Run to Win

In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about things that deserve more attention throughout the month of October. This week, I will finish the month off with a discussion about off seasons.

Competitive athletes need an off season, and recreational athletes would probably be better off with one as well. An off season is a span of time, usually 1 to 3 months, where the athlete is not competing in their chosen sport. Some athletes will not work out at all during their off season, while others will use it as a chance to do something other than the normal grind.

Off season options

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In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about things that deserve more attention throughout the month of October. This week, Scott discusses strengthening your forearms.

There are two basic ways to strengthen the muscles in your forearms and wrists. You can directly work those muscles with specific exercises, or you can modify other exercises to put more of the load on your forearm.
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In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about things that deserve more attention throughout the month of October. This week, I am also going to take part in Blog Action Day and discuss the environmental impact of running.

Running is a good activity in which to engage. We learned how to do that well before we learned how to wreck our environment to any great degree. As with anything else, though, there is an impact that we have and it never hurts to be aware of just what that impact is.

Photo by Don FulanoThe biggest environmental impact that runners have, and a totally unnecessary impact that we can all avoid making, is leaving our trash behind while we run. There are some runners that will think nothing of dropping an empty gel packet or water bottle by the side of the road, especially during races. During a race, there may be people that will pick up the trash as long as you drop your items near an aid station, and in a city the trash left behind by runners may be minuscule compared to the litter left behind by everybody else. When we run out in the country or on trails, though, the trash that we leave behind does not have any designated people who volunteer or are paid to pick up after us. Unless you can find a trash can on your run, use a carry in/carry out policy with any waste that you create.
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In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about things that deserve more attention throughout the month of October. This week, Scott has provided a nice introduction to kettlebells.

Photo by jaboobieWhat is a kettlebell (or kettleball, as they are also known)? A kettlebell is “a cannonball with a handle.” It is similar to a dumbbell, and can easily be used in place of one. Kettlebells are not evenly balanced, though, because the center of gravity is nowhere near the center of the kettlebell. The handles are usually thick, which require you to work on your grip strength when you are using one. The large handles do give you a lot of room for your hand and wrist, though, which makes it easier to exercises that involve swinging and momentum than it would be with a dumbbell.

So should runners bother to train with kettleballs? I think so. I have not managed to purchase one for myself yet, but I plan on doing so at some point in the not too distant future. They are a good tool to use outside, and look like they could be a lot more fun than just doing bench presses and squats with dumbbells or barbells.

I think that any sort of weight lifting is a great cross training activity for most runners, especially marathoners. If a kettleball can be fun enough to get somebody lifting, then it would be a great tool for a runner. It is also fairly easy to pull out and do some exercises with, since it does not require all kinds of different pieces to use. It really is just a big lump of metal with a handle.

Scott answers some common questions about kettlebells, including where to purchase them and where to go to learn how to use them. You can read his article by clicking here.

In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about things that deserve more attention throughout the month of October. This week, I would like to start things off by addressing trail running for road runners.

Photo by Paul A. FaganCross country running in high school and college made the Autumn my favorite time of the year. The sport is a lot more fun and takes much less of a toll on the body than track or road running. Since I graduated from college, though, I have only run a few cross country races and have stuck almost exclusively to road training and racing. This summer I have gotten back on the trails, and have even tried a few new things.

Transitioning back to the trails part time has reminded me why I loved running cross country so much. It has also reminded me that trail running requires a different set of skills, especially when running on technical trails or near mountains. So as a road runner that is wanting to move towards trails, keep these tidbits in mind:
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