Got Races?

In my last post I alluded to my upcoming race schedule, so I figured I would spill the beans and put it out there. After all, I am not merely hoping to complete these races, but rather, I am hoping to set new PRs for the half and full.

Given my lack of running for the last quarter of 2011 and the first half of 2012, it might be a stretch to PR the Virginia Beach Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon over Labor Day, but if I’m feeling good, it’s a great course; flat and fast! My current half-marathon PR (1:46) was set at this race in 2010, so it’d be great to break 1:45 here.

The next race will be a month later in Hampton, VA and is the inaugural running of the event. I’ve never run in Hampton before, but given it’s proximity to Virginia Beach and the fact that the race is put on by J&A Racing, there is little doubt that it will be a great event. If I miss a PR at the R&R half, this might be a great candidate for try #2!

After two solid half-marathons, Julie and I are going to run the Blue Moon Wicked 10K in Virginia Beach. It is a great time and we’ll just be running for fun, and maybe in costume! Given that our marathon is just around the corner from this event, we’ll make sure to keep the pace light!


After missing the Big Sur Marathon earlier this year due to recovery from surgery, my first marathon will be the Anthem Richmond Marathon, billed as “America’s Friendliest Marathon!” Richmond is only an hour from our house and I hope to be in shape to best my 3:49 marathon time that I ran at San Francisco in 2011. The course looks like it is much easier than the San Francisco course, so depending on my performance(s) in the two half-marathons preceding this race, I’d like to go sub 3:45!

To finish out 2012, Julie and I will be running another favorite J&A race in Virginia Beach, the Surf-n-Santa 10 miler. We ran this race in 2010 just before we moved to Monterey and it was a great time, although it was quite chilly!

2013 will bring my second running of the Virginia is For Lovers 14K with my bride and lifetime running partner, Julie. While it can be chilly in February in Virginia Beach (it snowed when I ran this race in 2010), the course is fun and the festivities are great! This race will also be very cool to do again as it was the first ever race that I ran!

Finally, at least for now, Julie and I are registered for the Shamrock Marathon in March 2013. In 2010, we ran the half-marathon and that was our first race together. We wore bright green wigs and tons of shamrock inspired gear and just put our best feet forward! The course is flat and fast and will make a great venue to try and PR the marathon again! Perhaps a sub 3:40?

What races are you running for the rest of 2012? Are you running any of these?

Getting Back On Board

It’s been a busy few months. Actually, that’s quite the understatement, but you get the picture I’m sure. Research travel in February, surgery in March, recovery and a birthday in April and May, and graduation in June directly followed by a move across the country from California to Virginia. Yeah, it’s been a little hectic. The frantic pace and high stress load was only further compounded by the fact that there was no real running happening. In truth, I’ve been doing too much of this…

and not enough of this…

To recap, in March I had surgery to repair a torn adductor longus and oblique on the right side of my groin. This was supposed to get me back up and running pain free. After several months of rest and rehab I’m sad to say that the original pain that brought me down has still not gone away. With that said, the pain was never at a point where it was debilitating; only nagging, and it still is. So my new plan is to try and get back to where I was last summer (in marathon shape) and see what I feel like as I get there. I figure that will be a good gauge as to whether or not I seek further treatment and time away from running right now.

May and June saw a frantic effort to finish up the last quarter of school and to complete my thesis. I’m happy to report that those efforts went off without a hitch and that I successfully completed the requirements for graduation from the Naval Postgraduate School on June 15, 2012.

Immediately following graduation, we loaded up the 3 kids and the 3 pets in the 1 minivan and started hauling ass east on I-40 to our new home in Virginia.

Due to a scheduling SNAFU, we ended up cancelling all of the hotel reservations for our planned leisurely drive across the country, instead opting for the 4 days of hell drive. Fortunately, the drive was excellent, with great weather, open roads, and most importantly, cooperative kids!

We arrived at our new home in Virginia on the 19th of June and sat in our empty house for four days until the first of our furniture arrived.

Now it’s time to get back onboard the fitness train and get back in shape! It’s gonna be a long hot summer and I’ve got a lot of work to do! I’m looking forward to reconnecting with all of you and getting back to regular blog updates. I currently have seven races on tap from now till March of 2013 comprising everything from 10K to marathons. I’ve also got some cool FitFluential stuff coming up!

Better with age?

I’m getting better. I mean that literally and figuratively. There is no doubt about it either. I’m back to running again, albeit very slowly and very methodically, but it’s running. I’m getting older too. One of my favorite Marine Corps sayings is that “you can’t stop the clock!” I usually utter that phrase incessantly as a deployment grinds on, but I find it strikingly appropriate today as I celebrate another birthday.
At this time last year, I was getting ready to run my first marathon in San Francisco (review here), and the miles were coming quickly and easily. I had also already registered to run my first ultra, the North Face Endurance Challenge, though that didn’t happen due to my injury. Anyway, my point is that last year I boldly declared that I would run 35 miles on my 35th birthday. Obviously that didn’t happen given my physical condition, but it didn’t stop me from thinking about it. So today came and went with no 35 mile run, nor even a 3.5 mile run, but it’s OK because I’m getting better with age. While I may be worse physically, I am much better mentally as I now realize that my only competition is myself. In my mind, that realization is “one giant leap for Mikekind!” (I did a guest post for ViewSPORT today on this subject if you’re interested. You can check it out here).
Anyway, like I said, you can’t stop the clock, so you better get moving, I know I am! My goal these days is just to be better than I was yesterday, and for now, that’s good enough.
By the way, if you’re looking for an innovative product, check out the ViewSPORT stuff. The sweat activated technology is definitely a cool concept. Hell, I just ordered another shirt today (I have 2 others already).

A Few of My Favorite Things

Running Warehouse has the Saucony Kinvara 2 on liquidation (both Mens and Womens). I have many shoes, but the Kinvara has been my favorite distance shoe since last year. The two pair above make my 5th and 6th pairs. Hopefully, my rehab will continue to go well and I can rotate the 3 pair I have right now into a bunch of high mileage runs over the next several months.

Have you tried the Kinvara? What are your thoughts?

So...Wanna Know What I Did Today?

How do you follow up a good run?

OK, OK. I know that you all expected that I would run today. I really wanted to, but the truth is I just ran out of time. "Why did I run out of time" you ask? Well because I was busy buying this house in King George, VA! That's right, Julie and I are proud 2nd time home owners and we couldn't be more excited! Virginia here we come!

No more silly titles, it's back to business tomorrow. Gotta run....seriously. I have to run tomorrow!

See you then!