I couldn’t stop laughing AND I was at work which made stifling said laughter a must!

As for the supplements I’m trying out a product called “Nutribalance Complete” which has loads of protein and all the vitamins etc that are supposed to make up a complete diet (it is also delicious). So far so good, I will keep you updated on how it is working for me.

I have included the link for EAS Myoplex products which were suggested in the comment from Erik (I want to call him Mr Vermeulen – he used to be one of my high school teachers – but at 27 years old I’m sure first names are more than appropriate...)

Name: SparkassenMarathon / 1. Darmstadt-Marathon
Website: www.sparkassenmarathon.de
Distanz: 42,2km/21,1km Laufen
Datum: 06.08.2008 (Samstag)
Startzeit: 8:30 Uhr Uhr
Startgebühr:
Meldung bis zum 15.08.08
Marathon: 35,00
Halbmarathon 28,00
Nachmeldung:
Marathon: 45,00
Halbmarathon 35,00
Angepeilte Zeit: sub 4:00 Stunden
Meine Bestzeit bei dieser Strecke: ./.
Meine Bestzeit bei diesem Wettkampf: ./.
Wie oft an diesen Wettkampf teilgenommen:0

1) LONG AND STEADY---This is the Arthur Lydiard's method of a long, steady run. Lydiard recommends running for 2-3 1/2 hours at an easy and steady pace (over a hilly route) or for a distance up to 20 to 26 miles in order for the mind and body to develop the endurance needed to withstand your running workouts to pursue your marathon training plan.

2) LONG RUN WITH SURGES---This is the signature method of Coach Bill Squire's marathon long runs where he suggests that "surges" should be made every 10 minutes of your long run which may last from 30 seconds up to 10-12 minutes. This is applying "fartlek" sessions while doing your long runs in order to avoid boredom and ultimately result in a faster average pace during long runs.

3) FAST-FINISH LONG RUN---The proponent of this long run technique is Gabriele Rosa whose unique training plan is to finish the last few miles of the long run at a fast pace. "Fast" means averaging marathon goal pace for the last 4-8 miles and also running your last 10 minutes with your fastest pace. You have to run at your race pace for the last 10-12 kilometers of your long run. (Just remember how Dita and Wanjiru won in the 2008 Olympic Marathon Races)

4) LONG RUN AT MARATHON RACE PACE---Pete Pfitzinger advises a couple of long runs where a runner would simulate running 12-15 miles at his/her goal marathon pace. This will give a better confidence for the runner in running the marathon distance. An example would be to incorporate running 12 miles at your goal marathon pace in the middle of a 20-mile long run.

5) PACE-CHANGE LONG RUN---According to the author of the article, this is what the elite athletes do in the Olympics where rarely are the events being run at an even pace. The author advocates alternating a faster-than-marathon-pace mile with a slower-than-marathon-pace mile. So, if you have a 8:30-minute per mile pace marathon goal, you can alternately run 8:00-minute per mile pace with 9:15-minute per mile pace within the middle 8-mile distance of your 20-mile long run.

The bold letters emphasize the  key description/difference of each variation of long run workouts in you marathon training plan/schedule.

You are not limited to only one variation and you can experiment by yourself by combining all the variations during the duration of your marathon training plan/schedule. As an example, if you are following a 16-week marathon training plan, you can do at least 6 Lydiard-style "Steady" long runs, 3 "Surges", 3 "Fast-Finish", 2 "Marathon Pace", and 2 "Pace-Change" long runs. The combination of variations is limitless.

Good Luck and Have Fun!!!

Skip is a 63-year-old man from the Seattle area. He was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago. He is a Team in Training "Honored Teammate." He brings lots of food to Team in Training practices, and he loves to hang out, laugh and chat with the staff, volunteers and runners.

When I introduced myself to Skip at a recent practice (next to the bagel table), he said he was feeling pretty crummy. He'd had chemo earlier in the week and had spent a couple of days in the hospital recovering from it. He's in "wait and see" mode with the cancer right now. He looked hearty and seemed to be standing for an hour or so with no problem, and chatting away. In my limited experience, he looked GREAT for a cancer patient.

I asked him how he got involved in Team in Training. He told me that he has two adult daughters. After he was diagnosed, one of them decided to run the Seattle Marathon with Team in Training to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Then his other daughter who lives out of state ran the Vancouver B.C. marathon.

Skip reminded me of my dad when he was telling me about his daughters. He got choked up, especially when telling me about his daughter who is "not very athletic," and how proud he was of her for doing this.

Skip told me that Team in Training has meant so much to him over the past two years. He said, "I wouldn't trade it for anything." There was a brief silence. And then he added, "Except a cure for my leukemia."

DONATE   DONATE   DONATE   DONATE   DONATE

(Grant Falk, 14, from Brier, is also an Honored Teammate. Track his cancer treatment progress on his blog.)

All of which is a preamble to my pathetic whine about why I didn't go running today - too flipping wet. MUST MUST MUST go soon though because its now only just over a week to go and I need to rest for the last few days....

I reached there around 6:15 AM and the run was supposed to start by 6:30 AM. The organizers had given the mic to one old man may be an professor/lecturer from some college or may be some relative of the politicians who organized the event. His voice was spoiling the whole mood of mine in the very morning. Niether people listened to him nor i could speak to arun who was in the crowd somewhere and from him only i had to collect my bib number. After a war between his voice from speakers and my voice over phone found arun, got the bib number and all of us got ready for the run. As it happens always with our Indian crowd and since a marathon run is almost new to chennai they were fighting for the first row of the marathon and we decided to go back and start the marathon taking our own time. Till this time i was not sure how many kilometers i could but still believed atleast i could finish a quarter marathon. So after the  flag signaled the run started and by pouring some 6 to 7 litres of water half into my mouth and the rest over my body, along with few snaps successfully completed the half marathon taking 3:30 hrs time :) and my legs are completely tired but still was standing with a refreshed mind. Kittos Mr.Annen.

It's an exciting time of year for St. George, Utah. Lots of attention and visitors from all over the country and outside the U.S.  Our city loves the visitors and it's great for business. St. George City always organizes a world-class event that features great activities and many local businesses get involved.

The race will begin at 6:45AM MST.  For more information you can visit www.stgeorgemarathon.com

The southern Utah real estate business usually gets a little boost at this time of year because so many people fall in the love with the area.  We see a lot of people looking for investment property until they decide to convert it to personal use upon retirement. There are also a lot of buyers who will be looking for second homes.  This is a great time to buy with so many short sales and foreclosures in the St. George, Utah area.

If you haven't already made reservations - normally it would be too late, but I've heard that there are some rooms at a few hotels in town.  We have your normal chains like Marriott, Hilton, and more. Check their websites for more details.

I expect to have much less free time for a few days. With 3 days of racing on the track, a rest day, 3 days of racing on the road, a rest day, a marathon, and then a party to to wrap things up, you're likely to notice decreased activity on SSW.

The following links are likely to provide you with in depth perspectives & analysis, quick results, pictures, videos, background & relevant information, and more. If or when I publish material on SSW, I'll 'bump' or paste these links to the top of my site-

• CIC Worlds
• Gijon 2008 [English site]
• Competition schedule
• Mundo Patin World Championships page
• Mundo Patin World Championships page #2
• Bont CIC PatinCarrera- live results
• Bont CIC PatinCarrera World Championships page
• Mundo Patin's pictures
• Cado Motus- insider's perspective by Australia's Mick Byrne
• World Championship 2008 in Gijón, Spain- Bont Forum
• Equipe de France Roller 2008- blog
• Bont CIC PatinCarrera- live video
• Training & News
• Hotel Leon- Team Canada's home during the World Championships
• Roller En Ligne World Championships page
• A Younger Perspective- USA's Keith Carroll
• Skating With Wouter Hebbrecht- Belgium's World Champion
• Powerslide Racing News

Hey everyone, I found these testimonials on the The Stick website and wanted to share them with you.  There are many more but here are three.  These just prove that The Stick can really help with soreness and pain of any kind.

It Works!
After going through the same tiring, depressing cycle of getting calf strains/pulls every year for the last 4 years, I "stumbled" on an article on an internet runners site. I thought to myself, what the heck, I'm willing to try anything at this point! I was at the point where I was actually afraid to exert myself 100% to chase down a fly ball or extend a double to a triple. Many of you know the routine - no matter how much I trained, stretched or soaked in the spa, I never knew when "it" would pop. I would just go about my business as usual and when (not if) it occurred, I'd suffer through it like always. I'm sure my teammates were at the point of expecting the pull as much as I was, lol.
I am here to tell you, this thing works! I purchased my Sprinter model stick after suffering yet another strain. After 1 week of use, the pain was gone and I was back in the field. After 2 weeks, no more trigger points could be felt, and more importantly, I truly feel that I can go ALL OUT 100% without fear! Even more surprising is the fact that I don't spend 20 minutes jogging and stretching like I used to, now maybe just 5 minutes of jogging and very, very little stretching. Doctors, friends and training articles kept harping on me to stretch more - B.S.! This simple device has made a HUGE impact in the way I now approach my training. It is a MUST HAVE for any athlete that runs. :)

Arthur
-Arthur Springfield, MO USA - Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 14:52:41 (ET)

Miracle therapy
I first met Patrick at a scrub store in Vancouver. I told his wife I had Fibromyalgia and she was sure she knew something that could help me. She did not give me any details but assured me help was on the way. Later her husband, Patrick, came to the store. He had a long, white stick with rollers and demoed it on me. I was sold! I bought it right out of his hands and have used it now for four years. My husband uses it daily and both of us could not manage without it. My husband is a computer engineer and I am a retired hospice nurse turned quilter and we could not do our jobs without "The Stick". I recommend them to any and everyone with any type of muscle pain or needing therapy for muscle tension, especially Fibromyalgia. It has literally saved us thousands in medical and pharmacy bills. WE LOVE OUR STICK!
-Linda Baker Vancouver, WA USA - Tuesday, December 04, 2007 at 00:42:44 (ET)

love the stick!!
In October of 06 I trained to run my first marathon,during the last few weeks I would get a pain from my buttocks down my leg. Traveling in a car could get uncomfortable. We drove to Chicago (6-7 hour ride) two days prior to race and I had to keep moving around. While at the expo with my nephew who was also running the race, he said he was going to get rolled. I had no idea what he was talking about but followed him. I started playing around with one of the Sticks and one of your workers asked me if I was having any specific problems. So i told her about the pain down my leg and she had me lay down and explained what to do. She rolled out my leg/ hip and I thought it felt pretty good. I found out the next day during the race how good it was ! It didn't bother me at all and the car ride home was much better even after completing my 26.2 miles. I bought one and have used it faithfully since. It's the first thing I recommend to other athletes when they talk about soreness etc... I have been meaning to write and tell you how much I love your product!
-Brenda Swan North East, PA USA - Friday, January 04, 2008 at 14:53:05 (ET)