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So running by myself is kinda boring. That being said, I would love to see you all join me on a bunch of adventures/challenges this year. I don’t get anything financially out of you signing up for these races other than camaraderie.

So here are the races I am going to run, and if you want to join me, great! Ones in bold I have already registered for. Others I’m tentatively going to signup for. Feel free to leave other suggestions in the comments.

• February
  • February 24 – Spartan Race Miami (day 2 probably 10am, as I’m busy on day 1)
• March
  • March 2 – Tough Mudder (join my RefreshMiami team here) 12 Miler Obstacles
  • March 30 – The Challenge Race 5 Miler Obstacles
• April
  • April 21 - Down2Earth Trail 10k
  • April 27 – Mud Mingle 5k  maybe, not sure about this
• May
  • May 5 – Merrell Down n Dirty 10k
  • May 11 – ALS Recovery 10K
• June
  • June 9 – Key Biscayne Triathlon – Sprint Distance
• July
  • July 21 – Key Biscayne Triathlon – Sprint Distance
  • July 27 – Down2Earth Trail Half Marathon
• August
• September
  • September 29 – Publix Escape from Miami Triathlon – Sprint/Olympic (not sure which distance yet)
• October
  • October 13 – Chicago Marathon – nope, sold out before i could register
  • October 26 – Miami Beach Halloween Half Marathon
• November
  • Mid November – Miami Beach rock n roll half marathon
  • November 28 – Turkey Trot 10k
• December
• January
• February
  • February 2 2014 – ING Miami Full Marathon

So if you want to race with me, or have suggestions for other races/obstacle races, etc. Let me know. I’m always looking for a challenge.

So a large number of my friends are doing the Warrior Dash for the first time this weekend, and it made me realize that they could use some advice from their favorite person (ME!). So running an adventure race or obstacle race or mud run (whatever you want to call it) requires a bit different planning and prep than a standard 5k or 10k or longer.

Here are my quick and dirty tips if you’re running something shorter than a Spartan Race Super Spartan distance (8Miles). If you crossfit, then you’re way ahead and can skip this.

Ok here we go:
Remember this is about having fun.
Running 5 miles non-stop won’t help that much, but running intervals WILL
Remember to train your core before you go into the race, as it will test your entire body
When designing your costume, try to avoid things that will impede your movement (capes can get caught on things)
Quick workout plan:
Run 5 minutes
Do 25 pushups
Run 5 minutes
Do 25 situps
Run 5 minutes
Do pullups (if you have access to them, if not, monkey bars, if none, go back to pushups)
repeat the first steps until you hit 3.5 miles or 35 minutes.

Now if you stick to this, and alternate it between running a 5k via something like Couch to 5k program, you should be golden when it comes to a short distance race like Warrior Dash. Grab water when its offered, and consider drinking 2 cups, not one, some courses are notoriously stingy on water (cough race cough).

Try to vary your workouts for longer runs. If you’ve got a medecine ball or a big rock (20lb), try adding in some full body standups to the mix on the workout plan.

In case you’re wondering, I’ve competed in: Warrior Dash, Spartan Race, Columbia Muddy Buddy, Merrell Down n Dirty, and several other mud runs.

Right now two of the major sports in the United States are enduring a player/owner lockout over disputes regarding pay and revenue sharing. Both leagues have rich players and even wealthier owners. Both leagues pay their elite players millions of dollars a year to do what most of us would happily do for free.

As of this writing, the NFL lockout was well over 4 months long. The NBA lockout is only a few weeks long. The analysts are all saying they think we’ll miss the NBA season, and many think the NFL season could be missed as well. There is one thing they are all overlooking, and why I think we’re likely to see the NBA season start on time.

If you recall 12 years ago we had an NBA lockout during the 98-99 season which cut the length of the season in half (at the league’s last peak in popularity by the way). There was one big factor that stands in stark contrast between the NBA then and the NBA now. The NBA now has alternatives. Back in the late 90s it would have been unheard of for an NBA caliber player to willingly go play in Europe or Asia. Now however, the salaries are rich, contracts cushy, and facilities vastly improved. So the leverage that the owners held in the 20th century is effectively gone. If 10% of the league’s players opt to play in the Euro leagues with no NBA opt-out clause, the league (NBA) would be hard pressed to offer a similarly competitive product next year compared to what we’re used to. Fans will be pissed; owners will lose money.

The NFL has the advantage of their being no foreign league aside from the CFL of canada that even plays American style football. On top of that CFL salaries pale in comparison to NFL, so most players earning $500k minimum aren’t going to risk injury over $40k/year. NBA players will risk injury to make a million bucks though.

I guarantee you if Lebron or Chris Paul or another elite player signed a 1 year no-nba opt-out clause contract, a Euro league team will throw $20-25Million at them. If the season gets canceled remember, these guys get nothing.

So as some of you may know, I’ve been running in Vibram Five Fingers for close to 6 months now. Why did I take the leap and start running in VFFs? Well after reading the harvard study on the biomechanics of barefoot running, and trying them out, I was hooked.

I now own three pairs of VFFs. Started with the classics, which were the only ones in stock in my size at the only store that sold them nearby. I soon upgraded to a pair of KSOs which are much easier and more suited to running in (feel more secure on the foot). After a few months of running in the KSOs I picked up a pair of Bikilas. Bikilas are very similar to KSOs except for a treaded sole which helps grip the road when running. With all the wet weather out there during Miami summers, it seemed like a useful thing to have as the KSO sole isn’t very grippy.

After having a sore lower back and sore calves for the first few weeks, I’ve got to say the level of pain from running has dropped by 75% vs traditional running shoes (that were properly fitted). Now the only pain I get is soreness from putting in more miles than ever before. One thing I’d recommend though is to do some research on chi running or pose running methods. I wish I had done more research on the form, rather than just getting out there and going.

Next up, find a trail to run, and maybe over the winter pick up a pair of KSO TREKs which are better for offroad and cold weather running; even though I don’t really need protection from the cold here in south florida.

So what’s my verdict? Try a pair of Bikilas if you are going to do road running. If you are going to do primarily crossfit or workout at the gym or do bootcamp, a pair of KSOs should do you just fine.

If you are in Miami there are really only 2 places to buy a pair: Venezia and Footworks.

My entire life I’ve honestly HATED distance running or walking. As my good friends the Clarks could tell you, when I was 9 or 10 I would complain bitterly about walking a couple of miles through Salamanca, Spain. I’ve always played sports that require running, primarily soccer, which I’ve played for 20+ years now, but that to me was always sprinting, never long continuous distances. Distance running was a challenge to me, and I like to challenge my assumptions. So although I could play 2 90 minute soccer games back to back, I couldn’t run 2 miles non-stop, heck I could barely run 1 mile without getting winded.

So I decided I would challenge myself. I would learn to become a distance runner and endurance athlete. I don’t really have the build for endurance sports according to all my previous assumptions, I’m not tall, I’m not thin, heck I’m below average height, with short legs, and built like a running back (stocky, wide shoulders). This normally would dissuade people from trying to become endurance athletes, but for me, it struck me as a challenge.

I started off slowly, running a mile or mile and a half at a time in my running shoes (Asics), but never got that “feel” for it, as I’d always end up with sore ankles, or knees. Turns out when you’ve been playing soccer your whole life, you get used to running on your forefeet, not your heels. Running in traditional shoes encourage heel-striking. I started reading up about this issue, and stumbled across the barefoot running craze that’s been picking up steam the last few years. Many of the advocates of barefoot running push for a fore foot or mid foot strike to reduce strain on the knees and joints. So I tried this, shifting to what was already normal running for me from soccer. Instant epiphany: why wasn’t I doing this all along? I read up some more on bio-mechanics of running, including this Harvard study that came out a few years ago. The science seemed to indicate that I needed to get rid of these clunky sneakers and go with something lighter and more responsive. Thus I picked up my first pair of Vibram Five Fingers (VFFs) and never looked back.

After 3 months of regular running, I picked up a road bike, deciding I was going to set my goal for a sprint distance triathlon in 2011. A sprint tri is .5mile swim, 13.1mile bike, and 3.2mile run. Part of my rationale behind picking a tri is that I also hated swimming laps as a kid, and I believe that diversifying my exercises will better condition me and help me avoid repetitive stress injuries associated with focusing on a single sport.

5 months into my running, I can now say I can run a 5k without stopping to walk or catch my breath. I’m slowly working my way up to a 10k, which I may have been at by now had I had a more rigid training schedule. Hopefully in another 5 months I’ll be running a half-marathon 13.1 miles.

So why am I doing this? To challenge myself. Unlike team sports where you depend on others to compete against unknown variables, in endurance racing, the only person I have to worry about is myself. I’m not out there trying to win these races, I’m out there trying to beat my previous records. I’m out there to prove to myself that I can do something I didn’t think I could do.

What are you doing to challenge yourself?