* 50 marathons in 50 states! Naturally, by an Oregon runner.
* If you’re doing a speed workout of interval repetitions, should you walk or jog during the recovery intervals? Short answer: walk if you’re training all-out top speed (i.e., 200 meter repetitions); jog for longer repetitions (i.e., 1200 meters).
* Medical advice about avoiding the all-too-common “black toe”: get better fitting shoes, wear moisture wicking socks, and clip your nails short. And don’t worry if the nail falls off. I ended up with one of those from the Oregon Half-Marathon last September, and I’ve managed to keep the nail intact, but half of it is still a shade of lilac.
* If you’re wondering how you should be using a foam roller, try this article. OWWWWWW, ahhhhhh….
* Here’s a really good review of four Fitbit-type gadgets (FitBit Flex, Jawbone UP24, Misfit Shine, and Basis), with the author’s answer to which should you buy being: “None of them, in my opinion. For now, the information I got didn’t seem worth the money spent. With costs still fairly high, I feel pretty good about waiting a year or so to see what’s on the market then.”
* LIFTERS WHO TRASH RUNNING: Advice that I personally won’t be following . . . lift heavy, eat a lot, and bulk up to 200 lbs. Fitness guru Mark Rippetoe claims that a 5’9″ man should not be 150 lbs, but more like 200, because “[b]igger and stronger is better than being underweight for your health, your athletic performance in the vast majority of sports, and your longevity, as well as for your appearance.” Well, he does qualify the claim with “vast majority of sports,” but is that even true? I’m 5’10”, and I can’t imagine any circumstance in which adding 50 lbs of muscles would make me a better runner. Would it help for tennis? Soccer? I wouldn’t think so. Apart from football/rugby/etc., what else? Maybe softball and basketball? I posted a link to this “advice” on Fitocracy in the Runners group and got some useful feedback, with some people pointing out that Rippetoe’s hyperbole aside, the general suggestion of having more muscle mass is indeed better for overall health, longevity, etc. To be sure, I’m not trashing resistance training; indeed, lately I’ve been upping my dumbbell training to 2-3 times per week (though I should note that I’m not lifting heavy or anything like that).
* Remember the story of the guy in Spain who took a selfie while running from the bulls? Is it something you think you’d want to try? If so, maybe you’ll get your chance without having to fly to Europe, as running from bulls may be catching on here in the United States. So far, perhaps only Miami . . . . (I’m guessing this is not something that would ever come to Portland, and if it did, it would probably draw severe criticism. As PETA notes, “The great bull run is unsafe, unsporting, and un-American. Human participants willingly risk being seriously injured or killed by panicked animals, but the bulls who will be tormented can’t opt out.. This kind of macho-rubbish cruelty has no place in an enlightened society.”)* “Why High-Impact Exercise is Good for Your Bones” . . . “[R]unning a 10-minute mile or jumping up onto and down from a box at least 15 inches high was needed to produce forces that great. The significance of these findings is that people should probably run pretty fast or jump high to generate forces great enough to help build bone.” Not to mention, running probably keeps you upright more and hence less likely to fall in one’s older years.