Not too much

Today was the slowest day of the year at the stores. We had our first snowfall of any substance, it was cold and not many people made there way out of their houses. Usually I take an opportunity like this to get a good run on the trails behind Georgetown, but today, not so fast, my achilles is still banged up so I didn't run.

So I didn't do really too much of anything. I worked at the Fairfax Store, caught up with a couple of my colleagues, and helped a buddy with his training program. I guess I could have worse jobs.

The most exciting thing today, hmm.... I think it was one of my employees, Mark (above, far right above my brother who is the guy who is not me in the red shirt), started his own blog.

Man, I need to start running again. Sorry Mark.

I really shouldn't talk trash, he is one of my 2 loyal readers.

0 miles today, a couple of icings. Tomorrow will be better.

x Farley

Paying the price

Well I guess this is what I get for getting injured. Coach Matt came in tonight to ask how I was doing. I told him about my achilles injuries and my methods for getting healthy, and he wasn't hearing it at all. I was to "grab that bucket there" and "he was going to get a big bag of ice". He was gone for 5 minutes and then returned with the big bag of ice and a plan.

My idea of what icing was and his idea were totally different. I tried to dip just my achilles in the ice and was thinking I might be able to pull it out in 5 minutes or so. No dice.

He pushed my leg knee down so my entire foot was in the bucket of ice. Quickly I was in pain. "Farley, do you want to be a good runner or not? Your foot has to be numb for it to work!"

Coach Matt had me in that damn ice bath for 18 minutes, and you know what. My achilles actually feels a little better.

2 runs today - 11.2 miles

6.2 miles in 56 minutes with Cakes

5 miles in 39 minutes solo.

x Farley

The less you do, the less you can do

Throughout my running career I have been very lucky with injuries. I have been extremely resilient and able to handle high (relatively) mileage. I'll have the usual aches and pains with my knees and feet, but nothing I can't run though - well until now.

My right achillies has been bothering me for 3 days now. I didn't even run yesterday (hence the absent post). I think it flared up on Wednesday when I ran 15 miles in 2 runs. Usually that wouldn't have been a problem, I would have run that and been good to go, but not now.

In the last year, I have really run less than I have in the past decade. After college I ran up to 100 miles a week on numerous occasions. That is pretty normal for distance runners who are trying to break 2:40 in the marathon. I really kept pretty steady at least 80 until last year. Opening 2 new stores has really taken its toll on my running. But really, lets be honest, that is a just a convenient excuse. It really probably has more to do with the fact that I wasn't running faster and decided to not do all the little things for my running that I had done in the past. Regardless, it is what it is and I have no regrets: BUT, MAN does it suck to be injured.

I'm sure I'll be fine. It will just be a few days of easy running and a day or 2 more off than I'd like, but I'll be back running 80 a week soon (or I'll be a miserable person!). It just comes down to this: the less you do, the less you can do. I believe that in everything. If I run less, my body will become accustom to that and not allow me to transition back to running more, just like it is now with my achillies. Think about when you come home from vacation (picture on the right of Kathy and I in South Africa this past Fall), I mean seriously, doesn't it take a week for everyone to get back to being productive at work? Wait a second, I think I just gave my employees a free pass. Scratch that, be sure I'll be running tomorrow. No more vacations.

5.25 slow miles today in 41 minutes. Solo.

53.5 miles on the week.

x Farley

Training the masses

Just had a great conversation with my girlfriend, Kathy, and coach Matt about our training group we are developing. We have a meeting next Monday at the store in Arlington to introduce Matt and his assistant coaches. This is one of the most important things we do at the store.

The group is your everyday runner who is just trying to get into shape. We have a racing team and a club team who are more advanced, but these are the guys that make my business at the end of the day. We have a great women's group coached by Sandy May (picture right), a women who is 63 years young and has more energy than some of my 25 year old employees. Talk about inspiring, she'll run the Boston Marathon next year and set a new PR. These groups are really what keep me excited about running. The energy is amazing.

Today's run was with one of my best friends from college, Andrew Carnahan. We ran 7 miles in 48 minutes. My achilles was sore, but not too bad. I'm back at it tomorrow in the AM. Another day in Paradise.

x Farley

Centro

Today didn't start off too, too great. I woke up with my achilles screaming at me. I think maybe I've gotten a little too ambitious with my running and I might need to not run 80 miles the first week back. Its crazy how different your body is at 32 verses 22.



I live in an apartment complex right across from the Iwo Jima memorial in Rosslyn, VA. My coach and Pacers team head coach, Matt Centrowitz lives right across the hall from me. Matt also coaches at AU for his full time job. He is one of the best coaches in the country. He also was one of the greatest runners in American distance running history setting the American record in the 5K in 1982 (13:12 - picture right). He went to the University of Oregon and ran with many great runners including Steve Prefontaine.


The funny thing about Matt is you wouldn't know one thing about how great he is as a coach or how great he was as a runner, because it is never about him. It is always about his family, athletes, and friends.


This morning, he caught me in the hallway probably looking defeated because my achilles was hurting, I was in for a long day of meetings with my employees and I knew it was going to be a day of very little running. "Come on Farley man, why the long face! It's going to be a great day at Pacers!" Matt says. Then he gives me a handshake and half a bear hug. "You're young, fit, and a business man! Get out there and ring that register!"


Positive energy is contagious.


The achilles will be just fine. I had a great day.


6.4 mile run in 59 minutes with Cakes.


x Farley

The Lifecoach

Three days ago I mentioned my obsession with Pacers and running. Another obsession I have is The Junkies radio show here in DC on WJFK. To the untrained ear it is 4 guys talking about stuff you'd hear in a frat house or men’s locker room. But if you really make a commitment to listening to the show, you'll realize it is genuinely funny, original, and the hosts have ridiculously good chemistry.

I give one of the hosts, Cakes, shoes and training advice. He refers to me on the show as his "Life coach".

Cakes wasn't born a natural runner. He wakes up every weekday at 4:30am for the show. He has 3 young kids and all the commitments associated with that. The only running he would do in the past would be around house after his kids or if he was doing a "wacky bit" on the radio show (see below - Cakes is in the white shirt on the right).

I have worked with him for 3 months now running with him 2-3 times a week. I am inspired after every single run we do.

Last night WJFK had an Inaugural Ball in Arlington. All the hosts of the shows were expected to be there, stay late and have a good time.

Today we did a tempo run of 2 1/2 miles. I could tell from the beginning he was struggling. There weren't any of his usual jokes on our warm up jog to the track. He wasn't sharp in the first couple laps and we were getting beat up by the wind. We held a 7:20 pace for the 2.5 miles. I considered it a big win for today. He had only had 4 hours of sleep. The "Life coach" has helped Cakes lose 12 pounds. We're halfway home.

2 runs today total of 15 miles.
6 miles in 48 mins with Cakes in the morning.
9 miles in 1:02 with Mark in the evening.

Inauguration run

Today the Washington DC and surrounding areas shut down. My buddy Brian is still downtown 6 hours after Obama's speech. He tried to get on the metro and was told that it would be a 4 hour wait. I think he's walking home now.

I made the right choice. I ran downtown from my apartment. It was a 2.5 mile run there. My buddy Chris and I checked out the scene and soaked it all in. It was pretty awesome actually. We were sardined in on the Mall with probably a million others from all over the country. I wasn't about to stand out there all day in the cold, so we ran there soaked it all in for about an hour and ran home to watch Obama's speech on TV. Our commitment was about 8 hours less than my buddy Brian.

2 runs today 5 miles in 40 mins to and fro the Inauguration. 6.2 miles in the afternoon in 44 mins. Go USA.

x Farley

Inauguration and Handwarmers

Tomorrow is the Inauguration. I don't know if there is 3 million people like the experts predicted, but there is a lot more than usual walking around. I live right across from the Iwa Jima memorial in Rosslyn, VA - and at all times when its light outside there are a least a couple hundred people milling around. There are a two things all these people share: they are here for the Inauguration and they are all cold.

I hate when my hands are cold. I can have 3 pairs of gloves on and my hands will still be cold. Apparently a lot of people at the Inauguration feel the same way. We have sold over 300 sets of those handwarmers at the store. We've bought out a Marshalls, Dicks, and Home Depot in the area. We've called a number of other stores and no one has them. We can buy them at those stores for $1 a piece and turn them around for 3 - 4 times that! I'm thinking about running downtown with a backpack tomorrow and rolling them out for $5. Wish the rest of my retail life was that easy.

I ran 8.75 miles today in an hour and 2 minutes. Day one in the books. It was a good day to be a runner.

x Farley

I guess everyone else is doing it

I am pretty obsessive about a few things in life. My family and friends always come first, but a few things aren't too far behind:

1. Running
2. Pacers
3. Running

It seems like there are a ton of runners out there with blogs. I don't know why really. For the most part I think runners are very interesting people. Most of my best friends are former or current runners - or lets say they at least run. But who really cares about how much I'm running? Probably only me.

So, with that said, I am going to blog about my life and a little about my running. No one will really care but at least I'll have a mileage chart and add up my mileage for the first time in years.

Today I didn't run. I actually planned a day off. That is also a convenient way to say I was up too late last night and worked most of the day. Whoa is me.

Today I made the first post on my blog that no one cares about. Tomorrow I will start my training for Boston. Tomorrow is going to be awesome.

x Farley