Day 24

John S & Glam are getting ready for Peachtree. Margaret and Arnaud are seriously training. Barb and Lisa have gone full robobabe. Cha Cha, harRIOTt & K. Hop are steady and progressing. Everyone else is looking great and IN - Shape. Everyone with 24 days gets a Tee Shirt. 

John S	24
Arnaud	22
Glamour	22
Margaret	22
Barb	21
Lisa	21
Charles	20
Harriott	20
Kaffee	20
Amy	19
Dave B	19
Kathleen	19
Roxanna	19
Cindy	18
Karyn	18
Susie Mac	18
Caroline	17
Irene	17
Jimmy F	17
Maggie	17
Susie C	17
Wendy	17
Katie	16
Mary	16
June	15
Mary M.	15
Connie	14
Jen Jen	14
John G.	14
Mary D.	14
Michael G.	14
Prancey	14
Jenny	13
John O'Neill	13
Jonathan	13
Alan	12
John O.	12
Reba	11
Yesim	11
Chris W.	9
Frank	9
Christine/DQ	8
Eileen	8
Leslie	8
Liz	8
Michael S.	8
Cindy Neal	7
Ellie	7
Molly D	7
Paige	7
Reid	7
Steef	7
John B	6
Fred Glass	5
Kwithee	5
Matt	5
Sally	5
Stephanie	5
David Glass	4
Jennifer/Jeff	4

National Running Day?

Many of us recognize June 6th as D Day.

1944 – World War II: Battle of Normandy begins. D-Day, code named Operation Overlord, commences with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy in France.The allied soldiers quickly break through the Atlantic Wall and push inland in the largest amphibious military operation in history.

2012 - National Running Day: I guess we should embrace this National recognition given to the simplest form of exercise known to most of the creatures on this Earth. I am pretty sure Dick Sporting goods started this so, this day goes down as another retailer "holiday" (Valentine's Day). We have been saying for years that another running boom is under way. The pendulum has swung. Americans are waking up. Death by sedentary obesity is no way to go out. Health care cost are spiraling out of control. A healthy lifestyle is the answer. If we ruled the land, we would mandate exercise. Instead, we will make it cool and attract the masses.

Budding Track Stars

John S	23
Arnaud	21
Glamour	21
Margaret	21
Barb	20
Lisa	20
Charles	19
Dave B	19
Harriott	19
Kaffee	19
Amy	18
Kathleen	18
Roxanna	18
Susie Mac	18
Jimmy F	17
Karyn	17
Susie C	17
Caroline	16
Irene	16
Katie	16
Maggie	16
Mary	16
Wendy	16
Cindy	15
June	15
Mary M.	15
Connie	14
John G.	14
Michael G.	14
Prancey	14
Jen Jen	13
Jenny	13
John O'Neill	13
Mary D.	13
Alan	12
John O.	12
Jonathan	12
Yesim	11
Reba	10
Chris W.	9
Frank	9
Eileen	8
Leslie	8
Liz	8
Christine/DQ	7
Ellie	7
Michael S.	7
Molly D	7
Paige	7
Reid	7
Steef	7
Cindy Neal	6
John B	5

Progress

Every workout builds to the next. All of the days add up to weeks. The weeks add up to months and months to years. The years add up to a lifetime of fitness and healthy living. Whenever (anyone) is hanging out with Ethan, strangers always ask "how long does it take?" He replies "16 years." It takes time.

One winter night while running a 12 mile tempo run in the dark during a 34 degree cold hard rain, a gentleman pulled up in his car, roll down the window and said "you have got to be committed." I answered "yea, you got to be."

Wilma Rudolph was born prematurely and weighed only 4.5 pounds. Because of racial segregation, she and her mother were not permitted to be cared for at the local hospital. It was for whites only. There was only one black doctor in Clarksville, and the Rudolph's budget was tight, so Wilma's mother spent the next several years nursing Wilma through one illness after another: measles, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox and double pneumonia. But, she had to be taken to the doctor when it was discovered that her left leg and foot were becoming weak and deformed. She was told she had polio, a crippling disease that had no cure. The doctor told Mrs. Rudolph that Wilma would never walk. But Mrs. Rudolph would not give up on Wilma. She found out that she could be treated at Meharry Hospital, the black medical college of Fisk University in Nashville. Even though it was 50 miles away, Wilma's mother took her there twice a week for two years, until she was able to walk with the aid of a metal leg brace. Then the doctors taught Mrs. Rudolph how to do the physical therapy exercises at home. All of her brothers and sisters helped too, and they did everything to encourage her to be strong and work hard at getting well. Finally, by age 12, she could walk normally, without the crutches, brace, or corrective shoes. It was then that she decided to become an athlete. 

In junior high, Wilma followed her older sister Yolanda's example and joined the basketball team. The coach, Clinton Gray, didn't put her in a single game for three years. Finally, in her sophomore year, she became the starting guard. During the state basketball tournament, she was spotted by Ed Temple, the coach for the famous Tigerbells, the women's track team at Tennessee State University. After graduating from high school, Wilma received a full scholarship to Tennessee State.

Then she became a track star, going to her first Olympic Games in 1956 at the age of 16. She won a bronze medal in the 4x4 relay.  On September 7th, 1960, in Rome, Wilma became the first American woman to win 3 gold medals in the Olympics. She won the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and ran the anchor on the 400-meter relay team.  This achievement led her to become one of the most celebrated female athletes of all time. In addition, her celebrity caused gender barriers to be broken in previously all-male track and field events. 

Happy Feet: Tips For Healthier Running

May 23, 2012

After hearing a lot about barefoot running, New York Times Phys Ed columnist Gretchen Reynolds decided to try it out for herself. An amateur runner for several decades, Reynolds says she thought the transition would be easy. But almost immediately, she got injured.

"I hurt my illiotibial band on the outside of the knee, and I also hurt my Achilles tendon, which I had never done before," she tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "A lot of people are trying barefoot running without preparation and without the knowledge of what happens when you take off your running shoes, and I was one [of them]. And what often happens is exactly what happened to me, which is that you almost immediately hurt your Achilles tendon."That's because many people ramp up their barefoot running programs too quickly, which doesn't allow the muscles in the legs and feet time to catch up, she says.

Among Reynolds' other findings:

Running Will Not Ruin Your Healthy Knees: There's a strong myth that running can ruin your knees, says Reynolds, but that's not actually true if your knees start out injury-free. "The science actually shows that if you have a healthy knee to start with, running tends to increase the amount of cartilage that you produce," she says. "Running prompts the cartilage cells, which are the shock absorbers in your knees, to divide and produce more cartilage. So in theory, running is actually healthy for your knees."

Weighing The Pros And Cons Of Heavy Running Shoes: If you've been investing in heavy running shoes with all sorts of features, you might want to rethink things, says Reynolds. "Science now suggests that [wearing those shoes] probably hurts," she says. "There are some very good studies that say that people who wear heavy motion-control shoes tend to get injured more often than people who wear any other type of shoe. It doesn't matter if they do pronate or they don't pronate. They get injured more if they wear a heavy running shoe."

Do Orthotics Work? It's unclear, says Reynolds. "When they put people in custom orthotics or over-the-counter orthotics or nothing, there's very little difference in injury rates," she says. "There seems to be a pretty strong placebo effect. People who get custom-made orthotics think they're going to get less injured. Perhaps that will keep some of them from getting injured, but there's not very good science that orthotics will actually protect you from something like plantar fasciitis."

Stretching Works! Reynolds says lean against a wall, with one foot extending out behind you with your heel on the ground, and hold that position for 30 seconds. But don't do it before your run, she warns. "That would actually be counterproductive to do that before you exercise," she says. "If you're past 40, then it does become necessary to do a little bit of additional stretching, because everything does stiffen up a little."

High Heels Can Increase Your Risk For Running Injuries: Heels shorten the Achilles tendon and change how your foot orients itself to the ground. That spells trouble once the heels come off, says Reynolds. "Your foot honestly does not know how to come into contact with the ground," she says. "Women who wear high heels all the time and then walk without them walk completely differently than women who do not wear heels, and they probably increase their risk for a whole host of injuries."

Ten Reasons Why Drinking Water Is Good for You:

1. It helps you lose weight. Maybe it’s because I drink a glass of water before each meal, plus while I am eating, but I’ve noticed that I definitely get full faster and am taking in less food without feeling deprived. This has been an easy way to kick up my weight loss efforts.
2. It’s easier to be hydrated for exercise. Since I am always drinking water, I start my runs already hydrated and don’t have to take in as much water to stay on top of my hydration. When I am well hydrated, I run better–my times are better, I don’t feel sluggish and it takes longer for me to feel tired. I did not expect simply drinking water would be so beneficial to my running.
3. Your skin texture improves. I’ve read that your skin gets plumped up and dewy because you are hydrated. I don’t know about that, but I am definitely breaking out less and generally having fewer skin problems since I started drinking more water.
4. Drinking water helps maintain digestive health. I have definitely noticed that water helps with digestion, and (this is probably an overshare) helps to keep you “regular”….with your “evacuation” processes by making things easier and more frequent. If you don’t know what I mean, then email me and I can send a more graphic description if you’d like.
5. Drinking water helps flush out toxins. Although most people refer to the benefits of drinking water to flush out toxins that come from our food and the environment, the best proof I have is how water helps to prevent hangovers and minimizes the effects of alcohol. This is probably more of a hydration effect than a toxin-flush effect. I noticed before that whenever I had a glass of wine the night before a run, I used to feel pretty sluggish and drained during my run. Now that I am taking in extra water, I can have a glass of wine and still feel fine for my run the next day. Being able to drink more alcohol is definitely not one of the benefits I expected from drinking water….but I’ll take it!
6. Speaking of exercise, I definitely get more exercise as a result of drinking water. This is because of all of the bathroom breaks I need to take during the day. I have to go about 5-6 times while I am at work, and the bathroom is at the end of the hall. If I wore a pedometer, I bet this would add a couple of thousand steps to my daily tally.
7. Taking in more fluid helps reduce fluid retention. Like many women, I retain fluid and get some swelling around the time I menstruate. However, I’ve noticed that I am now less swollen since I began drinking water.
8. You have more energy. I don’t know why, I just know that I feel more alert and have fewer days when I hit the afternoon slump since I started drinking more water.
9. You save money. Bottled water is definitely cheaper than most other drinks, and tap water is free! Most people in the US have access to good, clean, safe tap water. In my opinion the water in New York City is some of the best in the country. If you want to learn about the quality of your local tap water, the Environmental Protection Agency monitors and publicly reports the quality of tap water throughout the US.
10. You know the location of every bathroom. Have I mentioned how much you go to the bathroom drinking all of this water? Let me just say that a benefit to the popularity of Starbuck’s is you are never very far from a bathroom. If you are stuck, with no Starbuck’s in sight, a good back up is a nice hotel. Most of them have bathrooms somewhere in the lobby.

Careful

The new body is dangerous. Be careful with it. We have seen many folks over the years get a brand new hot body only to take it out and trash it. The idea is to enjoy it without wrecking it.

The half marathon is the #1 way newly minted fitness freaks hurt themselves. As we have said many times, a fast 5k beats a long slow half marathon every time. It takes 10 fewer miles to run. We can work out the day after a fast 5k. We can even go out dancing after a fast 5k.

Drunk Olympics are fun but could result in injury. Challenging someone to a set of eighth count body builders or to a 300 meter foot race after a number of stiff cocktails seems like a good idea. Its not.

Water sports are wonderful if discretion is the better part of valor. Jumping or diving off a cliff into the lake or river could result in broken ribs and sometimes is fatal. Water skiing and wake boarding are fine for the right amount of time. Just because you have been working out doesn't mean you are in shape to be dragged across a choppy lake all the way from the marina.

Big wave surfing has many pitfalls. Coral reef and shark attack can tear off a limb.

When attempting a double back flip off the diving board, remember to stay tucked. Opening early will result in a loud slap on the back.

We will not even attempt to address the dangers of the new bikini. Just know, the guy wearing the glasses who doesn't turn his head when you walk by...is watching.

Our Days

These are our days. Many of us work out all year every year. We put in an hour every day. We show up in the cold, the rain, the heat. No matter what is going on in our lives, we make the workout. The one hour a day is a discipline we believe makes us better. We love it.

So now we go to the beach, lake, pool and strip down to our bathing suit. Its a real problem...for the folks who don't work out every day and have to be seen with us.

We are having an OPEN workout Monday Memorial Day. Please welcome friends and family to join us. Also, please join us Friday June 1st at Fado. We will be celebrating our road race champion's entering the Masters division.