Give the Gift of Endorphin

Posted by ovakyVassykig on December 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment

OK, we all know someone planning to run the LA Marathon, right? But that person may or may not have already registered. So what about purchasing them a gift certificate good for one entry into the 25th Anniversary event? You can actually do that, starting this weekend. We’ll have plenty of certificates for sale at both the Santa Barbara (Saturday) and Las Vegas (Friday and Saturday) Marathon Expos. We can take credit cards or cash, and we’ve got everything pre-packaged in LA Marathon envelopes. If you’re not in either of those places, then by all means stop by the new K-Swiss store at 2427 Main St. in Santa Monica. They’ll have a stack on hand as well. We’ll also have an online purchasing option starting next week.

We’ve got your Marathoner’s gift covered for the holidays.

Peter

Filed under Blog · Tagged with anniversary, cards-or-cash, gift-covered, holidays, marathon, option-starting, santa, store-at-2427, weekend

K-Swiss shop open for business

Posted by auzsidezz on November 29, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Mark Sheehan from K-Swiss, along with Rod Dixon

Runners on the Westside have a new place to hang out–the new K-Swiss Performance Running shop at 2427 Main Street in Santa Monica. This great new space will serve as something of an LA Marathon clubhouse, and you can look forward to training runs, social events and discount days. In the meanwhile, stop by and say hi to Mark and Joe. Tell them the LA Marathon sent you.

Peter

Filed under Blog · Tagged with great-new, marathon, performance, shop-at-2427, social-events, street, the-meanwhile, training-runs, westside

LA Marathon on 5,000 calories

Posted by kris on November 29, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Jimmy Dean staving off a bonk with a Carney’s Chili Dog at Mile 15

We’ve been waiting for someone to just get out and run the new Stadium to Sea route, and now it’s happened. Our good friend Jimmy Dean Freeman chose Black Friday as the day to test run the new LA Marathon course. JD is a local coach, ultramarathoner and stand-up comedian. Not only did he run our new route, however, but he also sampled some of the great food along the way. What a concept–fueling a marathon with street food the whole way. The culinary highlights included Burrito King, In n Out Burger, Carney’s and Sprinkles Cup Cakes. While burning 3,600 calories, he consumed over 4,800 calories and actually gained half a pound on the day. That could be a new record for marathon energy replacement. Including all of his stops for food, his time was 5:21. Jimmy Dean brings new meaning to the term Fast Food.

Jimmy Dean finished the event with a swim in the Pacific Ocean, which I believe will become an LA Marathon ritual for thousands of runners. But we’ll always credit him for doing it first. Congratulations Jimmy Dean!

Photo album of the day is here.

Peter

Filed under Blog · Tagged with black, black-friday, burrito-king, cakes-while, consumed-over, dean, marathon, money, pacific-ocean, time

How to survive the holidays

Posted by Marobep on November 21, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or an everyday Joe, the season from Thanksgiving through New Year’s can wreak havoc on the waistline – and more. Rod Dixon, LA Marathon Director of Training, and Matt Mahowald, LA Marathon Nutrition and Supplement Consultant, offer their tips for enjoying the holidays – and holiday menus – without sabotaging your diet, exercise or training routine.

Never show up hungry to a holiday party or meal. Make sure you have a big breakfast and enjoy at least two good meals or snacks before the feast. This will minimize the amount of overeating. For instance, 12 almonds and an apple will help to quell your appetite so that when you get to that meal you don’t overeat.
The most important item during the holiday season is water. Water helps your body synthesize carbs. It helps with the high and lows of blood sugar that come with desserts and sweets that we don’t normally have in our diet.
If you are going to attend a holiday party and plan on drinking alcohol, consume a full eight to 10 ounces of water in addition to a beverage of your choice. This will minimize the amount of alcohol you drink.
When eating appetizers or pot luck style, the best choices are vegetables, lean proteins and fruits. If you’re designated to bring a dish to a gathering, bring something that’s a healthy choice for yourself. You never know what’s going to be presented in front of you and you always want to have good options.
Fill your plate modestly, and wait 30 minutes after you finish before going back for seconds. This will allow your blood sugar and insulin levels to adjust. You may find that you won’t really be hungry for that second plate.
Treat dessert as a treat. Serve yourself a small portion, and stop there.
A good cardiovascular workout for 2-3 days after your holiday will help deplete excess storage of carbs and fat that you picked up during the holiday.
If it’s possible, throw in an extra two days of 30 minute cardiovascular activity. Remember that walking is just as good as a slow jog and easier on your body.
Consistency is key to your exercise program. Don’t let the holidays derail you by missing too many days in a row of your routine. Don’t try to make up what you’ve missed by overtraining – just get back on your plan.
Remember that it is a holiday, so do let yourself enjoy. The following day wake up and get right back on your food plan and exercise.

Filed under Blog · Tagged with body, diet, enjoy-at-least, food, holidays, marathon, meals-or-snacks, training

Rod Dixon 1983 New York victory

Posted by workat on November 7, 2009 · Leave a Comment

While watching Meb Keflezighi’s inspiring victory last weekend at the New York Marathon, I was reminded of this segment we shot with Rod Dixon earlier this year. In it, he recounts his own thrilling New York victory in 1983. Rod came from behind in the last quarter mile to win the closest race in New York history. I’ve watched this clip many times, and it never gets old. Try watching this and not getting inspired. I dare you!

Peter

Filed under Blog · Tagged with clip, closest, closest-race, keflezighi, last-weekend, marathon, never-gets, own-thrilling, quarter-mile, segment, year

Chris McDougall in the house

Posted by AKfour seven on November 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment

You may have seen my mini-review a couple weeks back of Chris McDougall’s terrific book Born to Run. He was recently in Los Angeles and stopped by LA Marathon HQ to say hi. We talked Chris into sitting down for a quick interview. Here’s what he had to say.

Filed under Blog · Tagged with angeles, chris, couple-weeks, marathon, mini, terrific-book

Legacy runners gearing up

Posted by plasticsurgery on November 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Once again the LA Marathon will host a sizable contingent of Legacy Runners. This amazing group–about 240 strong–has run every single LA Marathon. 24 straight. And 2010 will mark a quarter century of not missing a single edition of the race. Unbelievable. They’ve kicked off their training, and “Legacy” Lou Briones recently sent me this photo of a group of them about to head out for a run at the Rose Bowl. Bravo!

Peter

Filed under Blog · Tagged with amazing, bowl-bravo, marathon, not-missing, photo, quarter-century, race, recently-sent, rose, single-edition, their-training, training, will-host

An American Champion in New York

Posted by russsbrides on November 1, 2009 · Leave a Comment

How could you not be moved by this morning’s incredible New York Marathon? Both the men’s and women’s races came down to the last two miles, and Meb Keflizighi’s win makes him the first American to win the race since Alberto Salazar in 1982. Furthermore, there were 6 Americans in the top 10, which bodes well for the future of running in this country. Congratulations to Meb and all the finishers in the New York Marathon, including our own Russ Pillar and Stacy Embretson.

Watch the highlights on Universal Sports.

Peter

Filed under Blog · Tagged with both-the-men, finishers, future, keflizighi, marathon, morning, race, race-since, races-came, the-finishers, universal

Game time

Posted by admin on October 10, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Four months of training, and now it’s time for the rubber to hit the road. As you can see, I have everything laid out for the early morning wake up call. The reason my numbers aren’t pinned on my shirt is because I’m still waffling on my choice of layers. The forecast is calling for 33 degrees and clear at start time, with temps rising to about 40 at noon. Chilly! Do I go with a ski hat or a baseball hat? Wear the old sweatshirt I brought and discard it at mile 2? How strong will the wind be? Do I throw a garbage bag on? This will all come down to a game-time decision.

I’ve signed up for the 3:55 pace group to ensure that I don’t go out too fast, which I’ve been guilty of in the past. Besides, if I’m not constantly checking my watch, I can enjoy the scenery and the experience.

If any of you are running the Long Beach Marathon tomorrow, look for our own Stacy Embretson. She was in the Expo at the LA Marathon booth and will be running the event as well.

Russ and I had another enjoyable day in the Chicago Expo meeting participants from all over the world, but it was exhausting. So I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

I’ll report back after the race.

Peter

Filed under Blog · Tagged with after-the-race, beach, beach-marathon, chicago, chicago-expo, enjoyable, experience, looking-forward, marathon, numbers, over-the-world, race, shirt, will-the-wind

Faces of Chicago

Posted by admin on October 9, 2009 · Leave a Comment

I spent the entire day in our booth at the Chicago Expo meeting marathoners from all over the world. It was so interesting that I felt compelled to shoot photos of some of the runners I met. It was a virtual UN of running, with so many countries represented. This is but a small sampling of my new international friends.

Peter