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GOLDEN RUNNING ADVICE FOR ALL AGES, 2018 update
The article, “Meb’s Tips For Performing Into Your 40’s And Beyond” presented on the Gearjunkie.com website is possibly the most concentrated wise advice on running training and racing that you will ever encounter. It was referenced in the post October 7, “WEEK 5: TURKEY TROT TRAINING” but deserves a fuller discussion. Don’t let the title fool you. His deep understanding is valuable for runners of all ages, given that over-training is the most common situation leading to a side-lining injury. Younger and older runners may be equally as likely to “power-through” a hurtful session or an especially fatiguing program if there’s a goal outcome or race on the line. Perhaps it’s because we don’t know any better? That’s been my excuse but I can no longer use it. The subtitle to this piece proclaims, “Its possible no endurance athlete has been more consistent, for longer, than Meb Keflezighi”. He was asked about “how to keep performing at your peak year after year”. For those who don’t recognize his name, this US Olympian’s experiences in the 10k and marathon began in the year 2000 and were repeated in 2004 and 2012. He’s won the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon and run many major events as an elite entry. He qualified once again for the Summer Olympics in 2016 at age 40 and ran it at age 41. Last year, 2017, he ran his last competitive marathon in November in New York City. Meb is now 43. The article expands upon his insights: - “You still got it” - “Embrace your age” - “Listen to your body in training” - “Cross-Train” - “Evolve your nutrition” - “Put in the time (before and after your run)” - “Err on the side of less” - “If you do it right you can race more often” - “Age is just a number” - “In the end know when to ease off the gas” One of the most helpful tips, which he sets by example, is to allow more recovery time. His training cycle is 9 days rather than the 7 in calendar period week, the traditional length of a training cycle, providing 2 extra days in which to fit in all necessary workouts. GREAT ADVICE AT ANY AGE, especially for those who are prone injury when starting a new plan to prepare for an important race. The 2 extra days can be used to rest, cross train, or work on strength. I keep this article for frequent reference; there’s quite a bit of information packed into a small piece. For the time being, it will serve as a substitute for his training book “Meb For Mortals”. If Keflezighi can qualify for the same Olympic endurance test as 30 year-old Galen Rupp (US Marathon Olympic team trials), his advice is golden. Not a marathoner? It is still possible to over train. Now that I’m walking and not running in races I’ve noticed the same tendency to fear rest. I use walking and other cross training sports to control weight and to maintain aerobic fitness. But without a day of rest between strenuous sessions, I now realize that an injury is waiting to put me on the sidelines, and then rest will be the rule rather than the exception of the week’s schedule. So, I take days off and mix-up physical activities to alternate working predominantly the lower body/ legs versus the upper body/arms. I’m finding it more difficult not to gain weight without closely monitoring diet, but am holding my own. Meb’s comments on racing more often (article’s advice piece #8, “If you do it right you can race more often”) might get you thinking about your own annual competition schedule. Earned Runs suggests you plan at least a season in advance, preferably a full year. One of the reasons to do so is to accommodate a fuller schedule while avoiding injury, just as Keflezighi does. Strategically deciding to run more events can help keep you reduce training time and effort by consistently staying near optimal fitness as indicated in the gearjunkie.com article. If you pay proper attention to your body’s signals, approach your training correctly, and train consistently enough, you can race more often because you will need less prep time between races to reach your optimal fitness. A NEED TO CHANGE BECAUSE OF AGE CAN BECOME AN ADVANTAGE! It may not be wise to train with the goal of achieving a PR (personal record or best time) at the finish of EACH event, but rather to enjoy the fun of testing yourself and marking time with the accomplishment of a competition. When my children were little, we would anticipate the succession of small and large holidays once summer was over that helped the weeks fly by during the school year, as we prepared to celebrate each one: Start of School, Halloween/All Saints Day, Thanksgiving, St. Nicholas Day, Christmas Eve/Day, New Year’s Eve/Day, St. Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Spring coming, Opening Day of Baseball Season, Memorial Day, End of School. Build your own list of meaningful/fun days to celebrate with an event or challange. With the rise in popularity of 5k’s, each of these happenings now coincides with many organized running festivals on or near each holiday. Earned Runs follows a "school year holiday" schedule of successive events to encourage personal custom challenges. Several additional offerings have been introduced to broaden the number of potential events, from September to June, which can be walked, biked, run, or otherwise competed with fitness efforts. One a month seems to allow sufficient time to recover and resume training between fun events. More strenuous challenges that require longer training and recovery periods would best be scheduled so that smaller events lead up to the BIG ONE and assist with training. For example, fun 5k and 10k challenges would precede a late fall (November) half marathon. Low-level mid-December Snowflake Shuffle or Jingle Bell and New Year themed events could follow afterward, before training is to begin for a big-effort springtime competition. If you're 40 or older you may resist acknowledging the fact that steps should be taken now to preserve fitness longevity into the future. Those less than 40 might consider the title to read, "Meb's Tip for Performing Without Incurring a Sidelining Injury." Weekend warriors that, of necessity, pack most hard training into 2 days/week while remaining inactive the other 5, may possess bodies that are functionally 'older", than chronological age, in competition, and benefit from me'bs advice it's not just for 'seniors'. No one but you knows the reasons behind your training program. Consider tinkering with the training/event schedule to ensure you get the best effort from your body over the most years, injury free. And check out the rest of the advice in the article. Make age, and the need to adjust training/competing strategies, an advantage. RUN & MOVE HAPPY! https://gearjunkie.com/meb-keflezighi-marathon-champion-training-tips-in-40s https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/05/sports/meb-keflezighi-marathon.html
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RUNNERS ANKLE FLEXIBILITY MAY REVEAL THEIR AGE, so as good as might you look as you train and compete in the latest trendy performance apparel, ankle “biomechanical plasticity” could be better at showing your age group.
“5 Ways to Strengthen Weak Ankles” by Prevention for ACTIVE.com provides some moves that will get you started. It includes 3 stretches (peroneal, dorsiflexion, and Achilles) plus 2 mobility routines: ankle circles and alphabet writing. Those who want more than an introduction to ankle work might check out the lengthy and in-depth discussion with exercise and stretch video that Jarlo has developed on his website GMB.io/feet. Feet, ankle, calf issues are addressed in this unit. I tried the foot and ankle exercises. A bit smugly because I’ve been doing some, on and off, for about 2 years. Ever since I had a severe plantar fasciitis problem and was prescribed a few of the same moves to help with that problem. I’ve found that the ‘alphabet writing’ and circles did leave my feet and ankles tired after 3 sets but felt confident about my ability to do them. And the step-ladder calf stretches have remained a part of my daily stretch routine because they definitely are the best for working out calf stiffness, in my experience (I use stair steps not a ladder). To trial this set of exercises I started with the first exercise on the list, foot circles/toes flexed (curled). Piece of cake, I thought. Ow! Ow! Ow! The voice on the video warns about cramping and of course my foot cramped almost immediately. After several days of practice, just like the video says, the cramping has lessened. Next, I found that the foot diagonal exercises were extremely hard to perform, and they still are. Not painful; my range of motion is quite limited though. I can plantar flex (point the toes) my foot only a few degrees. The remainder of the exercises listed were not as difficult, but could be improved upon. The last one, calf raises, are difficult but thankfully not for me. Because my calf problem in the summer of 2017 involved physical therapy, I was prescribed 3 sets of 10 repetitions, several times each day. Now do one set almost daily. If unsure that this area of the body is important for you to mobilize and strengthen, try doing some of the recommended exercises each day for a week. Beforehand, do a set of lunges, regular and lateral squats, planks, and mountain climbers. Or any exercises you regularly perform that require moving the bulk of your body lower to the ground, with feet on the ground and foot or ankle flexed. Note the degree of difficulty. Try the same moves after the week of ankle/foot work and again take note of the difficulty. If you perceive improvement in ease of performance, like I did, it may be because of the ankle and foot exercises. Research suggests that stiff ankles may add to the running biomechanics of older age. Test this theory if you like, and perhaps after a period of such training you’ll move like a younger athlete. RUN & MOVE HAPPY! https://www.active.com/fitness/articles/5-ways-to-strengthen-weak-ankles https://coloradoinmotion.com/ankle-mobility-limiting-running-performance/ https://gmb.io/feet/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26258853 TRAINING STARTS After four weeks of training you should be settling into a groove and hopefully becoming accustomed to track days, if you decided to stick with that part of the plan. Last week those on the runner plan ran/walked at a ratio of 3 minute to 1 minute (about 75% of the total time was spent running). This week the ratio will involve running 80% of the total time. Overall, the total running duration and distance is increasing.
Those on the walker plan will notice a big change in the range of duration of the long easy walk. Last week Saturday it was 60 minutes. This week it will be 45-90 minutes! Hal Higdon’s walker training plan, adapted by Earned Runs calls for this change. Since you will be increasing mileage and minutes earlier in the week he is giving you the opportunity to either rest up from the extra effort, or reach for the stars. Ninety minutes is the longest duration walk of the entire plan! My thought is that Higdon figured most regular walkers can push themselves to this point once, but perhaps not easily. However, if you are going to compete as a walker in a Turkey Trot event you will want to cover a greater distance over the course of the 90 minutes as training progresses, so at the end of the plan your pace is about 15 minutes/mile or less. Which means you can walk a fast 5k the day of the race or finish a 10k with a respectable time. As runners and walkers add on mileage, you may decide FULL REST DAYS are needed, and it's best to SKIP A CROSS-TRAINING session. This is perfectly fine and a smart thing to do if you notice too much fatigue carrying over from your long running or walking days the prior week. Forty-three-year old Olympian marathoner Meb Keflezighi provides great advice for runners in an article “Meb’s Tips for Performing into Your 40s and Beyond”. He says to listen to your body; it’s safer to err on the side of doing less than more, to avoid injury. HIS ADVICE APPLIES TO BEGINNER RUNNERS AND WALKERS as well veterans! No matter what your age, the risk of injury increases with over-training. So take a break, get enough sleep, make sure you stretch, and perform weekly core and strength work. RUN & MOVE HAPPY! https://gearjunkie.com/meb-keflezighi-marathon-champion-training-tips-in-40s OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH The American Cancer Society (ACS) sponsors “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” walks throughout the country during this month. You can participate whether you’re solo, bring your own friends and family, or join in spirit with someone who is in an event far away. Run or walk. Regardless, in each instance you will be surrounded by a multitude of caring people taking action to fight this disease, support a survivor, or remember a loved one.
If you have 2018 Earned Runs bibs you can schedule and design YOUR OWN walk or run. Thus, if you are unable to make one of the ACS Making Strides organized events, you can assemble people “together” to walk for your personal cause. Participants may gather in the same place or simultaneously at multiple, different, distant locations on a date and time that will be determined by you. A very young breast cancer survivor, Stephanie, who was 25 years old at the time of her diagnosis, inspired Earned Runs' focus on this cause. She underwent surgery and endured chemotherapy, ultimately triumphing over her cancer. Each year this brave and strong young woman gathers family and friends for a run/walk on the same day that she will join the American Cancer Society event in Santa Monica CA. Some will walk side by side with her in California. Those scattered across the country will walk or run in spirit in their own locations. You can find an event sponsored by a group like the ACS or organize your own awareness or memorial run/walk with Earned Runs bibs. If you have received a set of 4, there potentially are 3 extra bibs for additional participants. This makes last-minute inclusions and invitations very simple and easy. If you haven't done so yet, submit a request for this purpose or urge others to do so. Consider involving the MEN in your life too! Women sometimes forget that they also are “survivors” of this disease, and have struggled when the diagnosis of breast cancer was made in a woman close to them. Husbands, brothers, fathers, sons, and friends experience loss, and feel grief and sadness when women they love deal with it. In 2016 my sister walked in California and I ran in Texas on the October Saturday that Steph gathered everyone. We were supporting her AND remembering our own mother and aunt. We continue to remember Mom each October. The malignancy is so common in women that many of us have one or more beloved family members or friends for whom we can make this effort. Donation to charity may or may not be a required component of certain events. Earned Runs promotes a spirit of GENEROSITY for runners using our bibs. The donation of a small portion of the usual race registration fee is a kind gesture that is easy to accomplish online. Go Stephanie!!! RUN & MOVE HAPPY! http://www.earned-runs.com/request-bibscontact.html http://makingstrides.acsevents.org/site/TR/MakingStridesAgainstBreastCancer/MSABCCY18WER?fr_id=89712&pg=entry&_ga=2.70471248.1101347973.1537366822-627029583.1537366822 https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/statistics/index.htm A headline article on Fatherly.com by Joshua A. Krisch exclaims, “Adult Bedtimes: Why Kids and Parents Both Need Regular Sleep” came to attention the same day the American Medical Association “Morning Rounds” newsletter issued a blurb about the research study findings discussed in Krisch’s article.
The full PDF article is available online, FREE, a signal the medical research establishment thinks the new information is important and worth disseminating to anyone who is interested. Ordinarily, medical journals release an article abstract at no cost but require a costly subscription for access to the entire publication. After reading just a bit of what was learned in this study, it’s no wonder there’s excitement. The short version of the research results is that by NOT establishing a regular sleep pattern (i.e. the same bedtime and wake-up time each night/day) you may be placing yourself at increased risk for developing conditions like metabolic syndrome, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity, which increase chances of artherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and stroke. The converse seems to be true, that a regular sleep time may be protective. There are not too many changes that can be made in life which promise to boost health with so little pain as this one! Difficulty and inconvenience perhaps, but not physical pain. So how is sleep regularity research related to fitness? The study came nowhere near to making this claim, but Earned Runs is proposing that possibly athletic performance in training and competition can be enhanced by increased sleep regularity! Sleep has been identified as necessary for recovery from intense workouts and for muscle building. The emphasis has been on increasing total duration of sleep time and avoiding disruption, but not on regularity. A 2017 article discusses the “Value of sleep on athletic performance, injury and recovery in the young athlete”. It is a review of others' work rather than original research, and does not differentiate sleep regularity from other aspects of sleep at this age. Thus the Lunsford-Avery et al study, the impetus for this blog (see in italics below), breaks new ground with their effort. The study revealed that sleep regularity correlated with specific measures of cardio-metabolic health in the research participants, but not total duration of sleep. Earned Runs thinks It’s worth trying on an individual level. What's there to lose? If setting a regular sleep time doesn’t significantly boost speed, power, or other performance measures, perhaps it will assist with improving metabolic status and efforts to maintain lean muscle mass and reduce dangerous abdominal/visceral (belly) fat. The findings with regard to perceived stress and self-reports of depression suggest there’s a chance that motivation and perseverance can be helped by regular bedtime and wake-up schedules. Persistence in adhering to a training program and greater levels of enthusiasm in workouts may indirectly enhance performance. The details of medical research are sometimes tedious but can add more to our understanding of the limitations of human scientific investigations. We can rejoice in new findings but also realistically temper our enthusiasm by learning how study results were obtained. Below are some of the details, of this sleep regularity work: THE STUDY: Scientist authors Jessica Lunsford-Avery of Duke University and colleagues published an article, “Validation of the Sleep Irregularity Index in Older Adults and Association with Cardio-metabolic Risk,” describing the results of their research on sleep. The group's 1st study goal was to determine whether a novel measure of sleep regularity (SRI) that had been recently developed, using a small group of young college students with limited racial/ethnic and socio-economic diversity, would assess sleep in a similar fashion in a larger group of older adults with various backgrounds. The researchers' 2nd goal was to “examine the relationships between the SRI and cardio-metabolic risk” projected over 10 years. Their reasoning was that because disturbance of or insufficient duration of sleep confers risk for the development of cardiovascular diseases and for “greater diabetes, hypertension, obesity, fasting glucose, and hemoglobin A1c status”, information on the regularity of sleep captured by the SRI might further identify others at risk for these conditions. In addition, they sought to examine the effect of sleep regularity on perceived stress and depression, as “psychiatric factors tied to cardio-metabolic disease”. The authors predicted their study would demonstrate SLEEP IRREGULARITY, “as measured by the SRI”, would be associated with: - 10-year risk of cardiometabolic disease - greater body mass index (BMI), hypertension, fasting blood glucose, and hemoglobin A1c - symptoms of depression and perceived stress Because the scientists realized that adults older than college age have different time pressures of working and possibly family responsibilities, and some may be retired and without fixed schedules, they sought to confirm that the Sleep Regularity Index (SRI) tool could reliably be used with other populations. Specifically persons in an older age group at risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases. For the current project, data from the MESA Study (Multi-Ethnic Study of Arteriosclerosis) was utilized. MESA participants had been enrolled from 4 racial/ethnic groups (African –American, Chinese-American, Caucasian, and Hispanic), across 6 regions* of the US, and had received baseline assessments between years 2000 – 2002 (ages ranging from 45-84 years at enrollment, mean ~69 years). Subsequent follow-up evaluations for cardiovascular and metabolic disease prevalence and cardiovascular disease risk factors**, and psychiatric health*** were performed roughly 10 years later. A group of 1978 adults had also completed the MESA Ancillary Sleep Study between 2010-2012 (now aged 54-93) and were without evidence of sleep issues. It was this MESA subset, for which actigraphy measures and self-reports measuring daytime-sleepiness and diurnal preferences (“morningness” or “eveningness”) were available, that was studied by Lundsford-Avery and her group. “The Sleep Regularity Index (SRI)”, the authors explained, “was originally described as the likelihood that any two time-points (minute to minute) 24 hours apart were the same sleep/awake state, across all days”. In the study, participants completed a sleep diary and wore an ActiWatch Spectrum (Philips Respironics) wrist device for 7 consecutive days. Sleep/wake indices, physical activity, and ambient light exposure data were collected, aggregated in 30 second “epochs,” then manually scored as wake or sleep based on the sleep diary, activity and ambient light information, and an event marker on the device that subjects pressed when going to bed and rising. RESULTS: SRI scores ranged between 6 and 97 points (mean ~71 points). High scorers, above the 80%ile (>84 points), identified the regular sleepers, lower scorers, below the 20%ile (<60.5 points) the irregular sleepers. There were no significant differences between sleepers who worked and those who did not, men versus women, young age versus old. Among the ethnic/racial groups there were differences: African American tended to score lower compared with all other groups, and Hispanics lower than Caucasians. Sleep REGULARITY WAS
IRREGULAR SLEEP was NOT associated with sleep duration, but with: - Delayed sleep timing - More sleep time in daylight hours (65 more minutes), less in night hours (59 less minutes) - Increased daytime sleepiness - Reduced physical activity and light exposure - 10-year risk of ASCVD (atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease) - Greater obesity, hypertension, fasting glucose, Hemoglobin A1C, and diabetes status - Increased perceived stress and depressive symptoms - SRI score was significantly LOWER (meaning irregular sleep) among participants with metabolic syndrome. diabetes, hypertension, and obesity - ASCVD risk was not correlated with Total Sleep Time (TST); sleeping longer was not protective. The 2nd study goal had been accomplished, and the research group's hypotheses had been confirmed! The study results do not imply causation, the authors caution. But they do raise awareness that not all sleep is equal when it comes to benefiting health. That longer is not necessarily protective. And remind us that, just as the Fatherly.com article admonishes parents, it's not just growing babies and children that need to set need regular bedtimes. Today, healthy fit persons not yet worried about developing cardiovascular and metabolic diseases might consider establishing a habit of regular sleep times to improve their athletic lives. Twenty -forty years later, they may be able to congratulate their younger selves on this wise move. RUN & MOVE HAPPY! *MESA data collection sites included Wake Forest University, Northwestern University, University of Minnesota, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, University of California at Los Angeles. ** Systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurement and hypertension treatment status; serum low-and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels; diabetes risk by fasting blood glucose levels, metabolic syndrome as defined by 2004 NCEP guidelines, hemoglobin A1c, body mass index, obesity (BMI > 30kg/m2); coronary artery disease, prior myocardial infarction, coronary re-vascularization procedure, angina, or congestive heart disease; prior stroke or transient ischemic attack; deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. Among participants free of CVD, 10-year risk of ASCVD was calculated based on demographics, blood pressure and cholesterol measurement, and medical history ***Participants psychiatric health was assessed using the 201-item CES-D (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale) for depressive symptoms, and with the 4 item PSS-4 (Perceived Stress Scale) for perceived stress. https://www.fatherly.com/health-science/adult-bedtimes-regular-sleep-patterns-science/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-32402-5 http://www.actigraphy.com/solutions/actiwatch/actiwatch-pro.html https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bed9/2e978f5bca851a79b16d8499b8ca21eeb3d6.pdf https://www.healio.com/pediatrics/journals/pedann/2017-3-46-3/%7B3bacbe58-eeb0-45b2-bd94-54a6f8dffaa3%7D/the-value-of-sleep-on-athletic-performance-injury-and-recovery-in-the-young-athlete#divReadThis https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/oral-health/Pages/Brush-Book-Bed.aspx BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES THAT CAN BE PERFORMED (MOSTLY) OUTDOORS ON A PARK BENCH or indoors in a gym are described and demonstrated in the article, “10 Plyo Box Exercises That Aren’t Box Jumps”, by Lauren Mazzo for SHAPE.com. Mazzo explains that although the piece of equipment used in this routine is defined as a ‘plyo’ (for ‘plyometrics’) box, it can be used for more than the types of explosive jump moves typical of a plyometrics workout.
A downside is that the upper body moves are not for people with wrist issues. Even though the box is referred to as equipment, the moves Mazzo recommends don’t require formal equipment. A wall or bench would work for most. The decline-plank-around-the-world could be hallway around the world! I’ve performed some using a Swiss ball. This workout is a great one for strength building especially at the end of an outdoor run that terminates in a park. There are 5 upper body exercises: incline ‘plyo-’ push-up, triceps dip, decline slow mountain climber, decline plank around the world, and ‘face melter’. There are 5 lower body strength exercises: step-up reverse lunge, Bulgarian split-squat, lateral step-up, feet-elevated glute bridge, and pistol-squat progression. Not every exercise is required to create a do-able routine. An approach that might increase the likelihood of performing it is to choose 3-upper + 3-lower exercises of lesser difficulty (for you) and practice them before attempting an outdoor session. Copy them onto a small card that can be carried in a pocket on a run or walk; it won’t be difficult to commit all 6 to memory quickly. Then, commit to DOING THEM at the conclusion of an aerobic session! Those who are training for a Turkey Trot competition this Thanksgiving may not have started performing strength work. If it's for lack of a routine, check-out this one. RUN & MOVE HAPPY! https://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/workout-video-plyo-box-exercises-not-box-jumps THE FIRST DAY OF THE 10TH MONTH OF 2014 was shaping up to be an important one for Earned Runs LLC. The company was incorporated in February but the online material wasn’t ready until later in the year. Ready to go live, all of a sudden, the website host rolled out a formatting change! No kidding. Weebly.com had chosen that very day to accomplish this overhaul. The Earned Runs materials were a mess.
There wasn’t a crisis because I had decided beforehand not to go live with the Facebook rollout until October 12, Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day. Only family were notified that the site was live, to obtain their critical reviews before the outside world had a chance to see what was being offered. All was fixed by October 2. But since then it’s been all uphill…in effort required, but also in excitement and rewards. As this post is being written, bibs with numbers like 1235 are being mailed to competitors all over the world. Most have come from the USA, Eastern Europe, Russia, and Northern Africa. Your notes of appreciation have been greatly appreciated! Thank you! There have been issues with some international mailings that lack postal codes, the most helpful from the USA side of the postal delivery system. When requesting bibs, please include this crucial number. Note: if you haven’t received bibs in a timely fashion is it is because an address problem exists. An Earned Runs email will request complete address info, so please, check the email used to make the request and provide the missing information in your reply. But enough with the business of mailings!!! KNOW THAT YOU ARE PART OF A NEARLY GLOBAL COMMUNITY. Requests have not come from the continents of Australia or Asia, so not quite global (yet?). Below is the listing of the countries from which requests have come. ALGERIA (MANY), ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, BELARUS, CANADA, GREECE, IRAQ, ITALY, LATVIA, MOROCCO (MANY), RUSSIA (MANY), TUNISIA, UKRAINE (MANY), UNITED KINGDOM, USA (MANY), and UZBEKISTAN. The USA states from which requests were received include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. In deciphering addresses so envelopes could be prepared, I’ve used the internet to investigate which place names were streets, city sections, villages, regions, or administrative seats. The images that appeared showed incredibly lovely parts of the world, many that are situated on coastlines near beautiful bodies of water. Others are in very rural locales. The Ukraine, Russia, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria have provided the greatest of such surprises in the course of this detective work. It’s exciting, if all will be using their bibs to challenge themselves and commit to a training plan. Imagining outdoor workouts in these homelands, I hope each person feels connected in a small way to each other. If you train to meet an athletic goal, you can consider yourself an Earned Runs athlete, regardless of the remoteness of the training site. Thanks are due to all who have been supportive, especially family. My sister is number one cheerleader! She also took me to the start of the Dipsea Trail this summer so I could experience the feel of the iconic race, if not actually participate in it. My husband passes scientific articles and news along to me that might be used for Science Friday posts, and endures the clutter of bibs, stickers, envelopes, and stamps in our living space without complaint. My friends endure comments like, “… that topic was covered in one of my Earned Runs blog posts.” By mid- September 2018, the number of blog posts reached 1000! I am grateful for having this opportunity to communicate my enthusiasm, and the interest shown by all who visit the Earned Runs website. Thank you for the connection I feel to you from my small town on the shore of Lake Michigan in the USA. RUN & MOVE HAPPY! CORRECTION!: 2018 marks the 3rd anniversary, but the beginning of our 4th year online. |
BRIDGE TO PHYSICAL SELF
Running, walking, and fitness activities enable us to experience our physical selves in a world mostly accessed through use of fingers on a mobile device. AuthorEARNED RUNS is edited and authored by me, runner and founder. In 1978 I began participating in 10K road races before 5Ks were common. I've been a dietitian, practiced and taught clinical pathology, and been involved with research that utilized pathology. I am fascinated with understanding the origins of disease as well as health and longevity. Archives
November 2023
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