for sore muscles...

I'm finally getting around to mentioning this to you guys. I finally remembered because I walked all over SixFlags on Saturday and came home and got my 13 miles in last night. Right now I'm hurting a little. You've probably had a few times when you could have used something to help with muscle soreness over the last month or two. Some muscle soreness is good, it means you've worked muscles past where they've been used before. But sometimes that pain just gets in the way of your everyday life. You can use your favorite NSAID (Non-Steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) for pain such as Ibuprofen, Tylenol, or Aleive, but that is an overall treatment for something that might be more specific. I use them sometimes, but another tool I use when I hurt somewhere specific (like my quads or calves) is Biofreeze.

Biofreeze is a topical analgesic like Bengay or Icy-Hot. But its got a more pleasing scent that actually disappears after 5-10 minutes. I've got samples of it that you can rub on, but I've also got it in a roll-on bottle so you don't have to get it all over your hands. If you want a bottle or just some samples let me know, I've got some I can sell you. You can't find this in stores, I don't believe they distribute it that way. It's supposed to be available from health professionals that stock it. I found a place on the internet that offered free shipping for a certain quantity and I took advantage of it.

How'd it go?

So, How'd it go?

Before we get into that, be sure and show up at Lincoln Park next week. We can't meet in the fairgrounds because of the rodeo. Try to be there. I think we should have a group picture taken and talk about another social event, maybe even a pool party. We'll be doing 5.5 I think.

We didn't have a wrap up last night, but hopefully you realized a few things. One, the heat sucks. Two, it's really easy to go out too fast. I think most of you did fairly well at pacing. You just need to be very conscious of your pace early on so you don't burn out too early. And three, did you have anything left at the end? Race situations are different than training runs. Training runs you don't want to completely empty the reservoir, just get close to push your limits. During races you don't want to have anything left in your tank. The best race is one where you use up your last reserve during the mad dash to the finish and can barely stand up at the end.

Hopefully you got your time as you crossed. That course is a pretty good representation of the whole 10K. It had some of the same hills and some others that are a good replacement for the ones you didn't hit. Use the McMillan pace calculator to find what your expected finish time for a 10K is. Just put in your time and select the 5K option and after you hit Calculate it will give you your expected pace for the race. Keep in mind that this is not guaranteed and you might even do better. The race will be in the morning, so there is a chance it will be cool.

Anyway, we can talk more next week. Have a good week.

Funny articles from "The Onion"

I got this article from the Complete Running Network, its a compilation of some funny running stories from "The Onion." I had to pass it on.

My favorite is this:
6000 Runners fail to discover cure

Second is this:
Kenyan watches marathons for the crashes


Have a good weekend.

More articles

This isn't the one I was looking for, but here's some more articles:

Tips for beating the heat

This one has some good tips on running during the summer. Not exactly complete, but some good advice anyway.

Running is not too hard on the body, part 2

This is part two from the running and injuries that I posted the other day. It wasn't the answer I was expecting, and not exactly something I'd suggest that you guys try to follow. But, if you are having constant pain during running that you can't get rid of, give this a try.

The Aerobic System

This is part two of a series that started a week ago or so. I didn't post it because I wasn't exactly sure where it was going and part 1 was very technical and didn't seem to have any great info dealing with running. This article has a link to part one where you can read it if you want to. Part 2 was interesting and has some good tips on fueling for long distance runs. Not exactly useful for a 10K, but good information if you intend on extending your runs after Abe's is over.



Don't hesitate to ask questions and we'll see you all for a practice 5K race next Tuesday. Show up at the grandstand and we'll do a 5K race with the course yet to be disclosed. As I understand it the clocks will be out and the finishing chute and maybe even a water stop.

Heat and other things...

I promised some info on running in the heat. There are some old articles on runners world, but what I'm really waiting for is the online version of the article in the issue that just came out. If any of you subscribe, check it out. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until the put it on their website. If you want to see what they've got, just go there and put heat in the search box.

Here's another teaser article about running and pain/injuries. He promises the answer in a day or two. We'll see. Hope things are going well. Any questions, just shoot us an email or post a comment.

See you tomorrow.