Run to Win

This week last year ranged from humorous to serious as I discussed topics ranging from cartoons to hospitals.

• In the training tips department, I wrote about training options while on the road. There are a lot of different ways to stay in shape even if you travel regularly, and this article pointed at some different ways to stay fit in your hotel room, the hotel fitness center or a local gym, or by heading outside.
• I make no bones about my abhorrence to caffeine, but I can still joke about it. I found a great webcomic strip that helps you to learn how to quit drinking caffeine. It gave me a good chuckle.
• In local news, cyclists received the protection of some new laws here in Maine by allowing motor vehicles to cross a solid yellow line when passing a cyclist, requiring at least 3 feet of clearance before passing, and by not allowing teenagers to use their cell phones while driving. I haven’t really noticed much of a difference on the streets over the past year, however. In other local news, Team competition returned to the Eliot 5k. Eliot used to be the largest 5k in Maine, and annually draws an extremely competitive local field. This year’s race (which is a week from today) should be no different.
• Also in the news, John L Parker, Jr had a heart attack and spent the next few months recovering. His health has since improved and he is doing quite well as of the last that I heard some months ago.
• This week 2 years ago, I created a video demonstration of how to tie your shoes with a runner’s knot so that they do not come untied. I also listed a few exercise related How-To articles and also reviewed Chariots of Fire, which must be the most well known running movie ever made. Dean Karnazes began the Endurance 50 and ran his first of 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. I began to mix up my pushups with medicine balls to give myself a little extra challenge, and I also offered a race tip about running first thing the morning before a race to properly loosen up your body.
• This week 3 years ago, I climbed Mount Washington and I wrote about proper gym etiquette.

Photo by KesoIt has been 90 days since the end of the 2007 legislative session in Maine, which means that a slurry of new laws take effect today.

Some of those laws will make the streets safer for cyclists (and to a lesser extent, runners) who ride in traffic.

• Motor vehicles must give at least 3 feet of clearance to any cyclist that they pass.
• Motor vehicles are now allowed to cross a solid center line to pass a cyclist when it is safe to do so.
• Teenagers are no longer allowed to talk on cell phones or use other hand held devices while driving.

These laws are not going to make it instantly safe for cyclists, so if you ride your bicycle in traffic do not magically expect to have the road to yourself. Here are 3 specific points to bear in mind before your next ride:
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