BK's Running Blog

I'm back!

2010-04-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus, I resumed my running schedule.

A lot happened since my last post. In 2008 I ran the NYC Half-Marathon without any training, then stopped running in November 2008.

I resumed my running schedule late March 2010 in preparation for 2 full marathons in 2010. More on this later.

Orlando, Florida - new 5K personal record

2007-11-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

I'm at the Orlando World Center Marriott hotel for 3 days this week (work related training). The weather is a really nice. It's a perfect FL sunny day. Quite the opposite of the low 30's in NY this morning.

Trying to make the most of my time today, I went to the gym and set a new non-race personal best 5K of 27'27". Then I casually jogged a loop around the hotel's golf course.

Cumulative Totals

Runs: 126
Distance: 325.08 miles (30.08 miles in November)
Avg. Pace: 10'39" (and getting lower)
Nike+ Rank: 25,227 (top 25K, here I come)

Ryan Hall wins Olympic marathon qualifier

2007-11-03T11:16:00.001-07:00

In a spectacular performance, Ryan Hall left the competition behind to win the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials — Men's Marathon. He'll be joined in Beijing by second place finisher Dathan Ritzenhein and third place finisher Brian Sell.

The USA's marathon olympiansin in Beijing next year :
Ryan Hall - 2:09:02
Dathan Ritzenhein - 2:11:07
Brian Sell - 2:11:40

The Alternates:
Khalid Khannouchi - 2:12:34
Jason Lehmkuhle - 2:12:54

During the trials Ryan Shay, of Flagstaff, AZ, died during the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials after collapsing about 5 1/2 miles into the race. He was 28.

1st year Nike+ anniversary coming up

2007-11-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

With today's 6.25 mile run, I reached the 300th Nike+ mile milestone. Quite an amazing stat given that my first year Nike+ anniversary is coming up on November 13th. See my original post on this blog upon receipt of my Nike+ sensor. I honestly do not think I ran 300 miles in my life before getting Nike+, now I did it in less than a year. THANK YOU Nike!

Updated Nike+ Stats as of 11/3/2007

Cumulative Totals

Runs: 118
Distance: 301.25 miles (300 miles in less than a year)
Avg. Pace: 10'45"
Nike+ Rank: 25,967 (top 25K here I come)

Chasing Glory & 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials

2007-11-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

Check out the New York Road Runners feature called Chasing Glory. They are profiling some of the runners participating in the Trials. Pretty cool videos. A new one is added every Tuesday and Thursday. On November 3, 2007, New York Road Runners will host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon in New York City.

I hope Ryan Hall (picture above) wins tomorrow. The expectations riding on Hall, a California native and 2005 Stanford graduate, have risen dramatically in the past 14 months. He set the USA 20K record in October 2006, then went on to smash the 22-year-old national half-marathon mark—in his debut—when he clocked 59:43 in Houston in January. But those performances were just a warm-up to Hall’s 2:08:24 marathon debut in London in April. The performance established a new American debut record, eclipsing the 2:09:41 held jointly by Alan Culpepper and Alberto Salazar.

USA Marathoning: 2006 Overview

2007-11-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

MarathonGuide.com has compiled an amazing summary of the 2006 USA marathon stats.

Interesting stats:
- More than 397,000 marathon finishing times were recorded in the USA in 2006 - an increase from almost 383,000 finishes in 2005.
- In total, 350 marathons that took place in the USA in 2006, up from an estimated 331 in 2005.
- The top 30 marathons accounted for more than 71% of all marathon finishes - down slightly from past years.

Total USA Marathon Finishers

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Total Finishers	299,000	295,000	324,000	334,000	362,000	383,000	397,000
Year-to-Year Growth		-1.3%	9.8%	3.1%	8.4%	5.8%	3.8%
Percent Male	62.5%	62.1%	61.5%	60.9%	60.5%	60.0%	60.1%
Percent Female	37.5%	37.9%	38.5%	39.1%	39.5%	40.0%	39.9%

2006 Largest USA Marathons

Marathon Name	2006 Finishers	2006 Rank	2005 Rank	Growth 2005 to 2006
New York City Marathon	37,936	1	1	2.9%
Chicago Marathon	33,618	2	2	1.9%
Honolulu Marathon	24,573	3	3	1.5%
Marine Corps Marathon	20,879	4	5	9.3%
City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)	20,169	5	4	0.9%
Boston Marathon	19,688	6	6	12.2%
Rock 'n' Roll Marathon	15,771	7	7	-1.0%
Disney World Marathon	10,125	8	10	31.1%
Twin Cities Marathon	8,215	9	9	6.0%
Portland Marathon	7,719	10	11	7.2%
Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon	7,428	11	12	3.7%
Grandma's Marathon	6,909	12	13	0.3%
Philadelphia Marathon	6,119	13	14	3.9%
New Las Vegas Marathon	5,903	14	8	-27.9%
Houston Marathon	5,425	15	15	-5.3%
Austin Marathon	4,788	16	16	-3.6%
St. George Marathon	4,761	17	19	3.3%
Nike 26.2	4,212	18	18	-10.4%
Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon	4,172	19	21	11.5%
Country Music Marathon	4,022	20	22	9.0%
The San Francisco Marathon	4,021	21	17	-17.5%
Detroit Free Press International Marathon	3,880	22	23	9.2%
California International Marathon	3,789	23	25	16.6%
Columbus Marathon	3,764	24	20	-0.6%
Dallas White Rock Marathon	3,507	25	26	14.0%
Big Sur International Marathon	2,947	26	28	2.6%
Richmond Marathon	2,917	27	24	-17.4%
Vermont City Marathon	2,495	28	29	1.4%
Miami Marathon	2,477	29	37	40.6%
Baltimore Marathon	2,149	30	30	-10.3%

2006 Finishing Times

Finish Time*	Total	%	Female	%	Male	%
2:07:35-2:29:59	612	0.2%	33	0.0%	579	0.2%
2:30:01-2:59:59	7,025	1.8%	563	0.4%	6,462	2.7%
3:00:00-3:30:00	34,370	8.7%	4,992	3.2%	29,378	12.3%
3:30:00-3:59:59	78,419	19.7%	23,100	14.6%	55,319	23.2%
4:00:00-4:29:59	83,936	21.1%	32,318	20.4%	51,618	21.6%
4:30:00-5:00:00	73,629	18.5%	32,874	20.7%	40,755	17.1%
5:00:00-5:30:00	45,915	11.6%	22,554	14.2%	23,361	9.8%
5:30:00-5:59:59	30,336	7.6%	16,034	10.1%	14,302	6.0%
6:00:00-6:29:59	16,705	4.2%	9,884	6.2%	6,821	2.9%
6:30:00-6:59:59	11,364	2.9%	7,092	4.5%	4,272	1.8%
7:00:00-7:29:59	6,110	1.5%	3,937	2.5%	2,173	0.9%
7:30:00-7:59:59	3,819	1.0%	2,386	1.5%	1,433	0.6%
8:00:00-8:29:59	1,892	0.5%	1,113	0.7%	779	0.3%
8:30:04-8:59:59	1,216	0.3%	685	0.4%	531	0.2%
9:00:00-15:40:08	1,768	0.4%	884	0.6%	885	0.4%
Total	397,116	100%	158,449	100%	238,668	100%

Visit MarathonGuide.com for more amazing data.

Miles by Month

2007-10-18T08:34:00.001-07:00

Due to my computer clock being off when I uploaded some of my runs, several runs in September 07 posted to August 07 in Nike+. The correct monthly miles are listed below.

September was my third consecutive 50+ mile month. Hopefully, October will be the 4th.

Total Miles by Month:

Nov 2006: 9.57 miles
Dec 2006: 3.22 miles
Jan 2007: 2.61 miles
Feb 2007: 0
Mar 2007: 1.28 miles
Apr 2007: 0
May 2007: 18.66 miles
Jun 2007: 43.87 miles
July 2007: 75.98 miles
August 2007: 58.33 miles
Sept. 2007: 50.03 miles
Oct 2007: 22.82 miles (to date)

Runner+

2007-10-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

I registered with a cool new running website (free registration) that imports Nike+ data and provides a lot of useful analysis, in addition to the Nike+ stats.

One of the useful features is the mile split for every run.

I highly recommend Runner+ to all Nike+ members.

22nd NIKE Budapest 1/2 Marathon - 2007

2007-10-12T20:05:00.001-07:00

A great clip of the 22nd Budapest Half-Marathon!

Updated Nike+ Stats as of 10/10/2007

2007-10-11T13:27:00.003-07:00

Cumulative Totals

Runs: 111
Distance: 280.43 miles
Avg. Pace: 10'50"
Nike+ Rank: 26,309 (closing in the top 27K)

Long work hours for 2 weeks

2007-10-11T13:27:00.001-07:00

I've been working extremely long hours for almost 3 weeks. I had a September 30 deadline at work and ended up working 16 hours days, including weekends. Needless to say, not much running during these weeks :( October should be somewhat better.

Dutchess County Classic Half-Marathon Results

2007-10-11T13:26:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to report that I completed my second ever half-marathon, the Dutchess County Classic ,and I ran a personal best of less than 2:09. Over 400 runners finished the Half. Another 70 completed the full marathon, which was 2 loops of the half-marathon course.

Overall, it was a great experience in a relaxing country setting.
The weather was great, the course was beautiful (where else can you run and pass cows and horse farms?) and the rolling hills provided for a challenging race.

The only things I didn't enjoy about the race were the lack of medals for half-marathon finishers and the fact that the roads were not closed.

5 days to the Dutchess County Classic!

2007-09-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

The countdown to the Dutchess County Classic has begun.

I ran 6 miles today and plan to run another 4 miles on Thursday (will be in Texas on a business trip) and 2-3 miles on Saturday.

In the top 30,000 of all Nike+ runners

2007-09-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

I went out for a 6 mile run tonight. This was my first run since the Budapest Half-Marathon on Sunday. The run felt great and I'm really looking forward to my next half-marathon, the Dutchess Classic on September 16, 2007.

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 98
Distance: 236.18 miles
Avg. Pace: 10'59" (overall average is now below 11')
Nike+ Rank: 28,419 (in the top 30K)

(Picture is a random picture of the Budapest half-marathon - this gentleman seems very happy with his medal, which is really cool)

August 2007 stats

2007-09-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

August was not a good month for my running. I worked 16-hr days for most of the month. Still I was able to run more than 50 miles, so that's not too bad.

August 2007 totals:

Distance: 58.33 miles
Time: 9:46'34"
Avg. Pace: 10'03"

Total Miles by Month:

Nov 2006: 9.57 miles
Dec 2006: 3.22 miles
Jan 2007: 2.61 miles
Feb 2007: 0
Mar 2007: 1.28 miles
Apr 2007: 0
May 2007: 18.66 miles
Jun 2007: 43.87 miles
July 2007: 75.98 miles
August 2007: 58.33 miles

New 10K personal best during the Budapest Half Marathon

2007-09-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

By reviewing the Nike+ stats, I noticed that during the Budapest half-marathon, I ran a new personal best 10K time of 58'15", improving on my previous PB of 59'47".

A few more pictures from the 2007 Nike Budapest Half-Marathon:

Vacation in Budapest, Hungary & first half marathon

2007-09-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

I just returned from my 1 week vacation in Hungary. While on vacation, I have not been able to upload my runs to Nike+, so now I have to catch up with all the events of the past week.

As mentioned in my previous post, I registered for the Budapest Half-Marathon and successfully completed my first half-marathon (and longest distance to date) in 2:16' (see results page). The day before the half-marathon, I ran a new personal best 5K of 27'24" at the Margitsziget Breakfast Run (previous PB was 27'33" at the Denning's Point 5K).

Dozens of awesome pictures have been posted from this amazing event at the official race website.

22nd Nike Budapest Half Marathon 2007

2007-08-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

I am considering registering for the 22nd Nike Budapest half marathon on Sept. 2, 2007.

More than 6,000 people ran it last year.

Budapest is an amazing city and the registration fee is only 35€. It's also only 7 miles away from NYC (not much longer flight than NY to LA).

Online registration for the 22nd Nike Budapest Half Marathon is open only until August 26th.

New 5K and 10K personal bests

2007-08-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, during my 10-mile run, I ran a personal best, non-race 5K (of 28'15") and a personal best 10K of 59'47", which places me #72,404 on the Nike+ all-time best 10K list. My previous 10K personal best was 1'07'18".

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 87
Distance: 192.51 miles
Avg. Pace: 11'12" (my long-term goal is to get this below 10')
Nike+ Rank: 34,665 (in the top 35K)

First ever 10 Mile run

2007-08-19T16:30:00.000-07:00

David Beckham scores for LA Galaxy vs. D.C. United 08/14/07

2007-08-17T07:54:00.001-07:00

David Beckham made his first start for the LA Galaxy a memorable one, delivering a picture-perfect free kick goal (his first) and assisting on a Landon Donovan goal (his first assist) to help the Galaxy beat DC United in the SuperLiga semifinal on Wednesday night at Home Depot Center.

Registered for my first Half-Marathon

2007-08-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

Today I registered for the Dutchess County Classic Half-Marathon. Looking at the 2006 results, it's clear that this half-marathon is quite competitive. Given that my farthest run was 8 miles, my preliminary goal is a.) to complete the half-marathon and b.) try to do it in less than 2:30'.

I'd like to get in a 10K before the half-marathon, hopefully I'll find one in the area in early September.

Boston Esplanade

2007-08-16T07:01:00.001-07:00

Last night I went for an amazing run along the Charles River in Boston. I ran almost 7 miles at a fairly slow pace, but it was one of my favorite runs to date. There were lots of runners/walkers/cyclists, there were several sailboats on the River and the weather was great (maybe a little on the humid side). The city's skyline provided a nice backdrop.

After 6.5 miles, I stopped to listen for a few minutes to the Boston Landmarks Orchestra's free concert at the Hatch Shell.

Overall, a truly amazing experience.

Boston

2007-08-15T07:38:00.001-07:00

I'm in Boston this week and last night I wanted to see if I can run a 5K in less than 30' having done that in an actual race on Saturday. The Hilton's gym has several new treadmills that are very similar to outdoor running. I ran a 29'01", which is much better than my previous 5K non-race time. I will try to improve on it tonight.

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 83
Distance: 174.98 miles
Avg. Pace: 11'16" (my long-term goal is to get this below 10')
Nike+ Rank: 38,521 (can I break into the top 30K?)

Denning's Point 5K Results

2007-08-11T19:53:00.001-07:00

Wow, what an awesome day!

The weather was just perfect, the trail was in excellent condition, there were 138 runners, and I ran a personal record 5K.

Based on my iPod's clock, I ran a 27'33", although the official race result is off by 10 seconds or so. It took me a few seconds to cross the start line given the large number of runners.
Anyhow, this is a 3 minute improvement on my personal best (previous personal best was set last night at 30'49") and I'm thrilled with the result.

The Top 5 finishers finished in less than 17 minutes, but I couldn't care less. I ran a great race on an amazing trail, had a lot of fun and set a new personal record for the 5K distance.

Now I can't wait to find another race in the area.

The night before the race

2007-08-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I worked long hours this week again and arrived home around 10PM tonight. I ran a mock 5K on the treadmill tonight in preparation for tomorrow morning's race and set a new personal best 5K time at 30'49", which is a slight improvement from my previous best of 30'55".

My goal for tomorrow's 5K is to finish in less than 30'.

Can I shave off 49 seconds from my personal best time? We'll see.

5K race tomorrow

2007-08-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

I'm running my first ever race tomorrow, the Denning's Point 5K, organized by Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club.

Here is a link to the course map. The course is pretty flat and runs along the Hudson River on a hard-packed trail. The middle mile is a loop of historic Denning's Point, which is a trail with some roots and rocks.

Denning's Point has quite a history. As mentioned in Jim Heron's book (see cover on the left), members of Henry Hudson's crew may have landed on Denning's Point in 1609, as George Washington certainly did during the Revolutionary War. The most exciting discovery by far, however, was finding proof that it was on Denning's Point that Alexander Hamilton first set his ideas on paper in a series of editorials that grew to become the Federalist Papers and subsequently were incorporated into the United States Constitution.

The weather looks good and 100+ runners are expected to participate. Wish me luck!

In the top 40,000 of all Nike+ runners

2007-08-06T17:50:00.001-07:00

With today's run, I broke into the top 40,000 of all Nike+ runners.

Nike+ Rank: 39,817

In case you were wondering, it takes 165 miles to get into the top 40K. Also, due to my long work hours, I'm falling behind my plan to run 50 miles this month. Month-to-date totals: only 9.87 miles.

August 4, 2007

2007-08-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

Another 80-hour work week is behind me with the only runs for the week on Friday evening (1.7 miles) and Saturday evening (5.5 miles). I'll try to run another 5 miles tomorrow afternoon.

Btw, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's Hungarian F1 Grand Prix. Go Kimi!! It will be interesting to watch Alonso and Hamilton going into T1 after what happened in qualifying.

Next Saturday, I'll be running my first 5K race ever, so I was hoping that I would be able to run more consistently in the weeks leading up to my first official race . Well, I'll do my best and we'll see what happens.

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 78
Distance: 162.51 miles
Avg. Pace: 11'23"
Nike+ Rank: 40,091 (wow -- had I known I was this close to breaking into the top 40K, I would have continued running for a couple of more miles)

July 2007 totals

2007-08-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

I've been working long hours the last couple of weeks (getting home around midnight) and haven't been able to run, except on the weekends. Actually, I even worked the last couple of Saturdays, further limiting my free time.

Nonetheless, July 2007 was a record month for my (short) running career :) I exceeded my goal of 50 miles and went slightly above 75 miles.

My goal for August is 50 miles again, which would get me over the 200 mile mark, however, depending on my work hours, I may try to break July's record. I entered 3 Nike+ challenges for August: 50 miles, 75 miles and 100 miles.

July 2007 totals:

Distance: 75.98 miles
Time: 13:57'15"
Avg. Pace: 11'01"
Calories: 10,447

Total Miles by Month:

Nov 2006: 9.57 miles
Dec 2006: 3.22 miles
Jan 2007: 2.61 miles
Feb 2007: 0
Mar 2007: 1.28 miles
Apr 2007: 0
May 2007: 18.66 miles
Jun 2007: 43.87 miles
July 2007: 75.98 miles

New personal best 10K

2007-07-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went for a 10K run and set a new personal record at 1'07'18", which is a 4 minute improvement from my previous 10K PR of 1'11'. This new time places me #80,865 on the all-time Nike+ 10K list.

As mentioned previously, my goal is to be in the top 50,000 in distance, 10K and 5K times. I would also like to get my 5K time below 30' and my 10K time below 1 hour.

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 74
Distance: 154.15 miles
This month: 74.91 miles (new personal record and it's only the 28th of the month)
Avg. Pace: 11'27" (& improving every day)
Nike+ Rank: 41,459

Saturday Morning

2007-07-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

Later today I plan to run at least 10K, but wanted to post my stats as of last night. I had difficulty uploading my runs for a week now. My computer & iTunes did not recognize my iPod when I plugged it in (fugured out that I had to restart the iPod), and I was able to finally upload my runs this morning.

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 73
Distance: 147.24 miles
This month: 68.0 miles (new personal record and it's only the 28th of the month)
Avg. Pace: 11'29" (& improving every day)
Nike+ Rank: 43,709

Monday, July 16, 2007

2007-07-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

It was a near perfect evening, mid-80s with a nice breeze.

I went out for a 5.54 mile run and ran the first 5K at a pretty good clip, then took it easy on the way back home. I still finished in less than 1 hr and managed an average pace of 10'45".

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 68
Distance: 134.64 miles
This month: 55.4 miles (new personal record and it's only the 16th)
Avg. Pace: 11'33" (& improving every day)
Nike+ Rank: 45,723

In the top 50,000 of all Nike+ runners

2007-07-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

With this evening's 5.35 mile run I broke into the Top 50,000 Nike+ runners.

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 67
Distance: 129.10 miles
Avg. Pace: 11'35" (& improving every day)
Nike+ Rank: 47,629 (now that I made it into the top 50,000, my goals is to stay in the top 50K forever.)

New personal best 1K time

2007-07-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

As part of a Nike+ challenge that I'm participating in, I set out to improve my 1K personal best today. I went to a nearby high school's track and ran a 5'24" 1K, which improves on my previous PR 1K time of 6'15". However, I meant to complete a 5K run but the fast first K took so much out of me that I couldn't continue to run past 3K.

Lesson learned. I registered for my first ever race, a 5K in August and now I know that I have to very careful about starting out too fast.

David Beckham - Welcome to America!

2007-07-14T16:46:00.001-07:00

This is a new ESPN-produced commercial played out over a cover version of The Beatles' "Hello Goodbye" ("I don't know why you say goodbye/I say hello"), it shows fans in Europe bemoaning Beckham's move to the U.S. It then touts his first scheduled game here, an exhibition match July 21 against England's Chelsea FC on ESPN. The spot will run on ESPN networks. Print in USA Today and ESPN has a similar theme: "Say hello, America. Beckham arrives on ESPN July 21 . . . Say hello to No. 23 [his Galaxy jersey], midfield domination, a legend . . ."

David Beckham was officially introduced as a Galaxy player during a presentation on Friday, July 13, 2007, at The Home Depot Center. This week the Galaxy's newest player also appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Welcome to America, David

New personal best 5K time

2007-07-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

I completed a 5.29 mile run this evening, primarily to complete my NikeRunning program's required 5 miles.

I also set a new personal best 5K time of 30'55", which is a huge improvement for me (previous 5K personal best was 32'54"), moving me up to #148,062 (from #157,528 last week).

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 64
Distance: 122.05 miles
Avg. Pace: 11'38"
Nike+ Rank: 50,365

Beckham Comes To America tomorrow

2007-07-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

David Beckham will be officially introduced as an LA Galaxy player during a presentation at The Home Depot Center tomorrow, Friday, July 13 at 1 p.m. ET.

In other news, Beckham sells 250,000 Galaxy shirts before he gets to LA. How about that? Well, you can get yours at MLSnet.com.

The Beckhams will make their new home in a reported $22 million, 13,000-square foot villa in Beverly Hills, where neighbors include their friends Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

Welcome to America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-07-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, my humble blog has been added to Complete Running's blog roll of 1,300 running blogs.

Link

2007-07-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Today marks my 3rd consecutive 2 mile run days. Nothing special really, except my dedication is noteworthy. I ran 37.51 miles so far in July (that's an average of 3.75 miles/day - quite impressive for a beginner runner like myself).

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 63
Distance: 116.75 miles
Avg. Pace: 11'42"
Nike+ Rank: 52,288

David Beckham to be introduced in L.A. on July 13

2007-07-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars, America!

David Beckham will be officially introduced as the newest member of the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 13 at the team's stadium in Carson.

Beckham is expected to make his playing debut in an exhibition against England's Chelsea on July 21 at Home Depot Center. "David Beckham will have a greater impact on soccer in America than any athlete has ever had on a sport globally," Timothy J. Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG and owner of the Galaxy, said after the signing. -- Let's hope so.

Meanwhile, Victoria Beckham is set to make a splash on U.S. television three days later when NBC airs a one-hour special titled "Victoria Beckham: Coming to America" on July 16.

July 5, 2007

2007-07-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

After 3 consecutive days of long runs (at least based on my experience) of 8.02 miles, 6.31 and 6.06, respectively, I decided to go for another 6+ mile run today.

I'm breaking all sorts of personal records, but this is truly amazing as my shins have been giving me a hard time lately.

Today I completed 2 runs -- 5.11 miles on the treadmill and 1.43 miles outdoors. I find that running on a treadmill is more shin-friendly :)

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 59
Distance: 110.27 miles
Avg. Pace: 11'44"
Nike+ Rank: 54,183 - yeah, glad to see that I'm getting closer to my goal of being in the top 50,000 of all Nike+ runners.

My Nike+ Profile

2007-07-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

My 100th Nike+ mile

2007-07-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

Nike's official 100 mile certificate is finally mine :)

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 57
Distance: 103.72 miles
Avg. Pace: 11'47"
Nike+ Rank: 57,498

Also, my 5K time today was a personal best at 32'54"which increased my Nike+ 5K ranking to #157,528 overall (from # 172,075 yesterday). Still far from my goal, but well along the way.

Lee Greenwood - God Bless The USA

2007-07-03T23:39:00.001-07:00

Double click on image above to watch the clip

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Happy Birthday to the United States of America!

2007-07-03T23:34:00.000-07:00

On the 4th of July 1776, the United States of America was born. It was on this date that We The People officially claimed our independence from Britain and a Democratic Republic was born. Those brave men and women who have chosen to protect, fight and even die for our republic know the real significance and meaning attached to it. It is Independence Day -- an independence that was and is drenched in the blood of our citizens who were and are willing to die for freedom from tyranny, and to maintain liberty.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Philadelphia, July 5, 1776.
Yesterday the greatest question was decided which was ever decided among men. A Resolution was passed unanimously -- "THAT THESE UNITED STATES ARE, AND OF RIGHT OUGHT TO BE, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES." The day is past. The 4th of July, 1776, will be a MEMORABLE EPOCHA in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the GREAT ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL! It ought to be commemorated as the DAY OF DELIVERANCE, by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty God--It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever! You will think me transported with enthusiasm; but I am not. I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure it will cost to maintain this DECLARATION, and support and defend these States; yet through all the gloom, I can see a ray of light and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than all the means; and that posterity will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I hope we shall not.
Yours, &c.,
JOHN ADAMS.

-----------------------------------------------

"Proclaim Liberty throughout All the land unto All the Inhabitants Thereof." --Inscription on the Liberty Bell

Nike+ Stats

2007-07-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

Today I spent some time reviewing the various stats provided by Nike+

I currently rank as follows:
# 61,046 - distance
# 78,005 - fastest 10K
# 172,075 - fastest 5K (ouch)

For reference, the 5K world record for men is 12:37.35 and 14:16.63 for women. The 10K record for men is 26:17.53 and 29:31.78 1993 for women.

My goal is get into (and stay in) the top 50,000 of all Nike+ users in all 3 categories. Currently, I'm making good progress on distance, but I need to work on speed as well.

20 million Nike+ miles

2007-07-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

Today, the Nike+ counter reached 20 million cumulative miles. Wow!

How much is 20 million miles? Try 104 trips to the moon. Or 802 runs around the earth.

Well, I've done my share. I contributed 97.64 miles :)

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

2007-07-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

Motivated by the various Nike+ challenges, I ran 6.3 miles today (despite being sore from yesterday's 8 mile run).

With today's run, I'm less than 3 miles from the 100-mile milestone and I moved up to # 61,046 on the Nike+ Leaderboard.

In the top 65,000

2007-07-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

With today's 8 mile run, I broke into the top 65,000 Nike+ runners worldwide.

That puts me right behind 2 NYC Marathon crowds like the one pictured to the left :)

On a serious note, I'm closing in on the 100-mile milestone (currently at 91.33 miles), which will be a huge accomplishment for a non-runner like myself.

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 53
Distance: 91.33 miles
Avg. Pace: 11'49"
Nike+ Rank: 64,652

Monday, Jul 2, 2007

2007-07-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

Today, I broke my record. I ran for 8 miles. I guess, the Nike+ challenges are awesome motivators.

----------

Saturday, June 30, 2007

2007-06-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

Well, my running (and posting) hiatus is over.

Updated totals through today:

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 50
Distance: 79.23 miles
Avg. Pace: 11'52"
Nike+ Rank: 72,874

------------------

Today I entered in the "50 miles in July" challenge and plan to set a new monthly record with 50+ miles in July.

Runs by Month:

Nov 2006: 9.57 miles
Dec 2006: 3.22 miles
Jan 2007: 2.61 miles
Feb 2007: 0
Mar 2007: 1.28 miles
Apr 2007: 0
May 2007: 18.66 miles
Jun 2007: 43.87 miles

Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006

2006-11-21T18:57:00.000-08:00

Updated totals through today:

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 9
Distance: 9.57 miles
Avg. Pace: 10'30"
Nike+ Rank: 43,876

Inspirational Quotes for Runners

2006-11-18T20:31:00.000-08:00

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." — William Shakespeare

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop." — Confucius

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein

"But whatever happens," he said,"I will run." — 2 Samuel 18:23

Saturday, Nov. 18, 2006

2006-11-18T19:53:00.000-08:00

I didn't run on Thursday and Friday (sore legs). It was nice to be back on the treadmill today.

Distance: 1.12 miles
Time: 13'16"
Pace: 11'46" min/mile
Calories: 156
Nike+ Rank: 44,667

Cumulative Totals
Runs: 7
Distance: 8.32 miles
Avg. Pace: 10'16"

Nov 15 - 3rd day of Nike+

2006-11-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

Distance: 1.52 miles
Time: 17'57"
Pace: 11'45" min/mile
Calories: 212

Tuesday, Nov 14 - Day 2

2006-11-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

I felt pretty sore today but went for a short run (1.07 miles, 12.01 minutes, 11.11 min/mile, 149 calories).

Total distance: 5.66 miles
Nike+ ranking: 48,284

The running bug has bit me

2006-11-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

I'm a casual runner. I've always enjoyed short-distance running but had difficulty finding the time.

Last week I decided to buy the Nike+ package for my Ipod Nano. FedEx delivered my Nike+ today and I couldn't wait for my Nike+ shoes to arrive, so I dropped the sensor into my Adidas shoes and went for a run.

My first run with Nike+ was fun I couldn't wait to upload my data to see what happens. Sure enough, iTunes and Nike+ worked together seamlessly, as advertised. Within seconds, I saw the stats presented in a visual form: 1.87 miles, time 14'15" and pace 7.37 minutes/mile. That ranked me 57,325th overall on Nike+.

I figured those stats were too generous, I started reading the Nike+ forums and realized that I needed to calibrate the system. I went down to the basement and calibrated Nike+ based on my treadmill (for both walking and running). I completed 2 more runs. The stats were surprisingly close to the treadmill's numbers. Stats for the 4th run of the day: distance: 1.09 miles, time: 13'10", pace: 12'04" min/mile, calories: 151. That's more like it :)

Anyhow, I hope this is the beginning of an exciting, fun and long-term running hobby.

Miles Completed today (4 runs)
Today: 4.59
Total: 4.59

Overall Nike+ rank: 49,937