Run to Win

2006 has come and gone, and 2007 is about to start.

This year, I ran just shy of 1370 miles. Not a lot of miles, but enough to have kept me busy. I suffered two injuries, one of which was running related. In mid January, I pulled a muscle in my neck which delayed my real start to my training. Then this summer, I hurt my foot which dropped my mileage from a high of just over 50 miles per week down to 20 miles per week for the next 5 weeks. Getting married also contributed to my mileage dropping off around that point.

I ran two marathons at a fairly easy and relaxed pace. That brings my total to 8 different states now that Vermont and New York are out of the way. In 2007 I am going to aim at being more competitive rather than just having fun or experimenting.

I ran competitive 10k and 5k races throughout the year, but I am hoping to bring those times down next year. I think that with fewer distractions, such as buying a house and getting married, I will be able to concentrate more on performance rather than maintenance. The trick will be staying healthy and not getting injured.

My weight stayed pretty steady all year, in the high 130s to mid 140s. I was pretty healthy most of the year, so I did not have any huge weight swings. I was unable to gain quite as much in December as I had hoped to; ideally, the line at the end of this year would have been around the same height as at the end of last year.

You can see more details graphs of my weekly running and weight by clicking on the charts above. I wrote about 560 articles here at Run to Win, and I will be writing more than that in the coming year. Have a safe and happy new year!

This morning I woke up to snow and some rapid accumulation. It has snowed before this year, but it had all melted before I began running again after my last marathon. As such, today has to be the latest in the season that I have ever had a first snow run; that includes when I spent the winter in Florida.

Running in the snow is not much different than running in the rain, except that you will probably be warmer. Dress in layers, protect your eyes, and cover your head to keep yourself warm and dry in both types of conditions.

Some differences to consider when running in the snow is that your footing may be much less sure. The plows did not start passing my house until at least 2 hours after I finished my run this morning, so there was no sand and all the snow was where it fell or where random vehicle traffic kicked it. I dug out my stabilicers, which are crampons for running shoes. I really need to replace the cleats, which I will probably do this afternoon after they dry. They still kept my feet planted on the slick roads, which was the important thing. I also used my headlamp with the red LED lit, just to provide a tiny bit more visibility to myself while I was out there.

I love running when it is snowing. I prefer it when there is no traffic to speak of, but driving somewhere to go running was not really an option I would have considered today. Layering up, making myself visible, and making sure that I had some grip on my shoes gave me a pleasurable run. Take a look out your window; maybe you can have a fun snow run as well.

This week last year had a lot of opinion pieces from myself along with the usual smattering of workout tips and sports news.

• I continued my animated series by demonstrating how to do a crooked arm lateral raise with dumbbells. I also suggested that you loosen your watch band when lifting weights to prevent cutting off your circulation.
• I asked for some advice from you folk about what sort of workouts I should work into my regimen for the new year, as well as what I should have my wife doing. There was some good discussion on it. I also wrapped up my 3 days per week regimen that I had been doing throughout December.
• I questioned whether Rafael Palmeiro should be allowed back in baseball. I made a prediction on what I thought would happen, and detailed what I wished would happen. I was wrong about what would happen, but I got pretty close to how I wanted the situation to unfold. Rather than him sitting out a season, though, he decided to retire when nobody wanted to hire him.
• In other sports news, Daron Rahlves took the lead in the world cup series, Jeff Reardon robbed a jewelry store. This week last year also saw the 17^th Tom Bowl, which is always good for a laugh. This year, there is a rematch between Ohio State and Michigan.

The Giants get the week started out on Saturday this week, and I think that they will continue to implode. Dallas is going to overcome their horrendous performance last week, though and will beat Detroit.

New England does not have anything to play for this week, and the Titans are not mathematically eliminated yet. I think that it is a recipe for the Patriots to take a dive.

Fantasy football is over. I did not win, but I at least made it to the last game. My guys just did not show up last week. At least I didn’t come out empty handed though; hopefully this year I’ll actually get paid.
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I was looking around at Active this morning, and saw an ad for team sponsorships through Polar, Aquaphor, and Snickers Marathon bars. All three companies are looking for top age group athletes for their 2007 teams. Responsibilities include promoting the products at local races and retail events, and may include cash payouts for getting a mention in the media. You will get team gear to wear at races and during training.

If you have any interest, you can apply for the 2007 team through active’s website at the following pages:

• Aquaphor
• Polar
• Snickers Marathon Bar

Chris Schauerman, one of the Coast to Coast runners, recently made his way into the news because of the undergraduate research that he has been doing. The experience of running across the country with the team really brought home to Chris how important teamwork is in accomplishing a goal.

“How hard do you want to work, and how much do you want to put into it? That will really determine what you get out of it.”

Other applications for this philosophy are not lost on Schauerman, and it very much drives his academic pursuits. The fifth-year physics major in the College of Science commits a lot of his “energy” to projects within RIT’s NanoPower Research Laboratories. Much of his focus centers on incorporating nanomaterials into the development of hydrogen fuel cells and lithium ion batteries.

“One of the things I find really cool is two of the most prominent areas of research going on in the country and in the world right now are renewable energy and nanotechnology.” Adds Schauerman, “To be at the forefront of that - trying new things and exploring new things - is something that is very exciting to me.”

It is very important to find the right school and the right educational opportunity for kids. I am glad that Chris is making the most of his experiences at RIT in both the college of science and on the cross country/track teams.

Thanks to Todd Spivak for bringing the article to my attention.

In a collaborative effort with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we wrote about workout locations for the month of December.

One thing that can often derail an exercise regimen is figuring out how to keep in shape while you are on vacation. There are a few different ways to tackle vacations and how they effect your workouts.

1. You can not work out at all and just concentrate on the vacation.
2. You can find a way to stay on the same workout schedule as you are currently engaged in.
3. You can find alternative workouts that fit your vacation schedule but will keep you conditioned.
4. You can plan your vacations completely around your workouts.

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Merry Christmas!

No new news today; I am taking the day off.

The conclusion of our workout locations articles will appear tomorrow morning. Enjoy the holiday!