Eat This Now - Peas

As some of you may or may not know, yesterday (2/12) was Charles Darwin's birthday. Unfortunately for Darwin, this holiday often gets overshadowed by tomorrow's, more Hallmark-oriented one, but that doesn't mean that I can't at least devote an "eat this now" segment to the plant that made Mendel famous (ok, when I think of genetics I think of Darwin- Galapagos tortoise and Mendel- pea plants... and clearly you shouldn't eat the former).

Ok, so peas are good for you. In general, peas are good sources of iron, potassium, B vitamins, fiber, and other trace nutrients (like magnesium and phosphorus). Green peas have even more super powers insofar as they have twice the protein of most vegetables, and are chock full of vitamin C, vitamin K, and lutein (a catotenoid that helps reduce the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts).  

That's all for now my friends... as a fair warning, tomorrow's post is even more random!

2/11-12 Race Reports

Total DOMINATION this weekend:

• Team RRO/FASTcoaching got the weekend started off right at the Miles for Missions 5k. Jim M. was 2nd OA, Jerry H. was 1st in his age group (4th OA), and Kurt C. placed 3rd in his age group as well. Natalie T. and Carolyn M. went 1-2 on the women's side, and Linda W. was 1st in her age group. Carolyn and Jim also won the team competition. CONGRATS! (results)
• At the Run for the Roses, Jarett P. was 3rd OA, Tom K. was 3rd Master's, and Linda W. was 1st in her age group (again), and Isabella Frey was 2nd in her age group. Kimberlie F. and David M. also won the couples division (I think they took them out of the overall results). GREAT JOB! (results)
• Team RRO/FASTcoaching also showed some Greensboro-area runners who was boss this AM at the Valentine's Day Massacre Marathon Relay. The 4-person men's team (James L., Nick M., Tristan D., and Keith F.) was first across the line for us, securing 3rd overall. The 4-person master's team (Mark N., Sean K., Mike C., and David O.) were next across the line, finishing up 1st in their division. The 4-person women's team (Rita B., Sara S., Kari M., and Meghan H.) made it a clean sweep, finishing 1st in their division as well. Thank you Greg, Matt, Jennifer, and Tom for braving the sub-freezing temperatures and coming to cheer us on! I'll post some pictures (and maybe video footage that Sean captured) when I get them compiled. WAHOOO! (results)
• Brian F. turned Jacksonville Beach into glass, running a new PR at 26.2 for Donna!

Weekend Outlook

Lots of races to chose from this weekend:

• Miles for Mission 5k (Saturday @ 9AM in Raleigh)
• Sweetheart 5k (Saturday @ 9AM in Rocky Mount)
• Run for the Roses 5k (Sunday @ 2PM in Raleigh)

We've also got 3 teams (4-person men's, women's, and master's) headed to the Valentine's Day Massacre Marathon Relay on Sunday in Greensboro, and Brian is gearing up to PR at 26.2 for Donna!

Open Thread - Staying Warm and Dry at Valentine's Day Massacre Relay

The comment thread of this post is for discussing ways to keep warm and dry between legs (approx. 30 min) at Sunday's relay.

At the time of this post weather.com predicts a low of 23F, high of 44F, wind WNW 12mph, and sunny on Sunday Feb 12 in Greensboro. That is cold but earlier the prediction was for 14F and 38F respectively.

If you have some good ideas or concerns please share them in the comments.

Meb Keflezighi

When I was watching the trials, I realized that I knew very little about the people running, other than the obvious fact that they were all "wicked" fast. So, for the next 6 weeks, every Thursday will be dedicated to a brief bio of one of the athletes who will be representing Team USA in London. We'll start with Meb Keflezighi.

First off, Meb is just a nickname... his full first name is actually Mebrahtom... and his last name is pronounced Kef-lez-ghee. He was born on May 5, 1975 (making him 36 years-old if you don't feel like doing the math) in Eritrea. His father fled Eritrea on foot, eventually ending up in Italy, where he sent for his family so that they could escape the war that had broken out there. The Keflezighi's arrived in the San Diego when Meb was 12, and he became a naturalized citizen in 1998. Meb began his running career while still in junior high, and was the 1994 CA state champion in both the 1600m and 3200m. He continued on at UCLA where he majored in Communications (with a concentration in Business). While in college, he won numerous NCAA championship races and received a bunch of All-American awards. His career highlights are summarized here. Of particular note:

• Meb won a silver medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics, becoming the first American man since Frank Shorter (1976) to win an Olympic medal at the marathon distance.
• In 2009, Meb won the ING NYC Marathon, becoming the first American to do so since 1982. 

He currently lives (and trains) in Mammoth Lakes, CA with his family of five. He is a member of the New York Athletic Club and is sponsored by Sketchers. Follow Meb's blog to keep up with his training, or read his book!

Chafing

Owwww... although there is a lot of stuff you can do to help prevent chafing (like apply body glide, vaseline, or baby powder to "chafe-prone" areas), inevitably you miss something. So, then what? First, wash the area with soap and cold water and apply some type of anti-bacterial ointment. Covering the affected area with a band-aid or gauze can also help protect it, and wearing loose-fitting clothing also helps. Some people also recommend using diaper rash ointment.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

Hills.

Some people hate them to a lesser degree than others, but I'm not sure I've ever met anyone who likes running up them. However, I have also never met someone who was a good hill runner, but not a good runner, so there must be something to it. Turns out, there is, but many of us don't correctly incorporate hills into our training. In order to fix this, we must first understand what hill running does for us as runners. Similar to how you add more weight when lifting to get stronger (assuming you lift weights... haha), running up a hill increases the force requirements for a given workout (compared to running on level ground). You have to pick your legs up higher, which increases range of motion, leading to a longer stride. Running up hills also necessitates quicker turn-over, the neuromuscular adaptions of which carry over into running on flatter ground.

Similar to interval workouts, not all hill workouts are created equal. In order to work on endurance and strength, run longer hill repeats at a less steep grade to work on recruiting slow and intermediate muscle fibers. To build speed, choose shorter, steeper hills to work on building fast twitch fibers. There are some example hill workouts on page 2 of the article. Also, it's important to note that your legs take more of a beating on hill workouts (compared to interval / tempo workouts on level ground), so you might need more time to recover.