Socks.  Save your regular low cut socks for the summer.  You want a thicker, calf-length sock that also wicks moisture away from your foot.  Good socks are probably the single most important piece of gear you’ll wear while running in the winter.  Men, check out Smartwool’s Adrenaline Medium sock for winter running.  Women, Smartwool’s Light Skiing sock is a great option.  Be advised, at about $18 they aren’t cheap, but when you have icy cold feet on your next winter run, you’ll wish you had just spent the money. 

Shoe.  You’ll definitely want a pair that is water-proof.  Asics, Salomon, and The North Face all make great trail running shoes.  Wet feet on a cold winter run is clearly not what you want.  Many trail running shoes now have Gortex lining that keep feet dryer and warmer.  You’ll probably have to drop around $100 for a pair but you won’t be sorry and you would probably need to buy a new pair of regular running shoes in that time period anyway.

Gaitors.  These are relatively cheap but a lifesaver if you are going to be running in conditions where snow, water, or mud could get into your shoes.  Gear companies now make a smaller version of the mountain climbing type specifically for runners and hikers.  Inov8 and Montbell are two brand names with winter running gaitors under $25. 

Ice Cleats.  There isn’t a single running shoe made for running on ice.  So, if you are out in icy conditions, you’ll need some ice cleats.  They are small rubber straps that slide over your shoes and have little metal cleats on the bottom.  $17 for running ice cleats is a small price to pay compared to a broken arm from a fall.    

Snowshoes.  If you are a little more adventurous, and have about $125-$225 to spend, running snowshoes are the way to go.  I’ve always worn Tubbs but Atlas and CrescentMoon also have great running snowshoes.  You can wear any type of running shoe with snowshoes but you will definitely want gaitors because they throw up a lot of snow.  The biggest advantage of snowshoes over running shoes is not sinking in deeper snow.  This allows you more freedom to run on trails that aren’t cleared or to make your own cross country trail.

Don’t let the winter months stop your running.  With just a few pieces of gear, your feet will be protected and you can run in any conditions.

1. Lateral leg raises.  These can be done sitting or standing.  If standing, you don’t need to bring your leg all the way up so it is parallel to the ground.  A little past halfway will work.  Alternate ten each leg until you feel a good burn.

2. Lateral lunges.  Stand with your feet shoulder width apart.  Take a big step to one side and squat down.  You should feel the strain on your outer thigh.  Then bring your foot back to the starting position.  You can do ten in a row on each leg or alternate legs.

If you do belong to a gym, you can make this little workout even more challenging.  For the lateral leg raises, try putting ankle weights on.  And instead of lateral lunges, put an elastic band around your ankles and shuffle back and forth about 10 steps.  Do a couple sets of each exercise to get a full workout.  Having the right strength proportion in your legs and hips will have you running farther and pain free.

The criteria used to make the list were a flat course, at least 10,000 runners, unique sights and most importantly a fun atmosphere.  

1. Rock N’ Roll Arizona - This Phoenix marathon lives up to it’s name.  With a live band at every mile and a free headliner concert after the run, you’ll forget all about your iPod.  The event is in January but the weather is usually great.  About 20,000 runners turn out for this rockin’ good time.
2. Las Vegas Marathon - How could running on The Strip alongside hundreds of Elvis costumes get any better?  Only with a run through wedding chapel that has a real reverend.  This December marathon is capped at 10,000 runners but is the ultimate destination marathon for all the entertainment the city has to offer.
3. Walt Disney World Marathon - If you’re looking to make your first marathon a family vacation, there’s no better place that Disney World in Orlando.  You’ll run through all four theme parks - Disney World, Epcot Center, MGM and Animal World - and are sure to see a host of Disney characters.  A January run will mean less humidity and pleasant temperatures for all 12,000 runners.
4. New York City Marathon -  If two million cheering spectators don’t get your excited, you should probably get a new hobby.  This is the biggest marathon in the country.  Runners go through New York’s five boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan and finish in the world famous Central Park.  Crossing the finish line at the Tavern on The Green in November is something you’ll never forget.
5. Marine Corps Marathon - This Washington D.C. marathon is also referred to as the “Marathon of Monuments.”  The route takes you along incredible sights in the Washington, D.C. area, including the White House, Capitol Building, Smithsonian, Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon.  The run finishes at the Marine Corps Memorial.  It has become so popular runners have to enter a lottery for the 21,000 spots.  This special marathon should be on every runner’s list to complete before they die.

There are plenty of marathons first timers should think twice about attempting but number one on that list is the Pike’s Peak Marathon in Colorado Springs.  An 8,000 foot ascent followed by and 8,000 foot descent, topping out at 14,110 feet elevation, is no ordinary marathon.  Runners often cross the finish line bloody and battered.  Try the Pike’s Peak Ascent first before you try the full marathon.

A quick look at two Clif Bar products reveals major nutrition gaps in gels. A 32g Clif shot gel is 25% sugar, 100 calories and has no fat or protein. However, a 68g Clif bar is 30% sugar, 230 calories with 3g of fat and 10g of protein. There are several other reasons why solid food should be your first choice when running.

• Gels don’t satisfy hunger.  Running a half or full marathon can make you incredibly hungry and Clif shot gels, or any other gels, won’t help.
• Gels can upset sensitive stomachs.  A lot of runners simply can’t tolerate gels while running.  But for those that can, too many gels can also lead to an upset stomach or diarrhea.
• Gel packet trash is a huge problem at races.  For some reason, many runners seem to think it is okay to litter gel packets during a race.  Most events will disqualify you if caught and some have banned gel packets completely.  If you run carrying a water bottle, try taping a banana to it next time you go.

Lastly, one of the most important nutrition rules to follow is to not change your diet on race day.  The solid foods you have been eating during your training should be the same solid foods you eat during the race.  You should eat the foods you know you stomach can handle.  Switching to gels or even other solid foods can lead to bad results.

1. Take 2-3 weeks to rest and get several tissue massages (self or professionally administered) to reduce muscle tension and stimulate blood flow.  Foam rollers (picture) work great for IT Bands and many other stretching and balance exercises.  If you don’t give your body time to mend good luck ever getting back to 100%.
2. Focus on gradually warming up and incorporating IT band stretches before any activity.  A cold, stiff IT band is much more likely to result in injury especially if you have a history with this syndrome.
3. After activity make sure to stretch the IT band while it is warm and flexible following up with a 5-8 minute direct ice application to prevent inflammation.

I also recommend IT Band stabilizing braces like the Cho-Pat pictured here, which minimize rubbing against the thigh bone.  Coupling this with a sound warm up will reduce the chance of re-injury.

If you’re reading this with IT Band pain good luck in your recovery.  If you’ve never had IT Band pain I encourage you to prioritize proper warms ups, stretching, and cool downs to avoid ever having to go through this rehab.

What is a kettlebell

In simplest terms, it is an iron ball with an iron handle attached.  They range from less than 10 lbs to over 100 lbs.  They have been used by the Russian military for centuries.  Kettlebells have not been used in the US until recently but have gained popularity in past few years.

Kettlebell training

Kettlebell training is oftentimes combined with other exercises that incorporate bags, bricks, crawls, runs, ropes, bungees, and body weight resistance but the bell is the core of the workout.  Exercises like bear crawls or lunges can even be done with kettlebells in each hand to really make them challenging.  Building functional strength is the key difference between kettlebell training and free weights.  In very few sports or activities would it be useful for you to bench press 300 lbs.

Advantages over free weights

One of the biggest advantages of kettlebells is in the time it takes to do your three sets of a particular lift, you could have done three different kettlebell exercises that blasted your entire body and kept your heart rate elevated the entire time.  Free weight workouts are more resting than activity whereas kettlebell training is all about nonstop resistance and activity.  Kettlebell training can be done without a spotter as well (although I recommend a personal trainer when first starting out).  Kettlebells can also be great during the off-season when an athlete may want to focus less on power weight training and more on general fitness and functional strength.  

Safety

It is highly recommended to get a personal trainer or take a kettlebell class before ever starting on your own, especially if you have limited experience working out with weights.  You will probably want to stay with the class or trainer anyway.  They will show you the safest way to use kettlebells and how to maximize your workout.  They will also put you through the most grueling but rewarding workouts of your life.  

After your first kettlebell workout you’ll feel like you’ve been smacked around with kettlebells.  But, after a couple kettlebell workouts you’ll feel like you are carved from stone.

For those of you with a sweet tooth, you’ll be happy to know this smoothie calls for three different types of chocolate.  But, it’s important to know that this smoothie actually has a purpose different from those with fruit as the main ingredients.  This drink is meant to curb the post-workout urge to eat everything in site.  While this drink has more sugar and fat than you might think, it prevents you from tearing into junk food or other bad alternatives in your refrigerator.

Ingredients:

• 2 ice cubes
• 1 whole banana
• 2 frozen strawberries
• 1 serving of chocolate pudding (or chocolate yogurt)
• 2 spoonfuls of peanut butter
• 10-12 chocolate covered espresso beans
• enough chocolate milk to cover all the ingredients in the blender

Even Bjarne Riis, winner of the 1996 Tour de France and coach of this year’s winning team, recently admitted he used EPO to win the race. The top rider for Riis’ team in 2006, Ivan Basso, was prohibited from riding that year due to his relationship with known blood doping doctors. Basso had taken second place in the Tour the last year Lance Armstrong rode it and looked poised to be the next dominant champion.

Other top finishers in the most prestigious bicycle race have been exposed as cheaters. Michael Rassmusen took fourth in 2005 and held the yellow jersey in 2006 for most of the race until he was removed by his team for missing multiple drug tests. 1997 Tour winner, and five-time runner up to Lance Armstrong, Jan Ulrich disgracefully ended his career due to relationships with the same doctors as Ivan Basso.

Unfortunately, American riders are no strangers to blood doping. In 2003 Tyler Hamilton took fourth overall in the Tour de France despite a broken collarbone suffered in Stage 1. However, multiple failed drug tests in 2004 landed him a two-year ban from cycling but he managed to keep his Olympic gold medal on a technicality. Even more infamous is cyclist Floyd Landis who earned the dubious honor as the only professional rider to ever be stripped of the overall Tour de France win. He was later found a cheater for his testosterone to epitestosterone ratio and stripped of his yellow jersey.

This is only a few of the many cheaters who have been caught. Numerous other top riders and Tour stage winners have been busted for EPO and other illegal drugs. No one can be sure how many have gone undetected. Lance Armstrong’s return to cycling has created a huge stir and rekindled debate over this burning, lingering issue of blood doping in professional cycling.

Eligibility

Any military veteran of either Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan or Operation Iraqi Freedom can apply for an expedition. Family members are not eligible. However, the Sierra Club funds other military programs that do include the entire family.

How to Sign Up

Enrollment opens on Tuesday, October 14th at 1:00 pm Eastern Standard time on the Outward Bound website. Slots are sure to go fast again this time so submit your application right away. This is program is a great way to thank veterans for their service.

How He Did It

To actually break the record Mark Beaumont had to travel the 18,296 mile, 20 country route set by the Guinness Book of World Records.  He traveled solo and carried about 66 lb of gear on his bike.  An iPod was his only companion.  Mark rode 100 miles a day, every day, with one rest day every two weeks.  Doing the math, he averaged about 94 miles a day over the course of 194 days.  He battled crashes, dysentery and broken wheels along the way and said that “my greatest memories of the whole world cycle are of the people I met along the road.”

How He Trained

To me, one of the most amazing parts of his story isn’t the actual journey, but how he trained for it. Knowing very little about ultra-endurance cycling, I would have assumed he did training rides of 100-200 miles at a time to simulate actual conditions.  However, he never once did a 100 mile training ride during his 13 month preparation.  That could have caused tendonitis or other repetitive strain injuries.  His approach was high intensity, shorter rides and a mix of cross training.   The last part of his “training” was to put on weight.  This might sound counterintuitive but the body needs fat reserves to prevent fatigue and breakdown.  Lance Armstrong’s coach Chris Carmichael helped famous ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes complete 50 marathons in 50 days by putting him on a 6,000 calorie a day diet, doubling his body fat, before starting.

Up next for Mark Beaumont? Attempting to break the North Atlantic rowing record next summer.