Episode 247 – Josh and Aaron – Visually Impaired Racing

The RunRunLive Podcast Episode 247 – Josh and Aaron – Visually Impaired Racing

[audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi247.mp3]

epi247.mp3

 

Show intro by:

This week’s Guest Announcer, Michael Robertson, publishes a running blog at Once A Runner, Always a Runner.  He also recently began a new running club for Boston runners called The Hub Running Club.  More importantly, Michael works with Girls On The Run Boston, which has two charity bibs available for the 2013 Boston Marathon.  If you’d like more information on running Boston as a Girls On The Run Boston SoleMate, you can email Michael at michael@girlsontherunboston.org.

RunRunLive – Podcast Intro

http://www.runrunlive.com/home/read-the-runrunlive-podcast-intro

Intro:

Hello and Welcome to my podcast.  Here we are, deep in the brightly colored leaf pile of another fall racing season.  Legions of wiry and haunted amateur athletes throwing themselves into the breach each weekend for the culmination of months of sacrifice and passionate drive.  It all ends at a blurry finish line in exhultant exhaustion.  And that’s why we do it.

This is the RunRunLive Podcast and this is Chris your host and if anyone is still counting this is episode 247 and we have a great show for you today.

We have a very interesting discussion with Aaron and Josh about visually impaired racing – and before you think this is another charity fluff piece, consider the Aaron is crushing marathons with finishing times in the 2:40’s even though he is challenged with macular degeneration.

It once again puts in context our own challenges and how we deal with them.  My current challenge is eating too much Halloween candy.

We also have a segment from Ann who is racing her ‘A’ event this weekend at the Beach to Battleship ironman distance – The information I have is that she is bib # 54 so send her some karma waves.

Dr. Sarb had a sick kid this week but that’s ok we’ve got plenty of entertainment, information and inspiration for you.

I had an amazing run on Sunday.  I met my old friend Brian for a pre-run of the Groton Town Forest Trail Races.  Brian and I have trained and raced together over the years but have been out of running touch recently as he has entered the new baby agenda over the last 4 years.

It was really nice to get together.  My alarm went off Sunday Morning and it was pouring rain and dark.  I got half way through an email to Brian saying ‘this is stupid I’m going back to bed’ but then I thought, ‘I love trail runs in the rain, and so does the dog!’ and I’ve trained with Brian enough to know that a little foul weather wouldn’t dissuade his attendance.

The Groton Town Forest courses are quite challenging.  They have a lot of repetitive, short, steep ups and downs.  A unique and fun course.

Brian brought his dog Pickles and I had Buddy and we set off at a crisp pace and had a wonderful time.  Towards the end I had to power walk some of the ups and I was quad sore on Monday but it was a life-affirming run.  The type of run that is everything I love about running.

I ran again on Tuesday and had dead legs.  I did an actual speed workout on Thursday where I threw some 20 second surges into run.  I did this run on the trail which is always interesting because you never know where your surge will fall.  Sometimes it’s in a rough section or on a downhill.

There was one point where my timer for the surge went off on a nice uphill section.  I dropped into my form and started powering up the hill with Buddy trotting just in front of me.  Buddy doesn’t really get the whole interval concept, but he humors me.

Like I said, he’s right in front of me pacing me when I drop into the surge up the hill.  He looks over his shoulder, see’s me gaining, and without any effort, just goes from trot 1 to trot 2 pace and pulls away from me without even breaking into a run.

That old dog still humbles me.

Or perhaps I humble myself – On with the show!

Audio clips in this episode:

Colin’s new collection of running songs – http://resurrectedrunner.blogspot.com/

Ann’s Running Commentary

Visualization – http://www.annsrunningcommentary.com/?p=1548

Creator of Ann’s Running Commentary

Senior Advisor for Beyond Limits Magazine

Dr. Sarb’s Wellness blog

http://completecoach.wordpress.com/

Dr Sarb Johal Psychologist, Writer, Runner, Coach

sarb.johal@gmail.com | http://about.me/sarb.johal

My latest post:What’s the point of vigorous exercise?Read more | Sarb’s blog

My Books

http://www.runrunlive.com/products-page/midpackerslament

RunRunLive » Audio Products » MidPackersLament » The Mid-Packer’s Lament Audio Book

 

It took me a few months…but I kept at it and now can present to you The Mid-Packer’s Lament Audio book.  This is ~50 running stories read into audio by the author (me) and ends up being 6-8 hours of audio.

The Mid-Packer’s Lament is a series of short stories on long distance running, racing and the human comedy inherent in all sports enthusiasts.  This is the perfect book for runners and wannabe runners.  There are stories about training, eating, special places and special races.  There are stories about the accidental athlete in all of us and the stupid things we do for even amateur endeavors.  Whether you are a weekend mid-pack runner or a competitive club runner, you’ll find something thought provoking and amusing that you can relate to in the Mid-Packer’s Lament.

Hope you enjoy consuming it as much as I enjoyed recording it!

Ciao, thanks, and I’ll see you out there.

Chris,

Skits, commercials and parodies in this episode:

Story time:

Equipment Check:

Featured Interview:

About Aaron Scheidies
Aaron Scheidies is a 28-year-old professional triathlete that was born with a hereditary eye condition that slowly deteriorates his central vision called Juvenile Macular Degeneration or Stargardt’s disease. Competing in the sport of triathlon for more than a decade, Scheidies began with sprint triathlons and has continued up the triathlon pyramid with 70.3 and full Ironman races. Using a guide during each race, Aaron has traveled around the globe competing in over 125 triathlons. A graduate from Michigan State University where he started the triathlon club, Scheidies received his doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Washington and is now geriatric physical therapist with RehabCare. Scheidies races as part of the C Different Foundation and has stated movement called CDifferentwithAaron to break down barriers of visually impaired people. For more information on Aaron please visit http://www.cdifferentwithaaron.com or contact Carie Goldberg of Gold Standard Sports at (310) 709 7630 or carie@goldstandardsports.com.

Joshua Warren

Annual Giving Manager

MAB Community Services

Ivy Street School

Adult Disability Services

Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Here’s the link to our website and our twitter handle:

www.mabcommunity.org

@TeamWithAVision

@TheMABVI

I’ve also attached two photos of Aaron from last year’s race. In both, he is with his guide and local runner, Chad Carr.

Quick Tip:

Running in swing Season – http://www.runrunlive.com/running-in-swing-season

Outro

Alas my running friends, you have squinted long and hard but have found now better route through the end of yet another RunRunLive Podcast episode 247 in the can.

Next week I am going to chat with Lisa Bouhler again about her recovery to racing.  You remember I spoke to her about a year ago when she got hit by an SUV just weeks before the duathlon world championships.

It’s racing season and just because I’m not racing doesn’t mean I’m not involved and you should be too! Last week I worked the Groton Town Forest Trail Races and had a blast and we also had our kick off meeting for the 2013 Groton Road Race.

This weekend I’ll be working a water stop at the BayState Marathon cheering all those Goon Squad runners on.

Some of you will be glad to hear that I have more recorded interviews than shows so there is a necessary extension coming along to our old podcast.  I’ve been super busy, as everyone is this time of year, so I haven’t made any progress on my next project or any of the other things I talked about.

I have lined up a number for Boston and I’ll more than likely be running for team Hoyt as my charity, although they don’t know it yet and it’s another thing on my todo list.  But, you can be assured that I will be asking for your help!

I’ve been working my way through “The Walking Dead” on Netflix but I have to take it in small doses because it really effects me. I’m not good with scary movies and such because of the way my brain works.  I get really involved in a single channel sort of way and this type of well done show inhibits my ability to suspend reality.  It messes me up. That being said – I like the show.

Here’s a piece I I’ve been thinking about all week after witnessing some emotional interactions.

Gracious giving – http://www.runrunlive.com/gracious-giving

Music to take you out is, and I will apologize in advance to the less vigorous among you, I have resorted to punk rock again to get a little fire into your veins as you run this episode out.  So fix up your form and surge myfriends.  This is one is by None More Black called Under my Feet on Fat Wreck Chords.

Enjoy your life, and I’ll see you out there.

Great news my running friends – my book of running stories “The Mid-Packer’s Lament” is now available in Kindle format at the Kindle store on Amazon.com!  Just search on “Mid-Pack”.  It’s a bargain at an easy $5 and all proceeds go towards supporting the underfunded pension plan of the retired cleaning staff at the RunRunLive world headquarters. I recently got a kindle myself and I love it.  It does reading very well.

The Mid-Packer’s Lament is a series of short stories on long distance running, racing and the human comedy inherent in all sports enthusiasts.  This is the perfect book for runners and wannabe runners.  There are stories about training, eating, special places and special races.  There are stories about the accidental athlete in all of us and the stupid things we do for even amateur endeavors.  Whether you are a weekend mid-pack runner or a competitive club runner, you’ll find something thought provoking and amusing that you can relate to in the Mid-Packer’s Lament.

Music:

From Podsafe:

All music used in the show is from the Podsafe music network found at Music Alley.  Please support the starving, socially minded artists sampled herein by purchasing some!

Songs sampled from Podsafe:

cursive-a_disruption_in_the_normal_swing_of_things

beau_hall-swing_down_-live-

Outro music:

johnny_ferreira-swing_that_thing

Outro Artists Bio:
Bio:

Standard Links:

http://www.runrunlive.com

http://www.runeratti.com

Http://coolrunning.com

http://Grotonroadrace.com

http://SQRR.org

www.midpackerslament.com

Cyktrussell At gmail and twitter and facebook and youtube

Chris’ book on Amazon – > http://www.amazon.com/Mid-Packers-Lament-collection-running-stories/dp/141961584X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228687012&sr=8-1

Mid-Packer’s Lament E-book

Mid-Packer’s Guide to the Galaxy E-Book

Dial in number for RunRunLive is – 206-339-7804

Chris Russelllives and trains in suburban Massachusetts with his family and Border collie Buddy.  Chris is the author of “The Mid-Packer’s Lament”, and “The Mid-Packer’s Guide to the Galaxy”, short stories on running, racing, and the human comedy of the mid-pack.  Chris writes the Runnerati Blog at www.runnerati.com.  Chris’ Podcast, RunRunLive is available on iTunes and at www.runrunlive.com. Chris also writes for CoolRunning.com (Active.com) and is a member of the Squannacook River Runners and the Goon Squad.

Email me at cyktrussell at Gmail dot com

Running  Podcast, podcasts for running, podcast for runners, free podcast for runners, Running Blog, marathon, triathlon, mileage, sprinting, run, track, training, running clubs, running groups, running shoes, exercise, health, 5k, running, swimming, sports, injuries, stretching, eating, jogging, biking, trail race, 5K, 10K, Ultramarathon, jogging a good exercise, road runner, jogging tips, benefits of jogging, free running, running shoes, marathon training, running, jogging, health and fitness, runners, runner, Boston qualification, Marathon BQ, Boston marathon

 

2 thoughts on “Episode 247 – Josh and Aaron – Visually Impaired Racing”

  1. susan evangelist

    Hi Chris, I found you on itunes a couple of months ago and have listened to most of your podcasts. i signed up for your email so I can be informed about your next project. I’m always entertained, educated and encouraged by your posts. I’m a wanna be writer and I’ve just started “running”. Look forward to Fridays to get your new post. See you out there!
    Susan

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