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August 2011

Halfway: Highs and Lows of the World Track & Field Championships!

Well, we’re halfway through the World Track & Field Championships in Daegu, South Korea. NBS/Universal Sports scheduled an unprecedented number of hours of coverage and this has been on my radar most of the year. Not only is this a World Championships, but it is also the year preceding an Olympic year. Stakes are high, favorites will be established. Before getting into my personal highs and lows through this halfway… Read More »Halfway: Highs and Lows of the World Track & Field Championships!

Happy Anniversary to Me! 45 Years of Running…

Rich Sands, Wyandotte Cross Country It began mostly because I didn’t want to be embarrassed. The first day of Cross Country practice was Monday and it was already Friday, August 12, 1966. I needed to get in shape fast! So I laced up my new Beta Bullets and went for a run. It was a half an hour long and the only thing I recall is that it seemed like… Read More »Happy Anniversary to Me! 45 Years of Running…

Back to the Grass!

Let’s begin by making one thing clear here, grass in this headline means the green stuff on many sections of ground, not marijuana. That said …. well, never mind. In his book, Bowerman and the Men of Oregon, there are a few paragraphs where author Kenny Moore describes sitting on the stadium or track infield (grass) with Frank Shorter or Steve Prefontaine and chatting about the future. Reading that got… Read More »Back to the Grass!

Medium Long Run

I merely lived through my “long” run today. No, not bragging or anything, just stating a fact: I lived through my long run (actually a medium long run). As I conclude week 5 of the eighteen week plan to the Savannah Marathon, I’m working my way back to the long run. Next week it’ll be 14 or 15 (fifteen has always been the benchmark as a “real” long run) and… Read More »Medium Long Run

DEATH by PowerPoint

I was chatting with a friend today about a class I teach called “Visual Chi: Creating and Delivering Outstanding Electronic Presentations.” He seemed to go somewhere else for a few seconds (maybe a bad memory popped up) and then said, “Oh, another PowerPoint class, huh?” “Geez, I hope not,”  I replied. It’s not that I have anything against PowerPoint, or Keynote for that matter, it’s just that anything can be… Read More »DEATH by PowerPoint

Speed Work? I think not!

Today was a day for the ages for three reasons: 1) It would have been my 36th anniversary had my ex and I made it past the 17th, 2) I weighed in lower today than any time in the last seven years and 3) I did my first speed/strength interval type workout in a decade. One at a time… First, my 36th anniversary.  Shortly after our divorce in 1991, she… Read More »Speed Work? I think not!

Man vs. Computer: Round 4

I’m four weeks into training for the Savannah Marathon and working diligently on stylish abs. Needing a lift, it seemed to be a great time to issue a challenge to my Macbook. If you recall, I have challenged my computer to two previous contests: a five mile run and a max bench press lift-off. (read the run at http://richyacks.blogspot.com/2011/02/man-vs-computer-round-2.html and the bench at http://runspittle.blogspot.com/2011/04/man-vs-computer-round-3.html). Both were in order to extract… Read More »Man vs. Computer: Round 4