Paid Time Off...

Where did the last few weeks go? It's almost 2011. My wife and I have been home just one weekend this month and will have been on the road more days than at home in December. There is a lot to talk about so for this post it will come in the form of random-thought paragraphs.

• I've worked 1 2/3 days in the past 2 weeks. Rough life, huh? If only employers would go for schedules like this, think of what it could do for your training.
• Anyone could train for a marathon if their training ground was the beach. I was fortunate enough to spend 5 days in Mexico with my wife and her family. We had a great time including an early morning 13-mile run for me! I was only going to run 10 miles, but what's a few more miles when you're running on the beach next to clear turquoise-blue water? (I don't give too many personal shout outs but I have to give one to my sister-in-law's boyfriend for waking up early on vacation to finish the last 2 miles of my run with me.)
  
• I got some new running shoes: Muzino Wave Precision 11. They are the ugliest shoes I've seen in awhile, but it's not about what you look like, right? They are very comfortable and light weight. They are a neutral shoe, so if you have a neutral stride, they come highly recommend.
• Tomorrow begins the official 18-week program for the May 1, 34th Annual Lincoln National Guard Marathon. It will be nice to be on an official training schedule. Lately I've just been running whenever and however far I've felt like (which too has it's benefits).

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and get your 2011 running goals ready! I encourage you to add "run a half-marathon" or "run a marathon" to your New Years resolutions!

By choice or sheer pity...

Jimmie Johnson recently won his 5th straight NASCAR Sprint Cup. I don't follow NASCAR, but a co-worker who does informed me that one of the reasons why Jimmie Johnson is so successful is he has the best pit crew. Just like a NASCAR driver, every runner needs a great support team.

Running a marathon is a very individualistic achievement. No one is going to physically help you on Mile 22, but to get to that point you are going to need a great support team. Before you embark on your training for a marathon or half-marathon, take into account the impact your training will have on your family and friends. I learned really quickly the new "I love you" was my wife allowing me to wake up on Saturday mornings for multiple hour runs without compliant or reservation. Whether by choice or sheer pity my wife sacrificed time, energy, and fun for my running achievement. From not leaving on vacation until I got my run in, to drawing an ice bath after my marathon, or sacrificing an entire shelf in the refrigerator for Gatorade and energy gels, and even running up a monster hill with me on Mile 11, she was there every step of the way.

The best thing you can do is involve your family and friends as much as possible. They may not be able to directly train with you, but think about including them on some of your shorter runs. Bring the family, dog, and stroller on those easy runs and make a rest-and-recovery day solely dedicated to spending time with family and friends doing something they want to do (which isn't rubbing IcyHot on your legs.) Talk about your training with family, friends, and co-workers, but not too much. I'm sure my co-workers felt like they were training for a marathon, as much as I talked about it.

So before you start on what will be a very personal, individual, holistic running achievement, think about your support team. Unfortunately, you'll have to find the second best support team because I have the running support team equivalent to Jimmie's.

Let's do the math...

The only way to accomplish your goal is to take the first step. Even just thinking about completing a half-marathon or marathon is a start. It will be interesting to see the final 2010 statistics, but the most recent data shows:

• 397 Marathons took place in the US, up 6.7% from the prior year
• 9.9% growth in the number of marathon finishers
• Average marathon time: 4 hours 35 minutes 42 seconds
• Nearly 468,000 total finishers

So let's do the math...468,000 finishers / 310,923,350 estimated people in the US = 0.15% of the population completed a marathon last year.

Not many things are going to put you in an elite group of 0.15% of the country's population, so relish in that fact!

Within this elite group I'm sure you'd find a plethora of training regimens, injuries, stories, and journeys. Besides completing a marathon, those 468,000 finishers have another thing in common. They all took the first step (and an average 42,000 during the race).

What's holding you back? Take the first step and start thinking about completing a half-marathon or marathon.

These people are doctors...

Last week I was running on the treadmills at the Student Center for Healthy Living. The Center for Healthy Living boats a row of treadmills looking out into the beautiful scenery of a parking lot (maybe they put the treadmills there to make it seem like you're running outside? If so, it's not working). Anyway, I chose the furthest treadmill to the wall so only one person could run next to me (anti-social, I know). I got on my treadmill and noticed the treadmill next to me was "Out of Order." (Perfect, double buffer). I glanced over from time to time to read the warning that would flash across the screen: "Treadmill Unavailable. Please call the Help Desk or your Local Authorized Dealer."

During my short 3-mile run a handful of people came over to the treadmill, read the warning, and disbursed. A few started by pressing buttons, but would leave when they discovered the treadmill wasn't going to move. A few minutes after the last unsuccessful attempt a couple came looking for some treadmills. "The Boyfriend," as he'll be referred to, put on his headphones and started running on the treadmill adjacent to the broken one. "The Girlfriend," as she'll be referred to, put on her head phones and started button mashing the broken treadmill in hopes that her magical touch would make it work.

The Girlfriend attempted to enter different combinations of buttons to no success. I hesitated telling her the treadmill was broken because I figured she could read. She continued to press the start button, check to make sure it was plugged in, and every other troubleshooting technique she could think of. None of them being READING THE SCREEN. In my head I couldn't help but think, "Someday this girl is going to make lots of money as a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist?" and I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, I'm sure she's extremely smart, but I wasn't about to tell her it was broken. I was totally content with running and enjoying the display of stupidity.

After a few more attempts she finally threw up her hands in disgust and turned to The Boyfriend for help. The Boyfriend got off his treadmill and proceeded to troubleshoot the problem. He pressed some buttons and tried to disconnect the emergency stop key. Surprise! No success. Meanwhile, The Girlfriend took the liberty of hijacking his treadmill. The events that transpired could only reach its full hilarity if you were there or on Danny Tanner's America's Funnest Home Videos, but The Girlfriend unaware that The Boyfriend had left his treadmill running (and at full speed) unsuspectingly stepped onto the treadmill. The Girlfriend's legs flew backwards and she proceeded to face plant onto the treadmill. She let out a loud shriek as the treadmill fed her out onto the carpet behind. She sat there for a few minutes laughing, maybe half crying, and hiding her embarrassment. I couldn't help but crack a smile and think "serves you right for not reading."

No doctors were harmed in the blogging of this event. But the profession as a whole might have taken a small hit. How did those two get into medical school?

Brrrr...

Good morning runners and triathletes! ( I know the blog and my personal training has strayed away from triathlons recently, but stick with me, we'll circle the wagons eventually).

Is anyone still running outside? If you are, congratulations...you're crazy! It's too cold in the morning and too dark in the evenings for me to run outside, so like most people I've resorted to the indoor treadmill. I'm not the biggest fan of running on a treadmill, but it's better than not running at all.

For those still braving the elements, here are a few things to remember:

1.) Hydration
Many people think because it's cold and they're not sweating as much as they normal do, they might not feel like or need to drink as much water. Wrong! Just because you're not sweating buckets like you did during the summer months doesn't mean your body is hydrated. Remember to drink before, during, and after your runs.

2.) Shine Brightly
The sky is grey, the landscape dreary, and insane Christmas shoppers are out and about. Be sure to wear bright colors and reflective clothing so that cars can see you. Be safe out there!

3.) Layers
Sometimes dressing for the conditions can be a challenge. Remember when you were a kid getting ready to go sledding? Of course you're blazing hot inside, but those extra layers will pay dividends once you get in the elements. Wear multiple layers to prevent overheating or under-dressing. You can always remove a layer if you get too warm.

So just remember to watch out for insane shoppers armed with motor vehicles, patches of ice, and yellow snow.

Stretch.....Yeah!

I recently read an article on flexibility and how it helps your running, which reminded me of the Lil' Jon song lyric, "bend over to the front and touch your toes," which reminded me I can't touch my toes, which brought to light the fact I should probably become more flexible. You'd think a guy with monkey arms could touch his toes, but its a long way down there, okay?

While there is some debate on whether being flexible has a direct correction to running faster, the point of the article was stretching and having good joint and limb mobility will help prevent injuries and allow for a full range of motion...which could increase speed.

When should you stretch? Before or after? While there is some debate on flexibility's correlation to speed, there's an all out war on when to stretch, before or after a run. Runners will swear by either point in time. I tend to stretch after a run or workout, but do what works best for you. Do some experimenting and try stretching before workouts for a week, then try stretching after workouts for a week. Determine which one worked best.

What's great about stretching is that it can be done anytime and anywhere. So on those days where you don't feel like working out or you're feeling guilty you haven't stuck with your training regimen, throw in a quick 20-minute stretching session and at least you'll be contributing to your marathon or triathlon success.

Benefits of stretching include increased flexibility, improved range of joint motion, improved circulation, and stress relief. So, let's all pledge to really concentrate on stretching and stretching correctly.

Hopefully in a few months I'll be able to say, "Shorty got low, low, low, low" and ran faster!

A better tagline...

I don't want to use this blog as a soapbox, but something yesterday really bothered me and I want to address it. Yesterday I was watching TV and a commercial came on the television for a new video game titled "Call of Duty:Black Ops." The commercial depicts ordinary citizens and celebrities (Kobe Bryant and Jimmy Kimmel) engaging in close quarters military combat. At the end of the commercial the tagline appears "There's A Solider In All of Us." Well...sorry Activision, but I disagree. I don't think everyone has a little solider in them and that's what makes the people that defend this great country so special. While I don't think it was Activision's intention to directly compare the pimply faced 12-old that will buy the game and spend hours rotting his brain to the smart, talented, mentally and physically fit, brave men and women that leave their family, lives, and careers to defend this great nation, but I would suggest they change their tagline. I would recommend a less audacious tagline like..."Everyone can complete a marathon!" (While it probably won't help them sell video games, it would be truer than their original rubbish.)