Kathy Runs

Last night Nike launched the beta version of their new NikePlus website. They combined a lot of the blog and editorial features of the Nike Running Blog with the Nike Store to produce an integrated experience. They also expanded the social part of the previous site giving users their own profile pages, the ability to add friends, and manage challenges in a more robust social setting.

Nike has expanded some of my favorite concepts on the NikePlus site. One of the best aspects of using the product is the motivation I get from learning about my runs in real time as well as documenting them over the months that I have been training. Nike’s new site elaborates on this idea in a beautiful way which boosts my motivation to keep training. For example, they added a color coded “distance-line” to indicate how runners have been performing since they joined NikePlus. Do you need motivation to advance to the next color level? It’s all on the “distance-line.” I have 941 miles to go before reaching my next level!

While the Nike site excels in beauty, shine and newness, it is lacking a bit on the technical side. The site is entirely flash, which follows the Nike web presence tradition. Nike has some deep and powerful technology behind each of its sites, but creating site with such robust functionality requires some heavy lifting and when the product was released last night, someone’s arms got tired. Twitter runners who use the system were having trouble logging in, connecting with friends, and uploading new runs. All of these complications led to a fairly large dump, and the site eventually crashed browsers and couldn’t surface data to the client-side. Good thing there’s a “feedback” button!

I still remain impressed with Nike’s running system, and I love using it to keep a record of all of my runs - if not for the amazing technology, then just because I want to get to the next color level!

I started road racing about four years ago in Nashville, TN at the Rock n’ Roll 1/2 marathon. Along the way I was awestruck at the people cheering, the volunteers, the music, and of course, the amount of waste thousands of runners can generate. There were gu packets, plastic cups, emergency blankets, tossed aside clothing, etc., everywhere I looked. The common practice is to ingest your gu, and throw the wrapper on the ground. Do you think about what happens to the wrapper after that? Maybe a volunteer cleans it up? Maybe it stays there for the city to come through on street cleaning days?

Over the past four years, though, I’ve noticed a considerable effort in the running and racing community to clean up their races and decrease the millions of footsteps along each race course. In the 2008 ING NYC Marathon, 38,000 people ran through the city, and thousands more came out to watch, volunteer, and cheer. The race was fantastic, but the clean up effort afterward, monstrous.

With more and more people participating in distance road races, it’s crucial to nod towards greening our races. More and more distance races are becoming Green Certified through the Council for Responsible Sport. Last year, the Nike Women’s Marathon organizers took steps to help make the race more environmentally friendly. In 2009, the race will be run as an official green marathon. Here are some highlights from last year’s race:

• Biodegradable postcards containing seeds were handed out at the Expotique
• Temporary restrooms contained environmentally friendly soap and toilet paper made from recycled content
• Event staff and volunteers were bused to the event to reduce vehicle usage
• A bike valet was provided for runners
• A no idling policy for race transportation was enforced to help reduce emissions
• Three tons of cardboard from on-course aid stations was recycled
• Four cubic yards of heatsheets (those silvery blankets provided at the finish) were recycled
• Wherever possible, compostable cups and spoons were used
• Unused food and discarded clothing were donated to charity
• Age group awards included bags made from banners and collateral from the 2007 NWM
• The Reuse-A-Shoe program was promoted, which takes used shoes and recycles them into material used in sport

As runners, we depend on fresh air, clean trails and streets, quality water, and healthy food in order to keep running. My good friends and fellow runners, Emily and Joe will be traveling to India for a few months this summer and I’ve had plenty of conversations with them about how they’re going to cope with not being able to run outdoors. They’ll certainly enjoy their time in India, but will have to go through some adjustments through this brief shift in the way they train. I have been continually blessed with beautiful, clean, and healthy places to run, and I feel a strong obligation to preserving these environments. There’s a lot that we can do as runners to make sure we’ll always have a place to run, and it can start by finding green races nearby your home town (so you can minimize your travel footprint as well as save money). Check out Runner’s World’s guide to Green Running and breath deep whil you enjoy your summer training!

We call our house, “The Best House,” and one of the qualifiers is that we all run. This morning, we’re up getting ready for the Stadium to Stadium 10k. Mayor Gavin Newsom decided to run through the streets of Bayshore to help raise awareness about the area and raise funds for restoration. So today we’ll run from AT&T park to Candlestick Point.

Wish us luck!

Garmin, iPod, Nike Plus, etc. What do you call it?

Back in the day I used to be a triathlete (yes, I’m finally admitting to the temporary lapse in judgment), and from there I did a bit of cycle, and mountain bike racing. My bike’s name was Jane, and she was as trusty as my best friend.

These days I stick to running. I name my shoes, but keep in simple… our relationships are quick and dirty. I named my iPod Tiffany because she’s fun, but not always dependable and sometimes runs out of batteries. I’m hate to admit it but I’ve even named my training diary, Colonel, after my high school ski coach, a complete hardass.

The other day, Caleb got a birthday present (happy birthday, Caleb), a Garmin forerunner 305. He’s currently looking to name his training companion and I wish the best of luck to him.

Distance runners have to keep things entertaining, and naming their devices is one of their tactics… or at least it’s mine! What do you name your device?

Now that summer is here, hydration doesn’t have to be as boring as plane ol’ water. I’ve been enjoying a watermelon aqua fresca. Try it!

Ingredients

• 2 c. cold water
• 2 c. watermelon, rind removed, seeded and chopped into cubes
• 1 tbs lime juice
• Mint leaf

Preparation

1. In a blender, combine water, melon, sugar, and lime juice until smooth.
2. Pour through a strainer into a pitcher, forcing through most of the pulp.
3. Chill 30 minutes before serving. Serve with or without ice cubes. Add slices or chunks of watermelon

The running season kicked off with a bang this year, and it seems like I’m seeing more and more people training for their upcoming fall event. I’m excited about the prospect of many new running buddies, but am wondering how their training is going. There are plenty of free training calendars and programs for novice to elite runners available online, and then there are thousands of books and articles about how to train, when to train, and where to train. I remember starting out with my first marathon training routine and being completely overwhelmed with phrases like, mile repeats, 50m pickup, Yasso 800, and prehab stretching. It took me a few months to sift through all of the material, but now I can read a marathon training routine in minutes and decipher the matrix.

The running vernacular can be quite confusing, and it’s not always easy to understand how you’re supposed to follow a certain workout. Bart Yasso put together some great videos explaining some of the key workouts in a marathoner’s training book, and I’ve pulled together these resources, plus a few extra, to help explain what some of these challenging terms mean. Bellow you’ll find videos explaining:

• The Yasso 800s
• Mile Repeats
• The Ladder
• The Myrtl Routine
• Fartleks

I hope you find these explanations helpful, and if you don’t then at least you get to watch one of the greatest (and quirkiest) runners talk about running. Bart Yasso has been running for decades, and is the Cheif Running Officer at Runner’s World. I was lucky enough to meet him at the NYC Marathon. He’s been writing about running for years, and I definitely enjoyed his most recent book, “My Life on the Run.”

Yasso 800s:

Mile Repeats:

The ladder:

The Myrtl routine:

Fartleks:

At the 1984 Olympics, Grete Waitz, Rosa Mota, Joan Benoit, and 47 other women stood on the start line for the first Olympic Women’s Marathon. These women had some idea that they were about to make a 26.2 mile quantum leap for woman runners, but all they had on their minds was running, racing, and enjoying the ride to the finish line.

Women’s distance running made it’s official debut on August 5th at the ‘84 Olympics, but not without a fight. Women have a deep history of abstaining from physical activity and sports. The argument can go either way for whether or not this history was voluntary, but the fact is that until the 1970s, physical expression for men had an entirely different meaning than it did for women. Men were macho, and women had to be protected. Don’t get me wrong, women were allowed to participate in sports and even entered into a limited number of events at the Olympics, but they were never encouraged or permitted to compete on the same level as their male teammates. Women runners competed in track distances not exceeding 440m. It was believed that any farther distance would put too much strain on their bodies. These runners were warned about the dangerous effects of running: hairy calves, abdominal muscles that were too tight for childbirth, and that the “pounding of running would detach [their] womanly innards from their proper placement.” (From On the Road with Lorraine Moller, “Great Strides of Women Runners”, Marathon & Beyond May/June 2009. Vol. 13, Issue 3). Hearing that this diagnosis is linked to physical activity, it’s no wonder women would shy away from running! But there were a few women out there who refused to believe the hype, and took to the roads regardless. These are the women I have to thank, and I will always be grateful for their accomplishments.

In 2006, I was lucky enough to run my first marathon at the Nike Women’s in San Francisco, CA. With thousands of other women, and some men, we ran the race through the hilly streets of the city, and finished on the Pacific Ocean at the base of Golden Gate Park. Each woman who completed the distance won a Tiffany’s necklace, and enjoyed free food, massages, pedicures, and the glow of finishing a marathon. Since the Nike Women’s Marathon I’ve participated in several more woman-only or woman-centric races. Last weekend I ran in the See Jane Run Women’s 1/2 Marathon in Alameda, CA (men are allowed to participate, but cannot hold a place standing) and along the route got to thinking about what it means to run a woman only race.

There is an ethic in feminism that mandates a strict equality between the sexes (and genders). For some of my fellow male runners, it seems like this ethic is either lost or misunderstood. When I finished the See Jane Run 1/2 marathon, my friend asked why this marathon was so exclusive. The reasons behind why this group of women was running were didn’t translate and my friend was left with a confused impression of the purpose of that day. On the surface, it could seem like these women were purposefully excluding him from the race, and as we discussed the issue further, I was left wondering how our message could have been so drastically lost in translation! Of course, I understand why I ran that day: I ran to celebrate all the difficult accomplishments of women like Kathrine Switzer, Joan Benoit, and Grete Waitz. Or Melpomene, the first woman to run the Olympic Marathon, although unofficially. Taking part in an all woman race means that I’m paying my respects to the female pioneers who made it possible for me to put my toe at the start line. I know these things, and this is why I run these races. The boys I run with don’t have a history to look back on that is filled with restrictions and exclusions, so it’s easy for them to overlook the importance of being able to bask in the glow of Switzer’s accomplishments.

Just as it was important for me to be there running the race, it was important to have my friend there supporting me at the See Jane Run 1/2 Marathon. Not only did he get to see the dynamic that comes with watching hundreds of women run 13.1 miles, but we had a chance to open up the dialog about the significant milestones in women’s running over the past 25 years (From On the Road with Lorraine Moller, “Great Strides of Women Runners”, Marathon & Beyond May/June 2009. Vol. 13, Issue 3):

• Joan Benoit Samuelson won the first Olympic Women’s Marathon in 1984.
• The gaps in Olympic event parity are filled (5,000 and 10,000 meters in 1988, pole vault in 2000, and steeplechase in 2008.
• 1987 New York City Marathon: Pricilla Welch wins the women’s open division at age 42.
• 1989 USA 24-Hour Championship: Ann Trason becomes the first woman to win a USA national championship outright, beating the first man by over four miles.
• 1992 Olympics in Barcelona: Yuko Arimori becomes the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic track and field medal for Japam in 64 years with her silver medal behind Valentina Yegerova of Russia. Arimori becomes one of Japan’s most popular celebrities. Her feats herald a period of domination on the world marathon scene b y Japanese women.
• 1992 Olympics in Barcelona: Hassiba Boulmerka of Algeria angers Muslim fundamentalists for competing. Wearing typical running attire, she is accused of displaying her naked body and threatened with stoning. Undeterred, she becomes the first Algerian woman to win a gold medal (1500 meters).
• 1994: Publicly struggling with her weight and fitness for years, Oprah Winfrey, the popular show host and trendsetter, trains for and runs a marathon.
• 1996 Olympics in Atlanta: Fatuma Roba, an Ethiopian woman, becomes the first African woman to win the Olympic marathon, just weeks after an appendectomy, emulating the feats of her most famous countryman, Abebe Bikila. She goes on to win the Boston Marathon in the next three successive years.
• 2001 Berlin Marathon: Naoko Takahashi, gold medalist of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, runs 2:19:46 to become the first woman to break 2:20:00 for the marathon. Other women quickly follow suit.
• 2003 London Marathon: Paula Radcliffe breaks her own world record with 2:15:25. Since 1955, the women’s marathon world record has improved by over 60 percent, while the men’s has improved by just 18 percet.
• 2006 Women’s marathon participation in the USA reaches 40 percent of the field, up from 10.5 percent of the field in 1980 (Running USA).
• 2008 Olympics in Beijing: A 38-year-old woman, Constantina Tomescu-Dita from Romania, becomes the oldest competitor, man or woman, to win an Olympic gold medal in a running event.

It’s important to remind ourselves why there are races for women. We’re not being exclusionary, we’re celebrating the fact that we can run, and that we claim this sport as our right and not our privilege. After all, if you tell a woman runner that she can’t do what she loves, you’ll see her out on the roads the next minute, proving you wrong.

An excerpt from the first Olympic Women’s Marathon in 1984:

Need to find a race for women? Here are a few to consider:

• Freihofer’s Run for Women 5k in Albany, NY on May 30 (freihofersrun.com)
• Tufts Health Plan 10k in Boston on October 12 (tuftshealthplan.com)
• Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco on October 18th (nike.com/nikemarathon)
• Disne Princess Half-Marathon in Orlando, Florida on March 7 (dysneyworldsports.com)
• See Jane Run 1/2 marathon and 5k in CA (seejanerun.com)
• More/Fitness Marathon in New York City 2010 date TBD (nyrr.org)

As a marathon runner, there aren’t too many energy packed exciting moments in my racing life, so I live vicariously through elite runners competing in events like the 2009 Pre-Classic. I’ve never been fast enough to run track events, but the energy at these meets draws me in and I end up glued to the TV watching bits of the coverage on ESPN, or reading FloTrack at the dinner table.

The star at this year’s Prefontaine Classic was definitely Jenny Barringer who broke the NCAA Record (3:59:90) in the Women’s 1500m:

And of course, I have to mention my favorite elite, Kara Goucher. After taking third in the Boston Marathon, Kara told everyone that she’ll be taking some time away from the marathon distance to focus on her sprint form. She ran the women’s 2000m at the Pre-classic.

Like many other runners out there hoping to get into the NYC Marathon this year, I didn’t make the cut. Mary Wittenberg emailed me last week with the sad news. Luckily, however, I did make it into the Nike Women’s marathon, so I’ll still be racing this fall, but not through the streets of New York City.

Good luck to all those who got into the race! Enjoy it.

Overtraining injuries are the story of my life. From IT band inflammation, to pulled muscles in my abdomen, to a swollen foot. Injury prevention is just as important to a runner as good nutrition and a solid training schedule. Two days ago, I woke up with a swollen metatarsal in my left foot. I can still walk on it, but in order to make sure my future in running maintains, I’ve been taking a step away from running and into the pool.

I grew up on the swim team. In Alaska, indoor sports are the way to go in the winter (unless you’re also part of the ski team). I was on the swim team all through high school, so even though it has been a few years since I least shimmied into my speedo, at least I still know how to work the lanes. I went to the pool yesterday and busted out 2500 meters (hoping to do the same today). Before I left the house, I did a little research to make sure I wasn’t doing any harm to the hours of training I’ve put in on the roads. From a few articles, I was able to take away that swimming is one of the best complementary sports for runners. It’s no surprise when you look at how some elite runners bounce back from injury and go onto make the Olympic team. Alberto Salazar is perhaps the most famous for his Olympic debut following weeks of training in a pool because of an injury.

Cool running offers a great explaination about the benefits of swimming for runners in their article: Swimming for Cross Training, and runners can always count on Runners World to download them with plenty of information to help understand the cross training world. Check out their article: Does Lap Swimming have any cross training value for runners?.

My next marathon is in the end of July, so I’m going to try out cross training for a few weeks to clear up some injuries. If all goes well, I plan on giving swimming (and other forms of cross training) a larger presence in my training schedule.