1,000 miles

Posted on November 14, 2013 by scoopsontherun

A funny thing happened this year. I ran — a lot.

Back in 2010 I decided to give myself two running goals. The first was to run a sub-10 minute mile and the other was to log 1,000 miles for the year. Neither one happened. But I did run my first marathon so it wasn’t all bad.

I never went back to those two goals. I’m sure they were in the back of my mind but there are a lot of things in the back of mind. Like pondering the existence of shoulder pads and why my mother gave made me wear that horrible purple plaid skirt and cape. Yes, a cape. Most people would be excited about a cape but no not this one. So I on odd days I ponder that. Yes, I can entertain myself for a quite a bit if I go wandering in my brain.

Anyway, running goals.

It turns out this was the year I was setting some goals. Well just one, the big one. That was to get a 19 minute marathon PR. Yup totally got a one hour two minute PR instead. No biggie. But along the way to accomplishing that huge mother fucking PR I accomplished on goal for 2010. I finally ran a sub-10 minute mile. THE!?!

I’m also close to reaching 1,000 miles for the year. I should hit that during Thanksgiving week. So yes, I’ll surpassing that as well.

To give you can idea of how far that is here are some distance points.

  • Huntington, TN is 1,000 miles from NYC.
  • Oakcrest Street, Iowa City, IA is 1,000 miles from NYC.
  • And my favorite, Palm Coast, FL is 1,000 miles from NYC.

Who’s up for a run?

Me!!!

Needless to say I am very excited to see what my final year-end total will be but I’m also excited about the possibilities for the upcoming year.

My first big race will be the Miami Half Marathon. My goodness, I love this race to bits. Even better, is that I’ll be running it with my buddy Doreen. Maybe this will be the year that Gloria Estefan will lift the restraining order and let me see her and maybe live with her.

I also finally think I can make the NYC Half Marathon a big goal race. I’ve tried to do that in the past with little luck but I really do think that is going to be my year for it. I love this race so much that I just want to kick it’s ass.

I’m still debating about doing a spring marathon but training in winter is really freaking me out. I was thinking about either the half or full marathon in Vancouver in May but the jury is still out on that one.

It really is fun to just let go and have all of these great things happen. We tend to focus so much on our goals that we forget to just let go. Of course, that doesn’t mean you stop working towards them but it’s not rocket science that when you stress out about something it can just make things worse.

So my new goal is to PR in celebrating these milestones and using that to push into the new year.

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Post-Marathon Recovery

Posted on November 7, 2013 by scoopsontherun

There is a ton of advice on post-marathon recovery. I know this because I’ve posted some of them on my Pinterest page. Have I actually followed any of them? Yes and no. I’ve got the rest part down pretty well.

My post-marathon recovery doesn’t exactly follow any prescribed plan, I just go with what feels right then look forward to when things will feel even better.

My suggestions are as follows:

1. Rest – You ran a marathon. Just chill a bit.

2. Stretch and Foam Roll – OK, my post-race stretching mostly involved me bending over to look for the compression sleeves I forgot to put in checked bag. But I did sort of feel something in my back and hamstrings.

If you foam roll plan on one of the following. 1) Bring a pillow and blanket because you may not be able to get up off the floor. 2) Actually have someone near by so they can assist you in getting off the floor. 3) Plan on a couple of hours to actually get off the floor if no one is around. At least no one will hear you cry.

Argyle compression socks, comfy and stylish!

Argyle compression socks, comfy and stylish!

3. Alcohol Consumption Can Now Resume As Normal – Most marathoners I know cut back to no alcohol the week of the marathon. It’s over you can consume as much wine and margarita’s as you want (just don’t drive!) I have five days to make up for!

4. You Can Wear Compression Socks to Work! – I recommend argyle ones.

5. You Can Eat a Lot of Food – Well, within reason. The day after the marathon I had two breakfasts and two lunches. Best day ever! The next day it was down to one breakfast and one lunch, but I had two Crumbnuts for Crumbs. Today was back to normal food consumption.

6. Napping is Good – The day after the marathon I took two naps during the day. I also took the day off. On Tuesday, I reserved the quiet room at work and took a brief 15 minute nap. Best day ever!

7. You Can Sleep In! – I run in the morning before work and this rest thing is nice (See rule number 1). So that means I have been getting up a little before 6:00 am instead of 4:30 am.

8. You Can Run Again After You Rest! – After four days of sleeping in and the achy legs feeling better I can finally go our for a slow and easy run! So, so excited about this.

In all seriousness, be smart about your recovery. You don’t have to follow all that crap I posted on Pinterest or here, although I do recommend the drinking part, but only if you are a happy drunk. But really, your body will appreciate the rest and relaxation.

Recover on, my friends.

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Someone Who Believes In You

Posted on November 5, 2013 by scoopsontherun

Yes, the title of this blog post is a title of an Air Supply song. Two things I just did there: 1) I revealed my age group and 2) I solidified my dorkiness.

As all long distance runners know, when we make this commitment to run and train for a marathon we are not the only ones making that commitment. Our families and friends also make that commitment whether they want to or not. Hopefully, most of them want to.

So much of running can be a solitary sport but we cannot get there without any of the support of these individuals and being able to share our accomplishments with them is absolute joy.

This past year has been so amazing for me. I set some goals and had a panic attack (or about 25 of them), I worked hard and had fewer panic attacks, then I got faster and had a lot more panic attacks, and finally I got a new goal for my marathon from my coach and had a major panic attack. I think I set a lot of PRs in both racing and panic attacks this year.

I posted my goals on Instagram and Twitter. Black and white makes it seem more dramatic.

I posted my goals on Instagram and Twitter. Black and white makes it seem more dramatic.

Amazingly, the few days before the marathon were good. I was able to focus and get my game face in place and stopped doubting my goals. I even, which is rare for me, told tons of people what my “A” goal was. When I began the training only one other person new what my goal was.

At one point before going into the starting corral I even said it was a beautiful day for a race. That was when the sun was shining. Then we started the race and there was wind, a lot of wind. And then it spritzed a bit, and there was more wind.

Two things I forgot to do for the race: 1) I forgot my pace band. It wasn’t a biggie, I was at least able to recreate it on my iPhone and at least remember a couple of the key times. One was for the halfway point and the other for reaching mile 24 (more on that later). 2) I forgot to turn off the auto-pause on my Garmin. This meant that whenever I slowed down significantly my Garmin paused. So I had no idea what my actual time and pace were.

Physically, I felt good for most of the race. My legs started to hurt just passed mile 20. After a brief pause to put some BioFreeze on them and stretch they were ok. Mentally, the wind was starting to take it’s toll and just about got the best of me at mile 23.

For those who may not know, the 5th Avenue portion of the race is mostly up hill. Combine that with the normal fatigue from running a marathon and strong gusts of wind. I was so tired of the wind that I was almost brought to tears by it. But I just kept thinking about mile 24. I had to get there and see my friends, one in particular who was going to make sure I felt her strength.

At that point my tunnel vision kicked in and all I could think about was just finding Doreen. When I did find her I sort of just crashed landed into her arms. She and another friend, Tara, knew I was all over the pace emotionally when I got to them. They got me moving again and ran with me for about a quarter of a mile. With their help I was able to get my focus back where it had to be and finish strong.

I PR’d by one hour and two minutes, beating my “A” goal. This was the race of a lifetime.

I didn’t just have one person who believed in me, I had a lot. They jumped on my crazy train and took the ride with me.

Completing something this challenging is incredibly rewarding but the fact that I got to share this with some wonderful people was even more rewarding.

The realization of what I have accomplished is finally beginning to sink in and I can now fully appreciate it and keep my perma-grin going for a bit. I’m going to try and ride that high for bit and spread it to a few others who can use that right now.

I’m also going to rest a bit and let my body recover. I’ve got the Miami Half coming up on February 2 but haven’t set any goals for that yet beyond having a great time. I don’t know if I’m going to do a spring marathon or not. But I am thinking sub-five hours for my next one. Come on, if I can get over a one hour PR, 12 minutes should be a piece of cake right?

But again, there is time for that. Now I get to thank everyone who supported me and I plan to PR in that too.

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Healing Process

Posted on October 30, 2013 by scoopsontherun

I have often said that running helps me maintain the status quo on the normal days, helps me celebrate the really good days, and helps me heal on the really bad days.

Runners are also pretty darn good at creating community. Whether it’s as part of a running club, a small group of friends, or just coming together as a whole to support others in need like we did for Staten Island after Super Storm Sandy and the Boston Marathon bombings. There is a desire to be there and support each other and that has been one of the things that has always amazed me about our running community.

This past weekend a dear friend of mine, and fellow runner, lost her mother. We were running together when the first phone call came in. I stayed with her the whole day to make sure that she did not have to go through this alone. I wanted to try to give her as much strength as I possibly could on one of the most difficult days of her life.

It is probably one of the hardest parts about being a friend of someone who has just lost someone so dear to them. You worry that your words of support aren’t enough or aren’t what they need to hear. You worry that your hugs don’t come often enough, or are strong enough, or long enough. As much as you want to take away their pain you also know they have to experience it and that hurts you almost as much as their loss.

So we do what we can. We give them those words of support, you hug them often, and strong, and don’t let go. You let them cry on you and you cry with them. You tell them you love them and pray that their healing process happens at the best pace that they need it to happen. You also try to honor the memory of the person they lost.

That is what I did for the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff, my sanitized race recap is here. What I left out and maybe I should have or should not have is that I dedicated that race to my friend and her mother. It was a beautiful day, I was running, and my friend’s mother’s favorite color was powder blue, my new starting corral color. It just seemed like I had to do that for them.

I thought about them both during most of the race and I believe because of that I never felt tired and that they helped me get that new PR. I was never more emotional about a PR and then to have the chance to tell my friend about it because I knew she would understand that it was coming from my heart.

Running a marathon is hard, if it weren’t everyone would be doing it. It is also the perfect metaphor for so many things in life and yes, in particular the health battle that my friend’s mother went through and what my friend went though in caring for her. Marathons are also emotional for many of us and that is why I always dedicate some miles to people I’ve lost and to the people who are near and dear to me. This year I will be adding two more names to my list — Doreen and Effie. I haven’t decided which miles they will get, I’ll most likely ask Doreen to choose, but whichever ones they are I want those two miles to be my strongest.

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Do I Belong Here?

Posted on October 28, 2013 by scoopsontherun

It has been an amazing summer and fall and as I sit here trying not to get too excited about the NYC Marathon on Sunday I can’t help but look back on how much has changed since the Brooklyn Half.

Let’s do a quick review. I had wanted to have a huge race for the Brooklyn Half Marathon in May. It was my 15th half marathon and also the location of the first half marathon I ever ran. I wanted that half marathon PR. But the training didn’t go all that well and of course the PR never happened. It did, however, serve as a great wake up call. I knew I had to get focused. So I did the Runner’s World Run Streak Challenge and got back into running consistently. I cam up with a proper nutrition plan and dreamed of hiring a personal trainer.

Slowly things started to improve. I never knew my love for running could get even bigger than it was. I am running so much better and since the beginning of July I have PR’d in every distance except for the 3 mile (I only run one of those every May), 5k (haven’t run one recently), and the marathon (that baby is next week).

I have gotten faster and earned myself a new starting corral for NYRR races. I may have to change this blog’s tag line from “I may not run fast, but I do run” to something else soon. Right now I’m thinking along the lines of “Holy crap, I’m in the powder blue corral now!”

My new average pace is based on my NYRR 5th Avenue Mile result. The funny thing is that I had told myself not to race that because I had to add on 12 extra miles after that. But, thankfully, I didn’t listen to myself or anyone else for that matter.

The Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff 5 Miler in Central Park was the first race I got my new bib. I leapfrogged from back of the pack, over the pink corral, and smack dab into the powder blue corral. As excited as I was for that I was really nervous and worried. I wasn’t sure I belonged there. Yes, I ran a fast mile but this was a five mile race. Could I maintain that pace and not feel like I was being passed by everyone and even worse feel like an imposter.

At first, I was going to start in the pink corral but then decided to start in the powder blue corral but near the back. I met some friends, also in the corral, and started to feel better about being there. When the race started, I was feeling good and keeping up with the people in my corral and even started to pass some of them. The amazing thing was that I never felt as though I was pushing myself really hard and I ended up with yet another PR.

My splits for the race showed a couple of fast miles but an overall steady pace that confirmed I did indeed belong with this group of powder blue corral people. Sometimes, we just need those little confidence boosters to confirm what we already know. This also gave me the final confirmation that my marathon goal time is correct and that I can maintain that pace. This is an amazing feeling.

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So That Happened

Posted on October 14, 2013 by scoopsontherun

This weekend was just supposed to be about my 20 mile long run. Get through that 20 miler and then my taper can begin. The one problem was that I also had to run the Staten Island Half Marathon in order to get my guaranteed entry into the NYC Half in March.

Some nice race bling. Also, it's hard to run seven extra miles with a medal in your pocket. (c) Stacey Cooper

Some nice race bling. Also, it’s hard to run seven extra miles with a medal in your pocket. (c) Stacey Cooper

I told myself I wasn’t going to race it, after all I got my half marathon PR last week. Really, I didn’t race it. I ran it at a comfortable pace. I never felt out of breath or that I was pushing myself like I did last week. Well, wouldn’t you know it I got another PR. Took off close to another two minutes.

The original PR that I had been trying to beat for the past year and half was set in 2009 in Philadelphia, a mostly flat and fast course. I still take exception to this with that giant hill around mile nine, that thing just hurt.

Anyway, as you know it took me a year and half to beat that almost four year PR and just one week to beat this new one. Funny how that just works out like that. I was starting to obsess  over that number and sure enough when it was no longer an issue a new PR just happened.

That’s the attitude I’m trying to take with me as I enter my taper and make my final preparations for this year’s marathon. I’m fairly confident that I’ll get a PR but it’s just a matter of what that final time will be. I am NOT going to have panic attack thinking about my “A” goal. No, I won’t. Of course, that’s what I say now.

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Shattered

Posted on October 12, 2013 by scoopsontherun

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while you know that I one of my goals for the past year and half has been to get a new PR for the half marathon. There huge disappointments and some close calls and that magic number was beginning to haunt me. I was hoping that I would finally get it during the Brooklyn Half Marathon but it didn’t happen.

Without any other half marathons planned before my marathon training began I honestly thought I would go another year without achieving this goal. I tried really hard to let it go even though I would have one half during marathon training where I didn’t have to add any extra miles on from my long run. But it would be in between my two 20 mile long runs and take place in Central Park, a very difficult course to get a PR on.

But that thought of a PR was hanging out in the back of my mind and as I saw my pace improving almost every week it started demanding some serious thought. Before I gave it my full attention I decided to check in with my former coach, Jim.

I am probably the only runner who has a panic attack because they are running faster. I wrote a rambling email about how my pace was improving a lot and how I’ve been running all of my long runs at a comfortable conversational pace but I’m getting faster. What do I do?

Jim was there at the beginning of my new running life. He knows my history and my general pace and I trust his running knowledge immensely. If Jim says I can run a certain pace then I know I can. He came back with a new marathon pace. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. If I can run that pace for the marathon it will give me a one hour PR. WHAT THE!?!

For the rest of the day I went back and forth between a panic attack and overall excitement about the new possibilities. One of which was that half marathon PR. If I ran the goal pace for my full marathon during the half I would have a PR. Since I had to run a bunch of these miles at marathon pace any way why not go for it.

So that was the plan — go for the PR. But I also had to be smart. Yes, I would go for the PR but if it felt too strenuous I knew I would need to ease back a bit. This was a long run after all.

Race day came and the weather was cool but it was humid. This might put a wrinkle in my plans. But I took off and maintained a comfortable pace for the start that ended up being faster than my marathon goal pace. I tried to stay in a comfort zone but maintain that pace, I still had to make it up the Harlem Hills and run this loop twice. The only time I slowed down was after I got up and over both Harlem Hills. I was then able to make up that time going down Cat Hill and through the south end of the park where my teammates from my running club were cheering.

My second loop was a little slower but still under my marathon goal pace. My clothes were now soaked through and it was getting harder. I decided to keep pushing on and again made it over the Harlem Hills with a decent time. I slowed down again after getting to the top and pushed the pace again when I ran down Cat Hill. Things were getting harder but I kept pushing. I knew if I kept my current pace I would get that PR.

One more trip by my teammates and I knew I was in the home stretch. Slowing down was no longer an option. This race finishes in front of Tavern on the Green and as anyone who runs regularly knows there is a final climb before the finish. That final climb was hard but I made it and yes, I got that PR by two minutes!

It was one of those races you dream of. I left it all out on the course. I pushed hard when I could have easily slowed my pace and I achieved this huge goal that at the beginning of the summer seemed like it would never happen.

I’ve learned so much about myself during this season of marathon training and I am incredibly happy about everything that I have achieved to date. I’ve got a new goal time for the marathon and with  my last 20 mile long run tomorrow I’m excited about what I can accomplish in the marathon this year. No matter if I finish with my original goal are hit the new goal they will both be significant PRs and that was what I wanted to accomplish.

In case you forgot, I am also raising money for The Trevor Project. Please help me reach my goal.

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Just Call Me Speedy Gonzalez

Posted on September 24, 2013 by scoopsontherun

I have found some speed in these old legs of mine and I kind of like it!

When I started this round of marathon training I set some goals — aside from just finishing. Setting a time goal was huge for me but I knew that in order to accomplish that I needed to get other things in order. After all, these things just don’t happen on their own even though it would be nice if they did.

I new I need to run better and more consistently and that part has been met. I knew I needed to get on the right track nutritionally and that has been met with 20 fewer pounds of me out on the roads. I knew I needed to get some strength training. That has happened three times. So, while that hasn’t been met I’m fully aware of the need and plan on focusing on that after the marathon.

Meeting these goals has allowed me to get faster. I now can say that I am running faster as a 41 year-old than I have the rest of my adult life post-college. That just blows my mind away. I have a new faster average pace with New York Road Runners and PR’d in my last three races, Autism 4 miler and the 18 mile Tune-Up in Central Park, and a nice 10k on Roosevelt Island this past weekend. I’m not talking little PRs either. I’m talking PR’d by minutes. I also ran the NYRR Fifth Avenue Mile this weekend for the first time and was able to run it fast like a respectably I’m not a slow runner fast.

This faster pace is also following me on my long runs. If you are a marathoner, you know that we are supposed to run our long runs a minute to two minutes slower than our race pace. But what happened when your pace improves and you are no longer sure what your race pace is? You don’t exactly want to burn out and run the long runs too fast which causes you to have nothing left for your marathon.

What I have been doing is running them and what feels like a comfortable conversational pace. So far this is has been working. I’m not feeling any worse after a long than I have in previous years. They’re hard when you sort of expect them to be but I’m recovering from them as I should be. Of course the real test will be this weekend when I have my first 20 mile long run. The first 10 will be a part of a race (must force myself not to actually race) and the second I still have to figure out where I am going to continue that run.

At this point I don’t have any plans to change my goal time for the marathon. When I first thought about the overall time I knew it would be a challenge but doable if I put in the work. It would still be a huge PR, if I’m able to run faster than I had originally planned then it will be even bigger and even better. I can live with that!

I’m currently debating about doing the Vancouver Marathon in May 2014. It’s a smaller marathon that is capped at 5,000 runners. Way smaller than NYC by about 40,000. Yikes! But they course is open for a long time. I’m just sure how much crowd support there will be. Always a concern when you are bit more int he back of the pack. I think I have time to wait and see what my NYC time will be before this one fills up.

If anything, this new found speed is certainly serving as the motivation to keep doing what I am doing. It’s working and that is very excicitng.

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With a Little Help From My Friends

Posted on September 14, 2013 by scoopsontherun

Running in general is a solitary sport, we know this and often enjoy that aspect of it. But sometimes having that little extra support can carry through some of those challenging miles.

Last weekend was my first scary mileage weekend with eight miles on Saturday and 17 on Sunday. Remember when I was having all those panic attacks about running all those crazy miles? Well looking ahead on my training plan is gave me those panic attacks. It was no longer about looking at the training plan but actually running those miles. GULP.

New York Road Runners had a team points race on Saturday and I have been trying to run in most of those races this year which meant adding on the four miles to this four mile race. I decided to head into NYC before the race to get them in and not worry about actually racing. Then something odd happened. I just felt really relaxed after the first four miles and when I crossed the starting line I began to pick up my pace.

I started thinking that there was a slight possibility for a new PR after the first mile but I knew I would have to keep up a consistent pace. Thankfully, the men’s race had an earlier start and many of the guys from my running club, Front Runners New York, were all along the sidelines cheering us on. I was able to pick up my pace each and every time I heard a group of them cheering me on. It was Tim and Chris at the four mile mike who reminded to start kicking it for the last mile and then the larger group of men about 200 yards from the finish that really got me to kick up yet another notch to the finish. Yup, I got my PR (one whole minute!) and celebrated with the rest of the women from my team at the finish.

While Saturday was great I knew Sunday was going to be hard. Sticking with my go to long run along the Hudson Greenway I was feeling pretty good but I knew mentally I was going to have a hard time as I passed the South Street Seaport heading uptown on the Eastside for a bit. That was when my friend Cenk came up from behind me. We hadn’t seen each other in while so the brief time we ran together was a nice way to forget that I was running through a section that I always have trouble with. I used that to get me through my turnaround spot to head to back uptown along the Westside again.

Of course, nothing is easy and when I hit the 11 mile mark I hit headwinds off the Hudson. Lovely. I knew these next six miles were going to be tough but I stayed focused and tried to pick people off or at least stay close to them along the way. When I was approaching 54th St. I saw this one guy ahead of me who looked to be running my pace. At this point I had about 2.5 miles to go. I was eventually able to catch up to him and then we started pass each other on regular intervals. As we approached 72nd street he caught up to me again and asked if we could run some miles together. I had about a mile to go and he had four, yikes. And that is how I met Jake.

For the next mile, usually the hardest for me, we chatted about our previous marathons, our goal times, our training, and future marathon plans. Before I knew it I was done with my mile. I sent Jake on his way for his final three miles with words of encouragement and felt great that I got through my long run.

It’s nice to know that you can count on the people who know to help you out on these long runs and incredibly pleasant to meet knew people who can help you out just as much. This is why I love runners.

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Not Dead…Yet

Posted on September 3, 2013 by scoopsontherun

When I decided to use Hal Higdon’s intermediate marathon training plan I thought, “This is going to kill me.” But I knew that in order to challenge myself and attempt to accomplish the goals I set for myself that I had to make this switch.

When I entered the plan into my calendar on my Mac I thought, “This is going to kill me.”

If I die on a long run you can bury me in my Asics here at this cemetery in Westchester County. Another option, again with my Asics, is to cremate me and spread my ashes in the Hudson River by the South Cove Park by Battery Park. (c) Stacey Cooper

If I die on a long run you can bury me in my Asics here at this cemetery in Westchester County. Another option, again with my Asics, is to cremate me and spread my ashes in the Hudson River off South Cove Park by Battery Park. (c) Stacey Cooper

When I actually started training and doing those back to back runs on the weekend I thought, “I am going to die running.”

Well, half way through and I’m not dead…yet. I still have these thoughts that it will happen as I now enter the high mileage of the plan. There are those two 20 mile long runs on the horizon but I can also see the end of the plan that brings me to the starting of this year’s NYC Marathon.

Partly because of the new training plan I have been faithful in sticking with the plan. One of the downsides of using a plan you are familiar with from year to year is that you know exactly where you can cheat. I don’t want to cheat on this plan. If I am to accomplish my goals I have to put in the work and that means all of it. I ran total of 130.78 miles in the month of August, the most I have ever run in an entire month. My total for September, if all goes well, will be 199 miles. I’m tempted to add an extra mile to make it an even 200.

I’ve done all the speed work, tempo runs, and hill work and I’m still alive. Sure I’ve been tired and the week before I step down week in mileage I have felt the heavy sore legs in desperate need of those easy miles. But amazingly have felt incredibly refreshed and ready for the next challenge this plan will bring and for me that will be my upcoming long runs.

So far I have tried to keep an steady pace for all of mile splits. For each of the long runs I have had where I have felt really good I have managed to run those about 40 to 50 seconds faster than my marathon goal pace. While that’s not necessarily what you want to do on a long run (they should actually be slower than marathon pace) I’m not actually concerned about it. One, because I have felt good after each of those runs and two, because I was able to maintain the pace through out the run. On the one bad long run I’ve had that was only 10 seconds slower than my marathon goal pace and considering how bad that run was I will take that in a heartbeat.

So no, this plan has not killed me and I’m still excited about my training and the marathon which is a tremendous feeling to have at this point in the schedule. My next long runs for the rest of the month will be 17, 18, 13 (step down week!), 20, and 12 miles (yay step down week!). If I can maintain the current pace I’ve been running these long runs at I will be ecstatic.

But if I do happen to die on a long run please bury me in my Asics.

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