1. Kara Goucher looking to leave Nike (interesting about Nike’s outside endorsement policy)
2. How to run for a lifetime
3. What one runner does to take on a running commute to work
4. I think anyone who has run more than one marathon can relate to this.
5. Treating and strengthening the piriformis
1. How to keep hands and feet warm while winter running
2. Are we running out of ways to run marathons?
3. Tips to master winter running
4. This guy makes me want to write more, and maybe do more run journaling
Sorry for no post yesterday, sub-zero wind chill in Alabama gave me a frozen pipe
No major damage, just a tiny crack in the solder where the pipe meets a coupling. But I spent the day under my house with a space heater and hair dryer. In other news, I conquered my extreme fear of narrow and dark spaces.
Here’s your Wednesday five:
1. No words
2. Yoga or runners: the low lunge (love this pose)
3. Good stuff on the role of inflammation
4. The growing sport of “skyrunning”
5. A Leadville buckle for sale on Ebay
1. The ins-and-outs of pro runner sponsorship: Nick Symmonds explains
2. General suspicion of world records
3. Mix up your training in 2014
4. I agree with this. If you don’t care to take the time to explain the “why” of your training program, then get away from me
5. Does perceived effort originate in the brain or body?
Took a holiday break from posting. Back to normal now!
1. Silver Medalist Nick Symmonds parts with Nike, signs with Brooks–what it means
2. This couple (who happen to be Vegan) ran a marathon every day last year
3. Runners World has five wishes for the marathon this year
4. I’d watch this
Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!
1. Army chaplain beats cancer, runs a marathon
2. Indianapolis Monumental Marathon donates hats to kids
4. Death Valley National park suspends races in the park
5. Pam Smith reports on her world record race time
1. Speed development for distance runners
2. Fascinating study! Does running shoe tech really work as ads claim?
3. Tips for the 1st time marathoner
4. How Zach Bitter ran 100 miles in under 12 hours
5. Pete has had an active discussion going on man parts and running
1. Caleb’s tips on doing hill repeats on a treadmill
2. Running backwards is a thing now?
3. Pete asks the eternal question: shorts OVER running tights?
4. Ultra running skill # 5: Grit
5. Top 10 trail running Christmas gifts
1. Rise of he “MUT” runner
2. Anything Steve Magness writes or says is worthy of reading
3. Wanna be a good coach? Emulate John Wooden
4. The health benefits of swimming may be countered by the stimulation of appetite it causes
5. Is there a such thing as “healthy obesity?”
1. Hoo boy. Here we go again with another “are marathoners annoying” column. (Thanks Jason)
2. I really enjoy this blog
3. New trail relay race in St Louis in August 2014. Interesting! Nice central location, many people could meet. hmmm
4. Sleep and running performance (ultra-specific)
4. Heart wrenching (about running and pets)
5. Eight of the toughest runs in the world
1. All runs are different
Say you go out on Monday and have a really crappy run. You feel deflated, tired and stressed. “What’s wrong with me? I was rested, happy, and healthy. Why did this run suck?” Sometimes runs stink for no reason. Could be emotional, physical, weather-related. Sometimes there’s a cause: rehabbing from injury, you raced a few day earlier, you lack sleep and rest. But guess what: its over. You have a fresh start the next day. Shake it off. My Tuesday run was not good. I was cold, I was tired from staying up late studying with Preston. I wanted my bed. Today I felt like a Kenyan. I had pep, joy, and I enjoyed this run. No two runs are the same
2. Bad runs make us appreciative of the good days
Without a crappy run yesterday, I wouldn’t have been so thrilled about today. Yah, sure, yesterday I was thinking to myself: “You got out of a warm bed and ran in subfreezing temps for THIS?” So I take some pride that I got out the door. Proud that I ran regardless of how I felt or the quality of my run. Yogi Berra once said “baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical.” The same goes for running. Training the mind is so much harder than training the body. Bad runs teach us to focus, to let go of the bad, and to look to the good.
3. Letting go of a bad run is good training for running, and life
Life has ups and downs. Running has ups and downs. Parenting has ups and downs. Our jobs have ups and downs. EVERYONE has good days and bad days. Expect bad days, push through them, grow from them. Let the bad days teach you about perseverance. Let them teach you that life is not always a unicorn rainbow festival. If you expect to go out each day and run like Meb, then you will not have a long and happy running career. We all struggle. And dealing with the struggle and pushing through it is as valuable as the hardest workout you can do.
So next time you have a stinky run, let it go. Pat yourself on the back for getting it done and move on. The next day gives you afresh and hopeful day with endless possibilities.
This Running Life 