Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

As Wendy Bumgardner pointed out, it’s dark at night and not so safe for night time exercise:

• Time Change Deadly to Walkers

Changing from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time triples pedestrian deaths from 5 pm – 7 pm, according to two Carnegie Mellon University researchers. An average of 37 more people are killed each year in November vs. October around the 6 pm commute time.

She recommends a variety of reflective and lit items to make yourself visible. After looking at the reflective vests on Amazon, I’m shocked to see that they all are near the twenty dollar mark. Sure, you can’t put a price on safety, but it seems like an awful lot of money for a light little vest.

I found this reflective vest for walkers for six bucks, but other than that, anything under $15 was meant for construction workers.

Ironically, the best thing I’ve seen walkers do is carry a flashlight. Because it lights up itself, it doesn’t depend on the car headlights to hit it exactly right. The walker that does this in my area always carries it in the hand closest to the street. He lets his arm swing just as it would while walking and the light is moving, so it attracts your attention as a driver. A two buck flashlight and some batteries is a great way to keep yourself visible.

Me? I’m back to the treadmill now. It has gotten a little too cold out there for me and I’m logging my miles while watching my Walking DVDs.

What do you do for exercise when it gets dark and cold?

It feels so good to be running every day again. Whenever I fall out of the habit of exercising, EVERYTHING suffers. This week’s challenges were very close. Click over to Runner+ to see all the results.

Zadounet ran a total of 9.46 miles last week and took home the Level 1 Challenge!

Level 1 Results 11-05-07

Mvb99 ran a total of 18.52 miles and won the Level 2 Challenge.

Level 2 Results 11-05-07

Erik won the Level 3 Challenge with 28.81 miles. Right on his heels was mjna1877 with 28.33 miles. Close race!

Level 3 Results 11-05-07

If you thought Level 3 was a close race, just look at the final mileage on Level 4! Mike is the winner of the Level 4 Challenge with 34.58 miles. Finlandia lost the challenge by only 0.06 miles! Can’t wait to see how they do next week!

Level 4 Results 11-05-07

Finlandia may have lost the Level 4 Challenge by only 0.06 miles, but ended up winning Level 5!

Level 5 Results 11-05-07

Patcini won Level 6 by running 62.41 miles last week! That averages out to almost nine miles a day! Great job, Patcini!

Level 6 Results 11-05-07

Congratulations to all the competitors! Join us at Runner+ and show off your mileage!

If you exercise by running or walking, you can compete in the Starling Fitness Challenges on Runner+. All you need is an account at Runner+ (free) and you can log your miles there. If you have a Nike+iPod kit, then your runs will automatically be added, but the site will also allow you to add your runs manually. If you would like to compete against runners on your level, here are the links for this week’s challenges:

Level 1 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 0-10 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 1 (11-12-07) – RUNNER+

Level 2 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 10-20 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 2 (11-12-07) – RUNNER+

Level 3 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 20-30 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 3 (11-12-07) – RUNNER+

Level 4 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 30-40 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 4 (11-12-07) – RUNNER+

Level 5 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 40-50 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 5 (11-12-07) – RUNNER+

Level 6 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 50-60 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 6 (11-12-07) – RUNNER+

With as much running as Mike and I do, we go through a lot of shoes. Mike, obviously has more of a problem with this because of his feet. I only have two pair in the pile. My OLD Rykas that are beyond use and the Dr. Scholls that never really worked for me.

Who IS Dr. Scholl, anyway? Was he a real person or just a company mascot? Wikipedia says he was a real person:

• William Scholl – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The company was founded by William Mathias Scholl, who was born in 1882 and graduated from Illinois Medical School in 1904, thereby becoming a doctor (podiatrist). Scholl and his company invented a number of foot care products, which he marketed with his company after 1906. These include the Foot Eazer, the Zino Pad, rubberless stockings, Foot Wings arch supports, and Ball-O-Foot Cushions. The first company retail store was opened in 1928. William M. Scholl passed away in 1968 at the age of 86, leaving the company to his nephews, William H. Scholl (1920-2002) and Jack E. Scholl (1926-2006). The company had an initial public offering in 1971.

Well, his running shoes didn’t help me at all.

Right now, I’m wearing Nike+ Air Zooms. I like them because they work with my Nike+, but they have an added benefit of being LIGHT. They weigh half what my Rykas weigh. It’s a plus that they don’t hurt my feet, but mostly I like them because they log my miles without a funny thing on the top of my shoe.

This pile is going to GoodWill. They might not be good for running anymore, but someone might be able to use them to mow the lawn.

While I was taking pictures for yesterday’s entry, I filmed myself running on the treadmill. It seemed like such a calm little video, that I thought I’d share it with you.

Download this video for your iPod

Next time you consider skipping your workout, pretend that a video camera is watching your every move. If national television was watching you, what would you do? Skip the workout? Probably not.

I run and I walk. I usually like to believe that I am doing “better” when I run than when I walk, but is this idea correct? Wendy Bumgardner answers that question:

• Does Running Burn More Calories than Walking? by Wendy Bumgardner

It seems that the most important factor in burning calories is DISTANCE, not speed. You may burn more calories with less mileage if you run, but it’s not as dramatic as being able to go that extra mile.

What’s the best speed?

If you can build up your walking speed to 5 mph, or 12 minutes per mile, you will be at the top calorie burn per mile and achieve the same burn as a jogger. If you are a runner, you don’t get any calorie burning benefit by going faster than 10 minutes per mile or 6 mph.

Next time you’re tempted to kick your butt and go a little faster, remember that you won’t see any extra benefit unless you actually cover MORE MILES than you would have if you had walked the whole time.

I’m finally back on the treadmill after two weeks of sickness and one week of laziness. It’s amazing how quickly I let myself get out of the habit of running daily. There are so many people running that I’m no longer able to copy the charts on one screen, so you’ll have to click over to Runner+ to see all the results.

iMum dusted us all on Level 1 this week. The Level 1 race is very lively. If you’re starting out, give it a chance!

Level 1 Results 10-22-07

It was a close race, but bcharris49 beat out ajmiarka on the Level 2 Challenge.

Level 2 Results 10-22-07

Once again, gkoenig won the Level 3 Challenge. A special nod to cinziachi66 and ted for duking it out all week.

Level 3 Results 10-22-07

RicC is the winner of the Level 4 Challenge. Unfortunately, blackang is having a hard time choosing the appropriate level to run at.

Level 4 Results 10-22-07

Let’s give a shout-out to timmz, who has taken Level 5! There are still only three competitors on Level 5. If you want a smaller race, this might be the one for you.

Level 5 Results 10-22-07

Rasmus is finally getting a little competition on Level 6. He still won, but patcini and blackang were right on his tail.

Level 6 Results 10-22-07

Congratulations to all the competitors! Join us at Runner+ and show off your mileage!

If you exercise by running or walking, you can compete in the Starling Fitness Challenges on Runner+. All you need is an account at Runner+ (free) and you can log your miles there. If you have a Nike+iPod kit, then your runs will automatically be added, but the site will also allow you to add your runs manually. If you would like to compete against runners on your level, here are the links for this week’s challenges:

Level 1 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 0-10 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 1 (11-05-07) – RUNNER+

Level 2 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 10-20 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 2 (11-05-07) – RUNNER+

Level 3 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 20-30 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 3 (11-05-07) – RUNNER+

Level 4 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 30-40 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 4 (11-05-07) – RUNNER+

Level 5 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 40-50 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 5 (11-05-07) – RUNNER+

Level 6 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 50-60 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 6 (11-05-07) – RUNNER+

Questionable Content is a webcomic that I read every day. Imagine my surprise when Faye voices my fears about the gym:

Are you letting your fears about other people seeing you workout stop you from getting fit?

It was hot at this year’s marathon. The incredible heat lead to the death of one of the participants… well, that and the lack of water at the water stations. Sadly, most of the mainstream media is blaming the participants. Mark Iocchelli at Complete Running Network voices my reaction perfectly:

• Chicago Marathon: Defending Slow, Fat, Poorly Trained Runners » Complete Running Network

Chicago Marathon organizers say they were prepared for the heat and had plenty of water on the course, but marathoners say something completely different – that there wasn’t nearly enough water. Many runners have said some of the first water stations were dry very early on in the race.

While watching the Chicago Marathon organizers and media spin their spin, I’ve become compelled to speak out against what I think is a grossly inappropriate attack on the majority of people who took part in that marathon and, for that matter, all marathons.

I’m angry and disheartened to see attention being deflected away from the real issue – poor race organization – by suggesting that the runners were unprepared, poorly trained (even fat and out of shape), and had no business lacing up their shoes in the first place.

I have ran poorly organized races before, most notably, the first two years of the SLC 5K. It ran concurrently with the marathon, but they didn’t care about nor prepare for the crowd of 5K runners. When I finished, things were backed up behind the finish line with a huge crowd of people in front of me trying to get their running chips off their shoes. It took me an extra two minutes just to get to the finish line.

Not only that, I was suddenly stopped cold. Anyone who had ever run a hard race knows that if you stop suddenly, you will pass out because all the blood in your body pools in your legs. I literally had to run in place to prevent myself from losing consciousness. Unfortunately, not everyone knew this and their first aid station was packed with people who had been stopped by the crowd.

It took them TWO years of poor organization like this to fix the problem. TWO YEARS of filled first aid stations and fainting runners. Last year, they finally figured out that if they have us walk 500 yards away before they force us to take off our chips and have more than four people available to take them off, then we might be able to prevent huge crowds pushing past the finish line.

Race organizers are to blame for the death at the Chicago Marathon this year, not the runners.

Wendy Bumgardner at About.com has an EXCELLENT article about how to prevent becoming a statistic in poorly organized races:

• When a Marathon Goes Wrong – Chicago

I love this commercial for Nike+!

It looks like there is another active computer game that has been developed by Daniil Kondratyev, Tamar Raviv and Shahar Zrihen. It was developed as a final project of the Interaction Design Hands On Course at the Holon Institute Of Technology:

• Steppo

You can see a child playing with the game here:

I like that so many schools are researching active computer gaming. This looks fun, but not very practical for adults.

Via: Craftzine.com blog: Steppo