How To Use Your Nose To Go Slow

October 01, 2019 by Stephen Hallgren in Training

Being slow is not usually what runners want to be, but the virtues of training with slow runs is well documented. The only issue is that running slow and easy on the runs that you are supposed to take slow is possibly one of the harder parts of running.

Like most runners, I struggle with going slow. I have tried many different techniques to keep myself slow, but no matter how hard I try, I still seem to run too fast. I’ve tried stopping, walking, shorter strides, sheer willpower, but nothing works. I end up resuming my previous pace or sometimes going even faster…

Breathe Through Your Nose

September 13, 2019 by Stephen Hallgren in Training

10 minutes into my run I feel like my lungs are burning and I’m going suffocate. It feels like when I try to hold my breathe for as long as I can underwater. I’m dying to stick my head above water and take a giant gulp of life-giving air. Nothing is actually preventing me from opening my mouth to get more air, but I continue to fight the urge to breathe through my mouth. My body instinctually responds to the oxygen limit I’m putting on it and slows my pace down until I don’t feel like I’m suffocating anymore.

If you do a quick Google search about running and breathing you’ll find a lot of great articles about how to breathe efficiently (belly breathing) and how to keep a rhythmic breathing pace. You may even find articles about using both your nose and your mouth for breathing, but there is a lot less about the benefits of only nose breathing…

The Sidewalk Walker

August 25, 2019 by Stephen Hallgren in Life

Living in a city (Albany, NY) means that when I run I’m almost always running on a sidewalk. Oftentimes these sidewalks are full of people who, for some reason or another are, walking. Since I don’t listen to anything but the thoughts in my head when I run, I’ve found that I started classifying the different types of sidewalk walkers I run across.

While some walkers are merely harmless pedestrians trying to get from one place to the next by the slowest means a human can move, other walkers can be downright dangerous…

The Run I Could Always Run

August 15, 2019 by Stephen Hallgren in Life

The sun sends down its radioactive heat while each barefoot stride splashes up cool ocean spray. The waves try to pull me into itself with every step and then tries to push me back out, like it can’t make up its mind…

Life, Love (Levers) and My Trek 820

July 29, 2019 by Stephen Hallgren in Life

It’s been over 9 years since my Trek 820 Antelope was stolen. It’s strange that after so many years I’m still hurt and angry about it. But the reality is that some punk, or punks, opened the side door of my garage and unceremoniously stole all my bicycles. I guess they didn’t steal ALL the bicycles, they were kind enough to leave my Trek SU100. The one with flat tires and every single component rusted out from winter riding and neglect.

When I was a teenager I loved bicycles. I loved fixing and tuning them. I loved cleaning them until they shined. But rather than actually riding them, I spent most of my time drooling over the bikes in the Trek bicycle catalogs. For some reason the shiny, sleek frame of the Trek 830 with its sparkling green to purple fade and its chromoly frame is what I remember the most. I had no idea what chromoly was, but it sounded futuristic and awesome at the time…

Oh 💩, Literally

July 18, 2019 by Stephen Hallgren in Life

If all you learned about running was from what you saw on Instagram, you’d think that running is only perfectly executed runs in gorgeous locations, run by beautiful people. The reality is, some runs really suck and sometimes, the entire day leading up to those runs suck. Not to mention, I look downright sweaty and gross by the end of any run.

My day at work started off with everything going wrong. When things go wrong, they usually go very, very wrong. It can quickly become a high-stress situation that can leave me feeling jittery and shaking (not to be mistaken with the affects of overdosing on coffee). After being on the phone diagnosing and fixing issues all day I finally hit a stopping point and closed my computer for the day…

Book: My Polar Dream

June 21, 2019 by Stephen Hallgren in Reviews, Books

When I was 14, my greatest ambition was to play video games. When I was a teenager I “competed” in a bicycle race, that I failed miserably in. I played basketball, but showed little motivation to push myself, especially when it became painful. I was most certainly not thinking about multiple day treks across the polar icecaps.

It could have been jealousy or possibly pride, but I’m ashamed that my first thought upon seeing this book was that she probably had super rich parents who could buy her everything she needed to make this type of adventure possible. This of course was where I was wrong. Yes, money helps to physically get to the starting line, but after reading this book you will realize that strength, skill and mental prowess are paramount to success….

My First 50 Mile Ultramarathon

June 08, 2019 by Stephen Hallgren in Life

Sometimes people work their way up to a 50 mile race, I decided to jump in head first. I honestly had no idea if I’d be able to finish or not. My mind said I could, but my fears said I couldn’t. I had put in my training time and felt confident. I knew things would be tough, turns out the race was tougher than I had even feared it might be.

My alarm went off at 3am, although I’m not sure I was actually asleep to begin with. I slept terribly and had been waking up every couple hours. Forget pre-race jitters, I was experiencing pre-race anxiety. Fortunately, despite the rough night of sleep, I was feeling pretty good, ate a bowl of oatmeal and headed over to Wachusett Mountain for the start of the race …

The Fear of DNF

April 24, 2019 by Stephen Hallgren in Life

When I run my mind likes to wander. Even though I know exactly where my feet are going, it’s always a mystery where my mind will take me and where it’ll end up. One particular day I was contemplating the meaning of life and whether I had the guts and ability to run a 50 mile ultramarathon. While I have ran a couple marathons and plenty of smaller races, an ultra is way beyond anything I have ever experienced before. All I could think of was my dead body being medivacked off the course, which then reminded me of my very first (and last) bicycle race.

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When I was in high-school I was obsessed with bicycling. I religiously read my Bicycling magazine from cover to cover, absorbing every little tip and trick. I would spend hours tuning, cleaning and buffing my Trek 830 Antelope until it gleamed. I would swap out components for newer and better ones. I spent hundreds of dollars on Paul Love Levers when they first came out (kudos if you remember these). While I could rattle off a plethora of bicycling facts, when it came to actually bicycling, the only places I rode were to the bookstore and the grocery store…

Gear: Saucony Perigrine 8

April 10, 2019 by Stephen Hallgren in Reviews, Gear

The Saucony Perigrine 8 was my first trail running shoe ever and I wore them for my first 50 mile ultramarathon, which happened to be my first ultramarathon ever.

My choice to purchase the Perigrine 8 wasn’t very scientific. I started trail running this year and was mainly motivated by finding a cheap, but quality shoe, just in case this was a passing fad for me…