RunRunLive

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-423 – Great Stories with Anne Audain - The first female professional runner (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4423.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Hello and welcome to episode 4-423 of the RunRunLive Podcast.    For those of you who got a new device for podcast listening over the holidays and are exploring new content, welcome to our tribe.  Or, maybe, you’re embarking on a new year wellness campaign and somehow found it to us.  Welcome.  To my old friends welcome to the new year.  There are 12 years worth of episodes on our website, with the corresponding blog posts, runrunlive.com.  The site is searchable. There is an index page that lists all the episodes in one place.  Every year we have a gathering in northern Idaho at the summer solstice at camp Whatafookie if you’d like to join us.  We get naked, paint ourselves blue, take peyote and dance a shamanistic jig to the Earth Goddess. But, that’s another story.  Today I’ve got a great interview with Anne Audain.  She’s a native New Zealander who lives it the US now.  She connected to me on FaceBook and when I started reading her bio I was a bit ashamed to have never met her before.  She competed in the 70’s and 80’s at a very high level as part of that great diaspora of New Zealand runners.  She has a great story.  A real hero’s journey.  You are going to love the stories. It’s a great interview.  If you know someone I should interview let me know.  The rule is - something interesting.  Something you’re curious about.  Something you want to learn more about.  Famous is not a requirement.  I tend to shy away from famous because they are jaded with interviews and give you the pre-recorded schtick.   I I’ve always liked the person-in-the-trenches interviews because they are relatable and applicable to our tribe.  In section one I’m going to talk about training your dog to run with you – because I have a dog I am currently training and I had multiple people ask me about this.  In section two we are going to do some tracking in the New England snow.  Here we are with the first podcast of 2020.  A new year.  A new decade.  You can thank the Romans for this fascination with increments of 10.  It’s not hard to see how they came up with that system based on counting on your fingers.  But, before the Greeks and Romans counted on their fingers there were other, earlier cultures that counted on their fingers and the knuckles of their fingers to come up with a 12 based system.  That still lingers in our world as dozens and grosses.  I’ve started training again.  I don’t have anything specific on the calendar yet.  But it feels good to start getting stronger again after taking a break for the holiday season. I put on about 10 pounds but I’m not worried about it.  It synchs well with the periodicity of my training cycles.  Now, in the beginning of the cycle we focus on strength and aerobic fitness.  There’s no pace work or specific, goal based workouts – so I can carry a couple extra pounds. As long as I feel healthy and eat clean it’s all good and one less thing to stress about.  I find that the weight will take care of itself as the training intensifies closer to the goal event and it’s counter productive to stress on that too early in a cycle.  And what are my events and plans?  We’ll just have to save that for the outro.  But, it’s a new year.  A time of rebirth.  I usually don’t like to go to deep into my personal business, but this story fits well with the new year theme.  I start a new job next week. I’m excited and apprehensive.  Looking forward to it.  It’s a bit of a change for me.  It’s a bigger company as opposed to the startups I’ve been working with for the past couple decades.  It’s also a step back from management and a step back from direct sales. I’m quite proud of myself for making this change relatively proactively.  I sat down with myself and asked what do I really want to do right now?  I heard myself, whatever that inner voice is, say, “Right, you’ve got an opportunity to change.  Don’t let your ego or your environment drive the bus.  Make a proactive change because you’re a different person than you were 15 years ago.” My point is, and I share this with you, because we are all changing all the time regardless of our position, circumstance or maturity. This is part of the journey.  We tend to think in terms of goals this time of year.  What are goals?  Goals are nothing but destinations.  In this world of change there are no real destinations.  Those goals are only there as waypoints to guide your journey – to keep you from going in circles.  Instead of goals why not think in terms of virtues this year?  Those things that are the demonstration of you as your best self. I didn’t put much thought into mine, not because it’s not important, but because to me they came quickly as soon as I asked the question ‘what are the virtues you want to cultivate this year?’  I’m going to focus of three things this year: Gratitude Kindness And Empathy As I move into the year this will give me the beginner’s mind I need to enable me to work with change.  So, I ask you, my friends, old and new; What are the virtues you need to cultivate in this new year.  How will those enliven your training, your health, your career and your relationships with others? Think about that.  New year, new changes, new you. On with the show. … I’ll remind you that the RunRunLive podcast is ad free and listener supported.  What does that mean? It means you don’t have to listen to me trying to sound sincere about Stamps.com or Audible.. (although, fyi, my MarathonBQ book is on audible) We do have a membership option where you can become a member and as a special thank you, you will get access to member’s only audio. There are book reviews, odd philosophical thoughts, zombie stories and I curate old episodes for you to listen to.  I recently added that guy who cut off is foot so he could keep training and my first call with Geoff Galloway.   “Curated” means I add some introductory comments and edit them up a bit.  So anyhow – become a member so I can keep paying my bills.   … The RunRunLive podcast is Ad Free and listener supported.  We do this by offering a membership option where members get Access to Exclusive Members Only audio and articles. Member only race reports, essays and other bits just for you! Links are in the show notes and at RunRunLive.com … Section one – Running with your dog - Voices of reason – the conversation Anne Audain The first female professional runner Anne Audain was born in New Zealand, adopted as an infant and suffered through her younger years with bone deformities in both her feet. After successful reconstructive bone surgery at age 13, she joined a local athletic club and a running star was born! Through her career Anne set records and pioneered professional running for women. She has since been inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, the USA Running Hall of Fame, and honored with a Member of the British Empire Medal from Queen Elizabeth II of England for her contributions to her sport worldwide. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Qualified for Six Olympic Games –1972 to 1992 in every distance from 800m to marathon. Pioneered professionalism for female track and field competitors by accepting prize money at the first professional event in 1981 which resulted in a “temporary” lifetime ban from the sport. Set a World Record for 5000 meters, Auckland, New Zealand 1982. Honored by Queen Elizabeth II of England with a Member of the British Empire award in 1995. Inducted into the Running USA Hall of Fame, 2008.  Inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, 2009.  Inducted into the RRCA Distance Running Hall of Fame, 2014.  Founded the Idaho Women's Celebration 5K (1993) which now has evolved into  HISTORY Born 1955 in Auckland, New Zealand, with severe bone deformities of both feet. Adopted at birth. Did not walk correctly until re-constructive surgery at age 13. Three years later qualified for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in the 1500m. Graduated from Auckland Teachers College with honors (1975). Taught at the elementary level for 4 years before arriving in the USA to further her sporting career (March 1981). Won more USA road races (75) than any other male or female runner in the 1980’s. Won Gold (3000m) and Silver (10,000m) medals at the Commonwealth Games – Australia 1982, Scotland 1986. Founded the Anne Audain Charitable Trust (1991) to support “at risk” youth in Auckland, New Zealand. Became USA Citizen, 1995.   Section two – Tracks in the Snow – Outro Well, my friends, you have told some great stories out on your run, and embraced some change, to the end of the RunRunLive Podcast episode 4-423.    I wrapped up the year with the Groton Marathon – my own personal made up series of races on the last Sunday in December each year.  We got about 30 people to show up and run various distances.  5 people ran a marathon.  I woke up a bit under the weather and ended up running the first 12, jumping in a support vehicle to chase down some lost marathoners and then running them in for a total of 22ish miles.  We got good weather and, as far as I know, no one died.  I’m starting my strength building for a spring race.  Right now I’m out of qualification and don’t know if I’m running Boston.  You might say, “Chris, that must be a bummer!” but, honestly after 22 Bostons I can take it or leave it.  If I do get a number, I’ll run for charity.  I’ll train hard enough to respect it.  I’d like to say I won’t race it but you’ve all heard that enough times by now! (Editors Note:  I just received a waiver bib for Boston so the streak continues to 23) I’d still like to qualify because it bothers me.  Like an itch I can’t scratch. One of the challenges of being an older athlete is that you can’t go all in on as many races.  You really have to pick your spots.  I feel like I don’t recover fast enough to perform at a high level in that 2nd or 3rd race.  I’ve got my eyes on the in Oregon that Eric qualified at last year.  That seems like a great event for a fast race and it’s out in June so I can get plenty of ramp in my training.  I did sign up to pace a 4:05 at the , but I’m wondering if that might not be biting off more than I can chew, even at that easy pace, to recover for an A race 30 days later.  The last thing I was thinking about after talking Dave at the Groton Marathon was organizing a Rim to Rim to Rim run later in the year.  There’s another weather window in the canyon after Labor Day.  I had so much fun  the last time I ran the canyon.  I’d do it in two days.  Down and out the other side, sleep over, then down and out back to the start.  Each down and out is less than 20 miles, which should be doable. I think it took Teresa and I about 8 hours to do Bright Angel to Phantom Ranch and back.  Anyhow, let me know if that sounds interesting and we’ll set something up.  I’ve been working with Ollie on his training.  Since I’m in the non-specific base building part of my training I can take him with me and practice recalls and on-leash behavior.  He’s still a maniac but we’re working on it.  It’s teaching me patience.   I’m super grateful to have this little maniac as a companion on this journey.  My daughter got me a subscription to .  If you’re not familiar it’s and app where you can take classes from famous people.  I watched a couple sessions of Malcom Gladwell, which was interesting, but more of a Ted Talk than a class.  It’s all talking head video.  Another one that I am really getting a lot from is called ‘negotiation skills’ with Chris Voss.  He’s a master negotiator.  I’ve read Herb Cohen.  I have some basic negotiation skills training from Harvard and have been in a lot of negotiations.  But this guy is not so much about the negotiation as he is about the human interaction.  Very interesting examples of using mirroring and tonality and neurolinguistic programming to get people into a helpful state.  It’s more of a “Pick up artist” type skill set than negotiation tactics.  I’ll let you get on with your life.  Thank you for sharing this endurance journey with me.  If you need anything let me know.  Reach out and say ‘hey’. We’ve all got a lot to be thankful for in this new decade, this new year.  What ever happens you will handle it with grace and kindness.  And Ollie and I will see you out there.  (Outro bumper) Like I said last time I’m going to close out episodes with music for the foreseeable future.  This week we are starting a series.  There’s a back story that I need to tell you.  You all know my running buddy Frank.  He is the first guy I interviewed in episode 1 and also in episode 100 and also an episode where we talked about his hip resurfacing.  I’ve been running with Frank for over 20 years.  Frank is a member of a band called .  They recently released a rock opera about a friend of the band named Brian Scheff.  So I give you now, over the next 20 shows, “Brian Scheff, the rock opera”.  And I am eternally grateful for all the miles and hours Frank has spent with me listening to my stories and creating stories of our own. I don’t know if there’s a way to buy this music, but if you’re interested I can find out.  Cheers, all. MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Rachel -> Coach Jeff ->  

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-422 – Robert Moore Boston Back in the Day (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4422.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Hello and welcome to episode 4-422 of the RunRunLive Podcast.    Merry Christmas, happy Hanukah and happy New Year.  I hope you’re having a great holiday season, if that’s part of your story. Today we talk with Bob Moore who is a guy who raced back in the 70’s, coming in 5th and 7th and 7th at Boston back when it was an entirely different thing to run a marathon.  With folks like Bob I just ask a couple open ended questions and let them go.  I think that’s something we can practice during these holidays when you might be speaking with people you’ve haven’t seen for a while.  Remember, how much joy they get from telling their story and practice active listening.  It’s a gift for them and for you.  In section one I’m going to counsel you on how to cheap out on your winter running gear because anyone who has run with me knows how cheap I am!  In section two I’m going to talk about how to turn worry about a big event or deadline into a positive force.  My running has been going well.  I’m still in hibernation mode.  I try to get out for a mile or so walk with Ollie as part of my morning routine and find that helps him and me start the day well.  I’m still running 4 days a week.  Tuesday and Thursday I get out for 8-9 road miles at a zone 2 effort.  I’ve got a nice, mostly back-road loop that I can run at night with getting run over and I find it quite comforting.  Then on Friday I try to get out during the day with Ollie in the trails for another 10k or.  The trails are frozen and you can’t go fast, but again it is good for him and I to get out.  I mix up it up.  Mostly off leash, even though he’s very jumpy and exuberant with people.  He won’t attack or be mean, but he can be overwhelmingly friendly.   I’ve got a 50/50 chance of getting him to come when called to get back on leash.  I also run him on leash and he’s pretty good with that.  Once he tires out a bit and stopped trying to pull me like it’s the Iditarod.  Sometimes I’ll drop the leash and let it drag.  Buddy figured how to run with the leash dragging between his legs and not step on it.  Ollie hasn’t figured that out.  When I drop the leash he picks it up in his mouth and runs with it.  It’s super cute.  He’s still growing like a weed.  I’ve found a new trainer and I’m going to do some focused work over the next couple weeks before I start my new job.  My wife bought a bunch of stuff from Sears because she had a gift card she needed to use up before they go out of business.  It all showed up at the house in packages and boxes.  I was wrapping presents for Christmas and offered to wrap all these for her as well. She of course, said yes, and even had me wrapping my own presents.  Since I now was in charge I wrapped and labeled the gifts appropriately with the recipients name.  But for my own gifts, that she had bought for me, and now was having me wrap for her I didn’t put my name on them.  I labeled them “Sexy”.  So on Christmas morning when my kids were passing sorting through the gifts they had to ask, “Who’s Sexy?” To which I replied “I am!”  And there you have it.  You are responsible for your own narrative.  When someone gives you a chance to tell your own story, make it a good story.    On with the show, … I’ll remind you that the RunRunLive podcast is ad free and listener supported.  What does that mean? It means you don’t have to listen to me trying to sound sincere about Stamps.com or Audible.. (although, fyi, my MarathonBQ book is on audible) We do have a membership option where you can become a member and as a special thank you, you will get access to member’s only audio. There are book reviews, odd philosophical thoughts, zombie stories and I curate old episodes for you to listen to.  I recently added that guy who cut off is foot so he could keep training and my first call with Geoff Galloway.   “Curated” means I add some introductory comments and edit them up a bit.  So anyhow – become a member so I can keep paying my bills.   … The RunRunLive podcast is Ad Free and listener supported.  We do this by offering a membership option where members get Access to Exclusive Members Only audio and articles. Member only race reports, essays and other bits just for you! Links are in the show notes and at RunRunLive.com … Section one – Winter running gear for cheapskate - Voices of reason – the conversation Robert Moore Dear Chris Russell,                                 I apologize for taking so long to get in touch. The last while has been hectic with six hours of teaching at the Chiroproactic College, seven hours of teaching at the Homeopathic College and preparation of webinars for the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists and the Naturopaths.                                  At Boston I was 5th, 7th, 7th and 7th. My best time was 2 hours 16 minutes and 45 seconds in 1974. Jerome Drayton and I are in the same club. I still compete. I am up to 1904 races of record.                                   I knew Ed Whitlock for decades. At first I was a lot faster than him but at the end he was faster. I never did formal research on him but a woman that I have heard of at McGill University may have done so. Best wishes,                       Robert Moore. Section two – On worrying about big events and deadlines – Outro   Well, my friends, you have made it, with great gusto, to the end of the RunRunLive Podcast episode 4-422.    This weekend I’m going to host the 7th edition of the Groton Marathon.  Which is a made up series of races that I started after the Boston incident in 2013.  My club and anyone else who wants to show’s up and runs whatever distance they want on the last Sunday of December.  I’m going the distance.  Looks like I’ll have a ½ dozen or so for company.  Looks like good weather.  I’m not in shape for a marathon, but I can fake it.  We’ll go slow and stop a lot.  At least I’m not sick this year.  After that I’m formulating my next season plans.  I don’t know if I’m running Boston or not this year.  If I get in I’ll run for charity.  I’ll train hard enough to respect it but won’t try to requalify.  But, I am going to look for a race to focus on in May or June to requalify at. I called coach and threw myself on his mercy.  After the Groton Marathon we’ll get busy.  I did volunteer to pace a marathon in May out on Martha’s Vineyard.  If that sounds like fun for you, come on up and join me.  I’m thinking a 100K later in the summer would be cool.  I’ve never run a 100K race – so Bam! Built in PR! I’ll tell you a funny story from last week.  Like I alluded to, I’m going to start a new job in January.  And yes, this is where the advice in section two today came from. I wrote that as I was flying down to Dallas for an interview.  At one point the hiring manager asked me, “So, you have all this experience and these skills but what new thing are you learning right now?”  I thought about this for a beat, the interview was going well, so I had a bit of good will to risk.  I answered, “Well, I’m currently learning how to run across the United States.”  I swear that lady’s head near exploded.  That was pretty funny. I haven’t seen a comic doble take and an audible “Wow!” in an interview before.  More to the point, because you all know I’m a different kind of animal by now, what they were trying to get at is am I still able to learn?  Do I have a growth mindset?  Do I have an attitude of abundance?  Being the smartest guy in the room isn’t necessarily a useful thing if you can’t learn.  So don’t forget to learn new things and push your limits no matter who you are or where you are in your story.  You get to create that narrative.  To take you out I may append a piece of holiday music from Eric’s wife Tammy.  They do a holiday CD every year.  She’s a pianist.  I’ll put a link to the whole CD if you’re interested in the show notes.  Going forward we are going start working in more music. Because life is better with music. Consider it music therapy. I’ll see you out there.    MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Rachel -> Coach Jeff ->  

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-421 – Coach Talk About the Off Season (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4421.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Hello and welcome to episode 4-421 of the RunRunLive Podcast.    Today we have a good show for you – I talk to the coach about how to manage the off-season which is what most athletes treat this time of year as.  Good practical stuff. In section one I’m going to review the science / opinion on fasting and how it interacts with endurance sports.  In section two I’m going to talk about how to actively cultivate peacefulness – because I think it’s a message we need to hear this time of year.  We are also going to talk about testicles or the lack thereof.  Because that’s just where I am in the never-ending carnival that is daily life.  Ollie the collie is doing well.  He had surgery on Monday and is officially neutered.  You would think that would slow him down.  It did for about a day but he is quickly back to his maniac ways.  I’ve been hunting around now for our next training opportunity.  He’s a great, smart, athletic boy but I need him to learn some simple stuff – like come when called or we are both going to get in trouble.  He also loves to destroy anything laying around the house if we’re not watching.  And, he’s very mouthy.  He loves the taste of human flesh.  I mean, who doesn’t?  But it can get annoying, especially in mixed company.  When I was at the vet this week for the ‘adjustment’ I asked for recommendations on training.  They gave me a contact that they highly recommended.  I conversed with this trainer.  Their program was to take the dog for 3 weeks and deliver him back fully trained.  No muss, no fuss.  Sounds good, right?   They just show up 3 weeks later and hand you the keys to the car.  The only problem I had was that they want $3500 for the process, which I’m sure is quite reasonable, but above my price bracket.  Clearly, I’m becoming that old guy who expects everything to cost a quarter.  We are going to another consultation with a trainer today and we’ll see where that goes.  Another funny story is when I try to do yoga or core work Ollie thinks this is a great opportunity to wrestle on the floor with me.  It’s impossible. It’s funny, but it’s impossible.  Again, who doesn’t’ love a good wrestle on the floor?  Continuing our theme of testicles, I had a fairly hilarious sponsorship opportunity this week.  I got an email from one of those outfits that is trying to make money off podcasts by aggregating niche shows like mine and selling them as a package to sponsors.  This story might be considered a bit PG-13 so you’ve been warned.  Now, I don’t do sponsorship in general, because a) I hate commercials in my podcasts with the burning hate of a thousand suns and b) I just don’t have enough downloads to move the needle money wise.  I mean it would be hatefully annoying to you folks, a big hassle for me all for something like $20 a month.  But the example sponsor they held out to me as attractive commercial bait was a company called Manscaped.  Intrigued I looked them up and yes, they are a new company offering everything you need to create lovely topiaries in your nether regions.  Which is a bit amusing, but the names of their products had both my wife and I howling with laughter.  Their main product is an electric shaver called, wait for it, ‘The Lawn Mower’.   A body wash called ‘The Crop Cleanser’, a hydrating toner called ‘Crop Reviver’ , subtitled ‘Ball Toner’ and an anti-chafing product called ‘Ball Deodorant’.  And the website copy is just a delight to read. So there you go.  A gift for the man who has everything… and they didn’t even have to pay me.  On with the show, … I’ll remind you that the RunRunLive podcast is ad free and listener supported.  What does that mean? It means you don’t have to listen to me trying to sound sincere about Stamps.com or Audible.. (although, fyi, my MarathonBQ book is on audible) We do have a membership option where you can become a member and as a special thank you, you will get access to member’s only audio. There are book reviews, odd philosophical thoughts, zombie stories and I curate old episodes for you to listen to.  I recently added that guy who cut off is foot so he could keep training and my first call with Geoff Galloway.   “Curated” means I add some introductory comments and edit them up a bit.  So anyhow – become a member so I can keep paying my bills.   … The RunRunLive podcast is Ad Free and listener supported.  We do this by offering a membership option where members get Access to Exclusive Members Only audio and articles. Member only race reports, essays and other bits just for you! Links are in the show notes and at RunRunLive.com … Section one – Fasting and endurance athletes - Voices of reason – the conversation Coach Jeff Kline Team PRSFit What I bring to the individual is 25 years of experience. My  approach to training is individual focused and comprehensive. I believe that coaching is about educating my athletes not just giving you a schedule. Communication, structure, guidance and motivation is the complete package that I offer to everyone I work with. I limit the number of athletes I work with to 20. This ensures you get the attention and high quality coaching you need to achieve your goals. “No individual is too big, too small, or too slow not to be coached.”. Ironman U Certified Lydyard Level II Certified Certified Natural Running Coach Certified Total Immersion Swim Coach Certified Nutrition and Wellness Coach Certified Personal Trainer In addition the coach completed his studies in nursing with a specialty in orthopedics and nutrition. He was published by the Colorado Nurses Association. The Coach only works with 20 athletes. Section two – Peace and Action – Outro   Well, my friends, you have made it, hopefully without any undo chafing or stinkiness, to the end of the RunRunLive Podcast episode 4-421.    Peace be with you.  Go in Peace.     I’m still in my down phase.  Running 2-4 days a week.  Keeping my miles in the mid-30’s a week.  Started working some core work and yoga back in on the off days and boy it is amazing how fast you lose your fitness when you take a couple weeks off.  For those first couple of core workouts I was sore as heck afterwards.  I raced the Mill Cities Relay last week.  I took the first leg.  It’s about 5 ½ miles.  The challenge was that we woke up to very cold weather.  It was about 1-2 degrees F when my leg kicked off.   It was sunny and there was no wind, so it was not uncomfortably cold.  But the air was super dry and hard to breathe. As is my habit I went out too fast and struggled a bit in the middle miles.  Not my best race ever.  But, I just kept reminding myself how lucky I am to be able to get out and do this.  How there are plenty of people in my age group who would kill to be able to do it.  My team ended up averaging 7:07’s across the 27 miles, which is respectable for our over-50 crew but still only put us 5th in our age group.  Most importantly we had a blast and it was a beautiful day.  Really a privilege to be able to run with those guys.  Next up for me is the Groton Marathon, an entirely made up race on the morning of the last Sunday in December.  The story is that when I was running my marathon a month in 2013/2014 in response to the Boston Marathon incident that year, my December marathon got canceled due to weather.  So I made up my own marathon, grabbed some running buddies and just did it myself.  My life, my rules.  Now we’re 7 years in and still doing it.  I’ve got a handful of folks signed up.  It’s a casual run around the towns on back roads with no fuss.  I’m not in any kind of shape this year so it will be slow.  But, we’ll have some good cheer, some good conversations, take some pictures and celebrate that we live in a world where you can make up your own marathon and have people show up. And with that, Ollie and I will see you out there.    MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Rachel -> Coach Jeff ->  

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-420 – Kicksology (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4420.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Hello and welcome to episode 4-420 of the RunRunLive Podcast.    It is the week of Thanksgiving up here in New England.  We haven’t gotten any snow yet at my house.  The trails are very runnable. Ollie the Collie and I are getting out 2-3 times a week.  He’s still a menace.  I won’t be able to get away with the ‘Oh, sorry, he’s just a puppy…’ line much longer.  He’ll knock out 8 to 10 miles easy with me in the trails.  I like to let him off leash so he can burn some energy.  It’s takes about 4 ½ miles for him to settle down.  Until that point he’s sprinting up and down the trail.  It’s a challenge because he has no manners and won’t come when he’s called and just loves to meet and greet people we run into.  He’s got another gear now and when he goes, I can’t catch him.  I’ve started referring to him as the ‘monochrome menace’.  But he’s a good runner and he minds well when he’s on leash.  He’ll be a good partner but I’m going to have to break him, like a wild stallion.  He’ll be my .   (Editor’s note: all classical references will be linked to Wikipedia in the show notes) Today we have a good show for you.  Yeah you.  You know who you are.  But first an advertisement for a new cologne that I’m producing for the holidays.  It’s called RunRunLive and it is the pleasing scent of sweat and dog ass.  Buy yours today at the RunRunLive web store.  Comes in a 16-ounce pop-top tall boy.  Today we chat with Brian Metzler about his new book Kicksology which is all about the evolution and lore of the running shoe.  Brian is a veteran running journalist.  Chances are you’ve read something that Brian has created or touched.  He has been a frequent contributor and started or edited a few of your favorite running publications.     What I liked about the book was that it was a trip down memory lane for me.  We love our shoes.  We have an irrational passion for a good pair of shoes.   Brian does a good job of tapping into that. In section one we are going to talk about breathing.  In section two we’re going to talk about memory and redemption.  Since we last talked, you and I, I went for my annual check up.  Apparently, I’m still healthy.  I’ve been working hard on overeating and drinking too much beer for a couple months.  I’m up 8-10 pounds, but it’s part of my natural cycle.  I can already feel the tug of the pendulum in the other direction. I have some good news for you men.  They have determined that the manual test for prostate problems has no efficacy.  No more fingers up the poop chute.  My doctor was reflective.  He said of all the hundreds of these tests he’s done he only ever found 6 anomalies and none of those turned out to be actual problems.  Thanks again to Peter for reading that piriformis bit into audio last episode.  I got some great feedback on that.  I told you I’m trying to make November the month of gratitude.  I have so much to be thankful for.  I’ve been trying to get my morning routine in line by meditating a bit.  I’m going to share a technique I learned that might help you in this season of thanks giving. This is apropos given that we will be talking about breathing next.  Here’s the technique, and you can do this while you’re meditating, or running or sitting in the car.  Inhale gratitude.  Exhale that gratitude out into the world.  On with the show. … I’ll remind you that the RunRunLive podcast is ad free and listener supported.  What does that mean? It means you don’t have to listen to me trying to sound sincere about Stamps.com or Audible.. (although, fyi, my MarathonBQ book is on audible) We do have a membership option where you can become a member and as a special thank you, you will get access to member’s only audio. There are book reviews, odd philosophical thoughts, zombie stories and I curate old episodes for you to listen to.  I recently added that guy who cut off is foot so he could keep training and my first call with Geoff Galloway.   “Curated” means I add some introductory comments and edit them up a bit.  So anyhow – become a member so I can keep paying my bills.   … The RunRunLive podcast is Ad Free and listener supported.  We do this by offering a membership option where members get Access to Exclusive Members Only audio and articles. Member only race reports, essays and other bits just for you! Links are in the show notes and at RunRunLive.com … Section one – Breathing and running - Voices of reason – the conversation Brian Metzler Kicksology Brian Metzler is a freelance journalist who covers running, running gear, and related sports. A running shoe geek since his prepubescent cross-country team days, Metzler has run more than 75,000 miles in his life, tested more than 1,500 pairs of running shoes, run focus groups for several running shoe brands, raced every distance from 50 yards to 100 miles, raced to the top of the Willis (Sears) Tower in Chicago, run a marathon on top of the Great Wall of China, completed two high-altitude 100-mile ultraruns, completed four Ironman triathlons, and regularly races with donkeys in Colorado. Metzler was the founding editor and associate publisher of Trail Runner and Adventure Sports magazines and was a senior editor at Running Times as well as Editor-in-Chief of Competitor magazine and Competitor.com. He has written about endurance sports for Outside, Runner’s World, Triathlete, Inside Triathlon, Men’s Health, and Men’s Journal. He is the author of Running Colorado’s Front Range and co-author of Natural Running with Danny Abshire and Run Like a Champion with Alan Culpepper.   Section two – Memories and Redemption – Outro   Well, my friends, you have made it with gratitude to the end of the RunRunLive Podcast episode 4-420 in those brand new running shoes that you are thankful for.  Like I said I’m just doing 2-4 runs a week right now with Ollie.  Not training for anything specific.  I ran the local Thanksgiving 5k with my running club friend yesterday.   I had planned to walk it with Teresa but her foot was too hurt still.  That put me in a bit of a bind because I wasn’t planning on running Thursday and I definitely wasn’t planning on racing a 5K.  I ran with Ollie in the woods on Monday and Wednesday. It worked out ok.  I just lined up in the 8:00 min mile section and eased into it.  I ran easy and got pulled along by the crowd.   Ended up being surprised to average a 7:26 pace.  Since I wasn’t hammering it I was being chatty with the other runners.  I’m a new level of annoying when you are running all out and I pull up beside you and start chatting. Next up, next weekend is the Mill Cities Relay.  I’ve got a good Men’s 50+ team and we’re going to have fun.  Then of course since I choose to live in a world where you can make up your own marathon and just show up without training on the last Sunday of December, we will be holding the 7th edition of the Groton Marathon.  I’ve got a handful of loonies signed up.  All are welcome.  Like I said earlier I’ve been putting in a lot of miles with Ollie.  Thursday was a long day for Ollie.  We had a lovely long walk in the Shaker conservation land in the bright, cold morning.  I was able to let him off leash so that he could sprint about through the swampy underbrush.  We were out for almost 2 hours.  Then we worked all day at Katie’s new house painting the walls and ceilings.  Ollie’s role in this is supervisorial.  He tests the quality of the painting by licking the freshly painted walls.  He enforces a schedule of mandatory puppy wrestling breaks. In this way we all stay limber for the work at hand. Later in the day he and I managed to beat the setting sun to a nice trail run.  We ambled through the soggy leaves for 6.5 more miles.  I was tired too.  My body was heavy from the unaccustomed time on my feet all day and the strange angles and dangles of honest work. We stood there steaming in the winter leaves and watching the sun melt into the trees.  I asked Ollie, “How you feeling?  Is this too much work, too much training?” He turned to me with his sharp brown eyes, considered me for a few long moments and responded, “No, Old-one, it is right that we train long.  For we must be prepared.  The day is coming when we will need to fight.  We will need our aerobic capacity and strength.” “Really”, I said, “How so?” He suppressed a small growl and pawed at the soft leaves and continued, “Grey-one, the time is coming soon when all will be ruin.  When the last remaining humans will be confined to carpeted cubicles and forced to ‘cuddle’ (here he seemed to sneer the word) and scratch behind ears and speak baby talk…We must be prepared.  We few remaining working dogs and humans for the Doodle Apocalypse.” And with that he trotted off up the trail with a seriousness and purpose no 6 month old dog should be forced to carry. And… I will see you out there. MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Rachel -> Coach Jeff ->  

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-419 – Dawn’s Wisdom (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4419.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Hello and welcome to episode 4-419 of the RunRunLive Podcast.  So – I’m a week late with this one, but it’s great show.  Think about it this way – we gave it an additional week to marinate, to grow, to rise like rustic bread or age like fine wine.  Last week I was all lined up to get the show out for Friday. Thursday was my birthday.  I took Thursday and Friday off from work to recuperate a bit and was working on the show.   Then, ironically as I was writing the hero’s journey piece that is in section two, that talks about how life is not a straight line, and it seldom goes as you expect it to, my old computer ceased to turn on.  I’ve had this Microsoft surface since at least 2015 and it’s been the best computer I ever.  It was powerful enough to do all the audio editing for the show, it has a great form factor for traveling.  Just a great machine that matches my need.  End of this story is that I spent all day Friday in the Microsoft store and ended up buying a new surface that I am happily tapping away on now.  I didn’t loose any data, just some time – and oh by the way – I’m about $2,000 lighter so you might want to consider becoming a member of the RunRunLive Podcast to help defray unexpected expenses.  So with that excuse out of the way let me take you back to the primordial jungles of North America where strange and dangerous beasts roam dark, dank forests…. (Fade in Jungle music) Our old friend Peter Herridge everyone with that excellent dramatic reading.  That piece of writing has been kicking around in my head or a few years.  Probably since I first heard the word ‘piriformis’ and thought, that sounds like the name of a nasty dinosaur.  I immediately thought of Peter who has such a great voice.  Peter was a good runner in his day and one of the original podcasters from a decade ago when we all got online and met each other.  Peter does a podcast every once in a while called ‘spikes’. Today we have a really good, timely chat with Dawn.  I have been following Dawn for a few years but never had her on the show.  She is a heavy social media poster and for some reason I see her posts on LinkedIn a lot.  I have always treated LinkedIn as a professional network and haven’t let this ‘hobby’ side of my life bleed over into it.  She stands out, because you’ve got all these businesspeople talking about business stuff and then there’s Dawn talking about empowerment and Joy.  This time of year, in the northern hemisphere anyhow, we all get stressed out.  The weather turns.  The days get shorter.  If you have kids their schedule ramps up.  It’s budget-setting time and trade show season at your work.  The end of the year is approaching with holidays and deadlines and sales quotas.  It tends to push people into anxiety and depression.  I was there myself this month.  With my work having challenges, me getting older and an unruly puppy to train.  Things just felt awful and closed in and trapped.  My mind started repeating a scarcity narrative of how much I don’t have and how much I’ve lost.  Which, I know is ridiculous, because I’m one of the most blessed and lucky people you’ll ever meet, but that’s how your brain works, especially this time of year. Then I stumbled across one of Dawn’s posts talking about gratitude and abundance.  By the way, one of the symptoms of this downward-spiraling mental malaise is you start trying to distract yourself online.  Whether it’s FB scrolling or too much news or video games.  That’s a bad way to avoid life.  Anyhow, I took a deep breath and declared November a month of gratitude.  In section one I’m going to suggest two useful ways you can use your off-season training to learn some new skills and add to your running assets.  In section two we are going to take the hero’s journey together.  Because one of the most effective way to contextualize your experience in this world is to see it as a journey.  Tell your narrative as a journey.  And that is what we are going to talk about today.  Gratitude and journeys.  Because, my friends, no matter how low or shitty it gets the hero in you always knows the way.  Without the shitty parts there can be no hero.  I saw a great post this week that said ‘failure is like stepping in manure, it stinks when you do it but it makes for great fertilizer!” On with the show. … I’ll remind you that the RunRunLive podcast is ad free and listener supported.  What does that mean? It means you don’t have to listen to me trying to sound sincere about Stamps.com or Audible.. (although, fyi, my MarathonBQ book is on audible) We do have a membership option where you can become a member and as a special thank you, you will get access to member’s only audio. There are book reviews, odd philosophical thoughts, zombie stories and I curate old episodes for you to listen to.  I recently added that guy who cut off is foot so he could keep training and my first call with Geoff Galloway.   “Curated” means I add some introductory comments and edit them up a bit.  So anyhow – become a member so I can keep paying my bills.   … The RunRunLive podcast is Ad Free and listener supported.  We do this by offering a membership option where members get Access to Exclusive Members Only audio and articles. Member only race reports, essays and other bits just for you! Links are in the show notes and at RunRunLive.com … Section one – Using your in-between time - Voices of reason – the conversation Dawn Ciccone Make your day a new & exciting adventure! Discover your incredible life. Dawn Ciccone A marathoner, writer, personal trainer, nutrition and running coach, Dawn offers methodologies learned from experience!  Her passion is to help people face challenges, dIscover the gifts they bring and trust themselves as the beautifully powerful person you’re meant to be.   Dawn has conquered abusive relationships, addiction, disordered eating and came through a tragic accident that left her helpless. Dawn has been where you’re at and knows how to turn challenges into opportunities!   Credentials Certified RRCA &   USTAF coach   American Red Cross Health & Safety Instructor   Certified Nutritional Health Educator and Personal Fitness Trainer   Certified Master Reiki Practitioner, intuitive, empath, lightworker, transformational speak.   Section two – Your Hero’s Journey– Outro Well, my friends, you have Made it with gratitude to the end of the RunRunLive Podcast episode 4-419.  Okey – Dokey – I’m in a down phase in my training.  Which is another, kinder way of saying I’m not training much.  Much for me that is.  I’m just doing 3 days a week in the trails with Ollie the Collie and then a longer run with the boys on Sundays – somewhere in the 20-30 miles a week.  I’ve fattened myself back up with some poor nutritional choices as well, but I think we need to take these breaks to rebalance the humors every once in a while.  I know discipline is power but that can burn you out and I’ve got a lot going on right now.  I’m noticing that I’m starting to get the bug again to do something epic.  Got any suggestions?  I’m not sure if I’ll get into Boston this year.  If I don’t that opens up the spring for something.  Coming up is our traditional Thanksgiving 5k.  But, Teresa hurt her foot, so I’m going to walk it with her.  Maybe we’ll start early and take the dog.  After that the first week of December is the Mill Cities Relay.  I was running with my buddies Brian and Frank and we came up with a the bright idea of entering our own team.  You only need 5 people and we already had 3 so how hard could it be?  As I started reaching out to some of our old running friends, (in our age group), I found that many of them were no longer running at all due to age-related injuries.  In a weird Schadenfreude way they made me feel pretty good about the fact that I’m still getting out there.  It also reminded me to be kinder to myself. Finally, I am planning to run the Groton Marathon, and organize it, for the 7th edition on December 29th this year – please come up and run with us.  It’s fun.  What about Ollie the collie? We were asked not to come back to puppy training.  It started as we were sitting patiently, waiting for class to start.  Ollie the border collie puppy and myself in the big box pet store.  It was our 3rd class.  Ollie was doing well, learning quickly.  The dopey brown doodle came in with it’s handler all stupid and goofy, doh do doh.  The dopy doodle’s exuberance overruled the owners’ ability to control it and it pulled its way over into our space to check out Ollie. Ollie was not happy about this.  He turned to look at me and said  “Dad, what is this madness?   These doodles and snoodles and snickerdoodle caboodles?  What right do they have to play with the canine DNA of pure breeds for their own amusement?  These freaks!  These aberrations! This cannot stand! I draw the line here! I must stop this madness!  Foul abomination I strike at thee! I will blot your aberration from this world!” At least that’s what I thought he said, because it was at this point he went berserk and tried to murder the doodle.  But, since I was holding him by the collar he turned and sunk his teeth into my hand.  As I was bleeding and shaking with fear, that’s when the nice lady said maybe we should leave and not come back.  On the one hand Ollie is mental and that has its challenges.  But, on the other hand, I’m kinda jealous because that’s exactly the kind of punk-rock, hard core mental many of us tried to be as teenagers! He’s just coming up on 6 months old and he’s already 31 pounds of muscular athlete with a big brain to boot.  He’s running 20 – 30 miles with me off leash in the woods each week and he’s scary fast and strong.  He’s not much on cuddling, but as they say, he’s someone you’d want to share a fox-hole with. I just have to train him up.  He’s going to be a great dog.  And remember, as Ollie says, Death to Doodles! I will see you out there. MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Rachel -> Coach Jeff ->