RunRunLive

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-428 – Matt Fitzgerald – Training with the Pro’s  (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4428.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Hello and welcome to episode 4-428 of the RunRunLive Podcast.   So here we are in the apocalypse.  How’s everyone doing?  These are interesting times.  That’s a trick of modern English.  Whenever we don’t want to say ‘bad’ we say ‘interesting’ like somehow we are just observers in the soup? Took me until today to get this show out.  Not because I don’t have time.  Not because I don’t have ideas and content. Not because I have technical issues.  No, just lacked basic motivation over the last couple days.  Been watching low quality TV, eating poorly, playing some my online zombie game…you know, super adult and productive! It’s ok to take a day or two off but don’t let these doldrums turn into patterns or new habits.  Now is a good time to start new habits.  An excellent way to kick out of a malaise is to do a fixed program – like a 10-day meditation challenge or a 20-day plank challenge.  Or a daily journaling challenge. I’ve kicked off a couple new projects this week.  First is I’m reading the Princess Bride into audio for 20-30 minutes every day and posting it on my web site.  I figured if I could read to my kids when they were young, I can read to everyone’s kids.  You can find the current nine reading sessions on my website under Story Time.  I also got asked by some folks to participate in a group story telling event for the Chicago Area Running Association.  That’ll be a live Zoom meeting Wednesday night of this week. My work is super busy.  My training stepped back to just some easy runs and one crazy HIT workout this week. These HIT – High Intensity Training workouts are something you can do from your house.  You can look them up online or just make them up.  The basic form is a short sprint followed by some high-intensity exercises.  For example; go out your front door and sprint 100M out and back, then do 10 fast pushups, 10 fast crunches, 5 pullups then sprint again, 3 more exercises, sprint – you will be gasping like a fish out of water.  Definitely a change in pace for me who’s been doing mostly easy trail runs.  The entire world is marching through my woods these days as well.  I know they’re bored, but I feel a bit violated.  Buddy and I cut those trails 20 years ago.  Now I’m shoulder to shoulder with the hoi polloi in my happy place.  I have to go out at dawn if I want some peace.  Today we have a great interview with old friend and running journalist Matt Fitzgerald who is publishing a new book this month called Running the Dream where he executes all of our adult fantasies and lives and trains as a professional with a professional team for a race.  It’s a great read and gets my thumbs up. In section I’ll give you a the results of a Q&A I did on Facebook which may or may not be useful.  And is section two a follow-up apocalypse story from the same universe I created last episode.  Having fun with this.  Maybe this is the book I was looking for?  … Had a nice outing with Ollie on Friday night.  Coach gave me a day off on Saturday and I was super sore from that HIT workout on Thursday so I figured I could go out late.  The day got away from me from the start.  The dog woke up early, like 5:30 and after I let him out to pee, I laid down on the couch.  Ollie climbed up on the back of the couch and fell asleep sort of sitting on me.  Next thing I know it’s 7:30. Missed my 7:00 AM call.  Took Ollie for a walk and went to work on the back to back calls and deadlines feeling unmotivated.  But, I dropped that 2-hour run on my calendar for 6:30 PM.  I didn’t even come close to completing everything that was due or catching up.  But, at 6:30 I grabbed my new headlamp and Ollie and headed into the woods. Technically the sun set at 7:00.  But, as a trail runner you start to understand the relationship between sunset, weather and having enough light to see.  It was a clear and beautiful day.  Without cloud cover you get another 30 minutes or so of residual light after the sun sets.  Ollie and I set out into the woods.  The melt is on now and there’s plenty of mud to deal with.  There’s a spot out on the trail about 3 miles out where we run along the edge of the pond.  There’s the remnants of a cottage and a break in the bushes where their beach used to be.  I set my sites on getting to this spot before the sun was totally gone to get a photo. I’ve taken to stopping here and taking the same photo from the same place to mark the passing of the days and seasons.  I stand on the same stone and frame the same tree and get the same photo.  I wasn’t sure this one would come out.  The sun had set 10-15 minutes before.  But it came out beautifully.  I arrived right at that point when you have to switch the headlamp on.  It’s a hauntingly beautiful shot.  It’s a shot in the moment.  That peaceful glow of a setting sun.  That slight ripple from the paddling of unseen ducks in the shadow. The water black and smooth.  The tree starkly silhouetted against it all.  That moment of peace and beauty was there whether or not the work got done.  That beauty was there whether or not the apocalypse raged.  That beauty and peace is still there.  I just wasn’t looking for it.  What are you focused on?  Your beauty and peace is still there.  Everything else is just made up.  Own your focus. On with the show!   About Zero ZERO — The End of Prostate Cancer is the leading national nonprofit with the mission to end prostate cancer. ZERO advances research, improves the lives of men and families, and inspires action. Link to my ZERO page: (for Donations) … 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 – Ask me a question about running - Voices of reason – the conversation Matt Fitzgerald Hi Chris, Cover image attached. It's a 3D conversion. I don't seem to have a straight front cover image, but Jessica can supply that, along with the jacket copy. Here's a link to the book page on the publisher's website (which, I'm just now seeing, does NOT have the correct jacket copy!)   Matt Fitzgerald is an acclaimed endurance sports and nutrition writer and certified sports nutritionist. His most recent book, Iron War, was long-listed for the 2012 William Hill Sports Book of the Year, and he is the author of the best-selling Racing Weight.Fitzgerald is a columnist on Competitor.com and Active.com, and has contributed to Bicycling, Men’s Health, Triathlete, Men’s Journal ... And here's a link to my website (which does): Let me know if you need anything else. Thanks! Matt Fitzgerald Author of    Section two – After the Apocalypse #2  – Outro Well, my friends, another week, another episode and another opportunity.  You have run like a pro through the end of yet another RunRunLive Podcast Episode 4-428 done and down.  Go get Matt’s book – I think you’ll like it.  By the way, shout out and thanks to Carlos the Jackal for doing the edit on this interview.  My normal editor Dimitri from Moscow was on holiday.  Hope he’s not on a cruise.  I’ve started a new hashtag - #longsongsfortheapocalypse – these are all those great 10 minute plus jams that I listen to in the background while I’m writing.  You can find them on my facebook feed. Well, I’m still training.  My A race in June hasn’t gotten cancelled yet.  I was going to cobble this race trip together with a Vancouver vacation with my wife – but she is making noises like there’s no way she’s getting on an airplane with me in June.  I haven’t made my travel plans yet.  Maybe this will become one of those in-and-out guerilla marathon tries that my races always seem to devolve into. My friend running buddy Frank, yes the drummer for the Nays, is making noises like he might come.  He was training for Vermont and that got pushed.  It’s going to be a full fall with all the races moving.  It will be interesting. You’ll have twice as many races with the same number of runners. This may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for a lot of races.  We’ll see some consolidation.  We’ll see that same consolidation and aggregation across industries.  The small and fragile will get washed out and the big and strong will invest and get bigger. It’s the cycle of life, I guess.  The thing is this type of forest clearing creates the next wave of growth.  When businesses see a contraction like this it creates thousands of entrepreneurs for the next cycle. Ollie is being Ollie.  He’s a nut.  He’s so strong.  We’re working it out.  He’s been good interacting with all the new people on the trails.  He doesn’t attack them. He immediately defaults to submissive with other dogs.  That’s good because I don’t’ think I have the upper body strength to run with him on leash all the time. Sorry for getting this one out a little late.  I appreciate you.  I am quite thankful to have you in my life even if it’s a one-way relationship.  I’ve had a couple good interactions these last couple weeks that let me know people are out on the other end and that helps, it really does, so thank you.  Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.  Let me know if you want to collaborate on a project.  Let me know if I’m traveling to your town and you want to grab a coffee.  These things are all still there for us.  The beauty is still there.  The peace is still there. Close your eyes now.  Take a deep slow breath through your nose.  Inhales kindness and empathy. Exhale through your mouth and give that kindness and empathy back to the universe.  Do that a few times.  Let yourself relax. We’re going to be ok.  Whatever happens, we can handle it. We’ll see you out there.  (Outro bumper) Track  #6 from Brian Scheff, the Rock Opera by The Nays, She’s a lonely girl, Frank told me last weekend when he, Brian and I were out on a social distance run that all these songs are available on iTunes.  So go buy a couple, music will keep you sane in the apocalypse. MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Rachel -> Coach Jeff ->  

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-427 – Shoshana and Adam – Veggies Saved my Life!  (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4427.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Hello and welcome to episode 4-427 of the RunRunLive Podcast.   Here we are at the center of a pandemic!  Most days I’d be sitting in my home office writing, but with the apocalypse in full swing I figure my time would be better spent … umm… sitting in my home office writing? I suppose I should make an effort to paint the context for you because we may need to look back on this episode, listen and think.     So, my future listeners, it is the day before the ides of March 2020.  We are in the grips of the corona virus.  This week they cancelled all major sports seasons, and postponed the Boston Marathon, for the first time in 124 years, until the fall.   Americans are all working from home as most businesses have closed.  There has been a run on toilet paper and bottled water for some reason.   Does it affect me?  I suppose we’ll see.  I started working for a big company a couple months ago and that is looking like a fairly prescient move.  I was down in Dallas two weeks ago after we last spoke.  I was at a conference in Atlanta this week.  I was supposed to be out in Grand Rapids at a client next week but that got canceled.  I can work virtually, so it’s not a game ender.  After we last spoke, I entered into the hard part of my training for Boston.  This week was going to be a monster, with a big miles and three killer workouts.  But, after they rescheduled the marathon I’m backing off and switching back to base-building.  Today we speak with Adam and Shoshana Chaim about how a vegan diet saved Adam’s life.  I know we’ve covered this topic before, but I had a request to specifically explore how to manage a vegan diet while competing at a high level.  In section one I’m going to talk about sleep and the impact of not getting enough or getting too much. In section two, just because it felt right, I wrote an apocalypse story for you.  I love the apocalypse genre.  I don’t know why. It seems like the ultimate escapism, I guess. Before my racing plans got changed I woke up to a fairly sever tempo workout in Atlanta Tuesday morning.   Again, with Boston 4 weeks away (at the time) this was the final push.  Coach gave me an 8 X 7 tempo work out.  So, warm up, run 7 minutes hard, 2 minute recover, repeat 8 times.  Ironically at my current pace and fitness that’s almost perfectly a mile repeat. I knew I was going to be in Atlanta.  Unless you find a track, it is hard to find a good place to do mile repeats in Atlanta.  I was staying north of the city in Roswell because all the hotels were sold out down in the city where the conference was.    I am fairly familiar with this workout, and have run it in Atlanta before and I have a strategy.   While the roads around Atlanta are a nightmare for running on, the parking lots are good, especially early in the morning.  I zoomed in on Google maps around the hotel and found some beautiful giant parking lots less than a mile away.  It turns out, without knowing this, I had positioned myself across the street from the new Atlanta Braves stadium.  I rolled out of bed early and ran over to where I knew the parking lot was.  It was raining but a warm 50ish degrees. The sun wasn’t up.  I had to cross the highway but this was ok because around the stadium the sidewalks and walkways are designed for stadium traffic and are 15 foot wide.  On the Google maps the parking lot looked flat, but in reality it was a bit of a saddle shape.  If I stuck to the outside it was about a 1/4 mile on each side with the center being the high spot in the saddle and maybe 50 feet of drop to the edges.  I hit the old lap button and got to it.  Holding a pretty good pace up and down the inclines getting to practice my form.  It was a struggle in the rain, in my jetlag, in the dark up and down the long lanes. I pushed hard and worked my form and settled into the aching discomfort of tempo. That’s how you do it. This parking lot, as it turns out, was the marshalling area for the local construction worker crews.  As I ground out my repeats they loaded and unloaded into pickups and vans and trailers with their orange vests and hard hats.  I didn’t pay them much attention, but it was a nice distraction from my suffering.  If we crossed paths I’d nod as I pushed by.  I wonder what they were thinking of this old guy pushing up and down the parking lot in the early morning rain.  I got to thinking about how those are the types of workouts that make you strong.  Those are the types of workouts that separate the normal from the exceptional.  I used the Google maps to find a trail head close to the hotel and followed it down to the Chattahoochee River the next day.   Legs were tired but I was grateful to find the river trail.  I know you all have worries today.  This is your opportunity to practice leadership.  Us old ones have been through this before.  The sun has always risen the day after one of these crises.  The world has yet to come to an end.  The things you have that matter, you still have, no one can take those from you.  This is your opportunity to lead with a positivity that looks calmly to the future, that brings hope, that inspires.  Be that leader today.  People are watching you.  Be the calming presence.  Be the positive spark.  Be the hope that they are looking for. On with the show!   About Zero ZERO — The End of Prostate Cancer is the leading national nonprofit with the mission to end prostate cancer. ZERO advances research, improves the lives of men and families, and inspires action. Link to my ZERO page: (for Donations) … 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 – Sleep - Voices of reason – the conversation Shoshana and Adam Chaim Welcome! I’m Shoshana Chaim and, when I was pregnant with my second child, my husband developed a rare tumor on his kidney. Not long after, my son showed signs of severe eczema and I experienced PTSD that left me missing quality time with my kids for way too long. After deciding that medication and surgery to temporarily solve these problems wasn’t an option, I found plant-based living and completely overhauled our lifestyle one day at a time. Now, as a Family Health and Wellness Coach, I work one-on-one with busy parents and families to alleviate the stress in life that’s caused by poor diet, unhealthy lifestyle, and chronic illness. With an emphasis on plant-based nutrition and action steps that are customized to each family’s needs, I’m on a mission to heal people from the inside out, so that they can finally stop solely surviving and start thriving again. The Full Story When I met my husband, we were young gym rats thinking we ate healthy enough. But when I found out I was four weeks pregnant with my second child and that my husband, Adam, had a rare tumor on his kidney, everything changed. We were told that the chances of him dying before the age of 40 were quite high. After doctor visit upon doctor visit, the only solution we were given was to prepare for surgery and genetic testing.  We were told to cross our fingers and I thought I had to prepare for the worst. How was I going to raise one child, never mind two, on my own? How could I lose the love of my life? How was I going to bring a baby into the world and her father not be standing there? What did we do to deserve this? Were we not good enough or nice enough people? I feared the worst, but those fears coming true weren’t an option for our family. Surgery wasn’t an option – there had to be a better, less invasive way that wouldn’t also result in the removal of his kidney. After a ton of research, Adam decided to change his diet. He realized that a plant-based diet allows the body to heal and restore, and found these incredible stories where people have cured cancer and reversed heart disease…all based on the food they were eating. Adam was sold immediately, but I, on the other hand, wasn’t ready. I was a new mom, just learning how to cook and meal plan, and now my husband didn’t want to eat meat or cheese and I didn’t understand why. Because even though we just went through the trauma of Adam’s diagnosis, I still thought it would never happen to me. I thought my kids would never be without me. I figured that if I just did everything else right, then I could still hold on to some of those foods that I loved. But when I experienced PTSD after Adam’s diagnosis, I realized how much a 100% nutrient dense plant-based diet allows me to feel my very best. I saw the full connection between the way I ate and the way I felt. A lot of hard work, support from those I love, and my diet gave me the tools I needed to come of medication and feel the best I’d felt in years. All in all, it took me about six months to jump on board and adopt a fully plant-based diet and lifestyle that worked for me. I was comfortable with my grocery bills (that actually ended up lower!), I knew what and how to supplement the few nutrients I needed, and I knew what kind of meals I should cook for me and my family. In those 6 months, I realized that if we don’t take care of ourselves first, then we can’t take of anyone else later. That life is fragile and family is irreplaceable. I learned that although we cannot prevent every scary thing from happening to our families, we can prevent 80% of chronic diseases by simply changing our diet and lifestyle. After watching this plant-based lifestyle shrink Adam’s tumor, clear our son’s eczema, take a client off insulin, stabilize my PTSD, and do so much more, I’m now on a mission to heal families from the inside out. I want to keep as many children as possible from losing time with a parent due to illness, immobility, or worse. I want to prevent as many parents as possible from having to raise a child alone. And most of all, I want to allow our children to grow up without the same dietary diseases as previous generations. Too much time, money and effort is spent trying to fight off or reverse disease that we could have prevented. If you feel as if this is your last chance…If you’ve done paleo, and weight watchers, and all the diets you can think of…If you realize that we’re not immortal and that our lifestyle affects the people closest to us… Then, welcome. You don’t have to think about leaving your children behind anymore. I know firsthand that the after effects of illness create a ripple effect in your family. Financially, emotionally, physically – the way we eat and live have a greater effect than we can even imagine. Every single thing we put into our mouths has either a positive or negative consequence on not only our health but also the freedom to do what we please, and not only for ourselves but also for everyone who touches our lives. When you live a healthy lifestyle, with an emphasis on plant-based nutrition, your body is given a chance to heal and thrive. Through one-on-one coaching and a plant-based healthy lifestyle, it’s possible to alleviate the stress in life caused by poor diet, unhealthy lifestyle, and chronic illness. With an emphasis on plant-based nutrition and action steps that are customized to each individual’s or family’s needs, I’m on a mission to heal you from the inside out, so that you can finally stop solely surviving and start thriving again. I’d love to invite you to a complimentary 45 minute call to get to know you and hear about where you are in your health journey. On this call, you get clear on what you want to create for your or your family’s health, your life and what’s been holding you back from reaching your goals. And you’ll leave with some actionable next steps too! To take advantage of this offer just click here.    Section two – After the Apocalypse  – Outro Well, my friends, we have stayed calm and leaned on our inherent strength, and nibbled a bit of kale through the end of another RunRunLive Podcast Episode 4-427 done and down.   What now?  Well it’s all a bit up in the air.  Which is ok with me.  My ‘A’ race wasn’t Boston.  My ‘A’ race was and still is the Tunnel Marathon in June.  I think we’ll be through the current headwinds by then.  I’ll drop my training back into base building and strength for a month or so before ramping up for that.  That Grand Canyon run is, unfortunately, probably not going to happen now that Boston is dropped squarely in the same time slot.  We postponed the Groton Road race as well.  It’s really a bit of a relief.  With the new job I was starting to stress out a bit with all that spring-time stuff that happens in this spring-time stuff season.  Now we’ve potentially got the space to catch up on some other things that might have been crowded out otherwise. Ollie the Collie is doing great.  He was getting a bit crazy because my training and travel crowded out his running time.  Now, I can get back to that as well.   He’s still a maniac.  I joked this week that we should have named him Satan.   He’s like a gremlin in the house.  A partial list of things he’s eaten…Socks, shoes, underwear, towels, reading glasses, all the channel changers, print cartridges, hats, gloves,  and napkins.  If you walk around my house, you’ll find socks and shoes perched on the high places – tenuously out of harms way. And he’s a digger.  My yard looks like a scene from the movie ‘Holes’.  He literally sits on my head if I try to watch TV.  His favorite thing is to stick his tongue in your mouth when you’re not looking.  That and having any part of you in his jaws. My current strategy is to survive until he gets a bit older, then try again to train him.  He’ll be an asset in the apocalypse though.  Those of you who have been with me for a few years will know that I was born for the zombie apocalypse.  And here we are!  My time has come! Hope you enjoyed the interview and the story telling today.  Don’t forget to be a leader.  The world needs you.  This is that time when they will say – ‘Remember that time everyone else freaked out and Bob was the rock we could all rely on?”  It’s your moment Bob.  Make us proud.  We’ll see you out there.  (Outro bumper) Track  #5 from Brian Scheff, the Rock Opera by The Nays, A real Corker! “I want to know”, Tunes for the apocalypse my friends.  MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Rachel -> Coach Jeff ->  

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-426 – Steve Pero and the Rim to Rim to Rim  (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4426.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Hello and welcome to episode 4-426 of the RunRunLive Podcast.   Here we are celebrating a leap year February.  That means you and I get an extra day to do the things we love!  Good stuff, right? Today we have a good show for you.  I corralled one of my local ultra-running friends Steve to give me some coaching on running the Rim-to-Rim in the Grand Canyon.   Coincidently, if you want some more around the history of running the Grand Canyon, you can check out a series that Davey Crockett did on the and the Rim to Rim runners of the last 100 years.  I went to the Grand Canyon for the first time int 2015 and I was so impressed that I returned in 2016 and ran down to Phantom Ranch and back with my daughter.  I’m planning on going back in September of this year and doing a 2-day Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim.  Meaning, we are going to run south to north on day one, stay over on the north side then come back on day 2.  If that sounds like fun to you, you are more than welcome to join.  You’ll have to manage your own logistics.  Effort-wise it’s the equivalent of a hilly 50K I’d say, unless the weather goes sideways.  In section one we will try to answer the question of at what age do the wheels fall off your athletic pursuits?  In section two we’ll talk about sticks.  On the topic of aging there are a number of people trying to figure out why we can’t all live to 150 or even 200 years old.  Of course there have probably always been these people, but the modern ones are trying to leverage science.  I was listening to one of these and it turns out they are very big on cold therapy, i.e. plunging yourself into cold water as a way to shock your body into a positive stress response.  Meaning, these things that stress us shake our genomes out of their comfortable slumber and get them awake and cracking, pushing out good youthful stuff that makes us stronger.  And you laughed at me with my ice baths.  Since we last talked I have transitioned into some more intense, race specific training for Boston.  Last weekend coach started me on some hill repeats.   I was pretty proud of myself getting up Friday morning with the sunrise and 10 degrees and knocking them out!  The sun is coming up early enough now to run in the morning.  This is another one of those old-guy tricks.  Instead of doing speedwork on the track you do tempo on the hill.  It has the same positive effect on your footspeed, turnover, form and strength without as much pounding.  Last Sunday I did a 2:30 with surges and a fast finish.  Tomorrow I’ll do 2:45. This will get me close to 30k.   Well into the mid 40’s of miles per week.  I still get out with Ollie the Collie in the woods for some of my mid-week runs.  He is still a maniac.  He has added to his annoying habit of lying in wait on the trail and pouncing on me.  He likes to chose good ground to do this from.  Like when I’m struggling up a muddy knoll or trying to navigate a slippery rock bridge over a stream. He’ll lie in a crouch and spring at me.  If I’m not paying attention I may receive essentially a 45 pound punch to the family jewels.  His new trick is right after this assault he’ll look around for the nearest stick to grab and run with it, growling.  The challenge with this is sometimes he grabs small sticks and sometimes he grabs 6-foot long branches. He then runs in and around me with his payload, joyously growling and swinging his bit of tree.  Try as I may, inevitable he trips me and I get familiar with the frozen or muddy ground.  On time last week he literally stuck a branch between my legs as I was running, like when the Italian rider stuck the rod into the spokes of Dave’s bike in the movie ‘.  What am I talking about?  Well it’s this coming of age movie from 1979 about a townie kid in Indiana who dreams of riding with the Europeans.  It has a great supporting cast with a young Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern from the Home Alone franchise and the best use of Rossini’s Barber of Seville ever. In this pivotal scene he’s riding with his heroes, the Italian team, and they are mean to him, eventually sticking something in his spokes and crashing his bike.  It’s great movie. Go watch it kids.  That’s what Ollie tried to do to me.  Didn’t work.  My legs were tougher than the stick.  He’s a pain, but it’s only because he has so much love, so much Joie de vivre, and I’m ok with that. Because, If you’re going to live, live with zest! On with the Show! About Zero ZERO — The End of Prostate Cancer is the leading national nonprofit with the mission to end prostate cancer. ZERO advances research, improves the lives of men and families, and inspires action. Link to my ZERO page: (for Donations) … 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 – At what age do the wheels fall off? - Voices of reason – the conversation Steve Pero Attached is a fittingly picture from one of our Grand Canyon runs. Don't look much different these days  I also included a pic of me running a trail race in 1999.   Not sure about a bio...feel free to edit below as much as you want.   Born in Cambridge, Ma. Worked as a Mechanical designer at Polaroid for 32 years, then worked at several other places until I decided to retire in 2017 at age 66.   Living in Somerville growing up I got into bodybuilding at a gym. The trainer had me run around the building as a warm up...I liked running so much that I quit the gym and started running more. That was 1975. I saw Bill Rodgers run across the finish line of the Boston Marathon and I was hooked. Started training for Boston and qualified and ran my first in 1980. After 13 Boston's and hundreds of road races, I ran a trail race and was hooked. Ran my first ultra in 1997, won it and became an ultrarunners and now 23 years later, I'm still at it.   I live in rural SW NH with my wife, a bunch of chickens, three very pregnant dairy goats, a wonderful dog and cat. Section two – Pile o sticks  – Outro Well, my friends, we have run down into the canyon of our youth and up the other side of our age and wisdom to the happy elysian fields of Episode 4-426 of the RunRunLive Podcast. Like I said in the intro I’m starting to get serious in my training for Boston.  I’m not racing for a time but I am training as if, because it is the Boston marathon and it deserves respect.  Thank you to all my friends who have contributed to my ZERO for Prostate cancer campaign for Boston.  I’m getting close to my goal and you, yes you, can push me through the finish!  Links in the show notes. Also big thanks to the small and dedicated circle of RunRunLive sponsors who pay our bills.  I asked them “What can I do to thank you?” and they simply tell me “Keep doing the podcast.” So, with the bar set at an achievable level onwards we strive! I’m staying healthy for the most part.  My weight is still a couple pounds over race weight but it’s starting to drop with a slight tweak in diet and the bigger weeks.  It will all come together.  It always does. My Achilles and Plantar Fasciitis and that chronic tendonitis in my butt all speak up once in awhile but that’s just the cost of doing business.  I keep the fires tamped down with judicious rehab and sensible training.  I’m starting to travel more with the new job which is good news for you.  There is nothing that feeds my creativity more than being trapped in an airplane for 4 or 5 hours.  Also gives me more exposure to the carnival of weirdness that is our modern world. I rented the movie Midway last week.  It’s really good if you are a history buff and like war movies.  (Which is a good way of saying your wife won’t watch it with you.)  It’s a story that’s been told before but with modern special effects they can put your right in the pilot seat of a Dauntless dive bomber.  And who, do you think, plays Admiral Halsey?  That’s right a much older Dennis Quaid.  See?  It all ties together.   I also found the first episode of was available to watch for free.  Love that Neal Gaimon book.  Worth a watch. Genes, hat I’m going to put on my shoes with the chewed laces, go throw Ollie in the truck and drive over to get a haircut and do some grocery shopping now.  While I was writing this, I forgot the latch the door to the master bedroom and the two-tone terror stole my Patriots hat and chewed a hole in it.  Think that’s a bad omen for Brady and Bellichick? This just in – I received the results from the DNA kit my kids got me for Christmas.  A bit disappointing.  Not a drop of Ashkenazi, Sicilian or Moorish blood.  Just your run-of-the-mill Scotch-Irish with a handful of Norman and a small dash of continental French from my Quebecois Grandmum.  Celtic thru and thru.  Explains why good beer is like heroin for me and my love of stone walls and roaring fires.  I suppose that’s where I get my endurance.  My folk were chased out of Africa and didn’t stop running ‘til they hit the North Atlantic then sat around in pubs and complained about it.   Thank you all for your friendship and time. Hope you got your money’s worth.  Got a long run in the morning and then I’m off to Dallas for a couple days.  Keep fighting the good fight and… I’ll see you out there.  (Outro bumper) And the music continues with #4 from Brian Scheff, the Rock Opera by The Nays, “BJ’s Prophecy”, enjoy.  MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Rachel -> Coach Jeff ->  

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-425 – John and Tom Chat about Cancer  (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4425.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Hello and welcome to episode 4-425 of the RunRunLive Podcast.    Well, here we are again, it’s a beautiful, sunny, single-digit, February morning and I’m talking to you! Ollie the collie is being a pain in the butt.  I was on a trip all week so he didn’t get his runs in and he’s very stressed out.  He’s being the toddler-terror today.  He’s already chewed on a couple socks and the channel changer and is harassing me with a toy as I try to write.  That’s dog life.  Today, I have a very special and personal conversation with John and Tom, who are both prostate cancer experienced and members of our running circle.  Both of them are friends of mine and I’m honored that they were kind enough to share their stories.  In section one I’ll talk about the non-linearity of the mileage curve.  In section two I’ll give you a write up of a book I read on the plane this week that I really liked called “Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on it.”  All links, including the one where you donate to my prostate cancer campaign for Boston (wink wink nudge nudge) are in the show notes, which, by the way, you should be able to access on your phone or other listening device, as part of the episode meta-data.  About Zero ZERO — The End of Prostate Cancer is the leading national nonprofit with the mission to end prostate cancer. ZERO advances research, improves the lives of men and families, and inspires action. Link to my ZERO page: (for Donations) Busy couple of weeks.  My training has been going well.  I knocked out a nice 13.8 mile step up run last week and I’m starting to transition into more long tempo as we are getting closer to Patriots Day.  It’s been relatively mild this winter but getting a wee bit colder.  My long run last week started at 14 degrees.  I forgot my thick gloves and was worried I might have to knock on someone’s door to warm up during that first hour.  It used to be I’d just run harder to warm up but that’s not a great strategy for me anymore in a multi-hour run.  My bottle froze and my headphones failed.  But, hey, it was sunny and windless, so it wasn’t too bad and I was able to do some thinking and focus on my run.  There is no good or bad run there is only the ‘is’.  I swung by and picked up a couple of my running club buddies for the second loop who I hadn’t seen for a while and had a good catch up.  Was able to close out the last 30 minutes at close to race pace.  All in all a solid outing.  Monday morning I was off to Vegas.  I always forget that Vegas is in the Western time zone.  It feels like it should be in Mountain time.  That puts it 3 hours ahead of me, which helps for those morning workouts because you’re up anyhow. I knocked out a 30-minute time trial on the treadmill Monday morning.  I showed up at the gym in the casino at 5:00AM when it opened, and it was already ¾ full.  There was a line for the equipment when I stepped off an hour later.  All those East Coasters.  I got a kick out of it though.  I just imagine them thinking “Who’s this old guy knocking out 7-minute miles at 5 AM?”  I’ve turned the corner a bit on worrying about being slower and I’m quite grateful to be getting at it still at all and to be able to do anything a bit quicker makes me happy.  I got out on the strip during the last day before I headed to the airport.  Always fun to get out and take a look around.  It was mid-60’ss and sunny.  Good to see the sun. I always like running up and down the strip.  You can do the whole thing in 6 miles.  You have to run up and down the pedestrian bridges. It’s not optimized for running.  It’s optimized to get you into a casino.  The air is dry there in the desert but misty with the sadness of self-loathing and empty wallets in the mornings.  But, that’s not my 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 – The Mileage Curve - http://runrunlive.com/mileage-curves Voices of reason – the conversation John Vaughn and Tom Penny - article from Tom on exercise and cancer treatment - Tom’s Blog Section two – Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on it  –   Outro Well, my friends, we have run past the pyramids in the desert to the end of Episode 4-425. I’m going to continue to be busy here as I ramp up my specificity for the Boston Marathon.  You can go to to contribute to my cause, I’d appreciate it. I’m going to wrap this up so I can get out and take Ollie for a walk before he chews through the walls.  I’m pained to say that he has totally not taken any training. In fact he’s reverted. When I say ‘Come’ he runs in the other direction.  When I say “Leave it!” he laughs and plays keep away.  Nothing is safe in the house.  Last night he brought me a nickel.  I told him to come back with at least a $20.  If I try to watch TV or sit at all he bites me until I stand up.  After the nickel he stole my wife’s hat and chewed the pom-pom off the top.  He’s got demons.  I didn’t want to go for a walk this morning because it was only 3 degrees out and I wanted to get some writing done.  I was planning to write on the plane but I was too tired and ended up watching the last season of Silicon Valley instead.  That’s a funny show.  I don’t get HBO at the house and can only get certain shows on planes ironically.   I’m also watching my way through pretty bad scifi series called FarScape on Prime.  Kind of a low-budget Lost in Space meets cosplay.   Now that it’s warmed up a bit I’ll take Ollie for a walk and get my errands in. One of the speakers this week was an author from Stanford named Amy Wilkinson who writes and speaks about the The Creator’s Code: The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs. One of her points was “Small Gifts”.  This resonated with my current practices of gratitude, kindness and empathy. Her point was to make a practice of giving people small gifts to build trust and reciprocity in relationships.  Not physical gifts, although that’s ok too, but the unexpected gifts of small kindnesses and thankfulness.  And I’ll leave you with that – who today can you make appoint of thanking for something they did to help you see the world differently?  And I’ll thank you for letting me think and talk with you on this endurance journey.  I’ll see you out there.  (Outro bumper) To continue my music series I give you track #2 from Brian Scheff, the Rock Opera by The Nays.  MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Rachel -> Coach Jeff ->  

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-424 – Alix Shutello – The Intersection of Publishing and Endurance (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4424.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Hello and welcome to episode 4-424 of the RunRunLive Podcast.    Some off you may be wondering what happened to me last week! Or not.  I was waylaid by an aggressive intersection of life and technology that prevented me from putting a show out.  It was a cascading series of events that you get sometimes in this squiggly path we are all on.  First I had an interview set up with Jamie Bearse who heads up the ZERO for prostate cancer foundation that I’ve decide to run Boston for this year.  Oh, right, I got a waiver number from my club for Boston and I’m running again.  Anyhow, Jamie got the flu, not the coronavirus, this was before that reared it’s multifarious ugly heads and we had to reschedule.  I, not willing to give up, called our friend John Vaughn who is a Prostate cancer survivor and coerced him into recording a last-minute call on the same subject.  Probably the finest and most compelling interview ever done by two mere mortals… But, something got twiddled sideways in the great bit-locker in the sky and there was no file of the recording to download.  After a week of tet-a-tete with the support guys there was no file.  Meanwhile I was in Phoenix for 5 straight days for a kickoff with my new job.  I did, over-optimistically bring my recording stuff, but, as these things go, was not afforded the chance to create some sort of non-interview filler episode.  C’est la Vie. Such is life.  But, even as you mourn the apparent reality that a rigorous and devoted podcaster like myself can’t keep a schedule, all hope is not lost!  I rounded up a great talk with Alix for you for today’s show.  I met Alix on LinkedIn, saw that she runs an endurance sports magazine and had to get her on.  I love to understand the intersection of business and endurance.  I have two asks today.  First is that you send me suggestions on people you’d like me to interview.  I don’t have a producer so I have to hunt them down on my own and after 12 years of doing this I’ve talked to a lot of people! Second ask is to contribute to my Prostate cancer campaign.  I’ll put the links in the show notes.  My friends are dying from this.  It’s important to me.  In the first section I’ll talk about long run paces, again.  In section two I’ll give you my brief understanding of the current OKR wave in organizations.  How’s my training going?  Actually quite well.  Since I’m planning not to hammer Boston this year my coach has me running basic base building runs so far.  For example this week I have had 4 easy 1:20 runs.  These are not race specific so I can do them in the woods with Ollie and it makes us both quite happy.  I got every one of my workouts in while in Phoenix.  Proud of that.  I’m heading to Vegas next week and look forward to doing some early morning exploring there as well. I received multiple ‘feedbacks’ that my grizzly bear audio was just a little too real last episode.  People were startled and looked around on their runs to make sure they weren’t about to be eaten!  Sorry.  Trying to be creative.  Yah know… 12 years and all… got to keep it from becoming too rote. No, I did not suffer from any grisly grizzly attacks but that was actual audio of a grizzly eating a dead caribou in Yellowstone.  There is a grisly back story here.  And it’s not that someone found a way to mic up a dead caribou.  If you search for grizzly audio there’s a sort of viral audio of this poor dude and his girlfriend being attacked and eaten by grizzlies in the early 2000’s in Yellowstone.  I did not watch or listen to it because I don’t need that in my head.  Apparently they were trying to video the grizzly with the phone, the grizzly attacked, the phone was dropped and you get a black box narrative of the affair.  Not my cup o’ tea.  I won’t leave you with that.  I’ll leave you with something positive.  The days are getting longer up here in New England.  It’s been a mild January and we don’t have much snow.  This means there’s enough sun to get on the trails with the dog around 6:30 AM now.  And it’s cold enough for the trails to be firm and fast.  There’s nothing like being out in the woods in the silence of a winter’s morning.  Your feet crunching in the frozen ground.  The sun glow highlighting the world in an innocent blur.  Your friend the dog hiding at the tops of hills to pounce on you, damn near knock you down, and run off laughing like a teenager to find his next ambush spot. 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 – Long run Nuances - Voices of reason – the conversation Alix Shutello My Story: A Message from the CEO Hi, my name is Alix Shutello and I started Endurance Sports & Fitness Magazine back in 2010 because someone asked me to. I mean that!  I started writing a blog entitled, Tighthams, to write about my running exploits as a new mom.   In 2002, I ran the San Diego Marathon pregnant and it wasn’t until 2006 when I wrote about it in my blog. I started the blog, truth be told, to learn how to us WordPress. Many of my 11 magazine clients at the time were starting to blog and leverage social media. I figured if I were going to be able to consult with my clients on blogging, I needed to start blogging myself. And now I’ve published this blog about running a marathon pregnant, and other women from around the world began responding to the blog. I was immediately humbled. Many of these women had multiple kids, had run through all of their pregnancies, and who still felt that society didn’t agree that women should run pregnant. In essence, my blog post on running pregnant started a conversation, and that was a lesson I could teach my clients. I kept up with the blog and started to write reviews on products and post some other topics, all of which seemed to generate a number of comments, so I turned Tighthams from a blog into a company called Runners Illustrated. Runners Illustrated, which played off of a combination of Runners World and Sports Illustrated was a great way for me to report on all aspects of running. An endurance runner from Australia names Andy Bowen emailed me one day. He asked me if I could start covering endurance races. Bowen was one of a number of athletes who approached me about covering global endurance foot races beyond the marathon. It opened my eyes to a world I didn’t know existed….and from there, Runners Illustrated, which focused on running any distance up to the marathon morphed to include all types of ultra running. It didn’t stop there. Once I changed the name of Runners Illustrated to Endurance Racing Magazine, the triathlon community found me too – and it didn’t stop there. Endurance Racing Magazine operated from 2012-2016 and covered a number of non-motorized endurance sports including kayaking, canoeing, ultra marathons, adventure racing, Ironman-distance races, ultra-triathlons, duathlons and all other types of trail and road races in between. In late 2016 I conducted a survey and the title of this publication changed to Endurance Sports & Fitness Magazine. The title, while long, resonated with my readers and created more comfort for those, like me, who are striving to enter the endurance world. In 2016 the newly redesigned magazine (which was only published digitally) hit the “shelves” with a lot of fanfare. We hope that you consider supporting the magazine through a subscription or by advertising. The magazine, which is a community-based magazine, is supported by a number of writers who give their time to provide excellent content and rich stories for our reader base. Please  and support our publication. If you ever need to contact me, reach me at . I look forward to hearing from you. Alix Shutello CEO & Publisher Section two – On OKR’s – Outro Well, my friends, we have transversed the frozen ground to the end of another RunRunLive Podcast Episode 4-424 lies sweating and spent in the hoar frost. Nothing new or novel in my training or racing to report.  I’m plunking away build mileage for Boston. I canceled the pacing race on Martha’s Vineyard so I can focus on requalifying in June.  I have signed up for the Tunnel Light Marathon in Oregon which is on a rail trail and is a consistently slightly downhill course.  I’m not going to run any other races, except for the Groton 10K of course.  This is I think our 29th running of the 10K.  Last Sunday in April, come up and join us.  If you folks need anything feel free to reach out to me.  I like hearing from you.  Ollie the collie is doing fine.  He’s just 8 months old now. He’s a stud of an athlete.  We’ll finish this week with somewhere around 30 trail miles.  He’s still incredibly unruly.  He is very vocal, which Buddy was not.  Ollie will spontaneously treat you to a loud, close-range, ear-splitting bark if he wants your attention.  He’s still very mouthy and jumpy and does not listen well but we’re working on it.  A couple weeks ago we were out running in the woods and we came upon a large flock of wild turkeys. Probably 20-30 of them.  Ollie was beside himself with joy.  He chased those birds hither and thither.  Some flew away, like turkeys do, they can’t really fly but they can go short distances, some ran away clucking.  Eventually he came back to rejoin me all tuckered out and quite happy with himself. He’s just come into my office to see me and put his big head in my lap for a hug.  When I was out in phoenix last week I was thinking about the absurdity of having such a city in the middle of the desert.  Before the modern era you could not do such things at scale.  One of my mornings I was running along a canal, which I think they called an aqueduct.  It was fenced in.  I did not attempt to breach the barbed wire.  I’ve been known to jump fences, but it looked like they really didn’t want you inside this fence. Turns out, I was told later, that the whole thing is alarmed with motion sensors and if you get inside the fence the authorities rush out to apprehend you.  That might have made a good running adventure story. The Puebloans who lived here before got by, but not at this scale.  Cities need a reason to exist.  They need to be near something.  Ancient desert cities were on an Oasis and or near a source of water or trade route.  You just don’t put a city in the middle of a desert like Vegas or Phoenix for no reason.  There was a recent discovery of a large city in Egypt from a few thousand years ago.  And they were asking the same question.  Why was this city here?  In the middle of the desert?  They were able to use modern LIDAR and other airborne surveys to figure it out.  A branch of the Nile used to run by this city.  That branch of the Nile silted up so the residents picked up the whole city and moved it to the next branch of the Nile some 100 miles away.  We’ll see what happens when Phoenix runs out of water.  And Vegas.  Challenges like this bring out the innovative nature of humans.  I will see you out there.  (Outro bumper) To continue my music series I give you track #2 from Brian Scheff, the Rock Opera by The Nays.  MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Rachel -> Coach Jeff ->