Think Fun for Running Races

If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I’ve spent several weeks sidelined with Runner’s Knee. Now that I’m working my way back to running, I’ve got road races on my mind. Here are a few races I’d love to run:

Disney’s Princess Half-Marathon
This inaugural race is the latest in the series of endurance events hosted at Walt Disney World. What could be more fun than running around through Disney? Scheduled for March 8 (a great time of year to run in Florida), it promises to offer an exciting and inspirational weekend for women runners of all ages. You can connect with other Disney-bound runners at disneyrunning.com.

Marathon/Half-Marathon Oasis De Montreal
Enjoy the atmosphere of Paris without the jet lag. As a qualifying race for Boston, the course runs through the picturesque neighborhoods and famous sites of Montreal. It ends inside Olympic Stadium, where runners enter through its historical Marathon’s gate. What a memorable way to experience a Bruce Jenner moment.

Chicago Half-Marathon
With its collection of amazing architecture, Chicago is one of my favorite cities. This race offers a great way to combine site-seeing with running. The route runs along Lake Shore Drive, through Jackson Park and the University of Chicago campus. It’s considered a very popular event for long-distance runners.

Mardi Gras Marathon & Half-Marathon
New Orleans is a magical city and Mardi Gras season is an exceptionally festive time to visit. The race takes place two weeks before the first Madri Gras parade, but it helps kick-off the celebrations for the annual party. The course travels through the Garden District and Audubon Park.

ING Georgia Half-Marathon
Looking a little closer to home, I loved the route for the race when I ran it in 2007. Spring is a beautiful season in Atlanta and this race route travels through some of the great intown Atlanta neighborhoods. If things go well with my recovery, I’ll be running this race to raise money for Girls on the Run.

This week’s route comes from WalkJogRun.net. It’s a 5-mile run through Virginia-Highlands and Midtown.

· Start at the corner of Amsterdam Ave and Monroe Dr.
· Run down Amsterdam and turn right on Brockridge Dr.
· Veer left and stay on Brockridge Dr.
· Veer onto Glen Arden Way
· Turn right on N. Highland Ave.
· Turn right on Ponce de Leon Ave.
· Turn right on Lakeview Ave
· Run along Midtown Place and Midtown Promenade
· Turn right on Monroe Dr.
· End at Monroe Dr. and Amsterdam

Nursing a Running Injury: Part 2

It’s been almost two months since I wrote about my knee injury. Unfortunately, the soreness still lingers which makes it difficult to run. The symptoms I’m experiencing are similar to those described for Runner’s Knee. Earlier this month, I had an evaluation at the Emory Orthopaedics Center and nothing looked unusual. So now I’m taking a prescription anti-inflammatory pill and Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM supplement.

Beth Moore at Traxee wrote a great blog post about the frustrations of being sidelined with a running injury. Like Beth, there’s a lot I miss about running. Clearing my head after a tough day. The satisfaction and confidence that comes after a long run. Seeing my neighborhood the way it was meant to be seen. It’s tough driving by other runners and feeling a pang of jealousy. Swimming is an alternative, but my motivation to get to the pool is lacking.

With the new year approaching, I’m hoping to return to running.

This week’s route is a 3-mile run that starts at Fernbank Museum. You can find the route at Map My run under my group Atlanta Running.

· Start at the parking lot of Fernbank Museum
· Turn right on Clifton Rd.
· Turn right on E. Clifton Rd.
· Turn right on Clifton Rd.
· Turn left on N. Decatur Rd.
· Turn left on Oxford Rd.
· Turn right on Clifton Rd.
· Follow Clifton back to Fernbank Museum

Gift Ideas for Runners

I’m finally catching up on my blog after spending two weeks traveling. Just in time to start thinking about holiday shopping. With gift giving on my mind, I thought I’d share a few ideas for useful and inexpensive gifts for runners. Here are a few items to consider as stocking stuffers:

Pepper spray
Give the gift of safety with pepper spray. You can find runner-friendly spray canisters at sporting goods stores and online retail sites.

Reflective vest
Help runners stay visible on the road with reflective apparel. Vests are an inexpensive way to make sure cars and cyclists see runners during dawn and dusk. And don’t forget the four-legged running partner. You can find reflective dog leashes and collars are available at a variety of online stores.

Sports massage
Running in cold weather can be tough on the body. Give the gift of pampering with a certificate for a massage. Local spas like Natural Body offer a variety of massage choices.

Paid entry for road race
You’ll find a comprehensive list of road races at Run Georgia. This is a great gift option for runners who love to participate in races.

ClifShots or Luna Moons
Cheap and easy stocking stuffers. These are handy to have during long runs to maintain energy levels.

Head Lamp
Along with reflective vests, head lamps are a great item to keep runners visible on the road.

Road ID
Road I.D. provides a variety of wearable identification for athletes. My favorite is the shoe pocket.

I discovered WalkJogRun.net which is a great resource for running routes. This week's feature run is the Highland Bakery Route that loops through Inman Park.

Highland Bakery Route - 3.75 Miles

· Start at the corner of McClendon Ave. and Oakdale Rd.
· Head west on McClendon toward Little Five Points
· Cross Morehead Ave and veer left onto Euclid Ave
· Turn right on Austin Ave.
· Turn right on Elizabeth St.
· Turn left on Highland Ave.
· At the corner of Highland and Sampson, make a sharp right and follow the running path along Freedom Parkway
· Continue on the path as it follows Copenhill Ave.
· Follow the running path back to McClendon Ave.
· Turn right on McClendon.
· End at the corner of McClendon and Oakdale.

Women Runners Connect at Traxee

A recent web search on running communities pulled up a link for Traxee. Traxee brands itself as a social networking site for women runners. It features a collection of blog posts from women runners, information on gear and training. You can also track your runs through applications offered at the site. Setting up an account is easy. But because it’s still in beta, I’m not able to feed my blog posts to my profile.

During my web search, I was looking to see if running shoe companies offered online communities for runners at their sites. I was surprised to see that the major brands did not feature any Web 2.0 tools for runners to connect with the brands and each other. As evident by Traxee, Runner’s World and hundreds of individual running blogs, there’s a huge community of runners interested in connecting and sharing stories.

This week’s route is a 3-mile loop around Georgia Tech. I found it at Run.com, which is a handy resource for local running routes. The route was originally posted by Sierra Nicholson. I’ve included it at Map My Run under my group Atlanta Running.

Georgia Tech 3-Mile Loop:
· Start at the corner of 5th St. and W. Peachtree St. NW
· Head down 5th St. towards Georgia Tech
· Cross Techwood Dr. and Fowler St.
· Veer left on 5th St. as it turns into Ferst Dr.
· Follow Ferst Dr. around the campus
· Turn left on Cherry St.
· Turn right on Bobby Dodd Way
· Turn right on Williams St.
· Turn left on North Ave.
· Turn left on W. Peachtree St. NW
· End run at 5th and W. Peachtree or repeat to increase mileage

Great Day for ZOOMA Atlanta

It was a very cold but festive start for the ZOOMA Atlanta Road Race. While I trained for the half-marathon, I ended up running the 5K stroller jog because of continuing problems with runner's knee. It was great to see a few men join several hundred women for this inaugural event. I was one of the few runners with an actual stroller in the 5K race. My daughter had a great time riding in the stroller even though she had to get up early with me. And she loved the sterling silver necklace that runners received at the finish line. Part of the appeal of the ZOOMA Race Series is that it supports Atlanta-based CARE. As a global humanitarian organization, CARE strives to help poor women and their families move out of poverty. At least $3 from each entry fee is donated to CARE. For UPS employees, the company generously paid the $75 fee.

This week's route is the 5K course from ZOOMA Atlanta. You can find the route at May My Run under my group Atlanta Running.

ZOOMA Atlanta 5K Route:

• Start from the Atlanta Station Parking Garage, at the P2 level
• Head down 20th St.
• Turn right at Fowler St. and cross 17th St.
• At 16th St., turn left
• Turn right on Northside Dr.
• Turn right at 17th St.
• Follow 17th St. back to Atlantic Station
• Just before Fowler St., make a u-turn on 17th St.
• Head back down 17th St. and turn right on State St.
• Follow State St. back to the starting point

Great Songs for Running

It’s time to update my iPod with a new song list. Since I mostly use it when I’m running, I decided to search for songs that will keep me mentally motivated and energized. Here are a few selections that I plan to add:

· Going the Distance (Cake)
· One Week (Barenaked Ladies)
· Come Original (311)
· We Got the Beat (The Go-Gos)
· Call Me (Blonde)
· Crazy (Gnarls Barkley)
· Hey Ya! (Outkast)
· Got Caught Stealing (Jane’s Addiction)
· Higher Ground (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
· Beautiful Day (U2)
· Bitter Sweet Symphony (Verve)
· Freedom! ‘90 (George Michael)
· Personal Jesus (Depeche Mode)
· Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash)
· 100 Days, 100 Nights (Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings)
· Any podcast from This American Life

This week’s route is a 4 mile run loop around Grant Park. You can find the route at Map My Run under my group Atlanta Running.

· Start at the entrance to the Zoo, on Cherokee Ave. and Georgia Ave.
· Facing the park, turn left down Cherokee
· Turn right on Sydney St.
· Turn right on Park Ave.
· Turn left on Berne St.
· Turn right on Blvd Dr.
· Turn right on Atlanta Ave.
· Turn right on Cherokee
· Repeat

Nursing a Running Injury

In August I wrote about recovering from a bruised toe. This week, I learned that I was suffering from a strained ligament in my knee. During my runs, my knee literary felt like it would give out from under me. Needless to say, I was not happy. Since I’m trying to increase my mileage for the ZOOMA Atlanta Half-Marathon next month, this was not the time to encounter an injury. I’m taking nearly two weeks off from running to give the knee time to recuperate. Thanks to my trainer, Calvin, here’s the approach I’m taking to treat my injury:

· Take ibuprofen twice a day
· Lap swimming for my cardio exercise (in place of running)
· Ice packs on knee for 15 minutes followed by heating pad

I also decided to purchase a new pair of running shoes. My current pair felt as if I wasn’t getting an adequate level of support as my mileage increased. I had been running in Adidas Supernova Classics (which I loved for the high-arch support). It was a tough decision to select a new shoe – I literally spent 30 minutes at Big Peach Running Co. in Decatur deciding between a pair of Mizunos and Sauconys. I ended up with the Mizunos. Hopefully, I’ll returned to a comfortable running experience by next weekend.

Since I’m not running this week, I decided not to post a route. However, if you’re looking for a running route, here are a couple of sources:

Map My Run (Atlanta Running) – This is where I keep maps of my running routes. Currently, there are 20 routes available.

Run.com – The site offers 18 different routes, which are primarily located within intown neighborhoods.

Atlanta Track Club – You’ll find 9 routes in neighborhoods across Metro Atlanta