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And the NYC Marathon Winners Are . . .

FitSugar — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:00:10 -0800

Although she has won the race three times, favorite Paula Radcliffe placed fourth in the New York Marathon. The first woman to cross the finish line was Derartu Tulu - the first Ethiopian woman to claim first place in the NYC Marathon in its 40-year history.

Tulu ran the course in two hours, 28 minutes, 52 seconds and was there to comfort Radcliffe as the world record holder limped across the finish line, holding her knee and crying in agony. Second place went to Russia's Ludmila Petrova , who ran the course in two hours and 29 minutes flat. Christelle Daunay, of France, came in third (2:29:16), nine seconds ahead of Radcliffe.

Tulu, who gave birth to her second daughter in 2006 and increased her brood by adopting four orphans, wasn't ready to quit racing. With two Olympic gold medals under her belt and a previous marathon win in London in 2001, Deratu ran with a calm confidence and proved that returning to the sport was well worth it.

For details on the men's race, read more.
Eritrean born American citizen Meb Keflezighi won the men's race in two hours, nine minutes, and 15 seconds. Filled with emotion on winning his first major marathon in his adopted country, Keflezighi said, "U.S.A. gave me all the opportunity in the world, education, sports, lifestyle.This is so special to me." Ryan Hall, considered the future of US distance running, came in fourth. In fact, six Americans finished in the top 10! Robert Cheruiyot, of Kenya, placed second (2:09:56) with Jaouad Gharib of Morroco coming in third, racing the course in two hours, 10 minutes, and 25 seconds. Hall finished the race in two hours, 10 minutes, 36 seconds.

Thinking of running the marathon in the Big Apple next year? The application for the lottery will be available Nov. 2. If you're not ready to commit to a marathon but still love to run, join the RunningSugar group.

Don't Run Yourself Into a Stress Fracture

FitSugar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:00:29 -0700

Over training happens. You love what you do. You do it too much. Your body starts to break down. Your bones begin to crack. An over use injury you definitely want to avoid is a stress fracture.

Common in professional sports that intensely work the lower body like running and basketball - hoops star Yao Ming has been suffering from one in his foot for two years now and marathoner Paula Radcliffe has battled one in her femur.

A fracture, aka broken bone, is caused by a sudden trauma like a fall. A stress fracture occurs when a bone can't hold up against repeated stress overtime. Cells known as osteoblasts make bones and attempt to keep the bone strong and rebuild them while under strain, while osteoclasts are cells that remove damaged bone tissue. The repeated stress weakens the bones, and ultimately the osteoclast cells win creating a microscopic fracture on the surface of the bone. This small crack can create lots of pain. X-rays usually cannot detect the fracture, but an MRI or bone scan if deemed necessary can diagnose a stress fracture. Often a stress fracture can be diagnosed based on your history, since over use injuries often run a specific course.

Learn how to avoid a stress fracture.

Mommy Marathoner Wins NYC Marathon Again!

FitSugar — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:00:00 -0800

British mommy marathoner Paula Radcliffe did it again! She won the NYC Marathon for the third time. Radcliffe, whose daughter will be two years old in January, finished the race in 2:23:56 with the second place winner crossing the finish line almost two minutes later. That is what I call an impressive lead! Congrats Paula!

Paula wasn't the only runner we were rooting for here at FitSugar. To see how newlywed Ryan Reynolds fared in the race, just read more.

Ryan finished the marathon in under four hours with the respectable time of 3:50:22. Not bad for a first timer at all! Speaking of first timers, one of my favorite runners, Olympic middle distance runner Kara Goucher, made her marathon debut and came in third place! Her finishing time of 2:25:53 is the fastest finishing time for an American woman in the history of the New York City Marathon. Goucher is definitely a runner to watch.

Reading about other people running always makes me want to hit the asphalt, but I am not sure I want to run 26.2 miles like these folks. Tell me, how do you feel about running a marathon?

Spource and Source

Mommy Marathoner Wins NYC Marathon!

FitSugar — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 23:30:00 -0800

Finding the time and mustering the energy to run is always a challenge. Add to the mix a baby not even a year old and you have the formula for NYC Marathon winner Paula Radcliffe's life. Not only is she a mommy, but her full time job is running – running long distances and running them at a fast pace.

Radcliffe holds the world's record for running the 2003 London Marathon in two hours 15 minutes 25 seconds – that's 5:10 a mile pace over the 26.2-mile course! This seasoned marathoner had her first child on Jan. 17, 2007! She was up and running 12 days after her daughter Ilsa was born, and she trained through her pregnancy, under close supervision of her doctor, of course. Her ambition, talent, and determination helped her make it to the NYC marathon finish line beating her closest rival by 23 seconds. Radcliffe's finishing time was two hours 23 minutes 9 seconds! Congratulations, Paula!

I am sure Paula was not the only mommy racing, because we know Katie Holmes was planning on running too. To see how Katie fared in the big apple run, just read more

After training for three months, Katie was cheered on by Tom and Suri with a finishing of 5:29:58. We can tell by the photos that Katie opted to wear headphones for the race even though they were strongly discouraged. Not that I can blame her since those 26.2 miles can get a little lonely, even with a super star and a super cute baby waiting for you at the finish line.

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Healthy Dose Link Time

FitSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:30:11 -0800

Savory and healthy: spaghetti with walnuts, fennel, and peas - Shape
Marathoner Paula Radcliffe believes she gets better with age - That's Fit
The Denim Diet must be inspired by the skinny jean fad - FitCeleb
An injection to the roof of the mouth could ease snoring - Vitamin G
Sculpt your way to sexy and sleek curves - Self
Start your morning with one of these high fiber and flavorful cereals - Daily Spark
The low down on Prana Power Yoga - Social Workout
Tips on fueling up for you next long run - Health

Unranked Mommy Kim Clijsters Wins US Open

FitSugar — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 21:08:05 -0700

Just like Paula Radcliffe illustrated that motherhood and winning marathons are not mutually exclusive, and just like Dara Torres proved you can come back after childbirth and win Olympic medals, tennis pro Kim Clijsters shows that you can come back and be a champion as well.

Clijsters retired from tennis in 2007 and gave birth to daughter Jada Ellie at the end of February 2008 after a tennis career winning the US Open in 2005, and making it to the finals in the Australian Open and the French Open. By no means a shabby career. Unranked going into the finals of the US Open, she beat Caroline Wozniacki, ranked ninth, in straight sets 7-5, 6-3. I would say her comeback career is on! Unfortunately, her semifinal match against Serena Williams is probably more memorable than her winning match. To see how much Serena has been fined for her display of unsportsmanlike behavior read more.

Serena, whose temper has flared at the Open before, will be fined $10,000 for "unsportsmanlike conduct." She will be fined an additional $500 for "racquet abuse" - she threw her racquet at the end of the first set. Her outburst began when a line judge called a foot fault on match point, after she missed her first serve. According to CBS Sports, Serena told the line judge: "I'm going to shove this [expletive] ball down your [expletive] throat." This was accompanied by some finger jabbing toward the line judge and a swat with her racquet at the woman's general direction. What is truly unfortunate is that upon viewing tape, the foot fault call was a bad one. But due to her antics and language, Serena lost the semifinal match not so much because of a bad call but because of her behavior. The controversy didn't keep her from looking gorgeous at the VMAs though.

8 For 8 in '08 and Other Olympic News

FitSugar — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:00:00 -0700

In case you missed it, and I honestly don't know how you could have, swimmer Michael Phelps accomplished what he set out to do and won eight gold medals in Beijing. Phelps won more gold medals than any other athlete during one Olympic games. Wow! It has been truly amazing to watch history in the making.

Other swimming news, the oldest female swimmer to ever compete in the Olympics Dara Torres (age 41) won three silver medals. She lost the gold in her signature event, the 50m freestyle by .01 seconds to 24-year-old German Britta Steffan. Torres joked that she shouldn't have filed her nails that day. After this most recent comeback, Dara will be retiring from competitive swimming and is looking forward to taking her 2-year-old daughter to school next week.

To see more Olympic news including track and field and gymnastics read more.
The Jamaican sprinters are amazing this year, especially the women who took the gold and two silvers in the 100m due to a tie for second place. Of course, Usain Bolt's 100m gold winning run was amazing too.

Neither American Deena Kastor nor mommy marathoner Paula Radcliffe won the women's marathon event. Kastor, who won Bronze at the 2004 Athens games, did not finish the race due to a broken bone in her right foot. She heard a pop around the 5km mark and X-rays later confirmed a break. Radcliffe, the current world record holder, came in 23rd place running 26.2 miles in 2:32:38. She was 5:54 behind the gold medal winner from Romania.

Hurdler Lolo Jones won her first 100m heat with ease.

The friendly gymnastic duo placed silver and bronze in the individual floor event, but this time Shawn Johnson bested all-around gold medal winner Nastia Liukin. The uneven parallel bars individual finals will be held Monday evening and the balance beam individual finals will be the following night.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh continue to win in beach volleyball. They face another Brazilian team at the semi-finals on Tuesday morning.

Records have been broken, dreams have been smashed, and we still have one more week of the Olympics to watch. What will you be watching?

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Running 101

FitSugar — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 08:00:00 -0700

When I watch marathoner Paula Radcliffe run, I feel deep in my bones that I am not a natural born runner. Not that this has kept me from pounding the pavement since when I run on concrete sidewalks I literally feel that in my bones.

Since running seems like it should be natural but doesn't, I work on my form. A lot!

Here are a few basics, from head to toe, to consider next time you are out for a run.

Look where you are going – straight ahead – not at your feet. How you hold your head affects your pelvis, and the pelvis and hips are what is ultimately powering you forward so you want proper alignment of the entire spine.
Keep your shoulders relaxed. A nice deep exhale will help them fall away from your ears.
Swing your arms forward and back. Avoid swinging your arms across your body (this I call the "Charlie's Angels run" because I swear Cheryl Ladd ran swinging her arms across her body in every episode of the show). Keep your elbows bent to 90 degrees.

I'm only half way down the body, to see what do with your feet read more.

Don't lean forward. Run straight and tall in your torso. This will also make it easier to breathe.
Keep your stride short. It is more efficient for distance (endurance) running.
Run lightly and don't slap your feet – this is why it is good to run occasionally without headphones so you can listen to your feet. Land between the heel and the mid-foot and push off quickly.

Whenever I read tips, I want to get out and put them to practice. Hopefully this post will get you out on the road too!

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Why Lance Runs

FitSugar — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:00:00 -0700

The prestigious and tough Boston Marathon is a week from today. And my man Lance (who seems to be everywhere these days – is there a product he isn't the spokesperson for?) will be running in it.

When you're an elite athlete, other elite athletes give you advice. Winner of the 2007 NYC marathon Paula Radcliffe told Lance to practice his on-the-run hydration to help keep his finishing time low; but Lance replied that he was just hoping to finish the race. Oh Lance, we have so much in common, because I would respond the same way to any advice on running a marathon.

So why does Lance run after winning the ultimate cycling endurance race seven times? To find out read more.

For starters, he feels retirement shouldn't exclude fitness, since fitness is part of a healthy and enjoyable life. And running is more efficient way to workout compared to cycling, which is why Lance started running. You get the same benefits from running with a shorter time commitment. Plus running doesn't require much gear unlike cycling, and this makes running a great form of exercise if you are traveling a lot like Mr. Armstrong. He finds it easier to fit in a run than to fit in a ride.

The question remains, why compete in marathons during retirement? Lance explained it to Runner's World like this:

I have to have something that essentially forces me out the door. I can sit around for a year and do a 10k, no problem, even a half-marathon. But the marathon is scary and intimidating enough that you can't just phone that in. You have to train.

Once again, I must say, "Oh Lance, we are so much alike." But to be honest, the races that get me out the door are considerably shorter than 26.2 miles. I must say, I do like the reasons he runs.

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Get Motivated: Sofia Can Dance

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:30:00 -0800

Nike sponsors big names in sports like NYC marathon winner Paula Radcliffe. They also sponsor hip hop dancers like Sofia Boutella. You need to watch this video if only to see what a body can do!

Watching her dance made me want to work my body and keep it flexible. How about you?