RunLarryRun

Course

The course was just our typical Sunday morning run at Umstead, Old Reedy Creek entrance. The plan for moi was to go to the end of Reedy Creek and back. Since Umstead park is a rather hilly course, I figured going around 10 miles would be a good gauge to see how my running was progressing and if I was going to be able to kick it up a notch to get my long run mileage increased by 5 miles per week…

Weather

was PERFECT for running. I think it must of been around 65ish and the run started at 830am. There were quite a few people at the run, and a few newbies. One couldn’t ask for a more perfect morning to do a long run

Performance

Usually Umstead makes me want to cry. Those hills make one want to throw up if you’re not used to them and I haven’t been able to run up all the hills recently due to my lack of consistent training. However Sunday morning I started out slow and then after a few miles picked it up a bit. I ran up every hlll, and even deviated my course up Reedy Creek Lake and was still able to power up that ginormous hill.

Overall and Afterthoughts

Anyways, overall I was pleased - even though I was sucking some wind up all the major hills, I felt good and strong. I was able to even pick up the pace the last few miles. However today I hurt. I also went to a hash for the first time in several months and this was more of a trail run. It was nice but I knew at the end of it my body would punish me and it did. My calf soreness didn’t start up really bad, but by the end of the day - sitting in a chair staring at a computer all day, doesn’t help at all

Well at least I made it. I’ll be posting here again soon so keep an eye out for more posts. I’ve been slacking and need to get my arse in gear esp with MCM and Honolulu coming up. And yes I am crazy for doing both and realize it..

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So this was the day of reckoning since I had started work again I had been training for the full marathon since end of last year but had to drop to the half. and yes I did have to go to the half and admit that I am a wussy. (That was for a few RTR member’s sake)

Anyways, the course was the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, Virginia and was an excellent course in good weather. Note I said in good weather….

Course

So like the rest of Virginia Beach, the course was pretty flat. There was a slight incline or two but nothing like the hills of Umstead or terrain of the various greenways in North Carolina. That definitely has it’s benefits and drawbacks - no hills mean less pain, but on the straight and narrows it definitely gets b-o-r-i-n-g. The course started near Pacific and 40th, towards Fort Story circled back and ended on Atlantic and 30th. The last half a mile or so ended on the boardwalk which was great - except for the wind this would have been a most excellent race….

Weather

So the weather was excellent on Saturday for those doing the 8k. It was perfect weather for running, not a cloud in the sky and cool enough that one didn’t really overheat when running. Saturday night through Sunday early morning however was a different story - a storm came through with some pretty strong winds/gusts and was pretty chilly and drizzly (is that even a word). At some point I contemplated just staying in bed but my running group and friends were all there so couldn’t back out now. That’s the good thing about having a great running group or partner - motivation is key..

Anyways as the race went on the weather cleared up and the sun came out so the only difficult thing to battle, weather-wise, was the wind. I know that the guys from RTR that did the full were in extreme distress and have sworn to never do another winter/spring marathon again…

Performance

So my training was pretty lackluster the past two months. I got sick, got hurt and started working up in Maryland - so had plenty of excuses not to do well. I ate a hearty pasta meal the night before, fully expecting my friend Greg to give me a good beating. If I finished at 10mm pace I was gonna be happy.

Not sure wtf happened, but at mile 2 or so, I felt great and sped up a little. Greg and I stuck together for a bit but somehow lost him in the race. I felt so good that I did intervals since I felt pretty strong. At about mile six I had that damn foot problem again. I kept trying to distract my mind from the pain and would get behind someone that was cruising and just tried to adjust my foot ever so slightly while running - however I did have to take a break at least 2-3 times to stretch my foot out the last two miles. In the end even though I had to slow down quite a bit I did end up finishing with a with a PR of 1:47:49, avg pace of 8:14 mm!

wowee wow.

Official Race Results

Place Bib# Name G Age City St Chiptim Pace Guntime Div /Tot Div Gend/Tot G

847 8796 Larry Asakura M 31 Raleigh NC 1:47:49 8:14 1:50:08 100/379 M30-34 627/2302 M

Official Split Time Results

Place Bib# Name Div 4.9mile Pace Last 8.2 Pace Chiptim Pace Guntime

847 8796 Larry Asakura M30-34 40:39 8:18 1:07:09.90 8:12 1:47:49 8:14 1:50:08
Overall and Afterthoughts

This is one of my favorite races. As stupid as it sounds - all because of the Yuengling and Irish stew. I’ll be doing this one again next year - and maybe even the full.

I hope that if I continue with my training and running and being more consistent while working will help alleviate this foot pain. If I can do that, my next goal is to do a sub 8 minute mile average pace for my next half marathon.

Speaking of which… I need to schedule the next one. Any suggestions on a fun half?

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So I needed to do some long runs since I’ve been slacking while working in Maryland. Working full time really does put a damper on everything…working out, hanging out with friends, drinking, etc. you get the picture

Course

So the course was basically on a sidewalk along a major road here in northern-ish Maryland - it left from my temporary “home” and was basically a 6 mile run out and back. Nothing to special about the run - just your basic sidewalk along a major road, some moderate hills and felt pretty safe.

Weather

The weather was perfect! temperature was around 55-60 degrees, sunny and a little bit windy. It was the perfect running weather and very odd for early March. I can’t wait for spring/summer to get here.

Performance

I ran with a friend and we were cruising for the first three miles at about an average of 8:30 pace. He turned around at mile three and was planning on hitting mile six and turning around. I felt great up until mile 7ish and then had that damn foot pain in my right foot. It almost feels like the bottom right outside edge of my foot is cramping up and never lets up. I had to stop and stretch, walk, then run for about a minute, repeat. Anyways I did that until mile 10 then walked the rest of the way because my foot hurt too much.

Overall and Afterthoughts

So I re-learned a few things.

1. Stretch and warm up thoroughly before a long run

2. If you start to have foot pain, stop and stretch immediately

3. I need new shoes - I’ve been trying to use these old shoes by relacing but think I’m at the point where I really really need new comfortable shoes.

4.  Don’t do a long run after taking a break from running. I think the longest run I had done consistently while here was 3 miles on a treadmill while at the gym…

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Course

This is one that starts at my old/current workplace near RTP. We start from the building and run through some neighborhoods and streets, and connect over to the ATT trailhead. We run along that for about 1-1.5 miles, then back through some more nieghborhoods and side-streets to loop back to the start.

Weather

The weather was warmer than usual and a great day for running. It was cold in the shade, but in the sun and after warming up it was a little hot! Other than that I couldn’t complain tho - very temperate weather for February!

Performance

Oh man - I was in so much pain during this run! I had gone to my first soccer practice the night before and must say it felt like the day after high school soccer tryouts. I remember it being so painful the first few weeks, but once your body adapts it’s not too bad. Anyways, pretty much every single muscle in my legs, butt, and feet hurt and had a slight strain in my right hamstring. Once I warmed up I felt pretty good (about 4 miles in) and kicked up the pace the last quarter mile — or at least felt like I did…

Overall and Afterthoughts

I took some tums the day after this run for the muscle soreness after reading about it in some articles to help with muscle soreness/cramps. I thought the run would help with the soreness and think it did help, but could not imagine what it would have been like had I NOT exercised Anyways went to a massage on Saturday and had some knots worked out of my legs, continued with more tums and hydration which seems to have helped a bit - I am not longer hobbling around like an old man! I am debating to run tomorrow morning (Sunday) for a long run. It is a toss up between the longer run or trying to do an interval run and can’t decide but guess you’ll know shortly….

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Course

Shelly Lake is a great run as it has one small but steep incline/hill and the rest is relatively flat. The course is about 1.95 miles and we do this run quite regularly - and has become our de-facto Wednesday run.

Weather

The weather was perfect for it being an evening run. A few of us had headlamps/lights and funny enough almost did not need them even though it was overcast and cloudy. For some reason there was enough illumination — go figure! Anyways the temperature was excellent, and perfect for running - a little chilly but not too chilly and think it was around upper 50s to lower 60s.

Performance

The route allows one to pace and run at various speeds for interval training (~2 mile loops) . I ran with a few folks slower than usual then we decided to try a “leap frog” run where everyone runs in a line, and then the person in the back speeds up to the front. We did this for the second loop about halfway through - so probably ran a mile this way and is a good way for everyone to push the pace, and also breaks up the motonony. The third loop we did was at a slower pace, but just at whatever your particular tempo was at.

Overall and Afterthoughts

I think the leap frog run was a great idea I had picked up from Runner’s World. The only difference I saw after re-reading is that you are supposed to change up after a minute or two! We had been just running to the front as soon as the person behind you took off So needless to say it was a challenge! I think it will be good to run that way with slower runners so they feel like they are part of the group and also for newer runners as it takes their mind off running

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This run was with the RTR group’s weekly Sunday run and had our biggest turnout yet! I think the final tally was 17 members total! woweee
Course

The course was excellent as usual on Umstead - starting at the Old Reedy Creek entrance in Cary and went to the Graylyn trail and back for a total of 6 miles. The route has some minor hills but nothing too bad (unlike Turkey Creek trails) and was a good morning run.

Weather

It was really nice this morning - I thought it was going to be super chilly so wore several layers but didn’t really need my warmest layer which was a fleece, so just had on a microfiber tshirt and a long sleeve microber shirt and was warm enough the entire time. My hands did get cold halfway through so put my gloves on.

Performance

I slowed down to run with some of the newer members and to chat with folks for a bit. A few people headed back before the turnaround point and I ended up running with a new member to the turnaround point and back. My average pace was 10:18 which wasn’t too bad and I felt pretty good. I had relaced my right shoe before the run and guess what? IT WORKED! Hooray. I am hoping the pain that I had from the run a few days ago will continue to subside and I can run longer distances pain free For anyone needing more direction beyond the runners world video in my previous post, just shoot me an email.

Overall and Afterthoughts

I’m really happy with my progress on figuring out what was going on with my foot. I’m pretty sure I’ll be ready for the half marathon come March and looking forward to it. My goal will be to do an average pace that is 8 mm or less for the half. Anyways, for me these longer RTR runs aren’t really about speed, but more about just getting the mileage in so will have to begin incorporating speedwork into my runs.

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Cheesecake Factory

8030 Renaissance Pkwy
Durham, NC 27713
(919) 206-4082

Cheesecake Factory is a chain restaurant that serves a variety of different types of food and …yes! Cheesecake! We went to Cheesecake as part of the RTR running group and to celebrate one of the member’s birthday before heading out to some Salsa dancing

Parking and Seating

Typical of Cheesecake Factory, it is situated at a mall, in this case Southpoint Mall in Durham, NC. I was amazed at how packed the mall was on a Saturday evening at 6pm. I had to park behind the Urban Outfitters waaay waaay in the back since we were already late. Well when we showed up at 6:20pm, the rest of the crew were waiting outside for us and were told the wait was 45-60minutes I couldn’t believe it — this was North CArolina not DC/NoVA/MD! But I guess with the influx of people moving down to the Triangle and poor parking/planning by the state and local counties this is inevitable no matter where you go nowdays in NC. Well to be fair DC/NoVA/MD the wait is 1.5-2 hours on a typical weekend night at any restaurant…Anyways, we hung out near the bar and talked for some time, and when we finally were seated we had to split tables - not a big deal but still a little annoying since we waited about an hour.

Atmosphere

Cheesecake Factory is always the same no matter where you go. One of our party mentioned that it reminded her of Vegas, and I never thought about it but she was right! The decor was very Vegas-ish and typical of what one would see in the casino’s on the main strip. Lighting was good and I always enjoy the atmosphere at Cheesecake, even if the wait and service sucks (more on that).

Service

The waiter sucked. There’s no other way to put it. It took several minutes for him to come over to us, then another several minutes to take our drink order, then another several to bring us bread, then another to bring our drinks to us. I didn’t think he was slammed since I didn’t seem him working too many other tables, but he just took forever, no matter what he was doing. Even our checks too extraordinarily long - I think like 10 minutes for him to ring up three cards! Ridiculous. Don’t ever go to Cheesecake if you are ever in a rush or have any other plans on a weeknight since you’ll probably be there all friggin night long.

Food

I ordered the Crispy Cashew Chicken which was tasty - my old boss from my previous job got me hooked on it when he ordered and I tried some of it. It’s almost like Kung Pao chicken but a little bit more flavorful. Only thing I wish was that there were more cashews on the dish, and could have used more sauce on the chicken - which was maybe a little burnt. Even with those “issues” the dish was still tasty and enjoyed eating the portion that I took home today for lunch. Everyone else liked their dishes, and I swear I have never had a bad meal there. The prices are a little bit higher than other restaurants but the portions are huge so if you are hungry or don’t mind taking home leftovers is not that bad of deal.

Summary

Cheesecake is cheesecake. No matter which one you go to it’s pretty consistent: Extremely long wait times and horrible service. But the food is good, and if you aren’t in a rush it’s quite enjoyable.

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518 West Italian Cafe

518 W Jones St
Raleigh, NC 27603
(919) 829-0248

518 is a few blocks from where I live and always seems to have a good number of people dining but never had a chance to check it out till recently. It is a restaurant that serves your typical Italian-American fare.

Parking and Seating

Parking was not an issue since I walked to the restaurant, however there is valet and parking available for those that travel to Glenwood South. It is near the southernmost end of Glenwood South, almost to Hillsborough Street. Anyways, seating was quick and the place was pretty full by the time we arrived around 9pm (late dinner), and seated the three of us the lower level since the upper was packed.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere of 518 was nice, and reminded me of some other nice, upscale restaurants up in the DC area - the lighting and decor of the restaurant was keeping with the theme of an Italian restaurant and most of the patrons were dressed in business casual or nicer attire (me excluded.) I kept it real by wearing jeans, my Hawaiian punch t-shirt, and my Billabong hoodie.

Service

518 staff were friendly and pleasant enough, but nothing to write home about. We were seated quickly, refills were filled as the waiter had time, and orders/food taken within a few minutes. Only minor complaint is that we had to wait some time after finishing our meals to have the waiter pick up our dishes and bring the check, but overall service was fine.

Food

I ordered the chicken parmigiana and my friends ordered a salad each. The food looked excellent all around, however I felt like the portions were smaller than what I was expecting - especially comparing the prices to dining somewhere like Maggiano’s. I thought the chicken parmigiana was just okay but then again, I’ve rarely eaten Italian food that was “wowed” me. The only places where I was pleasantly surprised with Italian food was in New York and downtown Baltimore.  In fact I’m drooling thinking about it right now….anyways, it’s probably because I like spicier dishes - however it did fill me up for a bit and would like to go back to try another dish.

Summary

518 is a nice place to go if you are looking for an Italian restaurant in downtown, near Glenwood South. The prices were a little high in my opinion for what you get, and the food is your typical Italian-American fare. I definitely would not put this place in my top places to go but if you have never been there before and want to try something new, give it a shot. Maybe I can be convinced this place IS great Italian cuisine.

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So this section will be a review of hopefully many restaurants that I visit. I hope that this is useful for those of you looking for some good eats. Note I am not a professional I just love food. This is the first post!

Moonlight Pizza
(919) 755-9133
615 W Morgan St, Raleigh, NC 27603

Moonlight Pizza is right off Boylan and W.Morgan Street in Raleigh, NC. It is near the heart of downtown Raleigh and about two blocks or so from Glenwood South area. I’ve always driven by it and wondered what it was like on the inside. After a run with RTR, I headed over there with a friend (who had been there before) to get a bite to eat. Yum! There’s nothing like pizza for a post-run meal!

Parking and Seating

It was Wednesday evening around 8pm so wasn’t crowded to say the least when I showed up. I walked in and a sign said to go to the bar to get seated. I waited for about 30 seconds and the wait staff seated me quickly. There were plenty of booths and open spaces at the bar so the latter would be a good option during happy hour(s).

Atmosphere

Moonlight’s decor is very alternative/punkish without trying too hard. For those of you who have been to Lily’s Pizza you’ll know what I’m talking about. The wait staff were very hip looking and everyone was friendly - I noticed one waitress had a sheer-ish shirt where you could there there was probably a very cool tattoo on her back, but I digress. The lighting was dim, but not so dim that you couldn’t see your food and the setup at the booth was great. Chairs were comfortable and I must say that I felt like I was in a cooler pizza joint more likely located in DC or San Francisco. Everything just oozed mellow to me. Maybe it was the post-runners high

Service

As I alluded the wait staff were friendly, attentive, came by and gave us refills at the appropriate times, and couldn’t complain about a single thing. Great job!

Food

The reason you’re reading this review. We ordered the “Four Seasons” pizza (I think that was the name) where they gave you four different kinds of pizza in one pie. Pretty cool! So 1/4 artichoke, 1/4 shrimp, 1/4 mushroom, 1/4 something else. Man I gotta write this down next time so I can give you a better review. Suffice it to say though, I devoured my half of the pizza, which ended up being once slice of each type of pizza. I also ate an extra artichoke slice since my friend wasn’t as hungry as I was. It was most excellent. The toppings were just enough to get flavor and zest. The tomato sauce was excellent, not too sweet, not too salty but just enough to give you that tomato hint with every bite. Even the crust was delicious - not overdone and not too doughy with a slight crunch. One of the best pies I’ve had in awhile.

Summary

Check out Moonlight Pizza on your next stop to downtown Raleigh. The atmosphere is very laid back, the service great, and the pizza excellent.

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So this was my first run outside in awhile. I did a lunch run the other week with the group through downtown raleigh (which will become a scheduled run since it was so enjoyable) - and this was the next longest one that I’ve done since then. It’s been about 10 days or so. Ugh. I am soo out of shape but it felt good to run.

We had a new member come out and I had to give him credit. He ran for the loop (about 2 miles) then was going to throw in the towel - so I ran on and wished him well, but then he kept going afterwards. I completed the 2nd loop, and so not catching up with the group reversed directions and ran into them and the new member! Kudos for him to have the preserverence to keep going.

It was freaking cold tonight so I’m a little worried because 1. I’m still taking antibiotics and getting over my cold and 2. don’t want to get sick again. My left lymph node on my neck is a little tender, and hoping that it does not get worse.

Anyways, foot problems on the left side are gone! I laced that shoe specifically to reduce pressure across the entire top of the foot. I need to do the same with the right foot, because the foot pain reared it’s ugly head again.

Last thing is that I finally remembered to wear my Garmin 305. So I’ll have some data to upload. At some point I should add those graphics to each run…

Anyways, next run is scheduled for Sat, then Sun. I can’t wait till Sat night, RTR has a second event - salsa!

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