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.
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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!)

Jeff Galloway recently came into the Maine Running Company for a short clinic and to share some of his experiences. This is a continuation of my write-up on the event based on the notes that I took. All of the articles will be linked to down at the end of the article as they appear on the website.

Today’s article deals with Jeff’s notions on building speed.

Running Faster

“There are no health benefits for running faster. It’s only for the ego.”

If you want to run faster, then you need to do some sort of speed work. Jeff allows for a leap of faith pace projection for goal times to train for in a race by cutting 30 seconds off of pace dictated by the Magic Mile pace time.

Jeff has 3 types of faster running in his workouts.
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The 2^nd annual Maine Coach and Athlete Cross Country Clinic was on August 18th, 2008 at the University of Southern Maine. This is the third part of my reporting on the clinic; the first part was about injury prevention and treatment and the second part was about nutrition basics and fueling. This part covers foot and biomechanical structure and the selection of proper footwear.

Selecting Proper Footwear

The third presentation of the night was from the owner of the Maine Running Company, John Rogers. John’s career in the running business started in product development for Nike and Mizuno, but he retired from doing that to start a specialty running store here in Southern Maine about 4 years ago.

“We try to find the right shoe for people.”

John and his employees use a 6 step fitting process to make sure that they are getting fitted with the proper shoes when they come into the store.

The 6 steps consist of determining information about the runner and his or her running habits, as well as some specific tests to help them determine what each athlete needs.

This 6 step process includes:
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About a month or so ago I was in touch with a gentleman at Ball Dynamics, a Colorado based manufacturer and distributor of the FitBall^® product line. They sell a variety of swiss balls and medicine balls and accessories, which should be a staple in any athlete’s home exercise equipment.

In exchange for this review, they sent me their Pressure Points™ product, which are a couple of hard rubber balls that are used to put pressure on various parts of your body when there is nobody around to massage you. There are 20 points on the body that are the most sensitive and conducive to acupressure. These points were chosen by acupuncturist and program creator Marc Coseo. Along with the two balls, the package comes with a poster to help you find the 20 different points and a DVD that leads you through finding each point within about a 30 minute timespan.

The packaging for the product recommends that you use the Pressure Points™ system to warm up muscles before athletic activity and to help relieve muscle soreness or back and neck pain. Prior to receiving this product, I have used similar methods as what are described to self-massage some of my muscles, especially on the bottom of my feet.
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In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about do-it-yourself home exercise implements throughout February and March. This week, I’d like to teach you how to make screw shoes.

Stabilicers are a good product and will go a long ways towards making your run safer by providing good traction in icy conditions. They have a few problems, however. If you don’t put them on right, then they will come off during your run. They can get heavy, especially when you get snow packed in between the stabilicer and the sole of your shoe. They are also more expensive than the alternative.

So what is the best alternative? Screw shoes.

Here’s a quick video that demonstrates how to make screw shoes:
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In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about do-it-yourself home exercise implements throughout February and March.

This week, Scott describes how to make homemade medicine balls.

This summer, I definitely need to go the sand and foam in a basketball route. Last year, I painted almost every room in my house and made a medicine ball out of the painter’s tape that we used to protect our ceilings and windows.

That’s a nice, lightweight 2 or 3 pounder that is made entirely out of what otherwise would have become trash. So outside of getting a new piece of workout equipment, I also got to amuse myself by seeing how long I could keep each piece that I wrapped around the ball without it coming apart as I ripped it off of the ceiling.

Scott also describes how to make tornado balls, stress balls and juggling balls.

The tornado ball is basically a medicine ball on a string, and the juggling balls are basically stress balls with a different filler.

Another way to make a juggling ball, which is what I did when I was in high school, is to fill a tennis ball with water. You can add a dash of the chemicals that you use in your pool or a water bed to keep anything from growing inside of the tennis ball, and which also gives it a slight foaming ability that can create an oddly balanced ball that lets you do some really neat tricks while the ball is in the air.

You’ll need a syringe in order to get the water and chemicals into the tennis balls, but the hole will heal itself within a few hours of removing the needle. Just be sure not to mistake one of these for a real tennis ball; that’s a quick recipe for destroying your tennis racket.

In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about do-it-yourself home exercise implements throughout February and March. Scott starts us off this week with almost a dozen do-it-yourself grip tools that you can build cheaply at home.

My favorite implement that he describes has to be the water ball (pictured left) – it never even occurred to me to fill my swiss ball with water.

I have used a few of his tricks before. I’ve used the rice or sand in a bowl implement, and I’ve fattened up some of my weight bars at times. I usually use a hand towel as a quick way to add or remove thickness.

I’ve also created my own clubs, although I used to be a professional juggler so those were more for creating odd implements to amuse others with than as a specific weight lifting implement.

For some good ideas, be sure to check out Scott’s article on how to make your own grip tools.