I just posted an article about going from being a desk jockey to running a 5k the other day. Today, I found a similar article from active.com in my inbox. Their article is similar to mine. We both encourage you to get out and do it. Do not overdo things. There is no shame in walking. Slowly build up to the 5k distance.
I am a firm believer in getting multiple opinions and making your own decisions. It is amazing how many things work well one day and not so well the next. Read up on things and draw your own conclusions. Do your best to not come up with excuses to rest.
Acitve.com is a great place for articles. They are like the Microsoft of event management. They reign supreme but they know there a lot of options available. To stay relevant, they have an online magazine and wordpress style blog. Their blog is excellent. The articles are well written and pertain to most sports for all levels. They are a “for profit site” but I have never noticed a bias in their writing. I give them kudos for keeping the bias out. I have people send me stuff to review and it is so hard to not cheer on the little guys who are just starting out or the people who contact me.
If you are not a member of active.com, I encourage you to browse around their web site. It is a good idea to sign up for their service and have your credit card on file. Some of the events we do sell out quickly. It is good to be on record when you sign up for these events.
Getting healthy is hard but it does not need to be painful. When you lead a comfortable sedentary lifestyle, it can be really hard to get started. If you make it painful, the chances of you repeating the effort decrease dramatically. Getting started is the biggest hurdle. Once you start, take it easy. You will get stronger as time progresses.
Do it – Get out the door and take that first step. Decide when you are going to train and do it. It is amazing how many excuses we can come up with to skip a workout. I am currently training for a triathlon. I am training for more than 15 hours per week and I still look for reasons to skip a workout.
No pain – I know about the old saying “No pain, no gain”, but that is not always true. If you get a pain in your side, do not suck it up and keep going. Relax; there is nothing wrong with slowing down or walking.
No huffing and puffing – If you are having a tough time breathing, slow down or walk. There is nothing wrong with shuffling along and getting it done. You are training to get stronger. When you are starting out, moving is the primary goal. Get out and do it.
Start easy – When I started running the telephones were about 100 yards apart in my area of rural Pennsylvania. Paradise, Pennsylvania to be exact. I would run from one telephone pole to the next, and then walk to the next pole. I would make it about 3 or 4 poles then I would start walking a little bit early then start running a little bit late. After a couple of weeks of this, I would run for 2 poles then walk one. Before the summer was over, I could run 3 miles without stopping.
Distance before speed – Do not worry about your speed. Work your way up to a distance of 2-5 miles then work on speed by using the same telephone poles. The same thing happens when you are working on speed as distance. Working on speed can bring tears to your eyes. Know the difference between lung pain and body pain. If you are not sure, assume it is body pain and slow down or walk. Injuries mess things up.
I know these tips are general in nature. The idea is for you to find tips from a lot of sources and do what works for you. Take it easy, have fun and don’t get hurt. I excel at the having fun part but I am not too good at taking it easy and staying healthy.
Calling all Alameda Runners … are you prepared for the Midway Run and Walk 5K next Saturday?
Benefiting the Midway Shelter for Abused Women and Children – an Alameda-based non-profit group with a great cause – the event organizers have a small 5K run and walk race planned for Bay Farm next weekend.
A 5K run, 1-mile walk and a free kids fun run will help bring local runners together for a great cause. Donations also are being accepted.
If you’re interested, you can pick up a registration form from the soon-to-be Total Woman Gym at South Shore, or head to Alamedarace.com to register online.
Launching from the Harbor Bay Ferry terminal, it should be a small, fun event that costs just $20 for adults to register for.
I will be out taking pictures at the Survival Dash 10K run along and around Crissy Field on Saturday, August 18th. For my distance running friends, this is a nice short run for a change.
The run is put on to help support the Semper Fi Fund to provide financial support for injured members of the Armed Forces. I hope our government does not forget about the service members who get injured in one way or another but I am sure every little bit of extra helps.
Join us for a small race with great volunteers and the proceeds go to a great cause. Hopefully the sun will come out and I can get some good pictures.
Update from from the Survival Dash race director:
I’ve made a 15% discount code, “alamedarunners,” that you’re welcome to add to the site. It expires on 8/15 at 5pm.
Concerning the Semper Fi Fund, they work on covering costs that the military doesn’t (adaptive housing/transportation for those in wheelchairs, specialized and adaptive equipment at home like software programs and visual aids). The coolest part, in my opinion, is Team Semper Fi. They encourage teamwork and rapid rehabilitation by providing coaches, specialized sporting equipment, team uniforms, and travel expenses for recovering service members and their families.
Swimming is one of the most popular sports of the summer Olympics, and the athletes and technology behind swimming get a large amount of attention.
For regular people, swimming may be nothing more than a dip in the pool for relief from summer heat. Some athletes have coaches and work on swim form and time for swim meets, triathlons, and other athletic sports.
For Olympic swimmers, however, it’s a mix of hard work in the pool and cutting-edge technology that gives them the opportunity to smash world records every time they enter the pool.
To help out even further, researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a humanoid robot able to closely mimic a swimmer’s movement in the water. Ideally, the humanoid can help researchers learn how swimmers can glide through the water with a minimal amount of drag.
We have a lot of exciting things in the works here at Alameda Runners. I recently started working with several new companies and PR agencies, so that means we have some great articles and reviews in the pipeline.
For a sneak peek, I can confirm at least two new projects that Ted and I have on the schedule.
I asked a few people on Twitter and Facebook about compression products, and the results were unanimous: 2XU is the company to speak with. Originally founded and based in Australia, 2XU has invaded the US with high-quality products aimed for runners, cyclists and triathletes looking for top notch gear – but it comes at a price.
Giro, known for making helmets and shoes, also is taking some time to answer a few questions for Alameda Runners.
We have a couple of reviews to post in the next couple of weeks – and even more cool stuff is rolling in! Thanks to our readers for continually showing up to read our ramblings, because we obviously couldn’t do it without you.
Thanks for the participating companies, because they could easily shrug us aside (even though I’m persistent) with little repercussion.
More than 150 participants will ride from Oakland to Sacramento, protesting extremely reckless school spending.
For those not looking to make the full journey, there are 45-mile and 65-mile routes also available.
Proceeds will be directed to Oakland Technical High School, Oakland International High School, Claremont Middle School and Emerson Elementary School. Event organizers want to generate $60,000 for the ride — and depending on the success of the 2012 ride, additional cities may be added in the future.
In honor of Bike to Work Day next week, here is some information about BikeAlameda, an island-based bike advocacy group. Here is a tidbit they had posted in the Alameda Sun, titled “Promoting a Bicycle-Friendly City: BikeAlameda.”
BikeAlameda has been working on behalf of cyclists for more than 10 years. Through the offering of free bike-safety classes, hundreds of people are now riding safely and confidently on Alameda streets.
BikeAlameda promotes safe streets, convenient access, thriving accessible business districts, clean air, and active healthy residents.
BikeAlameda was directly involved with one of the most significant bike improvement projects in Alameda. The Fernside Bike Lane Project provides a physical barrier between vehicles and cyclists, most of whom are students from Lincoln Middle School.
All cyclists can now enjoy and benefit from a safe route between the main island, the Bay Farm Island Bike/Pedestrian Bridge, and the community of Harbor Bay.
BikeAlameda is funded entirely by memberships, donations, and grants. Please visit the website at www.bikealameda.org and learn more about our mission and activities. Your financial support through a membership or donation is essential to the continuing efforts of the organization.
The next time you ride along one of Alameda’s great tree lined streets in a marked bike lane or lock your bike to one of real bike racks along Park Street, in Alameda South Shore Center, or at the Alameda Theater, think about BikeAlameda and its efforts in promoting a bicycle friendly city.
If nothing else, appreciate the work that BikeAlameda and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition have done to make the streets of Alameda and the East Bay safer to ride on.
Spring time is here … wipe the dust off those bike frames!
As part of preparation for Bike to Work Day, Alameda Bicycle mechanic George, will be at Alameda South Shore Center on Saturday, starting at 12:00 p.m. He’ll be conducting free safety checks on all bikes brought by, and it’s a great community service. (Per the AB Facebook account.)
Come by between 12:00-2:00 p.m. to have your bikes briefly looked at.
If you will be participating on May 10, here is an interactive glance of all the East Bay energizer stations.
Athletes like music — but trying to experience the outdoors with your expensive MP3 player and earbuds can end in disaster. That’s why press statements regarding new electronics geared towards athletes tend to pique my interests.
The Ematic electronics company recently announced the eSport Clip MP3/video player, a $29 media player with 4GB flash memory storage. The device also includes a 5-megapixel camera, USB 2.0 port, and a 1.8″ color display.
Honestly, I haven’t tried Ematic’s products before — and never heard of the company before receiving the press release — but the Ematic eSport Clip MP3 player is a relatively low-cost investment to a possibly decent product.
Subscribe
If you head over to WalMart’s website, the device is now 
