Run to Win

It has now been a week since the second running of the Cox Sports Marathon in Providence, Rhode Island. This is the race that I won last year, and I was looking to repeat again this year.

New Course Analysis

The course this year was completely different than last year, with a different start and finish line and much more extensive use of the local paved trail system. Rather than going north of Providence through Pawtucket, the course spent more time towards the South near Barrington. All in all, I rather liked the new course despite taking some of the hills away. There were a few problems with the new course, though.
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I heard rumors last week that the USATF had changed their stance on headphones, and they have finally published some confirmation.

Headphones will still not be allowed in championship racing, but personal audio devices may be used at race director discretion as long as they do not allow communication. So iPods will be okay for most runners, but cell phones will still be banned.

The amendment is to Rule 144.3, and now reads as follows:

“(f) The visible possession or use by athletes of video, audio, or communications devices in the competition area. The Games Committee for an LDR event may allow the use of portable listening devices not capable of receiving communication; however, those competing in Championships for awards, medals, or prize money may not use such devices.”

Be sure to check with your individual race directors about whether iPods and other devices are allowed in their races, but there is no longer a blanket rule that they are expected to enforce on the matter. I know that this will make quite a few people happy.

That said, I will continue to race without them.

(More Info: USATF)

This weekend saw the first running of the Cox Sports Marathon in Providence, Rhode Island, along with the Willow Tree Half Marathon and the New Balance 5k.

The weather might have made for a slightly tough 5k, but it was ideal for long races such as the half marathon and the marathon. The average temperature was in the low 50s with a high of 54°_F (at least by noon.) The race got off to a wet start with a gentle drizzle that turned into a mist early in the race.

The temperature noticeably warmed up once the precipitation stopped, but the sky remained overcast and a slight breeze throughout most of the race kept the runners from getting too over heated.

Being the inaugural running of the race, all of the winners of all three races were guaranteed course records. After the race, one of the race promoters asked me to email her some suggestions on how they can improve the races next year, so I am going to intersperse my suggestions along with this race report in the hopes that it can help out another race director that is trying to get a new race going.

The Expo

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A little over a week ago, I was offered the opportunity to review one of Nike’s new workout mixes that you can load on your iPod and use to guide you through a workout. There was only one problem with this…I don’t have a working mp3 player, and never wear headphones when I’m working out. This actually worked out pretty well, though, because I was able to convince the guy at Nike to let me give it to a few people that belong to my email newsletter to review. Within a few minutes of sending the email out, I had a dozen people asking for a review copy.

The workout is 40 minutes long and consists of 13 popular songs. Throughout the entire time, Kara Goucher coaches you through a timed fartlek run. Whether this is appropriate for you is an individual decision, as evidenced by the two very different reviews that I received and that you can read below.

First, I’d like to remind you that if you listen to any sort of music while you are out running to remember to pay attention to your surroundings, especially when you are running with traffic.

Second, if you are interested in purchasing the workout you can do some through the iTunes store for $12.99. (That link will open iTunes directly on your computer if it is installed.)

If you would like more information about it, you can stream the entire workout over your computer by visiting the Nike+ Music site and clicking on Kara Goucher’s album cover. You can listen to the entire workout through the website, but you will not be able to download it. There is an option where you can download a short sample that you can put onto your iPod.

This first review is from Steve Spiers of Run Bulldog Run. He took the workout outside for a run last Thursday, and here are his thoughts on it:
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• This week last year, I compared the pros and cons of running with headphones, which is always such a polarizing topic.
• Shani Davis broke his own 1500m speed skate record with a time of 1:42.32. He bested his own record by 0.36 seconds.
• Jim Snyder provided some information about the treadmill record from the week before, including providing a video of the event.
• How do you compare your workload from week to week when your training consists of multiple activities?
• This week two years ago, I began a weekly series on what I thought about the 20 new rules of lifting found in the book by the same name. I posted two rules per week, beginning this week with the list of rules and the first rule: use your muscles as they were designed. I also demonstrated how to do a swiss ball bench press with dumbbells, suggested that you always eat before and after working out, and wrote a review on Under Armour gloves. Unfortunately, I have sense lost that pair of gloves and replaced them with Sport Hills.

Race directors that want to insure and sanction their races through the RRCA or USATF know that they need to begin enforcing the “No Headphone” rules at their races. The RRCA has decided that the main problem isn’t necessarily enforcement, it’s education, and so they have designed a handy logo that race directors can put onto race entry blanks to let runners know how “serious” they are. The logo is pictured at right.
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Do you listen to your iPod when you are working out? If so, then I have some good news for you.

Personally, I do not use my mp3 player when I am working out because I am too worried that I would wind up dead if I buried my head in a set of headphones.

From a safety perspective, I wouldn’t even consider listening to it unless I was on a track or a treadmill, and even then I would not be loading any music up. I prefer listening to podcasts and interviews. Listening to music when you are working out can have an effect upon your levels of exertion and heart rate, and mask the actual effort that you are putting in.

That being said, a well planned queue on your iPod could potentially lead you into a good workout and I know that a lot of people swear by training with them.
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I felt great after running in New York City, but I can not say that the marathon took no toll on my body at all. It was very obvious after I returned to the weight room this week last year that squats and lunges right after a marathon can leave you sore for a while.

• This week last year, I continued the series on injuries by discussing a question that most runners would prefer to avoid. Namely, “Should you see a doctor about your injuries?” Runners and other athletes tend to have a higher pain tolerance than the general population, and if we can avoid going to the doctor then we can avoid having somebody tell us that we have to stop running or working out. That’s the worst case scenario, and we never want to hear it. Sometimes, though, you need to take the risk.
• I shared my views on running with headphones. It boils down to whether or not the person with the headphones is impeding my own race or workout. I never run with headphones, personally, and generally I am not bothered by the people that do. There are some people that cause problems for everybody around them, though, and the only thing that will ever let them know that they aren’t paying enough attention is when that car that they can’t hear or don’t notice manages to hit them.
• This week two years ago, I wrote about calculating your maximum heart rate. In a couple of months, I may actually wind up getting a heart rate monitor, so next year I will probably try to work heart rate training into my schedule.