The RunRunLive Podcast Episode 233 – Ashley from MSRuntheUS checks in

[audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi233.mp3]

epi233.mp3

Show intro by:

Zen?

RunRunLive – Podcast Intro

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

Intro:

Hello and welcome to the grumpy old guy with a dog podcast where we sit around in our underwear and complain about stuff.

I don’t complain a lot but I got one day with my family this weekend and now they are down at Cape Cod and I’m up here.  This time though they have the dog and I’m all alone.

This is Chris and this is the RunRunLive podcast and this is episode 233 and today we talk with our old friend Ashley from MSRunthe US.  If you want the whole Ashley collection go to my website WWW.runrunlive.comadn download episodes 94, 124 and 155.  She’s recreating her run across the US as a relay race and looking for support.  She’s a sweetheart and I love catching up with her.

I’m still not running and I had an MRI this week on the foot.  My guess is that Dr. Hester will want to put me in a boot for a couple months.  I’m actually ok with that because I’d rather be in or out.  This hanging around half-broken is for the birds.  And I swear on a stack of whatever your favorite compilation of religious mythologies is that if I can get back to running I’ll take it easy this time…I swear, well at least for a while.

I gave blood this week too.  My HR was 40 bpm and my BP was really good too so I guess I’m still relatively fit and healthy.

Over the weekend and swam/rode the tri course with my buddy Jason.  I swam without the wetsuit because the lake water is getting warm.  It’s amazing how much less buoyant the pond water is versus the ocean – Jason damn near lapped me in the 800 meters.

We’ve got a segment from Ann this week and I’m going to tell a funny story about my underwear so – strap yourselves in and…

On with the show!

Audio clips in this episode:

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:

The Tighty-Whitey Factor – http://www.runrunlive.com/the-tighty-whitey-factor

Featured Interview:

Ashley from MSruntheUS

http://www.msruntheus.com/the-relay/

Quick Tip:

Ann’s Segment – Leaving it all out there.

Outro

Ok my friends, Get off of my lawn! Darn kids.

That’s right, you have sat in your house with your mangy old dog, wearing nothing but yellowing boxers and a pit-stained wife beater t-shirt – squinting through the shabby curtains with an angry sneer to the end of yet another RunRunLive Podcast.  Episode 233 In the can.

Next week I chat with Matthew from Gofitsu which sounds like a Japanese manga but is really a game Matt invented to help people and kids and families get more exercise by making it into play.  It’s areally good talk.  Matt has been through that familiar transformation from obese and unfit to super active and engaged and he’s helping to spread the word and preach the gospel in a fun way.

I forgot to tell you the story about Buddy and the skunk last week.  Soon as we got down to my Cape House, I was outside setting up a fence to keep him from wandering.  I see a flash of white out of the corner of my eye and then Buddy is off like a rocket.  And Bam! He gets tagged by a skunk in my back yard. He didn’t get it bad but I had to give him several baths and he was fluffy but odiferous and contrite all week.

As we wend our way into the podfade sunset I have something you can help me with.  Who, of all the guests we’ve chatted with over the years would you like me to get back on?  Anyone stand out that you’d like to hear again?  Shoot me a note and let me know.

You know I like to travel.  One of the things I like about it is it changes your frame of reference.  It’s like being able to look at something a different way. Just by interacting with different people in different places – it adds energy to your perspective.

I was thinking about this last week when I was bumming around Cape Cod with Buddy.  I had some things I was thinking on and was trying to work out.  Instinctively I knew that a change of scenery was a good solution.  And it was.  I didn’t do anything tremendously different but it still allowed my mind some room to cogitate.  Over the course of the week it allowed some things to percolate through.  It’s like looking at something from a different angle – you sometimes see it differently.

Part of my struggle with not running is that running is the place I go to work things out in my head.  The lubricating stew of exercise chemicals brings me solutions and resolutions that I don’t get staring at the walls of my office or watching TV in my living room.

We have talked to many people on this show, like, Ashley, who have radically changed their scenery and changed or more appropriately transformed their lives.  Think about Sue Kenney who in an act of self preservation decided to walk the Camino across Europe in pilgrimage.  It changed her life.

I think one of the many lessons for you is that you can do the same thing.

You don’t have to pull up stakes and run across the country, but if you want to change the way you think try changing your physical location.  Try going somewhere.  Go on a hike in the woods. Heck, set up a tent and sleep in the back yard.  It will give you separation from the routine, from the physical cues that channel your thought patterns like bumpers in a bowling alley and it will allow you to get some fresh leverage.

That’s what I love about running, and riding, and traveling, and for that matter reading and writing is it allows me to escape the four walls of my mental confines and makes me a better person by giving me a broader perspective.

If you’re stuck, try changing your local.  You might find the view is better.

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:

bob_burns_and_the_breakups-thunder_bird

pitfall-crusties_dont_wear_flip_flops

george_fletchers_bourbon_renewalthe_tequila_mockingbirds-i_aint_lyin_-_live

Outro music:

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

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