Run to Win

Update: The 15% offer has now expired, but you can use PCHoliday187 through December 18^th to save 10% off of your order.

I received the following message in my email this week. I have written before that I wear my Road ID wherever I go, and every Christmas they offer savings for people looking to get Road IDs as gifts. This year they are offering the discount a month early:

Hello Blaine:

I know it’s a bit too early to wish you “Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.” But, that won’t stop us from offering you (a previous Road ID customer) a great Holiday Special. Order from RoadID.com by 11/30 and take 15% off your entire order! Simply use the following coupon code to get your discount: PCSaveOurHair7

Why are we offering this coupon so early? We’ll, last year everyone here went completely bald from the stress of trying to keep up with the Holiday orders. Some of us are just now sprouting new hair and would love to show it off to our families this Holiday Season. By ordering early, you’ll not only save 15%, but you’ll also help save our hair.

ALSO, we have a whole NEW product line to show off. Now, every Road ID is available in an “Interactive” version. What’s “Interactive,” you ask? Well, go to the website and check it out. I think you’ll be impressed!

As you already know, a Road ID is the perfect gift and training partner for the runner, cyclist, triathlete, or active person on your gift list. If you can’t speak for yourself, your Road ID will. If you don’t know exactly which Road ID to purchase, just order a Road ID Gift Card or an online eCard.

Click here to order:
http://www.RoadID.com/?referrer=2219&CID=PCHoliday187

$1.49 shipping on all orders!

Road ID: It’s not just a piece of gear - it’s peace of mind.

Safe Sporting & Happy Holidays,

Edward Wimmer & Mike Wimmer

I do not know that I would bother getting their “interactive” road id. You get a free year’s worth of the service but then there is a charge to keep it going. You could duplicate the same sort of thing by putting a website address on your Road ID that contains your emergency info.

I stand by this product, having bought 4 of them in the past. I’ve gotten 2 for myself and 2 for my wife (pre- and post-marriage and house acquisition.)

Perhaps taking a cue from Katie Williams’ “Inview Goggles,” German company Rodenstock has developed a prototype set of sunglasses that can display your running time and heart rate in your peripheral vision through a wireless data link.

“If wearable computing is going to be popular you need to provide some information, but not a lot,” [optics engineer Mike] Hazel says, “our goal was to produce something very light that could be styled into a normal spectacle.”

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In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about the technology of fitness equipment throughout the month of July.

Scott finishes the month off by discussing tools to keep up to date. He lists a few online training logs, sites for finding news and regimens, and a description of different ways to subscribe automatically to any of those sites.

Susan from the Workin’ on My Fitness site recently wrote about doing some ab work in order to get over some work-related stress. I asked her whether she had ever tried using a swiss ball rather than using a machine or just a mat. She emailed me back with the following question:

I’ve never used a swiss ball, although I’ve used those balls that are weighted. Is there a difference? I’m down to trying anything new when it comes to ab work.

It turns out that she does in fact have a swiss ball, she just had not heard the terms that I refer to them as before. Below I have provided a brief description of medicine balls and swiss balls, as well as their ugly step-brother the bosu ball.
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In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about the technology of fitness equipment throughout the month of July. This week I would like to discuss the most important technology that a runner will deal with: running shoes.

• Why do runners buy shoes specifically for running?

  Running shoes and shoes that are made specifically for different sports such as basketball or cycling tend to have different shapes that cater to the specific activity that they are made for. Different types of motion put different stresses on your foot and ankles, and these are accounted for in the design of specific shoes.

  For example, cycling shoes tend to have a rigid bottom that is not particularly comfortable to walk around in but provide for a much more efficient transfer of energy from the foot to the pedal. Basketball shoes provide support for the ankle to account for making hard cuts and frequent jumping.

  While not always 100% necessary, getting a shoe for a specific sport can provide performance and/or safety benefits. Even amongst just running shoes, there are 8 categories of running shoes depending upon the type of running that you plan on doing.

• Why don’t runners walk around in their running shoes all day?

  Just like tennis is different from basketball, running and walking are very different activities from a physiological standpoint. Shoes that are designed for each activity try to minimize the stress of each activity and provide the most comfort at the same time.

  Wearing your running shoes while you walk or your walking shoes while you run can lead to discomfort and can drastically shorten the lifespan of your shoes.

• What is the difference between walking and running?

  When humans walk, they tend to push off to the side with their feet and sway back and forth. Walking is a way of controlled falling, as you shift your center of gravity over the leg that is going to support your body. The motion of your foot as you walk is a slow roll onto your toes.

  Running tends to keep your center of gravity more or less central to your torso as you swing your legs along beneath you. This is more energy efficient than walking, but increases the impact when your feet hit the ground. Running causes pronation, which results from your foot striking on the outside of your heel and then rolling towards the inside of your foot.

• What is most important when choosing a running shoe?

  Running shoes were originally made of leather. They did not begin to incorporate rubber until after sneakers started to become popular because the rubber was too soft and would wear away too fast for a serious athlete.

  Adi Dassler (the founder of Adidas) created the first lightweight running shoes in the 1930s, but it was not until the 1960’s that New Balance began putting a rubber wedge between the sole of the shoe and the upper portion to raise the heel and minimize the stress on the Achilles tendon. Bill Bowerman began making shoes for his runners by using a nylon upper and a sole created by pouring polyurethane into his wife’s waffle iron.

  The secret to the success of Bowerman’s shoes were the midsole that he put into the shoes to provide extra cushioning. The midsole provides protection from being able to feel sharp or hard objects that the runner steps on, and absorbs the majority of the impact that is the trade-off for a more energy efficient form of movement than walking. The midsole also provides rebound for the foot to make the next step a little easier. By fiddling with the density of the midsole in different areas of the shoe, and by contouring the foot bed, manufacturers design shoes that fit runners of different sizes and gaits.

• What are midsoles made of?

  Most midsoles are made of EVA, polyurethane, or a combination of the two.

  EVA makes a great cushioning material and is very light and very flexible, but it tends to lose some of its rebound and resilience and becomes “compression set.” That is one of the major reasons that you should always rotate your running shoes between runs.

  Polyurethane is very strong and lasts a lot longer, but it is heavy and has less rebound than EVA. Shoes with an all polyurethane midsole are almost guaranteed to last a long time, both because of their resilience and because they will probably not be worn as often as they are likely to be too heavy for most runners.

  Most companies combine the two materials by putting the polyurethane in areas of the midsole that are put under the most stress and using EVA elsewhere. Different mixtures are the biggest separating feature between one brand of shoes and the next. What is comfortable and works for one person is also quite likely to be uncomfortable for their neighbor, so each brand of shoes can potentially have plenty of market share.

• How do I best choose or take care of my running shoes?

  If you don’t know more about running shoes than you thought that you needed to by now, then you can look through my list of shoe care tips that was published on this site about a year ago.

• What is the shelf life for running shoes?

  Shoes don’t last forever, but unless the shoes weren’t stored well (extreme heat/cold) then last year’s models will be fine. You should generally try not to purchase shoes that are more than a year old, because the mid-soles will harden and break down over time even when the shoes are not being used.

  If you do have shoes that are 3 or even 5 years old, you can probably still use them. Just be aware that you probably will not be able to run as many miles in them as you would on a pair of brand new shoes that just arrived at your local shoe store.

  It can be a delicate balance of cost-effectiveness if you want to purchase a model of shoe that you like while it is on sale and before the company tweaks it to the point that you don’t like it anymore. (Thanks to Tom in Maryland for the question.)

What have I missed? These are a few questions that I have seen floating around in various forums or that have been emailed to me or asked in person over the past few months. Is there anything else that you would like to know that was not covered by this article or by the list of tips that were previously published?

Feel free to email me or leave a comment with any thoughts or questions that you may still have.

Last night, I got to learn a little bit about velomobiles. A velomobile is generally defined as those funny looking recumbent bicycles with shells around them. The shells can provide a measure of protection against the weather, and make the vehicle much more aerodynamic. This allows you to go faster with less effort than you could on a conventional bicycle.

The advantage of using a velomobile is that you do not need to burn any fossil fuels to get around. You can even get electrical motors to assist you on the hills that are powered by your pedaling actions. Velomobiles tend to be heavier than bicycles, but due to the aerodynamics they are usually easier to go fast in. They provide much better protection from the weather, and are much more stable.
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Since I have been getting a few more reader questions lately, I thought that I would make a slightly more regular feature out of it than has previously been the case. If you have any questions that you would like me to answer, then please feel free to email me.

“G” is somebody I know locally outside of the running community, and he asked me:

I got conned into running the 5 miler at the Yarmouth clam festival.

I don’t have any good running clothes… anything you recommend? I was gonna hit dick’s sporting goods and pick something out, but I wanted to see if you knew of anything special I should look for.

I was just wondering about attire - I’ve been ramping up my running lately and starting to chafe a bit, so thought I’d invest in something decent so I don’t sever my leg at the thigh.

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In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about the technology of fitness equipment throughout the month of July.

This week, Scott talks about the Nintendo Wii and what its role is as an extra tool in the fitness arsenal.

Nintendo has had Wii Sports since the console was released, but they are now creating a new program called “Wii Fit” which includes using a balance board as a controller. Scott discusses some of the advantages of using the balance board, including a video that was recently shown at E3. He also discusses an experiment that one man used to lose weight by playing video games for 30 minutes per day.