Cycle City! Colorado: Day 2

Day #2 was not quite as eventful with running into random people but it was exciting anyways. Today was the first day I had a chance to attempt a run at high altitude. I was "warned" by many people about the effects of running at high elevations, so I took that into careful consideration. Kylee and I set off to a trail where I was hoping to get an hour in is possible before she had to head into work. I was equipped with my 2XU calf sleeves along with long sleeves with my TrySports team tee.




The run was great, as Kylee and I started out together and then after she turned around I decided to see if I could finish out a loop and be back before my 1hr mark. I pushed it pretty hard at some points, once I got to a pretty step climb I could certainly tell that I was having some troubles. After taking a few seconds to relax, i got up the climb and was rolling again. It made me feel good to see that i could beat some mountain bikers around the loop somehow.

After the run, we went back to Kylee's place and she prepped and went into work from 1-10pm, which left me lots of time to fill. Her roommate Christine was nice enough to lend me her bike so that I could roam around boulder. It was pretty cool cruising around, minus the fact that I had a backpack on, looking like a high schooler ha-ha. The plan was to stop at a coffee shop and spend time writing my "day 1" blog which I ended up doing at "the cup", a nice local Colorado flavor spot where tons of people filed in.


After the coffee shop stop I had time to roam all around the "Pearl Street Mall' and stop in a few shops. In the process I took a pretty sweet picture...



After checking out the cool and unique shops I had to figure out what i was going to do for dinner. Head back to the townhouse and eat some oatmeal or grab a meal at some local shop. I began to freeze out in the streets and passed "Old Chicago" where I saw college football on the plasma's, easy decision. No TV at Kylee's so i might as well soak up some college football at the bar. My server actually was from South Carolina and we chatted briefly about some local places to check out, I even got to snap a picture of the watering hole.


Finally at the end of evening I rode Christine's bike back in the pitch dark back to my temporary home. It was soooo freaking cold outside, i was shaking! After about 10 minutes on the bike I actually warmed up and enjoyed the ride. It's a great place that has plenty of side walks and is very biker friendly, which makes things easier for me for sure. Upon arriving home I did more research about running "Magnolia Road", the legendary CU Cross Country Sunday morning training run starting at over 8,100ft of altitude. I managed to find a group who said they planned to meet and carpool from the justice center at 8am SHARP! Time for a good nights rest before I try to conquer the beast!

Check out my pad, it actually sleeps pretty well, THANKS KYLEE!!!

Subaru Heaven; Colorado Day one

I finally took a step and followed a sort of dream of mine, which was to visit Colorado. Luckily I have an amazing friend in Kylee who agreed to house me for the length of my stay in Boulder, Co. The flight was the best time in the air that I can remember within the past 10 years. I upgraded my ticket to FIRST CLASS and it was well worth it in so many ways! Plenty of room, drink service and actual food that was resturant quality. Below I included 2 of the things that made the flight even more smooth(My friend Jack, his buddy coke and their cousin Amos)



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Upon reaching the airport in Denver, I had to locate the baggage claim and then take a journey into the world of "skyRide" which would take me from Denver to Boulder somehow, even though I had NO CLUE where I was going. Wondering in circles like a lost soul, I finally just started asking people where they thought the bus for Boulder was and I stumbled upon Bob. Bob's 2nd question he asked me while waiting for the bus was "do you smoke up?" ha, I knew this would be an interesting conversation. He was real laid back and even told me the stop I would need to get off at once we reached Boulder in 70minutes time. The bus was packed like a can of sardines, which promptly led Bob and myself to talking to Meerna, hope spelling is close. We got some insights on anthropology as well as a cool conversation about tattoo's.

After finding out Kylee had to work later than I expected, Bob invited me to come chill with him and his roommies at their pad. So here I am on a bus I THINK is taking me to the right place and about to go hang out with "Bob" from Baltimore who is a 5 1/2 year senior at CU. As soon as we got off the bus his buddy "Bry" picked us up in his Subaru wagon. Bry was a pretty cool laid back guy from Denver but had family in Asheville actually. We stopped by the local spot for good brews, grabbed a 6-pack and headed to their crib. Typical college party house, with speaker wires running all around, profane notes to each other on the fridge, a party room with blacklight beer pong, and a jacuzzi out back, this place would have been MONEY back in college!!!



Kylee eventually got off of work and picked me up at the party pad. Bry gave me a pretty cool new website www.sadsteve.com which I really like. 2 new bands to check out are "Pepper" and "slightly stupid" are on my list now. Kylee and I stopped by her freezing condo which was set at 50 degree's!!! Afterwards we stopped in at the Pearl Street mall which was awesome! Ton's people walking around and christmas lights up everywhere around this unique outdoor mall that i loved.


We stopped into "Powell's candy shop" where Kylee worked, it is pretty cool, looks like something off of a movie. There I met her manager and friend Bonnie who went out with us after she left work. We met up with Kylee's friend Mark at "Walnut Brewery" I believe and had some drinks and a kick A$$ spicy spinach dip that Bonnie went to town on ha-ha.

All in all it was a great day/night in Boulder. I got some pretty cool picks to show for it. The mountains are pretty awesome, the people are much more laid back and open it seems for sure. Ahh just before we went for a couple drinks, some guy came up to me shook my hand for 2 minutes and kept asking "where are you from?" and "are you going to kick some A$$?". He kept rambling on and I figured the best thing to do was play stupid so he would just eventually leave. Wow! Welcome to Boulder!!! I even saw a guy dressed as santa claus with a lighted thong on who was getting whipped on the side walk by random people, these are memories you just can't forget hahaha.



The Title of this entry was called "Subaru Heaven" because I think about 80% of the people out here drive them!

Training Smart = racing good

- After many years of trial and error I have stumbled upon wisdom in the form of training. In my younger days I tried to defy the logic that I could run certain paces with lack of proper training simply because I was going to "man-up". Well I did fairly well with this philosphy but never quite hit those goals. Over the past 2 years I have finally began reaching my potential and along the way have set new PR's from the mile to the half marathon.

The reason this happened was because of consistent training and much of it was specific focus. I PR'ed in the half marathon and with some loose running afterwards I ended up setting a 10k PR after having a good time at cooper river the day before as well as knocking out a big 5k PR, finally breaking the 15:30 barrier, and also making the 2009 World Duathlon championships.

I have been in focus for the last 6 weeks on the Turkey Trot 8k, hoping to break 26:30 maybe 26:20 and setting a new PR. One of the main things I have learned about proper training is PROPER RECOVERY. Eating correct, stretching, and drills make a huge difference, even compression provides a large benefit. After these past 2 years it has all come together and thats why I have total confidence and faith in a training regimine that i want to share with others. I have yet to be seriously injuried in any way and I have only climbed higher and higher with my goals.

-Once I get the mental side of things down at every race I will be golden. I have a habit of picking one or 2 races to really excell at lay back on the others. Training for 3-4 weeks before a marathon does not mean you are in marathon shape< I could easily run a sub 2:50 marathon in my opinion right now but I want to take it to another level when I race a marathon again and that's breaking 2:40, which requires more specific focus along with higher mileage.

Here's to you Mr. Marathon, I will be coming for you again in the new few years.....
Train Smart
Race Smart

No Marathon

- Today will be a short post that will be expanded hopefully later today or tomorrow. In short I have decided to pass at the chance to race the Thunder Road Marathon. This week i will also take my name out of the hat to pace the 3:00 group in its entirety as I want to keep my training focused. After many many people gave me their blessing to run the marathon I listened to two very wise mentors who said it could be detrimental to my forward progression into 2010.

To Marathon or not to Marathon?

In the back of my mind I always think about racing even though I have already sworn to "pace" someone or a group of people. In this case I am speaking of the Thunder Road Marathon. 3 weeks ago I officially registered as a pacer for the 3:00 marathon group and I was excited to knock out my qualifier for Boston so that I could make the trip with my friend Logan.
Just after the Marine Corps Marathon I found out via facebook from all of the status updates that Boston was officially full. This stirred up my brain a bit as to why I would even pace Thunder Road since I would not be able to register for Boston in the upcoming year. Racing in the Outer Banks, I was signed up for the "Pamlico jack Challenge" somehow and decided to go ahead and do both the 8k on saturday and the half on sunday. Both were very smooth and despite being sick for 3 days I managed to piece together good races. The most important factor was that I actually was not even sore after either race.

I decided to amp up my training a bit after the race and things are going really well at this point. Not sitting at a desk all day does have its advantages as I have been getting in some good runs as well as taking the time to do the little things to avoid injury and recover properly. Last week I was at 66 miles which was the most I have done in many months. When I did the Boston Marathon in 2007 I was topping out around 50 miles for my max week and managed about 40-45 in my 7 week build up. I ran 2:48 and change at Boston that year which included a 1:17:01 first half before I ate it pretty hard the last 2 miles. With a couple years of good base and no real injuries, I think I can sustain a decent pace for 26.2 miles and actually not Bonk.

After years of trial and error I completely understand nutrition as well as the required training for certain goals. I may not have loads of 20+ mile long runs or even 15 mile tempo runs at Marathon pace. This past weekend I had a nice 16 mile run on the 1st half of Thunder Road and 12 of it was a progressive run down to upper 5:40's pace. I was being smart on my last mile with backing off and jogging in to let my body recovery a bit. So the question is, should I actually try to "Race" my hometown marathon and accomplish a top 5 finish that would give me a lot of pride? I debuted with an 11th place finish at Thunder Road in 2005, I would like to improve upon that.

To Marathon or Not to Marathon???

PRC - Personal Record Coaching

Today's Post is just new information about the coaching services I am going to offer going forward. More to come, have a lot going on right now.



PRC - Personal Records Coaching

“Looking to simply start a more active lifestyle? Training for an upcoming race? Going for a PR?, Let us coach you through the entire process, we will personally cater to your goals in mind and help you achieve the results you are looking for while showing you the little things that basic programs ignore"

Coach Chris Lamperski
2009 Team USA Duathlon member and World Championship competitor
1:12:40 : Half Marathon
26:31: 8k
15:27 :5k

The following levels of contact with Coach Chris are available:

Personal Coaching - weekly workouts monitored online, unlimited email, unlimited phone.

One-on-One Coaching Sessions - monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly sessions held in addition to the Personal Coaching format.

Personal Training session - A 60 min session with your coach to go over cross-training/injury prevention techniques and programs. This will also cover strategies for proper pacing and approach.

A free initial consultation with the Coach is offered after communication via email and phone. This is simply to help both parties understand what goals are in demand and at which level the client will require to achieve these.
o Professional Photography can be added with all packages at a major discount from the normal fees at local goal races.

At PRC our mission is to work with each individual step by step to achieve their fitness goals. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned athlete, we will take you through every step that will prepare you to achieve your goals. Our approach to hard work and our commitment to you will continue to influence your life forever.

Coach Chris’ Contact Information:
ChrisLamperski@gmail.com
704-641-2254

OBX Half Marathon 2009

The OBX festival is now over and was a lot of fun this weekend. It was mostly nice for me to get away after some recent happenings with me in the trials of life. Despite being pretty sick from the start of the trip things ended up really well considering. I think that after a few weeks of off time and then 3 build up weeks of training I did pretty well considering.

Saturday night consisted of dinner at the elite house with dan, caitlin, garret, megan, ben, bill, mike, kent, myself and glenn. It was nice to finally see everyone and to see that everyone seemed mostly loose about the race to follow the next morning. The pasta was really good and the chatter was even better. After we left the house and made it back to the Ramada inn, I made it clear that I needed to go to bed very shortly. I prepped all of my race gear and decided to take 4 melatonin to relax me for sleep. Surprisingly I went to sleep at 9:30pm and woke up on my own at 5:04am w/no alarm.

I felt good actually i wasn't sneezing or having to blow my nose every 2 minutes. We made it to the start and had plenty of time to do a short warm up and a good stretching routine. We lined up in the 1st corral which was very small and the gun went off pretty quick. Right away I knew I would be running with Kent for awhile since the first group hit the mile in about 5:19 while Kent and I ran 5:32 which I honestly think was a little short because the 2nd mile was 14 seconds off . I felt really good and relaxed, kent suggested to do the "you lead a mile i lead a mile" technique. I changed it up to try every 1/2 mile which certainly helped the both of us out while giving each other company. We kept the pace mostly steady in the mid 5:40's and occasionally hit some upper 5:40's which was really worrying me.

After the chase pack almost disappeared with dan leading the charge we were on our own but managed to pick off a couple guys along the way. Once Kent and I hit highway 158 for the last time I knew it was time to start picking it up. Our 7th mile was a little slower than I wanted being about 5:52 according to my calculations from Kent's split he gave me, so I took the lead and pushed the pace a bit more. At about 8.5 I told Kent I had to go and shoot for the guys about 400m in front of us because I felt so good.

I pushed the pace and was soon by myself on the bridge running in the 5:30's where i intended all along. In my sight was a Kenyan who had fallen off of the pace and it helped me keep focused. I passed the Kenyan and kept my pace going until 12 miles when i caught my self being way too content because it was comfortable, so I pushed more and it never was uncomfortable. I finished strong w/my last 3.5 miles at sub 5:40 pace. I felt great after the race, no fatigue and no soreness, this was the first time in a distance race I felt good, leaving me to believe I left way too much on the course.

After finishing I changed clothes and shoes, then ran out about 1.5 miles to cheer on our marathon crc group and take pictures. Watching the leaders come through I knew something was a bit off when I didn't see Ben or Mike around 2:40, I was hoping that everything was OK, since it was starting to heat up a bit. In 7th place I saw Bill shires weaving through the field finishing strong and then Megan Hovis came out with a group of 2 guys and i jumped out and ran with her the rest of the way in because she said she wasn't sure where mike or ben where. It was still a pretty good day for bill and megan with a 7th overall/1st masters and a 2nd female overall award for each.

After this race it really made me think about my fitness level and the potential there is that I need to tap into. first I am going to go back to a strict diet along with that proper sleeping patterns. The next step of course if proper training for a goal ahead. I still have some time to set at least one more PR before the end of the year. This morning I did a 2.5mile shakeout w/Bill before we left OBX and then I ran 9.1m w/Logan at night which actually felt real good. Things are looking good....

Shout out to OBX runners, Megan, Bill, Ben, Mike, Caitlin, Dan and Kent.

3 weeks to 1:13 update #2 - "sick"

After some mis-communication on the departure time from charlotte, G$, Kent and I finally left at 3pm on Thursday for the Outer Banks. After doing some yardwork wednesday, I had a bad reaction to the pollen in the air I guess and got sick that night it seemed. I hope it would pass but it only got worse before we left. After 2 packs of throat drops I am still having some problems with my throat and running nose. The body aches seemed to have passed thankfully due to naps and almost over dosing on tylenol severe cold medicine.

This morning I woke up to run the 8k as a little tune up before the half marathon. two nights in a row I didn't sleep good as it seems I do every time I visit OBX. Feeling sluggish i made my way out of the door and hoped in the bat mobile just in time to get a mile in before the race start. Upon warming up near the start line I noticed 4 kenyans and austin ramos the 5 likely to finish in front of me. The race went off and I fell in behind their group trying to keep it even and not over the top. I kept the same pace the entire race basically, I actually felt really good just keeping that pace, i even finished off my last mile in sub 5:20. Finishing in 27:20, I wasn't real happy but knowing that one of the guys ran 23:20 2 weeks ago on a hilly course and another guy who has ran 13:50 for 5k this year ran 25:35, it made me happy to know it was a realively slow course. All in all it made me optimistic because of my level of comfort. Here's to nothing tomorrow! I think 1:13:59 is still a stretch, with the sickness and lack of quality sleep, 1:14:50 is a more realiztic goal I think.

Addiction = Delusion

Tonight I finally got to view a movie that I have heard a great deal about because of its content involving drug use and its extremes. The film "Requiem for a Dream" is a 2000 film adaptation of the 1978 novel of the same name. The film depicts different forms of addiction, leading to the characters’ imprisonment in a dream world of delusion and reckless desperation that is subsequently overtaken and devastated by reality. Each character is ultimately destroyed by addiction and self-delusion.

Through-out the movie, my roommate Logan and I commented on certain situations that each character faced, simply because of their gradually increasing addiction. The movie depicts the simple fact that addiction is not always the stereotypical young wide eyed kid who got steered down the wrong path somehow. One of the most disturbing character portrayals is that of an elderly mother who went to extremes to lose some weight to prepare for her shining moment on the big screen. With a simple visit to the doctor she was prescribed with "uppers" and "downers" essentially, which she became addicted to over a few months period. (over prescription is another topic I would like to discuss at a later time!)



This was a movie that just made you think about life in general and the decisions we make on a daily basis that could change our path of life. Maybe we decide to hang with an old set of friends to catch up and it changes our "fate" somehow? After the completion of the movie I was disappointed by the actions of each character obviously but it didn't startle me so much. The one and only reason it didn't really phase me so much is because throughout my life avoiding drugs was a pretty simple and logical decision that didn't require much thought for me. I am not judging other peoples actions who may partake in alternative hobbies or activities too relax or get pumped up, but its just not me. I can't believe that an addiction could get so incredibly bad that someone would allow their loved one to sleep around to feed that craving as was portrayed towards the end of the movie.

Here is a short review on the movie that I read and completely am in agreement with:
"There's a wholehearted commitment in every frame toward synthesizing the feeling of hopeless addiction. It's in the writing. It's in the chaotic cinematography. It's in the actors' eyes."
I am not a Saint by any means but maybe its the christian principals that I have taken on which allow me to see good and bad in more clarity? Maybe its just plain as day to most and some just want to experience life in a different aspect, I just don't know to be honest. Joy for me does not come from a pill, it does not come in the form of a syringe, or even in rolled paper, it is just life in general. The experiences I encounter on a day to day basis are enough for me and as opposed to releasing from them, I chose to accept and embrace them in its purest form. My addiction may be running as I know I have sacrificed many things through the years but I do not recall running causing severe poison to my body, degrading of my loved ones or becoming financially unstable.




As stated, everyone makes their own decisions in life and with those decisions everyone must own up to them. I encourage anyone who may possibly be crossing the line into some form of addiction that effects the path of their life, to rent "Requiem for a dream" and watch it closely. Which point in the movie would open your eyes to see the incredible effect that even a recreation drug use could do to you. Movies, addiction or drug use never intended to be a post of mine but after about 15 minutes of the movie I knew I wanted to expand some of my opinions of the circumstance posed in the film.