Kathy Runs

Two fall marathons

Two months to fine tune

Some great music

The drive to PR in 09

These are the things that are keeping me motivated as I move into the more intense portion of my training. Over the past few weeks and well into September, I’ll be focusing on tempo and hill runs. It’s been hard, and it’s going to get harder. It’s going to hurt (it already does), and I’ll lose motivation (I already have). When all my drive goes out the window, I lean heavily on one thing, my music.

Music is like a drug for some distance runners. If I set out for a 20 mile run without my iPod, sure, I’ll finish, but it will be more mentally and physically challenging than if I had the company of some good tunes.

On yesterday’s long run, I wanted nothing else than to check out and get it done. So, I turned on my new mix and cruised along the road and before I knew it, I was almost done with training for the day.

Here’s the new mix: Available on iTunes

*Note, it’s a little all over the place, which is how I like it – keeps things interesting.

• Heartless by Kanye West
• Push by Enrique Iglesias
• Bam Bam by Sister Nancy
• 369 by Cupid
• Jump by Flo Rida
• I swallowed Hard, Like I Understood by 65 days of static
• The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance by Vampire Weekend
• Numb by Linkin Park
• On the Go by Mavado
• Impossible by Bayje
• Johny & Sarah by Call Florence Pow
• Stepz Out by Zumjay
• Tracking Treasure Down by Gabrial & Dresden
• L.E.S. Artistes by Santigold
• Beautiful Girl by INXS
• Lives in Da Club by Sophia Fresh
• Day N Nite by Chani
• Fire Burning by Sean Kingston
• Church by T-Pain
• ShakeShakeShake by White Denim
• Killa by Cherish
• The Hell Song by Sum 41
• Deport Them by Sean Paul
• Hi by PSAPP
• Just Dance by Lady GaGa & Colby O’Donis
• Brazil by Deadmau5
• Overcome by Wayne Marshall
• Low by Flo Rida
• Death is Forming by Jay Reatard
• Welcome to the World by Kevin Rudolf & Rick Ross
• Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian by John Prine (just had to throw this in at that end!)

It’s 3am and the women are a good portion into the World Championships Marathon Finals in Berlin, Germany… and I’m awake with Haley, fellow runner and lifelong friend.

We’re watching because we’re both in love with American distance runner, Kara Goucher. (It’s a healthy love, don’t worry). This race is very important for Goucher as she comes off of her third place win in Boston. The last time an American woman was on the podium for the marathon at the World Championships was in 1983, and in 2009, Kara Goucher has a shot at winning gold.

Haley and I are watching and cheering her on from our homes in Portland, OR and San Francisco, CA (we’re watching via live streaming video, and together via Skype). Our hero is running through the streets of Berlin and inspiring American runners back home.

Good luck on the last few miles, Kara!

Today he celebrates turning 23, and two world records! Usain Bolt is taking a much needed day off to relax on his birthday and get ready for the men’s 4×100 relay.

Usain Bolt is leading his team into track and field greatness, but the Jamaica runners are certainly proving their ability to rocket off the starting blocks and through the finish line. “With his blowout win in the 200 late Thursday and world record of 19.19 seconds, he led Jamaica to a 3-0 sprint lead over the U.S. team, with the women’s 200 final set for Friday.” – - Universal Sports has been doing an incredible job broadcasting the World Championships to the world.

Bolt says, “I am on my way to being a legend.” I think you’re already there, Usain!

The Chicago 1/2 Marathon and the NYC 1/2 Marathon saw some fast finishes this year, and as American distance runners are stepping it up, the international running community gets ready for the men’s and women’s marathon finals in Berlin at the World IAAF Championships.



I’m continually impressed with Kara Goucher and Ryan Hall as they’re challenged by the marathon distance, and I know that I’m not the only one. Kara seems to be on the path to greatness with distance running, and has caught the eye of her international competition. Last week, one of the great American distance runners, and author, Amby Burfoot explained his thoughts on Kara’s increasing momentum in the sport and expects big things to happen at Worlds:

“I’m even more excited and impressed about Goucher’s next race–the World Championships Marathon for Women in Berlin in two weeks. She’s going where no other top U.S. female marathoner has gone before. Our top runners typically pay little attention to the World meet. It’s not the Olympics, after all, it’s too often held in warm weather in midsummer, and it doesn’t pay the kinds of fees elite athletes are accustomed to.

Apparently Goucher is ready to overlook these issues. Good for her.”

In fact, there hasn’t been an American on the women’s podium at World’s for the marathon since Marianne Dickerson (she finished second in 1983; Grete Waitz won the event that year). This seems like it is more than enough motivation for Goucher to race intelligently and take home a medal for America in Berlin. (Goucher faces plenty of competition without having Paula Radcliffe in the race from Ethiopia to China, including Dire Tune, who outran Kara in the Boston Marathon 2009.)

On top of this drive for Kara to win in Berlin, there’s the added potential of a race against Paula Radcliffe. I like to think these two women have a friendly rivalry that began when Kara out kicked Paula in the Bupa Great North Run 1/2 Marathon, an even that Paula has dominated in the past. Paula is having trouble deciding weather or not she will race at Worlds (she has recently had bunion surgery on her foot), but had a solid race in the 09 New York City 1/2 Marathon. In an interview with Runner’s World Paula told the world that she felt strong, but tight after the 1/2 marathon in New York. She seemed confident and excited about completing the New York “Set” (racing The Mile, The Mini, The 1/2, and The Full). I am anxiously awaiting her answer on whether or not she will join Kara on the start line at Worlds. At least she’s already in Berlin!

After taking a big stretch break on the two day trip up to Haines and Skagway, Alaska (2 planes, 4 cities, 2 ferries, a truck, and a few mega hilly bike rides), I was able to start enjoying my vacation. The past ten days have been a whirl of meeting up with old friends, trying to pack in sight seeing, and enjoying the woods again.

I’ve never been one for mellow traveling. Vacations to me mean adventure, exploration, and excitement, so these ten days have been about running on new roads, hiking up familiar but dearly missed trails, and shimmying across cold, icy glaciers. Taking a break from work to head out on vacation is comparable to pressing the reset button, and it doesn’t mean that I have to take a break from running and training in order to be successful.

One of the many appealing factors of running is routine. All elements of my life can change, but I’ll always have running as my constant. This is grounding and gives me at least a little bit of structure. When that routine is disrupted training can get a little creative. Sure, I packed two pairs of running shoes, six pairs of shorts, who knows how many shoes, and a few too many t-shirts. Having the tools to run helped me get out of the door on my journey through Alaska’s inside passage, and it also prepared me to switch up the running with some cross-training in the form of hiking to the tops of the peaks around Haines, and Skagway, Alaska.

Here’s how my vacation running “routine” looked like (more or less):

Wake up to french press



Run to a meadow (6 miles RT, elevation gain: 3,100ft)



Replenish burned calories with fresh caught halibut

Loosen up for tomorrow’s excursion via a game of horseshoes

So there you have it, training “Alaska Style.” I’m ready to get back into it when I return to San Francisco in a few days, but for now I’m enjoying the challenge of adjusting my routine. But soon, I will be back on the hills of California crushing some miles.

In my short seven years of running, I’ve been a dedicated Asics advocate. To really understand which shoe worked best for me, I had to date around. I spent time with Nike, Newbalance, Saucony, and now I occasionally head out for a quick trip around the block with Newtons. All this time with other shoes gives me perspective on my favorite brand, Asics. When I slip on my Kayanos, my feet start moving automatically, and I feel as though I’m hardly working.

I know that Asics and my feet are a great match, but why? With running popularity increasing, more and more people are demanding high tech shoes to motivate them to get outside, and to carry them across the finish line. In 2008, almost 40 thousand shoes were sold to runners who spent 2.31 billion dollars (according to Running USA). This is an increase of about 15 thousand shoes, and 1,323,000,000 dollars over the past decade. The US has 713 running specialty stores carrying all sorts of running products and with an increase in popularity, Asics has to keep up with the innovative pressure of other companies like Newtons.

Given all of this new shoe technology pared with my recent respect for the Newtons, why do I keep coming back to my Asics? Sure, part of it is probably brand loyalty. It’s a struggle to find the right shoe for your foot, a struggle that involves a lot of risks. Once a runner finds the right shoe, chances of divination are slim in order to avoid the risks that come with a mid season switch (injury, speed and distance sacrifices, blisters, black toenails, etc.).

Brand and style are definitely the most important factors of choosing a running shoe, but there’s obvioulsy more to it. Someone has to build the shoe right? That means someone has to design it? In Japan, the Asics designers flex their creativity to create some of the best selling shoes in the world:



And the technology behind it? (Be sure the watch the egg part in combo with the expression on the girl’s face – priceless!)

When Kelly asked me to help her plan a trip to Tahoe for a weekend of birthday festivities, how could I say no? Tahoe is an outdoor girl’s fantasy, and I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to go spend four days in the wilderness with good friends, great weather, and some “OK” views… just kidding about the views, just Google the word ‘Tahoe’ and you’ll see what I’m talking about. After months of planning which usually consisted of meeting Kelly at the pizza place next to work, drinking a glass of wine, and talking about everything butthe party, seven of us took off for a weekend of activities in the quaintest of quaint Tahoe cabins. We went rafting, we hiked, we swam, we played, and we had fun.

I think any distance runner can agree that spending time in the woods with good friends is fantastic, but it’s awesomeness is punctuated by the ability to get out in the morning and go for an early AM trail run before anyone else gets up. Living in San Francisco, I don’t often get this luxury. Sure, I can get up and go for a run in the city when it’s just me, the streets, some utilities workers, and the occasional leftover bar rat who forgot to go home the night before.

Running around Lake Tahoe in Tahoe City, CA

There is no contest between these two types of runs, and that got me wondering if I live where I run, or run where I live? To the non-runner this question may sound redundant and unnecessary, and for that person running is usually just a form of exercise. For a someone who has chosen running as their passion, the question takes on more meaning. Surfers move to the shore, alpanists move to the mountains, cyclists move to the country, so runners should feel free to move to a land where their runs are amplified by their environment.

Runners are lucky in that they can easily take their sport with them and practice it nearly anywhere they can find an open road/trail/beach/sidewalk, but what would happen if runners were encouraged to live in areas where they are constantly motivated to get out and train just by the enticing trails surrounding them. Would the challenge of getting up in the morning before the sun raises to head out on a cold, often wet, trail turn into a lovely and welcomed experience? Would we be running and training so often that we become the endurance athletes of our dreams, crushing goals and setting records? Would we be taking to the trails and roads so often that we become injured and unable to run? The best runners in the world live where they run, and they reap the benefits. This weekend as I cruised around on the trails above Lake Tahoe, I couldn’t help but wonder what my sport would mean to me if I lived at the trailhead. There are lucky runners out there who certainly take advantage of with their location, and those who have to make do. Because we can take the sport with us wherever we are, we make compromises and insist on running where we live, but this doesn’t mean we can’t maximize our efforts and enjoy our sport if we move to the place where the sport is practiced best. Who knows if I’ll end up picking up my San Francisco house and heading into the mountains, but it is encouraging to dream of living where I run.

Marathoners are continually humbled by so many factors: other competitors, their very own bodies, the natural elements, and the shear distance they’re trying to overcome. Completing a marathon is a fantastic lesson in what we’re capable of, and also a frightening confrontation with our fears, anxieties, and challenges. Twenty-six point two miles is a long way to run, and a very humbling distance to race. Even though we’ve crossed the finish line before, the distance consistently reveals the unknown, and it’s important to keep perspective.

Recently I came across a poem by Rudyard Kipling that reminds me of the reasons why I need to stay grounded while I’m training and racing marathons.

I found the poem, “If” by Rudyard Kipling on Youtube read by Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal. If you’re looking for a bit of motivation, check this out. (Full text below):



IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
‘ Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

(Found this little snipped on a facebook fan page and just couldn’t get enough of it – and I also added a few of my own):

…you can use “easy” and 10 in the same sentence

…your shoes have more miles on them than your car does

…you go to a golf course to run

…you schedule dates around meets

…you’ve been to a golf course in every city but not to play golf

…you find yourself saying, “it’s not really a hill…”

…you’re running and you don’t know why

…more than half the people you know don’t know what XC is

…you can’t go a day without some little brat saying “Run Forest run”

…you’ve ever relieved yourself (1 or 2) in a heavily wooded area. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be heavily wooded, just somewhere in the outdoors

…Ibuprofen is your recreational drug of choice

…You look into the toilet before a big race to inspect the size of the log you just dropped

…National collegiate “powerhouses” are Colorado, Stanford, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Arkansas….not Florida St, Miami, USC, and Oklahoma

…you are from the US and you think in terms of meters not feet or yards

…you can look at a grass field and guess its circumference almost exactly

…you are up watching ESPN at 2am (when they actually show the race coverage)

…you have 5% body fat yet you don’t live in Somalia

…you consider a 15 mile run a good cure for a hangover

… you are a man, you eat all the junk food that there is and still weigh 119 pounds

… you dont care when you hug a sweaty girl

… you can sit in the cold whirlpool and still hope you will have 15 kids

… ultimate frisbee is the only other sport your good at

… you welcome an icy cold bath

…”Quarters” are not a monetary unit

…You have recorded a marathon or track meet over your wedding video

…Your fridge contains two types of drinks: Beer and gatorade

…you waste ridiculous amounts of time engaged in meaningless arguments and discussions about running

…you get hit by a car and you don’t bother to get the license plate of the person who hit you because you still have 6 miles left to go

…your carry-on is a spike bag

…the first question anybody asks you once they find out you are a runner is “Have you ever run the marathon?” even if you explain that you are a miler or 5k runner – then they immediately lose interest in the conversation

…You say things like “long and hard” to your female friends and it is not a sexual inuendo

…you are used to the sound of a gun

…you make hundreds of left turns each week

…you and your teammates have meaningless debates about training, running, and coaching, especially when you’re drinking

…you can run a beer mile faster than most people could run a regular mile

…you have running shoes in varying degrees of decomposition: used, well-worn, spent but still good, and useless-but-I-still-wear-them-because-they-still-feel-good

…you keep shoes and running clothes in your car so that if you’re ever on a road trip and drive by a place thinking “it’d be sweet to run here…” you can get out and go for a run

…you sleep in your running shorts because they’re more comfortable than whitie-tighties, not to mention you don’t need to change for morning practice

…you can correctly pronounce names like “Hicham El Guerrouj” “Kennesia Bekele” and “Haile Gebresilassie”

…you’ve learned that shopping after a long run or hard workout for food is bad, because when you get home, you realize all you have to eat for the next week is queso dip, mission tortilla chips, and a 5 pound bag of twizzlers

…you’ve ever found yourself running around an airport thinking “if i can just get in three more miles, I’ll meet my mileage goal”

…you’ve become a member of the “Century Club”, and by that I don’t mean the older brother of the “Power Hour”. (100 miles in 1 week of training)

…you wear sandals despite having the ugliest feet in the world, along with several missing toe nails

…speciality running shops are better than the mall

…you get upset and impatient when results from the race you ran aren’t posted online by the time you get home

…LetsRun.com is your homepage

…you’re completely addicted to Dailymile.com and weigh your self worth against the leaderboard

…you spend so much time on running websites that any one of the following could/has happened: you’ve been fired, you’ve been divorced, you’ve failed 1 or more classes, you have a regular posting handle and participate in all the Brojos prediction contest, and/or you’ve actually won a LetsRun.com prediction contest

…you need a magnifying glass to see your name in the paper.

…you have chafing in strange places.

…you spend more on training clothes than school clothes.

…there’s nothing like intervals to start the week off fresh!!

…you talk to your coaches more than your parents

…off-season training starts a week after Finals

…you run when you feel like it, be it 6AM or midnight

…you know what “Badger Miles” are

…you use “Badger Miles” on your long runs and easy days

…you have the guts to do the steeplechase

…you do anything to try to heal an injury except go to a doctor or athletic trainer because you know they will just tell you to “Stop running.”

…you wear a black, plastic sports watch with your dress clothes

…you can remember a time from a race 4 years ago, but you can’t remember your friend’s birthdays

…Your heart rate is below 50 and you are not dying

…You know how many grams of carbs there are in a banana.

…You can name a person from Namibia, Djibouti and Zimbabwe

…You’ve said “she’d be one hell of a pole vaulter” at a strip club

…you are embarrassed to wear sandals because of your hideous sock tan, but you where ‘em anyway

…you are not embarassed to show someone where your hamstring “really” hurts.

…you know splits are something that not only cheerleaders care about

…you’re embarassed to wear a bikini because of your shorts/bra/tank-top/t-shirt tan lines

…you have hundreds of safety pins scattered around your house

…you enjoy running in the rain

…you carry a waterbottle everywhere

…you double knot all your shoes out of habit

…you have a watch tan that never goes away

…you feel naked without your stop-watch on

…you enjoy playing duck duck goose with a youth group knowing you can outrun them- you then get sad when no one picks you as goose

…when you pack a separate bag for your running clothes

…when pasta is the only food you’ll eat two nights before a race

…when you try to convince people to run a 5k because it’s “only” 3 miles

…when your friends think they need to practice more before they can run with you

…Every time you see a runner when you’re driving you feel like you too should be running, even if you ran 15 miles earlier in the day

…You shower about 12 times a week

…you’re not a masochist, but you enjoy ironing out tight muscles and tendons on a foam roller

…You see your opponent shitting on the side of a road during a race and don’t think twice about it

…You really have to take a shit during your 90 minute run, but without any leaves or toilet paper handy, you rip off the bottom half of your t-shirt and use it

…your toenails are black.

…you feel lost without your water-bottle.

…you have running withdrawl if you don’t run everyday.

…you consider school as just a break between runs.

…your room smells like Icy-Hot and New-Skin.

…you are bankrolling your physical therapist’s next vacation.

…your girlfriend can bench more than you.

…you can count all your ribs.

Last night Nike launched the beta version of their new NikePlus website. They combined a lot of the blog and editorial features of the Nike Running Blog with the Nike Store to produce an integrated experience. They also expanded the social part of the previous site giving users their own profile pages, the ability to add friends, and manage challenges in a more robust social setting.

Nike has expanded some of my favorite concepts on the NikePlus site. One of the best aspects of using the product is the motivation I get from learning about my runs in real time as well as documenting them over the months that I have been training. Nike’s new site elaborates on this idea in a beautiful way which boosts my motivation to keep training. For example, they added a color coded “distance-line” to indicate how runners have been performing since they joined NikePlus. Do you need motivation to advance to the next color level? It’s all on the “distance-line.” I have 941 miles to go before reaching my next level!

While the Nike site excels in beauty, shine and newness, it is lacking a bit on the technical side. The site is entirely flash, which follows the Nike web presence tradition. Nike has some deep and powerful technology behind each of its sites, but creating site with such robust functionality requires some heavy lifting and when the product was released last night, someone’s arms got tired. Twitter runners who use the system were having trouble logging in, connecting with friends, and uploading new runs. All of these complications led to a fairly large dump, and the site eventually crashed browsers and couldn’t surface data to the client-side. Good thing there’s a “feedback” button!

I still remain impressed with Nike’s running system, and I love using it to keep a record of all of my runs – if not for the amazing technology, then just because I want to get to the next color level!