The chase format made things exciting as I was passing runners consistently during the race. Many were kind enough to yell at words of encouragement as I ran by.

I ended up coming in 2nd overall with a time of 19:49 which equals a 16:49 when the 3 minute head start is subtracted. The overall winner, Kara Hass, ran 17:09. It would have been close even without the head start!

This was a fun race with a relaxed vibe. I highly recommend checking it out if you live in the area!

The lesson began with general violin and bow maintenance and care. The instructor then showed me how to put rosin on the bow. Rosin is what makes the sound. If there is no rosin on the bow, you will not get a lot of sound out of the violin.

Next we worked on posture and how to hold the violin. I liked this part because it was similar to how I teach Chi Running and yoga. Posture comes first The instructor explained that poor posture can lead to muscle soreness/stiffness, pain and injury. I found it interesting that I was learning to play an instrument and posture came first. It still strikes me as odd that many fitness professionals and running coaches don’t give ANY attention to posture.

Next we talked about music theory and reading music. I told the instructor I was vaguely familiar but since I was self taught, I told her to treat me as a total beginner. I want to keep a fresh open mind throughout this process.

To finish the lesson we learned each string. A violin has four strings; E, A, D, G. You can play the other notes, but that involves holding the strings in different ways. We finished up by plucking some E and D notes. We didn’t use the bow in the first lesson. The bow is like speed workouts…you don’t want to add them in until you have the fundamentals in place.

For the next week my practice sessions will essentially be plucking the individual notes, trying to stay on beat, and trying to get a decent sound out of the instrument. I also ordered a tuner and some good rosin. I want to establish good fundamentals before I really use the bow a lot, but sometimes I can’t resist playing around with it a little bit.

Overall, I’m finding the process and practice of violin to be fun and rewarding. With my beat machines I can load up any sound imaginable and play the pads as an instrument. It makes the whole process extremely easy, to the point where many think it’s “cheating.” Since I don’t view music as a competition, I don’t really see it as cheating, but it is true that the beat machine is much, much easier than playing an actual instrument.

My girlfriend saw me come home from the lesson with a workbook and asked why I wanted to learn to play an instrument. She knew that I could essentially “play” the violin and other instruments on my beat machine, so why learn the real thing? Part of the reason is that, as a teacher of yoga and running, I want to go through a learning process where I am a total beginner. This helps me identify with my students who are beginning runners and beginning yogis. For me running has always come somewhat naturally. I felt that learning something that does not come natural to me would help me grow as a student and teacher. I think there is a huge potential for growth and learning in the practice of playing an instrument.


When I was waiting for my lesson, I realized that all the other students, about 6 of them, were all kids. I was happy for the kids and their parents and thought how cool it was to get them started with music early. I then gave myself a little mental pat on the back for realizing it is never too late to take lessons and learn an instrument.

I do want to get in the zone and knock out some intense melodies as soon as possible, but at the same time I’m excited and eager to simply go through the process of learning, do my repetitions and essentially “put in the mileage” before I move on to attempting more complex stuff.

Do you play an instrument? Have you found any parallels to your running and/or yoga routine? Anything that is different?

As you can see from the video, the lead pack get out really fast and I'm stuck in the middle. I had to work around a few people and then ended up leading the chase pack for a little bit.

From there it was pretty much back and forth, passing, getting passed...kind of a messy race.

I finished up in 15:47. Not as fast I hoped but still pretty solid. My key takeaways are that I need to solidify a better strategy before the race starts and I need to stay consistent with my long training runs.

I'm not sure what my next race is. I have some planning to do.

This strategy worked out great. I stayed extra relaxed in the first mile since there is a long uphill. After the uphill was over I tried to relax even more and coast along. I was mainly focused on staying in the holiday spirit. Long story short I ended up finishing in 27:00 which is a couple minutes faster than last year. Good news.

After the race I hung around the OFf Season tent as our staff worked on some of the runners. It was a massive amount of good vibes and holiday cheer. I love starting my holiday off with a fun race. This race really set a positive tone for the rest of my day.

Today was the 32nd running of the Slattery's turkey trot in Fitchburg, MA. I love this race because it goes right through my old college campus. Last year I really blew it, so this year I was hoping for a more positive result.

It would have been challenging to do worse than last year where I ran 29:22, and it would also be challenging to do better than my best year in 2008 where I ran 25:53 . Slattery's is a tough race in that it starts on a narrow street and there is some uphill right in the beginning. I tried to get start out fast enough to not get caught up in a frakus but at least keep it reasonable. I managed to finagle my way a little behind the lead pack but enough in front of the crowd where I had some breathing room.. 

After the uphill there is a downhill with a right hand turn. I tried to just relax and cruise down it. Next there is a long stretch through campus. This is the part shown at the beginning of the video. It's about 800 meters into the race. As you can see there is a group of about 8 guys who are flying around 4:40 mile pace. I'm a little ways behind them cruising along with a fellow Fitchburg Falcon. A little ways behind us is a large pack including the leading women.

Mile 2 winds down ringe road and then goes right past my old teammate Danny Sav's house. This is the house where magical things happened to me. Danny Sav is finnish and has a legitimate finnish sauna in his backyard. He also has a flowing stream right behind the sauna. It's amazing. We used to take saunas after races and it was always an awesome experience. If you've never taken a finnish sauna, you're missing out. Anyways back to the race. By the 2 mile marker I was kind of by myself. I don't know what the time was but I was feeling a little frustrated that there was a huge group of guys steamrolling me so hard I couldn't even see them.

By mile 2.5 the two lead women caught up to me and this woke me up out of a slumber a little bit. These two ladies where in a ferocious battle. I think the prize money is $800 for first, $600 for second, so basically...they are going at it for the $200 difference at this point. I certainly wasn't in a position to win any loot, I was just trying to run a solid time and have some fun.

Right after mile 3 there was an...interesting move that happened. It seemed like one of the leaders had dropped out as he was chillin on the side of the road. Then as me and the 2 lead women went by he jumped back in the race and started running with one of the women. Since there was loot involved for the women running with me I was a little skeptical of this move, but the lady he was helping ended up coming in second anyways so it didn't really matter. I don't know what the exact rules are on this stuff, but to me it was kind of a grimey move.

Not letting myself get caught up in the drama of the women's race, I just kept relaxing as much as possible. Around mile 4 it starts to feel like the homestretch even though there is a still a mile to go. At this point I remembered my intention that I set to do well at this race so I began to really work my arms and upper body. This seemed to work pretty well. At about 4.5 miles there is a steep somewhat long hill. At this point in the race a steep hill is the last thing I need, but whatever...thats what Fitchburg is all about - HILLS.

After I sprung myself up the hill I turned down culley st for the kick to the finish. I thought I was running fairly quickly at this point, and I didn't feel terrible. I was a little surprised to see the time of just under 27:00. Not a bad time for me but certainly not what I was hoping for. I think I need to race more consistently if I want to run PRs. It's really as simple as that. With better planning, I should pick a race, schedule 3-4 races leading up to that race, and that should do the trick.

My year of poor performances reached a crescendo at one of my favorite races, the Slattery’s turkey trot in Fitchburg, MA. The race runs through my old stomping grounds, the Fitchburg State campus. I have fond memories of running in this area, so this turkey trot held the Sunday before thanksgiving holds a special place in my heart.

I typically do pretty well at this race. Last year I ran one of the worst races of my life. Not only had I not been training before the race, I also had a “bad game.” We don’t often consider the concept of having an off day, or bad game so to speak. Most runners seem to think race performance is linked to training and training ONLY.

I have a different view. Just look a quarterback can have a bad game – timing is off, poor decision making, hesitation – so too can a runner have a bad game. I don’t have a bad game very often, but for whatever reason, last year at Slattery’s I had what probably was one of the worst races of my life.

The race went so bad that as soon as I got home I made a commitment to get back on track so to speak and start running some PRs. This is why I’m doing a year in review before the year is even over. For me, my “new year” was the Sunday before thanksgiving.

If you’ve read some of my recent posts you will know that I successfully trained myself back into excellent shape this year. The physical training in combination with my ongoing mental and emotional development has allowed me to run some great races this year. In 2011 the races ranged from mediocre to terrible. In 2012 they ranged from mediocre to excellent.

After the debacle at Slattery’s my first plan of attack was to race as often as possible. I love the concept of racing myself into shape. It has always worked well for me. I like racing every weekend. I like the idea of a season.

My next race after Slattery’s was the feaster five turkey trot on thanksgiving morning. Being only 4 days after Slattery’s I didn’t expect much going in, and I did poorly at this race as well. I was about 3 minutes slower than my best time for 5 miles. To me, that is a significant drop in performance. I continued to race during the winter, running a couple indoor track races as well as some cross country and road races.

In January I ran my first ever half marathon. It was an on an indoor track! I ran a 1:19 and won my heat. Scroll down to see the blog post about it. I continued racing…

In March I ran the New Bedford Half Marathon. I was feeling slightly underprepared going into this so I started very conservatively. As the race went on I picked up some momentum and the confidence that goes along with it. I ended up running a 1:16:04. This helped bring me a little confidence that I wasn’t getting “washed up.”

In the summer is when the magic truly started to happen. I added in some really long, really slow long runs. This helped me tremendously. The runs were done in the woods at about 10 minute pace. I focused on breathing through my nose, staying relaxed, moving forward with as little resistance/braking as possible, as well as keeping a positive mindset. The runs extended up into the 3 hour range. I did one of these per week. Interestingly, I never felt depleted after the runs. I always felt strong and energized. The super slow pace really did wonders, and the lengthy duration seems to have helped my metabolism, efficiency, and speed.

The first race I did really well at was the Carver Cranberry 5 mile in August. See the blog post below for details. At the end of September I ran one of the better races of my life as I ran a 5K road PR in the Jack Kerouac 5K. This was great news and very exciting! A couple weeks after the 5K I ran in the B.A.A. Half Marathon. I was a little disappointed in my overall strategy and execution but I still ran very well, covering the 13.1 miles in 1:13:33.

That leads me to today…Tuesday afternoon…sitting here frothing at the mouth ready to go back to Fitchburg this Sunday and square off with the Slattery’s Turkey Trot once again. Throughout my life I have been told I set my expectations too high. A few coaches have told me my goals were “unrealistic”…whatever that is supposed to mean. Well, in my traditional spirit of high expectations -  I will not be happy with anything less than a 5 mile PR this Sunday. This Sunday I will find out how much of a difference a year can truly make.

The B.A.A. half was the third race in a distance medley in which the winners would receive $100,000. Looking over past years results I reckoned that I would be somewhere near the elite women. Probably not the first or second, but the third and fourth seemed reasonable. This was good news to me as I love running with elite women. I haven’t had many opportunities to race near elite women, but when I have, I found their strides to be smooth and relaxed, and their race tactics to be seriously focused and dialed in. With the guys I typically race near, it’s a crap shoot. Some are really relaxed and focused, while others seem like they just got shot and are running frantically trying to get help.

Anyways, before I get long winded about the race, I'd like to share this awesome highlight video the B.A.A. put together. If you look really hard you can see my head pop out at :47-:49 and 1:00.

From the video you can see I am rolling along with a huge pack, including the women’s winner Olympian Kim Smith. (hint: I'm wearing a white bandana type thing on my head*) This was an amazing opportunity and experience for me to run with such high level athletes. I rolled along comfortably in this pack for about 4 miles.


Unfortunately, somewhere around mile 4 my lack of maturity and patience took over and I slowly started to drift away from the tightly knit pack. It wasn’t really a conscious decision it just sort of unfolded. I was feeling super comfortable and felt the pace was a bit slower than I felt like running. So I foolishly started to gap the pack I was in and began to set my sights on picking up any stragglers.

As soon as I had some separation from the pack I realized there were not many other people to work with. I was probably in about 20th place and it seemed like every runner was by themselves. The race up front was pretty strung out. I was feeling good so I kept plugging forward hoping I would find someone to link up with and share some of the workload.

Miles 5-8 were fairly uneventful. I think I passed 2 guys who seemed like they went out a little too fast. At mile 8 is where the fun seemed to begin as Kim Smith went by me like a train. It was at this point I realized how foolish I had been. At this point in the race Kim Smith was absolutely steamrolling like nothing I have ever seen. I was probably running somewhere in the 5:30 range and she went by me like I was standing on the sidelines. At some point the second place female must have gone by me as well but I don’t even remember. All I remember is feeling and seeing Kim Smith go by me like she was on a mission. Of course she was on a mission…there was 100,000 dollars on the line. She obviously wasn’t there to do a tempo run.

Eventually the third place female caught up to me and we ended up working together for the final four miles of the race. We passed 2 or 3 guys, but for the most part it was her and I going back and forth. At one point she was a little ways behind me and I heard her fall into the barrier and someone say “oh my god are you ok” – she must have gotten it back together quickly because the next thing I knew she was in front of me again. She was battling pretty strong for the final portions of the race. The craziest thing is the same women won a very competitive 10K in Boston the next day!

In the final 3 miles the course goes back into Franklin Park and I was feeling excited about where I was. I wasn’t worried about my stupid move to leave the pack too early, because I knew I was still running very well. At one point I passed an extremely fast runner (low 14:00 5K guy) and was pumping myself up for a big finish. I had never even been close to beating this guy before so that was a nice confidence booster. I understand that he probably had a bad race or was doing a tempo run (he's run several minutes faster before), but I don't care. A win is a win :) I kept trying to pick it up but the challenging, rolling course certainly did not make it easy. Coming into the finish I  saw one of my high school coaches on the sidelines and that pumped me up a bit. I brought it in strong from there and crossed the line with a time of 1:13:33. A pr by well over 2 minutes.

That all being said I have mixed feelings about this race. The positives are that I felt smooth, relaxed, strong and fast the whole way. I ran a solid time on a challenging course. I had a strong finish, ran strong on the hills, and glided on the downhills. My mental, nutritional and emotional preparation for the race were all solid. All very positive stuff to take away from my fourth half marathon.

I would, however, be a complete fool if I didn’t critically analyze the move I made four miles in when I drifted away from the pack I was with. I knew who was there and what they were trying to do. Why I thought it would be a smart decision to run away from an Olympian with a PR several minutes faster than mine who was competing for $100,000 is beyond me.

I am giving myself some leeway because Kim Smith said in an interview afterwards that she purposely started off at a slow pace - "I went out really, really conservatively." Elites do this a lot when they are confident they can beat their competitors at the end of the race. So Kim’s approach was to do what she needed to get the win (and 100K) not necessarily a fast time. For the first 4 miles we were slower than 5:40 pace. I ended up averaging 5:37 pace and Kim averaged 5:28 pace. So, I was running slower in those first miles than I was capable of and maybe the decision to pick it up a little wasn’t too foolish, although I do feel that waiting just a little while longer and trying to latch onto the Olympian as she steamrolled the second half of the race would have been the smarter race tactic.

And yes, I understand that I probably wouldn’t have beaten Kim Smith or even have been close to her at the end. I get that she would have steamrolled me whether I waited to make a move when she did or not. The point is, had I waited I potentially could have been towed along to a faster time than the 1:13:33 I ended up with. This was a good lesson to learn for the next time I’m in a race with elite women around me. I suppose patience is a good lesson in general :)

Next up is the Slattery’s Turkey Trot on November 18. I’m looking to PR for the 5 mile distance.

B.A.A. Half Marathon Results

Yesterday I made the short trip to Lowell, MA for the Jack Kerouac 5K, which would serve as the 2012 New England 5K championships. Coming into the race I was feeling great. For training I have been doing the large majority of my running at very slow paces, around 10 minute per mile or so. I’ve increased the amount of core stability work and maintained a solid amount of yoga.

For my warm up I ran over the course nice and easy followed by a few strides. I was feeling good and ready to challenge myself a bit and hopefully achieve a new personal record (PR)

The first major challenge of the race was the very congested start. It tried to get as close to the front as possible but it still took me 4 seconds to cross the starting line! These races attract hundreds of really fast runners so getting a spot at the front of the line can be tough. To make things more complicated the instructions were for the women competing in the championship to line up on the right side and the men on the left. This created quite the squeeze.


The gun went off and I stayed relaxed knowing I would have to gradually work my way through the crowd. People were swerving, slowing down and causing all types of havoc. I had to throw a few stiff arms to maintain my momentum and protect my space. After about a half mile I settled in somewhat but was still working my way up through the field since I started so far back. Eventually I saw a group I thought would be good to roll with and surged to get up with them.

I hit the mile in around 4:55 but it must have been faster since it took me 4 seconds to cross the starting line. When I hit the mile I was feeling really good. I could still see the lead pack and was happy with my overall position in the race. At the last grand prix race I placed somewhere in the 40s and I knew I had a much better place in store for this race, so I kept rolling. The second mile went by quickly as I battled it out with several of New England’s top runners.

When I hit the 2 mile mark I was under 10 minutes, a good sign for sure. There was a slight downhill right after the 2 mile marker that I tried to use to my advantage. Unfortunately, a few of my competitors got a bigger advantage from it then me as they rolled right by me at the bottom of the hill. This shook my momentum a little bit and I never fully recovered. I managed a strong last mile but a group of about 8 guys managed much stronger last miles than me and really handed it to me in the final stretches of the race.

I felt like I was still running strong, nothing felt like it was failing me, I just wasn’t able to go with the guys who went by me. I regained my focus with about a quarter mile to go and tried to bring it in strong. I was simply trying to run as fast as possible since I usually “just miss” a time or place that I’m looking for. Today, I didn’t want to leave anything on the table. I kicked it in pretty well and crossed the line with a time of 15:46, a PR by 4 seconds. Thankfully, I didn’t completely fall apart in the last mile or else I would have just missed a PR. I ended up placing 23rd, which I'm happy with, but of course I can't help but contemplate the "what ifs" as a top 20 finish would have been really nice! Another "just miss" for me. Good, it will keep me hungry for more.

I've been running well and feeling great lately. Here are four things that have been contributing to my success:

*Slow, easy running. Staying healthy. Having fun. Not training myself into the ground.

*Racing on an empty stomach – no more stomach cramps and weird issues during races. I'm working on using fat as a source of fuel and it has been going very well!

*Supplements help my recovery tremendously – protein powders, vitamin and mineral mixes, herbal tea…

*Technique is critical to success – In 2004-2005 I was in the best physical shape of my life. I am running better times now off of MUCH less training – meaning I do ZERO TRACK WORKOUTS. In 2004-2005 I was doing two workouts a week and a race every Saturday.

Next up for me is the BAA half marathon.

Wow. Eye opening. The most dominant runner in the world does yoga. There is a weird meme out there that says in order to get better at running the best thing to do is run as much as possible. Anything other than running is considered a waste of time at best and a detriment to performance at worst.  Of course the idea that spending time on yoga, core strength, stability and flexibility will hurt your running is the exact opposite of the truth.