RunnersDrinkBeer.com

As I stared blankly out the window of the office from the 7th floor here in Addison, TX, I realize how much we all take things for granted. Sometimes we whine and complain about our job, how boring it is, the commute, etc, all not realizing that there are 50 other people ready to step into our shoes and gladly take our job. Folks that are looking for another opportunity or even just a job. There’s an old saying about celebrities – for every 1,000 people who would kill to be with that person, there’s one person sick and tired of (currently) being with that person.

I take a look again out the window and marvel at how lucky I am. I look to my right and see my girlfriend’s apartment patio. Look a little bit to the left and I see the Taste of Addison being setup feverishly, with 18 wheelers dropping off supplies and crews quickly assembling carnival rides, food stands, bringing in equipment and food, etc. I look a little bit further to my left and get to enjoy the views of aircraft taking off and landing from Addison Airport all day long. Look hard enough in the distance, and the tall buildings in downtown Dallas are visible, barely, through a thick haze of city smog and pollution. A little bit further to the left and a view of the Tollway. So on and so forth.

The entire 7th floor of our building was completely taken down to the concrete floor and ceiling rafters, and built brand new from the ground up. Wide open eye level cubes provide an open concept agency type feel. Free food and coffee are plentiful in the break rooms. It’s a sleepy fat person’s dream to work here! Brand new furniture, projectors, wide screen TV’s adorn every meeting room. I get to work for one of the most well known companies in the world, and wonder sometimes if the grass is greener on the otherside.

Continue reading

I was recently asked to accept and review the Motorola MOTOACTV Fitness Tracker. It’s an all in one GPS fitness tracker + music player, designed to learn how you workout and update/set a playlist to push/motivate you. For more/complete information, see Motorola’s MOTOACTV device page: http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/US-EN/Consumer-Product-and-Services/MOTOACTV/MOTOACTV/MOTOACTV-US-EN

To be upfront and transparent about this review: I did not pay for the device – it was sent to be put through it’s paces and reviewed honestly via a blog. This is not a paid review – I did not receive compensation to write this. I was asked to be upfront about this information when writing, and to give my honest constructive criticism of the device, and as-such, will do so accordingly. These are my opinions and don’t necessarily reflect RDB’s approval or disapproval of the device or of Motorola. I’d advise you take all reviews from other sources into account before considering the purchase of this device.

Now that I got all that mumbo jumbo out of the way, (sorry for sounding like a robot) I can get to the review. It has an advantage in that Motorola is already a well established brand in all parts of the world. Short of lugging around your Android/iPhone, how many other devices can truly track via GPS while also doubling as a music player? While a perk for some, the gold standard hands down in GPS fitness trackers is Garmin. With a robust lineup of multi-sport watches (including the venerable 205/305) with various features, it has big shoes to fill if it hopes to compete with the big boys.

Part 1 is my initial thoughts on the device, from packaging, setup, to a week’s worth of use. I have not tested out the music playing piece of the device yet, so that will come in Part 2, along with additional weeks of data from actual usage of the device.

Presentation – 9 out of 10

I’m an old school nerd/IT guy. I’ve bought my countless share of computer products, software, etc, all with flimsy ass boxes and not a lot of care or attention to the presentation of the device or the packaging. Fast forward to 2012…that’s probably the opposite. The glitz and glam of the package is half of the consumer experience, as something Steve Jobs harped on. Shiny, edge-y packaging designed to entice and be a part of the overall consumer experience. The Motorola MOTOACTV is no different. It came in this beautiful, faux leather feel box. Simple and clean design.

Opening the box yielded the device in all it’s glory, with some quick start manuals, a power cord/charger, headphones, and additional earbuds on the bottom of the case. The packaging itself matched the theme of the device – simple, black, and red.

(On another note – I apologize for not having pictures!)

Form/Function – 10 out of 10

The design of the device is simple in itself – imagine the newest gen iPod Nano, slightly bigger but keeping the same square shape. Corning Gorilla Glass is used for scratch resistance. It has a few buttons – Workout/Music on top, Volume Up/Down and Power on the right, Headphone jack on the bottom, Mini-USB port on the left, and a back button on the front face. Overall, very slick looking device, easy to actually use. Mine came with the belt clip already attached, and in a separate box, the sports watch strap.I think it’s a simple device that almost anyone can pickup and use.

Accessories/Out of the Box Usability – 5 out of 10

I’m a little confused as to what/how Motorola deems as additional accessories. On the website, it lists out both the belt clip and watch strap as completely separate components @ $19.99 and $29.99 each, respectively. (Even though they were included with mine – the belt clip was already attached, and the watch strap was in a separate box) The watch strap is currently free for a limited time – I guess I don’t understand who they are marketing the watch to, and how they expect the users to use it straight out of the box if you can’t attach it to your body in some manner without shelling out more cash.

Every GPS device used for running or fitness in general tends to be worn on the wrist, correct? The key here is “Free for a limited time” on their website – after the promotional period after launch, everyone else has to shell out $30 for it? The majority of the publicity and/or gallery shots also shows it worn on the wrist with the watch strap. I see this being a bit mis-leading to the average consumer who sees it and thinks “Ok cool it comes with the watch strap too”.

Another thing that bugs me is that it lists out heart rate tracking…but that’s only available via a $69.99 accessory add-on for the HRM strap, or another ANT+ compatible strap. The device itself is already $249.99. My perception is that the user is being nickel and dimed. It’s nice to have the option to purchase additional items…but for the users and demographics of who you are targeting – it doesn’t make any sense to not package it together.

Clarify for the consumer what they should truly expect in the box and using the device.

Software Setup – 2 out of 10

The quick start guide simply said “Plug in your new MOTOACTV device and setup your MotoCast ID.” I plugged it into my computer, let it install a bunch of device drivers…and nothing. I got the normal Windows Explorer pop-up that you get when you plug in a new device, but nothing that stood out that said “Click me!”. I tried viewing the files using Explorer but nothing stood out as the key to setting up the device.

I poured through the quick start guide but nothing in there gave any direction as to what to do. I rebooted, twice, with no avail. I was not a happy camper at this point. Finally, I opened up My Computer and saw this new disk drive that said “MOTOACTV” – double clicking on that started the installation process. (For the record, running Windows 7 Premium – no other security processes running that would have inhibited anything from popping up)

Note – the official process/instructions are available online to view, but you have to navigate to Motorola’s website –> MOTOACTV –> Get Help –> etc to find it. For the love of beer, please put some clearer instructions on how to setup in your quick start guide if you are not going to include the full instruction manual in the box.

Then came yet more frustration – trying to install the MOTOACTV software and setting up a MotoCast ID to sync the data online. The setup process kept saying there was no internet connection, which was not true. I was on Facebook, checking email, and even tried watching a quick video on YouTube. I rebooted, same error message. I unplugged it and started the installation process over again – finally on the 3rd try did it finally install.

After that, the process was relatively painless. I was surprised in that it imported my iTunes playlist and music without issue – I was worried at first about compatibility, but it imported everything over without a hitch.

My general summary for the install process is to fire your marketing dept for wanting to keep the packaging simple and clean, and to save $1.30 by not including a full user manual. If you don’t include one, make your damn quick start guide a bit more detailed to help out the general user. For the installation of the program – it errored out on me on my work PC as well. I don’t know if maybe my unit has faulty setup software, but the initial install process took over an hour. That’s beyond plug and play/simple.

GPS – Run Tracking - 2 out of 10

I debated on how to truly score this one. Granted, at this point I’ve only taken it on 4 runs, but when 50% of the runs end up in not being able to use the device – I think that speaks for itself. I’ve wanted to compare both the tracking and data output to my Garmin so for comparison, I’ve worn my Garmin 305 on my left wrist, and my MOTOACTV on my right wrist.

Thursday, 3/29 – casual 5 mile run around the block. No cloud cover

Garmin: 30 seconds to find satellite signal, overall reading: 5 miles at 47:51

MOTOACTV: 7 seconds to find satellite signal, overall reading: 5 miles at 47:51

Overall on a lap over lap basis, it was a slightly off each mile. One mile was 10 seconds faster on the M vs the G, then 5 seconds faster, then 5 seconds slower, then 10 seconds slower. The overall net result was the same. The 5-10 second variation either way is well within the standard deviation – certainly not anything to be concerned about.

Friday, 3/30 – easy 4 mile run. Cloud cover, rain approaching

Garmin: 20 seconds to find satellite signal

MOTOACTV: did not find satellite. I spent 5 minutes standing still and it would not find a signal. It has a standard 4 minute countdown to find a signal before it errors out. I tried again and waited another minute – nothing. About 1/4 mile into my run it finally found a signal. To me, that’s just a general failure – it serves no purpose if you can’t find a signal/utilize the device for it’s intended purpose.

Saturday, 3/31 – 12 mile long run, limited cloud cover

Garmin: 2 minutes to find satellite, 12 miles @ 1:56:09

MOTOACTV: 20 seconds to find satellite, 12.1 miles @ 1:56:06

It worked well this day. I chalk the variance in distance to be the error of the Garmin – my GF ran and showed 12 miles at 1:55 and change.

Monday, 4/2 – easy 5 miles, no cloud cover

Garmin: 26 seconds to find satellite

MOTOACTV: could not locate satellite

Again, same issue. Running the same route, turned it on in the same position as Thursday/Friday’s runs. I tried standing still and even walked around in the clear to try to find a signal.

My overall thoughts on the device up to this point: it’s form over function. I think there’s still some bugs/kinks to be worked out. I can’t explain why it can find a satellite in under 20 seconds on two different days, and then errors out finding a signal on two other days. My Garmin found a signal all 4 days. I tried standing still, I tried walking, I was in the clear all 4 times. I can’t consider the device to be dependable or even usable as a “GPS fitness tracker” if you can’t provide the primary function it was designed for 50% of the time. Period.

Another gripe is the way the data displays. The watch shows an average readout at a particular point in time by calculating distance traveled during a certain duration of time. The Garmin has the option (on by default) of averaging several points in time to show an average/trend in your pace, vs each individual point in time. The MOTOACTV does not have that option. It shows the individual points in time.

IE, if you are running an average of a 9 minute mile, but through satellite variance/points in time show you are running a 8:30 or a 9:30, it will display that 8:30 and 9:30 to you. It’s a bit confusing to the average runner who might only occasionally glance down at their screen to see that they think they’re running way too fast. (If you have a Garmin and ever see your Max Pace in your history – that’s an example of the data collection – normally on avg, I’ll see my Max Pace about a minute per mile faster than the average pace, even if I know/don’t think I ever hit that point)

It’s really better to show the trend/average of what you are running vs the extreme points on either side. (Imagine a trend line in a typical line chart – if you have a thousand points on the chart, with 5% being on the extreme either positive or negative – you only really care about the trend line which is the overall average through time) I did not see an option to change that data display on the MOTOACTV – there was an option to delay refreshing the data, but that refreshed the entire screen, not the GPS data collection points)

One last gripe is the battery life – for those two runs totaling less than 2 hours 40 minutes – the battery life is now at 50%. My Garmin is still at 4 full bars. Granted, during those runs I had the screen on but dimmed, since the runs were during early morning hours, but I’d hate to imagine what the battery life is like when you’re also listening to music. The default option out of the box is screen on but dimmed.

This is just one man’s opinion on the MOTOACTV. I’m open to suggestions, tips, etc on how to improve it – I know there is a software update available, but for battery life testing, have yet to plug it back in to try to charge it or update it. Part 2 of the review will be additional weeks of running testing, some tweaks, and the music player. I had high hopes for the device and still do – perhaps some firmware updates can iron out the bugs I’m currently experiencing.

This review as a whole was fairly negative, unfortunately. It’s not to say the MOTOACTV is a bad device – maybe I just got a lemon or a faulty device. I’d consider all reviews as a whole if you are making a decision to purchase it, but this was an honest review of my experience with the device as a whole to this point. More to come after a few more weeks of use!

- Melvin

Fresh off our first unofficial volunteering at a race, I wanted to get my thoughts out there in regards to the beer station we put on at RnR Dallas.

There was some good, some bad, some ugly. Let’s start it off on a positive note with the good!

We had a very good response from our members in coming out to volunteer. I cannot begin to thank everyone enough for coming out to support not only the runners, but our station and helping with everything from decorating, setup, the actual pouring/handing out/cheering, to clean-up. I’ll call out all our volunteers: (this is from memory – if I left anyone out, please let me know!)

Will Tarrant, Emily Willemin, Mel Kincaid, Catherine Burdette, Kurt Cimino, Teresa & Kendra Tellinghuisen, Kurt Pennington, Norman Mah, Anil Devagowda, Jerry Elliott – all these folks were instrumental in the setup and execution, and being some of the loudest folks in our cheering section. Emily and Will actually got there before myself and got a lot done before I was able to assist, so thank you! Emily also brought a rake, which made cleanup super fast/efficient. (Something she’s obviously done before, a miss on my part)

Brent Yost and Michael Farrell from WRRC – White Rock Running Co-op. These two guys were instrumental in our overall execution and were hands on in getting folks beers – Brent was even kind enough to lend some of his own beers when we ran out.

The WRRC, for background, is a volunteer running community in Dallas that is driven completely by the love for running – each water stop, route, pace group, etc is done by runners such as Brent and Michael who want to train with like minded individuals who motivate others to succeed.

We have a lot of people ask about normal group runs – I always point them to WRRC for that reason. There’s no point in trying to compete or setup my own runs when Chris Stratton and his team do such a great job with the grassroots running community here in Dallas, with credit going to others like Brent/Michael. (Other volunteers also belong to WRRC and/or other groups, but I attribute them to the WRRC culture the most)

Dianna & Brian Capen, Stefanie Wilson, Stacey London – these great folks are the internal cogs behind the RDB events. The planners, the executors, the finances behind events. RDB doesn’t make money – we’re strictly a volunteer/for fun group. A lot of things end up coming out of our own pockets, but we’re happy to do it for the simple fact that we like and want others to have fun.The opportunity exists for fundraisers, corporate sponsors, etc, but for various reasons, things like this generally come out of our own “for fun” budget.

Running is serious business and a lot of time/effort. RDB came about to see the “fun” side of runners – we all have lives outside of running – why not get to know each other through happy hours, etc? I owe most if not all the credit for the fun nature, the ideas, and the logistics to these fine folks.

Thank you to each and every one of the members mentioned above! They also came up with some creative and funny signs for the runners. Overall – it went very well. It was to be expected that the elites and generally “fast” runners in the community did not partake – it was exciting to see these folks running by at 5-6 minute miles, just smiling as we cheered them on. We got to see a lot of folks that we know – too many to name here, but they’re generally well known within our community. Finally, some folks started taking beers, and it came fast and furious from there until we ran out. (I had to stop taking pictures to assist, but was more than happy to. Unfortunately, I did not get a lot of the pictures I wanted to of all the different pace groups and runners)

Our volunteers did an excellent job filling beers, handing out, and overall providing an electric atmosphere for the runners running by. Even if you are feeling like death, running by someone cheering you giving you high fives always perks you up/gives you that extra little boost. Our group did an excellent job with that.

I’m honestly proud of the support we gave to the runners. I’m also thankful for the runners who were grateful to say “Thank you” for the beers. That’s always been something top of mind every race – the kids/teens/adults passing out gatorade and water are unpaid volunteers donating their time so you can rehydrate. Common courtesy is to say “Thank you” – they appreciate it more than you know. I’ve been a part of the volunteer aspect a few times, but this gave me a far new appreciation for the aid/hydration stations.

Now for the bad – running out of beer. Hands down, this was 100% my fault. In the weeks leading up and during planning, I had a Low, Medium, and High estimates for how many runners would take beer, and how much we needed to get. (I had a spreadsheet with graphs, and yes, I am a nerd.) Majority consensus was, that number would be extremely low. I agreed and decided only X amount was necessary along with cups.

I think due to the nature of the race, combined with the temperature, that made my calculations way off. I also made the logistical mistake of placing our station before an actual hydration station. Everyone coming through was thirsty and wanted some cold fluid to drink. This is a live and learn type moment – I’m not perfect when it comes to logistics, (obviously) so I want to apologize to the many runners who came through looking for beer and we did not have any. I think ideally yes, we would have run out no matter how much we got, but to run out as early as we did was disappointing to the runners and the volunteers who had to say “We’re out of beer, sorry” to many folks running by. That made me sad – not something I had wanted to have happen, especially when I planned it out.

The ugly. Someone made mention to me yesterday that when they said we were out of beer, some asshole came back with “WTF? You should do a better job of planning and logistics, (insert expletives here)”. This guy was not a fan of RDB, (I don’t think) and was probably having a real bad day, but it’s inexcusable to have a piss poor attitude such as that towards a volunteer doing this for fun. He may have thought this was an actual aid station of some kind – you really think they’d have beer on the course, officially? Really guy? But to take it to the point of being an asshole about it – seriously? And to say that to a woman to boot?

I’m thankful that our volunteer was classy enough to not say anything back, and to keep it to herself until later on. If it makes you feel like more of a man to say something like that then so be it, but that would not have gone over very well with the larger group had we all found out. I hope one day he decides to volunteer his own time to be on the other side of those comments. That’s about all I have left to say on that subject.

On a final note – overall, could have been better, but I think what we had going when we had beer was great. Our volunteers and members made this happen and made it successful. I also wanted to say thank you to the Dallas Police. Apparently, they already knew we were setting up a station there, and was completely ok/even encouraging of our support for the runners.

Cops get a bad name for various reasons . I happen to know plenty personally and relate it to parenting – you can’t always come off as the good guy all the time. There are times when you can let something go and come off as the good guy to your kids – the cops did that for us yesterday, so thank you.

We learned a lot and had a lot of fun with this beer station yesterday. We will be back, bigger and better and more organized. I will attempt to post pictures of the race and the beer station later tonight.

- Melvin

The Greenville Avenue Parade is a local tradition that has occurred in Dallas. Traditionally held the Saturday before St Patrick’s Day, the parade starts on Greenville around Southwestern and proceeds down Greenville until Mockingbird.

It’s always been an event that draws huge crowds – 2011 drew a record 100,000+ spectators coming out to see the floats, the people, enjoying a frosty beverage, and just partake in an otherwise “just another Saturday”. The tradition started in 1979, and is in true danger of being called off for lack of funds in 2012.

I heard about it Sunday during the Super Bowl from a friend of a friend, but figured he was drunk and had heard some rumor someone decided to make up. On today’s drive back from the gym though, it got a surprising amount of airplay, mainly from KDGE. Sure enough after looking it up, it’s true.

As of this moment, they need to raise $40,000 by Friday, February 17th, in order to keep the parade going. Their page lists a major sponsor that is willing to match donations up to $40K, so my assumption is they would need a bare minimum of $20K in order for the parade to still take place.

I’ve since taken it to heart and reached out to anyone with influence in the Dallas community to post the donation link up on their Facebook, tell their members, etc. That link is:

http://greenvilleavenueparade.com/?page_id=12

The direct link to donate is:

http://goo.gl/0rv7T

Why is this so important to me? Face value would indicate that it’s just another reason to start drinking at 7AM/party all day/drink with an open container. I can’t say that doesn’t hurt the cause. However, there’s a much more fundamental meaning to it.

My first time at the parade was about 6 years ago. My roommate, Jerry, asked me to go down there with him for this awesome parade. I told him no about 80 times, figuring it was some lame parade with a few dozen floats. I relented, and sure enough, had an absolute blast/time of my life. I’ve gone every year since, and the party has gotten bigger and better.

With the creation of RunnersDrinkBeer 2.5 years ago, we’ve had a small area the first year, and went medium scale last year. We’ve seen the crowds grow in large numbers the past two years. Hey, you can’t have a group named RunnersDrinkBeer and not partake in the Greenville Parade! Not only do we get to run in the Dash Down Greenville, but we get to celebrate and partake in the activities afterwards.

So back to the original question at hand – why is it so important? The thing I took away from the parade the first year, and each year in succession, is that this parade is part of the culture of Dallas.

I know, I hear the laughter from here. Culture? Dallas? What? All we are known for is cowboy hats, shopping, and being “fake”. But it is an important part of our culture. You go, whether to the parade, the block party, or any of the other parties in and around Dallas – you see good natured people letting their hair back. You see adults bringing their kids to catch beads. You see college kids sharing a few 24 packs of Bud Light. You see older people just enjoying the revelry and atmosphere of the parade.

It’s an event that, no matter what age or demographic you belong to, you have a good time. Period. It’s a day to relax, have fun, and not take life too seriously. It’s the Dallas version of Mardis Gras or a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I have never met a single person who has gone and said “Boy that parade sucks!” Have you? It’s the one day of the year you can forget about all your troubles, worries, real life, and just go out and enjoy yourself with 100,000 of your other Dallas area folks. Let loose.

If you don’t want to see this Dallas area tradition end, then please, spread the word. One person sharing it on their Facebook leads to multiple other people sharing it on theirs and…you get the picture. Do what you need to do to help save a piece of Dallas culture.

Sincerely,

Melvin Chu

As someone who loves and takes a lot of pride in what RDB has become, I’d like to offer a closing blog for 2011. It’s been a hell of a ride this year, culminating in the group growing far beyond our set expectations that we put forward at the beginning of 2011.

I get a lot of questions at each outing about RDB, so I’d like to start with doing a quick Q&A about the most common FAQ, and then some closing thoughts on 2011.

Most Frequently Asked Questions about RDB

Question: How do I join?

Answer: There really isn’t a formal membership into RDB. All you have to do is “Like” us on our Facebook fan page – www.facebook.com/runnersdrinkbeer – to stay up to date with blog postings, events, group news, etc. A lot of things are overly complicated – we like to follow the KISS principle – Keep It Simple Stupid.

Question: What does it cost to join RDB?

Answer: Nothing! See above. Some events might cost money (brewery tour, dinners, happy hours, etc) but it certainly doesn’t cost anything to become a member. We all have other commitments – family, bills, etc. The last thing we’d want to do is charge member dues!

Question: Where are you located at?

Answer: We were founded and are primarily based in Dallas, TX and the surrounding communities.For the most part, you’ll see our events are based in TX, but we’ll post other events in other cities and states – just drop us a line and we’ll do what we can to help promote it!

Question: How do I get RDB in my city?

Answer: This is a tricky question and involves a complicated and lengthy explanation. I’ve been asked multiple times by people in other cities about a RDB: (City) Chapter. Long story short – I have no problem expanding outside of Dallas…it involves someone else being the primary/lead in that city. So far, no one has wanted that mantle/responsibility. It’s an option – feel free to drop me an email to discuss!

Question: I have an idea for an event/the group as a whole…what do I need to do? How do I get my event/group promoted on the RDB page?

Answer: We’re always open to new ideas…as always, drop us a line to talk about it! Same goes for promoting your event/group – we have no problem with promoting other events or groups as long as the same is done for us.

Question: I want a RDB shirt…how do I get one?

Answer: The age old question that never has a good answer, truthfully. RDB is a socially run group and isn’t done for profit – it’s all for fun, networking, and making new friends, whether drinkers or runners or otherwise. We’ve talked with sponsors about getting shirts made up and holding stock/inventory, but we due to varying demand, have not moved forward with it. We’ve done shirt orders in the past, and I’ve contacted folks that have requested to be on the mailing list for one, but never get a reply back. My honest answer here is, if you want one – request it, and I’ll get you on the next distribution when we do another order.

Question: How do I help sponsor RDB?

Answer: Drop us a line (email is at the bottom) – we’re open to being affiliated with most companies and groups. We certainly want to make sure it’s mutually beneficial.

Question: What the heck happened to the oft promised Beer Mile?

Answer: The thorn in my side that will not go away! Our original beer mile was set for October 2010…unfortunately, due to weather and certain legal reasons, we had to cancel it. Between being privately contacted by various lawyers and law enforcement, it was decided (in addition to being 103 the day we had it planned) to be postponed, and subsequently canceled. I’ve since consulted with various law/law enforcement about the proper way to do it…let’s just say this is idea is on the back burner. Other groups, including one in Fort Worth back in October, have put on various Beer Miles without issues. I’d love to do it, but it always brings up the question of the “What happens when someone…” – the safety of our members is always paramount.

Question: What future events do you have forthcoming?

Answer: That’s always a work in progress. We overshot on our commitments in 2011, at least from what we had discussed early on in the year. We’re still in the planning stages for 2012 – we’d like to commit to a schedule that we can stick to, that appeals to a broad range of people, and that people truly find fun and interesting, and not just another happy hour.

Mel’s Closing Comments on 2011

2011 was definitely a breakthrough year for the group. We set forth the year with certain metrics and goals in terms of participation and fans…and far exceeded both. My thoughts about 2011:

- Increase in fan base. We went from around 600 fans at the start of 2011 to over 1450 as of this blog. We’ve also increased the geography of our base from about 98% Texas to states as far away as Hawaii and Alaska, as well as overseas. (Thank you to our 1 fan in Bosnia!)

Thank you all for your support! I’m also impressed that we are predominantly made up of female fans: 53% to 44%. Part of that is just how females interact and use social media in comparison to males, but considering the name of the group, it’s just a bit surprising.

- Articles in the Plano Star Courier and The Dallas Morning News. The PSC article was more about my experience training for the NYC marathon, but Tristan was excited to hear about RDB and wanted to add some stuff about it to the article as well. I was particularly surprised and delighted about the DMN article – thanks to Debbie Fetterman for the referral, and Mark Dent for writing the article! I’ve gotten emails and FB messages from people I haven’t heard from in a long time (including work folks) that saw the article. Even my childhood neighbors called to congratulate!

- Work and partnership with the Lululemon Athletica Northpark girls. We’ve done two small events together – one to help benefit the victims in Japan, and another as a fun social run last week. An amazing group of outgoing, athletic, and positive women that want to push an active lifestyle to everyone. We look forward to doing more joint events in 2012!

- Monotony and lack of events – unfortunately, I have to take blame for this one. We’ve seen a lot of the same event – our UFO Club Happy Hour – a lot in 2011. It’s quick and easy, and something we had wanted to do once a quarter for those UFO Club members. Unfortunately, it’s about all we did for several months. We have a lot of fun events planned for 2012 – have no fear! The UFO Club will be a part of 2012, but it won’t be the only event we put on in 2012.

This has been a banner year for RDB…thank you to each and every single one of you for helping us reach new heights in 2011! We look forward to the ride in 2012…I suspect even better things will happen in 2012!

Melvin Chu

Email: melvinchu@msn.com

This blog is my own opinion about RNR races (Vegas in particular) and not necessarily reflective of RDB’s official stance on RNR. Considering one of the sponsors of RNR races is Brooks, and I run for them, (at least 2010/2011) it puts me in a precarious position of making a statement that could jeopardize that relationship, but it’s one I feel strongly about and stand behind my comments.

I’ve run 4 RNR races. First was RNR San Antonio 2009, (full) RNR Dallas 2010/2011 (halves) and now RNR Vegas 2011. (half) I can say San Antonio was a bit of a chaotic mess. The course itself a disaster. Who designs a course to run through a graveyard? Water and Cytomax all but absent at the latter water stations. Last year’s San Antonio had the greatness of being stopped mid-race by a train, which of course, was blamed on somebody else.

RNR Dallas was an existing half marathon (Rock to Victory by the White Rock Marathon folks) bought out to add another city to it’s portfolio of races. The course was altered from the original for whatever reason, and Gatorade replaced with Cytomax. I have no beef with the course itself – otherwise, I wouldn’t have run it twice. My second entry was a gracious comp via Brooks for running with their ID program. It’s still a great course since many of the components/route remain unchanged, but like everything else RNR, the entry fees were jacked up sky high.

For anyone that’s run a RNR race, it can be safely said that Cytomax is like drinking dirty sock water. It’s horrible. The stomach cramps and GI issues brought about by that mess of a sports drink is not something a first time or an experienced veteran wants to have. I’ve advised my runners to bring their own Gatorade/water, or at the worst, dilute out the Cytomax with 3:1 ratio to water.

Onto Vegas. I was excited to go to Vegas, as it had been a good solid 5 years. A large contingent of RDB was going to run/have some fun – it’s not often we get a good group together for an out of town vacation. It was going to be a first time half marathon for many involved. No one dared to do the full, because, who really wants to do a full marathon when you have the sins of Vegas at hand?

The Good:

- Expo – packet pickup was well organized/done. Between entry and picking up the race packet/shirts, probably 5 minutes. Probably one of the fastest in and outs I’ve seen at any race.

- Brooks Cavalcade – their show, which has remained largely the same over the past year, is a rolling double decker bus, carnival games, and hourly show showing off the dynamic cushioning ability of their DNA gel.

- The expo served alcohol. Enough said.

- Running down the strip. To get from one end of the strip to the other on any other day would take hours waiting at stoplights, impatient cab drivers almost running you over, people giving you cards advertising hookers, all the lovely positives of Vegas. Especially at night – one of the big draws of Vegas is seeing the lights from the casinos lighting up the night sky. It’s a pretty sight, and you get to see it twice – at the start and then again at the end. (Out and back) It was an experience in itself. If I had to name the highlight of the trip, that’d probably be it.

The Bad:

- Night start. Yes, it’s done on purpose to see the lights, but I can’t begin to rattle off the number of glares, “F-U”, pissed off taxi drivers, pissed off people that voiced their anger at the runners.

- The hour long line at the expo to checkout. Yes, it was that bad.

- The start corral. I’m glad we got there an hour early…I’m not sure exactly how the full was lined up at, but the half was a mess. You had to walk going towards the end (Mandalay), all the way down, then loop back around to the start. Anyone trying to sneak through the gates was yelled at.

- The bands. I think I remember 2, maybe 3 bands? What happened to a band at every mile?

- The rest of the course. Running past homeless guys yelling at cops and runners, through dark neighborhoods, going through god knows where at night – a little bit sketchy. Of course, with all the volunteers, runners, and police – you are completely safe, but I guess it’s built-in incentive to run faster.

- Cytomax/water. Something got thousands of runners sick. As in stomach churning. As in puking at the finish line. As in eyes rolled in the back of your head, can’t make it across the finish line sick. The City of Las Vegas Health Department actually opened an official inquiry into the incident, considering the thousands of people who felt ill. 3 members of our group felt sick to their stomach. I personally felt a little bit off more than normal, but contributed it to the cold/non-stop drinking/partying.

- Finish line/end corral. This was the worst designed mess I’ve ever seen at any race. How do you expect to put 44,000 runners into a narrow finish chute that keeps getting narrower, and then yell at everyone to keep moving forward? Then to put the finish line photography as barriers for everyone to keep moving forward? The lack of any porta-potties?

- Transportation and post-race. The “ample free shuttles and trams from the Mandalay” were non-existant. We saw lines hours long trying to get out of the Mandalay. People were strewn about trying to stay warm across the hotel lobby and casino floors. Taxis were impossible to find.

- A rumor spread around that the race was increasing from the 44K cap to 77K next year. Get your shit right first before you almost double the race.

For those who think I’m just being an asshole, my feelings are well founded, nor am I alone. Don’t believe me? Read the hundreds of posts on their FB fan page. It’s been almost a week since the race and people are still complaining daily. After a race almost all you see are “I had such a great time running race X, thank you!” or “I finished my first half it was an awesome experience!” You won’t see any compliments on their FB page. Read for yourself the horrors:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/RnRLasVegas

RNR is a series put on by the Competitor Group, whose own mission statement states:

“Competitor is dedicated to becoming the leading global sports, media and entertainment company committed to the active lifestyle by:

Informing, engaging and inspiring individuals and communities to join and embrace the active lifestyle where they are empowered, challenged and rewarded.

Our culture encourages passion, performance and respect that demonstrates a commitment to excellence.”

This race was lacking anything but respect for the 44K runners who all paid over $125 to run this shitty race. No refunds are available, and you put out a half assed apology by your CEO. (See below) RNR…you have a long ways to make mends with the running community. Best of luck but you won’t ever see me pay for one of your races again.

- Mel

Someone remind me again why we run marathons? My legs feel like Tiger Wood’s Escalade did after his ex-wife took a golf club to it. Oh the sweet side effects of running a marathon. All I got to show for it was a medal, some Emerald nuts, and the inability to walk down a flight of stairs normally.

Some people forget the origins of the marathon, in which Pheidippides runs close to 26 miles (the actual distance is debated) from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce the Persians were defeated…and then proceeds to die. Always a great thought to have when you sign up to run the same distance with 46,999 other people.

My long journey to New York is finally over. I can say with confidence that I am done running marathons…for this year anyway. It was a fantastic experience. One I will always cherish. I semi-executed my gameplan – not 100% how I planned – but close enough. I PR’ed. I succeeded in hitting my last goal, but in reality, the first two goals may not have been a true possibility, at least on that course.

My name is Melvin Chu…and here is my story about the long road to the NYC marathon. (Yes, this is a long read, just to forewarn you – I’d give yourself 10 minutes of reading time)

Continue reading

4 days and counting. It’s been a long road to New York. I am extremely excited and maybe a smidge anxious about the marathon on Sunday. It felt like yesterday that I checked the website after the lottery, just expecting like any other lottery I’ve ever played to end up a loser. Granted, the odds of getting into New York not via guaranteed entry is something like 1:8, but still had zero expectations about getting in.

Maybe that’s what made it that much better – not having expectations and being pleasantly surprised. I created my training plan – 24 weeks of track work, hill work, tempo runs, long runs, topped off by a completely unbearable summer of record heat and some miserable runs. Like I learned last year with Chicago – where others who trained solely in the cool/cold faltered, I did better having had trained in the shit, and had to race in the shit. (Figuratively speaking, of course)

Last year was a real struggle for me, both from a training perspective and being mentally prepared for the race. I went to Chicago not mentally prepared or even wanting to run. I spent the race talking myself through it trying to get to the next mile marker. I was a bit depressed and overall wanting to quit running afterwards. (Original blog entry here: http://runnersdrinkbeer.com/?p=640 )

Continue reading

So it’s been over a month since my last blog. I regret not doing a better job of blogging, but sometimes the fun stuff has to take a backseat to real life, like it or not. And real life has been hectic lately – I feel like I’m being pulled in 100 different directions, and putting forth a half assed effort in each one.

To be frank – I’m ready for New York…ready to race the hell out of it, and ready for it to be over. My last blog was 5 weeks until taper time…and now I’ve officially started my taper. It’s been a hell of a training season…my thoughts on the good, the bad, and the inevitable: the ugly.

Continue reading

Just 5 short weeks ago I flipped out realizing I only had 10 weeks left until taper time. I did it yet again this weekend when I realized I was down to 5 weeks. It’s scary to think about how fast this summer and training season has flown by. I remember looking at the schedule and thinking that 24 weeks was overkill …and now I wish I had another 5-10 weeks to truly feel prepared.

Regardless…you can’t turn back the hands of time. Use the sharpening phase of the plan to maximize/fine tune your race efforts, and let the cards fall where they may. I’m sure a second marathon is in the cards for winter/spring, but first thing’s first.

Observations I’ve had since the last blog @ 10 weeks:

- Rest is highly underrated. I’ve always been a fan of one complete day of rest with no running, working out, etc of any kind. This year, I think I’ve taken that a bit to the extreme with “off weeks”. No, not the entire week off, mind you. Taking one week and if your body tells you no, or you happen to sleep in instead of running, so be it. I’ve taken one every month over the past 3 months, and it’s become quite the blessing/recharge for the legs.

There’s something to be said if you are Ryan Hall logging 150 mile weeks, or someone who is actually competitive enough to place or win races. It’s another if your body just isn’t holding up as well as it used to – random aches and pains and the such. I’d say the vast majority of us are in the latter. I used to feel invincible up until last year when it was just one injury after another, so I’m trying to be a bit more conscious and mindful. You come out the next week feeling energized, refreshed, and a bit more turnover in the legs.

- The dreaded light head/tiredness – it’s back. Luckily so far, it’s only hit me maybe 4-5 times since May. As a quick trip down really shitty memory lane, last year training for Chicago, I experienced what could only be described as just dizzy, light headed, about to faint spells. It was so bad I’d make it usually no more than 2 miles into a run before having to walk or sit down. It wasn’t low blood sugar, as I always ate before a run last year.

I first thought it was hyponatremia, due to downing rather large quantities of water without the necessary electrolytes to balance out the system. Then low iron, which I read, occurs quite frequently in runners. (Moreso for women than men) It occurred a few times in the spring when neither was the case. (Decided to eat more beef, definitely was not a lack of sodium) I honestly didn’t know what it was at that point, but considering it wasn’t an everyday thing, I didn’t pursue it at the doctor.

It happened only a few times this summer. In an overhaul of my diet, I decided to incorporate more variety into what I eat. Different vegetables, more fruit, yogurt, and different meats. If it truly was a nutritional deficiency somewhere, I can say I honestly made every attempt this summer to treat it before it started.

The most recent bout was two weeks ago – a simple easy run Thursday turned into 2 miles, a lot of walking, and quitting early and heading in at mile 5. I attempted to eat well, take a few supplements, and make sure I didn’t drink too much water (straight), but it hit me again the next day on my 15 mile long run. I increased my mileage pretty heavily the week before (still within the 10% safety range), so I’m starting to wonder if it’s just my body being worn out. Still TBD.

- Getting sick. It happens to all of us, especially those of us with kids, but it’s a terrible thing when you’re mid-training, or right before a race. The last time I had gotten sick was the week before Houston – I caught what can only be described as the flu, or what felt like it. Fever, constant pounding of a headache. All kinds of fluids running out of me. I still ran Houston, or rather, jogged it with a friend trying to PR, but it was still miserable. (Not to mention the misery that was 5 hours in the car to and from – lots of cough drops, cold towels were in order)

Unfortunately, I (and 7 others) caught a stomach bug one of the kids had at the lake the other weekend. I said this plenty of times, but I do not wish the illness I had upon anyone, even people I despise. It’s just an absolutely miserable feeling puking when you have nothing in your stomach…your stomach feeling like it’s being ripped out and the acid in your stomach eating itself. After 7 hours of puking, among other things, it finally stopped, but you just lay there in misery trying to eat but being disgusted by any food you look at. I think that day I probably consumed two Gatorades, some french fries and onion rings, 1/2 pack of Asian noodles, and a few cups of water. Other than that, nothing would go down.

That put a serious damper in the training last week – over 3 days where I was scheduled to get 30 miles, I put in 4. Ended the week with a little over 30, and was very happy with how the last few runs turned out, all things considered.

- The previous two things mentioned I think actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. In reviewing my plan, I was just increasing and racking up the mileage without regard to how the increase in mileage was actually helping me. Even on the quality days, I just had what I felt was a ridiculous number of warmup and cooldown miles, which was just wearing me down, versus actually doing anything to improve my performance. I had some time to revise my plan and hopefully, make a change for the better with more quality miles rather than junk miles.

And so…I look at the calendar and scratch off another week in the books, and start off a new one. As the lights and start line at New York inches closer…I look forward to the last 5 weeks with a renewed vigor and enthusiasm. Let’s do this…I’ve worked too damn hard to get to this point.

- Mel