FitSugar

Words to Move You . . .

FitSugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:00:00 -0700

"The best runner is the runner who is having the most fun."

Ultra Marathoner Dean Karnazes from his book 50/50

Need a little more motivation? Check out all my Words That Move You.

Weekend Reading: 50/50 by Dean Karnazes

FitSugar — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 03:30:00 -0700

You might know Dean Karnazes as the Ultra Marathon Man. In fact that is the url to his fancy website. Not only can this man run, run and run, he also writes entertaining and motivating books.

The subtitle of Karnazes' latest book, 50/50 ($25), which he co-authored with Matt Fitzgerald, explains the book: "Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days-and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance." I will admit, I find the thought of running a single marathon daunting, let alone 50 races back to back, in 50 different states. The endurance I gained from this book can be measured in pages per night. I flew through this book and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The tone of the book is very chatty as Karnazes explains how the idea for doing 50/50 evolved and how it came to pass. He details every race and peppers his prose with helpful running tips like what to eat, what to wear, how to catch your second wind. Mostly, he wants you to get out and go for a run. Karnazes emphasizes the importance of listening to running advice and then experimenting with it to find out what works for you and your training regimen. After burning the midnight oil many nights reading, I always woke up inspired to lace up my sneakers and hit the road. As a runner who struggles with both speed and endurance, I appreciated his humble preface where he repeatedly states that he is just an average guy. His average-ness is our opening to create and meet our own challenges. I think both running newbies and old timers will enjoy this book. You can find it at Amazon, but why not just run down to your local running store to get your copy.

Celebrate Solstice: Get Out and Do Something

FitSugar — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:45:00 -0700

Ultra-marathoner Dean Karnazes has decided to take advantage of the longest day of the year and run, since after all that is what he does best. Oddly enough he will be running on a treadmill.

Karnazes is attempting to break the world record for the most miles logged on a treadmill in 24 hours, and to do so he needs to run 153.76 miles. After running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, Karnazes feels confident he can set a new treadmill world record. He began his run at midnight EST in New York's Times Square and hopes to get you moving too, as do I.

Celebrate summer solstice and get active tonight. Go for a walk. Go for a run. Go for a ride (wear your helmet and bring a bike light in case you manage to stay out after dark). Play some tennis. Play catch. If you can't make it outside do some sun salutations.

Happy Summer!!!

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You Can Be Your Own Hero: The Dean Karnazes Story

FitSugar — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 07:30:00 -0800

Dean Karnazes is internationally known for his crazy feats of endurance and for pushing himself to reach one extreme goal after another.

He's run 350 continuous miles, not sleeping for 3 nights straight. He's run across Death Valley in 126 degree heat and he's run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees.

On 7 different occasions, he's run a 200-mile relay race ALONE, racing alongside teams of 12. Dean has swum across the San Francisco Bay, scaled Half Dome in Yosemite, and mountain biked for 24 hours straight.

And a few months ago, at age 44, he completed 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days, one in each of the 50 states.

Dean wasn't always like this. On his 30th birthday, while drunk he found that he was disgusted with the corporate rat race he found himself "running" in.

He walked back to his house, found a pair of old sneaks on his back porch, stripped down to only his t-shirt and underwear, laced up, and started running.

He sobered up about 15 miles from his home - but decided to keep on running. After 30 miles, he had a realization: There were untapped reservoirs within him.

Some people find inspiration in desperate situations. The thing is though, it is up to you and you alone to make the first move toward change. Will this be your moment? Make yourself your own hero.

Want to check out a video about Dean Karnazes? Then read more

If you're interested, he found time to write a book too. It's available through Amazon for $13.57.

Weekend Reading: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

FitSugar — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:30:00 -0800

Reading about running inspires me to lace up my sneakers and hit the pavement. However, when I am curled around a book late at night in my PJs, a run isn't really a viable option. Setting my alarm, putting my running clothes out, and planning my route for the following morning - these are things I can do at 11 p.m. Reading What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, by one of my favorite novelists Haruki Murakami, definitely had me picking out sports bras and socks by the light of my bedside reading lamp. The tone of the book is considerably more contemplative than Dean Karnazes' book 50/50, but it still makes you want to get out and run.

Murakami is a solitary guy who began experimenting with running around the same time he began writing novels and explains how those separate activities influenced each other. He explains that he is not naturally a runner or a writer, but you can feel his pride at committing to both activities for years. I fully appreciate that he blows the hard drinking, cigarette smoking stereotype of novelists out of the water. He has run a marathon every year and has even started competing in triathlons. He explains that running keeps him healthy so he can keep writing. To him the endurance required to run 26.2 miles is not that much different from writing a novel. Murakami really enjoys running, even on the days he has to beat his leg muscles to start moving and you can feel his quiet love of running on each page.

I also appreciated that I could pick up this book, flip to any page, and find myself absorbed by Murakami's thoughts on running. He is a regular dude who runs. He just also happens to write really great novels too. This book would make a great gift for the runner your life, and you can put it on your wish list too.

Find it online or at your local bookstore. Enjoy the read, but keep your sneakers close!

Get It Up, Your Heart Rate That ls: Your First Tempo Run

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:30:00 -0700

When you get right down to it, running is not about being comfortable; it's about pushing limits. Once you have been running for a while, to stay engaged in the repetitive act of putting one foot in front of the other, you have to challenge yourself. One such challenge is to run faster. This quest for speed is why so many running schedules contain a variety of runs. The long, slow run for endurance mixed with interval and tempo workouts for speed.

A tempo run is exciting and a little nerve-wracking because the goal is to work outside of your comfort zone, but at a steady pace unlike intervals where periods of pushing yourself hard are followed by a period of recovery. The one advantage of the tempo run is that it is short. This decrease in time hopefully makes up for the increase in sustained intensity. A tempo run is not sprinting, but as ultra marathoner Dean Karnazes puts it " running comfortably hard." I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but trying to find that comfortable, yet hard pace will force you to challenge yourself while listening to your body. Experiment until you find a pace you can sustain without beginning to struggle.

To see what your first tempo run should look like, just read more.

00:00-10:00	Warm up: Jog
10:00-20:00	Tempo: Run
20:00-30:00	Cool down: Jog

You should aim to do a tempo run every seven to ten days. As you progress, keep this simple formula, but add a couple minutes to the tempo run portion of your workout.

Here are a few more parameters Runner's World offers for figuring out your tempo run pace:

Recent Race: Add 30 to 40 seconds to your current 5-K pace or 15 to 20 seconds to your 10-K pace.
Heart Rate: 85 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Perceived Exertion: An 8 on a 1-to-10 scale (a comfortable effort would be a 5; racing would be close to a 10).
Talk Test: A question like "Pace OK?" should be possible, but conversation won't be.

Now tell me when are you going to try your first tempo run? Speed work is not meant for beginning runners, but runners with a solid base of fitness looking to improve their fitness level.

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Healthy Dose Link Time!!!!!!

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:45:00 -0700

HealthBolt says if you want to help the planet go old school and eat PBJ instead of an all-American all-beef patty.

Complete Running Network celebrates the power of Title IX with a great ad by Nike.

About: Yoga continues her love of summer bugs with Locust pose. It is great way to strengthen your back.

Back in Skinny Jeans congratulates Dean Karnazes on his ESPY award. He is that crazy and an inspirational ultra-marathoner.

Suffering from the Monday blues? Yoga Coffee Outlook has a list of 25 things you can do to improve your mood.

Fitness Fixation works on breaking the habit of "fat talking." It's a great habit to break.

fitPod wants you to celebrate your sudden moves. This new playlist could be the musical motivation you're looking to accompany your plyometric workout.

That's Fit has the skinny on eating sugar and going blind. Macular degeneration is serious business.

About: Low Fat Cooking teaches you the art of creating simple, low fat desserts. Check out this recipe for broiled nectarines with sour cream.

Leslie at The Weighting Game poses the question Do diets work? Her perspective is truly interesting, check it out.

iFit&Healthy shares details of Hilary Duff's diet.

The Skinny Website shares celeb quotes on body image. Jordin Sparks has a level head on her shoulders and Jessica Alba relies on Spanxs just like the rest of us.

Looking for a new way to incorporate summer veggies into your life? Try YumSugar's inspired side: zucchini and pecorino salad.