Category Archives: Information

Free Running Clinic on April 10

From the Mayo Clinic Blog:

Start your running season off on the right foot!

Mayo Clinic is hosting a free running clinic on Saturday, April 10th at Sears Court in Mall of America. The event will feature Mayo experts from the Sports Medicine Center and Jeff Galloway, Olympic runner and author.

Edward Laskowski, M.D., co-director of Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center, describes the events of the day:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpfZCUAIHjA

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Shoe Reviews

First Run Back
Image by crossn81 via Flickr

I’ve often thought that the shoe reviews in Runners World and other running magazines were fairly useless.  I guess if you understand everything about your foot and shoes then it might be helpful.  But I would agree with others that it has become more of a marketing scheme than really useful information.  But if I were offered a free pair of shoes to review, I’d be happy to test them out.

I came across this recent posting at Running Times: No Need for Shoe Awards that talked about why RT doesn’t give out shoe awards or have a special shoe issue.  Below are two great quotes:

The primary reason Running Times doesn’t present quarterly awards is because “editor’s choice” and “best new shoe” awards don’t serve the readers who might be in the process of figuring out which new shoes to buy. It’s based either on one person’s specific viewpoint of a shoe, the general or numerical consensus of a wear-test group or a collection of vague and very general shoe characteristics that the magazine deems “best.” But best for what type of runner or gait or running style is it best? That’s not meant to be overly harsh toward magazines that do give awards; while those awards are probably just meant to be a guidance tool for readers, the problem we have is that they could be giving improper guidance to an eager runner who thinks they really need a shoe that a magazine calls the latest and greatest instead of letting his or her body tell them what works best.

So why do we publish shoe reviews in the first place? Ideally, it’s a way to inform our passionate readers about what’s out there so they can decide for themselves what works best for them. (Similar to how we publish stories about training plans from a variety of athletes and coaches. Take new ideas and apply them to your personal running experience.) Our shoe guides are intended to offer insights as to what will be available at stores, while also touching on industry trends that might (or might not) improve your running.

The bottom line is that the way to find the best shoe for you is to do so by “feel” based on how you run and not how a shoe feels when you’re sitting on a bench in the store or when you’re wearing it for everyday life — school, work, chores, errands, going to the mall, etc. (And by the way, you shouldn’t be wearing your running shoes for anything but running. Walking breaks down shoes differently and more quickly and can ultimately lower the performance value of those shoes or alter your gait ever so slightly. If you like the feel of your running shoes that much, buy a second pair for mowing the lawn or walking the dog.)

What do you think? Do you find the “shoe review” issues helpful?

I usually stick with a shoe that has worked well for me in the past and talk with someone at a running store about the different shoes.  I have also used this chart created by Brooks (mentioned previously) that compares different brand’s shoes so that you can transition between them.

[tags] shoe review, shoes [/tags]

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C’Mon You Lazyheads

Blondie Cartoon from 1-3-2010

Poor Dagwood. Have you ever felt like that? With the beginning of the new year underway here’s hoping we can all stay on target with our goals/resolutions.  How are you doing so far?

I haven’t really made any yet.  It is hard to think about running goals when my foot won’t cooperate.  I am planning to read through the Bible in a year again and am a little behind on that front.  Those are really the only things I can think of.  I want to try and enjoy the MN Winter as much as possible (we did get snowshoes).  We would like to get to know our neighbors better (hard to do when you don’t see each other outside).

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Safety Pin & Preparation

Here is a guest post from my friend, the great Mike Nawrocki.  It is an interesting story about how even “experienced runners” make big mistakes!  Enjoy!

I helped coach the MDRA Fall Marathon Program this year.  During the week leading up to the Medtronic TCM, I e-mailed the members of the training group about 262 inspirational quotes to ponder in the days leading up to the marathon.  Or better yet, as they trudged up Summit Avenue for four miles.  And I opened the list with one of my all-time favorite quotes, this one by Roger Bannister.

“Sport is not about being wrapped up in cotton wool. Sport is about adapting to the unexpected and being able to modify plans at the last minute. Sport, like all life, is about taking risks.”

Little did I know just how much this quote and all the people who I helped “coach” (I use that term loosely) this summer would pull me through my own race: the TC10.

My goal for the TC10 was two-fold: finish in under an hour, but also finish with a smile on my face.  I got to the Metrodome about 90 minutes before my race.  Every time I got up to walk somewhere, I noticed my sock was sticky.

And here is a typical conversation I had with myself every time I re-discovered my sock was sticky.  “That’s weird,” I thought, “And kind of gross.  Feels like peanut butter.  Yum I like peanut butter.  Especially peanut butter cookies.  Oh and peanut brittle.  Not really made of peanut butter.  But brittle and butter sound the same.  Hey!  Which one do I like better?  Peanut brittle or peanut butter cookies.  Gotta go with the latter.  Easier to eat in mass quantities.  Eating in mass quantities.  Awesome.  I like fried cheese sticks….”  As you can see it didn’t take me long to forget “The Mystery of the Sticky Sock.”

Image from wickamoo

For years I have had a reputation for being somewhat of a flake.  The fact that I kept forgetting to investigate “The Mystery of the Sticky Sock” has done little to dispel this reputation.

In fact, I forgot all about my sticky sock until about a mile and a half into the TC10, when my sock became conspicuously “unsticky.”  I had started my race beautifully.  I went through mile one in 5:45, which admittedly was 20 to 30 seconds faster than I had planned.  But given my track record of going out 200 to 300 seconds too fast in races, who was I too complain?

Well, me.  I began to complain once I realized what was now “unsticky” in my sock.  And by “complain” I mean “curse a blue streak that would make a sailor turned red.”  I had cracked the case of “The Mystery of the Sticky Sock.”  That sticky thing in my sock was now a very loose, but closed, safety pin bouncing around the inside of my sock and the bottom of my foot.  So now I had a new mystery:  “The Mystery of How the *%#$@#!$! That Safety Pin Got in My Sock.”

But I had had more urgent matters to address.  We are all familiar with the “five stages of grief” we supposedly go through after a loss.  And in the thirty seconds it took me to realize there was a safety pin in my sock to finally deciding to sacrifice seconds and take the pin out of my sock, I hit all five stages.  I had to accept the possible loss of my goal: breaking 60:00 in this race.  So much for debating cheese sticks vs. peanut brittle!  Instead this is what I said to myself…

“What the *&%^$#@! is bouncing in my shoe?  It feels like a safety pin.  No way.  How the *&%^$#@! did a safety pin get in there!?  I’m still sleep-walking in the Metrodome.  I’m dreaming this. Seriously, how the *&%^$#@! did a safety pin get in my sock?!?! (stage 1: Denial)…

…*&%^$#@! That really is a safety pin!  I mean seriously! How does a safety pin get in my sock!!! &%^$#@!*&%^$#@!*&%^$#@!*&%^$#@! *%#$@#!$! (stage 2: Anger)…

Image from ~k~

There’s no way I can stop.  Every second is precious.  Here’s the deal.  If I move the pin around a bit, I’ll find just the right spot for it—a safe little nook for the pin to be where it won’t bother any toes.  And if I run just right, who’s to say it will ever open?  … (stage 3: Bargaining)…

…You know what?  That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever told myself.  And I’ve told myself some dumb things.  Wow a lot of dumb things now that I think about it.  Seriously how the *&%^$#@! did a safety pin get in my sock?!?! What kind of a rookie error is this?  I’m an idiot (stage 4: Depression).”

And of course the final stage is Acceptance.  I came to accept that the prospect of a pin stuck in my big toe was quite a bit worse than the prospect of not reaching my goal-time.  So it took me about a minute to get my shoe and sock off, shake the pin out, and finally get the sock and shoe back on.

As I hopped back up and started running again, I debriefed a little. I took stock of where I was at. Unable to answer the burning question of the moment (how the *&%^$#@! a pin got in my sock), I tackled bigger issues.  I thought about how I had a built-in alibi.  If I didn’t break 60 minutes, I could explain away any seconds over the one hour threshold to “The Mystery of How the *%#$@#!$! That Safety Pin Got in My Sock.”

But I thought about it a little more.  Part of racing is preparation.  Some of us take it for granted.  I have learned I can’t.  If I can’t get my socks on without endangering myself, that has to be factored into my time.  I thought about many of the e-mails and spoken advice I preached to the training class.  And they all had two central themes: 1) Prepare for every possibility, as much as you can, logistically and mentally, and 2) what you cannot prepare for, adapt to it quickly and smartly.

Not only had I preached this to the people in the MDRA training program, but I had seen them practice it.  I needed to be like them.  I had failed myself in terms of the first half of the message (preparing logistically), and it was now up to me to follow-through on the second-half and adapt.

I made it to the two mile mark in just over twelve minutes.  Close to where I wanted to be.

My mind went back to both the Bannister quote and to so many runners in our training program who had talked with me about how to train through injury, illness, and personal setbacks.  And I saw so many of those same people that morning in the Metrodome ready to toe the line for the marathon.  And thanks to them, I was able to put “The Mystery of How the *%#$@#!$! That Safety Pin Got in My Sock” behind me, and adapt to a new plan.  I could have quit my goal.  I had the alibi.  But I told myself I had to factor my own carelessness and distractibility into my time.  The risk was to go for my goal, even though less than two miles into the race, my entire plan blew up in my face.

And like Sir Roger Bannister said, isn’t that sport is all about?  Learning to take risks and adapt to adversity?  So I did it.  I finished in under an hour, and with a smile on my face.   But I do not believe I could have done if I didn’t spend all summer with the people in the training program.  I saw people adapting and taking risks on a regular basis at our practices.  So I just want to say thank you to everyone in the class for that.  You guys did a great job just by signing up and taking the risk that is training for a marathon.  You were the inspiration I needed at mile 1.5 of my own race.

It seems silly to think that preparing and running in a race will help me for life’s bigger challenges.  To quote the Mighty Mighty Bosstones: “I’m not a coward; I’ve just never been tested.  I’d like to that if I was I would pass.” But every day we lace up our running shoes to train for a race.  And every race we run, where there are no guarantees, we are training ourselves to step up to the bigger challenges life will throw at us.  And that is why I run.

But seriously, how the *%#$@#!$! did that a safety pin get in my sock?  Some mysteries, I have come to accept, go unsolved.

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7 Christmas Gift Ideas

christmas gifts
Image by chotda via Flickr

As the gift-giving season of Christmas approaches here are seven ideas for the runner in your life.  Oh wait, that is probably you.  Let your gift giving friend see this list!  The following links are to my reviews of the product so you can see what I thought before you add it to your list.

If you really like to read I’ve created an Amazon collection of recommended running books.

Whenever possible the posts contain links to my Amazon Affiliate account where I earn a very small % of each sale (which will hopefully help make my Christmas that much better – but probably not since I haven’t earned very much to date.)

If you wanna buy me a gift check out my Amazon Wish List!! hint, hint.

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