Monthly Archives: February 2009

     If you look around the streets of Athens, Ohio, you are bound to see more than one person running down the sidewalk. There are plenty of people who hold an interest in running but only a few are brave enough to take on the challenge of running a whole or half marathon. Senior management information systems and accounting major Rachel Musheff is one of these runners. She has been running since she was in the seventh grade when she participated on her school’s track team. In high school she started running cross country, where she would compete in a 5K, a 3.1 mile race, every weekend throughout the fall. When Musheff entered college, she stopped competing and started running for the pure enjoyment of the sport.
     A lot of people have trouble finding places to run, but Athens runners don’t seem to have that problem because they run the streets on a regular basis. “When it is cold outside I run at Ping on either the track or the treadmills but when it is nice out, I run either around the streets of Athens or on the bike path,” Musheff said.
     A senior Media Management student, Josh Bischoff started running five years ago as a freshman on campus. Bischoff never has trouble finding places to run.
     “You can run anywhere. It’s really cool because you can run flat, you can run hills, you can run almost any terrain you want. I take different routes all the time but it is usually just around campus. I run wherever the wind takes me, wherever my legs go. It’s not my choice, it’s theirs,” Bischoff said.
Since finding places to run is hardly a problem and running is an enjoying sport, Musheff decided in January to take on the challenge of the Athens Half-Marathon. “My friend ran the marathon last year and it was something I have always wanted to do, but I realized I wouldn’t have enough time to train for the whole marathon so I decided to run the half so I could eventually train for the whole one,” Musheff said.
     Senior Exercise Physiology major Kelley Phillips is also training for the Athens Half- Marathon. She started her training about two months ago in the beginning of January. “I have always had the idea to run a half-marathon but I have never been motivated until this year. The idea of getting back in shape and running a race again motivated me to do it,” Phillips said.
When training for a long race such as a marathon or half-marathon, runners usually have a set schedule they need to follow to ensure they are ready on race day. Musheff has been running an equal number of miles on Sundays that correspond to the week of the quarter it is. This way, during finals week she will complete an 11-mile run and that is the farthest she will go until race day on April 5th when she runs 13.1 miles. Phillips, who has been running for about nine years, has been doing her own type of training. She runs anywhere from 3 to 6 miles on a daily basis and is building a base and slowly trying to build up her endurance.
     Training for a long race is not for everyone though. Bischoff said he has never considered running a half-marathon and probably never will. He prefers to stick to 5K races offered through the university and shorter distance races.
If you have ever considered running a long race you need to make sure you are mentally prepared to do the training and physically able to complete the race. That is the challenge of it, you need to push yourself to limits you never thought possible. Local runners, including Musheff and Phillips will be testing their skills on April 5th, 2009 at the Athens-Half Marathon. The race starts at 9:00 a.m. at College Gate and will end on the track at Pruitt Field.

Sorry, I had to do it… but it really is freezing out! Just yesterday it was in the high 40s. No wonder everyone is getting sick! In spite of the cold weather, and since I don’t know when Mother Nature is going to stop teasing us with the warm/cold temperatures…I thought I would offer some tips on how to stay warm out there on these below freezing days: 

1. Always dress for the weather. Don’t assume it is warmer than it is and wear less than you should. If you layer clothes, you can always take them off. A good bottom layer is spandex tights and an Under Armor shirt. 

2. As a second layer, put on a pair of shorts and a long sleeve shirt, t-shirt or running shirt that is made of lightweight sweat proof material. This is good because it helps to keep you dry in the cold weather. You will still sweat out there so if you are dry, you won’t get nearly as cold as you would normally. 

3. It is always a good idea to wear a hat or headband, preferably sweat proof, such as the Nike Dry-Fit line. Also, don’t forget to wear gloves! My favorite gloves are the Dry-Fit line and have a pocket on the inside of the palm so I can slip a key in. 

These are the basics of how to dress in the cold weather. It can be brutal out there, especially in Southeast Ohio. It is always important to make sure you are dressed for the weather or you can get frostbite or sick.

It is 5:30 a.m. I have class in exactly 3 hours. I have been in Alden, the library on OU’s campus, since about 8:00 p.m. with my roommate working on homework and just getting everything possible out of the way. On the downside (not that being at Alden for that long is on the upside) I am getting sick. I do not need to get sick right now, there is training to be done… and for about a split second I thought about going for a run BEFORE my Online Journalism class at 8:30 a.m. Don’t worry, I vetoed that thought real quick! There will be no running until Wednesday…and I am pretty excited about it too. I am planning on taking my camera out with me and photographing all the cool places I can find to run! Hopefully I will rest it off tomorrow, well I guess that would be today, after all my classes are over at 5:30 p.m. so I make it out there this week. I will post more later on about my runs and training and what not but I’m just too tired to do this right now.

This week I was looking through some running websites to find races in the Athens, Ohio area when I stumbled upon Active.com. I have been to this site before but this time, I was slightly more impressed. There were a ton of interesting articles from St. Patrick day races and parties to how to make a treadmill run more fun (which I think is impossible to do, since I rarely run on one). I like turning to this site when I need a quick bit of inspiration or want to pass time reading random articles on things I probably do not need to know. Active.com often sends me an e-mail with random facts or reminders about upcoming races. This is where a lot of online registrations for marathons take place, after all, it is where the one for the Athens Marathon is… the one with the submit button I am hesitant towards hitting… However, I guess I will be visiting this site a lot in the next 50-something days, contemplating hitting submit and finding some random facts along the way about running, keeping in shape during the off season, motivating me to get up and go on a run and of course, having user generated content about races, opinions on a course and favorite races to run. It is a good site to pass time on or to get a quick burst of inspiration and motivation.
Running isn’t the only thing Active.com gives insight into. There is information for bikers, soccer players, swimming and more. It has a guide called ‘Find things to do’ and you can find things within a certain mile radius of your hometown with races and events going on. I highly recommend visiting it when you have a chance.

The RW Daily, the running blog written by the editors of Runners World is a great blog that offers lots of nonsense advice and occasionally mentions inspirational running stories that really make you want to run-or do something amazing. Recently he posted a blog about a man who ran seven marathons in seven days on seven different continents. That is inspiring and truly amazing. Another recent post was about a man who ran on a tredmill for 24-hours straight to celebrate his 30th birthday. Why? Again, this is awesome and inspiring. To non-runners this sounds awful and uncomfortable. It is uncomfortable, very much so, but the experiece derived from this has got to be worth it. 

Here is the link to this blog, check it out for some advice, inspiration and maybe just a little something to brighten up your day: RW Daily