#phidippides

[ancientgreeksuggestions]

run 42 kilometres just to tell the athenians you won

[buckhead365-blog]

#urban #commercialphotography #running #twilight #sunset #skyline #atl #phidippides #run #atlanta #buckhead #buckheadatlanta (at Buckhead Atlanta)

[allycatrunner-blog]

Working at the first ever speciality running store means I find gold like this

[phidippidesatlanta]

Last weekend was the Allstate 13.1 in Atlanta. I put this race on my radar late in the Summer and I didn't know what I would be able to do since I took all of July off from running. I really needed to take a break to rest my body and even my mind after completing my first 50 mile race. Also running during the Summer here in Atlanta is brutal, so I wanted to get out of the humidity and heat. When I picked running back up in late July, I took it super easy. I didn't want to rush into things. It took me a few weeks to get back into shape, after having rusted legs from my break. After that initial period, things really started to click for me. Last Summer I did the same thing by taking a whole month off and came back strong. So this time it wasn't a real surprise. Part of me wanted to just take this Fall easy and not have a goal race in mind. But after some solid running, my race calendar for the end of 2013 quickly filled up. The Allstate half marathon was my first big race since my break and I wanted to very well. My goal for the race was 1:30. I'm not sure why I even chose that number to be honest. My speed workouts leading up to the race for going very well and my confidence for achieving my goal was high. I knew the course was very hilly though. I did the course run that the Phidippides training group did a few weeks prior to the race. That helped out a lot because I remembered as much as I could, where the hills were. That and I was banking on cool temps race day, so I was ready. The morning of the race was humid. I didn't dwell on that though. I was confident in my training. My strategy for the race was to do the first 3-4 miles below my race pace, to get a good warm up and then to settle in. The gun went off and people made their charge. Pacing, especially during the initial excitement is something I have been working on. I let everyone take off, while I kept my focus. I took an easy pace and focused on relaxing. About a half a mile into the race the 1:35 pace group caught up with me. I didn't freak out, but I didn't want to fall even more behind my goal. I stayed with them going passed the first mile marker. A little slower than what I was shooting for, but I was okay with that. I needed to make up a little time though. I spaced myself more and more from that pace group. Miles 2, 3 and 4 clicked by. I had settled in perfectly to what I wanted for the first part of the race. I took my first GU (Chocolate Outrage!). At this point I started to pick up my pace. I was feeling very solid and even better, comfortable. Each mile marker I was hitting my pace right on time. I was dominating the hills by pumping my arms and passing people one by one. Things were great but coming up to mile 10, I believe, was brutal. I remembered from the course run, the long massive hill going up passed Marist High School. I also remembered this was one of the last and definitely the biggest. So with that, I charged it and gave it my all. I was spent by the time I got to the top! The course flattened out for a bit just after that but at that point I didn't think I was going to have a strong finish. Just at that point there was a large cheering section. A lady yelled "only a 5K left! You're doing awesome!" That lifted my spirits and I was back in attack mode. I was hurting. My breathing was heavy and my legs had a few twinges that scared me thinking they might end up being full on cramps. I pushed on and focused on relaxing. I also focused on the fact I was still on pace, my hydration and nutrition hadn't caused any troubles in my stomach and that I was doing what I love to do. Always focus on the positives, never the negatives. It makes the task at hand so much more easier. At mile 12, I had a little friendly competition with me. He was the first person since the beginning to pass me. But I didn't let him. I matched him. We never said a word to each other but we both knew neither of us was going to let up. We pushed the pace. About a half a mile to go, I made my kick. I felt I had some left in the tank. He kept up with me. A quarter of a mile to go, I started to give it my all. I didn't want to regret leaving some left to look back on, wishing or thinking I could have done better. I made the final turn and could see the clock. I was going to get my goal and some. There's something uplifting about a race finish line. Maybe because it's a visible finish to what you've been working on. Or it's just the fact that you can finally rest at that specific point. Whatever it is, I was beyond happy when I crossed it at 1:29:30. -Joey

[phidippidesatlanta]

Elite Minds

If you didn’t make it to the Brain Training talk with Dr. Stan Beecham last night, you really missed out! Not only was I entertained but I am pumped to take what I learned and apply it to my running. I’ll share with you his book disclaimer that he read during his speech.

“Do not read this book if you are looking for a quick fix, motivation or just want to feel better. There is no such thing. Happy is for children. Being happy is not the purpose of your life. Being fully alive and awake is the purpose of your life. That includes the pain and struggle that is a critical and necessary component to human existence. “There are no 7 Habits, 15 Characteristics, or 21 Laws. There are No Secrets or Promises. If you desire a book that shows you the precise steps to a successful outcome, may I recommend a good cookbook; Julia Child’s to be specific. However, I can promise you that your casserole will not turn out like hers, even if you do exactly what she suggests, in the exact order she recommends. Life is the same way. We think that by following someone else’s recipe we reach our destination. No, you will reach their destination, which will, in turn, mean you are still lost. “If you haven’t bought the book yet, put it down and go back to the magazines, they will make you happy and distract you from waking the hell up and getting on with it (especially the ones with lots of pictures). That will make your friends, family, competitors and enemies very happy. “If you are still reading, good—there is hope for you. However, reading this book will likely make you feel worse not better. But hey, you were not born to be content, you were born to be complete (that’s what the word “perfect” means), to be the greatest “you” possible—and the fact of the matter is, very few make it. That journey involves giving up the hope that someone else is going to give you the answer or set a plan for you that will fulfill your life long dreams. Anyone who has the audacity to suggest that others follow their path because in the eyes of the world they have been deemed successful is simply practicing narcissism. What I have attempted to do with this book is share with you my observations of people who have successfully navigated from Point A to Point B in as straight a line as possible for a human to maneuver. They have performed at the highest levels possible—not because they followed someone else’s advice, but because they had the courage to take their own.”

Dr. Stan Beecham

If this lights a spark in you and want to read his book, come into Phidippides to get a copy.

-Joey

[kidsneedscience]

The Marathon and Phidippides, or the intersection of Science and History

For the last century and half and specifically since the rebirth of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, September 12 has been celebrated as the anniversary of the battle between the vastly outnumbered Athenian army and the invading Persians. After their plea for help to the Spartans (help the Spartans declined to offer), the Athenians eked out an unlikely victory and immediately dispatched a trained runner named Phidippides from the battlefield at Marathon back to Athens, a distance of approximately 26 miles.

Phidippides ran the entire distance, delivered the message of victory, and promptly died. Scientists today, however, dispute the scholarship that places the date on September 12, 490 BCE. Russell Doescher, Donald Olson and Marilynn Olson of Texas State University at San Marcos dispute this date using the description of the battle given at the time provided by Greek general and historian Herodotus, overturning the modern date calculated by 19th century German scholar August Boeckh. Using Herodotus’ contemporary accounts and his accurate descriptions of the lunar cycle and modern calculations of ancient sostices, the Olsons were able to show that the battle most likely occurred in the blistering heat of August.

Still, on this day, remember the runner. Remember an extraordinary feat of courage and sacrifice, a man pushing himself to an extreme. Yes there were kings and generals and foot soldiers and many acts of valor and bravery on that day. Yes there is a cool use of modern science and astronomy to correct an historical inaccuracy that is interesting. But think of this: if ever a day can be commemorated for beating a sword into a plowshare, it was the day that Phidippides ran to Athens and gasped nenikikamen, we have won. This feat has inspired generations of people from every walk of life not into war or battle or military service, but into the hard and lonely road of the running life, the marathon. Go for a run or a walk or simply sit quietly in a chair today and think of the feat we remember on this day-not a feat of battle or war, but a feat of valor and courage. Think of Phidippides.

[phidippidesatlanta]

Starting the Racing Season Off Right- Will M.

So this weekend was the second “team race” for our staff racing team at Phidippides. The race was the Meaningful Miles 5K, which is held by one of the store’s nonprofit partners, Back On My Feet. Back On My Feet is a great organization that uses running as a catalyst to help men living at homeless shelters find gainful employment and inexpensive housing. We’re really proud to partner with them, and have seen the transformation in a few of their members already.

This was my first race of the fall 5K and 10K season. My goal in this race was to contend for my first race victory in a little over two years and to run somewhere right around 17 minutes for 5K. Getting the season off to a good start isn’t extremely important, but it can be very helpful in setting up confidence for the next few races. During my college cross-country and track career, my coach would have us run a 5K time trial at the start of cross-country and either a mile or 5K time trial at the start of track season (depending on our events for that season). The time trial was always a good way for our coach and his assistants to figure out our fitness levels and design workouts for the first few weeks of practice before really getting into high-intensity training for the season’s conclusion. I thought of this Saturday as something similar- I’d try to run a solid time and gauge my fitness for the races to come.

Also entered in the race were a few other co-workers. Joey and Robby, who also write on the blog, were entered, as were Eric, Maurya, and Sally, and our manager, Kerry. While not everyone raced, everyone who didn’t have a prior commitment came out and supported all the runners and walkers. It was great to see a little over half of our staff out cheering for everyone.

The race’s start and finish were in the Historic 4th Ward Park, just a little southeast of Midtown Atlanta and close to my (new) neighborhood of Virginia-Highland. However… the park is in a small valley just off of the Beltline and Ponce de Leon Avenue, so you have to climb up an enormous hill within the first 1K on North Avenue. I knew this part would be difficult and keep me from running very far under 5:30 for the first mile (which converts to around 17:00-17:15 for 5K). Luckily, my co-worker and teammate Robby helped me through the first mile in 5:31, and Sloan, who wasn’t racing, positioned himself where the big hill at the start flattens out about 3/4 of the way up, about half a mile in, to cheer. That helped me keep my lead and stay confident.

From there, I stopped worrying about people around me and just tried to keep my lead and my pace. There’s another tough hill at the 2-mile mark through the Inman Park area, which had me worried, but from there it’s all downhill. I tried my best to keep my pace even and see if I could break 17:00. Unfortunately, when I turned the corner, the clock was too close to 17:00 for me to go under, but I was able to run a 17:06, which given the difficult course, was a pretty good time considering I was barely running at all around this time last year. Jared, our marketing director, got this cool picture of me at the finish and gave me a shout-out on the store’s Facebook page.

So this weekend’s race, like I said earlier, helped inform me of my fitness and figure out my goals for the season. If you think of your running in phases, it’s often a good idea to run a race to gauge your fitness. For example, if you’re training for a fall marathon, you might want to run the Peachtree Road Race or another 10K later in the summer. The 10K can help you figure out where you need to go.

Other performances of note: Joey came into the race hoping to run around 20:30 for 5K, but he ran 19:49 for sixth place! Maurya was 22nd overall and the second female finisher in 21:18, which is an awesome time for such a tough course. Kerry and Eric were both in the top 20, coming in together at around 21:00. Sally also won her age group and was the fourth overall female finisher. But most importantly, we were able to support a great cause and have fun doing the sport we love!

[phidippidesatlanta]

Boston Qualifier!

I want to give a big shout out to a Phidippides customer and Wednesday night group runner, David. Late April, just a few weeks after the horrible events that took place in Boston, David came to the store for a shoe fitting. As I was helping him, all he could talk about was qualifying for the Boston Marathon in 2014.

That day he came in happened to be on a Wednesday. The day we have a group run at our Sandy Springs store. He ended up sticking around that night, asking for training tips and munching on our snacks we provide. From that day on he’s now considered one of the “usuals.” He quickly made new friends and shared his goal of qualifying for Boston with everyone.

Every week, I always asked how his training was going and if he’d picked out a qualifying race yet. Well after the group runs finish, you’d often still see him running around. Even as we were locking up the store for the night! As motivated as he was, you could tell there was a tad bit of doubt in him. One day he told me about a 20 mile training run he did to gauge if he’d be able to qualify. His time that run was well off target, leaving him discouraged. I told him he started out too fast and he still had a shot. He might as well try, right? What’s the point in talking about a goal if you don’t even go for it? This helped lift his spirits back up.

3:55 is the qualifying time for a male his age. He found a race this past weekend, that is appropriately named Last Chance for Beantown.

David ran a 3:54:33!!!

Congrats from everyone at Phidippides! This was well deserved!

-Joey