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October 2008
Cyclists needed for study
Another local researcher is looking for guinea pigs for a scientific study. This time, it’s cyclists.
Ann Newstead, a PhD student at the University of Texas, is conducting a pedaling study and is looking for seniors who actively cycle and those who don’t cycle and are sedentary. They should be between 65 and 74 years old.
Participants will learn more about their leg power and muscle activity while pedaling on a stationary upright ergometer.
The study will require two two-hour visits, about a week apart. During the first visit, participants will learn about the study and practice the pedaling tasks - pedaling at a very fast rate for 3 to 5 seconds and then pedaling at slow, medium and fast cadences for 15 seconds. During the second visit, they will perform the pedaling tasks while Newstead collects information about their power and muscle activity. She will monitor heart rate and blood pressure to ensure safety.
Newstead is a physical therapist and has experience working with people of all ages.
She has a small grant from the American Physical Therapy Association and the Texas Physical Therapy Education & Research Foundation to pay the participants a $25 stipend. Free parking is available near Belmont Hall, where the study will take place.
If you are interested, contact Newstead at NEWSTEAD@uthscsa.edu or call 232-2686.
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I’m injured - and Aqua Jogging
Just in time for Halloween, I’ve entered the graveyard of injured runners — a pool full of Aqua Joggers.
At 7 a.m., running buddy Marcy Stellfox and I convened at Big Stacy Pool for an introductory water jogging session with our coach, Cindy Henges of Rogue Running. (That’s Marcy on the left and me on the right in the photo above.)
I hurt my calf while running up a hill in Los Angeles last weekend. Yesterday, my doctor (a runner himself) told me I likely have a tear where the muscle and ligament in my calf connect. It’s a common injury.
What this means is I won’t be able to run for a few weeks while it heals. But I can do a lot of other stuff the experts tell me will keep me in shape so I’ll be back on my marathon training program as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I’ll keep my cardio strong by continuing to train with my swim team, TeamTexas.
A February marathon? No problem. I hope.
Immediately after seeing the doctor I headed to Lane Four swim shop at Highway 183 and Burnet Road to buy my very own AquaJogger. It cost just under $40. That seemed expensive, but I forked over the dough.
Now, I’ve always secretly smirked at the middle-aged women who buckle these foam belts around their waists and jog in place in the pool. I could never figure out why they didn’t just swim. I’m not chuckling any more.
Henges, who coaches the early-morning marathon class I’ve been taking, tells me the water jogging exercises the same muscles I’ll need to run without putting too much strain on my calf. Since Stellfox is teetering on the brink of injury too, with a sore knee, she could benefit from the same thing. Besides, I don’t want to be the only nerd in the pool.
I worried I’d be slack-jawed and incoherent 20 minutes into a mind-numbing aqua-jogging session, but it wasn’t all that bad.
The key, my friends? Idle chatter. The three of us touched on all kinds of interesting topics, from Henge’s track background at Baylor University to hiking at Big Bend Ranch State Park to the odd coincidence that Marcy and I both met our husbands in hot tubs. That kept our minds more or less off the fact that we were pumping our legs as fast as we could without going anyplace. Aqua Jogging is like pedaling an invisible bike through a swimming pool.
We warmed up for 15 minutes, then did increasing intervals with short rest breaks in between. Boring, but not unbearable.
And, thankfully, pain free.
What do you do to cross train when you’re injured?
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Your A-List: Best Outdoor Event in Austin
Austin loves to run. Austin loves to be weird. So it’s no wonder that readers picked the Statesman Capitol 10,000 as Your A-List Best Outdoor Event.
The 10K run, which has been around for a whopping 31 years, drew 42 percent of the vote.
The Cap 10K is known for its casual, eccentric vibe. Folks of all ages, all backgrounds and all running or walking abilities head downtown for the spectacle. Bands serenade runners along the route. People who live nearby haul out chairs and plates of pancakes and sit back while the foot-powered sea of humanity snakes past.
At its peak in 1987, nearly 30,000 people ran the Cap 10K. More recently, crowds have hovered near 16,000 or 17,000. That’s still plenty to make it a party. Especially when some of them are dressed in costume.
This year, I ran near a guy dressed like a rolled-up newspaper. I passed some women in pink tiaras and tutus. One man tore past me in a black business suit, a briefcase in his hand.
I credit the race with getting me into running. I first participated two years ago, after joining a training program here at the Austin American-Statesman. I did it again in 2008. Now I’m training for a marathon.
Your A-List: Best Outdoor Event
Capitol 10K 42 percent
Others receiving votes
- Trail of Lights/Zilker tree, 38 percent
- Eeyore’s Birthday, 11 percent
- Old Pecan Street Festival, 2 percent
- Gay Pride Festival, 2 percent
- Zilker Kite Festival, 1 percent
- Fourth of July fireworks at Zilker, 1 percent
- Republic of Texas biker rally, < 1 percent
- Keep Austin Weird Festival, < 1 percent
- Movies in the Park, < 1 percent
Write-ins: Longhorn tailgating, Zilker Park summer musical
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Austin parks need your help
The great thing about volunteering for the Austin Parks Foundation is you get in a workout while you’re doing something good for your community.
The non-profit agency, which works with volunteers to maintain parkland around Austin, has two big projects coming up, and they hope you’ll pitch in to help.
- Barton Creek Clean-up, Saturday, Nov. 1: The foundation needs people who know the Barton Creek Greenbelt and can lead a group of 20 or 30 volunteers along trails and in the creek to pick up and haul away trash and debris. Specifically, 25 to 30 leaders are needed for the Hill of Life, Twin Falls, Loop 360 as well as Gus Fruh, Homedale, Spyglass and the Barton Springs pool entry. About 300 to 500 volunteers are expected. The group starts and finishes at the Zilker Park Polo Fields. The cleanup is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., followed by a private concert with Ben Kweller from 1-2 p.m. Volunteer sign-up is at http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1205/t/4029/event/index.jsp?event_KEY=45597
- Project Build A Park at Guerrero Park / Country Club Creek Trail, Saturday, Nov. 8: The foundation needs people who can led groups of 25-30 volunteers (all Austin Community College students) to perform specific tasks during two three-hour shifts (9 a.m.-noon, noon - 3 p.m.). About 250 volunteers are expected per shift. Volunteers will be spreading road base on the trail, removing invasive species and removing debris and trash in the creek bed and along the greenbelt.
If you’d like to be a leader for either of the projects, email Charlie McCabe, executive director of the Austin Parks Foundation, at cmccabe@austinparks.org. For more information about the Austin Parks Foundation, go to www.austinparks.org/member.html.
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Race for the Cure
Brace yourself for the flood of pink!
Packet pickup begins Wednesday for one of the biggest 5K runs in Austin — the 2008 Komen Austin Race for the Cure this Sunday, Nov. 2.
If you haven’t registered for the run yet, you still have time.
Both packet pickup and in-person registration is at 1107 Interstate 35 North, between 11th and 12th Streets on the east side of the highway, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
From 6-8 a.m. Sunday, race day, untimed participants can register at Auditorium Shores, and timed participants at RunTex on Riverside Drive.
In-person registration is $33 for adults and $23 for children. Race day registration is $35 for adults and $25 for children. Online registration is $30 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under. Chip timing costs $3 ($5 on race day).
Online registration is available through 8 p.m. Friday at http://www.komenaustin.org.
Proceeds benefit a great cause. Seventy-five percent of profits raised from registration fees, donations and cash sponsorships stay in the Austin area to go toward education, screening and treatment services for people with breast cancer. The remaining 25 percent funds research grants through Komen National. Part of the registration fee is used to offset the cost of producing the race.
The race starts at 8 a.m. Sunday. Daylight Savings Time ends on race day, so remember to move your clock back an hour before you go to sleep Saturday night.
On race day, parking is available at One Texas Center for $7 a car or for free at the Texas Department of Transportation lots at Riverside Drive and Congress Avenue. Survivor parking is at the Palmer Events Center; parking pass issued with your survivor packet is required.
For more information call (512) 473-0900 or e-mail info@komenaustin.org.
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Bicycle Advisory Council needs new members
Do you have an opinion about bicycle issues in our city?
The City of Austin’s Bicycle Advisory Council is looking for two new alternate members.
The council provides feedback to city staff on important bicycle issues in and around Austin. Members make recommendations on planning, funding priorities, signage and education. In the past, they’ve provided perspective on the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge and the Bowie underpass projects. They’ve reviewed the city’s existing Bicycle Plan and are helping to update it. And they’ve provided input on the alignment of the Lance Armstrong Bikeway through downtown.
“Mostly, they provide a means of communication between the bicycle program and area bicyclists,” says Annick C. Beaudet, project manager of the city’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Program.
Full disclosure: My husband Chris, who frequently rides his bike to work (as do I), is a member of the council, which has nine standing members and a panel of alternates.
Applicants should have an interest in cycling, particularly as a mode of transportation. They serve a two-year term and may reapply for membership. The group meets from 6:30 to 8 p.m. the third Thursday of every month.
Applications are due by Wednesday, Nov. 19. For more information or to apply, contact Nadia M. Barrera at 974-7142 or nadia.barrera@ci.austin.tx.us.
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Help! I tweaked a calf muscle!
Ack! I tweaked a muscle in my leg! What’s to become of my marathon?
It happened Saturday, while I was running through a neighborhood in Pasadena, Calif., where I was visiting my cousin. Determined to run so I could keep on track with my training program, I set out on an uphill route. After about 20 minutes, I felt a pain inside my right calf.
It was eerily reminiscent of what happened a year ago, during a 5-mile run around Lady Bird Lake. That time, I took a step and suddenly felt a ping in my left calf. I had to stop. I hobbled 2.5 miles back to my car and went home and iced it.
That time, I figured I’d take a week or two off and be back to normal.
Instead, I was out nine weeks. The doctor told me it was probably a strained tendon. I finally turned the corner after resting for two months and getting a deep tissue massage.
This time, I didn’t feel the ping, but I felt the pain. It’s inside my right calf this time, and it feels like someone ratcheted down a cord running along the inside of my calf. It feels like it could snap at any moment. I walked the rest of the way to my cousin’s house, thinking the pain would fade. I didn’t run any more over the weekend.
Until today.
Back in Austin, my running buddy and I headed out for what was supposed to be a 12-miler this morning. My calf felt pretty good in the beginning, although I was aware of it even from the start. Then, at about mile 6, it started to hurt.
By mile 7, I had to pull over. No more running, at least for now.
I went back home, filled the tub with cold water and ice, and climbed in for a chilly soak.
Now I’m at work, hobbling around like someone fired a pellet gun at my leg.
Does this mean I’ll have to bag my plans of doing the Austin Marathon?
Who has tips for making it better?
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Lance Armstrong riding Tour de Gruene
Hoping for a glimpse of Austin’s favorite cyclist? Head to Gruene, home of the Guadalupe River, one of the coolest wooden dance floors in the whole state, and a weekend of bike racing spiced up with German food and oompah bands.
Lance Armstrong, who recently announced his return to bike racing, told me this week he’d be riding in the 25th anniversary edition of the Tour de Gruene.
The weekend includes recreational tours of 14, 30 and 40 miles on Saturday, Nov. 1. Armstrong and his buddy John “College” Korioth, the 2008 U.S. National Road Champion in the 40-44 age group, will compete in the team time trials on Sunday, Nov. 2.
Here’s the official lineup:
Saturday: 9 a.m.: Recreational tours 3 p.m.: Individual 16-mile time trail
Sunday: 8 a.m.: Two-person 27.3-mile team time trial
For more information, go to www.tourdegruene.com.
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Lance Armstrong’s marathon tips
I drove to Dripping Springs and back with Lance Armstrong the other day, interviewing him for a story about this weekend’s LiveStrong Challenge for the paper. While I had the seven-time Tour de France cycling champion trapped in a vehicle, I picked his brain about something else that was on my mind — the marathon.
Armstrong has run three marathons since he first retired from bike racing. Now that he’s going back to the bike, he’ll put running on hold for a while. But he says he’ll definitely do marathons again. And he’s full of information about how tough they are and what you need to get ready for one.
Here’s what he had to say:
“Preparation is key. (A marathon) is one of the hardest one-day efforts you can undertake. When you think of 26 miles, how many steps is that? After a certain amount of miles, of steps, your body says ‘That’s enough.’”
“This whole lesson that 20 miles is the halfway point is true. Keep that in mind. You have to start easy. The first 10 miles you have to hold yourself back. If you lose 2 minutes in the first half, you will add 30 minutes in the second half.”
Armstrong may be all about the bike, but he’s not bad at running, either. He ran his first New York City Marathon in 2 hours and 59 minutes, then knocked 13 minutes off that time the second time he did it, for a 2:46. He finished the Boston Marathon in 2:49. He also ran a negative split in that race, doing the second half faster than the first.
All that said, Armstrong says he didn’t really train properly for any of the marathons he did, although he did get more serious with each attempt. Instead, he just squeezed in runs when and where he could. He was about to get really serious and push for a 2:30 in the Chicago Marathon when he made the decision to go back to bike racing.
He also notes that he’d porked up to 182 pounds on his 5-foot, 11-inch frame. Doesn’t sound fat at all to me, but he’s back down to 168 pounds and no longer has the “muffin top” that his trainer teased him about this summer.
Nutrition, of course, is important. Armstrong says friends found it amusing that he gobbled something like 13 gels during his first marathon. It’s a lot, true, but I don’t scoff at anyone who turns in a sub-3-hour marathon. Now he says he’s backed off to eating roughly a gel every half hour during a marathon.
“(Marathons) aren’t particularly enjoyable,” he says. “They’re challenges — they keep you fit, they keep you active. And the two I’ve done, New York and Boston, the crowds are supportive.”
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Overcrowding on the Lady Bird Lake trail
I visited an Akins High School class Tuesday to listen to students’ suggestions on how to ease crowding on the trail around Lady Bird Lake.
Teacher Mary Ann Baker gave them the assignment after reading a blog I wrote several weeks ago about how cyclists, runners and walkers need to look out for each other on the trail.
The students put their physics skills to the test, determining what pace each user group moves along the trail and coming up with ways to keep them from interfering with each other’s enjoyment of it.
Some newspaper readers have suggested that it’s time to ban bikes from the trail. I think it’s too soon to do that. But I do agree we’ve got a growing problem and we need to think about ways to make every experience on the trail a good one.
Mostly, we need to practice good trail etiquette. That means stay to the right, don’t walk more than two abreast, ring your bike bell if you’re approaching someone from behind, and pay attention to what’s going on around you. People with baby strollers or dogs especially need to stay alert.
The students worked in groups, coming up with proposed routes for each of the different user groups.
Some of the students liked the idea of a short designated walking loop near the center of the trail. Many of the routes pushed runners and cyclists to the far less crowded portion of the trail east of Interstate 35. Some had different starting points, depending on whether you were walking, running or cycling.
One group suggested alternating days for different types of activity - letting cyclists ride the trail on Mondays and Wednesdays, for example, and runners on Tuesday and Thursday.
I don’t think we’re to the point that we have to restrict people to certain parts of the trail based on their activity yet, but I’m happy to see students looking at real-world problems.
What do you think? How can we ease crowding on the trail?
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Fastest runner doesn’t win marathon; Nike reacts
Imagine this.
You’re an age-group runner. You run the fastest marathon of your life. You beat your personal best time by 11 minutes, finishing in 2:55:11. In fact, you run the fastest time of anyone at the race.
But you don’t win.
Why? Because you didn’t register as an elite runner.
That’s what happened at the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco last weekend. Read this:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/21/BAUC13L3GQ.DTL&nopu=1
The elite runners in the race got a 20-minute head start. That means they broke the tape on the finish line and had no idea that someone had run faster than them. Race organizers announced the winners - of the elite group. The fastest runner, Arien O’Connell, wasn’t among them.
Granted, the elite runners may have run a different race strategically had O’Connell started with them. But something’s just not right …
What do you think?
It looks like Nike is trying to make up with O’Connell. On Wednesday, Nike sent this official response to the marathon controversy:
“Nike is announcing today that it recognizes Arien O’Connell as a winner in last weekend’s Nike Women’s Marathon, completing the full race in 2:55:11. She shattered her previous time and achieved an amazing accomplishment.
Arien will receive the same recognition and prize, including a Tiffany & Co. trophy, the full marathon elite group winner received. Arien was unfortunately not immediately recognized as a race winner because she did not start the race with the elite running group, which is required by USATF standards. Because of their earlier start time, the runners in the elite group had no knowledge of the outstanding race Arien was running and could not adjust their strategies accordingly.
Learning from the unique experience in this year’s race, Nike has decided today to eliminate the elite running group from future Nike Women’s Marathons. Next year, all runners will run in the same group and all will be eligible to win.
Nike has a proven track record of supporting athletes and we’re proud to be able to honor Arien and other athletes who surpass their goals and achieve great accomplishments.”
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Getting through the long run
Weird things happen when you run long distances, and I’m not talking about swelling feet or sore knees.
I’m talking about the mind-twisting stuff that goes on in your head.
I’m in week seven of a Rogue Running program to prepare for my first-ever marathon in February. We’ve gradually been building the mileage of our weekend “long runs.” We’re up to 13.
Every Saturday, about 200 runners meet at Rogue and head out on a new designated route. We’ve run from the store at Fifth and San Marcos streets south past Ben White Boulevard and back. We’ve looped south, then west to Exposition Boulevard and back. We’ve trod every mile of the trail around Lady Bird Lake. Sometimes I wonder if we’ll be running to San Antonio by the end of the program…
You might wonder what runners think about when they’re out there pounding the pavement for entire mornings. Now I know.
I stick with five or six others of roughly the same pace. We start giddy, and a little apprehensive about whether we’ll be able to survive the day’s run. We wonder if anyone will suffer what we call TBS, or Total Body Shutdown. That’s what happens when your digestive system goes haywire immediately post-run.
The first few miles we’re distracted, catching up on each other’s lives. (It’s been three days since our last group practice, after all!) We talk about travels and spouses and weekend plans, who’s going to miss what running practices, what kind of running gear we need to buy and what flavor energy gel doesn’t make us puke.
We hit a lull at about 5 miles.
Tony sighs. Loudly. We call it the North Wind.
We push through.
We moan about the hills. We revel in the scenery as the sun comes up. We complain about traffic. We gush about Austin, our running coach, our friends.
We chat with people who pass us. The other day we asked some folks walking a dog how they were. “Better than you — we’re walking!” came the response.
At about 10 miles, Marcy hits the Mush Moment. She tells everyone how much she loves them. We love the Mush Moment.
Then it gets hard.
I tell my running buddies the workout doesn’t even start until mile 10.
We whine. Camille and Marcy take charge.
Tony and Claudia and I hang back.
We egg each other on. We encourage each other. We sweat a lot.
And we’ve only done 13.
What happens at 16? Or 20? Or 26.2?
What do you do to get through a long run?
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Cheap ski trips
Want to go skiing this season but don’t want to plan the trip yourself?
Check out Austin Skiers, a non-profit club that organizes a slate of excursions to the world’s best ski mountains.
True confession here: I met my husband through an Austin Skiers trip about 11 years ago. He spotted me in a hotel hot tub in Jackson Hole, Wyo. He credits my red bikini. I thought he was cute. By the end of the week, he was showing me his favorite runs on the mountain. (That’s him in the photo, on an Austin Skiers trip to Sun Valley, Idaho a few years later.)
But really, we were both in it for the skiing, not the socializing. We both signed up because we wanted an affordable ski trip and didn’t want to hash out all the details by ourselves. This way, we just forked over a single check and showed up with our gear on departure day.
I’m not promising you’ll meet your better half if you go on an Austin Skiers trip, but I can pretty much guarantee you’ll meet some fun folks, stretch your quad muscles on the slopes and see a lot more snow than you’d see here in Austin.
This year’s lineup includes trips to New Mexico, Montana, Colorado and the French Alps. Most include ski-in/ski-out accommodations, so you won’t have to lug your skiis on and off shuttle buses.
The trips range in size from 30 to 60 people — singles, couples and families of all ski levels, from beginner to advanced. You get discounted lift tickets and rentals. You must be a member of Austin Skiers to sign up. Cost is $35 for an individual or $45 for a family.
Trip signup is already under way, and most trips fill by November. Membership forms and trip application forms are available on the website at http://www.austinskiers.org/.
2008-09 Austin Skiers trip schedule:
- Nov. 25-30: Winter Park, Colo.; ski in/out, $935, plus $148 for lift tickets
- Dec. 26-Jan. 2: Taos, N.M.; $1075, plus $215 for lift tickets
- Jan. 3-10: Snowmass, Colo.; Trip full
- Jan. 10-17: Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Trip full
- Jan. 23-Feb. 1: Les 3 Vallees, French Alps; ski in/out, $2,000, plus $310 for lift tickets; optional pre-trip to Morocco and post-trip to Paris
- Jan. 31-Feb. 7: Breckenridge, Colo.; ski in/out, $1,035, plus $305 for lift tickets
- Feb. 3-8: Breckenridge, Colo.; ski in/out, $915
- Feb. 14-21: Panorama, Canada; ski in/out, $1,225, plus $217 for lift tickets
- Feb. 28-March 7: Mammoth, Calif.; ski in/out, $1,270, plus $295 for lift tickets
- March 14-21: Big Sky, Mont.; ski in/out, $1,300, plus $246 for lift tickets
- June 28-July 5: Panama (Not a ski trip), $1,765
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Marathoners needed for study
Are you training for the Austin Marathon in February?
An Austin researcher is looking for endurance athletes to participate in a study, and marathon runners fit the bill.
Small blood samples will be collected at certain milestones during the runner’s training.
Sam LaBrie, an avid runner and member of Gilbert’s Gazelles, works at Rules-Based Medicine, a local biotech company. He needs 120 people to help him study the biomarkers linked to aspects of training and recovery. He plans to track blood proteins in the athletes, and look for a correlation between some of these proteins and success in training and recovery.
Each participant will receive a free, comprehensive blood screen test called the Biophysical 250. The test normally costs $3,400. Runners who participate in the study will get their results free. Learn more about the test at www.biophysicalcorp.com.
To enroll in the study, contact Erin Falcone at Biophysical Corp. You can email her at efalcone@biophysicalcorp.com or call her at 751-8024.
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Huston Street wants you to get a flu shot
Former University of Texas Longhorn baseball player Huston Street, now a relief pitcher for the Oakland A’s, wants you to get a flu shot.
Especially if you have heart disease.
I didn’t know this, but the flu can exacerbate heart disease and lead to viral or bacterial pneumonia. That’s why flu-related death is more common among people who have heart disease. For those folks, a flu shot is as important as controlling cholesterol in preventing heart attacks and strokes, according to the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.
Street cares because one of his Oakland A’s teammates died this past year of heart disease at the age of 28. Street has teamed up with the Mended Hearts’ I Heart Flu Shots campaign to remind people to get a flu shot. He brings that campaign to Austin today for the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk, which starts at 8 a.m. in front of the Capitol.
“I have seen the devastating effects of heart disease, and know how important it is to protect against its complications,” Street said in a press release. “Since the flu can be so dangerous for heart patients, it is important to make people with heart disease aware of the importance of an annual flu vaccination.”
The flu affects up to 20 percent of Americans every year, causing an average of 36,000 deaths, mostly in people age 65 or older.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Texas, but just one in three adults with heart disease received the flu vaccine in 2005. Getting a flu shot is one small thing people can do to protect themselves.
Austin’s Health Department will offer flu shots to uninsured or underinsured Austin/Travis County residents who are at a high risk of complications. Several clinics in the area will provide the flu shots through November. For more details including dates and locations, go to www.ci.austin.tx.us/health.
Mended Hearts is a national patient support group affiliated with the American Heart Association. For more information about its campaign, go to www.iheartflushots.com.
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Bike commuting in the dark
On Nov. 2, we switch our clocks back an hour. That means it’s time for bicycle commuters to light themselves up like Christmas trees.
We definitely don’t want to look like the cyclist above.
My favorite piece of gear when lights get low? My light-up safety vest.
Attractive? No. Effective? Definitely.
I bought it online from a place called LEDtronics for $19.95. It uses two double A batteries, and aside from looking like the uniform for someone who gathers grocery carts at the local HEB, it makes me extremely visible to motor traffic after dark. Go here for details: http://www.ledtronics.com/products/ProductsDetails.aspx?WP=C352K648
I’ve got a few other tricks up my sleeve, too.
I have light-up caps that attach to the valves on my tires. They look cool when my wheels spin.
I’ve got a PlanetBike Superflash blinkie, which I’m convinced is the world’s brightest and most noticeable red bike blinkie. It’s attached just below my seat on the seatpost, so cars see me from behind.
Make sure your rear blinkie is unobstructed when you install it. Sometimes they get tilted too far up or down, or get blocked by a bag. And be sure the batteries are fresh, or it won’t glow as brightly as it should.
I’ve got two white lights perched on my handlebars up front — a blinking one to get me noticed, and a big one to light the road in front of me so I can see. That big one, by the way, requires an even bigger battery. The battery is about the size of a water bottle, and I carry it in my water bottle holder on the downtube of my bike.
I’ve even got a Velcro ankle band that’s made of reflective material. I put that on my right leg, so cars that approach from intersecting streets see me pedaling across.
I was reminded of the importance of being visible when I heard recently from another commuter who was hit by a car while riding to work. A truck turned in front of him and he smashed into its door. Thankfully, besides some lingering aches and pains — and a scar above his eye — he’s doing pretty well now.
The driver of the truck told the cyclist he didn’t see him until his head came through his passenger window.
Yikes! Bike visibility is important!
Wear bright and reflective gear or you may become invisible to cars.
And here’s one more tip: Have someone watch you coming and going on your bike when it’s dark out. They can give you a different perspective on how visible you are to others.
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Most fit and least fit presidents
Now that we’re all thinking about presidents, it’s a good time to consider who our most fit — and least fit — presidents have been through the ages.
A couple of different lists are out there, but I like the one published by Scripps Howard News Service.
Thomas Jefferson comes in first on this list. He stayed in shape by walking and riding horses. Just call him Mr. Buff.
George W. Bush shows up near the top of the fittest list.
An avid — and speedy — runner when he served as governor (I saw him on the trail around Lady Bird Lake once or twice), he’s more into mountain bike riding these days. Paul Carrozza, owner of the RunTex running stores, talked about running with The Prez on radio station FM 94.7 earlier this week. Carrozza says he once ran a 3-miler with Bush. The first mile Bush set a 6:20 pace. He slowed a bit on mile two, and slacked off to a mere 7:20 for the last mile.
That’s pretty blistering fast.
Not much controversy on the least fit president in our country’s history. That honor goes to William Howard Taft, who tipped the scales at 370 pounds and reportedly got stuck in the White House bathtub a couple of times.
For details on what each president did to stay in shape — or fall out of it — go to these two lists: http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/35970 and http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/35971.
Here’s the lists:
- The 10 fittest presidents:
- 1. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
- 2. Teddy Roosevelt (1901-1909)
- 3. George W. Bush (2001-present)
- 4. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
- 5. Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
- 6. John Q. Adams (1825-1829)
- 7. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
- 8. John Adams (1797-1801)
- 9. Harry Truman (1945-1953)
- 10. George Washington (1789-1797)
- The 10 least fit presidents:
- 1. William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
- 2. Grover Cleveland (1885-1889 and 1893-1897)
- 3. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
- 4. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)
- 5. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)
- 6. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
- 7. Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
- 8. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)
- 9. Chester Arthur (1881-1885)
- 10. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
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Running in the rain
I weighed 5 pounds more after my training run this morning than before it — in water weight.
Did you notice it was pouring in North Austin?
When my Rogue Running marathon training group reported to the Anderson High School track at 5:45 a.m., and it was drizzling slightly. No problem, I thought.
We did a 1 mile warmup, then it started raining a little harder. Still no problem.
We did another mile of drills in a light rain. I didn’t melt.
But when we got down to the meat of the session — 2 miles of going fast on the straight-aways and a recovery jog on the curves — the skies opened up. Every lap, it pelted us a little harder.
My hair stuck to my scalp, my shirt dripped like it had been dunked in the creek and my shorts sagged like they were filled with rocks. I don’t even want to talk about my shoes. By the end of the set, we were traipsing through standing water.
“It’s like covering a hurricane,” said Statesman crime reporter and running cohort Tony Plohetski, wilting slightly in the deluge.
We felt sort of hard-core, plunging through the water with nary a thought of quitting, despite the stinging rain drops.
“I feel like an athlete,” said running buddy Marcy Stellfox, as a waterfall poured off the bridge of her nose.
“I feel ducky,” chuckled fellow marathon trainee Camille Compton, brushing rain off her feathers.
Not a bad experience at all.
I felt like a kid running through puddles.
In the dark.
Doing something Mom wouldn’t approve of.
What’s your most extreme exercising experience?
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The Unfit Athlete, part 2 — Riding at night
This is one in a series of occasional blogs by Andrea Ball, a completely unfit reporter who wants to exercise but can never stick to one thing for very long. Right now, she is trying to get into bike riding.
I am the last person in the world who should ride her bike at night. But there I am almost every evening, trekking along the back roads of my North Austin neighborhood.
It’s not like I plan it that way. It’s just the only time I can do it.
Every night, I get home from work sometime between 6:30 and 7. I eat dinner, help the 6-year-old do his homework, tackle the 3-year-old before he can trash the TV remote, help give baths, then throw both kids in bed.
By then, it’s 8 or 8:30. That’s usually when I walk outside, pull out my bike, put on my helmet and hit the road.
I’ve got a headlight and a blinking taillight. I stay on the side of the road and stick to the back streets where drivers generally drive about 20 mph.
Still…
I’m doing everything I can to be safe, but the fact is, it’s dark. Bad things happen to cyclists during the day. Am I asking for trouble by prowling the roads at night? I think so.
I’m not an experienced rider. If someone wanted to run me over, it would take incredibly little effort.
But here’s the bottom line: This is when I can ride my bike. I am not waking up at 5 a.m. just to ride my bike.
Is it worth getting run over just to get a little exercise and stress relief? Obviously not. I’m just hoping the bicycle gods stay on my side.
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Ice baths and marathons
I’m here to extol the virtues of ice baths. Soak yourself in a tub of ice water after a long run, the experts say, and you’ll decrease muscle soreness and swelling.
As you can see by the photo above of the University of Texas-El Paso football team enjoying an ice bath after football practice, it’s a pretty common strategy.
I’m all for limiting soreness, but until recently I just wasn’t sure I wanted to make like a six-pack of beer and plop myself into the ice chest otherwise known as my bath tub.
Now I’m a convert. After a 13-mile run on Saturday morning, I filled the tub with cold water, donned a hoodie sweatshirt and eased myself into it (like an old man into a warm bath, as George would say on “Seinfeld”). That wasn’t so bad. But it did get a lot chillier when I dumped in a bin of ice fresh from the freezer.
I soaked for 12 minutes, watching the half-moon shaped ice cubes bob and melt around me. And you know what? It really wasn’t so bad. My legs got a little numb, but they never got prickly or painful. Just cold.
Maybe I’m acclimated from my weekly swims at Barton Springs Pool. Used to be, that felt cold to me. Now it’s not so bad. Usually. Even in January. (Getting out of the water on a cold day, that’s another story…)
My legs felt strong and pain-free the rest of the afternoon after my ice bath. I was still a little sore on Sunday, but I’m sold.
Next week, more ice!
What other tips do you have for reducing soreness and staying injury-free while training for a marathon?
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Tour de Fat will give you a bike for your car!
Ready to give up your car and commit to bike commuting? New Belgium Brewing wants you!
The beer maker, which hosts Tour de Fat, a celebration of all things bicycle, hits Fiesta Gardens in Austin on Oct. 18. It’s looking for someone to sign over their car title in exchange for a hand-built New Belgium commuter bike. (I nominate fellow Statesman blogger Jason Whaley!)
A funeral procession will be held for the winning car.
To apply, go to http://www.followyourfolly.com/pdf/biketrade.pdf.
Besides the bike funeral, Tour de Fat will include a costumed bike parade, rideable art bikes, a slow-down or throw down competition, live music and pancake juggling. For a complete lineup, go to http://www.tour-de-fat.com/city/austin.
Tour de Fat is free, but beer and merchandise proceeds benefit Yellow Bike Project, a non-profit organization that promotes human-powered transportation, runs a community bike shop and educates the community; Austin Cycling Association, which organizes bicycle rides almost every weekend; and Austin Ridge Riders, a non-profit that promotes safe and environmentally conscientious off-road bicycling.
Non-cyclists are welcome, too.
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Texas ranks low on list of bike friendly states
This probably comes as no surprise to most cyclists, but Texas ranks low in the League of American Bicyclists first ever Ranking of Bicycle Friendly States.
The non-profit group sent questionnaires to state bicycle coordinators. The surveys covered six key areas: Legislation; policies and programs; infrastructure; education and encouragement; evaluation and planning; and enforcement.
The highest scoring states? Washington, Wisconsin, Arizona, Oregon and Minnesota. No big surprises there, although I didn’t realize Arizona liked bikes so much.
And no surprise, unfortunately, with Texas’ pitiful showing.
Overall, we ranked 30 out of 50. We got low marks for lack of a bike master plan and for paltry funding for bicycle projects. Austin did get at least one nod — the league noted that we’re one of their designated Bicycle Friendly Communities.
Washington earned points for its model bike laws, its mapped statewide bike route network, dedicated state funding for bicycle related programs and projects, and an active statewide bicycle advisory committee.
What can Texas do to improve its ranking?
To see the whole list, go here: http://www.bikeleague.org/news/090508bfs.php
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Tax benefits for commuter cyclists
There’s a wee bit of good news for bicyclists among all the doom and gloom surrounding the economy these days.
This from an article by Rachel Gordon from the San Francisco Chronicle:
“The bailout bill crafted by Congress and the White House to stop the tailspin of the nation’s financial sector also includes federal tax benefits for people who commute by bicycle.
Starting in January, workers who use two-wheelers as their primary transportation mode to get to and from work will be eligible for a $20-a-month, tax-free reimbursement from their employers for bicycle-related expenses. In return, employers will be able to deduct the expense from their federal taxes.”
No kidding!
While it won’t exactly put a ton of cash in your pocket, it at least legitimizes to a certain degree commuting to work by bike.
Here’s more from the article:
“Bike advocates had been trying for seven years to get such a provision passed, but came up short until Congress rushed through the Wall Street bailout package last week and lawmakers squeezed in pet projects. The bicycle benefit was championed by members of the Oregon delegation on Capitol Hill.
Backers estimate that the federal tax rolls may lose out on about $1 million a year due to the new employer write-off, according to the advocacy group League of American Bicyclists.”
What do you think?
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Physical Activity Guidelines
Adults should get two and a half hours a week of moderate aerobic physical activity. Children should get an hour or more a day.
That according to the new Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
If you ask me, that’s pretty pathetic. I think everyone ought to squeeze in double the amount of exercise that the guidelines recommend. An hour a day is even better.
And don’t tell me you don’t have enough time. Plan your exercise first, fit in the rest of your life around it. Your life depends on it.
According to the report, “Regular physical activity reduces the risk in adults of early death; coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, colon and breast cancer, and depression. It can improve thinking ability in older adults and the ability to engage in activities needed for daily living. The recommended amount of physical activity in children and adolescents improves cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness as well as bone health, and contributes to favorable body composition.”
The guidelines are based on the first thorough review of scientific research about physical activity and health in more than a decade.
Here are some details from the guidelines. What do you think?
- Children and Adolescents — One hour or more of moderate or vigorous aerobic physical activity a day, including vigorous intensity physical activity at least three days a week. Examples of moderate intensity aerobic activities include hiking, skateboarding, bicycle riding and brisk walking. Vigorous intensity aerobic activities include bicycle riding, jumping rope, running and sports such as soccer, basketball and ice or field hockey. Children and adolescents should incorporate muscle-strengthening activities, such as rope climbing, sit-ups, and tug-of war, three days a week. Bone-strengthening activities, such as jumping rope, running and skipping, are recommended three days a week.
- Adults — Adults gain substantial health benefits from two and one half hours a week of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity, or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity. Walking briskly, water aerobics, ballroom dancing and general gardening are examples of moderate intensity aerobic activities. Vigorous intensity aerobic activities include racewalking, jogging or running, swimming laps, jumping rope and hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack. Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes. For more extensive health benefits, adults should increase their aerobic physical activity to five hours a week moderate-intensity or two and one half hours a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity. Adults should incorporate muscle strengthening activities, such as weight training, push-ups, sit-ups and carrying heavy loads or heavy gardening, at least two days a week.
- Older adults — Older adults should follow the guidelines for other adults when it is within their physical capacity. If a chronic condition prohibits their ability to follow those guidelines, they should be as physically active as their abilities and conditions allow. If they are at risk of falling, they should also do exercises that maintain or improve balance.
- Women during pregnancy — Healthy women should get at least two and one half hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week during pregnancy and the time after delivery, preferably spread through the week. Pregnant women who habitually engage in vigorous aerobic activity or who are highly active can continue during pregnancy and the time after delivery, provided they remain healthy and discuss with their health care provider how and when activity should be adjusted over time.
- Adults with disabilities — Those who are able should get at least two and one half hours of moderate aerobic activity a week, or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. They should incorporate muscle-strengthening activities involving all major muscle groups two or more days a week. When they are not able to meet the guidelines, they should engage in regular physical activity according to their abilities and should avoid inactivity.
- People with chronic medical conditions — Adults with chronic conditions get important health benefits from regular physical activity. They should do so with the guidance of a health care provider.
For more information about the “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans,” visit www.hhs.gov or www.health.gov/paguidelines.
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Running in skirts
The running skirt revolution continues …
Have you run in a skirt? It’ll make you feel sexy as you sprint around the hike-and-bike trail.
SkirtSports, which introduced Austin to the running skirt a couple of years ago, stages the SkirtChaser 5K race on Oct. 11. It’s the second year of the race in Austin; more than 1,000 runners are expected.
The innovative race begins with an all-women’s start, followed by a men’s “skirt chaser” start 3 minutes later. It wraps up with a post-race block party.
The after party will include FREE BEER from Oskar Blues, Red Bull mixes, food, a fashion show and a live band. SkirtSports products, sold through Rogue Equipment, as well as a variety of products, will also be available.
Female participants will receive apparel from the new SkirtSports Race Collection which includes a Catch Me Race Skirt, while the male “SkirtChasers” receive a men’s technical tee, featuring Coolmax technologies.
Register for the SkirtChaser 5K at www.skirtchaser5k.com/austin. (Fees starts at $37 for race only and increase to $87 for a package that includes a skirt, T-shirt and visor.)
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Things every man - and woman? - should know how to do
OK, this isn’t strictly fitness, but I love Popular Mechanic’s list of 100 things every man should know how to do.
Might I suggest that every woman should be able to do the same things? I think so!
Go here: http://www.popularmechanics.com/homejournal/howto/4281414.html
The list is broken into 10 subcategories, everything from surviving extremes to military know-how and handling an emergency. A good man, apparently, knows how to treat a snakebite, make a drum-tight bed, carve a turkey and run rapids in a canoe.
I’ve actually made a dent in the list myself, most recently by learning to do No. 52: Hang food in the wild. (You have to, while backpacking in grizzly country.)
What skills do you think every man and woman should perfect?
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Lance Armstrong is a Marathon Kid
Austin school kids taking the first steps in a six-month marathon program will get to chase Tour de France cycling champion Lance Armstrong on Saturday, Oct. 4.
Armstrong will run in the ceremonial flag lap of the Marathon Kids kick-off ceremony at Mike Myers Track & Soccer Stadium at the University of Texas. He’ll run with the Austin school district kids starting at 9 a.m., according to Marathon Kids founder Kay Morris. Other school districts start at 11 a.m.
Talk about incentive!
Armstrong, who recently announced a return to competitive cycling, will run with his children, who are Marathon Kids participants. (Who wants to place money on whether they become competitive runners instead of cyclists?)
Marathon Kids is offered to kindergarten through fifth graders at 17 area public school districts, plus home schools and private schools. During the next six months, the kids will run 26.2 miles in quarter-mile to half-mile increments. They color in running logs and fuel logs, which challenge them to eat five fruits and vegetables a day.
Last year, more than 50,000 Central Texas children registered for the program, and 85 percent completed their marathon. This year 53,000 local students are expected to register.
The nationally acclaimed, free program is in its 12th year in Central Texas. It’s also available in Austin, Dallas, Houston, the Rio Grande Valley, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Chicago.
The Final Mile Medal Celebration is scheduled for Feb. 21 at Austin ISD’s Burger Stadium. For more information, go to www.MarathonKids.org.
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Closing the gap on the hike-and-bike trail
What’s your least favorite part of the hike-and-bike trail around Lady Bird Lake?
I hate the section just east of the Austin American-Statesman, where I have to slog through the newspaper’s parking lot up to the sidewalk on Riverside Drive. From there, I have to breath in car exhaust as I run up to Interstate 35, dart through busy traffic to cross the street, and continue up the sidewalk to Lakeshore Boulevard.
It’s time to close that 1.1-mile gap and finally make our trail a continuous lake-front loop.
The City Council has approved $1.7 million for preliminary engineering and design studies for a combination boardwalk and land-based trail, including a public involvement process. Now we need to provide input.
I want a trail with shade, gardens and adequate trail heads. I want it to be environmentally sensitive. I want it to be accessible to all kinds of trail users, from cyclists to walkers to runners and bird watchers. And I want it to look good.
What do you want? To read more about the proposed project, go to http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/boardwalk/.
To take a survey to let the city know what you’d like to see in the finished product, go to http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/boardwalk/brdwlk_survey.cfm.
The Trail Foundation (formerly the Town Lake Trail Foundation) has advocated for support of the project. To see the group’s suggestions for closing the gap, go to http://tltf.affiniscape.com/associations/4559/files/suggestions1.pdf.
“Closing the gap will dramatically improve and expand the usable areas of the Trail. A continuous 10-mile loop will increase safety at the dangerous I-35 intersection, decrease congestion throughout the Trail, extend transportation options and bring critical amenities to the east side,” says Susan Rankin, executive director of the Trail Foundation.
To make your voice heard, attend a community meeting is scheduled for 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8 at the Parks and Recreation Department’s board room, 200 S. Lamar Blvd.
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Best place to ride a bike in Central Texas
My favorite place to ride a bike in Central Texas tied for fourth in the A-List’s poll this week.
What’s wrong with you people?!
Haha.
I’ve ridden all 10 places that made the list. The first place winner — the Barton Creek Greenbelt — comes as no surprise. The Greenbelt, which snared 21 percent of the vote, is right in town and packed with challenging terrain. You can hop on at the trail head near Barton Springs Pool and pedal for miles, crossing streams, clattering through fields of “baby heads” (grapefruit-sized rocks) and generally hammering your spine while you try to stay on your bike. It’s a back-to-nature fix in the middle of the city.
I prefer the park road linking Bastrop and Buescher state parks, but that’s just me. (It also depends if I’m looking for a mountain bike route or a road bike route.)
If I’m on a road bike, the park road is perfect — a series of rolling hills on a lightly-traveled road thick with pine trees, toads and sound-damping pine needles. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the park from Austin, and from there you can park near the swimming pool. Pedal the loop around Bastrop State Park first, then hop on the road to Buescher. It’s enough to work your quads, but not turn your legs to jelly. You’ll feel like you’re in the Piney Woods of East Texas.
Other top finishers on the A-List for Best Place to Ride a Bike?
The Lady Bird Lake hike-and-bike trail got 20.7 percent of the vote. Nice, yes, but it gets crowded. You can’t air it out on the trail, either. You’ve got to be wary of pedestrians and baby strollers and other traffic. (I once encountered a motor scooter on the trail!)
The Veloway, that paved loop near the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, tied with the Lady Bird Lake hike-and-bike trail with 20.7 percent of the vote. It’s another good place to ride (watch for snakes and armadillos), but closed loops tend to get boring after a while. But if you’re leery of cars, this is a good place to start.
I love Walnut Creek Park, which tied for my park road for fourth. It’s got lots of manageable trails, including one my husband and I call the “whoop de do” trail. You can lose your self out there in the spaghetti bowl of trails through the woods. That’s a good thing.
Also getting votes were the Shoal Creek hike-and-bike trail with 7 percent (part of my weekly bike commute to work); the Driveway with 5.7 percent (check out the weekly crit races!); the Dam Loop (all I have to say about that RM2222 downhill is “Wheeeeeee!”) with 4 percent; and Muleshoe Recreation Area with 2.2 percent.
No love for Pace Bend Park …
Here are the complete results:
Where’s the best place to ride a bike in Central Texas?
- Barton Creek greenbelt — 21.1 percent
- Lady Bird Lake hike-and-bike trail — 20.7 percent
- Veloway — 20.7 percent
- Walnut Creek Park — 9.25 percent
- Park road linking Bastrop and Buescher state parks — 9.25 percent
- Shoal Creek hike-and-bike trail — 7 percent
- The Driveway — 5.7 percent
- Dam Loop — 3.96 percent
- Muleshoe Recreation Area — 2.2 percent
- Pace Bend Park — 0 percent
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Stand-up Paddling
I just spent the morning doing something I’ve never done — stand-up paddling.
Kimery Duda, who runs the Expedition School, normally takes adventurous people surfing and mountain climbing and hiking in exotic locales all over the planet. Only this time she spent the morning teaching me how to stand-up paddle on a board similar to a surfboard. I’m going to write about it for my Fit City column in the paper in a couple of weeks.
Click on the video above to watch Duda demonstrating how to stand-up paddle.
I loved it! It was like surfing only easier — we practiced in Lady Bird Lake, paddling our way from the launch at Austin High School down to Auditorium Shores and back.
A sense of balance helps, but really, few other skills are required. (Not in flat water, anyway. If I tried this in the ocean, with actual surf, I’d fall off in an instant.)
Best part about it? All the kayakers and hikers who wanted to know what we were doing and if it was hard.
Not hard. Very fun.
And a great way to soak up the beauty of a river while getting some exercise. We heard birds chirping and water splashing and fish jumping …
One of the best ways to stay fit is to try new things. Stand-up paddle boarding qualifies as something new and different for me. And it’s a surprisingly good workout. All those core muscles engage as you try to maintain your balance. I even felt it in my feet, which were working to keep me from flipping overboard.
What new sport have you tried lately?
