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Frayed Laces

The 53 Runner’s CommandmentsNovember 18

These Commandments have been floating around from the Ohana email this week. Perhaps many of you have already read these; perhaps these are all new to you. The Ohana have already started adding on ones of their own (see notes in yellow below). Got any to share? Comment 'em below!

The 53 Runner’s Commandments
by Joe Kelly

1. Don’t be a whiner. Nobody likes a whiner, not even other whiners.
2. Walking out the door is often the toughest part of a run.
3. Don’t make running your life. Make it part of your life.
4. During group training runs, don’t let anyone run alone.
5. Keep promises, especially ones made to yourself.
6. When doing group runs, start on time no matter who’s missing.
7. The faster you are the less you should talk about your times.
8. Keep a quarter in your pocket. One day you’ll need to call for a ride.
9. Don’t compare yourself to other runners.
10. All runners are equal, some are just faster than others.
11. Keep in mind that the later in the day it gets, the more likely it is that you won’t run.
12. For a change of pace, get driven out and then run back.
13. If it was easy, everybody would be a runner.
14. When standing in starting lines, remind yourself how fortunate you are to be there.
15. Getting out of shape is much easier than getting into shape.
16. A bad day of running still beats a good day at work.
17.

Mahalo to Shoe Running!November 18

I love packages. I love coming home at the end of a crappy day to see my latest debt-induced running or cycling gear in a cheery cardboard box. Some girls splurge on shoes; I splurge on....well, shoes I guess!

Last week I was notified by Shoe Running that I won a contest and could pick out ANY SHOE I WANTED for free! Mmmm....shoegasm.

Last night I dragged my jet-lagged tush home from the airport and was greeted by a very nicely decorated box with my brand new *FREE* Mizuno Wave Creaton 9's!

Inside was the cutest card ever (which will now be added to my wall-o-fame):



And just beneath, the holy grail (Cue Heaven music):

Video Blog 2: Long Runs in Strange PlacesNovember 16

I finally got my audio and video problem fixed with the webcam, but now it is chopping the end off any video. Go figure. One problem, then another. Anyways, here's the latest video blog, Long Runs in Strange Places:

DorkventionNovember 11

I've found it. The Holy Grail.

A place so full of dorks that it makes me seem actually cool.

The flight over was surprisingly uneventful and undelayful.

Although the in-flight electronic trivia games provided me with an excellent opportunity to prove my intellectual superiority over my fellow passengers, it also provided me with the annoying bobblehead sensation for hours as Ms 'Ironfingers' Johnson in 23C played bejeweled for the entire LAX to ATL flight.

Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep during my travels. As soon as I arrived at the hotel I had exactly 20 minutes to check in and shower before the first event, and didn't get back to my room until very late that night. 5 1/2 hours later I was up to squeeze in an early run before the sessions began.

About an hour into the day I realized the sleep deprivation and jetlag was causing me to have a runny nose, sore throat, and feel feverish. Uh oh. FrayedLaces NEVER gets sick. I realized I could skip out on some talks involving mathematical models and took a much needed nap, in which I had some superfreaky dreams. I made it through the rest of the day, and although I still feel horribly jetlagged, I am starting to feel better. As I type the rest of the gang is out celebrating since their talks were today, but I still have to present a talk tomorrow. I desperately want to run in the am since I all this sitting and eating is making me feel like a tub o lard, but

Race Report: Val Nolasco Half MarathonNovember 9

Two outta three aint bad.

Goal #1: Finish (check!)
Goal #2: Finish in 1:40:00 (uhh...)
Goal #3: Back off the pace or DNF if foot starts acting up (check!)

The foot started hurting around mile 3. I backed off the pace and felt fine until mile 10. Then it started hurting again. Overall I finished in 1:43:06, which was seven seconds slower than last year.

There was one part of the race when I pushed hard to fight. It happened right at mile 11, before a big uphill. Here I am, chugging along at a decent pace, when all of a sudden, phlegmgirl comes up behind me. This girl, who was a little heavier than me, comes up breathing hard. She is wearing running shorts that at some point in time were white or tan, but were now offensively translucent. She coughs. She spits. She snot rockets. All within 10 seconds. We are side by side for about a full minute, during which she is spitting about every 5 seconds and snot rocketing about every 20. I'm not sure if it was her strategy to gross me out so she could overtake me, but I wasn't falling for it. The one thought going through my he