Eight milers, eighteen weeks, six knee care tips, 1500 meters, and however long your next trip out of town is.
Metric may be in, but the action last weekend was mostly measured in miles. Sunday's Prefontaine Classic meet in Eugene, Oregon had eight men well under the four-minute milestone, starting with Noah Ngeny and including American Adam Goucher in third, marking a 3:54.17 PR, notable since Goucher has always been considered more of a long-distance runner.
Eight milers break 3:56 at Prefontaine Classic
Haile Gebrselassie's latest record attempt, over twice that distance, came to grief in windy weather in the Netherlands. Gebrselassie weather-beaten in record attempt
The mile in question on the roads was the altitude at Monday's Bolder Boulder 10-K. This year's women's race was won by Lidia Simon of Romania; Berhanu Adanne of Ethiopia took the men's race. Simon smashes women's field at Bolder Boulder 10-K
The last measurement of the weekend wasn't even distance: it was months. Specifically, the twelve months in the new calendar pulled together by high jumper Amy Acuff. Steve Holman covered the story in Wednesday's Bell Lap:
If you care enough to train for 18 weeks to run a marathon, you should focus your training toward that marathon goal. You should set aside or postpone other activities and avoid other stresses. This includes excessive speedwork or racing. >From Hal Higdon's How to Train, p. 56. You can buy this book at: http://rodalepress7.cam-colo.bbnplanet.com:8080/Unity/UrlView/7/10/12/2/4141\
Get your minerals: A recent study from the TUFTS UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CENTER ON AGING suggests that potassium and magnesium are just as important for healthy bones. Tufts researchers found that men and women who had diets high in potassium and magnesium showed higher bone density readings than those who skimped on the two nutrients.
And your E too: Vitamin E is another supplement helpful in fending off health scares, including hearts attacks in men and fibroid tumors in women. It's also suspected of lowering the risk of prostate and heart disease. To get your natural intake of Vitamin E, try consuming more whole grains (wheat germ), sunflower oil, soybean oil, almonds, pecans, and vegetables. Eat up!
Keep your knees healthy: Here are six "knee care tips" as outlined in the May issue of The Fitness Bulletin: * Select proper shoes. * Don't increase your weekly mileage by more than 10 percent. * Choose running surfaces such as smooth trails or grass instead of concrete. * Take aspirin for pain before running. * When cross-training on the bike, avoid cycling in very high gears. * Try weight training for the quads and hamstrings to strengthen the knees.
It's true, 26.2 miles is a long way to run. But it seems much easier when you have a support group to cheer you on. Whether you're a first time marathoner, a veteran or just a fan of the sport, you'll enjoy the energy that's shared in our new "Marathon Forum." Stop in for a visit and discover answers to questions such as "How long should I wait before I run my second marathon?" and "What is running Grandma's Marathon really like?" Check us out at http://rodalepress7.cam-colo.bbnplanet.com:8080/Unity/UrlView/7/10/12/6/4141
Last year Jamey Harris won the national 1500 meters title in what was considered the biggest upset of the 1998 Championships. Peter Gambaccini talked to Harris.
Saturday, Freihofer's Run for Women 5-K: As it's been since 1993, Freihofer's is the site of the USATF national women's 5-K championships and the best American women will be competing in Albany. Website:
Saturday, Run fer th' Hills 10-K: A scenic downtown course through Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Downhill start and finish. Saturday, Sunburst Marathon: Starts in downtown South Bend, Indiana at the College Football Hall of Fame and finishes at the Notre Dame football stadium 50 yard line. Also a 5-K and 10-K. Website.
Sunday, Run Through History 10-K: Tour American Civil War battlefields through the rolling hills of Sharpsburg, Maryland.
Sunday, Trinity Hospital Hill Half-Marathon: One of the nation's oldest half-marathons, typically hot and humid weather along with rolling hills make this Kansas City race one of the toughest. Website
About to get on a plane? Stop by the RW website. Click on "Travel" (under News and Reference on the left) and you'll find a complete archive of our "On the Road" travel columns from the last five years. In addition to Doug Rennie's extensive collection of U.S. cities, you'll also find a collection of destinations in the Canada, Europe and South Africa, including Pietermaritzburg, start city of next week's Comrades Marathon. You can bookmark "On the Road" at http://rodalepress7.cam-colo.bbnplanet.com:8080/Unity/UrlView/7/10/12/5/4141.
When things get tough in a race or hard training run, break it down into segments. Pick a point up ahead and say to yourself you're going to run hard to it. Then pick another point and run hard to that. And so on. This makes the effort more manageable. --Adam Bean, managing editor
I loved testing myself more than I feared being beaten. --Ron Clarke, great Australian middle-distance runner
[../../../../top/bottom.htm]Tuesday, May 20, 2008 04:32 PM