Sweaty Clothes

Okay, Summer is here. Not officially yet, but lunchtime workouts in the 90s confirms it in my book. The result for me and plenty of others I know: Several pounds of wet clothes.

Today my shorts were so wet (from sweat!) I decided just to wear them in the shower, rinse them out and maybe get another day out of them. But alas, they ended up in the grocery bag at the bottom of my messenger bag with the wrung out shirt and very damp socks. A heavy reminder of yet another great workout (today was a 5-mile tempo run).

I visited one of my co-workers today in her office and the first thing I noticed was her clear plastic bag of wet clothes in the floor. She quickly moved it out of the way, perhaps embarrassed, I don't know. They certainly did not bother me. But it got me thinking... there has got to be a better way.

So I did a quick search, and I found a lovely solution. The Sweat Bag.

Most of the designs are a little feminine for my taste, but I think they might make the perfect gift for the woman in your life who has to deal with 5 pounds of sweaty clothes on a daily basis. Come on guys, encourage the sweat!

For now, I'll probably stick with the plastic grocery bag. Turn it inside out each day and it will last for weeks.

What do you do with your post-workout sweaty clothes?

Run hard out there...

Running Through The Wall: a new review

With only a few reviews of my book on amazon.com,
I'm always excited when I get a new one.
Here is the most recent:

Hey, 3 out of 5 ain't bad! Thanks J.

If anyone wants to borrow my copy, let me know.

Run hard out there.

Crossfit-like Endurance Training Revisited

On April 24, I ran the first ever Blue Ridge Marathon. It was a tough road course, boasting 3,100' of climbing, all within a few miles of my hometown, Roanoke, VA. It was a great run, and I had a very fun time.

I was a bit nervous about this one because I was trying again to run a long, tough endurance run on very little mileage. I am no longer following "Crossfit Endurance" as prescribed, but I do still workout like that. My daily runs are usually 3-5 miles with lots of high intensity sprints, hills, squats, planks, pushups. burpees, etc. thrown in. In fact, the workouts focus on the sprinting and the "calisthenics," the running is just transportation to/from the park were we workout. I think I did about 4 long runs (13-21 miles) in preparation for this marathon. But they were very spread apart, and most of them on trails, not roads. To break it down even more, my 2010 weekly mileage has only crossed 25 miles per week 3 times. My longest week was just under 40 miles two weeks before the marathon. Most of my weeks this year have been at or under 20 miles running with lots of cross training.

(image from RunningAhead.com, where I log all of my runs)

I approached the marathon not knowing how my body would respond to this low mileage. So I started out very conservatively. My goal was to run aerobically (conversational pace) for as long as possible. I knew that would last only a few miles before the climbing started. Over the first few climbs I was feeling great. The fourth climb is the big one up Roanoke Mountain Overlook. This would be the pinnacle of the race. I chose to walk most of that climb, and still caught many people along the way. I knew I could comfortably walk a 12-13 minute mile, so that's what I did.

At the top of that climb, I realized that with most of the climbing behind me, I was averaging 9 minute miles, and feeling great. At that point I knew a sub 4-hour marathon was in my sights. I continued to push, anticipating the "wall" that hits me in most marathons around 18 miles in. 18 miles came, no wall. 20, no wall. 22, no wall, and at this point I was picking up speed. Several times between 20 and 24 I caught myself running a 7-minute per mile pace. I was having a blast, passing people, cheering on other runners and (half marathon) walkers. I found that the more I encouraged others, the better I felt.

End result: a pretty tough road marathon, 3:53, on very little weekly mileage. I recovered quickly, and was back to my crossfit-style workouts on Monday. Can this type of training get me back into ultra shape? I'm going to find out.

Run hard out there.

Swimsuit season is 25 days away

Swimsuit season is almost here. Are you ready? What sacrifices will you make to be ready?

Eat cleaner. Give up deserts. No empty calories.
Exercise more. Up the intensity. Run some hills.
Sleep more. It really does matter.


Run hard out there.

How to take down a giant

Now we're talking! Could a 25-cent toy be the chink in the fast food industry's armor?

Happy Meal toys could be banned in Santa Clara County

A county supervisor has created a stir with his proposal to bar the inclusion of toys in restaurant meals that contain high amounts of sugar, salt or certain fats.

Happy EARTH DAY 2010

Happy Earth Day everyone. Take a small trash bag on your run today and see if you can pick up a few bits of litter.

May is Clean Commute Month. See what programs are in your area and take the pledge to walk, run, bike, hop, skip, jump part or all of your way to work.

My commuter bike is on display this morning in the lobby of the building where I work. Last year we were able to get a modest number of people here to ride bikes to work. I'm hoping for more this year.

Run hard out there.

Poor Mountain continued

Some of my favorite images from our Poor Mountain run:

Trespassers will be shot on sight.
Yeah right.

Jay reaching the top before me.

"Well, it looks like the gangs have run up here." -Jay

"Do not stop, keep moving." Something about radiation?
Uh, okay.
(What's that tingling sensation?!?)

Cool towers.

Pretty neat, huh?

Did I mention we missed the summit by a few hundred yards?
I can see the real summit from my neighborhood.

It is taunting me.
Tingling.

Run hard out there.