Rather than bombard Facebook with my nonsensical thoughts and continuous sharing of other statuses and links that I, and probably I alone, find useful...I've thrown them all together in a random blog feature.
Following is the March 19th (and inaugural) version of Junk Miles:
Pavement
- A Runner's World analysis from 2010 shows that the term "jogger" leads to assault, death, and discovered bodies, but the term "runner" leads to races, records, and accomplishments. Even if you're a penguin, you may want to start referring to yourself as a runner, or don't say I didn't warn you.
- Robby Andrews, an NCAA Champion at the University of Virginia, is giving up his final two years of collegiate eligibility to turn pro and rejoin Jason Vigilante, his old coach and the previous head coach of track & field at Virginia. Good luck Robby, the Hoos will miss you.
- Want to run in a clockwise direction? Fuhgeddaboudit.
- Dabble in some cross-training to improve muscles that running won't work out, specifically the quadriceps, and also complementary running muscles like the outer hips and glutes. But what's the best cross-activity for runners? Hop on two wheels and hit the road.
- Meb Keflezighi, winner of the US Olympic Trials, all-time nice guy, and a hero of mine was awarded the Competitor of the Year trophy.
Peaks
- Backpacker Magazine names the Presidential Traverse one of the top 20 hikes ever. Blog readers will recall my father and I completed the traverse last summer before climbing Mt Katahdin (pre-trip blog post, and post-trip blog post).
- I just booked airfare out west for a 10-day trip this June where my father and I are tackling several more adventures, to include the a cross-hike of the Grand Canyon and an expedition into the Zion Narrows in Utah, another of Backpacker's top 20 hikes.
Peculiar
- Had to remind a lot of people this weekend that it's Paddy, not Patty. "Paddy is derived from the Irish, Pádraig; Patty is the diminutive of Patricia....there's not a sinner in Ireland that would call a Patrick, “Patty”. It's insulting. It's really as simple as that." And oh yeah, it's a shamrock, not a clover.
Personal
- This week was "new shoes" weekend as I retired my two old pairs of Asics that had north of 420 miles each on the soles. I replaced them with two identical Asics GT 2160s. Nothing too exciting, but it's always nice to strap on some fresh kicks.
- And there are some big races creeping up on the horizon the next few months, to say nothing of the the other random 5ks and Pacers events.
| Race | Distance | Date | Countdown |
| Flying Pirate OBX | Half Marathon | Apr 15 | 28 days |
| Parkway Classic | 10 mi | Apr 22 | 35 days |
| Marine Corps | Half Marathon | May 20 | 63 days |
| North Face Challenge | Half Marathon (Trail) | Jun 3 | 77 days |
| Marine Corps | Marathon | Oct 28 | 224 days |
