke with Rick Nealis, Marine Corps Marathon Director (he visits the CRBR each year). He told me that as of today, the MCM had over 27,000 registrants. With only 3,000 total slots left, sign up now or never.

I look forward to a long run tomorrow, and getting details of everyone's CRBR experience. I'll be ready to roll at 7:00.

Race day

The joint is jumping. Not a bad day all around. Just can't stand the constant little fires. (Sorry Gordon, didn't mean to blow by). I look forward to our long run tomorrow.

Friday, April 3, 2009

More News from the Front

It's a beautiful day and in Marion Square, we're defending the food from hoards of college mooches.

Cooper river bridge run

Good luck to everyone running in the morning! John is there any way to volunteer at the start and have the opportunity to still jog in the race?

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Marine Corps Marathon Registration

Please be advised, on-line registration for the Marine Corps Marathon begins today at noon. The link to the MCM is on the "Races We Like" panel to the right.

News from the front.

Things are going up in the rain. But the race day forecast looks good. In one picture, note the shadow on the grass from the fashion week tents. Let's see who gets the blame.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Magic Mile

I was looking at the Marine Corps Marathon site and it mentions a magic mile and has a calculator to figure out race performance based on the "magic mile" time. You guys click this link and check it out see what we can find out for this weekend and future 5K, Marathon times.

http://www.marinemarathon.com/training/virtual_trainer.htm

I haven't run an open mile in a long time so I may have to try this soon!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Sunday Stats

A nice 10.8 miler with the youngsters showing up to speed things up a little. Average pace was approx. 8:34 - total time 1:32:44. Good luck to everyone running next week!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Mid Week Pick-Me-Up

Gordon and I tried out a Thursday lunchtime speed session at the Citadel Track. Pros: nice weather, no crowds. Cons: midday temps are climbing up there, and it ain't the greatest track around. Still, I wouldn' mind trying to keep this workout going.

Since I'll be handing out bananas and bagels at the Bridge Run, I'm up for a long run (12-14) on Sunday. But those racing next Saturday may opt for something shorter. What do folks want to shoot for?

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Track Options

The group ran 10 on Sunday. Things started out chilly. Folks are ready for warmer runs. But the morning was clear and beautiful. We saw the usual group of sunrise photographers on the Battery.

The track workout tonight looks like it will offer the same option as last week. Rusty indicated that a bridge workout group will provide the hill option. We'll still have the interval crowd at the track. I'll be there at 5:30 (though not sure what workout group I'll join).

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Spring is Springing

We had a good crowd for a foggy Sunday morning run over the bridge. Hat's off to Paul, our Chicago guest. If you didn't join us, Paul coordinates the Chicago Marathon's Nike Pace Team. It was great that he could join us.

The Tuesday night track crowd's getting faster as the weather gets warmer. We have a group that is experimenting with the Runner's World "Your Ulitimate 10K Plan." It includes two shorter/higher intensity workouts per week. Another group is throwing in more hill work on the bridge (a sound strategy this time of year).

The Sunday weather report looks cooler but clear and sunny. I'm up for 12 or so. What says the group?

Sunday, March 15, 2009

More Big Dog Feats

In the Flowertown Festival, this crew continued its winning ways. In a photo finish, Cami got 2nd place overall in the 5K. In the 10K Gordon notched a top 20 overall finish. For the results click here.

For anyone new to our blog and (we hope) thinking of joining us for a Sunday morning run, don't worry, we'll keep the "long slow distance" just that.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Nice Weather

The nice weather brought out a good crowd on Tuesday evening. We had two distinct workouts. One group (including Rusty) ran to the bridge and did a monster hill workout. The rest of us did a variety of intervals at the track. Most folks appear to be honing their 5K/10K skills for the upcoming race season.

I'll be up for 10-12 on Sunday. Some folks will probably be going a little further. Any thoughts?

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Daylight Savings Time

Don't forget to set your clocks an hour ahead tonight. On Sunday at 2 a.m. daylight saving time goes into effect. I got burned by this last time.

We will loose an hour tonight. This means that the clock will read 7:00 when our internal clocks will still think it is 6:00. Anyone who doesn't set the clock forward will be an hour late to everything.

So, the question must be asked: Do we want to move our start time?

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Sunday March 7th

Looks like everyone should be back in town this weekend and well rested. I need to do at least 10 or more. Hopefully the weather will cooperate because I need some LSD. See everyone at 7am?

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Thunder

The weather is conspiring against us. As of 6:50 we have a steady drizzle, which is fine. We've run in drizzle before. But I can also hear thunder rolling in the distance rather consistently. Not a good day to get caught a few miles from your car. Hope to see everyone next Sunday.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Sunday Run

The track crowd on Tuesday remains sizable, though the workouts are quite varied. Still, its good to see so many people.

The weather report for Sunday looks dicey (rainy but not too cold). But I'll be there. I plan to go 7-8 again, though I'm sure the group will want to go more like 10-12.

Your thoughts?

Monday, February 23, 2009

Dolphin Distraction

We went a modest 7 on Sunday. Everyone seemed to be working the kinks out (or maybe that was just me). As we crossed the Ashley River on our last mile, we were rewarded with a dolphin sighting. A pair were lazily swimming around the bridge just below us. It was an inspiring site.

Sometimes it pays to slow down.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Back on Track

Okay, with the latest batch of marathons and half marathons now behind us, looks like we're ready to get back to some more modest long runs. I plan to be ready to go on Sunday morning at 7:00.

I've only got 6-8 miles on my schedule. What about other folks?

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Great job, everyone

Congrats to our racers for their results at Myrtle Beach half and full marathon this weekend.
The weather wasn't great, but I am sure they had a great time out there! Can't wait to hear details. See you all next Sunday.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Sunday 14th - will the chain be broken?

More than hearts will be broken if no one runs this Sunday from our usual spot. The Sunday morning run has been going on for a while now - but...looks like most of the gang will be recovering from Myrtle. See everyone on the 21st!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Another stellar performance

Congrats again to Rusty for his 5K performance today. He won again his age group, and this time was acknowledged by the race officials. Thank God! This time weather conditions were close to perfect for a PR, just a little windy on our way back. Personally I got dizzy trying to run various loops during the last 4-5 miles of the half marathon.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Low light situation

The field lights at the track were recently vandalized, so there were no lights available for us on Tuesday evening. By the time we finished, we were running in complete darkness. Not a bad workout though. Good crowd too. We did 800's. Others did 400's. One group did 1,000's. Good mix.

Sunday is a week before Myrtle Beach. I've only got 8 on my calendar. But, I'll be there at 7:00. Hope to see you there.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Usual Suspects

We had our die hard crowd Sunday morning. We were scraping the ice off of the windshields on the way to Windermere. But once the sun came up, things heated up quickly. Most of us overdressed. The tapering was beginning. Most folks ran about 8-9 miles.

Gordon and Rusty had a good day at Charlie Post. But in spite of a strong performance, Rusty's luck with the race officiating and accurate results continues to plague him. This time his place was missed entirely. Sheeesh! We trust that he's due for a completely accurate accounting in Myrtle Beach.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Charlie Post

I wanted to wish good luck to our folks racing tomorrow. Have a great race, great weather and "fine tune" your upcoming full or half marathon!- Go get those prizes!

Monday, January 26, 2009

More and better

We've had a couple of new folks join us the last couple of weekends. We hope that the coming spring will bring out some more runners. This past Sunday we had a group of five that went from a little over 12 all the way up to 24 (it's my last long one before Myrtle Beach). The weather cooperated with us a bit more this time. No rain and it was mostly a tail wind coming back.

Hope to see everyone on Tuesday evening.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Winter weather

Colder temps have slowed down our workout times. But hopefully this will pay dividends when the weather warms up. We had a good crowd on Tuesday night. The workouts varied from mile repeats on down to 400's.

On Sunday, I'll be there at 7:00. I've got my last really long run before tapering for Myrtle Beach. But I imagine that most of the crowd will want to do between 12 and 14.

What's the consensus?

Friday, January 16, 2009

That which does not kill me...

Okay, weather conditions have not be optimal the last couple of group runs. In fact, the last four hard workouts I've done have been under rotten conditions (cold, wind, rain). I suppose we could convince ourselves that this has helped our training.

Sunday morning doesn't promise to be balmy. But right now, the weather forecast puts Sunday as the warmest day of the week, sunny and 57 degrees (rain is predicted for later that evening).

I've got 22 on my calendar. I'll be there at 7:00.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

It could have been worse...

...although I'm not sure how. Okay, it rained. But it didn't rain the whole time. It started around mile 8 and stopped around mile 14. And it was windy, really windy up on the bridge. But it wasn't too cold.

Cami, Gordon and I ran through the first 8 together, which helped a great deal. At my turnaround point, I happened to chance on Bob Schlau beginning his run. We ran together and chatted for about a mile. That also helped.

So all in all, it was a good run. But also a good day for an afternoon nap. See everyone on Tuesday.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Today's Story

For those who haven't seen it, click here for David Quick's P&C story about Maurice. It's a sobering reminder that no amount of exercise insulates us from issues like this.

For Sunday's long run, I've got 20 on my calendar (Myrtle Beach is looming). But I'm sure the rest of the crowd is up for something shorter. What's on the menu?

Monday, January 5, 2009

New Toys

The Garmin Forerunners were in full bloom on Sunday. We had a variety of distances. Some went about 12 miles. A couple of us pushed it up to 18. The weather was foggy but otherwise perfect, mild and no wind. Hopefully we'll see a big new year's crowd at the track on Tuesday. I plan to be there.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Ready for the New Year?

Okay, with holiday gluttony behind us, are we ready to get back on track? I've got 18 on my schedule, but I might have to be flexible. I'm just coming down off a cold. But I'll be there tomorrow, 7:00 a.m. The weather looks like it will be agreeable.