strangers like my band.

my band had another show last friday night. it went well, and apparently a detroit music blogger agreed. i am very excited that we are going to record a full-length album this summer. that should help us in the future. maybe we should print some shirts for our, no doubt, imminent fall US and european tour.

as a side note, nashville was great a little over a week ago. i saw more hawaiian shirts than i care to see for the rest of my life. i don't know why guys who thought they were cool in the 70s and 80s because they played guitar now have to have long, stringy grey hair and wear hawaiian shirts. these are the same fashion disasters who make fun of emo kids today. seriously.

robb.

7 miles.

my seven mile run in grand rapids on saturday went better than expected. i finished in 1:10:38 (9:51), which is a minute or two longer than i had hoped, but considering all the hills i don't have in detriot, i'm pretty pleased.

the first thing that i want to do is thank my parents for meeting me at 5 miles and giving me water. that made a huge difference in my ability to finish strong. i really needed the water at that point. and i was glad they could see what distance running looks like for me. i think it is now very real for them and not just something that i talk about.

for those who know the area where i grew up, nearly half of the run was along thornapple river drive, between cascade road and buttrick ave. even though i know it's not even 3 miles, it's still kind of inconceivable to me to run this road. i know how long it takes to drive it, and it feels like a really long distance in my mind. just for that i think the run was a success.

the other thing that has me optimistic is how fresh i felt afterward. i rested for about ten minutes after the run and then stretched, and i was fine for the rest of the day. i tracked my pulse (thanks, steve, for the HRM watch!) throughout the run, and i kept it between 165 and 170 almost the entire time. i did hit 180 at the top of a big hill just over a mile from the finish. but the rest was very manageable.

i didn't cross train yesterday like i was supposed to, but i will be out on the bike today. i'm looking forward to it, though. my new bike is mostly pretty awesome, and it feels like it weighs about half of what my MTB weighs.

robb.

testing, one two...3,4,5.

i'm surprised how tough my feet are.

i bought these shoes a month ago, and i've been wearing them largely as comfortable sandals replacements. however, the larger goal was to test them as running shoes to see how they work.

i admit it's a bit counterintuitive to take the cushioning and support away from my feet for the extended running that i'll be doing in the next four months. but the ideas behind the shoes made sense when i read them, and i like having shoes that no one else has. it's kind of my thing.

so i began week 2 with a 3 mile run in them on tuesday. it was awesome. and awful. my feet felt great. there was a little rub on the tops of my feet with the straps, and i got a small blister on my left big toe, but those are things that are easily fixed with the toe socks i bought. my feet felt great the whole time, and i ran with a slightly lower pulse for a reasonably fast time of 27:53 (8:30). but i used muscles in my calves that i didn't realize i had. i could barely walk yesterday, and they are still sore today. it didn't help that i did a 3.5 mile run the next day at lunch, or that i did another 3 miles today (27:57, 8:31), both in regular shoes.

the regular shoes felt really spongy and inefficient. and it rained both times. but i'm going to be in them for another week. the good news is i don't have to worry about my feet being more sore than usual, but i will have to find a way to strengthen my calves, or i will have to run the marathon in my normal shoes. gracias por dios tomorrow is a rest day.

i am going to pick up my bike in grand rapids this weekend. this will be instrumental for cross training and a potential triathlon in august. i also get to wish my dad a happy birthday in person. and i will be doing my 7 mile run originating from my parents' house. the route is along a road that i would never -- even as a runner -- have thought i could run the full length of. it's kind of amazing, actually, to think about what this means to me, even though it is a distance i have run before. it feels so much farther in my mind.

and yet i still believe the really hard work won't start until week 7, when i should run 12 miles.

robb.

10k.

last friday i ran 10k a day ahead of schedule. typically the long run is saturday, but i was in nashville all weekend and didn't want to plan to run there.

my calves were a little sore, but i ran through it. it really wasn't too bad. i kept my heart rate under control until the very end, when i worked a little harder to finish. final time was 59:25 for 6.28 miles, for a 9:28 pace.

this week i'm going to incorporate some interval training. i know i can do more than this. i think i'll do 3 miles tomorrow at a comfortable pace, but wednesday or thursday will be interval.

robb.

worst run ever / best gig ever.

yesterday i did my first run, 3 miles. i've done this a million times.

so i decided to push my pace and see how fast i could go. i ran the first mile and a third at a 7:54 pace, but i had to stop because i had a horribly painful stitch in my side. it was so bad that i could only run a block or two at a time for the rest of the way. in fact, even walking fast made it noticeable. i finished around an 11:00 pace. and all this for only a 7:54 pace. awful. embarrassing.

but then my band played last night. i think it was the best gig i've ever played. i personally played really well, and the band played really well, too. plus the venue was great and the other bands were really good. additionally, the sound man was one of the most competent and friendly i've ever worked with. if that really was something of an audition for us to play there in the future, we'll be back soon.

today i got back on the horse and ran another 3 mile. (actually, it's a 3.25 mile loop, but whatever.) the first mile i ran at 8:40, which is still oddly slow. the second was around 8:30, and the third split the difference at 8:35. i finished in 27:54. two and a half weeks ago i ran 5k in 27:29 after swimming 400m and biking 16k. i don't know why i could muster 8:52 miles then and only 8:35 today. maybe my lunch at on the border had something to do with it. i'd like to believe it's that and not that i've forgotten how to run.

robb.

training begins today.

ok, it actually began yesterday, but i dutifully rested on monday according to the training regimen i'm using.

i'm following hal higdon's novice marathon program that my friend jonathan used to successfully run his first marathon last year. every week monday and friday are rest days, with a long run on saturday and cross training on sunday. this week is pretty easy with 3 mile runs tuesday through thursday and a 6 mile run on saturday.

i will be going to summer NAMM in nashville this weekend, so i'm already deviating from plan. i'll be running my 6 miles on friday morning and then relaxing in nashville and hanging out with old friends in the pro audio industry.

tonight i'll do a quick 3 mile run when i get home. my band has a show, so i have to get after it. as my training progresses, i'd like to track how i feel, my weight, and my food and energy strategy for both training and racing. the first few weeks are pretty trivial for me, but i'll be breaking new ground the first full week of july with a 9 mile run.

i have already registered for the 2008 detroit marathon. race day is october 19.

robb.