Category: Running

Road Noise Vest Passes the 100 Mile Test

[Note: Road Noise provided  John and I with road noise vests for our review. We agreed to review the vests and provide our honest assessment.] “So, how did you like the Road Noise vest during the race?” I asked John the morning he ran 100 miles at the NJ Ultra Festival. “It’s the sh!t.” He replied. If you’ve never heard of the Road Noise vest, then I am excited to be the one to introduce you to this invention which solves problems for endurance athletes of all type–runners and cyclists in particular. In sum: Road Noise is a headphone-free way to …

When Ironman Becomes The New Normal

1

After a few years of racing Ironman, John and I have got a solid rhythm. We have a routine that works for pre-, during- and post-race. I’m not saying that Ironman has gotten boring–because for me it definitely hasn’t–but I will say that much of the mystery and uncertainty has been revealed. The unexpected still happens, but in general, we know how the system works. Nutrition, gear, spectating – we got our routines and they work. So what do you do to shake things up? Well, if you are my crazy husband, you sign up for a 100 mile ultrarun. …

Getting My Irish On: Annual St. Pat’s Boardwalk 10 miler

3

For 5 or 6 years now, my spring season has begun with the St. Pat’s Boardwalk 10 mile run, which runs up and down the length of the Atlantic City-Ventnor Boardwalk. This is a very community-friendly race, that raises money for The Donny Fund. I love doing this race, as many of my friends from the local running and triathlon community come out of winter hibernation to enjoy a fun and festive day. This year the weather was still in winter mode, with 35-40 degree temps, and a relatively light 10-12 mph northeast wind. Compared to some years, this is great …

Neurokinetic Therapy, a.k.a. Voodoo Magic

12

I arrived at Dr. Eric Nelson’s office for my usual appointment. Even though my leg has not shown signs of ITBS for several months, I still go for maintenance every two weeks in order to STAY healthy. When I showed up, Eric was excited. I was too because just a few days prior, I had completed a 75-minute run with mile splits that were as fast as I used to be before ITBS decided to overstay her welcome. I was better–or so I thought. I walked into the examination room, and he said, “Okay, we’re going to do something a …

The *other* 4 letter word: ITBS

7

Okay, okay: technically ITBS is not a word. But, I can use a four letter word to describe how completely frustrating this condition is. In the past several weeks, I’ve talked with quite a few people on Twitter, Facebook and in the flesh about their trials with ITBS – otherwise known as iliotibial band syndrome. The sad fact is that if you are a runner, you are very likely to get at least a minor bout of ITBS at some point in your running career. In fact, ITBS is one of the leading causes of lateral knee pain among runners. I had …

Really running again

6

With all the attention I’ve been giving to cycling for the past few months, some of you may have started to wonder if I should change the name of my blog to cycling a life. Hey, not so fast there, buddy. Let’s get something clear: if it wasn’t for running, there would be no reason to do triathlon, to punish myself on a bike, to slog through yards of swimming despite the fact that I am clearly NOT a fish. Running is, and always will be, my sport of choice. The swim and the bike are an elaborate warm up. …

Getting back to normal

2

I’ve come to the conclusion that the Boston Marathon bears a similarity to Thanksgiving dinner: lots of preparation and anticipation – and then it’s over in a flash, and life gets back to normal. With less than 13 weeks to go until Ironman Lake Placid, normal can only mean one thing: swimming, eating, biking, eating, and running, followed by eating and sleeping, which is then followed by swimming, eating, biking, eating, and running. But, the formula is not as easy as all that since recovery from a marathon is just as important (more important?) as preparation for a marathon. So, …

The Aftermath

5

“This hurt worse than the Ironman,” I said to Carole as she and I waited in line for a free massage just moments after finishing the Boston Marathon. Ironman veterans had said the same to me before I finished my first Ironman: A marathon hurts worse than an Ironman. “You’ve got to be kidding,” Carole replied incredulously, much the same way I did when someone first said the same to me. “How could that be true?” I don’t know how it could be true, but it is.  Ironman Lake Placid did not hurt as much–during or after–as running the Boston …

Feeling Boston by way of Arlington

3

When I travel, I like to “collect” runs as souvenirs. I’m convinced it’s the best way to get to know a place. The latest addition to my collection is Arlington, VA, where I visited for the Eastern Communication Conference. While running in a new place is always a special treat, this run was extra special. It finally kicked in. “It” is the feeling of excitement mixed with fluttery nervousness that comes when race day is imminent. In this case, the mother of all marathons: Boston. The day I’ve been dreaming about since I started training for my first marathon in …

Going From “How far?” to “How fast?”: Part 2 – Running

  Setting a goal to run a new distance may cause uncertainty: Can I really run [insert your dream distance here]? Then, as training progresses, we start to realize, “Oh yes, I CAN run that far. But, hmmmm, I wonder how fast I can do it?” It’s a natural and possibly inevitable progression: moving from how far to how fast. In my previous post, I talked about two key workouts for improving speed: tempo efforts and repeats (intervals), and discussed how these basic workouts apply to cycling. This post is the second part of that discussion, and applies speed strategies …