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November 2008
Master web site for race results
Want to compare race results in a snap? When you type in your name at www.athlinks.com, up pops a list of races that you’ve competed in during the last few years, with your finish information for each one.
It’s not quite a complete list, but when I typed in my name, I found results from the 2000 and 2004 Danskin Women’s Triathlon (this year and last year’s didn’t show up, because I competed as part of a relay team), the Cap 2K Open Water Swim for the past few years, the 2007 and 2008 Statesman Capitol 10,000, and five years of the South Haven (Michigan) Blueberry Festival 5K.
And it’s free!
I think it’s a great way to track your progress. With a quick glance, I could see how my times have improved in the 5K Blueberry run. (This year was my fastest!)
The website pulls results from swimming, running and cycling races, plus triathlons, all over the country.
It also broadcasts your age (I’m 44, by the way) to anyone who cares. And if you’re shy about sharing race results, well, you’re out of luck.
Know of any other cool websites for athletes? Post ‘em here!
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Bun Run T-shirt contest
Want to see your masterpiece on a T-shirt worn by thousands of Austin runners?
Get your artwork ready. Submissions into the Schlotzsky’s 2009 Bun Run T-shirt contest are due Jan. 16.
Judges will select the top five finalists, showcase them online Feb. 1-28, and allow voters to pick their favorite.
To enter, you must be at least 13 years old. The winning artist will receive $1,000 and recognition at the race on May 3. Four other finalists will each earn $100.
With 27 years under its belt, the Schlotzsky’s Bun Run is the city’s longest-running 5K. About 5,000 runners typically hit the street for the event, raising an average of $50,000 for the Young Men’s Business League of Austin’s Sunshine Camps for at-risk and disadvantaged youths.
Participants can submit up to three designs. All entries must be postmarked by Jan. 16 and mailed to:
Schlotzsky’s 2009 Bun Run T-Shirt Design Contest 301 Congress Ave., Suite 1100 Austin, TX 78701
For official rules and to enter the contest, go to www.bunrun.com.
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My car is a rolling gym bag
You should look in my trunk. Actually, you shouldn’t.
My car is a rolling gym bag. It’s bursting with exercise gear. It sometimes even smells like a locker room.
It’s an on-the-job hazard.
I popped the truck to toss in my gym bag (that’s my actual bag, above) after swimming this morning and it scared me: Besides my big swim bag, packed with fins, goggles, cap, hair dryer, etc., I heaved in a big wet towel, a wet swimsuit, a heart rate monitor, a pair of sweat pants and a dirty T-shirt.
It’s madness, I tell you.
Depending on the season, you might find a water ski back there, a wetsuit, life jacket, at least one change of clothes (being delivered to the office so it’s there when I ride my bike the next day), running shoes, running shorts, a kick board, swim buoy or a big baby-blue Aqua Jogger (for rehabbing my injured calf muscle). Sometimes there’s even a bike. And bike helmet. Occasionally there are hiking boots. Maybe a tent, or a backpack. Energy bars and gels. Sunglasses. Water bottles. Sun screen. Maps. A brown bag lunch. Mud. Hibernating bears. (OK, I made that last one up to see if you were paying attention.)
Crazy thing is, it’s all stuff I need. And no, my husband doesn’t believe that.
When I get home from work, it’s normal to make two trips back and forth from the car to the house. Besides all my gear, I’ve got work stuff — notebooks, cameras, calendars, magazines. I need an extra arm!
Which explains, in a way, how I lost a heart rate monitor in there for a day and a half. It was hiding, under the driver’s seat. I excavated down to it in a frenzy after work last night, frantic that it was gone for good. I’m addicted to my heart rate monitor. (Stay tuned for a future blog.)
I’m still missing two swimsuits, which have somehow vanished in the last two weeks. Two weeks! And they’re not in the car, I promise.
What kind of gear do you haul around in your car?
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Yoga on the airport shuttle?
Don’t be surprised to see a downward-facing dog at the airport today.
Or a warrior, half moon, pyramid or lizard.
Airport Fast Park, an off-site parking company at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, has hired Austin Yoga Institute instructors to give yoga tips to travelers onboard its airport parking shuttles.
Air travel this time of year can sap your sanity, that’s for sure.
But yoga? On the shuttle bus? I’d like a front row seat to watch the hilarity. Like when the yogi tries to fold the boots, hat and jeans-wearing rancher into a pretzel. Or the stroller-juggling mom into a bowl of spaghetti.
Actually, they’ll be sticking mostly to breathing and relaxation techniques, which could come in handy when trying to cope with a delayed flight, lost bag or long layover.
The tips will incorporate techniques passengers can do sitting down, whether they’re on a bus or plane, at the airport terminal or in their hotel room.
Airport Fast Park is located at 2300 Spirit of Texas Dr. Yoga instructors will be riding between 9 and 11 a.m. Wednesday.
What do you think? Handy or laughable?
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Does Austin appreciate runners?
The five largest foot races in Austin this year put a total of nearly 80,000 runners on the street.
They were, in order:
- The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure — 24,000 runners
- The Austin American-Statesman Capitol 10,000 — 18,000 runners
- The Nike Human Race — 14,800 runners
- The Austin Marathon — 13,000 runners
- The Thundercloud Subs Turkey Trot— 10,000 runners (projected)
The next five largest races added another 20,000 runners to the count, according to John Conley, race director or The Austin Marathon & Half Marathon.
We’ve got a lot of high-profile advocates for running in Austin. Mayor Will Wynn, Lance Armstrong, Michael Dell, Willie Nelson and Matthew McCanaughey are all runners. Still, Conley says, running is an underappreciated sport, even in Austin.
“Something to think about on your next run,” Conley says.
Conley also emailed me a short article by Jim Hage that ran Nov. 23 in the Washington Post. Hage noted that “more than 90,000 runners — the equivalent of a sold-out FedEx Field — finished the five biggest races in Washington this year.”
The estimated population of Washington, D.C., is about 590,000. The population of Austin is about 750,000. Yet they put more runners on the street than we did?
The top five biggest footraces in Washington, D.C., this year were:
- The National Race for the Cure — 40,000 runners
- The Army Ten-Miler — 18,960 runners
- The Marine Corps Marathon — 18,271 runners
- The Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run — 10,713 runners
- The St. Patrick’s Day 8K — 4,000
The next five events added nearly another 20,000 finishers, according to Hage.
Hage went on to complain that newspapers bury running news inside the sports section. “Our humble sport has always failed to generate a meaningful political or financial constituency,” he wrote.
I think a lot of sports could make the same complaint.
What about swimming? We’ve got thousands of swimmers — and more than a few Olympic swimmers — in Austin. But they don’t make the news like football teams or basketball games. How often do you hear about rowing? Or soccer? Or volleyball? Yet every weekend, people all over Austin engage in these sports.
Hage quoted an economic impact study that calculated that the Boston Marathon Festival drew $22 million in economic impact. But that study assumed that each runner was accompanied by two guests, and that each spent 2.5 days in the city, spending $177.50 per day. That’s probably exaggerating, as Hage noted, but running does bring money to town.
“Credibility notwithstanding, such studies help show there’s more to races than road closures and traffic hassles,” Hage says.
Does Austin appreciate its runners? Or just complain about the traffic jams we cause?
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Wipeout!!!!
Check out this video of a guy named Miles Todd tumbling down a cliff on his mountain bike. It’s been floating around the Internet a couple of years, but is definitely worth a peek:
Todd and two of his buddies were riding some single track trails at Carrizo Gorge east of San Diego on New Years Day 2004 when Todd lost his balance. He fell 10 feet nearly straight down, then rolled over rocks and scrub for another 140 brutal feet into the ravine.
The video made Todd a You Tube sensation. My body hurts just watching it.
You can read all about Todd and the circumstances of the wreck at http://www.mountainbikebill.com/milescrash.htm. There’s even a link to the dialogue of what everyone says in the video. (Warning: As you might expect, it contains curse words.)
Here’s a sampling of what the guys say as they approach the disaster zone:
Eric: “You’re not going to try it?”
Bill: “Look at the penalty for failure, dude.”
Miles: “Sure, I’ll try it.”
The rest is, um, history.
Luckily, Todd survived with remarkably few injuries. Here’s what he reported after the accident:
“i have a broken pinky metacarpal (multiple fractures), and a severely sprained index finger on my right hand. my left wrist is sprained, too, which explains the one-finger no-caps typing. have random stitches here and there, and a whole lot of painful cuts and bruises. am very grateful for my helmet an waterpack for saving my life and my spine. the cuts on my nose and forehead were from my glasses, which broke big-time. after i climbed 150 feet back up to the trail, i had to ride the ten miles or so back to the cars. i’m quite nearsighted, so it made it hard to see the trail very well at all. still, i am glad to have gotten back on the bike right away, because it kept my from stiffening like a board and also helped prevent me from going into shock.”
What do you think? Should Todd have attempted the stretch of trail? What’s the stupidest thing you’ve done on a mountain bike?
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Trotting off the turkey (and trimmings)
Now that I’ve depressed you with yesterday’s news of how many calories the typical turkey feast contains (3,000, plus 229 grams of fat), I’m here to inspire you to go for a run.
(Have no worries, CO2creator and Stevear, I DO plan to feast! Even mashed potatoes and pie …)
In Austin, you can sign up for the 2008 ThunderCloud Subs Turkey Trot, a 5-mile Thanksgiving Day run benefiting Caritas of Austin. The run starts at 9:30 a.m. at Waterloo Park, 12th at Trinity streets. (Note that this year’s route is different than that of years past.) Go here to register: http://www.thundercloud.com/turkeytrot.htm.
Or you can save your money and do your own unofficial run.
Either way, you can be part of an online turkey trot sponsored by a local online company that sells GPS, or global positioning system, devices. Go to http://www.locationstore.com, print out a race bib, go for a run, and take a picture of yourself wearing the bib. Send in the photo along with your race results to cara@locationstore.com and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a gift certificate. It’s free.
“Since we’re all about getting people outside and moving, we thought doing the turkey trot on Thanksgiving Day would be a perfect way to jive with that,” says store owner Cara Dearman.
As for Dearman, she’s headed to Oklahoma, where she plans to do a turkey trot with her family.
The store is also encouraging participants to make donations to charities that help feed people in need.
“Our goal is to get the entire country to Get Out and Trot with us! “
For a list of some of the many turkey trots being staged around the country, go to http://search.active.com/?q=turkey+trots&tab=events&channel=.
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How not to make a pig of yourself on Thanksgiving
Nothing like reading a press release from the American Council on Exercise to squelch the appetite.
Here I am, a plate of turkey and trimmings (it’s the annual Thanksgiving celebration at the newspaper today) in front of me, reading the council’s annual reminder that the typical Thanksgiving meal is a train wreck of 3,000 calories and 229 grams of fat.
Egad. A 160-pound person would have to run for four hours, swim for five hours or walk 30 miles to burn off that kind of intake.
Luckily, the dieticians at St. David’s HealthCare in Austin sent over a release of their own, with tips on how to ensure, as they put it, “you don’t wind up feeling like a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade float.”
First on the list? Pay attention to what you put in your mouth.
Here are some other tips from St. David’s:
- Adjust your recipes. Use less butter in the mashed potatoes, and substitute low-fat milk or buttermilk for whole milk.
- Cook the turkey in the skin to lock in moisture, but remove it before eating.
- Put your food on a smaller plate. You’ll still be satisfied.
- Fill half your plate with vegetables — salad with low-fat dressing or steamed veggies — before loading up on higher-calorie food.
- Keep the serving dishes away from the table
- Pick pumpkin. A slice of pumpkin pie has about 300 calories and 14 grams of fat, but it’s lighter in calories and heavier in nutrients such as vitamin A and fiber than other desserts. (Apple has about 400 calories and 20 grams of fat; pecan has about 500 calories and 27 grams of fat).
- Store the leftovers right after the meal, to minimize grazing.
- Drink water or un-sweetened iced tea instead of sugary soda.
- Offset the Thanksgiving gorging by boosting your activity level before and after the holiday, and eating light on the days before and after the feast.
- Take a long, hard walk or run about an hour before eating. (The 18th ThunderCloud Subs Turkey Trot is a great local option. For more details, go to www.thundercloud.com.)
- Practice portion control. Eat just one serving of food on your plate without going back for seconds or thirds.
- Take a walk after dinner and before dessert to help digest the meal.
- Don’t panic or feel guilty if your diet seems to have gotten out of hand. You can make up for the feast with lighter, lower-fat meals the next few of days.
What are your tricks for eating a reasonable meal on Thanksgiving?
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America’s top bicycling cities
Bicycling Magazine has unveiled its annual list of the country’s best cities for cycling.
And no, Austin’s not on the list.
The usual suspects made it once again:
- Portland, Ore.: Check out the above picture, taken in Portland. “What perennially puts Portland atop our list is that you don’t need to know anything about bike lanes or city planning to see that it is a haven for cyclists,” the mag says. “Just hang out in a coffee shop and look out the window: Bikes and riders of all stripes are everywhere.”
- Seattle: “The city council has unabashedly stated that its goal is to unseat Portland as the best U.S. city for cycling. Its 10-year, $240 million bike master plan, passed by a unanimous council vote last fall, may just get it there. Among the objectives: tripling the number of journeys made by bike and adding 450 miles of bike paths.”
- Chicago: Richard Daley, the mayor for the past 19 years and a dedicated roadie, has ushered in a bicycle renaissance, with a growing network of bike lanes, a bike station with valet bike parking, showers and indoor bike racks.”
- San Francisco: “All bike infrastructure projects here have been halted since 2006, when two ‘concerned’ groups sued the city for not putting plans through the environmental impact review process. A judge ruled that the review needed to happen, and the city may not get back on track until 2010. But here’s why San Fran rules: The local bike culture has stood strong, and the number of cyclists increased by 15 percent last year alone.
- Boulder, Colo.: “Fourteen percent of all trips here are now taken by bike — an almost European figure. Perhaps even more telling is that Boulder is raising the next generation of cyclists: The city’s Safe Routes to School program has had such an impact locally that one school reports that 75 percent of its students now bike or walk to school.
To read all the nitty gritty details, go here: http://www.bicycling.com/topic/0,6614,s1-2-19-0-0,00.html
On the magazine’s list of most improved cycling cities? New York City, Louisville Ky., and Washington, D.C. It also named Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Boston, Columbus, Ohio and Fargo-Moorehead, N.D. as future best cities.
Austin didn’t make the list of top cities, but at least it didn’t land in the list of worst cities for cycling, like Dallas did. Also on the worst list were Memphis and Miami.
“Dallas boasts a vibrant cycling community, but riding in and around the city requires nerves of steel,” the magazine wrote. “Fast, multilane highways choked with traffic dominate the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex, which some suspect might soon even sprawl over the Oklahoma border.”
Austin does get a mention, along with a couple of dozen other cities that like bikes. Oddly, it names Capitol of Texas Highway our city’s best ride.
Really?
Maybe 10 years ago. But in my book, traffic’s gotten too heavy to make that an enjoyable ride. Factor in the cyclist fatalities that have occurred there and I’ll take my training rides outside of town. My favorite spot is the two-lane park road between Bastrop and Buescher state parks 30 minutes east of Austin. Or some of the two-lane roads near Dripping Springs.
Hey. We’re making progress.
Have you tried the new bike lanes on Barton Springs Road? Checked out the parts of the Lance Armstrong Bikeway that have opened? Been in any of our city’s awesome bike shops? Attended the Tour de Fat bike festival? Ridden the Veloway? Participated in the LiveStrong Challenge? The MS150 Bike Tour? Seen the AT&T Austin Downtown Criterium? Been to the Thursday Night Crit Series at The Driveway? Pointed your mountain bike down a trail at Walnut Creek? City Park? Seen Lance Armstrong cruise by on his bike? Seen the amazing creations of the Austin Bike Zoo? Raced the Dirt Derby cyclocross races in Del Valle? Cruised the Barton Creek Greenbelt …
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Is running for charity bad for the sport?
Is running for charity a bad thing?
John Conley, director of the Austin Marathon and Half Marathon, just returned from a road race directors meeting in Florida, where veteran running broadcaster Toni Reavis talked about what focusing on mass participation rather than elite competition has done to the sport of road racing.
In a word, Reavis says it’s made it “boring.” Conley emailed me a copy of the broadcaster’s comments, which definitely stirred up the crowd.
“In 2006 charities raised $714 million through running events in the USA, up $49 million from the previous year,” Reavis said. “But ask yourself, what do any of these charities have to do with running? Where is the connection other than they see our stages as perfect vehicles for their purposes?”
These days, a flood of regional road races that push participation over competition has made for dismal fan interest, Reavis told the gathering. The average age of runners is growing older. Kids aren’t inspired to follow in the foot path of running heroes because there are no big heros. Running gets minimal coverage in the media.
Reavis, creator of the radio show “Runner’s Digest,” called on the industry veterans to create more inspiring events that would engage the next generation and, in turn, fight childhood obesity.
To do that, he said, we need running heroes. That means bigger prize purses and more coordinated series of running events across the country, Reavis said. That will draw more media attention and reinvigorate the sport of running.
“You cannot sell kids running as a health issue,” Reavis said. “That has no soul. But ‘I want to be him!’ or ‘I want to be her!’ That does.”
Many runners today don’t realize there has been a dramatic shift from running for running’s sake to running for a disease or a charity. But in the 1970s and 1980s, during the running boom, charities weren’t integrally associated with running as they are now. “Toni argues that running has been co-opted by charity and now the charity is the focus instead of the sport,” Conley says.
“It was an interesting discussion about where our sport is headed and why sponsorship dollars are being shunted to other sports, including ‘games’ like poker and billiards, which routinely get great coverage on ESPN and ESPN-2,” Conley said.
Interesting stuff.
I like the fact that charity events get people who otherwise wouldn’t off the couch and exercising. What’s the harm in that?
What do you think? Is there a down side to charity running events?
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Core training … do I have to?
I’m working on a story about core training for runners, which will be in the paper in a couple of weeks.
The research is, um, tiring. And, frankly, I’m having trouble fitting it into my schedule.
But I’m training for a marathon (although I’m nursing an injury at the moment) and Ron Perry, fitness director at the YMCA of Austin’s Northwest Family Branch, has convinced me that strong abdominal and glute muscles are critical to a successful marathon. If my trunk and butt muscles are strong, they’ll get me through the 26.2 miles with less fatigue and pain, he says.
I know he’s right.
It sounded easy at first. I’d do the core exercises when I’d normally be plopped in front of the TV, vegetating. Planks while watching “The Office.” Crunches during “30 Rock.” I’d be so caught up in the shows, I wouldn’t realize I was knocking out a exercise routine.
Ha! Between the swimming and aqua jogging and physical therapy and biking, who has time for it all? Sometimes all I want to do is flop on the couch without so much as hoisting a hamstring.
Vegetating, my friends, can be good for the soul.
But I’m in it. I’m going to embrace core training. Because I’m going to need help from my core muscles to get me through the marathon.
Ron says, “We bleed in practice so we can laugh in battle.” He also says “It’s all about the bootie.”
Yep. Strong booty, strong marathon.
Bring it on.
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Austin Marathon tops list of green races
Here’s another reason to run the Austin Marathon and Half Marathon: Runner’s World magazine has ranked it first in its list of the “Top 10 Greenest Races” in North America.
Why? Less trash, more recycling, no toxic chemicals in portable restrooms, composted food waste and solar power.
“As if solar generators, a finish-line farmers’ market, organic race tees, and bio-diesel vehicles weren’t enough, the event recycles 14,375 pounds of trash,” Kelly Bastone wrote of the Austin race.
Here are some example’s of last year’s eco-friendly moves:
- Cardboard-only dumpsters were full with 10,000 pounds of boxes, used to hold everything from water and PowerAde to T-shirts and race medals
- Recycling bins from Keep Austin Beautiful were filled with more than 13,000 plastic water bottles, totaling 4,375 pounds of plastic recycled on race day
- Finishers in the half-marathon took home an organic cotton t-shirt; the 7,000 tees saved approximately 2,334 pounds of pesticide
- Three Biodiesel and two solar-powered generators saved approximately 100 gallons of gas on race day
- Ten official race vehicles and trucks used Bio-diesel fuel
- No-idle zones were enforced for all race vehicles, saving approximately 18 gallons of gas and 95 pounds of carbon dioxide during race day
- Race restrooms were stocked with 1,500 rolls of toilet paper made with recycled content
- All 250 Austin Outhouse units were serviced with Dyna-Bact Environmental Toilet Deodorizer (a non-toxic alternative to traditional harsh chemicals)
- More than 500 pieces of discarded clothing were donated to local charities instead of being thrown away
The Austin Marathon started in 1992 with 605 runners. It is now the 19th largest marathon in the United States and the 10th largest combined marathon and half-marathon event in the country, with more than 11,000 runners.
The 2009 Austin Marathon and Half Marathon will be held Feb. 15, 2009. For more information go to www.youraustinmarathon.com.
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The Unfit Athlete: The hill
Today we’ve got another installment from guest blogger Andrea Ball, who is falling, slowly but surely, in love with bike riding. We think.
There’s this hill: This god-awful, horrible hill at the corner of Twin Oaks Drive and Shoal Creek Blvd.
It is my nemesis. My enemy.
For those of you who don’t know, here’s the deal. In September, I bought a $60 bicycle from Academy Sports and pledged to ride it regularly.
You see, I’m not a fit person. I’ve never been able to stick to one exercise for very long. I like to walk, but it’s kind of lame when it comes to burning calories. I like to swim, but finding a pool is a pain. I like to run, but my knees can’t take it.
Whine, gripe, moan. I know.
So two months ago I got this bike. And, I don’t know, I just kind of took to it. Since September, I’ve jumped on the cycle four or five times a week. Generally I ride 3 or 4 miles. Twice I managed to ride five miles without crying or collapsing.
It’s the hills that get me, though. The hills in my neighborhood are gradual, sloping and deceptively difficult. But one day, while feeling brave, I decided to cross Burnet Road and ride to Gullett Elementary School. I got there fine, but I took a different route on the way home. And that’s when I saw it.
It’s steep, but short. Maybe 20-30 degrees.
I tried to attack it, but got stuck in the middle. The next time I tried it, I fell down.
Luckily, the van behind me waited for my husband to pull me off the ground.
Since then, I’ve veered away from that hill. I have no idea how to get up it — is there some special technique I should be using? Or do I just needs lots more leg strength?
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Free yoga!
How about a free yoga class?
To celebrate the opening of its fifth Austin location, Yoga Yoga is offering free yoga classes and mini spa treatments from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. next Saturday, Nov. 22 at its new yoga wellness spa.
Yep, the new location isn’t just a place for you to bend yourself into a pretzel. Besides the usual array of yoga classes, it offers specialty massage, body treatments and holistic skincare. It’s located at 2501 South Capital of Texas Highway.
An annual pass valued at $1,295 will be given away.
For a schedule of classes and more information, go to http://www.yogayoga.com/360 or call (512) 381-6464.
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St. David’s fitness center: Members upset about closing
I’ve fielded a spate of calls and emails from frustrated members of the St. David’s Health and Fitness Center, which is closing to the public Nov. 26 as a belt-tightening measure.
The center announced last week it is cutting its hours and will remain open only to cardiac rehabilitation patients. Everyone else will have to find a new place to work out. Three regular employees (including the center’s director, Julie Drake) and one temporary employee are losing their jobs.
The fitness center drew a mostly older crowd, many who joined more than a decade ago. They feel safe working out at a gym affiliated with a hospital, where the staffers are exercise physiologists and the members have become family.
“We are listening, we’ve heard the concerns and those concerns matter to us,” said St. David’s spokesman Mark Clayton. “The challenge we have is that there are so many alternatives in the community now — there seems to be fitness center on every corner. That’s meant there are fewer and fewer members, but also the expectations of potential clients have changed. Clearly St. David’s is first and foremost attendant to its mission as a hospital.”
Member Tom Gebhard has collected 80 signatures on a petition asking the hospital to reconsider its decision to close the facility to the public.
Some members, including Phyllis Day, say they would be willing to pay more for memberships if the center would stay open.
“Closing this fitness center to the public is a grave disservice to our fit city,” says Day, who joined the gym a decade ago. “How sad that they have decided to focus on sick care to the exclusion of health and wellness. The only way to get to the center now is to have a heart attack first … This community of middle-aged and older exercisers is devastated by this decision.”
Judith Telecky, 64, just joined the gym a few months ago but is already shopping for a new one. She — and others — say they are having trouble finding a match. “Some of these people have no place to go, they’re afraid they’re not going to fit in at some buff training gym,” Telecky says. “It’s a real close-knit family.”
“I’m no triathlete and don’t pretend to be. I just want to get on a treadmill for an hour and go through the circuit machines.”
Unlike some Austin gyms, which are populated by the young single crowd out to check each other out, the St. David’s fitness center was also popular with hospital employees, from custodians to surgeons in their scrubs.
“You didn’t have to worry. If you had anything wrong, they were right there on you,” says Leona Abrahamson, an osteoporosis patient and fitness center member for five years.
The decision to oust long-time members has made Ruth McDonald, 71, who joined the center more than 13 years ago, wonder about the hospital’s purpose.
“What is the responsibility of a community hospital? Do they have responsibility to provide preventive medicine or only to treat sick people?”
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A new women’s triathlon comes to town
First Danskin, now Trek?
Trek Bicycle has signed on as title sponsor of a new women’s triathlon series that will be staged in 12 cities — including Austin — in 2009.
According to a press release sent out today, the Trek Women’s Triathlon Series is aimed at breaking down barriers for female athletes by providing a fun, supportive and non-intimidating atmosphere for athletes.
Sound familiar? That’s because Danskin has been doing the same thing with its Danskin Women’s Triathlon Series since 1989.
Like the Danskin, the Trek Tri will be a sprint distance race, with a half-mile swim, 12-mile bike and 3-mile run.
Does this mean the Danskin Women’s Triathlon is going away?
No, say the Danskin officials.
But check this: Trek also announced that Maggie Sullivan, director of the Danskin Women’s Triathlon from 1992-2008, will serve as director of the new Trek Women’s Triathlon. And Sally Edwards, long the spokeswoman for the Danskin Women’s Triathlon Series and author of 22 books on triathlon and fitness training, is making the switch, too. She’ll be the spokeswoman of the new Trek Women’s Triathlon. (That’s her at the center of the photo above, cheering on athletes before the swim portion of the race.)
A final 2009 race schedule will be announced next month.
For information on the Trek Women’s Triathlon Series, go to www.trekwomenstriathlonseries.com.
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Patagonia store opens on Congress
I made a field trip up the street to check out the new Patagonia store that’s opened at 316 N. Congress Ave.
That’s right, folks. Patagonia opened it’s first store in Texas (its 25th in the United States) right here in Austin.
Assistant store manager Lisa Edwards says the eco-conscious company chose Austin because it already had a large mail-order customer base here. “And a lot of environmental initiatives that go on in Austin really fit our company and our goal,” she says.
Patagonia doesn’t build new stores from the ground up. Instead, they refurbish existing buildings. I like that. The Austin store is housed in a cool historic building that started life as the W.B. Smith dry goods store in 1884. Through the years, the building has also been a liquor store, cafe, shoe hospital, auto supply store and travel business.
The owners even added shower facilities and bike accommodations, so employees could bike to work. Yay!
Now the 7,000-square-foot space is packed with outdoor clothing for men, women and children. You can buy ski duds, climbing outfits, a $30 T-shirt or a $180 cashmere sweater. Organic cotton and hemp are popular fabrics. Besides clothing, the store carries some luggage and an assortment of outdoorsy books on stuff like surfing, green building, fly fishing and hiking. It even carries Al Gore’s book, “An Inconvenient Truth.”
A grand opening celebration is planned for Saturday, with live music and a drawing for five $500 Patagonia gift cards. TreeFolks, an Austin-based non-profit urban tree planting organization, will be on hand.
Store hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
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An unweighted run
Tuesday was a banner day in rehab land for me.
I ran! Sort of.
After the usual array of arch-strengthening and calf-benefiting exercises, physical therapist Ryan Stukel at Sports Performance International directed me to a treadmill and buckled me into a snug harness. The harness was attached to an overhead contraption. When she pressed a button, the machine hummed to life and suddenly the harness was supporting part of my weight.
My marching orders? Walk for 5 minutes, then alternate 1 minute of jogging with 2 minutes of walking for a grand total of 20 minutes. If I felt any pain, I had to stop.
This might not sound exciting to you. To me, it was.
I slowly increased the speed on the treadmill so I was walking at a good clip. No pain.
After 5 minutes, I ramped it up to jogging speed for 1 minute. Still no pain! Hooray!
I’m training for my first marathon through a Rogue Running program, and everything was going grandly. I’m loving the running (I’m a swimmer in disguise), and we had already worked our way up to 13 miles. Coach Cindy Henges is fabulous.
Then, my calf went “sproing.”
I haven’t been able to run at all for two and a half weeks, doctors orders, since I tore a calf muscle in my right leg while running.
I know, I know. In the grand scheme of things, a few weeks off is nothing. But it feels like a lifetime!
After a few 1-minute jogging sessions on the treadmill, Ryan told me to stop. I didn’t even get to work up a sweat.
But who cares? I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. My aqua jogging days are numbered.
I ran! I ran! I ran!
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Pedal Austin’s biggest hills on Tour das Hugel
A couple of years ago, I rode part of the annual Tour das Hugel. This weekend, you can ride it, too.
For the uninitiated, the Hugel is a quad-frying bike ride that covers 100 miles around Austin, tackling the most brutal hills the city can dish up. Finishers claim some 11,000 feet of elevation gain. And a lot of pain.
This year’s sweatfest is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Saturday at Zilker Park, under the Loop 1 Bridge.
The route differs each year. On the agenda for 2008? Pedal-powered trips up Jester Boulevard, Beauford Drive, Smokey Valley, Courtyard Drive, Adirondack, the High Road and River Hills. To make sure you really weep, organizers plan the climb up Jester very close to mile 100.
In the biking community, everyone knows those hills. They just don’t normally combine them in one single ride.
Thankfully, the ride is divided into two halves and has several convenient return points. When my husband and I did it, we cheated by cutting out a few climbs — and we stopped at the half-way point. I was still tired.
That year, about 20 of the 60 riders who started the ride finished it all, without cheating.
If you do finish, it’s the equivalent of riding from the base of Colorado’s Pike’s Peak to the summit, and then some. It’s nearly three times the vertical rise of the Vail Mountain ski area.
Rest stops and sag support are provided and the ride is free. Riders are asked to donate their usual ride entry, snack and drink money to Austin Yellow Bike, which will pass a hat at the start. Last year the group raised almost $1,000 for the non-profit.
For more information, email david@skyonic.com or go to http://www.tourdashugel.com/Home.html.
What do you think are the toughest hills to climb by bike in Austin?
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Tips from a half marathon champ
When Derick Williamson, who won the AT&T Half Marathon last year, read about my calf injury woes in this blog, he invited me over to talk.
Williamson works at Source Endurance, which designs and manages training plans for athletes. I headed over after swim practice to talk about how I was training when I got injured. Running injuries, he told me, are usually caused by a combination of poor shoe selection, compounded by too much too soon, and biomechanics.
Over the summer, I was doing two short runs — at a very easy pace — twice a week. I was still swimming four or five times a week, and doing some water skiing and cycling on the side. When I decided to train for the marathon, I went from two easy runs a week to four — including an intense track workout and a long run.
Williamson reminded me that runners sometimes get into trouble when they progress too quickly or at paces that are too brisk. A slow, progressive buildup is key.
As a swimmer, he told me, I’m already pretty well conditioned. But my legs — the soft and hard tissue — is not developed to the same degree. I upped intensity at the same time I increased volume. Since running beats your legs up, I might have been pushing my limits.
“With running, less is more,” Williamson said.
Last year before winning the half marathon, Williamson was running just four times a week, for 45 or 50 miles total. That’s really not all that much, for an elite runner.
Another surprise? Williamson, who can maintain a 5-minute-per-mile pace over 13 miles, does a lot of his training at 7:30 pace.
Many runners, he says, do their long runs at too fast a pace. “The goal should be to increase duration,” Williamson said. “It’s not about running fast.”
When I do go back to my running program, I can’t jump right back in where I left off. I have to take two or three steps back. “If you’re injured, you’ll never run the marathon,” he told me. “Let pain be your guide. You shouldn’t feel the injury when you’re walking. Then start with runs that are ridiculously easy — 5 or 10 minutes long.”
And remember that ice is your friend.
Fill some small paper cups three-fourths full of water and pop them in the freezer. When you feel the slightest muscle soreness, grab a cup, peel the paper off the top and rub the ice into the sore muscle. It’ll help decrease inflammation.
And this: “When you think you’re 100 percent and can run again, wait one more week.”
Ack!
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Stretching isn’t always good
Stretching is good, right? It enhances athletic performance, doesn’t it?
Maybe not in all cases. (Like the hurdler stretch above, which puts too much pressure on your knee.) A new study by kinesiology researchers at the University of Nevada presents evidence that certain stretches involving the hamstrings and quadriceps might actually reduce performance by decreasing leg power.
The study appears in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
Go here to read what Rehab Management had to say about the study: http://www.rehabpub.com/news/2008-10-01_04.asp.
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Attention skiers: It’s snowing in Colorado!
It’s snowing in Colorado, and I’m getting barraged with cool, white-frosted photos from my friends at ski resorts in Colorado.
We may be frolicking through 80-degree days here, but I’m already plotting my winter ski trip. This year, I’ve got Vail and Winter Park in my sights.
A fall storm system rolled across the state earlier this week, dropping up to a foot and a half of white stuff in some areas. The big winners were Aspen Highlands, which slurped up 18 inches of fresh snow, Telluride, which got 16 inches, and nearby Silverton, with 17 inches.
That’s spurred some resorts to swing open the doors for the 2008-09 season. Yippie!
Arapahoe Basin and Loveland both opened in October. Copper Mountain and Wolf Creek are set to open this weekend. On track to open later this month are Winter Park (Nov. 19), Steamboat (Nov. 26), Monarch Mountain (Nov. 26) and Ski Cooper (Nov. 27.) Telluride, Eldora, Echo Mountain, Snowmass and Aspen should open this month, too. In early December, you can add Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, Sunlight Mountain Resort and Powderhorn to the list.
More snow is predicted! The attached photos were taken at Copper Mountain and Aspen earlier this week.
For more information on resort opening dates, go to www.ColoradoSki.com.
Where are you skiing this season? And what have you done to prepare?
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Barefoot skiers race up Lake Austin
Water skiing is challenging enough. Riding a thin piece of wood down the lake at a high rate of speed, slicing in and out of the wake, is crazy good fun.
You’ll notice the guy in the above photo doesn’t have a ski. Some water skiers prefer to do their skiing without the board.
I wrote about a group of Austin barefoot water skiers a few years ago, spending a morning on a boat while they contorted and skidded and twirled, sans ski, on the smooth water behind the boat.
You can get a glimpse of those crazies (oops!) this weekend, when they take to Lake Austin for the Austin Barefoot Ski Club’s annual Dam to Dam Barefoot Race.
They’ll be going really fast. You have to, to keep a skier on the surface of the water without a ski.
The race, which runs from the Hula Hut restaurant near Tom Miller Dam to the Apache Shores Community Park just below Mansfield Dam, starts at 8 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8.
A pre-race party will be held at Johnny Fin’s at 6:30 p.m. Friday, and an awards ceremony and barbecue lunch at the Steiner Ranch Lake Club will follow the race on Saturday.
For more information, go to www.barefootaustin.org or email Blake Ehlers at Blakefoot@aol.com.
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Lance Armstrong on making Austin bike friendly
I spent a day with Lance Armstrong a few weeks ago, mainly picking his brain about getting back into bike racing. But on the drive out to Dripping Springs, where he got on his bike and I followed in a truck as he pedaled a quick 80 miles, we had time to talk about a lot of things, including what can be done to make Austin more bike friendly.
“I think the easiest and most logical thing is to try to encourage motorists to be respectful,” the Tour de France champion said. “For most people who are beginning cyclists, it can be scary when a car comes by and gives you a nice clean shave.”
Even for non-beginners, it can be a hair-raising experience.
Armstrong also believes we need more bike infrastructure — specifically more bike lanes, ideally elevated or separated from the main lanes of vehicle traffic — in our city. “If you had the bike lanes, it would make life easier for both (cars and cyclists),” he says.
He considers Portland, Ore., Boston and Louisville, Kent., good examples of bike-friendly cities.
“It really has to be viewed as an investment in the health of citizens,” Armstrong says. “It’s also taking a car off the road. It cuts down on traffic — that’s the environmental component.”
We also, of course, need to work on our manners. And that means people in cars and on bikes.
“The anger between cyclists and motorists — there’s some mental reaction some people have,” Armstrong says. “It’s ‘What’s this bike doing in my way?’ But if it’s a dog, a squirrel, a man on a horse or a tractor, they don’t have the same reaction.”
Armstrong once had a famous encounter with a grouchy motorist near Lake Travis who wasn’t happy to share the road with a bike. But it’s not just in Austin, or Texas, or even the United States with attitude deficiencies.
“This is a problem all over the world,” Armstrong says. “The only place I never had a problem was Asia.”
And it’s not all in motorists’ hands either, he says. “Cyclists also have to be mindful, you can’t always ride two abreast,” he says. “We have to get along.”
Which brings us to the bike commuter portion of our discussion. Armstrong thinks we should do more of it. That’s why his shop, Mellow Johnny’s in downtown Austin, doesn’t sell just high-end racing cycles. It carries plenty of commuter appropriate bikes, and even has showers where bike commuters can clean up before they head to the office.
So, what do you think Austin can do to be kinder to cyclists?
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Barton Springs in the winter
It’s November, temperatures are in the 80s, and I swam in Barton Springs Pool yesterday.
I’m starting my third winter of swimming at the spring-fed oasis in the middle of town, where the water hovers around 68 degrees year-round. We slipped into the chilly waters, loosened up as we glided past the diving pit, and hit a rhythm by the time we reached the other end. In all, we made six round trips up and down the length of the pool.
Back when my swimming buddy Brian Vance and I started this weekly venture, I wasn’t sure I could do it. I thought I’d turn into a popsicle.
I don’t do well with cold. My limbs get stiff. I start shivering. I get goosebumps as big as Kansas.
But Brian was training for a 5K open-water swim on the coast of California, and we wanted to do distance work outside of our regular swim team practices.
As it turns out, the pool doesn’t feel all that bad in December and January.
I think it’s because in the summer, the difference between the air temperature and water temperature can be 30 or 35 degrees. That makes for a shock when you plunge into the water. In the winter, when the air temperature is 40 or 50 degrees, the water is warmer than the air. It’s not until you haul yourself out of the pool that you feel cold.
And you do feel cold. That’s why I make a mad dash for the bath house, shuck off my wet suit, and change into sweat pants and a sweat shirt pronto.
The sun factor makes a difference, too. Brian and I have discussed it often. Clouds make the water seem dark and ominous. It’s harder to watch the fish lurking in the deep end. It feels like winter, even if the water’s not technically all that cold.
But when the sun’s beaming, it warms the soul — and thus the body. (At least that’s what I tell myself, over and over, as we soar through the water, over undulating aquatic plants and schools of silvery minnows.)
There are advantages to swimming in the winter: Sometimes the springs steams like a cauldron of soup. Stroking down it, you feel like you’re swimming in a mystical, magical pond.
It’s less crowded, too. Instead of throngs of people, you encounter a handful of die-hards slicing through its water. It’s quiet. Peaceful. Serene.
You see different things, too. Last winter, we watched ducks (cormorants?) dive deep into the pool in search of food.
It’s also free. The pool doesn’t charge admission from November until March. (Other times of the year, it’s $3 for adults, $2 for juniors and $1 for children 11 and under.) This is a bargain worth celebrating!
Barton Springs Pool is located at 2101 Barton Springs Road, in Zilker Park. For more information, call 476-9044 or go to http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/bartonsprings.htm.
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A checklist for your first long bike ride
The Wurst is yet to come!
Hundreds of cyclists will pedal from Austin to New Braunfels as part of the sixth annual Wurst Ride this Saturday. Once in New Braunfels, they’ll head to Wurstfest, where they’ll duck into tents to listen to oompah bands, gobble sausage and sip beer.
It’s one of a number of group bike rides on the schedule for this fall.
To make sure you’re ready for the festivities, we checked with local cycling coach Stefan Rothe for a few tips on how to survive your first big group ride.
As for the Wurst Ride, cyclists choose between a 100K or 42K fully supported route, followed by a post-ride party in New Braunfels. Proceeds benefit the Bob Woodruff Family Foundation. (To register, go to www.wurstride.com.)
Rothe, a 27-year-old Cat 1 cyclist, grew up in Germany and came to the United States in 2003 on a cycling scholarship. After earning a degree in exercise physiology from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, he moved to Austin and started his own coaching business. He now works with beginners, recreational riders and racers, designing training plans, teaching skills and tactics, and doing performance testing.
He’s been racing bikes most of his life. In 2006, he took fifth at the Student World Cycling Championships in Belgium. He now races for Arkansas-based Mercy Cycling Team. Just last weekend he came in third in the individual time trial at the Tour de Gruene. (Lance Armstrong won the event, so he had some stiff competition.)
For more information, go to his website at http://www.rothetraining.com/.
As for that first big ride? He suggests getting all your gear ready the night before, so you don’t need to look for your left cycling shoe at 6 a.m. on ride day. Eat an appropriate dinner the night before, focusing on things like pasta, rice or whole wheat bread, which are rich in carbohydrates. And get to bed! If you’re 100 percent rested in the morning, you can utilize your energy most efficiently. As a very tired bike rider, you won’t enjoy the scenery.
Here’s Rothe’s list of things to bring on the ride:
- Cycling shorts, jersey and a base layer (undershirt)
- Gloves
- Arm warmers, leg warmers
- Chamois cream for your cycling shorts
- Heart rate monitor and strap if you like to track and record your physiological performance
- Helmet (!)
- Sunglasses
- Cycling shoes and socks
- Bicycle computer to monitor ride distance, time and speed
- Safety pins to pin on your bib number
- Two big water bottles to put on your bike (and maybe an extra for your jersey pocket)
- Fluids: Water, Gatorade or a post-ride carbohydrate/protein mix as recovery drink
- Nutrition/energy bars, gels or bananas to refuel during the ride
- Towel or cleaning wipes for quick clean-up after the ride
- A tool set: Allen keys, tire levers, spare tube and CO2 cartridge in case you have a flat
- Event flyer, printed directions
- Money, checkbook or credit card in case you haven’t yet registered for your ride
- Casual clothing for post-race
- FUN!
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Ack! This injury is depressing me!
Running injuries depress me.
It’s only been a little over a week since I tweaked a calf muscle, and I’ve descended into an “I can’t run” funk.
Saturday was brutal. While my running compadres headed over to Rogue Running to log their 14-mile long run for the week, I clipped my brand-new Aqua Jogger onto my bike rack and pedaled 7 miles downtown to the YMCA Town Lake. I eased into the water and ran in place for 90 minutes (!!).
But I still didn’t feel like I got much of a workout.
Sigh.
Thankfully, I had someone to chat with. My running coach Cindy Henges connected me with another runner who is out with two stress fractures. We pedaled in place together, moaning a little about our injuries and trying to bolster our confidence in recovery.
Still, all I could think about was Marcy and Tony and Claudia and Camille, my running partners. They’d be chugging across town right now, sweating it up, feeling the burn. They’d be adding to their solid base of marathon preparation. Strengthening their muscles, expanding their endurance.
Me? Here I was spinning in an overheated swimming pool.
What’s going to happen when I get back to running? Will I be able to keep up with my friends? Or will I be so far behind that I’ll be running my own marathon, one that takes an extra hour or two?
This is a good lesson. It reminds me of people who can’t run at all — or swim, or bike, or Aqua Jog. I’m thankful I can stay active, even if I have to take a break from my normal routine.
I’m one lucky puppy.
So, who’s got tips to keep my spirits up while I heal myself?
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Did my shoes cause my injury?
It turns out my shoes may be at least partly to blame for my recent running injury.
I slightly tore a muscle in my calf a week ago while running up a hill. Full disclosure: I was wearing new shoes.
I never made the connection until I walked in for a physical therapy session with Ryan Stukel at Sports Performance International. Stukel took one glance at my extra white sneakers and asked if they were new, and if they were different than the running shoes I wore before them.
Yes, and yes.
She called over the resident foot expert, who took look at my naked feet and said, “Nice flippers.”
Apparently I have really flat feet. (The better to swim with!) Also, I have pathetically weak arches. When I run, my foot rolls inward. That puts extra strain on my calves. That’s why the muscle tore where it attaches to my tendon.
I spent the next hour in physical therapy, trying to work on my arch posture and strengthening my feet. I scrunched up a towel with my bare foot. I stood on the bum leg and tossed a ball at a springboard. And a series of other exercises designed to get me back into running shape.
Everyone still says I’ll be able to run the marathon in February.
I left with orders to buy a pair of insoles for my shoes, which don’t provide enough support for my foot, which pronates when I run. And it’s back to the pool for more Aqua Jogging.
Has anyone out there had a similar problem?
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Study: Exercise cuts breast cancer risk
Here’s some good news for folks doing Sunday’s Race for the Cure: More evidence this week that exercise can cut your risk of breast cancer.
A study of 30,000 post-menopausal women, led by a researcher at the National Cancer Institute of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, showed that strenuous activity (and that includes everything from scrubbing floors to running) reduced the risk of breast cancer by 30 percent.
Sadly, less vigorous activity, like walking and light housework, didn’t seem to offer any protection, according to the report in BioMed Central’s Breast Cancer Research journal.
Interestingly, the effect was clearest among lean women.
“We know that being overweight puts women at increased risk of breast cancer,” said Michael Leitzmann, who led the study. “What our study shows is that even among women without this increased risk, if they exercise they can get some benefit.”
Add this to the growing arsenal of information that exercise is — yes folks — good for you. And it’s not just cancer-proofing. Exercise reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes, too.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women, according to the American Cancer Society. The group estimates about 465,000 women died of breast cancer globally in 2007, and 1.3 million new cases were diagnosed.
To read more, go here: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49U04X20081031
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