XC, Literally (the latter half)

Posted: May 23, 2012 in Rebel Running
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So if you didn’t catch a quick summary of the first quick summary of my week-long road trip across the states, check it out here.

So I’m picking up where I left off. It’s about 8:30 AM in Nashville, TN on Easter Sunday and I just finished my morning run — cock of the walk, still not over it.. Get back to the RV in the RV park and the RVmates are still up from the night before in Nashville. Naturally their nap before brunch lasted a little longer than expected so we skipped brunch and went straight to Memphis, TN… more specifically GRACELAND!

Eccentric to say the least..

A hallway filled with plaques and achievements in his trophy BUILDING.

Carpet.. on the walls.. enough said.

Graceland was so much fun. The King truly lived as such. A huge estate, a myriad of the classiest cars… oh yeah and his own PRIVATE JET. “Taking Care of Business” was his motto, and he sure enough did.

After grabbing some Tennessee BBQ we began our trek to Austin, TX. After another long night of driving we made it to our RV camp at around noon. To get my run in before the day & night festivities I had to run at the hottest point in the day… in Texas … heat I’m not accustomed to. Can you say BAD IDEA? Yeah well I couldn’t even say that after my run. Blazing heat and a piss poor attempt a tempo run. Oh well, at least I got to see these:

Alpacas? Llamas? I don’t know…

The Longhorn State… “ohhh I get it now!”

Somehow none of us managed to take pictures of our night in Austin even though the unanimous vote was: DOPE CITY, we all want to visit again – maybe Austin City Limits next year? Which is apparently abbreviated to ACL down there.

From Austin we trekked down across I-10 before we decided to call it a night in Fort Stockton, TX. Nothing like crashing for a night in a Wal-Mart parking lot like true RVers, though I doubt true RVers would use the phrase ‘true RVers’.
We saddled up early morning to head into New Mexico, deciding on a whim that Gila National Forest should be our stopping point. We wanted to make it a short stop, but wit these sights, no way.

Little did I know that about a week earlier Ultra running legend Micah True had been found dead in the same wilderness after setting out on a 12 mile run. Who he was, and is, to the running community cannot be measured and he is sorely missed by all. He was a true rebel runner -  a nature boy at heart that seriously did not give a f–k and just ran. If you want to learn more about him you should click the link above or if you have more time read the book Born to Run if you haven’t already.

After Gila it was one more long haul to the Grand Canyon. We got there late at night (saw my first and only moose on the side of the road while driving) and headed to the park in the morning. I honestly can’t put into words how I felt when I saw the canyon. I would say breathtaking, but it’s more like breath-robbing-you-at-gunpoint. AMAZING.


My favorite spot

We continued to our journey to our final destination that night and the next morning: LAX. It was there where I said my goodbyes to the Coachella party-goers and hopped on a plane to San Francisco, CA to spend some with a great friend who I hadn’t seen in a while.

So I was running in Golden Gate Park when another runner headed towards me calmly mentioned “hey there’s a coyote ahead.” The way he said it I wasn’t sure if that was slang for something. It was not slang. There was a coyote.

That day I completed my seventh run in seven days in seven states. I spent the weekend enjoying the sites and the beers of the Bay Area’s best, before I caught a flight back home.

The journey: an experience to say the least. I highly recommend doing it if you have the time or can make the time. Eleven days I’ll never regret.

To the wanderlust in you,

Dels

Excuses

Posted: May 22, 2012 in Rebel Running
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A reminder of our excuses

XC, Literally

Posted: May 20, 2012 in Rebel Running
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So I took a trip across the country a few weeks back (actually almost two months now) and I figure now is as good a time as any to share the pictures and stories! Yeah… I know I’m slow, but better slow than never, RIGHT?…Right.

I decided to take a road trip in an RVwith four other people on their way to the Coachella Music Festival. From New York City to Los Angeles in one week.

RVs are pretty damn cool..

Let’s Go!

 

Kentucky Bourbon!Kentucky Bourbon!

First stop, the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versaille, KY – a stop along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Look at all those casks! The time spent at the distillery was great. After a long night’s drive nothing’s better than a tasty lunch and a nice glass of bourbon. The tour around the distillery was a great time, mostly due to our hilariously awesome tourguide that showed us how they make and store their bourbon on their beautiful grounds.

Seen on my run in Kentucky:

horses... quite a few

Estates are huge, and everyone has horses. Love it

Made it to the top of a hill!

 

That night we headed to Nashville, TN where we grabbed dinner and saw all the country music that the mean streets of Nashville had to offer. Then we ran into this guy on the corner, who was literally doing this for hours: Nashville Freestyler

Seen on my Tennessee run:

c’mon… that’s funny!

That’s part one… Look out for the trip to Austin and Fort Stockton Texas, Gila National Forest in New Mexico, the Grand Canyon, and San Francisco.

To the traveler in you,

Dels

 

Somebody That I Used to Race

Posted: May 14, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Some might say these are better lyrics than those of “Somebody I Used to Know”

Now and then I think of when we ran together
Like when you said you felt so tired you could die
Guess I thought your pace was right for me
But felt exhausted in your company
That lactic acid in my hamstrings I remember

You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like running awfully until the end, always the end
So when you said this pace did not make sense
I said go and try a new distance
I’ll admit I couldn’t wait ’til it was over

But you didn’t have to cut me off
Running to the water and you really left me with nothing?!
And I didn’t even need my gloves
Tried to hold them in my hands, just too tough
Did you really have to blow me out?
Set yourself a fast record then saved your bib-number
Guess I need someone to chase
Now you’re just somebody that I used to race

Now you’re just somebody that I used to race
Now you’re just somebody that I used to race

 

To the dork lyricist in you,

Dels

 

The “Fitty-Fi” Workout

Posted: May 12, 2012 in Strength Training, Training
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I have a fitness problem. I was doing squats in the shower this morning. You know, just perfecting my form — standard stuff not weird at all…

I just got rid of my gym membership in favor of doing “prison workouts” — workouts I can do in the comfort of my own home. It made sense for me because a) I only join gyms in the winter for the use of the treadmill (I don’t have much cold weather running gear) and b)I’m mostly concerned with my core and doing body-weight exercises.

So I came across this workout consisting of only squats and pushups and I thought “This is the type of workout a lot of people can and should do.”

Start with one body-weight squat and ten pushups. Rest 30 seconds, then do 2 squats and 9 pushups. Work your way up to 10 squats and 1 pushup.

See? Simple.. or easy enough to describe at least.  You end up doing 55 of each exercise (hence fitty-fi) and it is a ten minute workout that will definitely get your core charged. If maxing at 10 seems daunting, feel free to start at 9,8,7,6, or 5. See how that works?

If you’re unsure of how to properly do a squat or pushup, don’t hesitate to comment or e-mail me cdeleon@rcptfit.com

C’mon,  be a rebel…

-Dels

Broad Street Recap

Posted: May 9, 2012 in Races
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So I was getting ready to write this post in epic blog fail fashion because I had no pictures of myself or anything else on race day. As I’m typing out my feelings on this great race I get a text message from a friend with this picture:

suit.jpg

So it looks like I posed for this pic, but I’m actually thinking “Man, I should really use the bathroom… but this line is long and the race is about to go off soon.”

20120509-073530.jpg

As it turns out the pic was found by someone I made acquaintances with 6 years ago!

Broad Street Run!

So as always the spectators are what make this race so worthwhile. Genuine support from people you don’t even know. Wear a button-up, shirt and dress pants and you’d be amazed. So all in all..

The spectators? Ahhmazing

The weather? Perfect cross country weather, couldn’t ask for anything better.

The course? It actually ends up being a slight decline, so even faster than a fast course.

The amenities? From the extremely supportive and enthusiastic kids from Central high school to the music (men on the bongos, marching band, rock band, rocky anthem) to the shuttle buses and ample johnny on the spots, this was a classic homestyle feel-good race that just happened to get insanely popular.

My race in particular? Well if you know me, I’m tough on myself. I finished two minutes slower than I did last year, and after finishing the race I wasn’t all too pleased with the time. Distance running is as much mental as it is physical. Physically? Well the obvious is I wore almost a full freakin’ suit, so the extra weight and hampered range of motion probably played a role. Mentally? With about 2-1/2 miles left I told continuously told myself “just finish” … which essentially, since finishing wasn’t the goal of my race, is giving up. Not proud of that at all, which is why I think I was disappointed in my race.

But at the end of the day, f*ck it, I was in a shirt, tie, n dress slacks and had a blast!!! ‘Til I was dying. Training could be better. The way I attack the race could also be better. Lessons learned… Hope fully more pics to come. On to the Oddyssey Half Marathon, what costume should I wear?

To the Rebel costumer in you,

Dels

 

UPDATE:

I forgot to mention my time…
2010: Self-timed approximate 80 minutes
2011: 64:41 and I was the 355th person to cross the finish line
2012: 66:49 and I was the 715th person to cross the finish line

Apparently a lot can happen in two minutes. I’ve decided I will run this race every year in that get-up until I break 60 minutes.

 

Twas the Night Before Broad Street…

Posted: May 5, 2012 in Races
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Twas the night before broad street, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The race gear was hung by the closet with care,
In hopes a personal best is how you would fare…
The night before any important race seems to follow a ritual for me:

  1. Laugh A LOT
  2. Pretend I’m not nervous
  3. Eat a light protein meal
  4. Drink water
  5. Get my gear ready
  6. Pretend I’m not nervous
  7. Try on gear, then hang gear up
  8. Drink water
  9. Watch an inspirational sports movie/clip/speech
  10. Go pee
  11. Lay down
  12. Admit I’m nervous
  13. Wonder how the world will end if I don’t accomplish my goal
  14. Convince myself I will accomplish my goal
  15. Wonder if I drank enough water
  16. Tell myself I need to fall asleep because I’m missing key sleeping hours
  17. Pretend I’m not nervous

If 8:30 AM is a little bit too much for you to get to Center City Philadelphia after Cinco de Mayo, go here, register real quick, and follow along to see if I run fast!

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