Posts Tagged ‘#runchat’

Fellow #runchat co-moderator Scott has been in a funk lately. To give himself some motivation, he created a great list today of 10 things he loves about running.

While I haven’t been in any running funk (although I have had a bad cold all week that’s now cutting into my running), I’ve had a bad case of writer’s block lately — my mind is full of thoughts that just don’t make sense when I try to put the words down. As a longtime writer and editor, both personally and professionally, there’s nothing worse than stuck thoughts.

So to take his idea, I’ll give you 10 things I love about running. I should do this more often; I encourage everyone to make a similar list sometime soon.

In no particular order, I love …

1. … watching the sunrise while the rest of the world is asleep.
2. … having my “me” time to sort out thoughts or come up with random ideas.
3. … tackling hills in my small hometown of Bedford, Va.
4. … saying “hi” to strangers even if they don’t speak back or even look at me.
5. … experiencing euphoria at the end of a race.
6. … getting lost on a trail.
7. … getting to know strangers on a group run.
8. … very random music on those rare music days.
9. … drinking a cold Magic Hat No. 9 to reward myself for a long run.
10. … new shoes.

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Q&A, so as I bottle up thoughts in my head, now is a great time for a break from me.

Meet Jim, aka @bikerly on Twitter; you can also find Jim on Daily Mile here. Jim is a blogger over at Loving the Run (where you can find a guest post by me today about my fundraising experiences), who is also currently in the middle of a run streak to raise money to benefit Feed My Starving Children. You can read more about those fundraising efforts at the Race for Others website.

Q: Tell us, where did the idea come from to do a run streak for charity?
I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of running every day for a year or more. This is actually my third run streak. I started with a 30-day goal and my previous best effort was 112 days. This time I hope to make it for 365+ days.

Regarding the charity, I noticed a blog post last year from Kelly (@chmpgnepolitics), focused around “Racing for Others.” I was moved by her blog posts, struggles with fundraising/training and ultimate success in finishing a first time marathon.

I continued to learn more about Feed My Starving Children and discovered they were based in my home state of Minnesota. I was impressed by their vision and that only 7 percent of donations was used for administration costs with the remaining 93 percent going directly to feeding programs for nearly 70 countries. [Note: Feed My Starving Children has a 4-star rating through Charity Navigator.]

Kelly and I chatted about going big with another fundraiser and joined up with Brady and Matt with the goal of raising $10,000 for Feed My Starving Children. It’s a super big number, but $10,000 feeds a village of more than 100 people for a year. And running every day feeds my soul.

Q: What has been the biggest surprise during your run streak?
Almost every day provides surprises … some pleasant, some not so pleasant (like goose poop on a barefoot run).

The other night I discovered a new alley. For three blocks I saw friends drinking bottles around backyard campfires, kids playing tag, late evening dinners through the kitchen window and friends working on a garage project. This route is now one of my favorites.

One thing I’ve learned by running every day is sometimes it pays to take a new course.

Q: Being from Minnesota where it’s very cold for half the year, what is the craziest weather you’ve ever experienced on a run?
A picture often tells the best story…

I love running in snow and ice.

Q: Many of my readers are familiar with #runchat, but you also have a cool Twitter chat in #bikeschool. How did that get started, and what should first-time participants expect?
Well, I hope they like beer and tacos because #bikeschool often rolls this direction. It’s true … Darryl (@lovingthebike), Mike (@egggman), and I conspired last year to host the #bikeschool chat every Thursday night at 9 p.m ET. The format is much the same as #runchat and questions vary from gear related to the philosophical taco related question. The school even has a mascot in @tacomakingrobot! You can read more about the #bikeschool shenanigans on lovingthebike.com if you like.

Q: Lastly, what’s one non-running (or non-biking) thing that people may be surprised to know about you?
I grew up on a livestock farm in Iowa.

Thanks to Jim for a great Q&A. If you’re interested in doing a Q&A or guest post exchange, please hit me up on my Contact page.

It’s not often that I sit down for a blog post and struggle to come up with something. In the past few days, though, that’s the case. Today I turned to Twitter to get people to ask me running-related questions to spur my mind a bit. There were some great questions that I’ll answer below, a few that I can use for a future #runchat session and some that I just can’t answer (sorry @TedWeismann, I don’t know anything about maintaining glucose levels on a run).

Q: @teacherswhorun: How can you use a half marathon time to find expected full marathon time?
A: The timing of this is great since I’m going to run a half marathon this weekend. While both of my marathons haven’t produced results I was hoping for, I have found that the McMillan Running Calculator is fairly accurate with predicting times. I actually used that calculator, among other things, when coming up with my Baltimore Marathon goal a few posts ago.

Otherwise, take your pace on a comfortable long run and take anywhere between 30-60 seconds per mile off that to come up with a goal. Some say your long runs should be even slower than that — simply put, there are no simple answers out there. I’d love to hear other ideas in the comments section.

Q: @thetk42one: Socks or no socks? Discuss.
A: Socks. Preferably Injinji. How about you?

Q: @FitNotFried: I  joined a running club, but as a new runner my pacing is too slow, and I get left behind. How can I improve?
A: About 5 years ago I joined a training group for my first long-distance race and was terrified. Fortunately the group was big and was pretty much divided up into 3 groups — fast, slow and everyone else in between. My suggestion would be to talk to whoever leads the club and tell them about your concerns. My bet would be that there will be others in the group who are at or near your pace. Together you’ll all get faster and stronger.

Q: @trumpdabeast: What has been your favorite race that you ran, and what is your dream race to run?
A:  I LOVE the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach in March. I’ve done this race 4 times, but unfortunately missed it this year coming back from my injury. Oddly enough, I don’t have a dream race. I just want to get through a marathon uninjured.

Running the Shamrock at Virginia Beach will produce scenes like this.

Q: @notdiyheather: When wanting to increase mileage, is it better to run longer or run more often?
A: I think some of this is a personal preference and it depends on what you’re training for. I like to gradually increase my mileage by some sort of combination of running longer and more often. Honestly, I think the answer to this question is one I’m constantly seeking — both approaches have worked at various times for me in my running. I’d love to hear some advice in the comments section.

Q: @TheHeldawg: How do you effectively use BodyGlide? How much? When?
A:  I use BodyGlide or Mission whenever I’m going to be running for more than an hour or for races 10k or longer. The more humid it is, the more I put on.  Put it in between your legs if they rub, your nipples, your feet and, yes, even your butt. It’s probably impossible to put on too much.

Q: @runforsushi: What are your rules for running when sick? 
A: If you have a fever, DON’T RUN. It’ll only make you worse. If I have a cold, I’ll run — in fact, I think it helps clear me out. Otherwise, if I feel bad — fever or not — I opt not to run and rest up. This question reminds me of one of my second ever blog entry when I woke up with a fever on race day. Check it out here.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my tweet this afternoon. This was a lot of fun. If you have any answers to these questions that you’d like to share, please leave a comment! I hope you’ll join me and Scott for #runchat at 8 p.m. ET this Sunday!

I don’t listen to music much when I run, but when I do I like my headphones to stay in my ear. I generally go a cheap route, getting a pair of headphones that wrap around my ear and go on my way. They usually last about 6 months.

A couple of months ago I was contacted by Zippearz to try their earbuds. The claim on their website is they don’t fall out and they “zip up” for less tangling.

To put it simply, these are great earbuds. They come with three different sized ear covers to essentially fit any type of ear. I’ve had about 10 runs in them and never had any issues — for me, they don’t fall out, nor do they come loose. I found that the adjustable ear piece that comes with them to be annoying, but not necessary at all.

The aspect of zipping up the earbuds after a run works well too. While I think it’s impossible to make things with cords not tangle, these definitely are a big improvement over any other pair I’ve ever worn.

Zippearz are sold for $24.95 on their website — while I received this for review, I would definitely pay that price for these.

Zippearz is sponsoring this week’s #runchat on Twitter. Just by participating in #runchat you’ll be entered to win a pair of Zippearz earbuds.

If you’re unfamiliar with #runchat, please visit my #runchat page and come join the fun at 8 p.m. ET this Sunday. It’s very easy to take part — just look for questions from me (@RunningBecause) and Scott (@iRunnerBlog) and then answer, retweet responses and have fun!

You can also have three extra entries by leaving a comment on this blog stating you’ve done the following things:

• “Like” #runchat on Facebook.
• “Like” Zippearz on Facebook.
• Follow Zippearz on Twitter.

Note: You do not need to leave separate comments for the above extra entries. You can leave a comment with 1-4 extra sentences in one comment.

Another fun round of #runchat is planned for 8 p.m. ET Sunday on Twitter with me and Scott. This week’s #runchat is sponsored by Zephyr Technology, a global leader in real-time physiological and biomechanical monitoring or “Physiological Status Monitoring” (PSM) solutions for Connected Health, Fitness and the Academic Research markets. We’ll be giving away a ZephyrFit.  Read more about this product at www.zephyrfit.com.

For full details about this week’s awesome giveaway, check out Scott’s blog entry. To be entered all you have to do is take part in #runchat. His blog details even more ways to enter.

If you’ve never taken part in #runchat, here are a few pointers:

• #runchat is simply a chat about running. Questions will come from me (@RunningBecause) and Scott (@iRunnerBlog). You then answer the questions, respond to other questions, retweet answers you like, etc. It’s really that easy.
• The fun gets under way at 8 p.m. ET with introductions for about 5 minutes. We then ask questions every 5-10 minutes depending on the nature of the conversation. We’ll often ask follow-up questions depending on answers.
• The easiest way to follow along is to use third-party Twitter clients such as TweetDeck, HootSuite or Seesmic. Create a #runchat column and then follow along. If you have trouble finding the question, you can follow the #runchat moderator list HERE and then add us as a separate column.
• ALL runners are welcome. Whether you’re just starting out or just run for fun or you enter every community race or whether you’re a seasoned marathoner, everyone is invited. Fast or slow, it doesn’t matter. There’s a wealth of information that everyone can learn from in that hour. If you’re curious and want to watch the conversation, you’re welcome to do that, too.
• For additional information visit my #runchat page. As always, we’re looking for question suggestions. Feel free to leave them in the comments below!

It’s funny how a new job can be so draining — there’s so much newness that mentally I’m just drained. I opted not to run this morning because I was just flat-out tired. I can’t let it slip up too much or else I’ll be back to talking about needing to run in the morning. It’s also left me with not much to say about running this week. It’s not really a bad thing — maybe I need that brief break anyway.

Anyway, Scott and I have some exciting news about this week’s #runchat on Twitter. EverStride is back as a sponsor with another great giveaway, their runners kit that includes essentials for runners: Foot Cream, Fungus Defense and the Chafe Stick. We’ll also be giving away a #runchat T-shirt.

If you’ve never taken part in #runchat, you can find the details here. It’s really simple to join in — create a #runchat tag to follow along in HootSuite, TweetDeck, Seesmic, or whatever you use on Twitter. Scott and I ask running-related questions 5-10 minutes and you answer, respond to other answers, retweet answers you like, etc. It’s really that easy. The fun gets under way at 8 p.m. ET Sunday.

For details on the giveaways, go HERE to read more on Scott’s blog. If you have any questions you’d like to see on #runchat this week or in future #runchat sessions, leave a comment below.

* #runchat with me and Scott return on Twitter at 8 p.m. ET Sunday with an awesome giveaway from Hydrapak. If you’ve never taken part in #runchat, there’s no time like now to join in. From 8-9 p.m., we’ll ask running-related questions, you answer them, you chat with other runners about their answers — it’s really that simple.

For more information about what #runchat is, visit my #runchat page. If you have any question suggestions, send me a message on my Contact page. For information on the Hydrapak giveaway this week, visit Scott’s entry on his blog.

* After writing last night about how well running in the morning is going, I was faced with a challenge today: rain. It’s fitting I put a Forrest Gump clip with that post because I encountered some big ‘ol fat rain in the first mile or so of the run. Then, oddly enough, it just stopped. I ran without a watch for the second time this week and, just like Monday, got in exactly 4 miles. I seem to have a great sense of distance with running 4 miles.

* I’m considering entering a trail race this weekend. I honestly haven’t decided. I seem to like spontaneous things lately, but I just don’t know yet if I want to do this. I guess if I do it, some on the spontaneity is gone by mentioning it here, but it’s at the forefront of my mind right now, which I think is causing this bulleted post of a variety of things.

* I have started the 100 push-ups program for the umpteenth time. Since I’ve been doing a variety of push-ups for a while and did a few maxes between 30-35 push-ups last month, I started during week 3, level 2. After one day I realized that I was not doing nearly enough last month. So not hitting that goal I had of 50 consecutive push-ups is purely my fault. The first workout last night was great though with push-up sets of 12, 17, 13, 13, and a max of 22.

Is my goal now to do 100 consecutive push-ups? I’m not sure. This program is so tough, and I really want push-ups to be a cross training staple. The workouts in weeks 3 and 4 are ideal for that. For now, I’m just going to take the training program a day at a time and see how I feel in a couple of weeks when I do another test.

This past Sunday’s #runchat on Twitter was one of the best yet. One of the highlights for me was seeing so many of your photos from either during a race, after a race, or your favorite scenes. Here is a collection of just a few of the photos that were shared that night.

Mark your calendars now for the next #runchat with me and Scott — Sunday, May 8 at 8 p.m. ET. If you’re on Twitter, be sure to use the #runchat tag any time to ask running questions, post link to blog entries or make comments about anything to do with running. As always, we’re looking for new #runchat questions, so feel free to leave them in the Comments section below or send me an email via my Contact page.

This Sunday, Scott and I are back for another round of #runchat on Twitter. First off, this week features the best giveaway yet in the nearly year we’ve been doing #runchat — a pair of Pearl iZUMi shoes. Scott has all the details about the giveaway here in his post.

Secondly, be sure that you have a photo of you running or a photo of a scene you took on a run ready to post. One of our questions this Sunday will be about running running photos. Pick a good one! To prepare for that question, my suggestion would be to head to a URL shortener site, such as bit.ly or tinyurl.com, to shorten the link and make it easy to post that night. Later next week I’ll post some of your photos here. Think of it as contributing to a #runchat virtual scrapbook.

For more details on what #runchat is and how to take part if you’re not familiar with it, check out my #runchat page. If you have a question you’d like to see in a future #runchat, feel free to leave a comment below or send me a message on my Contact page. See you Sunday. Be there or be out running!