Run to Win

It has been an interesting week since winning the Cox Sports Marathon this past Sunday. Thanks for all of the comments and congratulations over the past week. It has meant a lot to me, whether it has been in person or on the phone, through email, comments on this site or on others. It’s been a pretty good week that way, and I appreciate it a lot.

Now that my goal marathon for the Spring is out of the way, my next goal is to finally run a sub-16 5k this Summer or Autumn. I have 3 races targeted starting in late August, so my priority for the rest of this month is to recover from a relatively tough training schedule over the past 6 months. It has been one of the most strenuous winters in terms of how much work I managed to get in since I graduated from college, and was well worth it. Now, my body needs a little break.
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This week last year was filled mostly with racing news, and what wasn’t racing was related in some way to swimming.

• I offered 9 methods for counting laps in the pool. I usually use the buoys on the lane dividers.
• A revolutionary in the shotput in the early 50s, Parry O’Brien died of a heart attack this week last year while he was swimming in a masters 500m freestyle event.
• This week 2 years ago, I demonstrated how to do pushups, suggested that you ride your bike with traffic, discussed tapering for a 10k, and first learned of the Endurance 50 Challenge. I also continued my thoughts on the New Rules of Lifting with the fourteenth and fifteenth rules.

I never got around to writing a “this week last year” article last week, so here it is this week for last week. If that makes sense.

• Some folks decided to try and break the 24-hour treadmill world record by running as a team on the treadmill. Each of the people in the “relay” needed to average 22 miles in 2 hours while they were on the treadmill. They succeeded, smashing the former record by over 14 miles.
• The Irish Road Rover was last week last year; I did not run but I got out and took some photographs. This year’s race is tomorrow morning, and unless they need some extra help I should be there with my camera again.
• I offered a very important swimming tip for the guys. Always tie your shorts! Pushing off from the wall and discovering your shorts are around your ankles can be embarrassing. Or so I’m told…
• Something I am asked on occasion is, “How many pairs of shoes do you need to be a runner?” Technically, you don’t need any shoes. I tend to have a lot of shoes, though, between trainers and racers and such.
• Finally, I discussed a story where Terry Francona made a bet that he could stop chewing tobacco. I challenged Red Sox fans to challenge themselves as well, but nobody took me up on it.
• Last week two years ago, I demonstrated how to do an overhead triceps extension and suggested that you should space your hands evenly on the bar when you are weight lifting. I also wrote a review of the Mizuno Wave Rider running shoe. They didn’t work for me, but I do use a different type of Mizuno’s these days.

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Refracted Moments™

• This week last year, I claimed that caffeine is worse for you than alcohol or tobacco. I fully admit that I’m prejudiced, but at least here in the United States I think that caffeine poses more of a public health issue than either of the other two drugs.
• I also listed my 6 favorite inspirational running books, each belonging to a different category. I represent how to manuals, retrospectives, essays and fiction in the list.
• I made a pretty big mistake with my training in the pool, and realizing what that mistake was instantly doubled how far I could swim on my lunch breaks. Not too bad…
• This week two years ago, I demonstrated how to do a 1 arm dumbbell bench press, reviewed Mead Memo Books and their applicability as a training log for the weight room, and discussed how exercise can prevent depression.

This week last year I got to get back up on my pulpit and offer my unsolicited opinion on a topic in running, which I had not done for a while.

• I concluded our series on injuries by discussing common running injuries. Most injuries are caused by either poor biomechanics, over use, or trauma. The article discusses the 5 most common injuries and how to treat them, and talks a bit about how to prevent the injuries in the first place.
• On the topic of potential injuries, I discovered the danger to men when doing deadlift shrugs. If you are a man and are new to this exercise, then make sure you are aware of the potential problems until you get your stance and grip correct. Catching yourself can be a less than pleasant problem to have.
• I offered my opinion that running is not a dying sport, nor do I expect it to be at any point in the near future.
• This week two years ago, I shared some lap swimming rules that will make your workout at the pool much easier and more enjoyable.

One reader found this site by searching Yahoo for how far is a swimming lap. There are a few different ways to determine the distance from one end of the pool to another, which will gives you the length of the pool. Multiply the length by two and you will have the distance of a lap in the pool. Most pools that you are likely to swim laps in are going to be either 25 yards (75 feet) or 25 meters (82+ feet). Here are some common ways of measuring a pool:
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This week last year was a taper week leading up to my Spring Marathon.

The biggest news this week last year, though, had to be Braxton Bilbrey’s swim to shore from Alcatraz. I fully expect that we will be hearing his name quite a bit in a decade or so when he starts getting up to a competitive level. There are not many people who can set a long term goal that requires as much training for an open water swim like that at 7 years of age.

In running news, the Nike+ system was announced this week last year. Things have changed in the last year for me; I now wear Nike shoes and in the near future all Nike shoes will be Nike+ ready. However, since I still do not plan on purchasing an iPod let alone running with one, I don’t expect that this is a technology that I will buy into.

If you would like revisit a great exercise, Bud Gibson introduced me last year to the bridge w/knee tuck. You balance your arms on a bench and your legs on the swiss ball, and roll the ball to your chest. I really enjoyed this one, and have worked into my exercise routines a few times over the past year.

Photo by gabyuSwimming laps at the pool is a great workout, but how do you track how far you have gone? Especially when swimming laps continuously without breaks, it can become very easy to forget which lap that you are on and to get your count messed up. A lap in a pool is there and back and is usually 50 yards or 50 meters. A length is the distance from one end of the pool to the other, and will be half of a lap. Here are a few simple (and a few not so simple) methods for counting laps or estimating your swimming distance in the pool.
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