Dog days of summer: Lull time for running!

Life has been a little crazy lately, hence the lack of updates, but in all reality there hasn't been a lot to report. It's icky outside. No fun to be out and about. Still I did two races in two weeks.

The results kind of made me want to stick my tail between my legs, hide in a corner and sulk, not because the times were necessarily bad, but because I ran the races so poorly.


Cinco de Julio Cuatro Miler July 9: I signed up for this one simply because it involved tequila and I got in for free. To clarify: The tequila came after the run.

It was 90 degrees out and brutal! There was no mercy on the course, either, the run went a mile plus on Broad Street, a short distance through a shady park and then back through the unforgiving heat!

I met up with my MIT buddies Jessica and Brandon and we did a two mile warmup to meet our six for the day. The event was at The Bluestone, a fancy bar in Columbus inside an old church. The race started at 6 and the heat was by no means dying down. We basked in the air conditioning to stretch and then it was back outside for the run itself. (continued after the jump)

Urban Dare Columbus race report, and other musings

Life has kept me a little busy lately, in good ways, so this is going to be uncharacteristically short (as in -- here's what I can write while inhaling a hummus sandwich on my lunch break).

First up -- the Urban Dare Saturday. This was a fun event -- though it was more scavenger hunt, less dare. I did it with my buddy Jason. We had no idea what to expect when we got there, we were handed blue shirts to wear and told to await further instructions. There were about 80 teams.


First instruction: Run to the statue 20 feet away. That was easy. We got our other instructions -- all clues of places to go around downtown Columbus. In Columbus, I know where the statehouse is. And Einstein's bagels across from the statehouse. And... that's it.

Thanks to a glorious invention called the smartphone (I'm not cool enough for one, but Jason was) we got online and deciphered the clues, and plugged them into the GPS. They were all statues, restaurants and landmarks.

We got turned around a couple times, and almost ran 3 miles out of our way. We ended up having to run a mile back because we missed a landmark. We also had to stop a couple total strangers on the street and ask them to recreate this photo:

Beyond this, though, the "dares" were pretty pathetic. At most landmarks we just had to take a picture to prove we were there. At one we had to do a 3-legged race. At another we had to jump rope. Far from the rock climbing walls and stuff the event advertised! It was still a good day though.

The event was billed as 5-7 miles. I decided to be crazy and I went to MIT that morning and did 6 with Kim, and my hamstrings were screaming from Crossfit two days before. Thanks in part to my superior navigating skills, we ended up covering 9.3 (with lots of stops in between!). Our official time was 3:32 (there were many stops). Total was 15.3 miles for the day, giving me a 27 mile week, my highest since Cleveland.

I'll update later with some more links and stuff. In the meantime, a few other random musings:

July will be busy!

Major ALERT!!! The price of the Columbus Marathon goes up after June 30. So once I get paid I'll have a few days to decide if I want to seal the deal. I've been tempted by a few other October marathons, but my gut is telling me to go with Columbus!

In the meantime the stars have aligned to show four races in four weeks, all while starting Crossfit classes! (Yay for race comps!)


Two of my local running buddies, including Tracy who blogs here, have raved about Crossfit training. Eons ago I signed up for a Groupon at Ohio Krav Maga and Fitness, which has a location in Gahanna. My intro is today! My legs are screaming at me for running uphills at the bio yesterday, so I hope I survive!

As for the races:

June 25: Urban Dare, an adventure race, 5-7 miles (I'll still go to MIT in the morning!) Our team name is inspired by a Bondiband, "Will Run for Beer".

July 1: Worthington Hills Firecracker Trot 5K... can I beat 24:27?? I'm not sure how hilly it will be. The best thing about this run: It's only $10! It's a Friday evening run, so I'll still go to MIT the next morning :)

July 9: Cinco de Julio cuatro miler, my goal is under 34 (an 8:30 pace)! It's on a Saturday evening so I won't go to MIT, but I will do a 2-mile warmup to get my 6 miles in for the day.

July 17: Greenswell Triathlon relay... guess which part I'm doing! Second opportunity to PR in a 5K. The Manic Mojo's will dominate!!






My next blog will be about the Tough Mudder, which I'm signed up for with Beth! I tried the strength training program for it and it's brutal!!