I ran my first marathon in the spring of 2007. There were medic tents located every few miles along the course. That made perfect sense to me however, I was utterly confused about the continuous offers of Vaseline on a stick. The medics had large tongue depressors with heaping dollops of petroleum jelly on the ends. As I passed the tents they held them out hollering, “Vaseline? Vaseline?”
My best guess was that runners must like to use Vaseline for lip balm to keep their lips from getting dry.
Somewhere around mile 13 all my curiosity was cured. I was passing yet another tent and ignoring the offer for jelly on a stick when I heard thundering steps behind me and a primal scream rang out, “VASELINE!!!!”
The male runner was doing some sort of bow-legged hop as he quickly grabbed the aid and proceeded to slather it all over his nether region.
All questions were then answered and I got my first glimpse into a dirtier side of running.
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August is a great time of year to run a marathon in most parts of the country. The majority of marathons are scheduled to begin early in the morning so the heat shouldn’t be unbearable. See below for a few of the best marathons in the month of Augusta near you!
Grizzly Marathon: These marathon, half marathon, 10K, 5K, and kids 5K races are held in Choteau, Montana on August 6, 2011. Choteau is located in northwestern Montana and should be one amazing marathon experience. The marathon is scheduled to start at 5 A.M. for the marathon walkers and 6 A.M. for the regular marathon and half marathon participants. Each marathon participant will receive a finishers medal, a beanie, and t-shirt. Be sure to attend the huge expo before the race for new fitness tips plus some of the top 2011 gear.
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Do you find yourself twiddling your thumbs or tapping your feet and fingers out of boredom? You may be taking part in what some experts call “incidental physical activity.” A study published last month took a look at physical movements people make that don’t involve formal exercise and what kind of role they may play in people’s health.
Some of the incidental activity they considered had more purpose than tapping toes, such as preparing dinner or pulling weeds in the yard.
What ultimately matters is, do these activities have an impact on our physical fitness? The key may be in something called VO2 max, which is a reference to the amount of oxygen a person can utilize during an intense exercise. While it is used to measure an athletes cardiovascular and endurance fitness level, it has also been seen as an important predictor of the risk for premature death.
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Marathoning has taught me so much. I’ve learned about the sport. I’ve learned about the human body. I’ve learned about human spirit. And, I’ve learned a lot about myself.
My marathon career began in 2007. My journey began as a slow and uninformed runner. Today I am proud to be a a two time Boston Marathon finisher. My journey may be unique, but I believe the lessons I’ve learned along the way could be of value to any runner or hopeful Boston Qualifier.
1. Respect the Distance
Every race distance must be respected. However, many gifted runners can water down the training for shorter distances. But not the marathon. The marathon is a beast that will eat you up and spit you out if you don’t properly train. The distance is tough enough, do not add insult to injury by not sticking to proper training. If the week day plan says to run 10 miles, a slap of the snooze button and a 5 miler will cost you. If the plan says your long run this weekend is to be 20 miles, 16 IS NOT 20. That choice could equal you pleading with your maker at mile 21 of the race to just “make it all go away!”
Bottom line. Keep the beast happy and train properly.
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I recently took my jogging stroller out for a spin for the first time. With an April 2010 baby, she was never big enough to go for runs last summer and fall. But when the weather finally broke this spring, my 20-pound daughter was able to join me. So I dusted off the jogger, put an organic graham cracker and sippy of water in her hands, and headed through the neighborhood on my usual three-mile route.
The run was fairly typical – mentally I’m a much stronger runner than I am physically. I know I can, and I tell myself “Just make it to that mailbox. Good job. Now make it to that shrub,” but my legs are always back talking!
However, I wasn’t a full mile in to the run when my upper arms started throbbing. I thought maybe there was something wrong with my circulation, not being used to grasping the stroller handles while running. By the time I made it home by legs and arms were feeling the burn, but I couldn’t figure out why.
The next day I asked our resident fitness expert and blog editor, Kelly Turner, what the heck was going on. It was a double dose of good news – my circulation was fine, and I was getting an upper-body workout.
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