Requirements for an elliptical trainer

Every die hard runner prefers to go outside for a run but every now and then you have to resort to other training methods. No matter the reason the elliptical trainer is a good indoor alternative. It mimics the stride from running, training the same muscles at roughly the same levels of intensity from the perspective of cardio fitness.

"Why not going for a treadmill?" I can hear you think. It is completely similar to running outside. That is not entirely true. Because on a treadmill every stride is exactly the same as the previous whereas outside the pavement, or better still, the trails in the park changes all the time forcing you to change your stride. This avoids a monotone movement.
And yes the elliptical trainer is monotone as well as a treadmill but without the impact of the strides. With this in mind it is a good cross training method for runners.
Wanna buy one for yourself? First answer the following questions:

• How much space do I have available for the elliptical trainer?
• What is the body weight and length it can handle?
• Do I want a more heavy and stable frame or is it more important that I can easily move it around the house?
• Do I want to workout on various resistance levels?
• Do I want adjustable pedals for different users?
• What is the stride length (which is more important than the height)?
• Do I want a display and/or programmable exercises?

Did you answer the questions? Now you can find a suitable trainer matching the requirements you wrote down answering the questions. For example on Amazon.

The evolution of man: made for running

No doubt that on this blog you'll have seen my posts on the book 'Born to Run'. This book states that humans evolved the way they did by becoming running hunters. perfectly build to chase even the largest animals untill they become overheated, unable to defend themselves from these small and weak humans or run away from the slow running humans.

The TEDx video below shows Daniel Lieberman with the scientific backing of this view on the evolution of man.

 

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

One of the covers
of the book

Before turning to writing Murakami owned a jazz club. The siwth from 'jazz club owner' to 'writer' came with a switch in livestyle as well.
The discipline required to write on a novell, day in, day out brought out the discipline to pick up running as a fysical exercise.
For Murakami those two do not differ that much.

Finding himself not very talented at either, it is the discipline that enables him to finish a novell and to run a (ultra)marathon each year. Being wel over fifty he still runs a marathon each winter and completes a traithlon each summer.

The book is a collection of memories and reflections mostly from the four month period leading up to his New York City Marathon of 2005. But these reflections go a long way (away) from running which makes the book a good read for runners and non runners alike.

The side steps give a good impression how running helped him in becoming the person he is, how it shaped him. Running is not only a fysical past time, it is a metaphore for the 25 years he has been a writer/runner at the time of writing this novell. for this reason Murakami himselfs calls this novell a memoir.

The book contains two quotes that are a perfect illustration of  how running is a metaphore for life.

1. His epithaph will be: "Writer (and Runner), At Least He Never Walked". Indicating that no matter how bad he felt during a marathon (life) he always kept on going.
2. "Pain is Inevitable, Suffering is Optional". Indicating that it is up to you how you mentaly deal with the fysical pain your body feels. A nice mantra to remember the next time you are in the final stages of your marathon. 

.

Gloomy day

It is not just because a kind of gloomy autumn weather is flushing away two weeks of crisp winter weather with lovely runs on snow covered tracks.

Today my first ever running T is demoted from clothing to a cleaning rag.

It was this Airborne Run that motivated me to start running on a kind of regular basis so you (as a fellow runner) understand it comes with this extra memory.

A wonder this cheap cotton shirt with even cheaper print lasted so long. Probably because it spent most of its time a the bottom of the pile in the wardrobe. But after almost 19 years and while cleaning out the wardrobe its time has come.....

Bye Bye...

Fashion or Function?

Every now and then your eye picks up an image from a glossy. In this it were the very fashionable shoes to the right.

What a colours! Lets read what the text says. They are running shoes  (yeah sure..) by Stella McCartney (okay?) for Adidas (alright!).

And then you remember that Stella also designed the apparel for the UK team of the Olympic Games in London last summer (read the related blogpost).

So maybe it is not just fashion but also function that these shoes represent. So good news for those that want to run with something 'different' on their feet.

She also came up with two less striking designs.


These more modest designs can be bought on Amazon (see below). For the very colourful design I can only refer to the Adidas Site!

Five GPS watches tested for accuracy

The Polish edition of Runnersworld featured a accuracy test with GPS watches.

The tested watches are:

• Garmin Forerunner 610
• Nike+ Sports Watch
• Polar RCX3 GPS
• Suunto Ambit
• Timex Run Trainer

The watches were tested on 4 distance/speed combinations a 400m track and a 5th  test was run over a longer distance on a trail in a park.
The watches were also tested on two altitudes: 415 meters above sea level and 714m

The results are:

 GARMIN
Forerunner 610 

 NIKE+
Sportswatch 

 POLAR
RCX3 

 SUUNTO
Ambit 

 TIMEX
Run Trainer  

dist.400m

slow

390m

418m

390m

400m

396m

dist.400m

fast

390m

434m

390m

390m

404m

dist.800m

810m

836m

800m

770m

798m

dist.1600m

1650m

1625m

1610m

1540m

1750m

dist.5320m

in the park

5000m

5030m

5100m

5040m

4840m

alt. 415m

boven n.a.p.

420m

405m

--

409m

413m

alt. 714m

boven n.a.p. 

714m

704m

--

699m

710m

The Polar lacks the altitude registration but is the most accurate on distances. It is available in white as well.

A plus for the Nike is the availability in three colours. It is clearly more of a fashion article.
The Suunto is available in silver as well as black.

Al watches can be used as a heart rate monitor as well but for some you'll have to order the sensor seperately so read carefully before you order what's in and what's out...

Below you'll find both the images and prices on amazon:

Debate: Barefoot Running Yes or No?

Probably, as a runner, you know the book Born to Run. In the video below you find a short debate on barefoot running with amongst others the author Christopher McDougall.

Prefontaine - the Movie

Sometimes you find a little gem on YouTube.

In this case the full length film 'Prefontaine' with Jared Leto as Steve Prefontaine which is still available on DVD as well (for example on Amazon). This raises the question. Is the video on YouTube legal? Don't know but what I do know is that it is posted on the channel of Jared Leto himself.

The problem with this kind of movies is two fold;

1. Are the running scenes convincing?
2. How accurate is the storyline in the historical context or was the focus 'bringing a nice story?'

As for the first: most scenes on the track are convincing and Jared Leto paid close attention to for example Steves specific way of crossing the finish line, pushing down the wire. The most historic race (Munich 1972) is a clever combination of staged scenes and the original footage of the TV broadcast.

Compared to the documentary posted Yesterday I think they succeeded in creating two hours worth of entertainment staying close to the facts. OK, Steve Prefontaine was entertainment enough by himself. So enjoy.

Steve Prefontaine, a one hours video on this iconic athlete

Steve Prefontaine. One of the great distance runners who died to young to be even bigger. That's in short his credentials. Others are 'Nike', Olympics 1972 Munich, American Record Holder. On youtube this one hour video with originale footage and interviews with the athletes of his time and his coach, te legendary Bill Bowerman. Among the names als Frank Shorter from the book "Running for Peak Performance" and Jeff Galloway from "Galloway's Book on Running ". If he would have lived, he probably would have become one of the household names in the jogging boom that started just around this time and that gave Shorter en Galloway the platform.

Enjoy the video.
 

Find the books discussed on Amazon.com or on Amazon.co.uk