Thank you for sharing the wonderful story! Robert, I met you at the first Coyote's 5K a few years ago (the zigzag parking lot run). You were the first place! I am glad you are doing well!
I’m leading in the Arizona Road Racers Summer Series Grand Prix in the 65-69 age group. So, I gotta show up for the July 4th, 4 miler at Rio Vista Park. Drive all the way over by the arena and the club is coordinating with the city of Peoria to move the start time back to 6am because of the heat. This may be my last shot at 1st place glory so, I’ll have to get up at 3am, leave by 4:15 to get there, try to hammer 4 miles and finish at the top of my age group for the Grand Prix then load the trucks in the heat afterwards. I’ve been icing all day today from yesterday’s race ... tomorrow starts another cycle and next week I gotta do another over 50 mile week...
The Coyote Den won’t even be open after the race either.
Gave away all my Dbacks season tickets because I’m solely into training again.
I’ve had 3 races this year so far.
Won my age group in a 5 miler, 2nd place in my age group last Sunday then tried to run a third race last Saturday
Disaster
I dropped out after 150 meters. Just too ambitious..
let the pack take me out too fast on a sharp downhill then an incline and I was through.
I was trying to keep up with the 57 year old lady that always smokes me.
Back at it, I’m doin “ doubles” ( two workouts a day) and recovering by watchingv6-8 episodes of Perry Mason a day and I’m just too beat to drive downtown to watch a game.
I wear two braces, am the weird dude at a retirement place who dies repeat 200 meter sprints in front of neighbors houses and has a wall of game of my favorite runners taped to my living room walls...even the cleaning ladies from “ carnation” don’t wanna come back.
I am a runner in everything but ability.
I’ll still go to every YOTES game though.. I adopted them.
That's one heck of a story that hopefully just keeps growing. I have to say, I'm a bit jealous on the Germany military experience....always wanted to get stationed over there, but never got to myself.
Robert and I don't always see eye-to-eye, but he's one of my favorite fellow subscribers anyway. His passion comes through, and I've always thought his story must be fascinating. Glad to see I was right, and I look forward to meeting him at a game or meet-up when we can.
Speedwork consisted of mile repeats and 10x150 meters
3x100 meters
I was supposed to run 60 miles this week but right at the last moment, I jumped into a 5k on a golf course this coming Sunday.
So, I went over there to scout out the course.
You’d think golf courses would be great to race on. Stanford does, it looks groomed and smooth.
Golf courses here are miserable racing surfaces around here. They are built like someone took a normal golf course and put it in a vise and squeezed. Hills, bunkers, uneven footing, always a rolling landscape and cart paths so narrow bottlenecks can occur.
The worst thing though were the flying insects! I’ve been here now nearly 12 years and hadn’t gotten bitten as much by ravenous insects since Ft. Benning Georgia.
I wondered why then realized that it was the watering of the greens and fairways that drew this blood sucking crowd.
If I get West Nile, that’ll get me out of showing up for the start next Sunday.
And the heat! How do these golfers do it? I terrain walked for 30 minutes and felt I needed an IV.
Lets go YOTES... I just hope this organization isn’t stringing me along while they set themselves up for a move somewhere else after their prospects finally get good. I know better but it’s always a gamble you won’t get scammed. Lately, the conspiracy theorist me has been thinking “ hmm, if Tempe turns them down, Muruelo can throw up his hands and say “ well, we tried” ... pretty slick.
That’s the fun thing about taking a chance though.
Never made a Dbacks game. Gave away every ticket of my season ticket. I gave away the pre-season games of my Coyotes season ticket but I hope to start attending on October 17th opening night against the Blues.
I have a big race on the 17th but should be ok on the 18th, I couldn’t attend a hockey game if that game is the day before a race.. that’s only happened maybe 3 or 4 times in 10 years.
I can’t say I’m looking forward to going to the games because of what I’ve seen go on, in that arena for the past decade.
BUT, what a fun night. The most exciting spectator sport there is. My sport, is harder, more tedious, we get up earlier, creatures that roam along darkened streets, running beneath streetlight after streetlight, a monotonous addition of mile after mile before any of the other athletes are even out of their beds.
Nobody even knows these athletes names. That’s the cool thing about being one of “ The Lonely Breed” I’ve always considered it the James Dean of all the sports.
Only gonna get 35 miles this week.. I’m back in a base phase but the wear and tear of 7 races in the last phase really increased the wear and tear.
SO, this week, I alternated mileage/speed work. Example:
Mon: 7-10 miles
Tues: 1 mile steady
1 mile race effort
4 sets of curls
2x150 meters
2x50 meters
And alternate these days all week.
Next week will be back to the drudgery of steady mileage all week.. over 50 of course being the goal.
Next race phase begins October 17th.
The Coyote news kept me up all night last night with a severe stomach ache.. I was so angry. When I sign on to anything, I give it my all. I have to. I don’t care that much about the Corsi things of the sport but I just like Being There. I’ve “stood my post and not left my post”.. for 8 years I was the first fan standing at the door each game....
I was absolutely happy with this. Last year I didn’t go over 1200 until 8/11. I didn’t race one race last year.
This year, since March 28th, I’ve run 7 races and had to take extra recovery after each one and still stayed up and beat last years mileage to date so far.
I won the age group 65-69 Grand Prix associated with my club races but as retired military officer I can’t lie... my age group ( apologies to my group) isn’t the strongest. I don’t think I would have been in the top 2 in the 70-74 age group and I’m almost sure would not been top 2 in the women’s 55-59 or 60-64.... ( top 60-64 woman is an awesome runner)
still, I doubt that many train as hard as me post 60 years old.
I’ll go over 50 miles this week which will be the 9th week over 50 miles..
I may be forfeiting my Coyotes ST and am really hesitating to do so. I just don’t like the politics. I went to hockey games to forget about things and it was a lifesaver and now I see Dbacks and Coyotes involved in social issues and things ... I just don’t care to listen to or see.
I’ve always appreciated you Craig for steering clear of politics..It’s just the way of the world now, I’m the one that is an anachronism and will bow out gracefully ha
Since moving here I’ve lost the ability to run uphill. This wasn’t uphill.. well, it was brutal.
But I think with finishing 3rd, I’ve sealed the deal on the age group Grand Prix .
This is hard to admit.. but twice, I had to stop and walk. Just 10-15 seconds.. well after all, I’m 65, and dragging 184 pounds around.. there’s physics involved.
But then, I looked at the results and most of the runners went through the same thing and I actually finished higher in the results than I usually do.
Then, I had to load the trucks up as I volunteered for clean up.
I really put my body through it today.. when I got gone I actually peed blood. I hadn’t done that since my unit in the military did a 10 mile forced road march with a full Alice pack.
I peed blood then too.
In addition, as I was fixing breakfast my shin went one way and my knee went another and I collapsed while walking with a bowl of cereal!!
I’m on ice now and I took an 800mg dose of ibuprofen that I talked my cancer doc into renewal of the prescription.. I’m not proud of that.
Brutal race. How big were the hills ? My last mile was 1:26 faster than my second mile.
Then I saw 62 year old Laura Clarke-Steffen, 62 years old doing an extra workout in the parking lot as I was loading tables on the truck.... she had beaten me by over 6 minutes.. a pediatric oncology nurse by trade... and an animal of an athlete.
Keep up the great work Craig Morgan. Had it not been for your articles and my ticket reps interest, I woulda gone back to the solitary life of a long distance runner.
Borrowing a phrase from Coach Bill Squires.. it’s the 50 mile weeks that “ put the tiger in the cat”... at my age ha.. what used to be 70-80 mile weeks.
The rain was so great to run in!!! A 10 mile run felt like 3 miles. Which means the hot summers.... well, it PUTS THE TIGER IN THE CAT ha
I’m going back to my college roots when I used to hang out with the cross country team. They lived in their own house. When you walked in all you saw were “ Runner” and “ Track and Field News” magazines all over the floor, posters and training shoes... lined up.
Since my wife died that’s what I’ve become.
I have one broken chair, one glider and one broken lamp, one cereal bowl, two spoons.....Only one poster on the wall. A signed poster of Bill Rodgers crossing the finish line at the 1979 Boston Marathon.
I’ll send pictures if someone doesn’t believe it.ha.... I line my training shoes up!
A large part of my retirement income goes to the Coyotes... my only source of getting out..
That team has been a life saver for me.
I’m saving up for a 12 person suite. My brother in law who lives in Maricopa had quadruple by-pass and many of his neighbors have brought over dinners to my sister.
I’m gonna get a suite and she can invite them over for a game as thanks.
I’ll already be there in my seat as usual. I’ve paid my season ticket for this year, next year and a little on the season two years from now...
If your gonna be a distance runner you gotta live like a spartan. It puts the tiger in the cat...
I’m not fast anymore it’s just living like a spartan distance runner that I like.
Ran well ( for me).. My racing legs started going dead back in 1993.
I still train hard though ( for my age). When it gets to this point, training takes the emphasis over racing.
I’m at 1100 miles this year with 7 weeks over 50 miles a week.
Last year I trained 2000 miles with 13 weeks over 50mpw.
Today I was 2nd in my age group so hopefully I’m holding on to my Grand Prix age group lead.
A clean week so hopefully my 8th 50 mile week.
I gave up my Dback season ticket to make room for recovery and more training time.
I even have my food delivered.
Nothing but training and Perry Mason re-runs. The 1958 Della Street takes precedence over running.
Hopefully it will be a busy AZ Coyotes Insider week too
I don’t know what it is about this team. I’m almost sorry I adopted them 9 years ago...
I think about the team and going to the arena almost as much as studying Lydiard, Cerutty, Lindgren, Shorter, Rodgers, Ron Clarke, Ron Hill, Alberto Salazar, Buddy Edelen.
Wow, what a life! Keep going, Robert!
Thank you for sharing the wonderful story! Robert, I met you at the first Coyote's 5K a few years ago (the zigzag parking lot run). You were the first place! I am glad you are doing well!
I forgot one thing. I used to put on these free community races in my town that hardly anyone showed up for ya
I even hired a timer... Any kid that did show up wins my undying loyalty...
I was at a race way out in the desert one Saturday and ran into one of those now grown guys on the starting line of the race!
He is now a physical therapist in Tempe. He was one of the trainers for Indiana University. His name is Andrew Gibson.
If you need a physical therapist, give him a call.
I’m leading in the Arizona Road Racers Summer Series Grand Prix in the 65-69 age group. So, I gotta show up for the July 4th, 4 miler at Rio Vista Park. Drive all the way over by the arena and the club is coordinating with the city of Peoria to move the start time back to 6am because of the heat. This may be my last shot at 1st place glory so, I’ll have to get up at 3am, leave by 4:15 to get there, try to hammer 4 miles and finish at the top of my age group for the Grand Prix then load the trucks in the heat afterwards. I’ve been icing all day today from yesterday’s race ... tomorrow starts another cycle and next week I gotta do another over 50 mile week...
The Coyote Den won’t even be open after the race either.
Gave away all my Dbacks season tickets because I’m solely into training again.
I’ve had 3 races this year so far.
Won my age group in a 5 miler, 2nd place in my age group last Sunday then tried to run a third race last Saturday
Disaster
I dropped out after 150 meters. Just too ambitious..
let the pack take me out too fast on a sharp downhill then an incline and I was through.
I was trying to keep up with the 57 year old lady that always smokes me.
Back at it, I’m doin “ doubles” ( two workouts a day) and recovering by watchingv6-8 episodes of Perry Mason a day and I’m just too beat to drive downtown to watch a game.
I wear two braces, am the weird dude at a retirement place who dies repeat 200 meter sprints in front of neighbors houses and has a wall of game of my favorite runners taped to my living room walls...even the cleaning ladies from “ carnation” don’t wanna come back.
I am a runner in everything but ability.
I’ll still go to every YOTES game though.. I adopted them.
Love these profiles Craig. What an interesting bunch of folks you have attracted as founding members.
That's one heck of a story that hopefully just keeps growing. I have to say, I'm a bit jealous on the Germany military experience....always wanted to get stationed over there, but never got to myself.
Robert and I don't always see eye-to-eye, but he's one of my favorite fellow subscribers anyway. His passion comes through, and I've always thought his story must be fascinating. Glad to see I was right, and I look forward to meeting him at a game or meet-up when we can.
9/5/2021
Speed week 6 days 41 miles.
Speedwork consisted of mile repeats and 10x150 meters
3x100 meters
I was supposed to run 60 miles this week but right at the last moment, I jumped into a 5k on a golf course this coming Sunday.
So, I went over there to scout out the course.
You’d think golf courses would be great to race on. Stanford does, it looks groomed and smooth.
Golf courses here are miserable racing surfaces around here. They are built like someone took a normal golf course and put it in a vise and squeezed. Hills, bunkers, uneven footing, always a rolling landscape and cart paths so narrow bottlenecks can occur.
The worst thing though were the flying insects! I’ve been here now nearly 12 years and hadn’t gotten bitten as much by ravenous insects since Ft. Benning Georgia.
I wondered why then realized that it was the watering of the greens and fairways that drew this blood sucking crowd.
If I get West Nile, that’ll get me out of showing up for the start next Sunday.
And the heat! How do these golfers do it? I terrain walked for 30 minutes and felt I needed an IV.
Lets go YOTES... I just hope this organization isn’t stringing me along while they set themselves up for a move somewhere else after their prospects finally get good. I know better but it’s always a gamble you won’t get scammed. Lately, the conspiracy theorist me has been thinking “ hmm, if Tempe turns them down, Muruelo can throw up his hands and say “ well, we tried” ... pretty slick.
That’s the fun thing about taking a chance though.
Over 1300 miles for the year
8/23-8/29
Mon: 8.1 miles /weigh lifting
Tue: 8.1 miles
We’d: 8.2 miles/ weight lifting
Thu: 8 miles
Fri: 8.1 miles/weight lifting
Sat: 5 miles
Sun: 10 miles- 55.5 miles
Never made a Dbacks game. Gave away every ticket of my season ticket. I gave away the pre-season games of my Coyotes season ticket but I hope to start attending on October 17th opening night against the Blues.
I have a big race on the 17th but should be ok on the 18th, I couldn’t attend a hockey game if that game is the day before a race.. that’s only happened maybe 3 or 4 times in 10 years.
I can’t say I’m looking forward to going to the games because of what I’ve seen go on, in that arena for the past decade.
BUT, what a fun night. The most exciting spectator sport there is. My sport, is harder, more tedious, we get up earlier, creatures that roam along darkened streets, running beneath streetlight after streetlight, a monotonous addition of mile after mile before any of the other athletes are even out of their beds.
Nobody even knows these athletes names. That’s the cool thing about being one of “ The Lonely Breed” I’ve always considered it the James Dean of all the sports.
But man! Those hockey games are fun.
Only gonna get 35 miles this week.. I’m back in a base phase but the wear and tear of 7 races in the last phase really increased the wear and tear.
SO, this week, I alternated mileage/speed work. Example:
Mon: 7-10 miles
Tues: 1 mile steady
1 mile race effort
4 sets of curls
2x150 meters
2x50 meters
And alternate these days all week.
Next week will be back to the drudgery of steady mileage all week.. over 50 of course being the goal.
Next race phase begins October 17th.
The Coyote news kept me up all night last night with a severe stomach ache.. I was so angry. When I sign on to anything, I give it my all. I have to. I don’t care that much about the Corsi things of the sport but I just like Being There. I’ve “stood my post and not left my post”.. for 8 years I was the first fan standing at the door each game....
8/10/21
Over 1200 miles
I was absolutely happy with this. Last year I didn’t go over 1200 until 8/11. I didn’t race one race last year.
This year, since March 28th, I’ve run 7 races and had to take extra recovery after each one and still stayed up and beat last years mileage to date so far.
I won the age group 65-69 Grand Prix associated with my club races but as retired military officer I can’t lie... my age group ( apologies to my group) isn’t the strongest. I don’t think I would have been in the top 2 in the 70-74 age group and I’m almost sure would not been top 2 in the women’s 55-59 or 60-64.... ( top 60-64 woman is an awesome runner)
still, I doubt that many train as hard as me post 60 years old.
I’ll go over 50 miles this week which will be the 9th week over 50 miles..
I may be forfeiting my Coyotes ST and am really hesitating to do so. I just don’t like the politics. I went to hockey games to forget about things and it was a lifesaver and now I see Dbacks and Coyotes involved in social issues and things ... I just don’t care to listen to or see.
I’ve always appreciated you Craig for steering clear of politics..It’s just the way of the world now, I’m the one that is an anachronism and will bow out gracefully ha
8/1/21 Summer Series #5...South Mountain
3rd in age group. ... Brutal.. Just brutal.
Since moving here I’ve lost the ability to run uphill. This wasn’t uphill.. well, it was brutal.
But I think with finishing 3rd, I’ve sealed the deal on the age group Grand Prix .
This is hard to admit.. but twice, I had to stop and walk. Just 10-15 seconds.. well after all, I’m 65, and dragging 184 pounds around.. there’s physics involved.
But then, I looked at the results and most of the runners went through the same thing and I actually finished higher in the results than I usually do.
Then, I had to load the trucks up as I volunteered for clean up.
I really put my body through it today.. when I got gone I actually peed blood. I hadn’t done that since my unit in the military did a 10 mile forced road march with a full Alice pack.
I peed blood then too.
In addition, as I was fixing breakfast my shin went one way and my knee went another and I collapsed while walking with a bowl of cereal!!
I’m on ice now and I took an 800mg dose of ibuprofen that I talked my cancer doc into renewal of the prescription.. I’m not proud of that.
Brutal race. How big were the hills ? My last mile was 1:26 faster than my second mile.
Then I saw 62 year old Laura Clarke-Steffen, 62 years old doing an extra workout in the parking lot as I was loading tables on the truck.... she had beaten me by over 6 minutes.. a pediatric oncology nurse by trade... and an animal of an athlete.
Keep up the great work Craig Morgan. Had it not been for your articles and my ticket reps interest, I woulda gone back to the solitary life of a long distance runner.
7/19-7/25
Mon: 6.1 miles
Tues: 7 miles and weight lifting
We’d: 5 miles
Thu: 7 miles and weight lifting
Fri: 8.6 miles
Sat: 10 miles
Sun: 7.3 miles....51 miles
Borrowing a phrase from Coach Bill Squires.. it’s the 50 mile weeks that “ put the tiger in the cat”... at my age ha.. what used to be 70-80 mile weeks.
The rain was so great to run in!!! A 10 mile run felt like 3 miles. Which means the hot summers.... well, it PUTS THE TIGER IN THE CAT ha
I’m going back to my college roots when I used to hang out with the cross country team. They lived in their own house. When you walked in all you saw were “ Runner” and “ Track and Field News” magazines all over the floor, posters and training shoes... lined up.
Since my wife died that’s what I’ve become.
I have one broken chair, one glider and one broken lamp, one cereal bowl, two spoons.....Only one poster on the wall. A signed poster of Bill Rodgers crossing the finish line at the 1979 Boston Marathon.
I’ll send pictures if someone doesn’t believe it.ha.... I line my training shoes up!
A large part of my retirement income goes to the Coyotes... my only source of getting out..
That team has been a life saver for me.
I’m saving up for a 12 person suite. My brother in law who lives in Maricopa had quadruple by-pass and many of his neighbors have brought over dinners to my sister.
I’m gonna get a suite and she can invite them over for a game as thanks.
I’ll already be there in my seat as usual. I’ve paid my season ticket for this year, next year and a little on the season two years from now...
If your gonna be a distance runner you gotta live like a spartan. It puts the tiger in the cat...
I’m not fast anymore it’s just living like a spartan distance runner that I like.
47 years ago today. First day of my first basic training.
Summer Series #4. Kiwanis Park 7/17/21
Ran well ( for me).. My racing legs started going dead back in 1993.
I still train hard though ( for my age). When it gets to this point, training takes the emphasis over racing.
I’m at 1100 miles this year with 7 weeks over 50 miles a week.
Last year I trained 2000 miles with 13 weeks over 50mpw.
Today I was 2nd in my age group so hopefully I’m holding on to my Grand Prix age group lead.
A clean week so hopefully my 8th 50 mile week.
I gave up my Dback season ticket to make room for recovery and more training time.
I even have my food delivered.
Nothing but training and Perry Mason re-runs. The 1958 Della Street takes precedence over running.
Hopefully it will be a busy AZ Coyotes Insider week too
I don’t know what it is about this team. I’m almost sorry I adopted them 9 years ago...
I think about the team and going to the arena almost as much as studying Lydiard, Cerutty, Lindgren, Shorter, Rodgers, Ron Clarke, Ron Hill, Alberto Salazar, Buddy Edelen.