Bouncing back from injury
Running is hard. Training is hard work, logging countless miles, testing speed, stamina, endurance. But for me the only thing that's harder is NOT running. For the past 3 weeks I’ve been on the injury list. It’s one I’ve been on before, and I hate to say this time probably won’t be my last. My “injury of choice”? IT Band Syndrome. It flares up every so often and the only thing I’ve found will help me heal is to stop training and just patiently wait for the pain to stop. MoreThe long road to recovery
It’s been a long time since my last blog post. I guess we have a lot of catching up to do… Back in July we had a couple visitors in town. About 24,000 to be exact. Some brought their families, too, others brought friends, some came alone. Anyway, we had a blast hanging out with everyone, really, but that many visitors can keep a person busy. MoreLong Beach Marathon Course Tour!
In preparation for the Long Beach Marathon, I figured I would pay a visit to our friends down at Run Racing. Ironically I arrived exactly 26 days before the big day- and we had 26 miles to cover over the next 2 days! Danica and I had so much fun on her visit to San Francisco, she’s like my “job twin”, we both love Social Media, Marketing, Community Outreach, etc. We’ve had a lot of fun bouncing ideas back and forth since the last trip, so it seemed like a good time to reunite down in her neck of the woods. MoreTapering- Friend or Foe?
Every runner is different, from shoes to pace, nutrition, and training plans. But almost all marathoners know the importance of tapering before race day. Whether we hate it or love it, it's a part of our sport that we just accept and adhere to. Since I've become a runner, my relationship with tapering has become more and more ugly. My ... MoreNutrition and Fuel Tips from Ryan Hall
When I first went to Stanford in the fall of 2001 I knew very little about nutrition. My nutritional plan in high school included eating whatever food my mom put in front of me. Lucky for me, my mom was a healthy cook and her food fueled me to a then state record in the 1600 meters (4:02) and a personal best of 3:42.7 in the 1500 meters (equivalent to a 4:00.5 mile). Once I was in college and eating in the dorms I continued to eat "whatever was put in front of me" but that didn't work out very well for my athletic career (as I am sure you can imagine). Not only did I put on 10 quick pounds but I also was not fueling my body properly to achieve my goals in running. MoreThe Art of the Snot Rocket
Backed up breathing is an ugly truth with runners, and carrying tissues is not only a silly idea, it will slow you down, and it’s a waste of paper. So, to be more green with your “green,” and to save you valuable time during a race or on a run, I bring to you the not-so-pretty-but-totally necessary instructional guide to the perfect snot rocket. MoreElephants in Golden Gate Park
I generally do my stretching on the lawn in front of the Conservatory of Flowers. Golden Gate Park, on John F. Kennedy Blvd, begins here. Painted white, like a white-painted sand castle, the Conservatory stands in stark contrast to the patches of Crayola Crayon Colored flowers scattered around the lawn. The whole scene is woven with the ... MoreLong Beach meets San Francisco!
This weekend, the marketing guru from the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon came up to visit for some fun! Since we both have pretty similar jobs at our respective races, and we're both races in The California Dreamin Racing Series, we figured we'd have a ton to talk about.
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Silverlake and Slayer
After conquering the ability to run a mile, running for me became what most new additions to my life become: an excuse and justification to consume products relating (no matter how slightly) to that new addition. A few years back, when I decided to take up swimming, I bolted to the sporting goods store and reveled in the joy of discussing goggles, nose plugs and swimming caps. It didn’t matter that I had swum once for 20 minutes in the pool at my gym, it especially didn’t matter that I had next to ZERO knowledge about proper swimming form and no grace. The fact was that I was swimming and that was excuse enough to compile a bunch of S-T-U-F-F. The swimming hobby didn’t take, and for years I had a drawer filled with practically brand new swimming paraphernalia.
A few of my favorite things
Although I'm not a dedicated Oprah watcher, I did always tune into her annual (or sometimes bi-annual) "Favorite Things" show. The show would feature the best of the best- apparel, electronics, foods, you name it. Well, here are a few of the things and places that I love:
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