Update on 3 weeks to 1:13!!!

This past week of training went very well for me, ever since I was doing the duathlon training it was always something I had to be careful with. It was my hip, knee, back or quad that seemed to nag me. My IT has been a little tight but I wouldn't say that it is really bothersome or makes me limit my training. It seems as if my body is so used to running its glad that I am back into the comfort zone.

Here is my original plan for the next few weeks, but I am having a hard time not running more than planned because I feel so good:

week 1: 40 miles, 75 min aerobic
Week 2: 45 miles, 80 min aerobic
week 3: 50 miles, 85 min aerobic (OBX half is my progressive anaerobic threshold)
week 4: 55 miles, 90 min aerobic
week 5: 60 miles, 95 min aerobic
week 6: 60 miles, 90 min aerobic (turkey trot 8k)
Week 7: 65 miles, 100min aerobic
week 8: 75 miles, (Thunder Road Marathon)

I know I can run 2 hrs for sure right now but the plan is about progression so I am sticking with it for a change. Through all the years I have bounced around tons of training philosophies and this one so far seems to be appropriate. 2 years ago, I was fortunate to have a coach in Layne Pye and an Olympic trails competitor in Megan Hepp as a training partner so I was focused and it worked well. Here is back to the drawing board and hoping for the best.

Speaking of mileage and such, I am not sure that I ever can get 100 miles in because I know it would really break my body down. Looking at what Bill Shires does on a weekly basis amazes me! Maybe I don't want the pain to set in to take it to another level and then also I just do not want to take the time to do so much. I keep telling myself I want to take a year OFF from racing and then just come back with a great desire but its so difficult because I enjoy it so much.

On a side note, I hope to write a new post on our society and appearances or labels if I have enough time.

Marathon Fever!

So marathon Fever is here, the weather is changing and people have put in the mega miles over the past few months. The Marine Corps Marathon was ran this weekend with several of my friends competing in this amazingly large event. I be live that 20,000 people give or take competed in the race this year. Leading up to this first big national marathon I have read numerous blogs and articles, with tips, suggestions, critiques, and even an article about how the walk/runner destroyed running.

Below is an excerpt from an article I read this week about marathons. It is on one hand informational but on the other, it could be very upsetting to some people who are out there trying hard but my not be to an elite level.

" Running USA, a nonprofit organization that tracks trends in distance running, has: In 1980, the median finishing time for male runners in United States marathons was 3 hours 32 minutes 17 seconds, a pace of about eight minutes per mile. In 2008, the median finishing time was 4:16, a pace of 9:46. For women, that time in 1980 was 4:03:39. Last year, it was 4:43:32.

John Bingham, a runner who is known as the Penguin and credited with starting the slow-running movement, has been told that he ruined the sport of running, “The complainers are just a bunch of ornery, grumpy people who want the marathon all to themselves and don’t want the slower runners. But too bad. The sport is fueled and funded by people like me.”




This is very interesting to hear someone actually say this in a publication, I see various post on www.letsrun.com where people throw BS around the table, but they usually hide behind a fake name. As I was reading this article I also review some of the comments that people were leaving. Below I have left a some what of a controversial response to the article.

" [7] | wingedfeetxc
There is a difference between "running" a marathon and "completing" a marathon. Finishing in 8 or 6 or even 4 hours is not really "running". It's walking, shuffling or maybe jogging. Still, you made it through 26.2 miles so kudos. But you did not "run" a marathon. To run a marathon you have to be, well, running. Most non-runners will dispute this difference but actually runners (people who train seriously) will almost uniformly defend it. Real marathoners (the people who are running it) are out there training every day of the week, running 50 or even 100+ a week. They are out there taking the sport seriously. Somebody who shows up training should be given credit for finishing (although it's a somewhat poor idea on their part as running 26.2 miles without proper training will likely cause you injury) but they aren't necessarily runners.

Compare it to a weekend hack and a professional golfer. Yeah, the guy whacking a little ball around 18 holes in 150 strokes is "playing" golf but they aren't a golfer in the sense Tiger is. When I drive cross country I tend to drive very fast for long distances but that doesn't make me a race car driver.

Full disclosure: I say this as a long time distance runner (who has never run a marathon) so I obviously have a bias towards runners.

Reply | October 23, 2009 2:59 PM [ report this ] "


Being a competitive runner from High School, I do ride the line between what racing is what completing is. "racing" to me is finishing the race as fast as your body possibly can, which may not fit into the same category as others. Completing a marathon is a magnificent achievement whether you run 2:15 or 4:45. I understand the strain it takes on anyone who is trying to complete 26 miles, its horrible! But so amazing once you cross that finish line!

I have yet to totally finished a marathon while not Bonking thus far. I was fortunate enough to be in such pain at the end of the 2005 "Thunder Road Marathon" that the photographer and local running specialty store put a full page ad in a magazine of my finish and it said " there are so many steps in a race and this is what you will look like if you get the wrong shoe!".



What does a Marathon mean to you? Would you ever try to run an insane 26.2 miles?When is your next marathon if any?

Check out the MCM from this past weekend!

Fall Rave Run!!!

Each and every year I realize what a wonderful time it is to hit the trails for some distance running. The leaves are in peak season for color and they make an incredible back drop for scenery during a run. The vibrant colors jump out and almost make you want to stop and just enjoy what mother nature has provided in its purest form of beauty.

After missing the morning run at Davidson, I wanted to still get in a longer run on a trail somewhere to get off of the hard surfaces and get something that has lower impact. After speaking with Logan, we decided to head out to Latta Plantation Park and show him a different trail. After we hit the trails, I quickly realized how nice it was to run there and was a drastic difference from the typical running routes I have in Dilworth. Tree's line the wide gravel trail that starts the run and right away Logan comments on how great it is to be somewhere else like this.



I even stopped once during a stretch as we passed by the lake to examine and soak up the colors. In the next couple weeks those leaves will not be there to enjoy, but they will be on the ground. After about an hour of running I told Logan that this felt like a "rave run" from the runner's world magazine. Leaves lined the trail as we coasted in and out of this amazing stretch of beauty(yes i said it). If there is any time for a beginner to start running, it would be now. The temperature is just right, with no heat complications or freezing temperatures.

My goal for the next few weeks is to travel to the various trails in the area and get in some great runs. This may even push me to get that new camera that I have wanted for the past year and practice my photography skills. So I encourage anyone who wants to feel free even if just for half an hour to go to a local park and walk on a trail. Pick up a phone, call a friend, call your uncle, grab your dog but get out of the house!!!

Too old for Halloween?

I know that some people just do not enjoy Halloween at all and got past that stage at about 11 years old. My question is, is there an age limit for enjoying "halloween"? I think not!

Each year, I have always dressed up in some aspect and got at least a few people together to enjoy the festivities of all hallows eve. This is the one time of the year that you can wear whatever you want to and its ok. I have only really taken advantage of this one time a couple years back with a costume but for the most part I am something pretty basic yet fun.

One of the best things about Halloween out on the town, is checking out other costumes that people are wearing. There are some pretty crazy things out there, some that make you laugh and then some that makes you say "what the H*ll is he/she supposed to be?". I invite each and everyone to come out this halloween weekend and find an event to attend, but you must wear a costume. Let loose and bring out that inner child to enjoy life.

What is the craziest costume you have worn?

3 weeks to a 1:13?

So after I took my time off from training for a couple weeks, I decided to really focus on a training plan as I stated in my last post. This one is totally new to me but its exciting to think I may finally be able to take off and run some fast times possibly. Months ago, I jumped on board with the charlotte crew going to the OBX MARATHON/HALF MARATHON and stay in the elite house.

Last year while running the obx half I didn't run so well due to my slack ass training. This year is very much the same but I have some good confidence going into the race with the new training and focus. No the endurance and long aerobic training is not there so much but I know from my training this past winter I kept a quite a bit of that.

My initial goal for OBX was to run sub 1:16, then it was well, let's shoot for sub 1:15. One day I was thinking why do I limit my self? I did 1:12 this year in a very tactical race and even though I may have not trained specifically for this race at all I can't give it a real go. If I run a mid-low 1:14 I will be mostly satisfied but I don't see why I can't go for that sub 1:14. 3 weeks to 1:13 sounds good to me so why not? I may bonk it like I did last year and I may ride the line and make it through...

"Easy Running is Recovery"

"Easy running is recovery"

This is an exert from the text of "Take the Lead" by Scott Simmons and something I heard all too often from my good friend Cody during some of our training discussions. This next rotation of training will be focused on this training philosophy based on progression. As opposed to the standard, base, threshold, and finally anaerobic build up to peak at a certain time, I will be training all of these systems every week. The plan is increase my long aerobic run every week, increase the speed of intervals every week and also increase the pace and mileage of my progression run every week.

One main difference in this approach is the peaking phase. Where most standard programs have a pretty big taper with some hard interval workouts, there is just a slight taper if you would even want to label it a taper. You body gets used to this training cycle and by taking time off its questioning whats going on and confusing the muscle fibers in a sense. I decided it was time to try this new approach for me because I have seen such great success from elite athletes such as Fernando Cabada, Fasil Bizuneh, and Queens Standout Michael Crouch. In a matter of a year I year, a kid I used to beat up on in XC my Senior year went from a high 27 minute 8k'er to finishing up his career with 30:18 10k PR under this program. Apparently Crouch was about a 15:20 5k guy just a couple years ago now he has ran sub 13:40. My good friend Cody Angell has gone from running over a 20 minute 5k, 3 years ago to running 15:33 this year, as well as running 26:07 for 8k, 32:56 for 10k and finally running 1:12:14 for a half marathon all of which he beat me except the 5k at UNCC.



Here goes nothing, the plan makes total sense while looking through the simple process and makes one think, "why do we train other wise?". After college I have been sticking to doing workouts maybe once a week sometimes twice if I have an actual race in mind. For the most part doing speed or threshold sessions is almost non-existent with my plans. One night I just decided I needed to try this program if I want to knock out some solid PR's and finally be looked at as truly one of the best runners in the area. Looking forward to the OBX Half Marathon 3 weeks away, sub 1:15 is certainly possible, but I am hoping that these next 3 weeks of training go well enough to boost my confidence so that i can lower that initial goal and better my time from last year. Over the past 4-5 months I have averaged between 26-27 miles a week, so expecting much from this half marathon could be a disaster waiting to happen.

- This year was Great for me with Layne's basic training plan that I followed for the most part. I could have buckled down in a few spots but this new system may work. People keep telling me "you have so much untapped potential", maybe 2010 will be the year that I actually make a big break through?

15k follow up

This week I decided after hearing about seemingly everyone racing the Lungstrong 15k in way or another, that I should sign up and thus make me get in a good workout to start off my new official training plan.



The goal going into the 15k was to simply do a progressive run and finish as strong as I can without straining to much. I knew it would be somewhat difficult watching people whom I beat way out in front of me at the start but I told myself to take it easy and stick to the workout plan. I had a goal of simply breaking 55 for the workout initially but once I began thinking about things, I knew that to achieve my other goal of 5th place it would take more.

After some thinking about the people who were competing, I thought finishing up in sub 54 should lock me up a spot and keep me around the 5:45ish average I wanted for the workout. I actually got a little warm-up in and used the stick to loosen the muscles up for a change. About 4 minutes before the race, I tucked away to myself and just tried to relax and take a breath, even though this was a workout, I intended to basically start racing the last 3 miles and I still needed a clear mind.

The gun went off and I was on about the 3rd or 4th row from the line which was fine w/me. I saw all of the CRC members take off and after looking around I thought a good initial goal indicator for the 1st mile was to be behind megan but be near jocelyn since both pace pretty well. It was great to actually have some conversation along the first 4 miles of the race or so. hit the mile in 6:04 and saw lat up ahead, we had a conversation for a minute about our plans and he told me that he couldn't leave for vacation because his passport expired and thats why he was at the race. At 2 miles I noticed that Billy was in front of me looking a little tiresome. We shared some thoughts and I told him to relax for the last 3 miles because it gets hilly.

Next in line was megan and she chose to stick to the true game plan and not talk during the race, so I got a thumbs up. Lisska was next and we chatted for a bit about the pack behind him and what we were both doing out there. before the 4 mile mark I caught brian and asked where his "war" paint was. At that point I knew I was a bit above the threshold that I wanted to maintain. Slow progression slow progression! I didn't have a watch but I know I was at 3 miles around 17:40. closing in on 5 miles I caught Paul and kept it going at this point because I dropped 2 sub 5:30's and it was time to catch Kent and Bill ahead. After 6 miles I finally passed Bill and caught Kent. Kent stuck on my hip for quite awhile even when I pushed up a hill. As I got to near 7 miles I thought for sure 3rd place would be mine as I was catching Mike and Greg very quickly.

Apparently Mike laid the gauntlet down as if on Que, when I began surge to catch him. Mentally it got me a little out of it and after 8 I realized I wouldn't catch them so I just needed to maintain my pace, because I thought I was gapping kent pretty well. All in all through the finish it didn't feel "great" but it wasn't painful. I was pleased with my effort. I achieved both of my main goals, breaking 54 (53:38) and also placing 5th. This was a new PR by over a minute but I didn't close the last mile as quickly as I hoped.

After that it was a few hours of fun at Sheila's lake house and then some more group fun at night. After 5 hours of sleep and some dehydration, i managed to wake up and ride to Francis beatty park with Jay and Ieva, to join the CRC members for a trail run. It was great to chat with Bert who was in from out of town as well.

Kudo's to everyone at the 15k, Megan got a big PR and didn't talk the whole race, Ben and Dan ran a hell of a race together mostly. Mike is a beast and he ran away from me towards the end.

what is Happiness? what about Success???

My question is how do you measure happiness? Is it that Yacht that you go cruising on in the summer time or maybe that BMW in your garage. Everyone measures happiness on different scales that's for sure and we each have our own perception of this.
Monday makes the world go round, we all know this in our day and age. I always said I would like to make enough $ to always be able to pay the bills and to send at least one kid through college. As I ventured out of college, I had one thing on my mind and that was making he big bucks and getting a fancy car to roll around in so that people could have a perceived notion that I was "successful". I mean after all, isn't that one of the major components in our life that we initially base success on, looks and appearances?


Good quotes on "success":

I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can't truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.
Zig Ziglar

Successful people make money. It's not that people who make money become successful, but that successful people attract money. They bring success to what they do.
Wayne Dyer

Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.
Tony Robbins

If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve the same results.
Tony Robbins


So how do you measure success and happiness? Is it the Saturday morning Lemonade stand out in your front yard with your son or daughter excited about selling their supply. Is it winning a local road race that you have had your eye on, or perhaps that big promotion at work to make mega bucks and live lavishly?

As I have left college and grown into a man, my view on this has changed a good bit. Now I see happiness as being close with good friends and family, sometimes enjoying activities with these characters involves having money which could mean "being successful". We are such a shallow society that we base everything on our titles. Manager, CFO, CEO, account specialist, and so on, they way that I look at it, we get out of bed the same way in the morning. We are all the same, we want to be happy and spend time with people who have a zest for life in whatever way you see it similar.

What Makes you happy? What makes you successful?

Progressive workout PR time

New 4 Mile PR!!!!

Last night I fortunate enough to run with the drastically improving Cody Angell in a progressive, 5 mile workout which we accomplished, but only after we did the 4-mile course through Dilworth. Prior to this workout, my PR for 4 miles on this particular course was leading into my Senior Year of college...

10 4/18 10/358 CHRISTOPHER LAMPERS 21 M 495 WAXHAW NC 16:54 5:27 21:38 21:41 5:26

I ran 21:19 at the Shamrock 4-miler in 2007 and I think close to that again this past year after PR'ing in the 5k the night before. I would like to break 21 some day in a 4 miler but if I don't it won't bother me much. Who would have known that on a Tuesday night in Dilworth I was close to making this come true....


4 mile = 21:07

2009 World Championship Recap

The 2009 World Championship was an amazing experience to say the least. I had to buckle down and train on the bike and by foot for the first time ever really. After qualifying for worlds I gathered up $ to buy a new Kestrel Talon to train and race on which was a big chunk of change for me. After the outcome at worlds I was initially very upset because of my training didn't show on race day due to other outside factors.

I had the most support I have ever had for a race by family and friends it was amazing! I heard my name so many times while running and bike through the infield of lowe's motor speedway it certainly helped me push harder each time. Unfortunately for the spectators it was raining almost the entire time so it was a bit miserable, but it wasn't anything that beer and grey goose couldn't change.

10 minutes before the start of my world championships race, it hit me and i freaked. I left my ankle chip in the transition area as well as my cycling shoes were IN MY CAR!!! I was there for 3hrs socializing and not focusing that I forgot all of this. The transition area was closed but I convinced the monitor to please let me grab my chip and then to throw my shoes near my bike. Thank the lord I remembered my shoes and I got to the start line w/4 minutes to spare.

At the line, people were talking but in other languages, it was pretty cool. I was on the 2nd/3rd row from the front and then the gun fired. I wanted to be near the front of the pack because i knew i had good fitness but also because my fans would be at about 1/2m into the race cheering. We took off and at about that 1/2 mile I was thinking this is WAY to fast then I heard on the intercom, "if these guys keep this pace they will be running faster than the pro's, this is suicidal", then I knew I needed to back off a bit ha-ha. 5:05 was my first mile according to Cody. After a mile I began to have some very bad breathing problems so I tried to get my composure back so that I could finish solid.

Aubrey was in front of me the entire time, cody caught up at about 2.5 miles and I gave it all I had to stay w/him through the spectator area and just after that I couldn't do much more. at 2.5m when cody said "hey man they will start coming back to us" I told him to upzip my back because i could not breath at all, hoping this would open up my breathing, WRONG. That team USA one piece was just way too tight for me. I haven't had breathing problems like that in years, it sucks that it happened the day of the biggest race of my life!



Once the 10k finished it was raining really hard and my shoes were water logged. I hit the transition and noticed cody was already gone. I grabbed my bike and hit the road, with a slow mount and a slow start because there was a sharp curve and I was afraid to bust it. The 1st 2 miles I rode very conservative because I saw 5 people actually wreck it was crazy, we were riding through areas that were flooding. At about 4 miles into the ride my left leg began to get tight then I tried to stretch on the bike and it LOCKED UP. I had never had this happen in my life, it hurt so bad, i didn't know what to do because i couldn't pedal. I was going about 21mph, then i was coasting at about 11mph pedaling w/one leg.

At this point, i knew my race was way out of the window, with the goal not to wreck. Eventually after a couple miles the muscle lock released and I could pedal fairly normal. The 2nd loop, I finally decided to let it rip. 2 guys passed me with Disc and I said "F--k It, no one else is going to pass me and I am going to reel these 2 guys in" I went for it and rolled them up while maintaining a high cadence weaving through people. Catching guys in my division was a new thing for me, as the goal is to just not get passed by as many people as possible is the goal usually. When we hit one of the final climbs I clicked through my gears into the small ring real quick and BAM...the chain was on the ground 1/2 way up a hill, dammit!

After stopping and watching everyone pass me who I had spent the last loop putting ground on, it pissed me off. What a freakin day! I finally got back to my transition area and i realized when i went to mount my bike, cody's bike was in my place. I had a lot of trouble slipping into my shoes but finally hit the trail w/a roctane. I began passing people in the transition and knew I had a chance to roll up a lot of people, but it didn't happen like tri's or duathlons usually do for me. Mostly because I ran 18:19 for 5k which was the SLOWEST I have ever ran to close out a race. My breathing problems and cramping kept fighting each other, it sucked. with about 3/4m left, I passed one USA guy and said "come on we are almost there man", he jumped on my shoes and stayed there and tried to pass me going onto the last finishing straight away. We took 2 sides of the straight away passing numerous people in the middle and I knew I COULD not get out kicked in front of my family, so I gave it one big push and got 1 second on him in the end.

The experience is something to take w/me, knowing that the next big race, I need to get away from everyone 30minutes before the race to focus. I thought I was going to get hypothermia from the weather but i rushed from the speedway as soon as I could after giving congrats to aubrey and cody. What a race both of those guys had, i was proud to be apart of their group and a usa teammate. G$ was certainly the highlight of the race for most people, as he painted himself blue and had USA across his chest. After the 10k portion of the run, he managed to disappear and wind up asleep in a garage somewhere, PRICELESS....



Special thanks to all of my friends and family who came out, it meant a lot to me, thank you all for cheering in the cold and rain!!!

worlds debacle

Not sure exactly what happened saturday September 26th at the Duathlon world championships but it was not my day. I felt way to bad to run almost 34 minutes for the 10k and then come back with severe leg cramping on the bike, only to have my chain come off as well. It just wasn't in the cards for me, but I still had a good time looking back.
It was awesome watching Raf in the mix with the pro's and then turning in a stellar 6th place performance. Jared Shoemaker is the man after coming back for the win, the last stretch was epic as he got passed and then dipped at the line to get the victory.

More to come...