It's Almost That Time

How about today's weather? Supposedly we'll be running in 70 degree temps even after cooling off a few degrees from the days high. Soak it in, everybody.

Some people noticed this last week, but a warning to everyone: (unless the weather inspires them to change their hours) the bathrooms will be locked up at 6 PM tonight. Plan your bathroom needs accordingly. Next week, they start being locked up at 5.

Speaking of next week, daylight saving time ends on Sunday, which means even less light for us than we have had and the final two weeks of TRY at the park will have to meet starting at 5 PM in order to get the run in with even a hint of light left. The park "closes" at dark, so we do our best to play along with that. They have always allowed us (and others) to push that limit a bit if you are out there exercising, but safety becomes a concern as well. So, next week and the week after, the meet-up time is 5 and the run starts at 5:05. For those who cannot make the earlier start time, stay tuned for the run under the lights plan and for the after season TRY plan from mid-November til the snow sticks.

I have a mish-mash of actual interesting and useful things for you this week. No, really!

Duerr - here is the [world's most annoying] training plan you asked for. Have fun clicking on all the links. I only did a few clicks and was not impressed, but who are we to question them? Surely there was no way to combine that into one page?

Normally I tend to give away the answers, but this time you have to read it for yourself. Along with this interesting list of "Old Wives Tales - Fact or Fiction", the "must read" for me was the fourth one that that tells you whether or not you should be covering up your head as you run in the cold weather this fall and winter. (I had stumbled across the same conclusion somewhere else recently and felt compelled to share.)

After "always" being on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the Jingle Bell Run has sure gone squirrelly on us! Last year it moved location and dates - to the Sunday before the Sunday before - then proceeded to start the race before the official start time because of the crappy weather everyone was standing in. Which was a nice thought, except at least one VIP we know of was doing what he thought was a last minute bathroom break, only to get back outside with the race already started. Anyway, this year, it's back to the weekend before Thanksgiving, but now is on the Saturday. Conclusion - Saturday, November 22nd is this years Jingle Bell Run (still at OCC - race day registration at 8, race at 10 - so they say - but they are NOT to be trusted.) We have a tradition of good TRYer turnout, who plans to do it this year? Early bird pricing is over, but it is still a $5 savings through November, 21st ($25 for adults) compared to day of registration.

I found this last thing interesting. For those frequent travelers looking for a quick workout without needing equipment or for people looking for something they can quickly do while in their living room while watching Once Upon A Time. Here is the "Scientific 7 Minute Workout" (well, it talks about apps you can get, but also has links to the workout itself). It is supposed to work out your entire body and must work because it's scientific. Science!

I grabbed the little cheat sheet for my own convenience:

For those who need more than that, you could always do it again or change the amount of time on each exercise as you see fit. (Since some of you refuse to read what I link to - the recommendation is 30 seconds per, with 10 seconds recovery, meant to be done at 8 out of 10 exertion level. Because, science!) There is also the "advanced" version you could read up on, but that involves dumbbells which, to me, defeats the purpose since it can no longer be done anywhere. Keep it simple, science - no need to get all mathematical on us.

Down To Four

We are down to four weeks of regular TRY (counting tonight) before we have to leave the park.

Tonight, some people are starting early to run a long run - see Aaron's post on the line for details of that. I'll meet up with the others at the regular time and do our thing. Plan for some light rain.

Nothing jumped out at me this week - except for this one article from Syracuse.com. Am I the only one who is totally reminded or own Quick Courting Corey? Now, obviously there are some major differences, but the underlying love story is that they were engaged within a Corey and then are going to be married within another Corey. Eerily similar? Right? It shows that love works in mysterious ways and you never know when your true love will enter your life.

Is Something Better Than Nothing?

I cannot even blame it on the drain this week...

A warm day out of nowhere for our run this week. By the time we run, the heat will be diminishing, but it looks like we will still be running in temperatures in the low 70s which is crazy-crazy for mid October. Should be a beautiful night for a run.

I often allow inspiration to seek me out on what to put in the weekly blog entries...and more often than not lately it has been failing me. I must have offended my muse somehow? I have a couple things to share, that I don't even consider worthy, but am assuming that something is better than nothing so am sharing them anyway.

For those of you who listen to music when you run - I read an article that was so wishy-washy and with such lousy research that I can not even bear to share it with you. I will include the concluding quotes because I thought they were OK:

'There are certain situations, however, in which the dissociative approach to running with music can be unsafe or even rude.

"For safety reasons, don't run with music after dark," says Corkum. "I also recommend leaving music at home for most races as a courtesy to other runners around you. If you choose to use music in a race, keep the volume low enough so you can hear if a runner asks to pass you."

For the majority of runners, music will come in handy on some runs and be better left at home for others. Unplugging and allowing yourself to pay attention to your surroundings, body and breathing can be a highlight of any run.

"Many runners are surprised at what a different experience running without music truly can be," Corkum says.'

[This is back to me now - I know when I cheer at races, there is a noticeable difference in how people with headphones respond to my attempts at cheering, usually to the point of not noticing me at all. So, I personally have a bias against people listening to music on race day because I feel they are missing out on some of the race day experience. I do realize that they don't give a crap what I think, so we silently agree to disagree.]

The second reference is one of those dreaded "slideshow" type posts that are way too common these days, but since we have a lot of women in the group, I figured I should share "10 Reasons Why Women Should Run". Some of these are unexpected reasons as this was meant to be some "fun" reasons, and quickly cover bone density, dealing with your mensies, and increased sexual satisfaction. You're welcome ladies!

That's all I've got for this week. If you have ideas or topics that you would like to write about - or have me research and write about, let me know as I need some new sources for inspiration. (Obviously.)

Blame It On The Drain

Another late post - and rather than accept responsibility for my own actions - I'm going to blame it on the drain. (Gotta blame it on something.) Read to the end for details.

I'm including links to an educational video about eating gluten free (almost 9 minutes) and a yoga video (about 25 minutes). If interested, remember to come back and watch them when you have the time.

Tonight - break up into like minded groups per usual.

Did you know that counting this week, we are down to 6 weeks left of Tuesday night running at the park? The Lights on the Lake is starting earlier than ever - this year they are starting two Fridays before Thanksgiving - but they've shifted days so we actually get the same amount of Tuesdays to run on.

The dates that matter:
We can do TRY at OLP up through Tuesday, November 11th.
The "stroll" (walk that we have ran the last few years) is on Wednesday the 12th.
The dog walk night is on Thursday the 13th.
(Once again there is an end of season run through - Saturday, January 3rd at 11 PM. I've never been crazy enough to do that one.)
I expect enough interest that we will move TRY to another location - typically the creekwalk starting on Tuesday, November 18th.

Are you curious about Celiac Disease or have you considered starting a gluten free diet? This video via Upworthy pretty much debunks the need for a gluten free diet unless you have Celiac disease. It's very interesting if you want to know what little proof there is on the benefits of eating GF for someone who does not have to.

Do you do yoga? Or are curious about it? Here is a video from Runner's World claiming to be "essential yoga" to make you a better runner. If I was as flexible as her, I feel like I could run like a deer. Some of the moves would break me. On the website, below the main video are a couple others I  plan to check out - including one claiming to be yoga with a foam roller.

Lastly - my excuse for not posting on time. I was the perfect cliche last night and went to Lowe's at about 9:30 to buy some parts for a toilet. I mean, really? Why do they stay open til 10? For moron's like me who need them open that late. It was a minor fix and seems good to go as of this morning...but the delay allows me to "blame it on the drain".

FYI - a couple of you claimed to not know anything about "Milli Vanilli". So, go back to a blog post from two years ago, scroll down to the youtube clips and listen to them for 30 seconds each. I assume you all have heard the songs? If not, give them a listen. They were hits back in the day.

One of those turned into a Weird Al spoof that he called "The Plumber Song", but I always thought of as "Blame it on the Drain":