Need a Unique Gift for a Runner? How about a Toe Condom?

10 Gift Ideas for the Runner In Your Life

Do you fret over what gift to buy the runner in your life?

You know they love running because the running schedule is tacked over the kiddo's latest crayon drawings.  And they won't run on a dirt track or a rainy day because they have new shoes they don't want to get dirty.  And they have more than enough tech T's because races (at least the bigger ones) provide a tech T and the drawer is already crammed with cotton T's covering every color of the rainbow.

So what do you buy that runner that will make them jump up with joy and give you a great big hug?

1. A gift with safety in mind, is the Road ID. Road ID is identification worn as a bracelet, anklet, necklace or on the running shoe with contact and medical information about the runner. The anklet and bracelet styles are great for the triathlete going from water, to bike to road. I wrote a post about Road ID which includes coupon codes that are kept up to date.  Priced around $20 this is a great gift for the  runner, you and even your dog. (yep, they have a style for the dog too)
2. A race entry fee to a local race is sure to get you a thumbs up.  Make a day out of the gift giving a race entry followed by breakfast or lunch.  Or design a weekend out of town around a race.
3. Nite Ize has an awesome, super bright arm band to wear when you want cars and others to see you in the dark. At $12 this will slip easily into the Christmas stocking.
4. Guys, sorry this next one is just for girls.  Lululemon turbo speed shorts are extremely comfortable and the perfect length covering the butt cheeks. While a little pricey at $54, maybe only one may makes it into the running clothes drawer but that one pair will be coveted. Rather than wear the shorts for a short, solo run around the block, it'll be pulled out time and again for the longer runs or group runs.  Gotta show off the cute shorts when others can admire them too.
5. If Lululemon shorts were for the gals then nipple guards and toe condoms are for the guys.  Nipple guards prevent bloody nipples and can be worn "for multiple runs over 72 hours".  Now that's getting your monies worth out of a product.  Toe caps, AKA as toe condoms, protect the toe and toe nail from blisters and black toes.  During Ragnar Wasatch my girlfriend successfully warded off black toenails using the toe condoms. 
6. Every runner loves new socks and aren't always willing to spend the money themselves for new socks. Runner socks range from $8-20 a pair so grab a pair or two to give to any runner in your life.
7. Carrying small things like keys,phone, Chapstick or GU is easy with the Spibelt. The non-bouncing belt is a must have rather than cramming everything into pockets. The styles range from $20 to $30 with original styles to waterproof versions and even a spileash for the dog.
8. On cold nippy days, running gloves with the thumb fabric being soft for wiping running noses is a must. Running gloves today also have special fabric on thumbs for touch screen like the iPhone.
9. Garmin running watches range in functionality and price. Only need to track miles and pace without all the extra bells and whistles try the Forerunner 10 at $130. Needing to go from water to road?  The Forerunner 910XT is your watch for $449. With many more watches and varying functionality and price the runner in your life will love tracking miles and paces with a Garmin.
10. Compression socks are still popular touting recovery miracles. There are many brands to check out...Zoot, CEP, Asics, CW-X, and more.

 

My fav's are the hot pink CEP socks which I proudly wear in memory of Sally Meyerhoff. 

Happy Running!

note: I have not been compensated by any company to mention their product.Other than the toe condoms and nipple guards, I've used the products I listed as gifts and recommend them. 

Why I like Garmin 305 better than Garmin 610

When I started running over 6 years ago I purchased the Garmin 305. Over the years I've drooled over the the other Garmin watches as they've come on the market but I've never been willing to part with the money.  Last year for my birthday I asked for the Garmin 610.  The reviews were positive and it didn't have the malfunctioning touch bevel of the Garmin 405.

The Garmin 305

Garmin 610

The Garmin 610 improved the battery life compared to the 305, wasn't a gigantic watch on my petite wrist and looked like a real watch instead of a big box.  A year later there are some things that I really appreciate in the 305 and feel overall it's a better watch.

1. In order to see run history on the 610 you have to first find satellites. On the 305 a simple press of the button and I'd be able to see all the history of prior runs.  The 610 takes it's time while it finds the satellites and if you're inside it takes even longer for it to realize it's not outside.  Bring back the ability to see history without being "connected".
2. Once the history finally comes up the lap detail at the bottom are hard to see because of the circle screen.  The history to be viewed optically, should be scrolled up to the middle of the screen to avoid cutting off the corners due to the circle shape. Unfortunately trying to scroll often means going to far or not far enough to land exactly on the spot.
3. On the 305 once the satellites were found, you were good to go.  The battery saving feature of the 610 means with no activity it will automatically drop the satellites going into power save mode.  If you're waiting for a race to start, you have to turn on the watch a couple minutes before to have the satellites found at the start of the race. When I talked to customer service about changing the time before going into power saving mode, there was no option to change it.  He recommended starting the clock running, then just before officially needing the watch, press stop, reset the data and then start the watch.  I can't tell you how many times I've went to start a run or a race only to find the watch went into power save mode and I didn't know.  You can't start the watch and have it find the satellites quickly either (even though it just had them).
4. After a year I've had to do a hard reset twice.  The Garmin 610 watch, for whatever reason, takes 10 minutes to turn on and then find the satellites. To turn off it also misbehaves. After doing a hard reset  the watch works again. When I switched from the 305, the battery life wasn't as good and it misbehaved some but it never took 10 minutes to find the satellites and require frequent hard resets.
5. The final reason is actually a trade off between the 305 and the 610.  The 305 size of the watch was unyielding for my wrist and the 610 although sized better is still unable to fit my small wrist.  A metal piece on my 610 is always showing in order to tighten the watch so it's not loose and spinning on my wrist. On two occassions the pin has come out and I've had to slide the band pin back into it's correct spot.

Update: 6/11/13- almost a year after I first posted and I still miss my 305.  I hardly use the capability the watch has because it's so annoying to get to it.  I almost never check my laps because it has to find the satellites.  And yes, you can stop it from finding satellites but only after it's went through a certain stage.  WIth the 305 I could check history, laps, old runs without waiting the 3 minutes to find the satellites.  It's so annoying. 

The other thing that is annoying is I can't swipe back a screen easily.  It recognizes the swipes forward easily but not backwards.

When the battery is low it restarts. With the 305 it is was a low battery you could still run and get data. With the 610, once the battery is low, when you hit start it resets its self, finds satellites again and then loops.  You try and start, it resets, finds satellites. Rinse and repeat.  

I still have to do hard resets about every 3-4 months which means I have to reset all my screens and preferences.

I wonder if I can buy my 305 back from my friend who bought it from me?  The 305 is better than the 610 so if you're on the fence buy the 305 or wait for newer technology.

Quality Miles Over Quantity Miles

It's an ongoing debate. 
Quantity of miles or quality of miles?

A local running coach, I'll call him Coach A, makes shirts saying "Do Miles".  That could be just a shirt declaring someone is a runner but it's actually the coach's philosophy.  Go out and run more and more miles. Miles is what's important.

Another local coach, Coach B, is about quality of miles.  Each mile should have a purpose with no junk miles. 

In the world of supersize, we think more is better. If 30 miles is good, 50 miles MUST be better.  Even I look in awe at people hitting 50 miles or 70 miles in a week.  I hit 50 miles once and felt I had accomplished something big; I proudly posted I hit 50 miles that week.  The fact within 2 weeks I was injured isn't irrelevant.

But wait...elites are running 120 miles a week so isn't that support to run more miles?  The important thing to know is the elites are running those miles as quality miles.  They are doing speed work, putting in goal miles, tempo runs and long runs.  Each run has a specific goal. You won't hear the elites say they are slogging through the miles.

Training Science blog posted  An Interesting Analysis of Some Elites' Training History and are proponents for the theory that high mileage doesn't lead to increase performance with examples of Ron Hill, Alberto Salazar and Bruce Fordyce.  Each elite runner they tried the more is better approach and had increased fatigue and decreased race performance.  The elite runners experiment of more miles equals more success failed.

In the book Lore of Running by Tim Noakes in Chapter 5, Developing a Training Foundation there are 15 laws of training with law #6 with Achieve as Much as Possible on a Minimum of Training.  Noakes says "But since the first running boom of the 1970s, an increasing number of runners have begun to believe that the more they train, the more successful they will be.  In fact, there is a limit to the amount of training the body can benefit from. Training beyond that limit produces progressively poorer performances, leading ultimately to overtraining". The chapter discusses the importance of quality over quantity.

What about you?  Which camp are you in?  
Quality or Quantity or a mixture of the two?


 Happy Running!

Favorite Cheering Sign - Worst Parade Ever

Worst Parade Ever is going to be the next sign I make to cheer on friends running a race. Imagine someone showing up for a parade with floats and marching bands only to see runners trudging by, some smiling, some glaring and some flat out in their own world they don't even notice you.

Back in February many of my friends were running the IMS Arizona Marathon and I headed out with my double sign in tow.  Not being very creative outside of creating a sign with "RUN", I went to the web for inspiration. The one thing I knew is my sign wouldn't have "You're Almost There." There really should be a law against that one. The only time that is remotely funny is at mile 1 of a half or full marathon.

 Some funny signs I found are:

• "In our minds, you're all Kenyans."
• "Your feet hurt because you are kicking so much butt!"
• "Your legs will forgive you...eventually."
• "Don't stop -- people are watching."
• "Chafe now...brag forever."
• "That's not sweat, it's your fat cells crying."
• "You've got stamina! Call me!"
• "If it was easy, I would do it."
• "Toenails are for sissies." or "Don't worry, toenails are overrated."
• "You're not slow. You're just enjoying the course."
• "Stop reading this and keep running!"
• "Beat Oprah!"
• "Puke and rally!"
• "Run like someone's chasing you."
• "Run faster...I just farted."
• "It'll feel better when it stops hurting."
• "You trained longer than Kim Kardashian's marriage!"
• "Mortuary ahead....look alive!"

Rule 2.20 in The Runner's Rule Book by Mark Remy says" Truth, fiction, or neutral, the key is to say something.  Even a zombie appreciates a note of encouragement."

Happy Running!

Cleaning My Running Bottles

Although I've occasionally run my yellow running Amphipod bottles through the dishwasher, they developed a thin layer of gray muck which I can only assume is mold. I used to only put water  in my water bottles but lately I love the Nuun tablets and adding the sugar mixture to my bottles then letting them sit closed for a week is creating a micro-organism environment.   Not sure what type of bad things I'm growing or what comes from that but I figured it's time to really clean them.

After a quick search on the web and turning down the option of using some bleach in the bottles (seriously?  I'm going to drink out of it again and don't trust my rinsing abilities) I opted for the solution to use lentils or dry rice, baking soda, hot water and dish soap.  In each bottle I put 2 tsp of lentils, 1/2 tsp of baking soda and filled it half full with hot, almost boiling, water and a drop of dishsoap and secured the lid.  Then shake away.  If you haven't secured the lid tight enough or left the top open, air and bubbles escape.  I recommend working over a kitchen sink. After shaking for a bit I opened up the top to release the built up air and shot water and soap across the kitchen.  After you've shaken the bottles to your hearts desire.  Rinse thoroughly.

The gray layer inside the bottle is gone and they smell cleaner.  I do still have tiny grey spots in the tops and think I'll go soak those in baking soda, hot water and soap solution from the water bottles.

Recipe for cleaning running bottles. For each 8oz running bottle (I use the yellow Ampipod brand) add:
2 tsp lentils or dry rice
1/2 - 1 tsp of baking soda
Hot Water- fill bottle 1/2 way
Drop of dish soap

Cover and Shake, Shake, Shake your bootie.
Put your caps into a bowl. Empty the cleaning solution from the bottles into the bowl with the caps and let soak.
Rinse well

Happy Running!

On the Road Again

I've been back running for 2 weeks since I pulled a calf muscle.  It feels AWESOME to be running again and the mornings are beautiful.  It still hits 100 degrees during the day but the mornings have finally cooled off making it perfect running weather.

This morning I ran fartleks.  2 minutes quick running followed by 1 minute easy jog.  Breaking up the run with fartleks made the miles go fast. I thought I was at the 2 mile mark of my run but realized my 3 mile turn around was in front of me. Awesome.

I'll keep up the fartleks for my runs to increase my overall speed.  Taking a month off from running decreased my endurance and speed but I can use the fartleks to keep in the run interesting and continue to build until the quick pace gets easier.

Do you incorporate fartleks into your workout?

Happy Running!

Ragnar Wasatch Back - Hard Days Night

When I originally said I would run Chicago, I didn't realize Wasatch back was the following weekend.  The hardest thing about back to back Ragnars is being gone from home but Wasatch back is my favorite Ragnar race and I wouldn't miss it for anything.

RACE HIGHS

• Mandy, the new addition to the team, was a running gazelle.  Beautiful form and lightening fast. She surprised even herself with her awesomeness.
• The weather was fantastic. It had a 30% chance of rain and we had perfect weather and perfect skies the whole time.  As I type this, the day after, it's raining.



Curtis and Dan discuss the fine art of creek jumping

• Our "van" is a truck and with the perfect weather we can sit in the back and take in the race from a different view. When someone is running and people are in the back, the members inside the truck always have plenty of space. 

• Somer ran fantastic on a bum knee.  She hurt it while training for Ragnar and decided to do a knee plant on her run. The chiropractor did some magic on it two days before and unless Somer was lying to us, she ran on it and did all three of her legs.
• Taking our picture on the fence.
• The finish line was 10 times better than last year. Last year parking was horrible, the area was cramped, you couldn't hear your runner being announced and we never got to run in with our 12th runner.   This year it was at a high school and it was organized with shuttles and staging areas for runners coming in and announcing for the finishing teams. There was free pizza, free ice cream and free chocolate milk too.  

Their flesh colored costumes really looked like they were wearing nothing

Dan hand off to Mandy. Up to this point we had no idea Mandy was a gazelle...a natural runner

Somer hands off to me for my run up Avon pass

Mandy, me and Curtis

Jess hands off to Curtis

The scenery is beautiful

RACE LOWS

• Getting up at 4:15am on Friday for the 9:15am start. Having gotten up equally early the day before, I felt like I was starting the race already deprived of sleep.
• Somer getting a text the morning before the race having a team member drop. Like breaking up through text, getting a text of a drop is also heartbreaking but Socialite Somer already had backups lined up.

RACE STATS

• My running confidence is low between being injured and sick the week before. I had only run 3 miles the week before and had to walk part of that and take breaks. I wasn't sure how I would do on my first leg which is uphill, on a dirt road and 7.4 miles at 9:28 pace (interesting fact: last year I ran it in 9:33 pace but I think I was in better shape last year)
• 2nd leg was awesome in the dark. 4.21 miles 8:19 pace (last year I ran it in 8:10 pace)
• Freezing my bootie off on my third leg I wish I had gloves on for my run in the 30's.  The third leg was actually Curtis's leg. Mandy was unsure if she would be able to run her 7.7 mile run so Curtis, being an ultra runner, took that leg, I took Curtis's leg and Mandy took mine. I was happy with the change because I got in some extra mileage although I felt very sluggish and tired during the run. 5.05 miles 8:43 pace

Fence picture right after leg 5

Somer and Dan

Curtis cuddles with his pillow pet

FUN MOMENTS

Dan reenacts his falling into the creek

• While waiting at exchange 12, Dan decided the port-a-potty lines were too long and the rock up on the side of the hill needed watering.  Unfortunately his creek jumping skills suffer and he fell in.  I didn't see it happen but he provided entertainment for numerous team watching his non-athletic creek jumping skills.  

• Still feeling defeated after falling into the creek, after running his 2nd leg, Dan put on his hat, winter parka and cocooned himself into his sleeping bag and laid in the back of the truck even though it was in the 40's. After his 3rd leg he did the same and wins the award for the most sleep ever had during a a Ragnar race.



Somer baked birthday cupcakes for Haley.  Yummy!

• Unlike last year, the 2nd van was friendly and we talked with them at each exchange.  It was Haley's birthday and they wore tulle in their hair, Somer made cupcakes for them and we sang happy birthday. The tulle in the hair is a great idea because it distinguishes the person from the crowd of other runners.

• I was in the RagMag! I was flipping through the RagMag and saw a picture of me.  A number of weeks ago Ragnar sent an email asking why people run. I made up some goofy story and hit send and was surprised it showed up in the RagMag
• At exchange 12, I saw funky runner man from Chicago and ran over excited to see him since we had talked the week before.  He gave me a hug but had no clue who I was. Then he said, what did you say?  You said we talked last week?  He probably doesn't remember me at all but with his wild and crazy costumes, I couldn't forget him.

• Somer and I got hot pink hair extensions for our hair and they just peaked through the pony tail.
• Each exchange the honey pot truck was there sucking up nasties with a gigantic hose. slurppppppp. We were laughing with tears in our eyes first time we saw and heard it.

• Waffles after our 3rd leg at exchange 30. Finding a power source provided challenging but Steve scouted one out and we enjoyed hot, fresh waffles.

Gearing up for Back to Back Ragnars

I've been on the quiet side with blogging mainly because I have been concentrating on PT to get running again.  I'll try and expand in a future post about PT and ART, which is what made the night and day difference for me.  The main thing is that I'm running now pain free.  I was fatigued during the run and sore after the run but the calf/hamstring is good.

I'm leaving for Chicago Ragnar tomorrow and since I'm actually able to run I'm very excited.  I managed to pack everything in a large day pack, which is a feat in itself.  My total miles is 19 miles and my last leg is almost 10 miles, which does have me worried since my longest run in over a month was last night and was 5 miles. So much for the 10% rule.   I did email the team captain and reduce my pace down to take some of the pressure off me.  I'd rather under-promise and over deliver.

The following weekend is Wasatch and that race will be a blast since I will be running it with the same friends as last year.  Hopefully it won't be too cold because they got snow a couple weekends ago.

Anyways, that's it for right about now and I'll post soon about Chicago Ragnar and the craziness of the race.

Happy Running!

Great Site about all you want to know about Garmin Watches and GPS

My Garmin Forerunner is starting to act up and I'm researching what I would like to replace it.  (The 610 is the winner).  In the process of researching it, I found a really cool site where DC Rainmaker has done reviews on Garmins and other watches, has Garmin tips and talks about the accuracy or inaccuracy of GPS.  Not only is he techy, but he's also an accomplished tri-athlete and will soon be in the Men's Health magazine.  You should spend some time on his site checking out all the cool stuff.  Here are the links relating to Garmin and GPS that I found interesting.

How to guides for your Garmin (tons of various links here)

Ten random tips for your Garmin Forerunner 305 

Art of Pacing with your Garmin

How Racing Courses are measured and the differences with your GPS

How to download workouts

This isn't Garmin related but he talks about the affects of alcohol

Happy Running!

Buckeye Outdoors

Buckeye Outdoors is an awesome site to log your miles for all sports (you can even custom make icons/events...like gardening), track mileage on shoes, your diet, training plans, download from your Garmin and make friends with the social networking section. I've used the site for 4 years and enter all my runs and track my running goals on the site.  Ben, tri-athlete, creator, programmer and host of Buckeye, has never charged for his awesome website nor asked for donations.  The website isn't sponsored by some big athletic company nor are you harassed with constant, annoying pop-up adds.  Ben provides the website out of love for the sport and to help others.

Unfortunately Buckeye servers have been affected by the horrible storms. The website says

Buckeye Outdoors has suffered a major outage. A series of electrical storms first knocked out the backup servers that were located at the backup up location. Then the unthinkable happened 4 days later and a second electrical storm caused an extended power outage at the datacenter where the primary Buckeye Outdoors servers are hosted. The current situation is pretty grimm and I'm despritly trying to recover the data that has been lost. If I am un able to recover the data I will put the application back online but right now I am holding out hope and I even might send the Hard Disks to a data recovery place. If you have any questions please email here: questions@buckeyeoutdoors.com

Many of you have expressed an interest in donating funds to help shoulder the burden of the recovery cost. At first I didn't want to accept these donations because there really isn't a guarantee that they will be able to recover any of the data. But as the expenses are adding up (while the recovery is going I am rebuilding the servers and having to replace hardware), so if you want to contribute I am open to it as long as you keep in mind that there is no primise that the data will be recovered.

If your a Buckeye Outdoor user or have a big heart and are interested in helping, you can donate here.

Happy Running!

Training for Ragnar

In the flurry of emails regarding the upcoming Ragnar races someone on my team who has never run Ragnar asked for training advice.  A veteran team member replied to break his runs up into 2 pieces.  If he currently runs 6 miles today, run 3 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon or evening to get used to running more than once a day.  While that advice is absolutely correct, it can be expanded on.  Here is what I suggest for Ragnar training

Get up early, about 5am, eat breakfast from a gas station, drive around in the car, get out, walk around, get back in the car, get out of the car and then go for a run.  Get in the vehicle immediately after the run DO NOT STRETCH and drive around, go do errands, whatever.  DO NOT SHOWER.  Eat again, sit around, go find a construction site with a rank smelling port-a-potty and no toilet paper, then go for another run.  You should be getting sleepy about now. Find someone who talks non-stop and ask them to talk to you while you try and sit quietly. It is very important that the  non-stop talking occurs for the next 7 hours. DO NOT SLEEP. It should now be nighttime and you should be very tired.  DO NOT SLEEP. Turn on the TV, find PBS and a show about wild animals, turn up the volume on the TV. Kick back on the couch with your spare roll of toilet paper that you carry with you everywhere after the port-a-potty incident, close your eyes and just when you are about to sleep, the wild animals should start to roar, this should continue for 2 hours. If it is effective roaring, you will laugh from delirious tiredness and wonder when you can get up and run again.  At 3 am, get up and go outside, walk around, get in and out of the vehicle for good measure,  drink some luke warm coffee or hot chocolate, take Pepto Bismal for the upset stomach and then go for another run.  By this point you should be tired, smelly, stiff and sore but well trained for losing your Ragnar virginity.

Sweat, Wet And Tired (Ragnar SWAT)

Volunteers are what makes successful races work.  I always try and thank volunteers when I snatch the water cup from them at races but I personally have not done enough volunteering.  Once to be exact.  Saturday's 14 hour volunteering stint should start to even the scales in my volunteering deficiency.

3 of my awesome volunteers got into the Ragnar mood quickly with their tattoos

As many of you know, I'm a Ragnarite and love Ragnar. (Check out the new page in my blog).  Ragnar Del Sol was this weekend and I had the fantastic opportunity of being a SWAT volunteer.  SWAT stands for Sweat,  Wet and Tired. A SWAT volunteer is a hard core volunteer that oversees a major exchange.  They are involved with the set up, tear down, directing volunteers, answering questions and walking around all day long.   As a SWAT member I also get a couple perks, which is why I wanted to be a SWAT volunteer as compared to a regular volunteer.  As a SWAT volunteer I get $50 of credit for the RAGNAR store, a cool t-shirt and a free entry into another RAGNAR race.  SWEET!

Traffic control

Safety

Luckily I SWAT'd with Denyse and we met in Phoenix at 6:15am and drove out together to Tonapah to a dirt patch in the middle of the desert which would be our exchange.  The exchange had been moved from one dirt lot to another earlier in the week due to the extensive stickers bushes.  I'd hate to see what the first lot looked like because this new location seemed just as bad.  The truck with all the equipment was already there and we began the processing of setting up and moving the tents multiple times until the site flowed...or as well as it can flow with sticker bushes everywhere.

Denyse checking in volunteers

The volunteers were awesome and worked hard.  They jumped in and got to work setting up the site.  We assigned 3 guys to scope out parking and be the parking attendants.  Directing traffic was probably the most trying task at the exchange.  Luckily traffic was two lanes in/out from the main street but the parking itself was one way.  The continually had to stop cars to allow traffic to come out.  The other challenge was the port-a-potties were about 10 feet off our makeshift road and waiting in the port-a-potty line required standing in the road.

Me and Rae and our (ugly) fluffy tutus. (I have wig envy...Rae's wig was prettier than mine)

A couple times I relieve Rae who was announcing runners at the chute but never felt comfortable with that.  Rae is much more fun that me and has a natural flair for joking and playing with the runners. Most of the time I  was running around but I did get a 5 minute rest to sit down when I relieved the spotter (200 yards out from the chute) and had an opportunity to sit.  Ahhh.

Thoughts on SWAT

• Fantastic opportunity to get an inkling of what goes on behind the scenes.
• Guys are stronger with directing traffic and parking.
• Wearing a bright colored wig makes it easy to find you.
• In a world of business where everyone has to be efficient, it's ok if volunteers hang out doing nothing and chat.
• Keep your volunteers till the end because there is still lots of stuff to take down and put away after the last runner has gone through.
• Get in contact with the exchange during the last shift to learn when the last runner is through.
• Use Ragnar command central to let them know what's going on (arriving/last runner/concerns)

It's great seeing the teams and runners. Here are a couple pics.

Happy Running!

Running Challenge Question-Why do you read running blogs?

Feel free to comment here or answer the question on your own blog.  Click to view past Running Challenge Questions.

Why do you read running blogs?

This goes along with last weeks question about why you have a running blog.  Many of you already touched on the friendships you've developed by reading other blogs or learning about running.  I started reading blogs because Lesley of Going the Extra Mile befriended me through Buckeye Outdoors.   Finding other people that shared a passion of running led me to following everyone I could find and reading what they were doing.  I've developed many virtual friendships and love seeing what my friends are up to.   I was even able to meet Lesley last summer and because I followed her blog I knew about her races and training.  When we met we talked like we were continuing a conversation from yesterday.  

Besides the friendships I also like hearing what they are eating, what works/doesn't work.  I love it when people share healthy recipes and often I'm encouraged to eat healthier myself.  Hearing about their training schedules, while I wish they didn't have them, helps encourage me through my bouts of bad runs or injuries. It's like we are all in this together and we understand each other.  We are surrounded by friends.

Happy Running! 

Pace Calculator

Having a pace calculator for me is a necessity.  I run gazillion of iterations through it when I'm trying to figure out what pace to run or if I'm trying to hit a certain time what pace do I need.

To use the calculator enter 2 of the 3 variables...it time and distance and click pace to see what your pace should be. I've added this as a page and the bottom of my blog for you to use at any time. (sorry the pace piece on this page doesn't line up right)

Pace calculator

Calculate your running pace per mile or
kilometer with the pace calculator.

P A C E   C A L C U L A T O R
Time	hours mins secs	To calculate your time, fill in your distance and pace then click here:
Distance	Miles Kilometers Meters Yards or Pick Event Marathon Half-Marathon 5K 5M 8K 10K 15K 10M 20K 15M 25K 30K 20M	To calculate your distance, fill in your time and pace then click here:
Pace	hr min   sec     Per Mile Kilometer 880 yrds 440 yrds 220 yrds 1500 M 800 M 400 M 200 M Meter Yard	To calculate your pace, fill in your time and distance then click here:

How About Dem Fartleks?

A tempo run was on the schedule for today but my Garmin was sitting on my desk at work. Little good that would do me keeping to a defined pace sitting on my desk.  My options were to go back to bed but since I was already awake I knew I wouldn't fall back asleep.  Or I could do strengthening exercises, push-ups, sit-ups, monster walks, etc. I needed to get a run in though so I headed out the door thinking I would just try a tempo run anyways.  

After a short warm-up when I picked up the pace I realized a tempo run really wouldn't work because I didn't know my pace not to mention I'm lazy and really don't care for tempo runs.  Plan B was formed....fartleks...2 minutes of running at a picked up pace and 1 minute of easy.  The 3 miles to my turn-around point flew by.  On the way back though my pace on my 2 minutes got slower and the minute of easy got longer.  It was still a quality workout.

With a 1.5 miles to go I realized that although I had used the bathroom before I left, my body was asking for a bush stop, which I denied.  I got to thinking about when I started using the term "bush stop".  In 2000 I had an opportunity to visit Ukraine and village when my ancestors came from. The Ukraine had very primitive bathroom facilities.  While most homes had an outhouse, you didn't know the condition it would be in. Some had just a hole in the ground, some had a platform box so you could sit and even others had confiscated a toilet seat.  In a real city, you could possibly have running water with a real toilet and maybe, just maybe toilet paper.  Usually there was no toilet paper but maybe a book or magazine.  Anyways, because of the infrequency of facilities and the fear of falling in when there were facilities, it was more desirable to stop along side the road and do a "bush stop". I used to have a picture of our group scattering from our mini-van to make the "bush-stop" but I must have lost it when I lost my external hard drive a number of months ago. Here is one picture that I did find of an outhouse WITH a door.  When there was a door, it was often green.  Go figure.

Happy Running!

Running Question Challenge - Who got you started doing a running blog?

Feel free to comment or answer the question on your own blog. Click here to see past questions.

Is there someone who you can give credit to for getting you started on a running blog?

Two people get credit for starting me on a running blog.  One, is my boyfriend.  He was joking with me telling me I should see if Lazy Bones Running was available.  Once I took that step, that's all it took.  But the reason that we were even talking blogs is my friend Lesley at Going the Extra Mile.  I met Lesley through Buckeye Outdoors, a great site to log all your workouts, diet, training plans, etc.  She commented one day on my workout.  I didn't know the commenting feature was even there.  I searched her out on Buckeye,  found her profile and saw she had a blog talking about my favorite subject, running.  From there I found other blogs about running too.  My world expanded into blogs and what other people were doing. Thanks Lesley for getting me hooked on blogging!