These signs are giving me the feeling it's going to be a tough run:
- 10. Breakfast...McDonalds. Lunch....McDonalds. Dinner.....McDonalds.
- 9. While waiting in the start corral you are wondering if wearing a brand new pair of shoes is a good idea.
- 8. Training program: 1 mile a day, 2 mile long run on the second Tuesday of next week.
- 7. You realize the night before that a marathon is 26.2 miles NOT 2.62.
- 6. At every aid station you take a gatorade, a water, and a nap.
- 5. Your training book is "You can finish a Marathon" by Richard Simmons.
- 4. You start to taper your training 6 months ahead of the race.
- 3. At mile 10 you realize the pain in your chest is the sad clown face of blood on your shirt from rubbing your nipples bare.
- 2. The strategy that you will be using for the race is to keep up with the Kenyans for 5 miles, bag the time, and take it easy from there.
- 1. Your race attire prominently says "Beer".
Quotes on Competition and Opportunity
The gun goes off and everything changes... the world changes... and nothing else really matters.
Patti Sue Plummer
Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.
Steve Prefontaine
Pressure is nothing more than the shadow of great opportunity.
Michael Johnson
The will to win means nothing if you haven't the will to prepare.
Juma Ikangaa
No negative thoughts cross my mind on race day. When I look into their eyes, I know I'm going to beat them.
Danny Harris
Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
Jules Renard
Quotes on Pain and Pleasure in Running
It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse.
Ann Trason
I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.
Jesse Owens
If you start to feel good during an ultra, don't worry, you will get over it.
Gene Thibeault
Miscellaneous Running Quotes
I cannot have survival as my only goal. That would be too boring. My goal is to come back in my best running form. It is good for me to have that goal; it will help me.
Ludmila Engquist (Olympic champion hurdler facing cancer)
There are clubs you can't belong to, neighborhoods you can't live in, schools you can't get into, but the roads are always open.
Nike Ad
The woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost
We can't all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.
Will Rogers
Cross Country Quotes
The start of a World Cross Country event is like riding a horse in the middle of a buffalo stampede. It's a thrill if you keep up, but one slip and you're nothing but hoof prints.
Ed Eyestone
The freedom of Cross Country is so primitive. It's woman vs. Nature.
Lynn Jennings
Stadiums are for spectators. We runners have nature and that is much better.
Juha Väätäinen
Marathon Quotes
To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who's never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind.
Jerome Drayton
We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.
Emil Zatopek
Marathoning is like cutting yourself unexpectedly. You dip into the pain so gradually that the damage is done before you are aware of it. Unfortunately, when awareness comes, it is excruciating.
John Farrington
There is the truth about the marathon and very few of you have written the truth. Even if I explain to you, you'll never understand it, you're outside of it.
Douglas Wakiihuri (speaking to journalists)
You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming.
Frank Shorter
If you ran 10 miles today you probably burned about 1,200 Calories. Just to remind you, here are some "break even" foods:
- Whopper with fries (1,250 Calories)
- Large popcorn at the theater... withOUT butter (1,160 Calories)
- Two 64 oz Cokes (1,200 Calories)
- 12 inch Subway tuna club and a large Sprite (1,200 Calories)
- 3 frappachinos from Starbucks (1,140 Calories)
There you have it. 10 miles down the drain with a few quick bites.
Does watching television make you feel like the Danny Devito of the male world? Here are the real stats of the average American man. This is either going to make you feel better or confirm you're going to have to overachieve:
- The average man is 34.4 years old.
- The average man is married with two children.
- The average man earns $36,100 per year and has $3,100 in the bank.
- The average man sleeps about 7 hours on a work night.
- Age when the average guy is in the best shape of his life: 23 years
- The average man is is about 5' 9" tall.
- He weighs 175 pounds.
| Age (yrs) |
20-29 |
30-39 |
40-49 |
50-59 |
60-69 |
| Weight (lbs) |
168 |
179 |
182 |
185 |
184 |
| Weight (kg) |
76 |
81.1 |
82.6 |
84 |
83.5 |
- Percentage of men who consider themselves "physically fit": 69%
- Percentage who actually are: 13%
- Time it takes the average guy to run a mile: 8 minutes, 34 seconds
- Time it takes the average American man to run 1.5 miles: 12 minutes, 45 seconds
| Age (yrs) |
20-29 |
30-39 |
40-49 |
50-59 |
60-69 |
| Time (m:s) |
12:18 |
12:51 |
13:53 |
14:55 |
16:07 |
- Pounds the average man can bench-press one time: 160
| Age (yrs) |
20-29 |
30-39 |
40-49 |
50-59 |
60-69 |
| Max. Weight (lbs) |
180 |
158 |
143 |
128 |
116 |
- Number of sit-ups he can do in 1 minute: 36
| Age (yrs) |
20-29 |
30-39 |
40-49 |
50-59 |
60-69 |
| Sit-ups |
40 |
36 |
31 |
26 |
20 |
- Number of push-ups he can do with good form in 1 minute: 27
| Age (yrs) |
20-29 |
30-39 |
40-49 |
50-59 |
60-69 |
| Push-ups |
33 |
27 |
21 |
15 |
15 |
- Number of pull-ups he can do: 1
- Resting heart rate of a fit man: 52 beats per minute
- Time it takes a fit man to log 8,000,000 heartbeats: 30 years
- Resting heart rate of a man who's out of shape: 72 beats per minute
- Time it takes an out-of-shape man to log 8,000,000 heartbeats: 19 years
- Size of the average guy's biceps: 13 inches (flexed)
- Size of his chest: 40 inches (inhaled)
- Size of his waist: 34 inches
- Amount of muscle the average sedentary guy loses each year: 1 pound
- Amount of fat he gains each year: 1.1 pounds
- The part of a man's body that is the biggest turn-on for the average woman: his butt
- The part the average guy spends the most time trying to develop: his chest
- Percentage of men who don't belong to a gym: 88%
- Average cost of a 1-year gym membership: $648
- Amount the average 40-year-old man would save each year in medical costs if he exercised regularly: $949
- Time period when the typical gym is least crowded: 10:00am to 11:30am
- Percentage of men who would never skip another workout if... they could build twice the muscle with half the effort: 40%
- Percentage of men who would never skip another workout if... women began wearing see-through spandex: 16%
- Exercise equipment the average guy is most likely to own: dumbbells
- Percentage of men who use their fitness equipment as... a place to hang their clothes: 45%
- Percentage of men who use their fitness equipment as... a doorstop: 13%
- Number of men who would rather work out than have sex: 1 in 7
- Percentage of men who think that gyms are pickup joints: 14%
- The life expectancy of the average man is:
| Year Born |
1950 |
1960 |
1970 |
1980 |
1990 |
1997 |
| Life Expectancy (yrs) |
65.6 |
66.6 |
67.1 |
70.0 |
71.8 |
73.6 |
As a runner, I go through 3-5 pairs of running shoes a year. I try and wear the old ones to work or around the house but there comes a point where I have five or six pairs just lying around. Although they may no longer be good for running they're good for something. Here are a few great recycling ideas for your shoes, either how to make good use of them or to how to make some new ones out of recycled material.
Shoes make some of the best planters you'll find. They drain well and hold the perfect amount of soil to grow a nice flower. Every year I have my daughter choose her favorite flower and we plant it in an old pair of her shoes.
They say necessity is the mother of invention. This south American gentleman couldn't afford shoes so he made his own from an old tire and a seat belts.
The soles of shoes are a very useful recyclable. They can easily can be made into many products including the obvious, more shoes.
There's no doubt that there are plenty of plastic bags in the world. This young lady took her crochet skills and made the finest pair of sandals that can be built with the catchings of a Wal-Mart fence.
Nike has a great program called reuse-a-shoe. Athletic shoes are broken into three parts: the fabric, the foam, and the rubber sole. Then they are then ground up and made into durable athletic surfaces. It takes roughly 2,500 shoes to make a basketball court and up to 75,000 shoes to make a full 400m track surface. Imagine running with your new shoes on your old shoes!
