Dearest Kicks,
I can't believe it has come to this. For years you have provided me just the right amount of support and accompanied me on the roads and trails of the west. I'm not going to apologize for having said your newer, sexier version (the 11's) SUCK. They do. That doesn't mean you have to go off and provide me a hell of a blister on the ball of my right foot. Who does that? I have options you know. They aren't all that in the looks dept. but they have oodles of talent in satisfying my feet, they are sweet spirits (PI Cruise's). So don't think for a minute I won't toss you in the closet and conveniently ignore your presence. We have a history together, you and your predecessors (Versions 8, 2 pairs of 9's and yourself, the 10). You carried me to a PR at the LV half Marathon in '08. You were there for the first incarnation of the Chasquis at the '08 Wasatch Back, hell you did the Ragnar leg. You offered sweet encouragement during my meltdown on leg 3 of Ragnar Del Sol in '09. You have countless Round the Mtn's and Grand Loops in your tread. You have Montana dirt and California sand stuck in your mesh upper. Great times indeed. Maybe just a little time and space is all we need. Your endearing love encouraged me to be incestuous and race short distances in your cousin, the Gel DS Trainers. Now they showed me a good time (another story). Anyway, I hope you don't feel the need to inflict anymore discomfort on my feet. You still have some great miles left in your sole. Let's share them together.
Love,
Morgan
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
New Post from Chasqui Lone Wolf
Hey guys. No, we don't have a new team member, just me. I know you are all out there training, I can feel the Chasqui mojo in the air when I am out. Throw a post up on the blog and let us know what you're doing. Liesel, how was the Lake to Lake relay? Dray, what did you do for your twins 1st birthday? JB, how good were Janel's homemade cream puffs? There is alot going on.
Last Sat morning, I got out for some trail running up at Red Rock. I ran a trail that is affectionately known as "Round The Mtn" so called because it takes you around White Rock Mtn. This run is a hard for me. The uphill is brutal and I'm not the litest fella on the block. Th distance is a challenge as well. We set out at about 6:30 on a gorgeous morning. Oscar, Jaime, and Dave. Oscar's dog Bella, and Jaime's 2 dogs JD and Spook. O, J, and D are all 3 better, faster runners than I am. Oscar is about a 1:30 1/2 marathon, Jaime is about a 36 min 10k runner, and Dave, while he doesn't run all that much, he did win the Snowbird Hill Climb bike race a year or 2 ago. Boy is fit. Mind you they take it easy on me and if a gap does develop, they wait at the top of the trail. I felt suprisingly good. My foundation is pretty strong. Never walked, tripped on a few rocks for not picking up my feet, but managed to beat the hill instead of it beating me. The downhill is always a blast. You can slalom trough trees, jump little crevasses, dodge dogs, the downhill had it all. Finished about 15 minutes faster than I anticipated, thanks guys for pushing me. Great run.
Shoes
I have been running in Asics Gel-Nimbus' for 3-4 years now, well version 8-11. I just picked up a new pair of them, version 11. They suck! C'mon Asics, you put out 10 versions of an incredible shoe and eff it up on version 11? Thanks. Toe box has way too much volume to it. At the moment.....SCREW YOU ASICS! My Pearl Izumi Cruise's are treating my just fine thank you. The Cruise's are the ghetto, black kicks I wore for Ragnar LV. They are a great shoe, they look crappy, but oh well. I have since found my Asics a new home, for cheap, had to get them out of my sight.
Ran on the treadmill at lunch today. Easy 3 miles. There was a cat in front of me running at a 6:30 pace texting on his phone whilst running! I would be flat on my white arse if I tried that. My man was flat movin. Hope that made your day.
Chasquis Mason and Warnie are running the 6 Tunnels 1/2 Marathon on Saturday. I've been following the training the Duff Bros have been layin' down. This race is about to get "Chasquied". Good luck you 2, you guys are going to scorch the desert.
Last Sat morning, I got out for some trail running up at Red Rock. I ran a trail that is affectionately known as "Round The Mtn" so called because it takes you around White Rock Mtn. This run is a hard for me. The uphill is brutal and I'm not the litest fella on the block. Th distance is a challenge as well. We set out at about 6:30 on a gorgeous morning. Oscar, Jaime, and Dave. Oscar's dog Bella, and Jaime's 2 dogs JD and Spook. O, J, and D are all 3 better, faster runners than I am. Oscar is about a 1:30 1/2 marathon, Jaime is about a 36 min 10k runner, and Dave, while he doesn't run all that much, he did win the Snowbird Hill Climb bike race a year or 2 ago. Boy is fit. Mind you they take it easy on me and if a gap does develop, they wait at the top of the trail. I felt suprisingly good. My foundation is pretty strong. Never walked, tripped on a few rocks for not picking up my feet, but managed to beat the hill instead of it beating me. The downhill is always a blast. You can slalom trough trees, jump little crevasses, dodge dogs, the downhill had it all. Finished about 15 minutes faster than I anticipated, thanks guys for pushing me. Great run.
Shoes
I have been running in Asics Gel-Nimbus' for 3-4 years now, well version 8-11. I just picked up a new pair of them, version 11. They suck! C'mon Asics, you put out 10 versions of an incredible shoe and eff it up on version 11? Thanks. Toe box has way too much volume to it. At the moment.....SCREW YOU ASICS! My Pearl Izumi Cruise's are treating my just fine thank you. The Cruise's are the ghetto, black kicks I wore for Ragnar LV. They are a great shoe, they look crappy, but oh well. I have since found my Asics a new home, for cheap, had to get them out of my sight.
Ran on the treadmill at lunch today. Easy 3 miles. There was a cat in front of me running at a 6:30 pace texting on his phone whilst running! I would be flat on my white arse if I tried that. My man was flat movin. Hope that made your day.
Chasquis Mason and Warnie are running the 6 Tunnels 1/2 Marathon on Saturday. I've been following the training the Duff Bros have been layin' down. This race is about to get "Chasquied". Good luck you 2, you guys are going to scorch the desert.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Early Spring Training
I'm glad to see so many positive comments our new safety measures. I thought for a moment I was being Scrooge or something.
This week has been one of my best overall training weeks in a very long time. Getting back in swim shape, still base building with my running ('bout to change), and some time turning the pedals on the bike. Tomorrow I begin to add some distance to the base. I'm returning to an old lover who, in the past, has treated me so well. She gives tough love (I'm into that sort of thing). Tomorrow I return, after about a year and a half I think, to run around White Rock Mtn, "round the mountain". I love to run trails. I don't like the additional time it takes to get to the trails which is why I train lately on the roads around my house. I have old knees and the soft desert floor treats them kindly. I usually see wildlife, maybe a coyote, rabbits, burros, and the occasional mustang. Weintzy said he even saw a big horn once.
The run itself. The run itself starts at the Willow Springs parking lot at the upper part of the Red Rock Scenic Loop. When you get out of your car and face north, that is the mtn to run around. Mostly uphill the first 4 miles. The last 2 miles of said 4 miles is a brutal climb. Steep, steep, and steep. The uphill is nearly identical to the "Ragnar" leg of the Wasatch Back without the elevation. Grade and distance are very similar. The final 3.5 miles are all downhill and it's fun. We call it the rollercoaster. All in all about 7.5 miles with a usual finish time of about an hour 15 roughly. Really can't wait to give this one a shot again. I'll give a little report Mon morning here on the blog.
This week has been one of my best overall training weeks in a very long time. Getting back in swim shape, still base building with my running ('bout to change), and some time turning the pedals on the bike. Tomorrow I begin to add some distance to the base. I'm returning to an old lover who, in the past, has treated me so well. She gives tough love (I'm into that sort of thing). Tomorrow I return, after about a year and a half I think, to run around White Rock Mtn, "round the mountain". I love to run trails. I don't like the additional time it takes to get to the trails which is why I train lately on the roads around my house. I have old knees and the soft desert floor treats them kindly. I usually see wildlife, maybe a coyote, rabbits, burros, and the occasional mustang. Weintzy said he even saw a big horn once.
The run itself. The run itself starts at the Willow Springs parking lot at the upper part of the Red Rock Scenic Loop. When you get out of your car and face north, that is the mtn to run around. Mostly uphill the first 4 miles. The last 2 miles of said 4 miles is a brutal climb. Steep, steep, and steep. The uphill is nearly identical to the "Ragnar" leg of the Wasatch Back without the elevation. Grade and distance are very similar. The final 3.5 miles are all downhill and it's fun. We call it the rollercoaster. All in all about 7.5 miles with a usual finish time of about an hour 15 roughly. Really can't wait to give this one a shot again. I'll give a little report Mon morning here on the blog.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The Only Good Chasqui Is A Safe Chasqui
If you have heard, or if you haven't heard, Robby Mayasich, the AZ teenager that was hit by car during last weekend's Ragnar Del Sol, succumbed to his injuries and past away yesterday. Robby, not unlike Jeremy Kunz during the LV Ragnar last Oct, was not the "on" runner when he was fatally hit. He was handing off water, giving some encouraging words to a teamate, well, he was being a Chasqui.
The best thing about being a Chasqui and running the Ragnar relays is the awesome team support we all give one another. I'll never forget Team Chasqui's first Ragnar, the Wasatch Back in '08. The "Ragnar" leg was a beeyotch, and I was running it, it was hotter than Hades, I was tired, basically ready to throw it in. Until the van would pull along side and Cam or JB or Weintzy would holler out the window at me. I don't think JB will forget running down Laguna Canyon Road last year at Ragnar So Cal. I think at one point we had 5 Chasqui's running along side him. That is what this group is all about. And I don't want any of that to be lost, but we have to be safer.
JB and I talked last night and decided a few things. Everyone needs to start training with their own water. Be it a handheld bottle, a waist pack that holds a bottle, or even a back pack hydration system. Crossing any street where traffic is present is dangerous. Everyone needs to be able to support themselves on their particular legs. That doesn't mean we are leaving the "on" runner out in the cold all by themselves. As Chasquis have done in the past, we will continue to cheer each other on, no worries about that. And, if by chance, a runner really needs a drink or anything else for that matter, one person will cross the road to give assistance. The one person will also put on a reflective vest and have a flashing light on as well. JB and I will provide additional reflective vests and lights for each van. This is a hard and fast rule. I don't know what I would do if one of my teammates were to get hit by a car. We are going to do everything possible to keep our runners safe. Keep training, but get used to running with your own water. Ragnar So Cal will be off the chain fun!
The best thing about being a Chasqui and running the Ragnar relays is the awesome team support we all give one another. I'll never forget Team Chasqui's first Ragnar, the Wasatch Back in '08. The "Ragnar" leg was a beeyotch, and I was running it, it was hotter than Hades, I was tired, basically ready to throw it in. Until the van would pull along side and Cam or JB or Weintzy would holler out the window at me. I don't think JB will forget running down Laguna Canyon Road last year at Ragnar So Cal. I think at one point we had 5 Chasqui's running along side him. That is what this group is all about. And I don't want any of that to be lost, but we have to be safer.
JB and I talked last night and decided a few things. Everyone needs to start training with their own water. Be it a handheld bottle, a waist pack that holds a bottle, or even a back pack hydration system. Crossing any street where traffic is present is dangerous. Everyone needs to be able to support themselves on their particular legs. That doesn't mean we are leaving the "on" runner out in the cold all by themselves. As Chasquis have done in the past, we will continue to cheer each other on, no worries about that. And, if by chance, a runner really needs a drink or anything else for that matter, one person will cross the road to give assistance. The one person will also put on a reflective vest and have a flashing light on as well. JB and I will provide additional reflective vests and lights for each van. This is a hard and fast rule. I don't know what I would do if one of my teammates were to get hit by a car. We are going to do everything possible to keep our runners safe. Keep training, but get used to running with your own water. Ragnar So Cal will be off the chain fun!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
SoCal
Bring on the new legs. I was starting to get a little trunky about running but with all the changes and posts I am ready more than ever. For this race, I vow not get passed like I am standing still (atleast when I am being recorded by Weintzy).
Monday, March 1, 2010
Projections Spreadsheet
This is assuming a 10 am start time. I will update it once we have more info. Have fun! Click to enlarge.
Now That's What I'm Talkin About
Hot Damn!! If I just didn't go from a cool, chill 12.5 miles to 20 frickin' miles for Ragnar SoCal. I'm so all over this mutha!! I AM CHASQUI, HEAR ME ROAR!!!!! I'm too fired up to just have this be a comment. Was runner 12, now runner 8. BRING IT!
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