"If you ask me how I want to be remembered, it is as a winner...
A winner is somebody who gave his best effort, who has tried the hardest they possibly can...who has utilized every ounce of energy and strength within them to accomplish something.  It doesn't mean that they accomplished it or failed, it means they've given it their best.  That's a winner."
              --WALTER PAYTON
To me, this quote means a lot. The first year I ran cross country, I was not very good at it. I simply did it as an activity. Again this year, I improved but there were some people who did not. Even though these people may not have been top of the line runners, they tried their hearts out. That, in my opinion, is the most aspect of running and any activity in general. Keep this quote in mind because it applies to all aspects of life. Good luck and keep running.

Fauja Singh

At 100 years old, do you think you'll still be running, or even living? Well back in October, the oldest marathon runners set a new record. Fauja Singh of London finished a marathon in eight hours and twenty-five minutes and eighteen seconds. Fauja was 100 years old and successfully ran the marathon. Not only is it a personal accomplishment to finish this event, but his time will be documented in the Guinness Book of World Records.

I don't know what you think, but I think this is extremely impressive. I hope at 100 I’m still alive and well. Congratulations to this man and this should be encouragement to runners everywhere. Good luck and stick with it! You are never too old to set out to do something.

Full story:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/17/worlds-oldest-marathon-runner-100

Running...Weight Loss or Management?

Am I right when I say people run to lose weight? I personally know a few people who run for that reason only. To me, it seems reasonable because even though I love running, it is a way for me to keep my weight down. Well, I have been reading and found out that running may not be the weight loss miracle everyone's looking for. Take a look at what I found.

1. Long workouts are the only thing that will burn a significant amount of calories. This means that a person has to run at least an hour to even start to burn a large amount of calories. Unfortunately, unless you are in very good shape and do not weigh a lot, this is going to be extremely challenging. Personally, even when I am training for cross country, I rarely run an hour.

2. Running must be done 5-7 days a week to burn calories effectively. This is more than most people are willing to run. Also, if a person is heavy set, they are not going to be able to run this much anyway, which does not allow them to lose weight as quickly as they want to.

3. High intensity is needed to burn calories effectively. Unfortunately, if you are an overweight or beginner, the intensity required will be almost impossible to achieve and still keep running the required distances. Also, if by some chance you are able to keep up with the running, you will end up injured or ill.

4. Lastly, the amount of calories you do burn are not enough to loose significant amounts of weight. Personally, I have experienced this factor. When I was beginning to run, I never lost more than a tenth or two of a pound. This really is not enough to contribute to significant weight loss because the average person consumes more than this at a meal. However, if you can get to the point that you can run fast and hard for long periods of time, weight loss will be possible. This did happen to me but I have reached a point where running simply maintains my weight, not lowers it.

After reviewing the information, it is obvious that this is not a weight loss activity, but merely a weight management activity. Good luck with running, weight loss, or whatever other ambitions you have!


Info:   http://www.running-training-tips.com/running-and-weight-loss.html
Pictures:   http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1016&bih=572&tbm=isch&tbnid=h5SXVLrBjk4lTM:&imgrefurl=http://forevertwentysomethings.com/tag/weight-scale/&docid=sI3x1vow4gVYbM&imgurl=http://forevertwentysomethings.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/weight-scale.jpg&w=220&h=220&ei=ffjpTsvQJunv0gGg-eS-CQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=329&vpy=203&dur=1578&hovh=176&hovw=176&tx=64&ty=90&sig=116817410866282417430&page=1&tbnh=155&tbnw=149&start=0&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0

CHRISTMAS IDEA!!!!!

Are you looking for a cheap yet beneficial Christmas gift? Last year, my parents bought me a running pouch. Now, you may be thinking, what is that? Well, it is a very small, yet stretchy,  Spi belt. In other words, it is a tiny pouch that runners wear. This will help a runner in so many ways. First, it serves as a great place for iPods or keys. Also, you can fit a cell phone in it so that if an emergency should come about, you can call for help. Lastly, runners of all ages will enjoy this and feel in style because it is so small and unnoticeable that others will not even know you are wearing it. This is the perfect gift for any runner! You can buy these just about anywhere and they are very cheap. Good luck and happy holidays!

http://store.spibelt.com/product-p/7bl-a001-004-komen.htm

Preparing for the Cold

You leave your house and it is degrees. You shiver and you shake, but you still need to run. By following these few simple steps, you can warmer than warm when you run.
First, the legs. There are two different things that you can wear. You can go to any sports store, such as Dicks or Rapid Transit, to buy Under Armour tights. Or, maybe that amount of money just isn't available to you. You can do what I do, which is go to Walmart and buy the thick black tights. They are the Starter brand but in my opinion, they work just as well as Under Armour. The advantage of wearing the Starter brand is that you can buy more pairs for less money. Below, is a picture of the pants. They come in different colors and are supposed to be tight fitting.




Now, for the arms. Again, the same is available as the legs. You can also wear a long sleeved shirt, or maybe both if the temperatures are very cold. My personal preference is to wear an oversized baggy shirt. This allows me to move my body and arms without my shirt being skin tight. Also, I feel more free in a larger shirt than I do in a tight shirt. This shirt is about two sizes larger than I normally wear. And the plus of wearing a it is that you can get that even cheaper than the Starter brand.

Lastly, is the head and hands. Personally, I have only ever wore the Under Armour brand. They are comfy and super warm. In fact, when I run I normally have to take them off because I start sweating. Also, at Walmart, you can get a hood for around $8. This helps to keep your neck warm and can be worn with or without a hat.




Hopefully this will help you prepare for a run in the cold weather!

Pictures and purchases can be found and made on the following:
http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/womens/apparel/bottoms/leggings
You can search for whatever item you may be looking for. This is the Under Armour website, which is where all of the photos are from. I just searched the item on the site and found the pictures.

Weather: Death in Disguise

As a follow up to the last blog I have about the death of two marathon runners, I thought I would look into ways to lower your chances of dying during or after the marathon. The first thing that I found was the weather. It seems strange that on a 50 degree day you could die with a body temperature over 105, isn't it? Well climate is one of the major impacts on many runners death. I'm sure this is something we can all talk about knowingly, even if you haven't ran a marathon. You get up in the morning and it is 40 outside. So you bundle up in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. But, as your run progresses, you start to feel hot. What do you do? Do you stop and unlayer? Do you keep running regardless? This is something that doctors have looked into and tried to find ways to lower this problem because face it, everybodys body temperature rises when we run, it is only natural. The process of dying due to the body overheating is referred to as hyperthermia.

Now you may be thinking if this is the case, how can I lower my chances of dying due to high body temperatures? First, hydrate. Hydration is very important because it helps to lower body temperatures naturally. So therefore if you are dehydrated, your body has no natural way of cooling itself, which causes the spike in temperature. Also, start with layers but listen to your body. As the temperature increases, remove layers. If you start to feel warm, take the clothing off regardless of how cold it is out. In other words, allow your body to tell you what is comfortable. Lastly, the speed and amount of work it takes to push yourself to run harder plays a role in this. If you push harder, your body uses energy less effectively. This then raises body temperature, which obviously leads to hyperthermia.

As you can see, there are many things that you can do to lower this chance of you getting hyperthermia. Simply by hydrating, not overdressing, and pushing yourself wisely, you can lower your risk. Good luck and keep on running!

Tragedy Again Strikes

Marathons are something that people get very excited about, but especially when they see the finish line. However, death is continuing to hunt down those runners, typically at the end. At the Philadelphia marathon on November 20, two runners lost there lives. Jeffery Lee, age twenty one, finshed the course in one hour and fifty-eight minutes. When he crossed the finish line, he colapsed and was taken to Hahnemann Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Another runner, age fourty, whose name was not released, colapsed about a quarter of a mile away from the finish line. By standers said that the medics worked on him for around ten minutes. They feel as though even though he was taken to the hospital, he was dead on the course. Both of these runners were believed to have had previous heart attacks, however the adrenaline at the end of the race was more than likely the cause oftheir death. Doctors say that by taking a baby asprin and avoiding caffiene, you are less likely to die during the marathon.
I think that this is a very tragic occurance. What should have been a day that they waited for and trained for so hard, ended with the loss of thier own life. I think that even though this is happening, people should continue to run marathons if they so desire. I feel this way because I look at it as an activity. You could be driving down the road and killed, but you still drive. So, you might as well run if you want. Just by taking precautions and training properly, you can avoid your risk of dying. Run on!

Visit the following link for the full story:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/HeartDisease/marathon-deaths/story?id=15000378&page=2