Run to Win

This week last year, not much happened at Run to Win. I was too busy packing up and moving into my new home, and had a distinct lack of an internet connection. The only things that got discussed were how much the weight you lift is not a goal) and new rule #7 (don’t “do the machines”). I like the Bulgarian Split Squats; those have really grown on me.

Runners as a general rule are pretty generous people. The vast majority of races that we take part in have some sort of non-profit beneficiary, and many of us raise money on the side for the race charity or another charity that we want to support.

Some fitness events are created for the sole purpose of raising money for a specific charity or to help research and combat a specific disease. The MS Challenge Walk is one such event. It is a 3-day walk that is organized by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Volunteers and fund raisers walk 50 miles throughout the weekend, and they all raise a minimum of $1500 that goes towards research and support programs.

Multiple Sclerosis can affect anybody, and in fact is suffered mostly by people in their 20s through 40s. Symptoms can range from numbness to paralysis and blindness, and there is no known cure. At least 85% of all of the funds raised by the MS Challenge Walk go towards support programs for people that suffer from MS and towards research to find a cure.

Some very good friends of mine are participating in the walk, and they need help raising funds. Since I know how generous all of you are, I thought that you might like to read about their story and hopefully donate to help them meet their goals. Andy and Kris are the type of people who would move to Africa for 3 years to work with the Peace Corps.

Why We’re Walking for MS
I (Kris) have done small walks for the Boston Children’s Hospital in the past and I wanted to do something bigger this year. I never knew much about MS until recently when I had a series of tests done to rule out MS as the cause of the tingling and numbness I’ve been experiencing for the past year. I was relieved to learn that I do not have MS but it got me thinking about how terrifying it would be to have the disease. I can’t imagine suddenly being unable to move my legs or arms. The disease is so unpredictable that suffers can’t really prepare for it; they never know what to expect or when their condition will worsen. A few weeks ago, I started hearing radio ads for the MS Challenge Walk. They said “Walk for Someone Who Can’t” and I thought that was a wonderful idea. I’m lucky to have Andy’s support and am happy to have him as a walking buddy.

Hop on over to Kris and Andy’s MS Challenge Walk donation page and have a look around. If you can, leave a few dollars to help them reach their goals. Every little bit helps!

Note: I’ve removed the links as they are no longer valid. Thanks for your support!

Map My Run has launched a beta service that finally has full integration of a training log with their mapping software. It also integrates an elevation map and captures more data about your runs than the original version of Map My Run. I have been using their site almost exclusively for mapping as they have had a better interface than the GMap Pedometer, and most of the changes that they have made improve on that interface.

I’ll have a full review after I have had a week or two to play with all of the new features. I highly recommend checking it out in the mean time, though.

Online registration has closed for the 2007 Beach to Beacon 10k. You can request that a paper application be mailed to you, however, and if you send it in early enough you may be able to get one of the few open slots that have been held for mail-in registration. My guess is that most of the paper applications will be sent back, however, and you will need to go through a charity in order to get into the race if you have not already registered. If you have previously registered, you can check the list of current entrants if you want to make sure that your registration has gone through.

The Nike+ shoes that integrate with a runner’s iPod are about to become much more widely available. In an article discussing the upcoming future for Nike and it’s financial stability, there was a remark from Nike President and Chief Executive Mark Parker about the future of their running shoes.

The company wouldn’t disclose everything that’s coming but hinted at changes from Nike Shox and in apparel. Nike did say it plans to make all its running shoes compatible with its Nike+ technology by the end of the year. Nike+ allows runners to track their workouts with Apple Inc.’s iPod. “I think there is a real renewed sort of energy and focus around product,” Parker said.

While this is good news for the folks that have an iPod and haven’t wanted to spend the extra $50 on shoes that could use the Nike+ system (and who did not want to find their own way of attaching the sensor to their shoe), I tend to worry a little about it. I have little to no interest in personally using the product, as I have zero interest in purchasing an iPod. What I do have an interest in is maintaining the quality of the shoes without making allowances and adding weight for features that I don’t need. What I also have an interest in is maintaining the affordability of my shoes and not having extra fees tacked on for those features that I’ll be ignoring.

(Sources: Boston.com - Gizmodo)

Dennis wrote an article over at Complete Running asking, “is it okay for elite athletes to drop out of races?”

I’ve seen this happen in a lot of races in the last few years, from 10Ks to major marathons and it’s something I’ll never understand. To me, it shows not just a lack of commitment but a lack of respect for the other runners in the race. [...] I can only assume it’s because track and field and road racing isn’t a major spectator sport, so the athletes know that the consequences of quitting are few, if any. (To be clear, I’m not suggesting that these runners should keep going if they’re actually injured or ill. No one would advocate that.)

(Click here to continue reading…)

In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, March is the month of Music and other audio topics. After first determing whether you should wear headphones or not, and then determining whether you should listen to calm or aggressive music, and perhaps mixing in a podcast or two, you may be wondering how to actually go about listening to that music?

Scott weighs in this week with workout gear for listening to music. He explores a few different types of headphones and ear buds, as well as how and where (and if) to wear your mp3 player.

Last night, I published my Eastern States 20 Miler race plan. The race was going to be my last long run before beginning my taper for the Boston Marathon. My race plan had four distinct sections to it.

Miles 1 and 2
The first couple of miles were going to serve as my warm up. I meant to get a mile or two of actual warm up before the race, but I got busy chatting with some of the other runners and only jogged around for a minimal amount. I thought that the race had gone out really slow, until we crossed over into New Hampshire at the 1 mile marker and I realized that I was running faster than I wanted to be. That trend continued for another mile, despite chatting with the guys around me.

Miles 2 through 12
The next 10 miles were supposed to be the meat of my workout. I wanted to run between 6:10 and 6:20 pace, and I pretty much managed that. I think that mile 4 was a little long (making mile 5 a little short), which would mean that I basically ran right around 6:10 or a little quicker the entire time. I felt quite comfortable and I am confident that I can run at that pace for most of my marathon, so I think that Boston should turn in a good time for me. I did miss a few mile markers in a row; those three miles took 18 minutes and 33 seconds to run.

Miles 13 through 18
The next 6 miles were supposed to just be junk miles to get through. I wanted to run around 6:25 or 6:30 pace through these miles. I mostly was in the 6:20 to 6:30 range; I’m not really sure exactly how long I spent on these miles since they didn’t seem very accurate. I did impress myself, however, by declining to race with somebody. I kept up the pace that I was supposed to be running, and let him burn himself out chasing down the next guy. By the end of mile 18 I was ready to see what I had left, since I figured that I could probably run in the 5:30 or 5:40 range without much trouble.

Miles 19 and 20
Mile 18 was definitely short. This was lucky, since I wanted to start racing and was getting antsy. The side effect of this, though, is that my 5:40 or 5:50 pace for mile 19 came through as 7:26. I did run a 5:38 for the 20^th mile. The goal pace had been to see what was left, and I had just penciled in 6:10 and 6:00.
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