Summer Running ... It's Insanity!

By Ross Forman

Two months to go, so it’s time for Round 2.

The Montreal Marathon – my next 26.2-mile adventure – is Sunday morning, Sept. 25, so that means it’s time for some serious Insanity.

I used the popular, high-intensity Insanity workout, run by Shaun T, to score my Personal Record (PR) time at the Tel Aviv Marathon on April 8. I felt great before, during and after that race, and I attribute a large portion of that to Insanity. Beating my previous PR by 31 minutes was really cool.

So let’s see what happens in Montreal.

Then, on Sunday morning, Dec. 11, it’s back to Hawaii to run the annual Honolulu Marathon.

As most know, Bob Knight is the Greatest Basketball Coach, Ever … at least in my eyes. One of my favorite Knight clips was when he talks about a game-face, and his lack of knowledge of what a game-face truly is.

That said, I’m truly bringing my game-face to Insanity this round. When I first ran through Insanity, I brought it, but truly wasn’t sure what the results would be. Now for Round 2, since I know the moves, know what to do, know what hurts, know what really hurts … I’m going for it! I’m optimistic that, in Montreal, I can trim a few more minutes off my PR. Who knows.

Running, you see, is a funny thing. Sometime you have it and can run forever without any pain or problems. Other times, running across the street can feel like a near-impossible task.

I’ve had a lot of fun coaching with the Team To End AIDS this spring and summer, and am particularly happy the weather has warmed up. We trained in May and I was bundled up like an Eskimo, which is no fun at all.

This past Saturday, I ran with most of the T2 pace-groups, and I hope they had as much fun as I did. The Chicago Marathoners ran 16 miles. Those training for the Half Marathon ran 10, and those training for the Honolulu Marathon ran 8. I probably ran about 12, give or take, and it sure was interesting running at so many different paces. We have some fast runners at T2 and just about every other pace, too. We have groups that talk throughout their run. We have other groups that, well, don’t seem to talk much at all. And it’s always interesting and entertaining to hear what some groups are talking about.

On race day, I’m a talker. I often will comment about a runner’s attire, their shoes, their motivation for going 26.2 miles by foot, or to spectator’s about their signs. I talk to anyone and everyone, even if they don’t reply. I guess I do it to entertain myself; I guess the music in my iPod just doesn’t cut it.

In closing, I want to share a shocking, emotional email I received in late-June from Cheryl McKenzie, who I met while running the 2008 Amsterdam Marathon and have not spoken to since by any format (phone, email, etc.). Heck, we never even traded contact information that day. Still, she wrote:








Enjoy the rest of the summer, my favorite season. And if you want to join me on the Insanity trail, or with P90X, let me know. They both deliver results!

Ross.


PS ... Kudos to Michelle Roache for her new book 2011 Run USA Marathon Planner, which offers a weekly listing of races -- and not just marathons, but also half marathons, and some 5K, 10K and even 50K races. The soft-cover book also has an area for a Weekly Training Log, which includes Activity Type, Total Duration, Total Distance and many more areas to chronicle your training. For more information about the book, or to order, write to:

Possum House c/o M Roache
1317 N. San Fernando Road, # 136
Burbank, CA 91504