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Olympic thoughts .... and mental games By Amy Binder With the 2008 Olympic Games been and gone, I was treated to my favorite aspect of the games: the up-close-and-personal profiles. We get to hear about the athletes’ families, humble beginnings, challenges overcome, threats to life and limb. And we hear how important having the right mindset is to achieve Olympic dreams of gold, silver or bronze. Whether for the winter or summer games, these interviews are like déjà vu all over again. And the attitudes echo another Yogi Berra saying, that athletics is “ninety percent mental; the other half is physical." Even though Yogi was talking about baseball, the sentiment (if not the math) applies to all sports. In running, I always knew that mental preparation was a big part of track meets and competitive races. I just didn’t think it came into play for your everyday middle-aged enthusiast. Virgil set me straight. He’s a man with a plan. That plan is to set a personal record in the Baltimore Marathon in October. This will be his second marathon, and he’s doing it by the book—a book with step-by-step guidance for running 26.2 miles. His first marathon was last year in Baltimore. The winning time was two hours, 16 minutes and 24 seconds. It would be nearly four more hours until Virgil crossed the finish line, with a time of six hours, nine minutes and 17 seconds. He had been on pace for 10-minute miles until about mile 18, then leg cramps hit. He told his running partner to go ahead, and he toughed it out for the next eight miles. It’s hard to know who to applaud more--someone fast enough to run a marathon in just over two hours, or the determined runner who’s out there plugging away for six-plus hours. Virgil does some of his training with the Delco Road Runners Club, and that’s how I’ve been keeping up with his progress. He’s amazed at the number of runners who come out to the weekly fun runs, and he’s perplexed that more of them aren’t training for marathons. He says it’s easy. You just take whatever distance you need to run that day, and break it down into smaller bites. It’s like the advice for eating an elephant: take one bite at a time. Instead of being cowed by long distances, Virgil makes mental change. A 12-mile training run is just two six-milers. A 20-mile distance could be one 10-miler and two fives. He’s so attuned to this style of training that he often thinks about the different lengths of the total distance as separate runs. He can start with a hilly, slow eight miles. At a pre-determined landmark, he might add a tired-but-nice five miles. Then, he can finish with a peppy three miles. The miles, and mile-markers, might change from day to day, but his mathematical approach applies to every run. I’ve tried to duplicate these mental games on my own runs, with little success. When I’m tired, I’m tired—and often cranky. When I run out of steam, it’s virtually impossible to psych myself into running faster, better or longer. Maybe that’s why I’ve never run a marathon. I’ve completed a half-marathon, and it about did me in. Physically, I was fine. Mentally, I was bored silly. If the finish line had only been the half-way point, I would have sat down in my tracks and cried like a baby. I realize that running a half-marathon begs the question of when I’ll try a full one. But that ship has sailed. Even if my hamstrings could take on the challenge, and my back, hips and knees agree to stay injury-free for the training, my brain can’t be convinced to go along with the madness. It’s a mental thing. * * * Originally published in the News of Delaware County, August 27-Sept. 2, 2008. Reprinted with permission. # # The Right Shoes. The right pair of shoes makes all the difference in the world. They will make your runs more enjoyable and help decrease your risk of injury. However, wearing the wrong pair of shoes can hurt your running and make you more prone for injuries. Read on..   Run the Day is the first Pennsylvania timing company to use the DAG Chips! The DAG system is a second generation computer chip timing system and promises to deliver reliable and accurate timing results. Some of the features of this new rfid timing chip - the chips are disposable, in other words there is no need to collect them after the race or require the runner to pay any collection fee - the chip attaches to the back of the runner number, so there is no need to attach anything to the ankle or wrist. - because the chip is attached to the runner number, distribution is easier - there are no mats at the finish line, just a gate that you run through The detection rate capability of the system is greater than seven thousand detections per minute. Thanks to the anti collision factor utilized in the system, large group departures and finishes are possible. The practical detection rate becomes a function of the number of participants that can pass through the selected gate width per minute. With a four meter antenna gate at the finish line, we expect to see approximately two hundred fifty participants per minute pass through the antenna gate. The DAG Chips are passive RFID devices that generate their power to transmit an identification signal when the chip passes through the electromagnetic field which is generated by the antenna gate. The DAG Chip does not contain an internal battery or power source. The DAG Chip does have a wire loop connected to each side of the chip. This wire and chip assembly is attached to the back side of the bib. As the chip moves through the electromagnetic field, a small current is induced within the wire and this small electrical pulse activates and energizes the chip. The chip then transmits a unique identification signal to the reader. The reader stores this unique identification code and the exact time received in a data base file. The time can either be referenced to a common start time (gun timed start) or to a unique start time (chip timed start) to determine the elapsed time for each participant. The timing information can then be directed real time to the chosen output devices: paper printout, computer display, etc. Founder of the 5k road race.    Edward Flafingrinder

NEW! Run the Day has joined with Red Fox Graphics to provide custom race logo's. Make your event stand out, contact us today! Click here to make your race stand out! 2008 Sports Nutrition News from ACSM For cutting edge sports nutrition information, the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine is the place to be! Over 5,000 exercise scientists, sports dietitians, physicians and coaches gathered in Indianapolis in May to share their latest research. Click here for some of the sports nutrition highlights!   The Beat Goes On: Heart Health and Nutrition Although running is one of the best ways to improve heart health, even runners are not immune from heart disease. You have undoubtedly heard reports of marathoners who die of heart attacks. Women runners, as well as males, need to pay attention to heart disease; it is the #1 killer of women, higher than all cancers combined. To address the topic of heart disease among active people, the Sports and Cardiovascular Nutrition practice group of the American Dietetic Association (www.SCANdpg.org) featured heart health as the theme of their annual convention (April 2008, Boston). The following bits of information from that conference might inspire you eat wisely to keep your heart beating for a long and healthful lifetime. Read on. by Nancy Clark.... The Athlete's Kitchen. is a monthly nutrition column written by Nancy Clark  MS, RD Nancy is an internationally known nutrition author and sports nutritionist trusted by many top athletes View other Articles   Optimum Physical Therapy by: Glenn Venturini MPT Glenn is a PT, a CYO track coach, ran track in college, and has a masters degree in exercise physiology. Guideline for Running Shoe Selection Developing a Kick is all in your Mind Deep Water Running - A SECRET WEAPON Optimum Physical Therapy Associates, P.C. Swarthmorewood Shopping Center 719B S. Chester Rd. (Rt 320) Swarthmore, PA 19081-2701 Office: 610-543-4605 Fax: 610-543-4615 Etiquette for the average marathon runner By Amy Binder I’ve volunteered at the Philadelphia Marathon for more years than I care to remember. Each time, I promise it will be my last. Seeing people put themselves through this punishing distance of 26.2 miles always leaves me with strong feelings—good and bad—about what marathons have become, who chooses to run them and what runners do out on the course… Runners, drop your cups. Please! read on

Mach-S, the speed at which stress can't keep up, is simply forward motion. But it has to be self- propelled. Note that people in cars are still stressed.

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