Run to Win

This week last year I wrote the counterpoint to my intervals FAQ by describing answering questions about tempo runs. The tempo run is not a very well defined term and can mean different things to different people, so sometimes it helps to have a definition of what somebody means when they are talking about them when you first run with them.

In running news, there were 2 big stories. The first was that Asafa Powell had recovered from his tendonitis and was back on the track and ready to compete.

The other big story that broke was about the proposed IAAF ban on prosthetics in international competition, which was a ruling made specifically to address the case of Oscar Pistorius. I ultimately decided that prosthetics should be banned, a decision that the IAAF ultimately agreed with but then had to overturn in appeal over the past year. Now a year removed from when this whole situation began, I feel that Oscar probably does have an advantage over able-bodied athletes due to his prosthetics, but I highly doubt that any advantages he has outweigh the huge disadvantage of not having any legs or the additional blood volume that having legs would allow him.

This week 2 years ago I ran The Vermont City Marathon, followed a few days later by the Back Cove 5k.

As I was at an out of state wedding last weekend I never rounded up last year’s topics for the week, and it was a busy week.

• I discussed why breakfast is important, and anybody trying to attain or maintain a healthy weight would be well served to eat a good breakfast every day.
• I offered 7 tips for running in the heat, which is a good reminder for those of us up here in the Northern hemisphere that are just getting into Summer.
• I asked how often you used running as a means of transportation. The reason that we have legs isn’t so that we can just go out and pound out miles without actually producing anything; we have them so that we can get from place to place. Now and again it is nice to get something useful out of our hobby.
• I featured a radio interview of Matt Hartman, who started up a team run/bike race in New Hampshire last year. The race was very popular and will be held in August this year.
• I presented a case study for how a body builder could run sub-7 in the mile. I should send Chris an email and find out if he ever completed the program; his last update was a week before the time trial.
• Last week two years ago, a 7 year old swam to shore from Alcatraz. Amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it. The Nike+ system was announced and Bud Gibson described how to do a bridge with a knee tuck.

There is a lot happening this week in the world of running, so today I have a quick round up for you rather than providing a series of short articles on each one.

Trevor Graham found guilty of lying to investigators

Things are not looking good for Trevor Graham, a track coach who has had multiple athletes admit or found guilty of cheating. He has so far been found convicted of lying to federal investigators about his interactions with a known steroid dealer and his facilitation of providing drugs to his athletes. The jury was not able to come to a consensus about 2 other charges against him.
(Source: ESPN)

California Dreamin’ Racing Series

The San Francisco, Long Beach and Surf City marathons in California have teamed up in a combined marketing effort to create the California Dreamin’ Racing Series, which will have a “competition within a competition” for competitors that want to run either the full or half marathons in each of the 3 races from this August through next February. There will be separate prizes and awards, and each finisher of all 3 races will receive a jacket and a large finishers medal with the logos of the 3 races. It is acting as a miniature Grand Prix type of race series.
(More Info: Press Release (pdf) - Home Page)

ING New York City Marathon Lottery closes on Sunday

Still considering paying the exorbitant fees to run a marathon in New York City? Well, if you want a chance to get through the lottery then Sunday is your last day to put your name in the hat. Guaranteed entry applications had to be in on May 1^st, so there is no way to get a spot in the marathon now without passing through the lottery. I enjoyed running the race, but the fees are just too high for me to consider running it again, unfortunately.
(Click here to apply)

Fantasy Track Meets » This Weekend

There are two track meets this weekend that will be counted towards your fantasy teams if you are participating. The IAAF meet in Berlin on Sunday will kick off the series at the international level, and the Reebok Grand Prix on Saturday is the 2^nd event in the USATF Visa Championship Series outdoor meets (it is actually the 3^rd meet in the Series but only the 2^nd fantasy meet.)
(Click Here for more information - Set up your teams: IAAF - USATF)

Fitness for Moms Carnival

I have been featured in the latest edition of the Fitness for Moms Carnival, which includes a short description of my article about how to find people to run with. The latest edition casts a spotlight on various articles about health, mothers, and working out.
(More Info: Go Workout Mom)

Summer Track Meets

Summer is almost upon us, which means that the high school and college track meets are just about done wrapping up and there will be time for us old fogies to get out there and burn up the track! The USATF lists over 200 open and masters track meets in the country over the next 3 months, and there are a series of 5 races being put on by the Maine chapter of the USATF. See if there are any near you and then dust off your track spikes! Looking at the dates for the Maine races, I don’t think that it is very likely that I’ll be competing too much this year. I already have commitments for all of the Wednesday night races and I will likely be running a different race the weekend of the championship meet.
(More Info: USATF Event Search - Maine » Summer Series (pdf) - Track Championships (pdf))
http://www.meusatf.org/

The 3^rd Weekly Back Cove race was this evening, and for the first time this year I picked up the pace a little. And by a little, I mean by about 10 minutes.

I donated my $40 to Portland Trails for a pair of the t-shirts. It is the first t-shirt I’ve had that has had my new logo on the back (which you can also see in the banner to the right.)

The goal for me this week was to run even 4:00/km splits. I went out a little quick though (3:29/km) so I decided to just keep that 3:30/km pace throughout the race. I succeeded at that, at least. Chris Harmon took the lead today, cruising to an easy win in 17:03.

The results are online on the website at: http://backcove.runtowin.com/

I have also included links in the results from week 1 and week 2 to the pictures that were taken by Don Penta at the races.

(Photo Credit: Don Penta)

There were 6 official entries in my first Twitter Running Story Contest. The rules were simple: Post a link to a Twitter page that told a story about running or walking in exactly 140 characters.

Here are the official entries in the order in which they were received:
(Click here to continue reading…)

Anybody in New England that is still looking for something to do on Memorial Day weekend should look towards making a trip to New Gloucester, Maine, to participate in the Pineland Farms Trail Challenge.

There are 4 races along with volunteering opportunities. The 25k and 50k are returning for their 3^rd incarnation, and the 4km canicross race is returning for it’s second running. (When was the last time you ran a race tied to your dog?) For those of you are looking for a bigger challenge, the weekend is now also hosting a 50 mile race.

The courses are all located on the beautiful Pineland Farms campus and are made up of soft rolling hills. The trails are not technical in the least bit and are split between fields and dirt paths. There is ample course support available, and what will likely be one of the better BBQ parties of the weekend is located at the finish line. There should be plenty of free food and beer for everybody, volunteers included, with at least a dozen people committed to bringing the good stuff like cookies and brownies.

Speaking of volunteers, more are needed. If you are not up to the challenge of running the race, volunteering can be just as fun and rewarding. You may not get a silver (50k) or gold (50 mile) cow bell for finishing, but you do get $5 in Maine Track Club bucks and access to the party. There are also some volunteer positions available that will still allow you to run, especially if you are running one of the shorter races that start later in the morning.

For more information, check out these links:

• Pineland Farms Trail Challenge home page
• Remaining volunteer opportunities
• 2007 Photos
• Canicross race information

The contest to win a free copy of my book ends on Friday at 6:00 EDT. That is also the deadline for the parent contest over at Copyblogger. The prizes over there have expanded quite a bit, so be sure to submit your story to both places. First prize has been bumped up to an 8GB iPod, with the 4GB iPod moving to second place and 50 custom postcards appearing in 3^rd place (amongst other prizes.)

So get creative, write a story in exactly 140 characters, and then click here to link to your story so that you can be entered into the contest! There are 6 submissions so far, so you have a good chance of winning a copy of my book. If you don’t enter, though, you will not have any chance to win.

Both of the leaders this week had no challengers. Mike Payson (16:36) ran out ahead of everybody else this evening in the second installment of the Back Cove Weekly 5k, beating Scott Gorneau (18:12) by over a minute and a half. Kelley Holmes (18:57) improved by over 6 minutes from last week’s race to take first for the women, beating Emilia Bedilia (21:30) by over two and a half minutes.

My wife and I ran a bit further back in the pack, taking 108^th and 109^th place respectively with a time of 28:38.

The full results can be seen at the website: http://backcove.runtowin.com/

(Photo Credit: Don Penta)