Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

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.

For anyone out there still contemplating a late winter/early spring marathon, I have the opportunity of a lifetime — a chance to run in the L.A. Marathon on March 20 thanks to Salonpas, a sponsor of #runchat in November 2010.

Please only enter if you are sure you can commit to this race! Here’s how to do it: Go like Salonpas on Facebook right now! Then come back here leaving a comment saying you “like” them. That counts as one entry. To have a second entry, leave a comment here telling me one must-have product you can’t live without when it comes to running. That will count as one entry.

Please note the two ways to have an entry — if they’re left in one comment, it will count only as one entry.

What is Salonpas you ask? Their Pain Relief Patch is the only FDA-approved over-the-counter pain relieving patch on the market. They last up to 12 hours. Muscle pain? Arthritis pain? Back pain? … just have some pain somewhere? Try one of these out. I’ve tested a couple of the patches out on my lower back and it’s pretty cool … or hot … or something. It works, that’s for sure. The only drawback I found was an awkward smell, kind of like mints. Nothing all that bad.

For more information on the patches, find out much more on their Facebook page. They’re also currently hosting a sponsorship program where groups can apply to receive workout backpaacks, water bottles, T-shirts and samples for every member on the team. If you’re interesting in getting a free sample, just click on the “Try Me” tab on their Facebook page, then click on the “Free Sample” button and fill out the form.

For the marathon giveaway, all comments must be received by 8 p.m. ET (that’s 5 p.m. on the West Coast). A winner will be chosen using Random.org — entries are based on the first comment received being No. 1, the second comment received No. 2, etc. Please leave a valid email address so I can contact you sometime this weekend regarding the free entry free.

Good luck!!

This is my final pre-marathon post. It’s almost hard to believe that it’s been a year since I made this commitment and now it all comes down to a surviving a bum knee. Whether I finish in less than 4 hours or more than 5 hours, I’m determined to do this. I’ve come close to backing out a few times in the past couple of weeks, but there’s no stopping me now.

With just a day or so to go, here are some other thoughts:

* To Tweet or not to Tweet — I’ve taken my phone with me on most of my long runs since July and captured some cool photos along the way and documented some thoughts on Twitter. It’s been fun doing that. I’m undecided whether or not to take my phone with me on the marathon. I’ve thought about taking my phone with me too to listen to music on the stretches of the race that get a little quiet. As friendly as the Richmond Marathon says it is (or Runner’s World says it is), there are a few parts of the course after the halfway point that might need something. I’m not one to get motivated by music, but who knows how a Dave Matthews Band song might pick me up if I’m feeling down.

* The weather continues to look awesome: high 30s/low 40s at the start; temperature around 60 mid-day. You can’t beat that.

* I’ve been very impressed with the marathon folks and how they’ve communicated on Facebook in the past couple of weeks. I hope other big races out there are taking note. Answering other people’s questions, posting contests, providing links to important marathon information … they’ve been doing it all. Now comes the challenge of not being so quiet the 11 other months of the year.

* I have no idea which shoes to wear. I have two Brooks Ravenna that I’m wearing with totally different mileage: one pair is just under 250 miles and still have a good 100 miles left in them. The other pair has less than 50 miles. The newer pair was going to be the marathon pair, but cutting back on mileage has drastically reduced how many miles I hoped to have in them, and the type of running has been totally different. It’s been the slower, injured miles in those shoes, complete with no run longer than 8 miles. I think I’d be fine with either choice, but I’ll probably pack both pairs tonight. Maybe I’ll just flip a coin Saturday morning to make that decision.

* There’s a Daily Mile meet-up planned tomorrow. I hope I can make it; it’ll be nice to put real faces to people I know only virtually. The support on Daily Mile has helped get me through this year and even more so in the past few weeks.

* This is non-marathon related, but #runchat returns to Twitter this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET with me and @iRunnerBlog (aka Scott). The chat includes another giveaway this week from Zensah. Scott has all the details on how you can become eligible to win this great prize on his site here.

(Speaking of giveaways, check out my post from yesterday about winning an entry to the Blue Ridge Marathon in Roanoke, Va., in April.)

Thanks to everyone who has helped with the launching of this site in the past week. As part of celebrating the new site, I had a giveaway of Steve Speirs’ “7 Week to 100 Push-Ups” book on Facebook. Congrats to Grace, a longtime friend of mine, who came up as the winner using Random.org.

Be sure to check back tonight as I’m having another contest over the next day related to my 5K on Saturday.

Since fall of last year I have written several times about the 100 push-ups challenge … that I have yet to complete. That’s OK — one day I will. But here’s your chance to do it before me.

While the 100 push-ups website is great, there’s a book to accompany the site that can help you complete the program. It’s titled, quite simply, “7 Weeks to 100 Push-Ups.” To help celebrate the launch of RunningBecauseICan.com, I am giving away a copy of this book, complete with a note and signature from author Steve Speirs.

To be entered to win a copy, become a fan of mine on Facebook. It’s that simple. Click here to find the fan page. Become a fan and invite your friends. Once I have 250 fans, everyone who is a fan by 9 p.m (ET) the day of the benchmark will be entered to win the book. It’s that simple.

This will be what I hope is the first of many giveaways as part of this new site. In addition to becoming a fan on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @RunningBecause to stay up to date with possible freebies.

I’m not going to reveal too much, but there are some changes coming to this blog soon. Simply put, the blogging will continue, but the site will be greatly enhanced. If you want any clues as to what’s up, become a Fan of “Running Because I Can” on Facebook and following RunningBecause on Twitter. That’s all I’m saying for now …