Another Crossfit Endurance success story -- MMT 100!

Great job to Jen on a fine finish at MMT 100. Jen trains crossfit and is a very fine ultrarunner. Check out her blog to read her story.

Congrats Jen!

Good Luck to Matt and others on the BMT

Matt Kirk is doing what he does best... fastpacking. This time he is on the 288-mile Benton-MacKaye Trail. Learn more about the BMT and follow Matt's progress here.

Matt is a high school teacher. What would the world be like if every teacher spent a weekend out on the trail once in a while?

Run hard out there.

Neal

Clean Commute Day

Today is National Clean Commute Day, or something like that. Did you miss it? Oh well, there's always next week.

Run, bike, walk, crawl. Just do it.

Run hard out there.

Update: Ran to work today (Wednesday, 5/20). I drive a few miles in and park in a church parking lot. From there, I just pick my route depending on how I feel. This morning I hopped on the Murray Run Greenway for a soft mile or so, then through the Roanoke River Greenway in to downtown. 5.2 miles with a backpack on -- a great way to start the day.

Gymboss Interval Timer

I received one of these last week for my birthday. It is a cool, inexpensive (under $20) gadget for all types of interval training: Tabatas, track repeats, sprints, etc. It can even be used to remind you to take a nutrition or walk break during a long run. It chimes and/or vibrates, and is smaller than a small old-school pager. It also has a handy clip so you can fasten it to your shorts or watch band for hands-free running.

With just three buttons, it is easy to program after a very short learning curve. The first one I received in the mail was dead. I called their toll free helpline, and in two days I received a new fully functional timer with a postage paid return envelope for the broken one. They assured me that this was a rare occurence. Based on reviews I've read, quality control is not an issue.

For any runner who collects gadgets, and especially the runner who is in to speed training, track intervals, HIIT, Tabatas, etc., this timer belongs in your toy box.

I recently learned about a workout that kettlebell enthusiasts believe is the quickest way to improve VO2 Max. It is 30 seconds of high intensity KB swings followed by 30 seconds of rest. They repeat this for anywhere between 20 and 40 minutes. I personally believe this workout can be tailored to any exercise (hills, sprints, stairs, dumbell curl-presses, etc.). I plan to experiment with this some starting next week using my new Gymboss timer.


Run hard out there...