Getting active and deciding to sign up for a local race can be much more intimidating than it needs to be. I find people are surprised when I tell them I signed up for a half marathon, got out the door to start training, and the rest is history.
My start in distance running likely won’t be as effective for most people: Ted is an avid runner, swimmer and triathlete, and a few of my friends are extremely dedicated runners and cyclists. My mom has finished half marathons, and I also have a couple of other family members that run.
It wasn’t a total shock when everyone heard I wanted to run – I was seen as just another member of the family.
For those of you trying to help a friend or family member get more active, there are a few great online resources. Active.com, Runner’s World, and other well established running sites often provide great guides for runners of all levels. Jen Murphy, a writer for The Wall Street Journal Online, provides a great guide for women looking to get started. Murphy talks about mental challenges, lists first-time running stories from other ladies, and offers a basic training plan:
If you’re starting off at square one–you’ve never run or you’ve been inactive for quite some time–give yourself eight to 12 weeks to build a base. Begin by going on a brisk walk so your body gets used to physical activity. Then progress to a walk/run. Try walking three minutes and running 30 seconds to one minute for a total of 25 minutes. Eventually shift to a run/walk with three minutes running and 30 seconds to one minute of walking. Gradually run more and walk less until you’re running a full 30 minutes.
I’ve seen some interesting training guides since I started running, but this should be effective while also preventing injury. If in doubt, this could be worthwhile advice to remember: Starting slow will help you stick to your training plan.
You should also encourage any new runners to start slowly and work towards goals… it will help keep motivation and morale high, and help prevent injuries.
As all of you regular readers know: I like to tear my body up by over doing it. I know I should take it easy and spend more time on the couch but I am happy with the way things are. One of my injuries is called plantar fasciitis near the ball of the foot. This started about two years ago.
The pain has put a real damper on my running and bike riding. A combination of orthopedic inserts for my shoes, rest, yoga and ice have me running again. It is not pain free but the pain is bearable.
Ice is where ActiveWrap comes in. I tried to stick my foot in a big bowl of ice water but my foot revolted. My foot also did not go along with being placed in or on a bag of ice. I tried the ActiveWrap foot and ankle wrap with two ice packs. It is nice. Having a pack of ice strapped to your foot is no picnic but it is convenient to have the ice localized to the painful area.
The ice packs are in removable pouches that are held to the wrap with Velcro. That means you can put them on anywhere or in the wrap which puts the ice exactly where you want it. I get the ice exactly where the pain is located on my foot. I usually do this after training. While I am icing my foot, I can feel the pain come up in my ITB that is related to the plantar fasciitis by interconnected tissue. I don’t know how it works but that is what I have been told. I tell you this because I ice my knee after I get done icing my foot. I take the wrap off my foot, adjust the ice pack, then apply it to my knee. It is not a perfect fit like the knee pack but it works.
I also have a torn up shoulder from various activities, primarily swimming. I wear the shoulder wrap after a long swim or a hard round in the weight room. The shoulder wrap is not as versatile as the foot wrap but it works fine. It is a little tough to put on alone, but you’ll figure it out. The shoulder wrap uses pocket that are sewn into the wrap so there is no adjustment to cover the top of the shoulder. The wrap works well enough and it also doubles as a knee wrap.
Mike’s Note: We interviewed the ActiveWrap crew prior to the Oakland Running Festival, with the interview available here.I’m also working on a couple of reviews related to ActiveWrap, but it will take a week or so before you’re able to read my ramblings.
As someone who moved to California and started wearing flip flops almost every day during the spring and summers, I often wondered what, if any, physical damage the flip flops caused me.
I never bothered to look for an answer – and part of me didn’t want to hear an answer. Years later, I’ve recently switched from flip flops more towards old running shoes and regular sneakers. Ada on Twitter (@ProbalancePT) recently Tweeted an interesting article I want to discuss.
To put it simply: “The more the shoe conforms to your foot, the better off your foot and leg will be,” according to a kinesiology assistant professor at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. “If it’s loose, your foot has to work harder to keep your flip-flop on.”
When I walk short distances, I honestly haven’t felt much of a difference between flip flops and shoes. However, I notice it whenever walking for more than 10-to-15 minutes, and my feet and ankles begin to scream at me.
For anyone who feels the need to wear flip flops, try to find different models that have “deepened heel cups and defined arches”, they are better than regular sandals. These models should help relieve stress that is added to the shin muscles while wearing normal flip fops.
Moral of the story: Flip-flops are okay if you’re casually walking on the beach or around the pool, but aren’t ideal for longer durations. Since I’ve spent hours walking in several different pairs of flip-flops, I’m going to listen to the experts and wear sneakers more.
In Ted’s recent review of Hammer products, he mentioned his stomach burned at a point during a long run. I asked Hammer about this, and received a prompt response regarding the matter.
“They are normally well tolerated, even with small amounts of fluid,” I was told.
The Hammer rep said it’s not an issue they’ve heard from other customers — and seems more like it was a problem with Ted’s stomach during training.
Update: Ted confirmed it was his own doing… either way, if you suffer while testing a new product, it’s best to try and figure out what caused the problem. As noted in this article, contacting the company may be an ideal way to try and get to the bottom of things. Hammer is extremely customer-friendly, and has an online forum with a very friendly staff ready to handle your questions.
The ability to try a wide variety of cycling and running products has given me a much better understanding of which energy gels, supplements, and recovery products to use. I try to portray my experiences with various products to you guys as best as I can — if you have any specific questions, don’t hesitate to ask! Today I’ll share my initial thoughts on the Honey Stinger Ginsting flavor energy gel I tested during a recent longer, slow run in Alameda.
The Honey Stinger Ginsting energy gel has 120 calories per gel, 50mg sodium, 85mg potassium, 32mg caffeine, 29g total carbs, and 29g sugar. Similar to the Honey Stinger Gold, which is a honey flavor that doesn’t have added flavors, the Ginsting just adds a boost of caffeine.
First and foremost: Honey Stinger gels are sweet. Considering the company is called Honey Stinger, and honey is the main ingredient, you should probably expect it to be sweet. I enjoy the added sweetness and sugar provided by the honey — but be sure to wash the gel down with water or electrolyte drink!
If you’re not a fan of sweet candies or something really sweet while out racing, Honey Stinger may not be the best product. As always, I strongly recommend trying Hammer (and any other gel) on a training run before deciding to use it on race day — as tempting as it can be, leave the sample energy gels and other goodies in the bag!
Full review available after the jump. Read more… »
I’m writing a review of the FINIS SwiMP3 for Alameda Runners (review for MyCE published here), but wanted to give you a quick look at the MP3 player. Here is the FINIS spin on things:
I went out for a moderately difficult two hour run today through the hills on a hot day sporting a bag full of Hammer Nutrition products. I ate Montana Huckleberry gel along the route. It tasted really good relative to most other things that I have tried. It is always a big plus for me when it goes down easily. I washed it down with about 4 ounces of water and I was good to go.
At the one hour mark, I popped two if the Endurolytes. I washed them down with my last 2-4 ounces of water and turned around. It was hot and I consumed a lot more water going up the hills than I anticipated. It was 2-3 down hill miles to the nearest water stop. My stomach was burning like I had a stitch from running too hard without warming up. It was not too bad and went away as soon as I got some water. You will need water with these things.
As soon as I finished the run I had a Strawberry flavored Recoverite. This is by far the best tasting recovery drink that is mixed with water. I had no problem drinking it down or just sipping it.
On the drive home I drank a bottle of water mixed with Strawberry flavored HEED electrolyte drink. This tasted good too.
The rest of my nutritional intake for the day consisted of pizza, water and beer and I feel good. Hammer products rock. We usually share the sample products with readers. I am going to have a hard time parting with any of the Hammer products. They are all good.
I wanted to put Hammer through the test with a hard training day but issues came up and I had to cut my workout short by dropping the 3 hour bike ride. Sorry Hammer for not really putting you through the test but you did pass the short, hot workout with flying colors.
This weekend is athletes heaven for the Northern California tribe of readers. The weather is supposed to be perfect all over the place. I often vary my Saturday long workout routines to match the weather. This weekend I am spoiled for choice. There are so many options, I am going to stick with my plan that I wrote up in March! I will bring my wet suit to the bay in case I want to add a swim at the last minute. I encourage all of you readers to get out and do something this weekend. I packed so much into last weekend that it felt like I was coming off vacation when I went back to work on Monday. Just get out and do it!
Saturday 6/11/10, is the day I put the Hammer product line through the Ted tests. I am going to workout for about 5 hours consuming nothing but hammer products. If I make it home to write about my day, Hammer passed. If I wind up in the hospital with the emergency crews testing my road ID, the test did not go so well.
It appears that I created a bit of stir when I singled out Yoplait yogurt as a bad food in my dieting article. I heard so much about how Yoplait is fat free and it has dairy yogurt cultures and so on and so on. I stand by my implication of Yoplait being junk food. I don’t really have a problem with junk food. You just have to be careful about how much you consume. Pick your battles. If Yoplait is your choice of junk food that is fine. I would rather have chocolate or a cheeseburger as my junk food.
Here are some quick links to what I found on yogurt. I have a link for Voskos Greek Yogurt because they sell it in the Oakland Whole foods. I am not a big fan of Voskos but it is high quality and tastes decently enough. I love Greek Gods Yogurt but it is very high in fat and about half the people in the link are not fans. Of course there is a link to yoplait.com.
If you get out for a 5 hour workout this weekend, you can eat anything you want afterwards providing your stomach is up for it. Enjoy the weekend!
Subscribe
