Headphones

I had to laugh at this one.  I get this question a lot, especially by the folks at work that try to wrap their brains around running for three hours, riding for six, or swimming for two (not that I’ve done the last two this year, but it’s happened).

I don’t wear headphones.  I don’t listen to music.

Except what’s playing on mental radio.

I agree with Frazz.  I’ve got to hear what’s going on around me.  And music is too much of a distraction.

Every time I run a race, I am reminded of why it’s a good idea to not wear headphones.  Little islands unto themselves, runners with headphones take hard right turns with no warning so they can get a cup of water or get to the curb to tie their shoe.  They cross center lines on the (open) road, not hearing the car on the other side, just so they can jog with a bit more space (even loud screams couldn’t get this guy’s attention).

I understand the desire to distract oneself from the discomfort and pain.  I do wear them when I’m on a dreadmill or trainer.  But never outside.

I must be one of the old diehards that this NY Times article is referring to.

Why not just put a target on your back?

Wouldn’t that be like wearing an OU jersey while biking through Texas?   You’d just be begging to get smashed.

Betcha if the moonwalking bear was wearing it, y’all would’ve spied it the first time around. 

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Found in the latest Performance Bike catalog to grace my mailbox.

Why, oh why, do they tempt me so?

Not with those jerseys, but with all of the other goodies inside.

Kinda pointless, since I’m not getting many bike miles in this year.

Da Dip

So hawt!

If you’ll browse through the left column, you’ll see that I’m a Maker’s Mark Ambassador. I am a big fan of the Mark.  A very fine, very smooth Kentucky bourbon. I prefer it with just a splash of clean water to mix up the essence and then an ice cube or two, depending on how many fingers deep the pour is.  But if you prefer mixing, it stands up quite well to that use as well.

Tokyo marathon runner solves mystery of sore nipples

With a title like that, how can you not read the “news” story?

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Tokyo marathon runner solves mystery of sore nipples

By Alastair Himmer

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Choking pollution and sapping heat will be the major concerns for the world’s elite marathon runners at this year’s Beijing Olympics.

But for millions of other marathon men and women, concerns are of an altogether more painful nature.

After his first assault at a marathon last year banker Brian Jones was shocked to discover the sharp pain in his chest was not cardiovascular, but bleeding nipples.

“When I took my shirt off at the end it was white — apart from two particular parts of it,” he told Reuters in an interview after completing his second Tokyo Marathon at the weekend.

“It looked like I had been shot by a sniper. This year I bought some Vaseline. It worked, although I had nasty chafing elsewhere.”

Such dark thoughts are unlikely to have troubled Sunday’s winner, Switzerland’s Viktor Roethlin, who powered to victory in two hours, seven minutes and 23 seconds.

But for around 30,000 fun runners who took part in Tokyo, issues such as chafing can trigger deep despair.

“I struggled to find a comfortable pair of underwear this morning,” said Jones, who clocked 4:37:46, beating his 2007 time by 11 minutes.

“I walked two kilometers this year, between 34 and 36km, because my leg seized up. The last 20-K was freezing. The wind was absolutely brutal.”

Jones credited the Japanese crowds lining the roads for helping him get to the finish.

“It was amazing,” smiled the 33-year-old bank employee. “Random people on the side of the street just appear with muscle sprays and start graffitiying the back of your leg.”

“AGONY”

Jones admitted to having had second thoughts about running again after a traumatic first attempt last year when he suffered an early knee injury.

“I was in agony last year,” said the Londoner. “My feet were all blistered and bleeding. My knee blew up. I could barely walk. Yesterday morning I was terrified.

“You read stories of runners who are fit and who train properly and they end up with serious problems, respiratory problems or someone had a heart attack.”

Worse even than the fear of sudden death, however, was the humiliation of being overtaken by pensioners at the 20km mark.

“I thought I was doing quite well and then there’s some 70-year-old granny I’m just catching up to,” Jones said with a sheepish grin.

With Tokyo’s elderly destroying his morale, and one runner further unbalancing him by trotting backwards down a hill, Jones had to trick his brain into staying focused.

“There was one woman dressed as a nurse, or a maid. I followed her for a bit,” he said.

“You think about anything to take your mind off the pain.”

Even during the most tortuous moments of Sunday’s race, quitting was never an option for Jones.

“I never thought I wouldn’t finish,” he said. “When it was really bad, when I got to about the 33km mark, it wasn’t a mental thing. It was just that my legs couldn’t move.

“I had cramp in my thighs, the back of my hamstrings, my calf and my shins — if that’s possible.”

Despite the pain, however, would he do it all again?

“Even though it hurts like hell it is fun, oddly,” said Jones. “Last year finishing at all was a miracle. When I finished I was close to breaking down.

“But I remember instantly thinking ‘I’m going to do that again.’ Yesterday I didn’t have that same feeling, although I was a little more philosophical this morning…”

(Editing by Sophie Hardach)

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSYD6114520080219?sp=true

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And that’s why I now wear compression underwear, top and bottom, when I run.

‘Tis the Season(?)

…But I’m not exactly sure which season it is.

I think this guy’s got the right idea about how the season’s being celebrated by the masses. Damn shame, too. Goddess and I shake our heads at the news coverage and the interviews with people. What really floored me was reading an article recently where a guy admitted that he took out a home equity line of credit just to fund this Christmas. Crazy! (I really wish I could find that link again).

Goddess and I have many reasons to be joyful throughout the year, so we look at Christmas as just another day; every day we wake up and fall asleep together is a great day.

She’s making the brine right now to soak the turkey that I’ll smoke tomorrow. I still don’t think that qualifies as an event, since it’s something we do a couple of times a year.

On another note, I just found out that I won this year’s game, so I’m quite pleased. It’s a game that is played throughout the year and the results aren’t known until the last couple of weeks of the year. It’s the tax game. And my game is to come as close to zero as possible. We came out only a Jackson away from that target, so that’s a win!

And in case you’re wondering, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a plus-Jackson or minus-Jackson. It’s just like trying to hit the bullseye. That’s right - no refund or payment is a complete win. That’s the target, but it is difficult to hit. Although one day I’d love to see a single-digit number.

We do wish each and every one of you a joyous season, whatever your beliefs. And here’s hoping that 2008 is a year in which you find joy and prosperity. So get out there and celebrate the real reasons for the season.  I’m off to give Goddess a hug. 

Food Guidance

Reading Athena’s blog this morning got me to looking around at links.

I found the greatest news concerning dark chocolate. Seven ounces a week!

That on the heels of my doc telling me that two drinks a night is a good thing.

All this great news makes it a bitch to stay near race weight, though.

BTW, I asked the doc if I could bank my drinks during the week and make a withdrawal on the weekend. For some reason, the look was disapproving.

It’s beginning to look a lot like…

…homicide.That’s my take on a classic Christmas carol. There are a few more lines, but that’s not the point here.

Goddess and I wrapped gifts today at the local mall as a fund raiser for the Humane Society.

After a few hours, we came to the conclusion that the wrong animals are in the cages.

 

Hasher’s $4K Run

<rant>

Absolutely freakin’ amazing. Some Hash House Harriers do what they do all the time, sending an ignorant township’s leaders into a tizzy. Instead of facing a felony conviction, they pay $4,000 as a plea bargain.

People have lost their paranoid, freakin’ minds.

Perhaps, using prosecutor Marc Ramia’s words, we should prosecute all fast food joints because the spreading of such food “creates a dangerous situation for the public, who are not aware of what the substance is.”

</rant>

Full text follows:

Flour-sprinkling joggers out of trouble

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Charges have been dropped against two siblings who inadvertently caused a bioterrorism scare when they sprinkled flour in a parking lot to mark a trail for their offbeat running club.

New Haven ophthalmologist Daniel Salchow, 36, and his sister, Dorothee, 31, who was visiting from Hamburg, Germany, had been charged with first-degree breach of peace, a felony.

The charges were dropped Thursday after Daniel Salchow agreed he and his sister would donate $4,000 to local charities. Prosecutors could reopen the case if the Salchows do the same thing again in the next 13 months.

Dorothee has returned to Germany and prosecutors agreed not to require her to appear in court.

The siblings set off the scare while organizing a run for a local chapter of the Hash House Harriers, a worldwide group that bills itself as a “drinking club with a running problem.”

“Hares” are given the task of marking a trail to direct runners, throwing in some dead ends and forks as challenges. In August, the Salchows decided to route runners through an IKEA furniture store parking lot.

Police fielded a call that someone was sprinkling powder on the ground. The store was evacuated and remained closed the rest of the night. The incident prompted a massive response from police in New Haven and surrounding towns.

Daniel Salchow biked back to IKEA when he heard there was a problem and told officers the powder was just flour, which he said he and his sister have sprinkled everywhere from New York to California without incident.

Daniel Salchow and his attorney, Michael Jefferson, said they were pleased with the resolution but still believe authorities overreacted.

“We felt all along it was an innocent activity,” Jefferson said.

Many fellow runners sent letters of protest over the Salchows’ arrest, but New Haven officials maintain their response was warranted.

Prosecutor Marc Ramia said in court Thursday that spreading such material “creates a dangerous situation for the public, who are not aware of what the substance is.”

For the actual page.

Rollercoaster

Wow, it’s been a crazy two weeks since the last update. Hopefully next week I’ll have a chance to sit down and give a synopsis of the high points.

Instead, I’ll stick with today’s “In the Bleachers”, which made me laugh since I have a half-marathon tomorrow and a full marathon in two weeks time.

I hope all’s well with you. From the 300+ posts that I had to catch up in my blog reader, I’d say it is.

Shirt Rules

Should they apply to swimwear too?

 Let me explain - I’m working a slow, slow night shift.  So I’ve plugged in to EndurancePlanet.com to catch up on podcasts.  The one I’m specifically listening to right now is from September 26th and relates to Race Shirt Etiquette.  It’s an interesting one, since I’ve thought about whether or not I should wear my pullover from my DNF.

Anyway, at about 9:37 into the commentary, Ben brought up a point that got me to thinking about the start of my DNF.  Ben states “…Never wear a shirt that is so old, thin and threadbare that you can see the color of your nipples or chest hair through it.”  Good rule, don’tcha think?

So why did the rule immediately make me think about the guy at the start of my DNF, standing in the lake, just deep enough that his coin purse could get wet, in a Speedo that was so thin you could actually see the color of his ass hair?

Why?