Competitive Jerks Racing and Training - 2023 (Read 572 times)

mmerkle


    Steve I like the structure of that week.

     

    Mark Congrats on a new baby being on the way.

     

    My Week:                                                              Time:               Miles:     Kilos:     Pace/mi:     Pace/kilo:

     

    5/22: Jack Daniels I-1:

     

    4 sets of (fast/jog)

    2min/1min, 1min/30sec,

    30sec/30sec                                                        1:00:25                   8          12.9            7:33             4:42

     

    5/23: Easy                                                           1:05:00                   8          12.9            8:08             5:03

     

    5/24: Easy with 15 second

    strides                                                                  1:03:47                   8          12.9            7:59             4:57

     

    5/25: Track Tempo:

    3.5 mi / 5.6 km, 21:29

    + warm up and cd                                                   51:35                   7          11.3             7:22            4:35

     

    5/26: Easy                                                            1:04:55                   8          12.9            8:07             5:03

     

    5/27: Chillin

     

    5/28: Shorty Long on hilly route

    1,437 ft of climb / 438 meters                               1:34:40                  12         19.3            7:54             4:54

     

    Totals: 51 miles, 82.1 kilometers, 6:40:22

     

    Been ignoring strength training a bit. Using adjusting to the new job as my excuse. But need to get on that.                           

    dktrotter


    Dorothea

      [edited to take out something I thought was code for inserting quotes in a post. And to remove links]

       

      Steve, kudos for pursuing a Masters alongside working. Yes, finals work will probably be a good antidote to the taper crazies. 

       

      I may have missed it and certainly wasn't around the first time you told the story, but when did you start running, Cal? You're giving me hope that I still have a little under 20 years to get better at running! But also this --"Because the older you get, the better you understand that it's all a game, maybe not really healthy after all. Running is great, of course, but at what cost?"-- Has got me thinking.  And I have to apologize that I think I missed your post from 5/23 when I posted mine. I guess we do agree on a few things re: bodies are not machines and prescribing medicine or antibiotics without more well-rounded care, and it’s poor doctoring if you only get bloodwork done for when you already have an issue. My dad recently got flagged for something that he wasn’t feeling the effects of yet. There’s hope that he will emerged more unscathed than if one had waited for him to start presenting symptoms. Maybe you have to change insurances? Many do include blood work in the annual or bi-annual physical. 

       

      Wcrunner, what you wrote re: trails makes sense! Thanks for sharing. 

       

      Thanks for the update, Longboat! 

       

      Nice weeks Mark, Piwi, Steve, and mmerkle. Mark, I agree about minute repeats. It’s somewhat more annoying than a distance rep, since you don’t really know it’s over until it’s over. Also wishing you and your family all the best this week! May mother and child be healthy. Mmerkle, solid speed-work week! There’s something satisfying about seeing the interval/tempo schedule. And I always give myself a bit of grace when undergoing a job change and trying to figure out a new workout routine. 

       

      Re perfect marathons, I think I wasted one of those on a non-PR attempt. Too bad they can’t be planned, though I do imagine having a good training cycle is a big part of it.  

       

      Re: watches, I’m happy with my new-to-me Garmin 935, except that it froze on me during the 40-miler. But I haven’t had any issues since. Congrats on your new watch, Flavio! And nice strength training gains. (Those reps sound painfully slow, but it also makes sense to me that they’re effective). Also nice job breaking 60 miles this week. 

       

      Re: eyesight, I used to think being near-sighted was annoying, since I always need to make sure I have glasses on or contacts in… but I never thought about how being far-sighted could be more annoying, since you only need glasses for some things, but not all. I’d love to get Lasik surgery, but it’s way outside my budget for at least the next 5 years. 

       

      Re blood pressure, I have the opposite problem. My blood pressure is very low, and I get weirdly mellow when I’m in doctor’s offices. Nurses often do multiple takes to make sure it wasn’t a fluke the first time. 

       

      My week was a pretty solid pre-5k prep week. Much better, if a bit slow, than the last time around, so I’m hopeful to have another shot at sub-21 tomorrow. 

      The 800s/600s weren’t an ideal workout, because I was trying to coordinate track time with a friend and did a stupid-long recovery between the 800s and 600s, but the 400s were smooth. I’m recovered from the 1000s and got a taste of proper training again! But this is going to be a summer of “get it in while I can.” 

       

      Weekly for period: From: 05/22/2023 To 05/28/2023

      Date

      Name

      mi

      km

      Duration

      Avg/mi

      Avg/km

      Elevation Gain 

      in ft

      05/22

      Morning Run

      7.77

      12.50

      01:12:50

      09:22

      05:50

      171

      05/23

      3 x 800s + 2 x 600s

      6.61

      10.64

      00:55:53

      08:27

      05:15

      0

      05/24

      Evening recovery run

      5.01

      8.06

      00:47:23

      09:27

      05:53

      141

      05/25

      7 x 400s w/ 600m recoveries

      6.10

      9.81

      00:54:59

      09:01

      05:36

      13

      05/27

      Morning Run with Ze'ev

      4.87 + 0.59 strides

      7.83 + 0.94

      00:51:57 + 6

      10:40

      06:38

      33

      05/28

      Shakeout and strides

      2.44

      3.93

      00:23:38

      09:41

      06:01

      36

      Total distance: 33.3 mi

      Qualifications: I like to run. In Florida. In the summer. At noon.  

      Last race: Community 5K, March 2nd. Speed test run with 2 walk breaks. Went pretty well.  

        I am happy to report a full week of running, for the first time in a month, and highest mileage since mid-March. Yesterday I went out with my group for 11, with the intent of adding on a couple if I felt good. It did, so I did. My back still sucks, but at least it doesn’t seem to be holding back my running too much anymore. The 13 felt longer than it was—I clearly have some fitness to get back, but things seem to be heading in the right direction. Hopefully I’ll be able to continue re-building; I am pretty anxious to add some speed and get in shape for some racing. 

        Weekly for period: From: 05/22/2023 To 05/28/2023

        <caption>Weekly Grid</caption>
        Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
        in ft
        05/22 Morning Run 5.01 8.06 00:47:00 09:23 05:50 243
        05/23 Morning Run 5.01 8.06 00:45:38 09:07 05:40 230
        05/24 Morning Run 7.08 11.39 01:01:28 08:41 05:24 338
        05/25 Morning Run 6.01 9.67 00:52:28 08:44 05:26 243
        05/26 Morning Run 5.02 8.08 00:45:46 09:07 05:40 230
        05/27 Morning Run 13.01 20.94 01:51:16 08:33 05:19 358
        05/28 Morning Run 6.22 10.01 00:56:11 09:02 05:37 397

        Total distance: 47.36mi

        Dave

        Fishyone


          Summer is officially here in Massachusetts It was a hot one today.  Luckily not humid but I'm not heat adapted in the least LOL.

           

          Had to break out the hydration belt which sucks!  Actually it's really no that bad but I do feel lighter and faster without it...

           

          Good week.  Legs are feeling really solid.  Friday was supposed to be fartleks but weather was perfect and the first 1 @ HMP felt so good I went for it.

           

          Steve- Like the new "zen" approach...no stress just run the race when it comes up on the calendar.

           

          MMerk- You've earned some downtime.  Summer is the perfect time to just play it by ear and be flexible.

           

          Piwi- Your weeks are looking really solid and consistent.

           

          DK- Thought about how my "hot" run would feel like welcome cool relief to you.  Philly's gonna feel downright COLD after your training

           

          Dave- Really encouraging that you seem to be recovered.  Don't try to rush the fittness back...it will come.

           

          Weekly for period: From: 05/22/2023 To 05/28/2023

          <caption>Weekly Grid</caption>
          Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
          in ft
          05/22 AM commute 7.66 12.32 01:03:25 08:17 05:09 246
          05/22 PM commute 7.65 12.31 00:58:55 07:42 04:47 341
          05/24 GA with 10x100 9.20 14.81 01:11:30 07:46 04:50 144
          05/25 GA 7.5 7.50 12.07 00:57:46 07:42 04:47 148
          05/26 11 w/ 4x1 @HMP 11.14 17.92 01:21:21 07:18 04:32 171
          05/28 LR steady (summers here) 18.03 29.01 02:30:02 08:19 05:10 702

          Total distance: 61.18mi

          5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015) 

          darkwave


          Mother of Cats

            Marky_Mark - good luck this upcoming week. Best wishes to you and your family.

             

            Piwi - you carpet your garage?   I presume that you do not keep cars in it, then?

             

            Flavio - congrats on hitting the 60 mile milestone!

             

            Merkle - some good balance there.  Congrats on the new job - is this a summer thing or permanent?

             

            DKTrotter - my blood pressure always runs low as well.  Good luck with the race tomorrow!

             

            As for multiple quotes, I do it "brute force" style - I open multiple tabs, with one tab as my primary post.  Using the menu at the top, I swap that post to display "source code."

             

            I then use another tab to quote a particular statement.  Once I have the reply with the quote, I swap that one to display source code as well, and I copy the HTML.

             

            I then paste the HTML into my main response tab, and repeat this process for each quote.  Once that's done, I swap out of source code mode and write my responses.

             

            Does that make sense?  It's one of those things that takes longer to explain by writing it out than it would if I could just show you.

             

            DavePNW - it's so good to see that full week!

             

            Fishy- I think we've discussed this before, but have you ever tried sitting in a sauna a few times?  I find that it really helps with heat acclimation

            Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.

             

            And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.

            darkwave


            Mother of Cats

              Me:

              59 miles running, 500 meters swimming and 90 minutes pool-running.
              M: upper body weights/core and 5 miles easy on treadmill (9:54).
              T: 7 miles easy (9:22) plus drills and 2 hill strides, and then streaming yoga
              W: 10 miles easy (9:38) plus drills and 2 strides.
              Th: 90 minutes pool-running and upper body weights/core.
              F: 10.5 miles, including a track workout of 3200, 1600 in 13:44 (6:53/6:51) and 6:43 with 4:50 jog between. Followed with leg strengthwork.
              Sa: 10 miles very easy (9:33) plus drills and four strides, and then streaming yoga.
              Su: 16 miles progressive, split as the first 6 miles averaging 9:07 pace, the next 5 miles averaging 8:06 pace, and the next 5 miles averaging 7:42 pace. Then a short cooldown jog, followed by leg strengthwork and 500 meters recovery swimming.

               

              I had a mild head cold the first half of this week, so I pulled back on the mileage and skipped the speedwork (I wasn't sick enough that I needed to take time off - just a sore throat).

               

              We've been really lucky in the DC area - our traditional humidity has been mostly absent so far this year.  I don't know how long that will last, but I will appreciate it while we have it.

              Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.

               

              And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.

              Fishyone


                DW- I'm gonna try that tomorrow.  The new gym has a sauna so I'll give it a go.  Funny, I was well hydrated but not sweating nearly as much as usual definitely need to get a good sweat going to remind my body how to cool properly.

                 

                 DK-  completely understand about the budget issues.  It's a tough pill to swallow but lasik was truly a game changer for me.  I had worn contacts so long that my eyes we're getting so tired I pretty much had to take them out the minute I got home from work and I've never liked/worn glasses.  IMHO It is NOT cosmetic and should absolutely be covered by insurance.

                5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015) 

                Marky_Mark_17


                  Cheers all.

                   

                  So yesterday someone took down a Strava CR that I set the day our daughter was born in 2017 (woke up early and went running around 4:30am in the morning as I recall...).  He is actually another athlete that shares the same coach as me, funnily enough.

                   

                  Anyways given I've got most of today free and all the action will happen tomorrow, I went down and took it back this morning, at the much more civilised hour of around 9am after dropping my daughter at school.  I'm not sure it'll hold for 6 years again this time, but it did prompt some fun memories along the way.

                  3,000m: 9:07.7 (Nov-21) | 5,000m: 15:39 (Dec-19) | 10,000m: 32:34 (Mar-20)  

                  10km: 33:15 (Sep-19) | HM: 1:09:41 (May-21)* | FM: 2:41:41 (Oct-20)

                  * Net downhill course

                  Last race: Maraetai HM, 10 Mar, DNF

                  Up next: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr

                  "CONSISTENCY IS KING"


                  Pain is my friend

                    Ya the Ultra guy is still watching in the background. Lots of great races and workouts.

                     

                    Garmin: I have been using the 945 for the years.  I love it. It does more than I need. Just wish the battery would last longer then 18-19 hours. But that is an ultra runner problem.

                     

                    I helped my 19 yr old daughter last weekend run her first ultra. Bryce canyon 60k. She rocked it. It was fun running every step with her and being her crew at the same time. Didn't take any time off after. Went back to my normal training. Ended up doing 100 miles in 7 days. I have one more big week before I back off. I have run 70-80 miles a week for the past 7 weeks. Looking forward to backing off.

                     

                    Key runs were the progressive on Tue. 8:30 to 6:42 pace and long trail run Friday of 23 miles.

                    Weekly for period: From: 05/22/2023 To 05/28/2023

                    <caption>Weekly Grid</caption>
                    Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
                    in ft
                    05/22 Shaking my legs out in the flowers. 9.43 15.18 02:02:09 12:57 08:03 2264
                    05/23 2 carbon plates and a Gary 10.02 16.12 01:17:50 07:46 04:50 276
                    05/24 One more day and then one more 8.30 13.36 01:10:41 08:31 05:17 223
                    05/25 I still haven’t found what I’m running for 9.34 15.03 01:21:14 08:42 05:24 167
                    05/26 Mueller Park connector with rocking Chris 23.02 37.03 03:55:38 10:14 06:22 2251
                    05/27 I guess it’s time to start training for my next race. Monday will be week one. 11.01 17.71 01:39:27 09:02 05:37 157

                    Total distance: 71.12mi

                    ATY 24   141.445 2019 1st

                    Bear 100 22:08 2021 

                    Jackpot 100 Feb 14:59 - 5th

                    St George marathon Oct 2:58

                    ATY 24 130.969 2022 2nd

                     

                    Pulse endurance 12 hour 76.22 1ST CR

                    July Backyard ultra 22 yards Win

                    Sept Bear 100 24:08

                     

                    CalBears


                      Some really great running this week Dave, Flavio, mmerkle, Marky, DW, DK, Fishy and Krash. Wow, so many... People are actually putting some serious effort into this Smile

                       

                      mmerkle - eccentric vs concentric. Yeah, I am aware of it too - but do not pay attention at this point at all. Strength training can be as complex as you are willing it to be. For some people it is really simple, for some - they are trying to complicate this from the very beginning Smile Me? I started in Dec-Jan, just a few months ago, kind of moving from one program to another. Ha-ha, took several months just to find peace with the approach I just started to use recently - 3 days a week minimum of strength training, only compound exercises, full body stuff, no split approach. Just like in everything in our lives, consistency is the key. First - consistency doing strength training, 6, 8, 12 months and after that - depending of the results, tweaking and changing. That's how I see it, So, eccentric vs concentric might interest me at some point, bit not for awhile Smile And yes, between strength training days I am trying to run, also trying to be consistent, but running consistently has never been a problem for me. Strength training is new, so, every legs workout days makes me feel the pain for one more day than I would like to Smile. Oh, and the other problem I found out, I spend more calories than I eat, cannot come up with the routine where I would come up with a surplus of 300 calories. Unexpected problem - I thought I was eating a lot Smile

                       

                      DK - sorry I started to participate this year just a few weeks ago, so, I didn't write an introduction. 2010... I was living in Illinois and I was not a very active person. Once in a while, on Sunday I would go and play soccer, would come home totally destroyed and recovered for days. Back then I would try to run consistently every other day in a morning for about 20 minutes, but that wouldn't last for more than a few weeks. I was actually totally active all my early life until 22 yo.

                       

                      My main sport was soccer (real football - ha-ha) and I was a captain of the Team for two years before I left for University. At school I played every sport that involved a ball, but that was not as serious as soccer. Soccer was - 3 days a week training, a regional competition game on Saturday and playing soccer with my friends all the other days. My mom knew what I loved and every time she wanted me do something (or fix my grades at school), she would threaten to cut my football Smile

                       

                      Back to Illinois... It's amazing how some unrelated events would influence your life forever Smile In 2011 I wanted to take some 6 weeks tennis courses, very amateurish ones and my wife wanted to take them with me. She lasted only one session - because there were girls there who were much better than her and she cannot stand such things Smile. Ha-ha - it's amazing how different people are - I enjoy being in a company of people who are stronger than me in different skills - so much easier (and faster) to get better in those skills. The problem usually is that more skillful people don't want to hang out with less skillful people. Smile Anyway... While taking the tennis lessons, we discovered there was a wonderful swim coach from Ukraine, who was an Olympian in 70s. Our daughter was 5.5 and she could swim and we decided that our daughter would benefit from taking lessons. That was happening in Four Seasons Gym. Also, while having these lessons, the facility allowed us to use their equipment for free, hoping we would like it and would sign up later. So, we had no intention to sign up as it was like $160 a month for a family on a top of $60 for 30 minutes of swimming lessons we already were paying. I was only one working in the family, so, it was extremely expensive for us.

                       

                      But we started to use the facility. I started to use treadmills - that is the only one thing knew well - running (soccer, remember? ). The beginning was tough - 10 minutes run, 5 minutes walk - for 30 minutes. When 6 weeks ended, things changed - we saw incredible progress our 5.5 daughter made under the coaching of that woman and we signed up for the gym Smile Ha-ha... And one other thing happened when I started to run in that gym. I think that was a major thing that absolutely, totally changed my perspective on running/training. I was at the top of my "heaviness" at that time - 181 lbs. I am 5'9" and I looked pretty fat. Not obese, but not lean. I started to have some issues with digestion and one Saturday or Sunday I had a nap during mid-day and I woke up with a terrible case of headache and heartburn. Felt so awful that somehow I decided to go to the gym and run. I ran for 30-40 minutes there and when I finished, I was newly born man. Seriously. As stupid as it sounds, after the run I felt amazing, no headache, no heartburn - I think that was  a crucial day for my friendship with runnning.

                       

                      I was still running and as far as I lived in the northern suburbs of Chicago, I definitely heard of Chicago marathons - huge event. So, I started to get some crazy idea about running a marathon. Really, really it felt crazy. But I decided to try. And, don't know why, but I decided to run 5K first, then half marathon and then train for full marathon. I was 45 at the time. Took me 2 months of training in the gym to feel ready for 5K - I ran 22:24, two weeks later I ran HM in 1:42 - was destroyed and could not walk for next few days, but felt so good I was able to do that. Next step - FM and I started to look for a plan. And strangely enough, I picked up a book by Don Fink whose plan was based on time you are running, not on mileage. I liked that approach back then and started to follow it to the T. Somewhere in the middle of the training I found Running World forums and was amazed how friendly people were there. Many people saying that RW was a brutal place, but I think it was an amazing place, where you would meet people with all kind of experiences and that was so awesome - because at my place everybody was thinking I was not completely normal running those kinds of distances Smile Took me another 4 months after running HM to run my first marathon in Helsinki in 3:31. Was targeting sub 3:30 but due to inexperience I didn't know the real distance by GPS watch is always longer than 26.2 and I was keeping the target pace alright but, it was not enough for sub 3:30.

                       

                      I was disappointed a little bit, but was hooked totally. Ran next marathon in Moscow 4 weeks later in 3:23 and qualified for Boston Smile. Turned out I was pretty good at running and I was definitely loving it. My first 9 (or 10, if you count first marathon as a PR Smile marathons were all PRs and I missed 10th PR by like 21 seconds, had some kind of injury in the middle of the training cycle. Hamstring, if I remember correctly - that was a training cycle where I think I ran some 90-100 miles weeks at average pace of 10-11 minutes Smile

                       

                      Anyway, that's the story. Sorry, it might sound too unnecessarily extended, but it was fun to recollect things Smile And I apologize to people here if they think it was way too long and not particularly interesting...

                       

                      And yes, I am eligible for blood test once a year per my plan, but I thought it was pretty reasonable to have it twice a year - there are lot of things that might happen within a year, especially when you are close to 60. Right now I am doing blood tests for my own money - it's just too important to have that info. Plus, they don't do some tests that I need - for example, ApoB and cholesterol size particles. Or DEXA scans. So, luckily I can afford it, so, I do it Smile Glad your  dad caught that thing earlier than later - that should help to fight the problem at its early stage.

                       

                      Btw, I think I was too harsh on running lately - I do not think it is as detrimental as I made it sound. I do not think so now. Plus, we all are so different. Like this MD, very healthy guy said in his podcast recently (he is 50) - "if I ran 10 miles in training, I would be absolutely destroyed" Smile I am 57 and I can run 10 miles every day and might be a little tired by the end of the week, but nowhere close to be destroyed Smile And as we know, our body reaction is the main thing we should rely upon Smile.

                       

                      Wow... A long message. One of my negative sides - I can bore people to death with my boring talk Smile Apologies to the kind people of the thread Smile Till next time!

                      paces PRs - 5K - 5:48  /  10K - 6:05  /  HM - 6:14  /  FM - 6:26 per mile

                        Krash wow that would have been an amazing experience to share with your daughter.

                         

                        DW garage carpet is fine to park cars on. It's a special hard-wearing and quick drying carpet however we don't park cars inside. Good to hear your weather is nice for running.

                         

                        Mark nice job on the strava crown. I used to use segments to motivate me into some fast stuff but haven't bothered lately.

                         

                        Cal apology accepted 

                         

                        Flavio most NZ homes have carpet and tiles or hard flooring in wet areas. I think carpet is common as it is cosy and warm in our moderate climate.

                         

                         

                        DK great job embracing the speedwork.

                         

                        Dave good work bugger on the back. Mine is good again.

                         

                        Fishy thanks I'm ready for an assault on that 19.19 5k now ! You look fully recovered from your marathon.

                         

                        Merkle do you know of the app to get your strava data neatly on here ?

                        55+ PBs 5k 18:36 June 3rd TT

                        " If you don't use it you lose it,  but if you use it, it wears out.

                        Somewhere in between is about right "      

                         

                        Fishyone


                           

                           

                          Fishy thanks I'm ready for an assault on that 19.19 5k now ! You look fully recovered from your marathon.

                           

                          Merkle do you know of the app to get your strava data neatly on here ?

                          Nice, take no prisoners! Thanks, I'm recovered and actually not feeling burned out.  In past cycles I've had a motivation drop after goal races but this time I'm feeling solid.

                           

                          RE; Strava app.....I always just find Flavios last post and the link is in his sig. line.

                           

                          https://www.runningahead.com/forums/topic/f40e0d669769400c8e3c9c87e18f330b/resume#focus

                          5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015) 

                          Fishyone


                            Cal- Welcome back (again).  I thoroughly enjoy the long posts.  I'm not much of a wordsmith but I always get something out of reading other people's thoughts and ideas so keep em' coming. I agree completely that the RW forums were very informative, interesting, combative and sometimes brutal place.....I know we've both reminisced about the strange folks who sometimes dropped in and out of those boards. I was new to running and absolutely felt some "imposter syndrome" so I lurked but rarely posted and never joined the fray on the combative issues.

                            5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015) 

                            flavio80


                            Intl. correspondent

                              Mmerkle - Those set of 2 min on 2 min off have been my bread and butter when getting back into speed workouts. They're excellent.
                              Re: Strength training, when time becomes scarce the way I found in the past is to split it through the day, and do more bodyweight exercises.

                               

                              DK - So I've heard from a ton of Americans by now that when they need elective surgery not fully covered by insurance they just fly across the border into Mexico where it's like 20x cheaper. For reference my wife did the surgery in Brazil and paid BRL 3000 which is about $600 in today's exchange rate.

                               

                              Dave - Yay for a full weekly and it's great to hear that you got over your recent niggles and back pain.

                               

                              Multiple Quotes - So it seems the JS kit used by this site does not make it easy. I guess what you can do is to quote the entire message, then copy/paste the entire quote block for as many times as many quotes you want to do, and then edit each block to remove what you don't want to quote.
                              Alternatively, if you like living dangerously, you can click on the "Source code" button on the toolbar and then wrap your blocks of text with the <blockquote> tag, like this:

                              <blockquote>your text goes here</blockquote>


                              Mark - I'm also sending positive vibes your way so that both mom and the new born are healthy and happy!

                               

                              Cal - Which position did you play in real football ? I was a defender in my early teens, but late teens and early 20s I was a forward cause I liked scoring goals and I could outrun the defenders once they got tired. I mostly played futsal and teams of 7.
                              I did go to a regional tryout when I was about 14 yo, only played 10 minutes, was gassed for 7 minutes of those and didn't get selected 😂

                               

                              Piwi - You're gonna run sub 19 before you know it.

                              PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021

                              Up next: no idea

                              Tool to generate Strava weekly

                                Cal - where in the north suburbs of Chicago were you? I grew up in Skokie. I went to school at U of I in Champaign, then moved away and never came back. But I’ve always thought Chicago was the greatest city and felt strong ties. It’s what made it even more special when I finally ran the marathon and set a big PR. 

                                I think a lot of “late-onset runners” have similar stories, myself included. Get to your 40s and start to get a sense of your own mortality, realize you need to do something to get in shape, finding running & getting hooked. One difference for me is that while I enjoyed a variety of other sports with friends, I was no good at any of them. Running is great in that you need no special physical skills, talent, or coordination—perfect for me! Plus no designated playing field, equipment, or other people. Another difference; my first marathon was at age 47, but I ran 3 of them before I ever tried racing a 5k.

                                Dave