Why Run Marathons #4: You Sit for Your Job. All Day.

I have a The North Face ad hanging on the wall of my cubicle at work that says "Sit for Your Job, Run for Your Life."  Only in the last 100 years would you see a slogan like that.  "Sit for Your Job."  100 years ago, nobody sat for their job.  People worked in plants or mines or farms.  Very few people worked in offices.  In fact, the only one I can think of off the top of my head had the surname "Scrooge."

A 2010 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that men and women who sat for more than six hours per day were respectively 18 and 37 percent more likely to die during the study than those who sat for fewer than three hours per day.  Surprisingly, this number was completely unrelated to the amount of time subjects spent exercising.*

Gear Review; BTB 420 Sunglasses (and a Special Discount Code!)

I actually don't wear sunglasses that often - especially when running.  But as I get older and my eyesight poorer, I keep flashing back to those days in health class when our teacher begged us not only to use sun block on our skin, but also to use sunglasses to protect our eyes.  I have no idea if my ever-increasing nearsightedness (that's meant literally, not figuratively) is because I've worn sunglasses so rarely, but I'm at the point where I really don't want to take any chances of making it worse.

It was already in my 2012 plans to protect my eyes more vigilantly, but when BTB Sunglasses requested a product review and gave me the opportunity to guest post on their blog, it was like the stars were aligning to start the year just right for my eyes.  BTB stands for "Be The Ball", also the name of their charity - The BTB Foundation which promotes children's participation in all ball sports.  A portion of every sale supports the BTB Foundation.

Running Song of the Week: Church Music - Dance(!) by David Crowder*Band

As a Christian, I've never been one for worship music - at least in CD form.  I'd much rather listen to Five Iron Frenzy, Havalina Rail Company or other Christian or Christian-friendly rock bands.  It's always a different question live - or in the corporate worship setting.  The songs that sound bland and forumlaic on the radio would feel entirely different.

So I've never purchased a contemporary worship album (except the Insyderz' Skallelulia) - until Beth and I saw David Crowder*Band live at a youth worker's conference.

New "Gym in the Cloud" from YuFit (and How to Get 60 days FREE)

One of the conclusions I came to when working on the Get Fit, Stay Fit! series is that the gym is obsolete.   For those needing a place to exercise, I think gyms like Planet Fitness which have their facilities down to the necessities - basically just showers and equipment with minimal instruction and leave classes and instruction out of the picture.

I advocate finding something you know you'll stick with - something that you love to do.  So what if you loved your yoga class, cardio kickboxing or street jazz, and your gym closed, the membership got too expensive, or you just didn't use it as much as you feel like you needed to?  Yufit is the answer to this problem.

Why Run Marathons #3: Dieting is Hard

When I stepped on the scale in 2004 and saw that I needed to lose weight, I knew that I was not going to be able to do that simply by dieting.  I did pick up the practice of portion control (I have been known to devour chicken wings at an alarming rate, which by the way is a bad idea the night before a wedding - especially if you're in the wedding party), which helped tremendously, but cutting out carbs or eliminating sweets just wasn't going to stick for me.

Quiz: Are You (or Could You Be) an Ultra Runner?

Most people I meet would definitely say that running ultra marathons is not for them.  For most people running 26.2 miles, let alone 31 or 50 or 100 miles is a no-brainer.  Like Nancy Reagan, they just say "no."  But what if you're not sure?  Here's a quiz for you.  Tally up your answers and check your score at the end to find out if ultra running is for you.

Running Song of the Week: Where It's At by Beck

Bek David Campbell's early life is hardly a blueprint for success. Born in Los Angeles, he stayed with his mother, artist Bibbe Hansen when his parents (his father was David Campbell, a Canadian musician) divorced.  He dropped out of high school in the mid-1980s and traveled to Europe in 1985, developing his musical talent as a street musician.

Beck returned to Los Angeles in the late 1980's working a variety of dead-end jobs as he developed his music.  In 1993 he finally struck gold when he signed with Bong Load Records and released "Loser."  The smash success of "Loser" led to his first contract with a major record company (Geffen Records).

Marathon Training for Beginners

Many runners consider running a marathon their ultimate achievement.  This is also true of many non-runners, who become runners for the sole purpose of training for a marathon.  People have many motivations for running a marathon and many ways of approaching the race.  Some do it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, while for others the marathon is a way of life, either as a stepping stone towards ultra marathons or to the point of becoming a "Marathon Maniac."

Whatever your reasons or your goals, your first marathon can be intimidating, even daunting.  Yet every year thousands of people run the distance for the first time - and thousands more do it for the second, third or tenth time.  This gives us compelling evidence to believe that for many people, finishing a marathon is a very attainable goal - but it does take work.

Why Run Marathons? #2: Shoe Shopping!

There are people out there who love to buy shoes.  Running shoe manufacturers recommend that you replace your shoes every 300-500 miles.  So if you're training for a marathon, that pretty much means a new pair every two months.

Actually, I've found that shoe life is a pretty individual thing, and a relatively light runner with good form can run in a pair of shoes for as long as they hold together.

My Peanut Butter Snickers Confession

A couple weeks ago I was contacted about BTB Sunglasses about doing some guest posts on their blog and to review their sunglasses.  You can see my first post for them here, and keep watching here on Another Mile for my review of their BTB 420 Sunglasses.

I like my snacks.  And I try really hard...okay I try a little bit... to make those snacks healthy.  When I'm in a training cycle, I'm usually putting in over 40 miles a week.  It's not a lot of miles in the grand scheme of things, but with each mile requiring about 130 calories,  those miles are adding over 5,000 calories to my weekly nutritional requirements.

So every day when I pack my running gear and my lunch, I also pack a few Kashi bars, clif bars and sometimes some fruit or nuts.  But some days I get cravings for things not in my lunch box and not in my snack bag.  Things that are delicious and available through the vending machine in the cafeteria. 

Running Song of the Week: The Theme Fiasco by MxPx

Last week we talked about the Ramones.  This week we're featuring a band influenced by the Ramones who even covered The KKK Took My Baby Away (on their live album At The Show).

MxPx is a Christian band, or is it that they are Christians in a band?  Like many Christian artists, they don't want to be pigeonholed into the Christian music genre because they want their music to reach non-Christians.  While their faith has influenced their music they've done well appealing to music fans of all faiths.

Garmin and GPS Accuracy

Thanks to a recent story in the New York Times, GPS watch accuracy has been in the news a bit and has caused quite a stir in the blogosphere.  Any experienced runner who has used a GPS watch can tell you that they're not perfectly accurate.  Granted, as the NY Times article points out (but fails to get into any real details) some of these watches are more accurate than others.  I used to have a Timex watch with a GPS receiver on an armband that is put to shame by my Garmin Forerunner 305. 

But the question remains, why spend $200 on a GPS watch if it's not even 100% accurate?

Why Run Marathons? #1: To Deliver News of a Military Victory

If you've run a marathon, or are planning to run a marathon, surely someone has told you "you know, the first guy who did that dropped dead."  And I guess that's technically true.

According to legend, Pheidippides was a messenger who prior to the Battle of Marathon ran from Athens to Sparta to enlist their help in fending off the invading Persians, then to the battlefield at Marathon - a total of 150 miles in two days.  (There's also a race commemorating this feat - the Spartathlon)

2012 Plans

I just recently realized that I never put down my running plans for 2012 in this blog.  2011 gave indications that I would likely see further improvements in my fitness, so I've arranged my schedule to target where I expect those improvements to occur.

Running Song of the Week: Blitzkrieg Bop by the Ramones

We're dropping the term "Dreadmill" from our song of the week posts and replacing it with "Running."  The term "dreadmill" can be confusing to those not familiar with it and "running" is more generic and makes more sense to use for these posts.

The Ramones formed in Queens, New York in 1974.  Joey, Tommy, Dee Dee and Johnny Ramone were not related, but adopted the pseudonym surname "Ramone" apparently in reference to Paul McCartney's pseudonym "Paul Ramon" in the "Silver Beatles" days.

The band's commercial success was limited although their influence on punk rock music has lasted for decades, even inspiring a Christian band, The Huntingtons to create a Ramones tribute album, File Under Ramones, in 1999 (on Tooth & Nail Records).

Are Energy Drinks Safe?

A recent Federal Study shows that as energy drink consumption as increased over the last six years, so has emergency room visits associated with them.  Headlines started popping up everywhere:

Energy Drinks Increasingly Blamed for ER Visits

ER Visits for Energy-Drink Ills Soar in U.S.


Energy Drinks Tied to Increased ER Visits

Energy Drinks Send Thousands to the ER Each Year

Energy Drink Emergency Room Visits on the Rise

These headlines are all accurate...but are they fair?

Why Run Marathons? Introduction

I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for months now.  A new blog with a new reason to run a marathon every day.  I figure with so many people running marathons there has to be an infinite number of reasons to run marathons.  And it's the question that runners are asked all the time - and sometimes it's awfully hard to come up with an answer.

Another Way to Look at Personal Bests

Photo by Perfecto Insecto

Right now, I'm still at a stage in my running life where new personal records (PR) a very attainable.  I wasn't a runner in high school and my college days and the first couple years after were largely sedentary.

Since I took up endurance sports only about eight years ago and running only five, PR's have come fast and furiously.  My first 5K was over 25 minutes and I have reason to believe my next might be under 20 minutes.  I have yet to reach my peak and I think I probably have another good six to ten years of this.


But the time will eventually come when I'm not going to be faster than I ever was before and no matter how much I train I never will be.  I think the age this happens varies by runner, but I expect that it will happen to me by my early forties for shorter distances and late forties for ultras (endurance fades slower than speed).  So much of my motivation is based on reaching time goals, I wonder how will I get myself to workout when I can no longer improve over my younger self?