Enjoy the Colors

Fall is upon us. The days are cooler, the air is drier, and the leaves are starting their show. It is time for you to get out and enjoy yourself. It is time to find a trail. I recommend finding a trail at your local State Park or check out the National Park Service website or the National Forest Service website for some incredible places to run. I remember hiking up Mt. LaConte in the Great Smoking Mountains National Park. It was a beautiful day. The air was clear, the sun was bright and the views were excellent. As I passed the 4500 foot mark and took note of my increasing heart rate from the altitude, a man came up from behind me. As I was huffing and puffing up this mountain, he ran right on by. Being a flat Lander, I was amazed at the ease this guy passed me. At the top of the mountain, I got to see his reward. He was lounging on a rock, high on a cliff with a view that was nothing short of inspiring. Nice place to have your turn around point.

You do not need a mountain to enjoy the fall. Just head on out to some place with lots of trees. Many cities are building more and more greenways that don not stay green during the fall. Take care not to turn your ankles during you run. Mother Nature may have blanketed the ground with a carpet of reds, oranges, and yellows, but she may have also dropped some big seeds just waiting to be stepped on. As always, let someone know where you are going and when you will be back when heading into the wilderness.

Energy Gels and Drinks

They come in bottles and containers. Powders, concentrates, and in little packs. They can flow freely or be a handful of goo. They are the magic potions that are going to keep you going. They are the energy gels and drinks. The market is full of them. Here are a few tips on how to choose what is right for you.



For the gels, taste is very important. They come in many flavors and consistencies. Try them all and remember the ones you like. They are all designed to help restore your depleted energy stores during those long runs. Read the package for the recommended time between refueling. You will need to carry enough (say one shot for every 30 minutes) to get you through that run. Also with the gels, you need to drink water with them. A side note, you may want to carry a little zip lock bag to dispose of the wrappers.



Energy drinks, in my opinion, taste better. Because you are now transporting liquids, there is more weight involve. I recommend a hydration belt. I tried a hydration pack also. For many, the back pack variety is a must. I run a bit hot and like to get some air on my back. I switched to a belt and discovered that it works well for me. Make sure it is comfortable and has enough padding to prevent chaffing your hips while running. I like the type with the four small bottles. Fill one bottle up with a concentrated solution of your favorite powdered energy drink. Fill the rest with water. As you go, you have water. When you need that energy boost, grab 1 water bottle and your concentrate. Squirt both in your month at once to prevent being overpowered by the concentrate. Just keep refilling your water bottles and you are good to go. Try to get a squirt of the concentrate in every mile to keep your running consistent.

There are also gummy energy products now. I like them to give me some variety from the gels. They take some getting used to since you have to chew and run at the same time. When it comes to taste though, they beat the gels.



Try these products on your next long run. I gave them a shot after my first 18 mile run. At the end of the run I found myself dizzy, flat on my back, and not in a good part of town considering it was dark. My first instinct was to drive to the nearest place to eat. I tried the energy gels on my next long run. Not only did I feel great at the end of that 20 miles, I ran that 20 miles about 15 minutes faster than I ran the 18 miles the previous week. BIG difference!

Add Some Variety

Have you ever noticed that when you try a new activity, you feel ten years older the next morning. You wake up and discover that you have muscles that you have not felt in….well maybe you just discovered to begin with. Variety helps build muscle. Are you always sore the day after your regular run or after your normal weight routine? Of course not. Your body has adapted to the stress you apply to it. That is your queue to make a change.



This past weekend, I had my first taste of the Nintendo Wii. As I was getting my butt kicked at boxing by my 5 year old niece, I realized that I was working up a sweat. The next morning, I was hurting bad. Now mind you, the Wii controls weigh next to nothing. The extreme movement that I put myself through was way out of the norm. You should also do that in your workouts.

Here are a few suggestions:
- Run hills instead of flat terrain.
- Run trails instead of roads.
- Vary you speed. You can use telephone poles, driveways or intersections to tell you when to change speed.
- Do a century workout. That is when you reduce your weights to one third of normal and do one set of one hundred reps.
- Cross train in the pool or on your bike.



Mix it up and keep it fun. You will enter a new level of health. Don’t believe me. Check out the blogs of some of our Olympians. They will tell of their tales on Pikes Peak, which is just a few miles from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, and the workouts the mountain gives them.

Add Some Variety

Have you ever noticed that when you try a new activity, you feel ten years older the next morning. You wake up and discover that you have muscles that you have not felt in….well maybe you just discovered. Variety helps build muscle. Are you always sore the day after your regular run or after your normal weight routine? Of course not. Your body has adapted to the stress you applied to it. That is your queue to make a change.

This past weekend, I had my first taste of the Nintendo Wii. As I was getting my butt kicked at boxing by my 5 year old niece, I realized that I was working up a sweat. The next morning, I was hurting bad. Now mind you, the Wii controls weigh next to nothing. The extreme movement that I put myself through was way out of the norm. You should also do that in your workouts.

Here are some suggestions:
- Run hills instead of flat terrain.
- Run trails instead of roads.
- Vary your speed. You can use telephone poles, driveways or intersections to tell you when to change speed.
- Do a century workout. That is when you reduce your weights to one third of normal and do one set of one hundred reps for each muscle group.
- Cross train in the pool or on your bike.

Mix it up and keep it fun. You will enter a new level of health. Don’t believe me. Check out the blogs of some of our Olympians. They will tell of their tales on Pikes Peak and the workouts it gives them. Last time I checked, hiking up 14,000 feet was not an Olympic sport.

Maintain strength as you Age

At age 35, I’m a very lucky man. I still have 3 of my grandparents alive. I have also watched what they have been going through as they age. I remember my grandparents about 30 years ago. They entered retirement with gusto. They toured Europe several times and spent winters in Florida where they eventually bought a home. They were in the “Go Everywhere” years of their life. About 10 years later, they were in the “Go Slow” years. They were doing everything they could to keep going, just at a much slower pace. We have now entered the “Go Nowhere” years of their lives. At ages 86, 89, and 90, they are spending almost every day at home.

What caused them to lose that gusto? Mobility and illness are to blame. All my grandparents now use some type of walking aid. One has macerate degeneration. Another has Alzheimer’s and diabetes. And another has survived multiple heart attacks, strokes, and more recently, a head on crash. We call her Wonder Woman for her continual bounce backs. Not much can be done about some of these dieses. The mobility, cardio vascular dieses, and diabetes are something you can do something about.

All of which can be helped by maintaining your strength and mobility. As we age, we lose muscle and build fat. You ultimately decide if this is true however. With good nutrition and exercise, you can prevent a decrease in your mobility by many years. Cardio exercises keep your joints moving and strengthen your heart. Resistance training prevents muscle loss associated with age as well as keeps bone strong. Good nutrition helps you prevent the buildup of fat and cholesterol in your system. All three of these work together to make your golden years vigorous and full of gusto.


The alternative is a nursing home. Start now and enjoy life.

Listen to your body – Use your Oxygen Wisely

I could write several topics on this one. I’m going to focus this article on listening to your body while you are running. Back in my high school days on the cross country team, we took off like hound dogs after a fox. Full speed ahead! That was great for the elite guys. For me, it was a short term success followed by an immediate long term failure. It meant I went into oxygen deprivation in about 100 yards. With three miles to go, this meant I set myself up for a lousy finish.

While training for a marathon I discovered something. I would start out slow. Yes, I said start slow (sorry coach). I would then speed up as my body became accustomed to the activity and started to use oxygen more efficiently. After a few weeks, this was completely natural and only took a mile. I was able to run 1 to 2 minutes per mile faster with ease. Also, my form held for up to 15 miles. That made a huge difference in my enjoyment of the run and the amount of time I had to dedicate to the run.

No one said training for the big run was easy, but you can make it more enjoyable.

Ice Cream Craving

Its summer time! Along with summer, comes one of my dirty little indulgences, ice cream. I love the Oreo Cookie mixed ones. My wife does not help any in this category. She loves them to. For me it is so bad, just seeing an ice cream stand makes me want to pull over. OK, not well on the gut. No matter how they label it, ice cream is not the best thing in the world for you. I have found a good substitute.

I like ice cream for the sweetness. Try this treat instead. Instead of pulling over to the ice cream stand, pull over to the next grocery store. Head for the fresh fruits and look for those bottles of fruit smoothies keeping cool on the shelves. They will run you $2.49 - $2.99 a bottle. They are the same price or less then the blended processed sugar creations. They will also save you on guilt, gut, and also make sure you get a serving or two of fruit in you. As for the sweetness, it is all natural.