Breakfast with a Champion--and an Evening with Two

I had dinner with Crowie the IM champion at ECBoulder 2010.

One is the reigning Ironman World Champion. One is a former Ironman World Champion. Both have multiple victories on the Kona, Hawaii, course almost making it look easy instead of grueling. Both live in Boulder, Colo., although one does it for only part of the year. And both have very recognizable names in the sport of triathlon: Craig Alexander and Dave Scott. But getting these two triathletes together east of the Rockies? That doesn't happen often--if ever.

But Runners High 'n Tri--or more like owner Mark Rouse, who has organized events with Alexander as well as Mirinda Carfrae and Chrissie Wellington in the past--is making the seemingly impossible possible. The Arlington Heights store is hosting a night with these Iron-men on Thursday, July 12. Crowie is likely cruising through Chicago on his way to Ironman 70.3 Racine (if that's true I'll be pretty excited come Sunday morning and watching him speed by on the run--if I'm so lucky--will make my 13.1 slightly less painful), but he's stopping just long enough to create one swoon-worthy 16 hours.

Addicted to the FuelBand

It adds up your steps. It calculates your calories burned. It tells you how much fuel you have, and not the gas-guzzling or calorie-consumption kind but a metric that puts a number on all the movements you do during the day from taking out the garbage and walking the dog, to sweating through P90X video or Zumba and preparing dinner. And if nothing else, The Nike+ FuelBand makes for a pretty sharp-looking watch (hey, those were Nike’s words not mine, and I can’t help but nod in agreement).

When I first heard about the FuelBand, I thought it’d be the perfect exercise tool for my mom to use. She’s had pedometers and they’ve either overestimated her steps or met their demise falling into a toilet. She tried a Polar fitness watch, a variation of one that Liz got me hooked on, but got frustrated when the stick figure spent more time sitting than zooming across the screen (that’s probably more her fault than the machine’s but let’s just say it didn’t motivate her to exercise any more or less). And lately she’s just relied on the digital readouts on the elliptical, or the treadmill, or the stationary bike. And we all know how wrong those can be.

I was convinced that the FuelBand would help track her activity, from running up and down the stairs to the gardening she claims exhausts her more than her treadmill walks. And that it would dispel the elliptical readouts claiming she burned at least 200 calories even though she was barely on the machine for 15 minutes and never broke a sweat.

The Tank That Keeps You Cool

I’ve been dreading today’s high temperature since I saw the forecast Monday morning. Cracking 100 and it’s only early July? I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m actually missing the summer where I whined about wearing fleece.

It doesn’t matter if the temperature breaks 100 or it hovers between 80 and 90, when it’s hot and humid, my runs suffer. I’m hot from the get-go—and that’s true if it’s a race (ahem like the unseasonably hot Chicago Marathons we’ve had recently) or a training run on the lakefront. I can’t stay cool to save my run and I’m so drenched by the time I return home you’d think I walked into Lake Michigan with my clothes on.

But lately I’ve had some help from Pearl Izumi in the keep-cool department. I’ve been sporting the company’s In-R-Cool tank since we first started seeing temperatures in the 80s back in March (and to think I’d welcome a week of that weather right about now). Designed with technology that’s aimed to cool you down more than heat you up, even after you’ve been pavement pounding when the sun is scorching, and fabric that would cool your skin while managing moisture, I figured it’d be my best heat defense, especially in March when I wasn’t even close to accustomed to the warmer weather. But the big question was: would it really work?

My answer: yes. This tank wicks the sweat away from my body, it’ll be drenched but I won’t be. And it’s been acting like that since I first wore it almost four months ago. It has managed to keep me cool—and not just because it’s sleeveless, armed with a white back panel, and incredibly lightweight. I swear it’s that special fabric, which amazingly hasn’t succumbed to my stinky sweat yet. I ran without it on yesterday’s scorcher of the 4th of July—I swear it felt like it was 100 degrees at 8 a.m.—only because I couldn’t find it in my laundry heap. When I went with an old standby, I seriously thought I was melting. Rumor has it that it’s only going to get hotter so I’m hoping that my husband accidentally picked it up in his laundry and I’ll have it for my next run. How could I grow so attached to one tank, I don’t know, but I did.

The funny thing is that until recently, I’d never think of Pearl Izumi has having running gear that I’d like. I’m armed with an arsenal of cycling stuff from arm and toe warmers to jerseys and jackets, and always associated the company with cycling and triathlon. That was a big mistake on my part. Because not only do I miss this tank on hot summer days when I’m not wearing it, but I can’t get through a treadmill workout without wearing the Streak II shoes. It could all be mental—or it’s that the minimal design actually works for my foot more than I thought it would. Whatever the case, I’ll take it.

And to Pearl Izumi: now I know not to skip straight to the cycling gear on my next shopping trip.

What are you wearing to keep cool on your summer runs?

Top 10 Workout Songs for July

Running a 5K for the 4th of July? Logging miles at the gym to avoid training in the oven that is outside? I don't know about you, but I'm having a tough time motivating myself to exercise in this heat. I'm sweaty before I even get to the gym, I can swim in Lake Michigan without shivering because I left my wetsuit at home, and I'll get soaked in a yoga class and the heat that usually gets me to go in the first place isn't even turned on. But if I'm going to run in this weather, I either need a running buddy or some tunes to push me through those miles.

Most of the time I'm going with the latter because my husband leaves me in his dust, and Liz and I only wish we could run together more frequently. And lucky for me--and you, if you're finding yourself in a similar situation--Run Hundred just released its top songs for July so I can refresh my playlist. What's even better is the site's founder, Chris Lawhorn, says that this list is full of unusual suspects. I didn't notice until he mentioned it, but Lady GaGa, Pitbull, Katy Perry and Rihanna are regulars on these lists. Not this time around. With the exception of Rihanna, the other hits are a break from the norm.

Here's the full list, according to votes placed at Run Hundred.

I'm an Anthony Ervin Fan

I think, no, I know, that Anthony Ervin is going to be trending huge in the next 24 hours. And I can admit that I’m part of the problem, much like we've gone crazy over Kara Goucher. I was a fan 12 years ago when Ervin and Gary Hall, Jr. (the swimmer I totally remember my cousin having a crush on—we liked his shadowboxing, among other things) tied for gold in the 50-meter freestyle showdown that had literally been amped up since the Games started because of a little rivalry between the Russian Rocket (Alexandr Popov) and the Boxer (Hall). But I became a bigger fan on Friday when I read that Ervin was racing again and then that escalated to even higher heights after the final was swum tonight.



It’s partially because Ervin is a guy my age who got back into the pool after wanting more out of life than swimming. I didn’t swim even remotely close to the levels of these Trials athletes (I can however boast that I swam against two Trials qualifiers—in 2000 and 2004--in dual meets) but I was always swimming—or studying—and couldn’t ski because it overlapped with the swim season. It’s partially because Ervin is a sprinter—he makes the two events I was a regular in look so easy—which gives me even more reason to cheer like I have for Matt Biondi, Jenny Thompson, Gary Hall and Dara Torres (or just dream that I can swim distance like Janet Evans).