I ordered the proof copy of my book “The Accidental Runner” today.  It should be here within a week or two.  Shortly after that it will also be available on Amazon.  It’s been a great process writing and editing the book and I can’t wait to have a printed copy in my hands.

This is the same book that I published in electronic format on my website last year.  It focuses on two aspects of human psychology that I “accidentally” stumbled across years ago, and which turned me into a life long runner.  Since I started running I’ve been through a University degree, marriage, three children, various career changes and haven’t lost my groove.

That’s pretty significant, and when I tried to identify why that was, these two shining starts light up the sky.  They are social obligation and psychological momentum.  While they may be simple on the surface, they are really very powerful concepts.

Social obligation is what I call it when you impose on yourself some type of social obligation to perform a certain act.  In the case of running (or any other exercise) this can be as simple as telling a friend or family member that you plan to run that evening.  By telling someone else what you plan to do, you in essence make a commitment.  Your mind then pushes you to be consistent with the commitment that you made.  Just think about the awkwardness of the ensuing conversation with the person you told if you then have to admit that you just sat around and did nothing.  So by telling someone that you plan to run, you may have just become an accidental runner.

The next idea is psychological momentum.  That’s where you build up a series of events in your mind that define who you are and how you behave.  For example, after you sky dive once (for the first time), do you find yourself telling people that you’re a sky diver.  Probably not, and that’s because you’ve only done it once.  Let’s say that time passes and you happen to go sky diving a dozen more times.  Now it’s a lot more plausible that you would identify yourself as a sky diver.  The same goes for running, cycling, pilates, or any other exercise.  The more you do it, the more you identify with that activity.  The act of doing it, and keeping track of how often and how much of it you do, creates momentum.  After logging your runs for a time, you might find (like I did) that you’re an accidental runner.

Naturally I’m excited about this book finally being published, and for what it will hopefully represent for everyone that reads it.  As I was finalizing the publishing details I took a minute to reflect on dozens of my personal friends (now accidental runners) and the thousands of people that come to maintainfit.com every month and use the exercise log.  It should send a very optimistic message that while some are willing to sit on the couch and trust in the big drug companies to fix them after years of neglect, there is a growing number of people that are willing to take charge of their health and fitness.  A growing group of accidental runners.

So what are you waiting for?  Get off the couch and go for a run.  And if that’s too hard, just call your mom and tell her that you plan to run first thing in the morning.  Trust me, she’ll follow up with you!

I’ve just posted a new video for the homepage of Maintain Fit that teaches the two best techniques I’ve ever learned for consistent, effective motivation to get out the door and exercise.  The stem from my nine years as a runner.

The first is social obligation, which is best illustrated by a running partner.  When you commit to someone that you’ll meet them for a workout or a run, then you socially obligate yourself to show up and greatly increase your chances of getting out the door.

The next technique is called psychological momentum, and has a lot to do with how to form habits.  This technique takes advantage of a fitness log to make your progress toward specific goals more noticeable and to provide you with momentum (motivation) to stick with it on the low days.

The video runs about six minutes and is the first of several that I plan to produce.  Others will deal with these techniques, but will also highlight the best features on Maintain Fit.

Leave your comments about the homepage video in this post.  You can watch the video here free personal fitness log.

I’ve been hearing all about the triathlon circuit for a while.  It’s really picked up a lot of interest in recent years.  Nine years ago when I started running I hardly heard about it, even though there were a lot of runners and cyclists back then, but they mostly stayed in their own element and group.  I’m hearing a lot more about it with triathlons these days.

In fact, you’ll remember that a while back I interviewed Jim Mishler, an 18 year veteran of the sport.  At the time of the interview he had done about 170 triathlons if I remember right.  He gave some terrific pointers for beginners and advanced triathletes.   Maintain Fit members have access to the interview and transcript.

I did my first bricks workout

Well, despite doing that interview so long ago, I hadn’t ever gotten out and done a brick workout.  In a triathlon, the transition from cycling to running is called bricks because when you get off your bike and start running, your feet feel like they have bricks on them.  This may feel more or less pronounced depending on how strong a runner you are.  Nevertheless, they call it a brick workout and it’s arguably the most challenging transition in the race.

I suppose I’d been putting off my brick workouts for a few reasons, one being that I didn’t have a great bike.  I ride a very old Univega mountain bike (and unfortunately I don’t have the cash to go get a nice road bike).  I also don’t have a lot of cycling gear (like those fancy pants with the gel bottom!).  So I have every excuse in the world…

but…

I finally spend $40-$50 on some new slick(er) tires for my bike and did a small tune up, which basically means I adjusted the shifters and oiled the bike.  And then, I did exactly what you might imagine.  Yep, that’s right, I didn’t go out riding for a long time (probably three or four weeks).

OK, so I really did my first bricks workout

Well, my procrastination started to get to me and I figured that to keep up with the guys at work, I had better get on my bike and see what I could do.  I sat down first and logged into my exercise log on Maintain Fit and used the google map feature to plan my course.  I came up with a route that would take me 13.4 miles for the bike ride and I would follow up with a run.

I didn’t know how far I would run and I didn’t even start until after dark.  In fact, I didn’t start my run (first brick run) until 10:20 pm.  No worry, I just ran a mile and I thought it wasn’t so bad.  I was pleased that I maintained a pace of about 16 mph throughout my bike ride.

So far so good, except, I didn’t feel like I had bricks on my feet.  What were those guys talking about?

Then I did a second bricks workout

So just this past Saturday I decided I would get up and do a more aggressive ride and run in the morning.  I sat down with my exercise log and mapped out a 17.4 mile course and a 3 mile run.  Just like the first time, I was able to maintain a pace of roughly 16 mph, and about 9 min/mile.  This time however, as soon as I transitioned, my legs definitely felt different.

As I started out, I had to consciously think about each step and make sure I was putting my foot down flat.  I was a bit worried at first since I don’t want to re-injure my broken ankle (I’ve been meaning to post the x-rays.  remind me if you don’t see them soon).

After the first mile I was noticably more tired than usual, but I had started to regain a normal gate.  The miles went by and I finished up my second bricks workout.  Boy was I tired!  Just to show you how retro my bike is I had my wife snap a shot of me with my bike when I finished.  And for those of you who will ask, YES, I really did ride in my running clothes (I don’t have anything else).  Here’s the shot:

The next thing will be to do more swimming, but I don’t have a membership to a pool, so I’ll have to figure  out how to get access to one that doesn’t cost me a ton of money.

Tell me about your bricks workouts

If you’ve recently done a bricks workout, post a comment and tell me what you thought of it.  Also post pointers and tips you might have found along the way.

Once again, its getting to that time of year to remember about the Turkey Trot Relay.  Yeah, Thanksgiving is right around the corner, the leaves are falling, lots of Turkey will start coming towards our mouths, and there is no better time to plan to run it off than in the Turkey Trot Relay in Boise.  Get ready, November 22nd is the day!  9:00am is the time.

The Turkey Trot Relay continues to be one of the most fun themed running events in the area.  The goal of the race is to predict your team’s race time, not to necessarily be the first one to finish.  The teams consist of 4 people as a relay team, each running a 2 mile stretch around Ann Morrison park.  The winners are the team who most accurately guesses the finish time of their whole team.  And what do the winners get, of course, turkey!  It IS called the Turkey Trot Relay for a reason.

You are in luck!  Early registration for the Turkey Trot Relay is still open until November 17th.  You can pick up packets at Bandanna Running or the Treasure Valley YMCA, or you can visit the Y-striders website.

The 7th annual Zeitgeist Half Marathon will be held Saturday, November 1, 2008.  The race isn’t just for runners, its also open to walkers, too.  The Zeitgeist Half Marathon starts and finishes in the Optimist Football Park northwest of Boise.  With 1,181 feet of elevation gain over three hills, it is sure to be a challenging course, the course will cover both paved and dirt roads.   Luckily, there will be 6 aid stations including 8 portable toilets available on the course.

Zeitgeist Half Marathon finishers receive a long sleeve, embroidered, moisture-wicking, T-shirt.  The post race party will have hot food, cold drinks and a live band.  Overall awards and age group awards along with great prize drawings are provided as well.

Volunteers are welcome and appreciated.  Volunteers will get a short sleeve, embroidered T-shirt and are welcome to attend the post race party after completing their tasks.

Registration for the Zeitgeist Half Marathon can be done by picking up packets from local Boise running shoe stores, or it can be done online at the Zeitgeist Half Marathon website.

If you are looking for the most exciting race start of your life, try the Prison Break Half Marathon, 10K and 5K on October 25th.  Complete with flyover, riot squad, and escape sirens, it is sure to be a race that you will remember.

The Prison Break Half Marathon proceeds benefits the Boise Rescue Mission and the Idaho Peace Officers Memorial, so its a good cause.

The Opening ceremonies begin at 9am at the Idaho State Correctional Institute, with the race starting at 9:10.  After you have made your escape through the desert, you are treated to a buffet lunch afterwards.

The Prison Break Half Marathon early registration period has passed, but you can still get registered at Idaho Running Club, and to prime you for the event, packet pickup takes place in the couple days before the event at Aladdin Bail Bonds.  You can also pick up your packs on the day of the race out at the Prison before the race, where late registration ends at 8:30am.

In Boise, Idaho this weekend, the City of Trees Marathon / Half Marathon 2008, which is the final marathon / half marathon of the City of Trees Racing Association racing year, is in the books.  Luckily, the rain that hit us here on Saturday subsided long enough to allow the race to happen with typical October weather for Boise.

The City of Trees Marathon was an official USATF certified race, sorry guys, no headphones or music.  Here are a couple maps, one of the City of Trees Marathon, and one of the City of Trees Half Marathon.

If you are looking for City of Trees Marathon Results, then head on over to the results page for the 2008 race.

One thing I noticed going through the results is that the winner of the City of Trees Marathon for the guys was David Derkacs, which if you may remember, was the winner of the Fit for Life Half Marathon that we interviewed after that race a few months ago.  Looks like he is continuing to dominate distance racing in and around Boise.

Since the marathon is basically a tour of most of Boise, I thought it was a pretty good idea that the City of Trees Racing Association puts on a guided race tour on Saturday, that also doubles as a tour of Boise.  That’s a very generous thing to do.  Looking at the race registrations, there were a lot of people from out of town doing the race, glad they allowed them the opportunity to see our great town a little closer and see why we all enjoy living here.

I’ve talked to a lot of people about what makes a pair of shoes the Best Running Shoes possible.  There are several elements that consistently stand out, but perhaps more importantly, there isn’t a single right answer.  The right answer is the pair of running shoes that best match your foot.

So, what will give me an indication of the best running shoes for my feet?  There are a few things that you need to know before you start shopping.

1. How high (or flat) are your arches?
2. What type of surface will you be running on?
3. What do your old shoes look like?
4. Do you pronate or supinate?

Answer those questions and you’re more than half way there!  For example, if you know that you have flat arches, that can eliminate a lot of wrong choices very quickly.  If you know that you pronate or supinate, there are shoes that can help with motion control.

The tip to bring in your old running shoes is a sure fire success, but only if someone with experience is looking at them.  For example, you can tell what your stride is, where to you usually land, what are the pressure points.  Someone with a lot of experience can examine the wear pattern and observe the foam breakdown and tell get you amazingly close to the best running shoes for you.

A terrific resource for choosing the best running shoes is the website http://www.runningshoesexpert.com.  There are blog posts and many tips and tricks to give you the upper hand.

One thing to remember is that even the best pair of running shoes will wear out over time.  A general rule of thumb is to replace your running shoes every 400-600 miles or every six months, whichever comes first.  Always be aware of your body and joints.  If you start to feel heavily beaten at the end of a run, then you might think about trying a new pair of running shoes.

That’s it for now.  Good luck finding your best running shoes.

I read an article today about running to live longer.  The Standford school of medicine study followed 538 runners over age 50 and a comparison group.  What they found was absolutely terrific and is great news for all runners everywhere.

Mortality rates were pushed out, injuries were less freqeunt and other diseases were less prevalent.  HEre are a few quick figures:

After 19 years, 34% of the non-runners had died, where only 15% of runners had died.

“Runners’ initial disability was 16 years later than nonrunners’…By and large, the runners have stayed healthy.” – James F. Fries

They even found that runners required FEWER total knee replacements than runners!  They actually found that the natural motion of running, as compared to some other unnatural physical activities, like football and standing en pointe in ballet, was not as damaging to the joints.

Of course the expected slowing in cardiovascular deaths was observed among runners, but that’s not all.  Researchers also observed fewer deaths from cancer, neurological disease, infections and other causes.

Running slows the aging clock

A common question about weight loss is, “how much exercise to lose weight”.  It is almost universally understood that there is a calorie equation, and so long as you burn more calories than you take in, you’ll produce a deficit that will result in weight loss.  Everyone burns calories at a different rate and that rate will change as your body mass to muscle ratio changes, among other things.

One study mentioned on the BBC website today suggests that one hour a day is the magic number to lose weight and keep it off.  They suggested that less than one our a day would not be sufficient to keep the weight off.  One thing that they didn’t mention was the type of exercise or how intense the exercise needed to be.  Here is the original article.  While they seem to answer the question “how much exercise to lose weight”, they didn’t tell the whole story.

Now I have to admit that I haven’t read the entire study, which was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine journal.  But, I would say much less than an hour of exercise would answer the question how much exercise to lose weight.  For example, in September of 2007 I accepted a challenge at work with a few other guys to see which of us could lose 10% of his body weight in the shortest amount of time.  I decided to eat mostly normal, although I watched my portions a little.  I also didn’t eat so that I got stuffed.  I also started running again.

Keep in mind that I wasn’t running a lot, but I was running two or three days a week and anywhere from two miles to three miles.  This would average out to about 10 minutes a day, but on the days that I exercised I didn’t run for less than 18 minutes.  The result was a loss of 10% body weight in about a month, and now a year later I’ve kept it all off with moderate exercise.  Also note that some weeks I didn’t run more than once, and others I ran four times.

So, How much exercise to lose weight?  Apparently some research suggests an hour a day, but I would suggest that you start with whatever you can do.  If that’s 20 minutes a couple times a week, then start there.  In my opinion, the best exercise routine to build is the one that you can comfortably maintain.

I suppose that one question remains: what is the “Best exercise to lose weight”?  Without any handy statistics, I’ll suggest that Running would be the winner, but I’ll leave that for another post another day.  The best exercise to lose weight is the exercise that you feel comfortable with and that you can maintain.

So go do something right now, and then do it again tomorrow or the next day.  Stop planning!  Start doing!