#TimedMileTuesday (New Orleans Day 3)

Today has been a whirlwind of activity!

And of course being #TimedMileTuesday it began with my now weekly mile time-trial!  Having been stiff the past couple days I wasn't sure what to expect and had to coax myself to the Mississippi River Trail where I'd decided to run it.

4:48 mile + post-run ice bath!

4:48...I'll take it!

When doing these hard efforts I really try to focus on form, arm-swing, and a powerful toe-off.  I'm to the point where any improvement is likely to come more from increased mechanical efficiency and less so the energy system so concentration on form is key.  I'm always looking to mix things up and continue growing so I may transition to a different distance in the coming weeks (800m possibly?) so stay tuned...

Kind of a fun little thing I stumbled upon during my cooldown was this (see picture).  Apparently Kenner, New Orleans (the area we're staying) hosted the first ever heavyweight prizefight way back in the 1800's - this memorial is on the exact spot  it was held about a 100yds from the Mississippi River!

First Heavyweight Prizefight Memorial!

After my run I met Zach and Shannon for breakfast!  I'm so glad Zach is feeling better - it really sucked having him out of action and I know how miserable it is being sick....  After breakfast we decided to drive out to a bayou refuge for some exploration and alligator searching!

Upon arriving to the refuge we were greeted by this...

Nothing says 'Welcome to Louisiana' like a burnt out car....

Notice how the windshield glass melted over the steering column?  Crazy!

Moving on...here's why we really came!

Marshland as far as you can see...

More marsh...

The bayou refuge was really cool and we did manage to see a gator - albeit a smaller one :) New Orleans ecosystem is fascinating.  The network of levees that allow the city to even exists are engineering marvels and inadvertently also create brackish, freshwater swamps surrounded by saltwater marshes - it's crazy.  After the bayou we went and grabbed some coffee and headed back to the hotel.

On a sidenote* it's Zach and Shannons' anniversary so they're out to dinner tonight (Congratulations!!!!) and my spread in the April issue of Competitor magazine is out too!  Yay!

Competitor Magazine - April Issue

Tomorrow is a big day :) I managed to scrounge up a ride to November Project New Orleans plus Angie and Dana of Brooks Running fly in tomorrow from Seattle!  Something was mentioned about a jazz concert but we'll see....

Until then - #RunHappy and #StayPositive my friends :)

Beignets & Shirtless Selfies' (New Orleans Day 2)

Who would've thought my first time on a bike since breaking my collarbone would be on a fixie with no brakes in New Orleans?

Since my hammy was bugging me (see #BeBright) I decided to borrow Zach's bike that he keeps in the Run Happy Island trailer and go for a ride!  Zach's bike is a fixed-gear with no brakes and having not ridden a fixed-gear since my days at the San Diego Velodrome I knew I was in for an adventure!

For those unfamiliar with what a fixed-gear or fixie is, it is a bike where the drive-train is all connected and onto a single-gear.  This means that as long as the wheel goes around, so will the crank, and vice-versa.  It is impossible to coast on a fixed-gear bike.  Fixed-gear bikes were the earliest and still are the simplest form of a bicycle.

I decided to head toward the Mississippi and locate the trail I had scouted out via Google Maps the previous day.  Didn't take me too long to find it and it didn't disappoint!

Trail (paved) Left, Mississippi River Right.

It was GREAT to be riding again!  I always forget how much I love cycling and bikes.  And the smoothly-paved, minimally populated Mississippi River Trail was PERFECT for getting reaccustomed to riding a fixed-gear!  My intention was to actually ride all the way to the French Quarter (about 15 miles) and visit a local bike shop to purchase some tubes, but it turned out the MRT is an ongoing project and dead-ended after 6 miles.  Still awesome :)

On my way back I found something distinctly New Orleans though, a float graveyard!  Or at least that's my best guess as to what it was....

Floats upon floats!

Teapot float!

Obligatory Selfie' Fixie Picture ~

Zach's Whip'.  Did 15 miles on that bad boy!

And this...

Don't Ask Don't Tell?

After my ride I met up with Shannon (Zach was still sick) who was returning from scouting the event spot for this weekend and we tracked down some beignets at Cafe' Du Monde!  

On my god...

"You've either just snorted a mound of cocaine or ate a beignet!"

In the perfect world every fixed-gear, shirtless bike ride would end with beignets....  Tomorrow is another free day plus #TimedMileTuesday!  I'm resting tonight and taking an ice bath in prep for my mile and afterwards I'm excited to do some more exploring on Zach's bike :) 

Life is good right now, aggravated hammy or not and I'm really excited for tomorrow and what the future holds in general :) positivity builds upon itself so #StayPositive!

#RunHappy

#BeBright

Since 2013 I've dealt with a hamstring-injury that simply will not go away - granted a lot of it is my own fault.  Like most running injuries it is the result of not enough rest, little to no stretching, and a general lack of active-recovery.  The end result is I now have one leg disproportionately more developed than the other from overcompensation and a whole slew of muscular imbalances on top of the original hamstring issue.

Long story short: my hamstrings don't like working together, and because of that neither do my hips, my glutes, my quads, or anything else....

After a long day of running or sitting - like yesterday - my hamstring is always a little achy and usually after some stretching and sleep I wake up with it A-O-K...but not today.  I woke up this morning with my hammy still REALLY achy from the previous day - to the point it's actually uncomfortable for me to sit while I write this :(

I decided to postpone/cancel my morning run (that I was sooooooo looking forward too) and instead write a blog on the importance of recovery and taking care of yourself as a runner, an athlete, and as an individual.

Runners in particularly become really dependent on their activity to balance themselves - it's a release from the drudgery of daily doubts, it's a social excursion with your buddies, it's an opportunity to punish yourself for perceived transgressions....  As runners we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to run - regardless of how we feel, injury, weather, etc - it becomes what defines us: running.  Because of this many of us end up dealing with preventable injuries and incidentally deal with prolonged injuries poorly.  For me, prolonged injuries have almost always led to incidences of depression - when 98% of your social activities revolve around running it's easy to feel like the communities third-wheel being hurt.

I think there's a lot to take away from this though.  I think as runners it's important for us to acknowledge the importance of getting into the habit of stretching and active-recovery long before one feels need.  Not only will it set us up to be stronger athletes but will also avert injury and the doubts and depression that can follow - incidentally making us better, stronger individuals.  And as better, strong individuals we'll be able to enjoy life and the experiences it garners - all of them, not just those tied to running.

I think it's also important to acknowledge that running or being a runner is not the sole definer.  The positivity or joy one derives from an activity was always present in some fashion within ourselves and we should learn to let that joy, that positivity define us inasmuch as the catalyst (activity) does.  

Until further notice - #RunHappy and #StayPositive 

Oldie but Goodie'

New Orleans (Day 1)!

Obligatory Alabama Selfie'.

Good morning Alabama!

Today we make the final leap into New Orleans and the start of a new adventure!  Not only do delicious beignets await us and the Crescent City 10k but also friends, jazz music, and possibly a fan boat tour!  Angie from Brooks, my best friend Rosie, and several others will all be meeting us there for the weekend!

I'm also excited to try to make it to the November Project New Orleans Chapter but that's another story...

This morning began with a little run not too far from where we were staying in Mobile, Alabama.  I ran 4 miles and then Zach and Shannon joined me for another 2!  Actually found a solid little dirt trail following the river adjacent to our hotel that provided a welcome change to the normal asphalt-pounding.

Mobile is very greeeennn.

Loved this!  But the runnable sections were short.

After our run and breakfast we all saddled up and headed west!

3 hour later....  We're here!

The drive was uneventful and insurmountably better than the 10 hours we put in on the road yesterday!  Nestled in our hotel, I'm SUPER EXCITED to go run tomorrow as I've discovered what appears to be a trail system running parallel to the Mississippi River just south of us and within running/walking distance!  I swear there's no better way to explore and acclimate yourself to a new surrounding than going for a run through it :)

Tomorrow right now is pretty open - I'm excited for my morning run and to visit Cafe Du Monde and Community Coffee.  Sadly Zach is feeling pretty ill so any major team excursions may have to be postponed for a bit :(

FEEL BETTER ZACH!

#RunHappy

New Orleans or Bust!

Today we leave Charleston for New Orleans and the Crescent City 10k this weekend!

It will be a 2 day drive with today ending somewhere in Alabama.

I'm really stoked to check out New Orleans.  I've heard so many wonderful, horrible, peculiar things about it that I'm excited to see and find out what's true!  The best beignets also apparently reside there...nom nom nom.... 

One of my best friends from San Diego is also flying out to see me AND volunteer at the expo!  It'll be awesome to catch up with her and explore New Orleans together. 

You were fun Charleston but alas' it's time for us to go.  #RunHappyIsland rolls on!

Eight' To Eight' ~

Eight' to Eight'!

AM to PM!

12 hour expo activation DONE!  Actually closer to 14 hours but who's counting?

I am exhausted....  Good night ya'll!

#RunHappy

Cooper River Bridge Run Expo - Day 1

Today was AWESOME!

The majority of the days spent on the 2015 Run Happy Island Tour have been awesome in fact...not to downplay the sheer grandeur of what encompassed today's awesomeness though :)

Today was the first day of the Cooper River Bridge Run Expo and I couldn't have been more excited to get back to work!  I thrive off the energy and positivity that is the running community - all of which permeates at these big expo activations.  You always get a little bad with the good, but the majority of it is good and I love it!

This morning I was able to meet up with Jon and Aimee again for an easy 6 miler before the expo too.  It feels so great to run with people again and let the conversation meander...you can really get to know someone on a run plus it makes the miles go by that much quicker!

The expo was great.  It's the big expos' where you can really interact with the community and see the kind of emotional attachment so many people have to Brooks.  Zach and Shannon brought a crock-pot and had corned-beef and cabbage cooking inside the cabin for lunch too!

Crock-potting inside the Diver!

We did actually have some legitimate competition today in the most original category though...

It's the F*ing Peanut Mobile!!!

It's no Deep-Shoe Diver but the Planters' Peanut Mobile was pretty legitimate.  Respect Planters'....  They were also all super nice :)

Peanut Mobile crew!  The girl to the left (Liz) is actually the driver of it.

Until tomorrow, remember that positive things happen to positive people.

#RunHappy :)

Side-note* PROPS to Nectar Sunglasses for the FREE SHADES in Deep-Shoe Diver colors!

Deep-Shoe Diver colors!  Thanks Nectar!

I'm On A Boat!

It's not even 2 o'clock yet and the day has already been so eventful!

Since we completed all of our Deep-Shoe Diver duties yesterday, today was another off day for us.  I was lucky enough to meet up with Jon - the New York Guru - who's in town to assist us this weekend and squeeze in an easy 4 mile run with him!  It was great to run with someone for once and hopefully we'll be able to do another before he or I leave the area.

Right now we're all getting ready - me, Zach, Shannon, Jon, and Aimee (local Guru) - to head to downtown Charleston and board the ferry to Fort Sumter!

Later that day...

Fort Sumter was pretty cool.  I was a little disappointed though to learn that most of the original structure has long since disappeared and what we see now is from the Spanish-American War.

Fort Sumter!

Original wall with a cannonball lodged inside!

The middle (smaller) cannon is an original from the Civil War, the bigger ones were brought over during the rearmament for the Spanish-American War.

After Fort Sumter we all milled about downtown along the waterfront before heading to boat ride number two for the day!

Our second boat ride was a sponsor cruise organized by the Cooper Bridge Run staff.  Open bar, free food - including mini sweet potato pies...nom nom nom....  It was a lot of fun but I'm not a huge drinker and 3 hours was a long time to be the only sober person on what amounted to a booze cruise....  It was great though to be able to sit down with the local Guru - Aimee - and pick her brain for a bit about all things Brooks, community, and running!

Mini Sweet Potato Pies...nom nom nom...

Tomorrow is day 1 of the Cooper Bridge Run expo and I'm REALLY excited!  It can be exhausting but I live for the energy and the hustle of the big event activations :) It'll be good to get back to work - I like to keep busy!

In the morning Jon, Aimee, and I are tentatively going for a run too!  So much awesome :)

Until then, #RunHappy my friends ~ 

#TimedMileTuesday, Load, Coffee, Tombstones, Oysters. Yay.

Waking up this morning there was a lot to get done all before noon.  Today was #TimedMileTuesday, but more than that it was also the day we'd be delivering the Deep-Shoe Diver to the expo-hall in preparation for the Cooper Bridge Run packet-pickup this weekend!

Waking up, my legs and hips were really tired so I knew my mile was going to HURT!  On top of the stiffness, I still wasn't wholly sure where to run my mile - being in a new locale every week certainly has its downsides...

#TimedMileTuesday

4:53...

Disproportionately more difficult compared to my 4:31 last week but I'll TAKE IT!  You can't expect improvement week after week and it's important to know when to take it easy on yourself and just enjoy the experience :) I love running - even when I hate it.

After my mile I cleaned up and met the team to head to the expo-hall and deliver the Deep-Shoe Diver.

Zach and Shannon are both amazing and always a joy to work with.  We spent about 3-4 hours at the expo-hall setting up the Diver as well as cleaning it.  The rain over the past couple of days took its toll on the interior and after setting up all the signage I spent the majority of my time spot-treating the floor for water-stains.

Careful Yo'!

With our duties done and vendor-passes gathered we all decided to head back to historic downtown Charleston and take advantage of the nicer weather.  Downtown Charleston has a really cool air about it and there was another coffee spot we wanted to visit plus an oyster bar Zach had his heart set on for happy hour!

On a side note* I'm finding it more or less difficult in the South (Atlanta, Charleston, etc) to tell the difference between a historic i.e. old neighborhood and a 'bad' neighborhood...the two can look remarkably similar in their degree of disrepair....  DEFINITELY not in Southern California anymore.

Our first stop in downtown Charleston was to Black Tap Coffee.  Cozy little spot not far from the college.  I really love the colors in the downtown area, especially the lilac that a couple of buildings utilized:

Black Tap Coffee!

The buildings are such beautiful shades of color in downtown Charleston.

Mmmmm...glucose...

After our visit to Black Tap Coffee - AWESOME little spot - we headed farther into downtown to explore a bit more before happy hour at the oyster bar started:

SO MANY COLORS!  That's a church.

Rundown or historical?

Historic downtown Charleston.

Eventually we found ourselves in one of several centuries-old graveyards.

Something I thought was really cool were the little US flags adorning some of the graves commemorating those deceased who were signers of the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE!

Very cool!

Super cool!

Also encountered this dude...

You will never accomplish as much as Richard Hudson accomplished...

After meandering around the dead for awhile we headed to HAPPY HOUR!  I've never had an oyster before and Zach and Shannon were pretty determined to impose one upon me.  I didn't resist too much - having my first oyster in a city with world-renowned seafood was never going to be the worst thing to befall me so why not?

Done and done...

Today was LOOONNNNGGGG!  Least I felt like it was....  I'm so thankful to be surrounded with so much good and positive in my life right now.  Positivity and success builds upon itself and expands exponentially - good people, good things, fortuitous situations - we're surrounded by what we create.  Run Happy, good things will follow :)

Jon - the New York Guru - is flying in tomorrow to assist us over the weekend and I'M STOKED!  Haven't seen him since we left Seattle and he brings such a groovy, positive vibe wherever he goes.  Hopefully we'll be able to fit in a run too!

Until then - be bright, be strong, #Runhappy :)

Charleston Rain' - Off Day

"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain."

             - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The team and I had today off as we left Atlanta for Charleston ahead of schedule and in spite of the rain we were determined to make the best of it!

It's been raining essentially non-stop since we left Atlanta: light rain, heavy rain, misty rain, fat dew-drop like rain - we've had it all.  Being from California I can't help but think of the horrible drought plaguing it and the water-rationing in my hometown - Bakersfield - in place for over a year now....  Painful irony of how one place can have so much water while another has so little.

The rain having eased off a little in the morning, I decided to use the opportunity to fit in a long'ish run to a bakery I had scouted about 3.5 miles away.

Enroute (and adjacent to our hotel) I passed an apparent trolley graveyard:

Kind of spooky...

Cut through a little wooded area...that was sadly only about a .25 mile long :(

Found a really cool mural for THE BBQ joint...

Make no mistake, this is THE BBQ joint.

Before arriving at my destination - EVO Craft Bakery - and flippin' a U-turn to head back to the hotel!

Found it!  But didn't stop for long....

Obligatory Charleston Selfie'.

Thought these leaves made for a cool picture...

Run ended up being just a little over 7 miles.  Solid morning burn and finished it just in time before the rain picked back up!

That afternoon...

In spite of the rain, the team and I decided to explore historic downtown Charleston and hunt down some new coffee spots!  Downtown Charleston was really cool - lots of old, Victorian-era architecture with a modest Southern-vibe:

In spite of the rain we ventured out.

Neapolitan buildings.

Lots of this...

After wandering around for a bit we made our way over to a little coffee shop and chilled for a bit to warm-up and dry-off.

Really cool place - City Lights Coffee.

Nom nom nom....

After coffee we wandered down to the old Charleston battery down at the waterfront:

Boom boom.

Charleston harbor.

More neapolitan homes.

Tomorrow the rain is suppose to stop and we should also be able to move the Deep-Shoe Diver to the expo-hall in preparation for the Cooper River Bridge Run expo this weekend!  As much as I love exploring and my off days I go kind of crazy with too much free time and it'll be good to do some work :) if only for the 1-2 hours it'll take to move and set-up our submarine!  After set-up I think we're going to try to go to Fort Sumter.  VERY COOL!

O' and least I forget tomorrow is #TimedMileTuesday!  

Good night and sleep tight!

#RunHappy