Run to Win

I often recommend to people who want to run outdoors in the Winter that they put sheet metal screws in their running shoes.

They are a more effective way to get some traction in slick conditions and cost a lot less than some other solutions such as Stabilicers or Yak Trax.

Can there be anything better?

Well, maybe.

The folks that make Ice Spikes sent some trial packages over to a friend of mine so I got to test some out (and they were nice enough to give a few sets away during my 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge) so myself and the other Trail Monsters have been testing them out for the past month and a half.

Here is the claim:

ICESPIKE™ is a simple, effective and lightweight solution to inadequate traction devices. ICESPIKE™ ends frustration with clumsy and cumbersome strap-on attachments. ICESPIKE™ ice spikes are easily installed on the sole of any shoe or boot. Each ice spike provides outstanding traction and is unsurpassed in hardness and durability. The ICESPIKE™ system includes thirty-two patented ice spikes and one precision ICESPIKE™ tool for installation. ICESPIKE™ is a semi-permanent non-slip grip shoe system that can’t fall off, break, get lost or left behind. Outfitted with ICESPIKE™, any footwear can be winterized into ice safety shoes or ice safety boots. Don’t be discouraged by winter ice and snow – with ICESPIKE™ you are always ready and able to navigate any conditions with confidence.

Click here to skip straight to my comparison of the two options.
(Click here to continue reading…)

Do you use Twitter? Or Facebook?

Did you know that you can find me on both of them?

Here are my pages:
http://twitter.com/RunToWin
http://www.facebook.com/RunToWin

For about a year and a half now, I’ve been putting up a quote of the day that is related to running, or motivating yourself to run, or giving you another reason to laugh about running.

If you have been following me for any length of time, then almost every weekday that isn’t a holiday you’ll have seen the quotes.

If you think back to last March (2009), you may recall a coaching session that I did with Mike Brooks.

It is not yet available for sale, but I am going to be giving away copies of the coaching session in conjunction with the 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge! Thanks to Mike, I am raising money for Camp Sunshine, so it seemed fitting to give away our coaching session.

In order to win one of the 5 digital copies, all you need to do is go to this article and leave a comment:

http://www.1moremileforsunshine.com/79/you-can-win-a-free-coaching-cd

If you want an extra chance to win the physical CD (I’ll even pay for the shipping costs) then in your comment you just need to leave a guess as to how many quotes you think I’ve offered up in 2008 and 2009. (My cut off date for counting them was on January 1st!)

Even if you don’t want to make a guess in order to win the physical CD, any comment is eligible for the digital versions. I’m closing the comments on this page since you need to leave your comments over at the 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge website in order to be eligible to win.

And while you are over there, take a look around and check on my progress. I’m now 6 days into the challenge…only 25 left to go!

In early/mid 2008, my friend Steve Speirs started a website to help people do 100 consecutive pushups. If you ever visited a fitness blog around that time then you undoubtedly saw people making the attempt using Steve’s training schedules (many of whom succeeded, I might add.)

Fast forward a year, and in June of 2009 Steve published his first book, 7 Weeks to 100 Pushups.

It’s a very quick read, and the programs offered in it seem even more accessible than the ones on the website. You should be able to read it in one or two sittings without any trouble.

The first thing that you’ll notice about the book is that it is 7″x9″, which was not what I was expecting when I ordered the book. It has more of the feel of a training log than a book that you would sit down and read.

The advantage, of course, comes from the book staying open on the floor in front of you on the page with that day’s workout, so that you can easily see how many pushups you should be doing for each set. (Unless your cat is wanting to play and keeps closing it on you, anyway.)

7 Weeks to 100 Pushups is divided into 4 parts:
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A popular book that came out recently is Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. (I’ll have a review up on the book one of these days – it was a good read.)

If you’re familiar with the book, then you’ll get a kick out of Chris’s appearance on the Daily Show last night (click through for video): (Click here to continue reading…)

Last night I had the pleasure of running with Bart Yasso as he accompanied us to Baxter Woods, where the group I coach did some hill repeats. Temperatures were up in the mid-90s so getting into the shade was a welcome change from the warmup to get there.

Upon returning to Maine Running Company, Bart signed copies of his book, My Life on the Run and gave away training logs, Runner’s World magazines, Powerade, and pizza. One lucky runner even got a free pair of Saucony running shoes. (They had their tour bus there and were performing gait analysis and shoe fittings.)

Bart told a few jokes and described some of his varied experiences in different races and cultures before settling down to chat with folks individually (video after the jump): (Click here to continue reading…)

Ian put together a video of last weekend’s “Fat Ass” 50k for your enjoyment:

Now you, too, can enjoy the excitement of 30 miles in the snow but without all the wet feet and scraped shins!

The next TMR Fat Ass is scheduled for March 28^th at Bradbury Mountain.

It’s that time of year again! The Visa Championship Series starts tonight with the Millrose Games and continues next week with the Boston Indoor Games. I can’t get to New York today, but will be in Boston next week.

The Millrose games will be televised live on ESPN2 tonight from 7-8:30 p.m. It will also be televised tomorrow on NBC, January 31 from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET. If you’d like to play along with Fantasy Track, then you have until 5:40 p.m. tonight to make your picks.

Here are the details on how that works:

How it works

Fans create their ultimate track and field team each week by going to www.visachampionshipseries.com and selecting the athletes they believe will compete well at that week’s meet.

Each Visa Championship Series meet is “virtually” scored, with 10 points going to the first-place athlete in each event, 8 points to the second-place athlete, 6 points to the third-place athlete and so on down to sixth place. The selected athletes score points for your team.

During the 2008 indoor season, after the conclusion of the AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, Jim Dunaway’s team from Austin, Texas, had scored the most points during the Indoor Visa Championship Series. He won a grand prize trip for two to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field, courtesy of Visa. David Donley won the overall second-place prize, a $250 Visa Gift Card and Nike gift bag, including but not limited to a Nike/USATF spike bag, jacket, t-shirt and cap. Anthony DeSain won the third-place prize, a $100 Visa gift card and Nike gift bag.

2009 Indoor Pick-N-Win Fantasy Game

Grand Prize: One Grand Prize winner will be awarded a $2,000 Visa Gift Card and a Nike gift bag, including but not limited to, a Nike/USATF bag, jacket, t-shirt and cap. Approximate Retail Value: $2,100.

Second Place Prize: One Second Place Prize winner will be awarded a $250.00 Visa Gift Card and a Nike gift bag, including but not limited to, a Nike/USATF spike bag, jacket, t-shirt and cap. Approximate Retail Value: $350.

Third Place Prize: One Third Place Prize winner will be awarded a $100.00 Visa Gift Card and a Nike gift bag, including but not limited to, a Nike/USATF spike bag, jacket, t-shirt and cap. Approximate Retail Value: $200.

Three Weekly Prizes: Each game week, a Nike gift bag containing a Nike/USATF spike bag, jacket, t-shirt and cap, valued at $100, will be awarded. Weekly Prize winners will be determined by the top score achieved during the appropriate week from among all eligible entries (excluding the Grand Prize winners) received by the online deadline.

Pick-N-Win Fantasy Game New Features

• Invite a Friend: From the Pick-N-Win website, players have the ability to email a friend the Fantasy Game link and invite them to participate.
• News Page: Athlete scratches and additions to start lists will be updated on the news page.
• Facebook: From the Pick-N-Win site, players can click on the Facebook link and go to the USATF Facebook page to discuss strategies with other players and interact with their competition.

You can find all these items at
http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/VisaChampionshipSeries/play/

Fantasy Game timeline:

• The game kicks off with the historic 102nd Millrose Games (Jan. 30) and continues through the Reebok Boston Indoor Games (Feb. 7), Tyson Invitational (Feb. 13), and the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships (Feb. 28-Mar. 1).
• The first deadline for players to make their final 102nd Millrose Games picks is Friday, Jan. 30th at 5:40 p.m. ET. The game will conclude on Feb. 28 at 11:55 a.m. ET.

I don’t really have an opinion one way or the other on running skirts. I don’t plan on wearing them, I don’t mind other people wearing them, and I doubt highly that my wife will ever wear one since she thinks that they look ridiculous.

Plenty of the women in the group that I coached over the Summer wore them pretty regularly, and they certainly have a following.

That said, I could definitely see going for the martini water stop »

(Hat Tip to Isabelle for emailing me the video!)