Have a Fast Christmas!

Thanks for all Support this Year!

December, 50 000 and Boston

Boston Marathon is soon 18 weeks away! Hamstring is getting better bu I have been having some issues with tightness and grumpiness. I have been able to run bun have been moving forward slowly this week in order to put not to much stress on it. I got a nasty tick bite 2 weeks ago and was put on heavy antibiotic. Not sure if that had anything to do with my grumpy hamstring but over all I felt very tired. I'm trying not to over do the foam rolling and stretching but I have to admit its very tempting to give it an extra push with the foam roller after a run (sorry Caleb). So Monday it is 18 weeks til Boston and I hope to be back soon doing some quality work outs and get the mileage up.

I proud to announce that I'm going to represent Feetures! socks during 2014 as an ambassador. I have been using their elite socks for years now, so I'm really exited to represent them an an ambassador. Feetures! Gives you a really close, snug feeling and you don't have to worry about chafing. The Elite socks comes in different cushioning ?thickness. I really like the Ultra light sock, snug fit and as I like the road feel when running, the Feetures! does not interfere with that feeling. As the tempreatures get stiffer here in NJ, I'm going to use the Merino wool version of the Elite. Nothing beats wool when the freezing temps are biting your toes.

Swedish Colored socks will match Swedish colored Speed2

50 000
50 000 visitors is getting closer for therunningswede.com! This week the blog will pass 50 000 visitors...Thank you all who has visited the blog during 2013 and A big thank you to all my friends at Skechers Performance Division for all support!

Skechers GoMeb2

During a visit in the city, I dropped by the Time Square Skechers store.....Four colors available right now, including NYC Marathon Special Edition. Something tells me I'm going to rock the blue and yellow in Boston 2014!

GoRun3 reviews

Skechers GoRun 3 has been released for a couple of weeks. I will try to keep the blog updated with reviews as they come in. As my Hamstring is still very sore/tight my own review has to wait a few weeks. First impression is very promising!

Believe in the Run
http://www.believeintherun.com/index.php/2013/11/23/skechers-gorun-3-review/

Happy Feet
http://happiefeet.blogspot.com/2013/11/skechers-gorun-3-initial-review.html

RunRepeat
http://runrepeat.com/skechers-gorun

Running in the dark

Winter time has arrived which means shorter days of daylight. For most of us runner it means that you have to run in the dark. In Northern New Jersey where I do most of my runs, I do not have any shoulders on the road, no street lights and a lot of "crazy" drivers. My experience is that most of the drivers don't really respect you as a runner, to busy paying attention to their cell phone texting/talking or Seniors who are to old to drive their Cadillac's . This apply to any running on the roads, not just in the dark. So when I run in the dark, I try to make myself as visible as possible. Of course the rule number 1 is to run on the right side of the road, facing the traffic, again this apply to any running on roads. You wanna see the traffic and get an understanding if they actually see you and respect you. Numerous time I have been forced to take a dive in the ditch because of reasons mentioned above.

So when I get out for my night runs I wanna try to make myself as visible as possible. If I look like a Christmas tree in the end, fine, as long as it does not interfere with my running.

From top I wear a headlamp, I add a red light in the back. I have had great success with my Princeton Tec Fuel, perfect amount of light and its lightweight. In the back I have a small signal light from Petzl.

Upper body: Most jackets have some kind of reflective & illumination features but as my main "source" of reflective & illumination, I wear a Amphipod Xinglet Reflective Wear. This "vest" gives you lot of freedom and does not interfere with your running. This "vest" also provides 360 degree reflectivity.

Legs and arms: Again most of today's tights and jackets comes with some sort of reflective illumination feature. For the legs and arms I add reflective bands from Nathan, they are easy to put on and stays in place while you are running. Adding this to the parts that moves more gives you extra visibility and drivers will see you faster.

Shoes: Most brands today have added reflectiv illumination features to their shoe lines. If not most of today's shoes have some spots in the back of the shoe or in the front. Here are some options:

• Saucony Kinvara 4 ViziGlo.
•  Nike Air Pegasus+ 30 Shield

We have been using shoes from Skechers and the Nite Owl series. The Nite Owl series is GoRun2 ( review here) and GoRun Ride2 (review here)  with added photoluminescent technology. We have now tested the shoes for several of runs and walks ( with our dog Tess) and I have to say this technology really works. After only a few hours "charging" the shoes they glow for your entire run or walk. An the glow is sharp! Downside can be if you forget to put the shoes out before your run, it wont work. The shoes need light and to be charged to "lid" up. I have my shoes out 24/7 so its not an issue for me, but if you keep your Nite Owls in the closet, you need to remember to get them out a few hours before your run.

I never rely on one source of reflective & illumination gear. The Nite owls or any other products in this blog should not be your single source of light, reflection or illumination. Use them together in order to stay safe on the roads.  There are many other ways you can make yourself visible on your run, these are just the equipment I use at the moment. You can find lights and leds for every single piece of your body if you wish. Find the way that works for your running, your gear and environment.  As mentioned before I get a little bit paranoid when running in the dark and I wanna make sure the drivers sees me ahead of time. I might look like a Christmas tree when I'm running at night, but that is OK as long as it keeps me safe!

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I receive Running shoes from Skechers Performance Division as part of their Skecher Performance Division brand ambassador program. I was not required to write a positive review. All other brands mentioned in this blog was bought by myself. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Sore Hammie....

So for the last couple of days I have been off running. Last Thursday I had mile repeats X 4 scheduled. I have been feeling a bit tired after the Steamtown marathon but nothing really off. After the 8 mile Chilli trail run, my Hamstrings were beat up, but again I didnt think it was anything to worry about. The hamstrings has been a bit tight since the trail race, but I wanted to keep the momentum and not loose to much training before I hit my Boston training again.
So after a warm up with our dog Tess, I started up my intervals. The plan was to keep half marathon pace, around 6:10. First repeat went well and I kept the pace good. About 4 min in to the second repeat, my right hamstring tighten up fast, I did not even have time to stop then BOOM. I almost fell. It was like a cut straight in to my right hamstring. I knew immediately that this was not good and started to walk. I have been icing a bit now after but 4 days later I can still feel some tightness.

Well needed rest in Vermont

This week will most likely be a complete rest week from running. Im going to try some biking and core exercise to keep legs going.....

Learning by doing! Listen to your body, my hamstrings were clearly not happy and rested after the Marathon and Trail run.....

NYC Marathon Momentum

By far this was not Meb Keflezighi best NYC Marathon. But instead of call it a day when his body screamed NO, Meb continued and finished in 2:23:47. He stopped, walked and then continued in a "slower pace".

These videos describes it all and why I think he his #1 marathoner!

 http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/250963-New-York-City-Marathon-2013/video/723689-Emotional-Meb-Keflezighi-after-NYC-Marathon-2013

 http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/250963-New-York-City-Marathon-2013/video/723682-Meb-Keflezighi-body-shut-down-from-lack-of-training-in-NYC-Marathon-2013-full-interview

 Lot of great things are happening for Skechers Performance Divisin right now, Meb signed a new contract with Skechers Performance Division after NYC Marathon

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/skechers-performance-division-extends-multi-135500426.html

And Skechers Performance Division wins "Brand of the Year Honor" from Footwear News!
http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20131106-909214.html

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/skechers-performance-receives-brand-of-the-year-honor-from-footwear-news-2013-11-06?reflink=MW_news_stmp

NYC Marathon Expo

As I was not running the NYC Marathon this year I had the pleasure to representing Skechers Performance Division, Friday and Saturday. The best part of this is of course meeting and connect with  runners from all over the world. The best meeting was the guy from LA who had been at the LAX airport with his daughter at the same time as last Fridays shooting took place and had to leave all their luggage behind, including all his running gear. We laced him up with the brand new GoRun3 has we did not have the Bionic Ride at the expo. Lawrence Miller from the Valley was the runner and he successfully finished the Marathon in 3:57:36.





Also I had the pleasure to meet the  Skechers Performance Division, including Kurt Stockbridge. Walking with Kurt at the Expo talking Shoe geek stuff and showing him whats "New" and what runners are taking about on the forums was a blast.

At the Booth, Skechers had the brand new GoRun3 and GoSpeed2. Both in the NYC limited edition black and gold. Both have the same platform with brand new uppers. GoRun3 also got a new "extra" sock liner so you can pop it up to 8mm with some extra cushioning Reviews are coming soon.

The expo itself was kind of an disappointment. I feel most of the companies did not come there in good shape.  For an example:

Adidas did not have the brand new Adios Boost, very disappointing. They had as display but you could not buy it.....

Mizuno usually have the new Rider at the NYC expo, not this year. Instead they put all their guns on the New Creation and Prophecy ($210!!!!!!!) Of course its always a pleasure to network and talk running with Seth Hasty from Mizuno!

New Balance had the new RC 1400 v.2. Good looking shoe, I hope they firmed up the heel a bit. Crazy amount of overlays in the front, could possible cause hot spots....

Asics, I didnt even bother.....What a Zoo! I peeked in just to confirm that they did not have the new HyperSpeed6

Newton, checked out the the Energy and the new trail shoe Boco AT. Really enjoyed how Kurt looked at the Newton sales rep after analyzing the BOCO AT and said...."how could you release this shoe"

Saucony, nothing new really that caught my attention. The Kinvara had got the ViziGlo upper....

Really looking forward to see the Boston expo in April. To me that is the number one expo in USA, open for public.

Skechers GoRun3 Released

 Just in time for NYC Marathon, the brand new GoRun3 has been released by Skechers Performance Division! With the exact same midsole/outsole as the GoRun2 but with an improved more breathable upper. Three colors has been release on Skechers.com:

Blue/Green

 Black/Red

 NYC Marathon Edition

 Review is coming soon! #Golikeneverbefore

Skechers GoRun3

Here is the first official picture of GoRun3. Posted by Skechers athlete Madi Serpico!
This seems to be a Madi Serpico limited edition color. More info soon........
#golikeneverbefore

F2F Hot Chilli Challenge

I always try to do F2F's races. Great organization and its for a great cause. So I had decided to just take it easy as I still recover from SteamTown Marathon. Well it did not happen, I'm to competitive. After the start legs felt good and I was on 5th place after the big grass field were the start took place.
When we were hitting the single trails I was behind two runners who did not keep up with the pace I had in mind, so when we hit one of the hills around mile 2 I passed them. One of them had more gas in the legs and started to chase me, I still had a few seconds. At this point my calves were trashed, pretty much the same feeling I had during the SteamTown. Runnable but very painful and thight. The rest of my body felt fine and I was really motivated. I gained some time on the guy behind on the hills but he was faster then me on the flat parts. By mile 5 we missed a turn, it was clearly not marked and the volunteers was not out in time. I knew that the last 3 miles were going to be very hilly and if I could just keep the pace, I would beat the runner behind me. I popped a gel at mile 5 as well. By mile 6 we hit some good hills and the guy behind me lost time again, at the same time I could feel some more energy coming. Probably some from the gel and the fact that I was stronger then the guy behind. I knew the rest of the course would be hilly and I was stronger then the guy behind. I know had a 10 second lead. I kept my pace strong and the last mile I pushed a bit extra. I finished strong and are happy with the race in general. New PB for the course....

Again I used Skechers GoBionic Trail. The terrain was really hilly and very rocky. Pretty much all hills knife sharp rocks. The GoBionic trails kept me close to the ground and offered enough of protection against the rocks. The grip was outstanding, despite some rain during the week and all the leafs. I couldn't ask for more from a trail shoe. legs (not calves) anf feet were great after the race, not bruised.

Really happy to finish third. Probably not a good idea to race this short after a marathon as my calves took a hit again. But again, it was for a great cause!

Distance came up short this year, last year it was to long. GPS does not work as good over hilly terrain I guess. All cred to F2F and the Scheid brothers who won the race, amazing, fast guys!

GoRun Fall

Fall is here with full force and also some SKECHERS Performance Division news:

Bryan Morseman blew away the competition this past weekend at the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon in Albany, NY. Morseman finished with a time of 2:24:24—the 5th fastest time in race history and 7 minutes faster than second place. Since joining our team in August, Bryan has won the Glen Iris 5k and would have won the Mill Race Marathon in Columbus, IN if the lead biker didn’t guide him off the course. Bryan has a marathon PR of 2:20 and hopes bring that down to the Olympic Trials qualifying standard of 2:18. Congrats Bryan!

Are you planning to run Houston Marathon? Here is your opportunity to win a free entrance, air fair and 2 hotel nights with SKECHERS Performance!  

                                                 Enter now! http://bit.ly/GK0rsB

Please follow Happy Feet blog. Great guy who is really passionate for running and Skechers GoRuns!
http://happiefeet.blogspot.com/
Here are some great reviews from Happy Feet!
http://happiefeet.blogspot.com/2013/09/skechers-gobionic-trail-initial-review.html
 http://happiefeet.blogspot.com/2013_10_01_archive.html


SKECHERS Perfromance is now on Instagram:
http://instagram.com/skechersperformance#

ALWAYS! 
 Run Safe/Run Smart…Check out the photoluminescent glow technology in our new Skechers #NiteOwl: http://bit.ly/19Sa19q

GoRun Douglas McCarthy & Hazel Hill

A couple of months ago my friend and musician Douglas (Nitzer Ebb, DJMREX) contacted me and asked about my opinion regarding zero drop shoes, Douglas had Merrel's in mind. I asked Douglas if he would like to try Skechers GoBionic's instead and my friends at Skechers Performance Division, fitted Douglas and his wife visual artist Hazel Hill McCarthy III   http://www.hazelhillmccarthyiii.com/ in some GoBionics. So far Douglas and Hazel really like the feel of the GoBionics and are now on their second pairs, also trying the Trail version.

Douglas and Hazel lives and works out of LA where they often run and hike the trails around the LA surroundings. 

Hazel Hill rocks the Bionic Trail version

After the busy summer/fall touring, remixing Depeche Mode "Should Be Higher" and now in the studio with DJMRex.



Douglas has promised to post some more pictures and write his own GoBionic review!
To be Continued.....

GoRun MoveOn edt maybe............


#Golikeneverbefore Douglas & Hazel!

 http://www.douglasjmccarthy.com/
 http://www.hazelhillmccarthyiii.com/
 http://www.fixmermccarthy.com/
 http://djmrex.com/
 http://www.nitzer-ebb.com

SteamTown Photos

#golikeneverbefore

SteamTown Marathon Report

Steamtown Marathon......Up early in the AM to drive to the start. Scranton is about an hour away from my home. Really nice to be able stay at home and sleep in my own bed. On the way to the start I experienced some stomach issues, but Imodium took care of business:) I talked to Caleb a few days before the race and the strategy was clear, do not rush those hills. Try to vary the stride to be easy on my inner thigh that has been cranky. For the inner thigh I used KT tape and it kept it in place, with no worries. I was consider compression shorts but I chose not to in the end as I wanted more movement and it was going to be a hot ending, afraid of being to hot. As always for the marathon and my road races I used SKECHERS Performance Divisions GoRun Speed. The Speeds performed great as usual, giving me the protection I needed and the awesome fast responsive feeling. I always feel confident using the Speeds.

Pace went as planned, I controlled the pace on the down hills trying to save those legs. Some splits went maybe a little bit to fast but over all I was really happy how I performed. The big game changer was my fueling and my calves. Calves started to firm up right after I had passed the two long trail parts. I think in a combination with the down hills my calves was not happy to face the softer rail beds. Passed Erin and family around mile 17. Always a great motivational booster to see them support me! But the calves were still stiff as bricks. At mile 18 I stopped for 30 sec to stretch them out, after a few minutes of running it came back again. I didn't really slowed me down but the fear of cramping both calves was hanging over my head. looking at my splits after, I was now doing low 7s so maybe I got a bit fatigue at this point. Totally normal to have ups and down...I continued to run strong. Mindset was great and I was confident to break a new PB. Then BOOM! Right before the last 2 big hills, from no where, cramp left hamstring. I had to lay down down and ask for help, after 4 tries to stand up, I was ready to go again. Got some bananas from the awesome crowed and Gatorade. I felt strong again and started to pass runners. At mile 26 I was down doing sub 7 miles, this on a uphill mile (heartbreak hill ish). I had gas left and I finished strong, showing the Scranton crowed how you finish GoRun Strong!

#Golikeneverbefore!

Over all really happy with race, lessons learned need more fluids was really dehydrated after. I need to focus on the fluids when the stops are every other mile. Now its time to focus on some good recovery and to hit Boston stronger then ever, representing Skechers Performnce Division! #Golikeneverbefore!

Race report on Strava

New Skechers Reviews

Skechers Performance Division has been recognized in Runners magazines lately.

GoRun Speed
Running Times Magazine:

http://www.runnersworld.com/shoe/skechers-gorun-meb-speed-mens
http://www.runnersworld.com/shoe/skechers-gorun-meb-speed-womens

Another great Blog review (not new, but still really good!)
http://schrupthink.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/skechers-gorun-speed/

GoBionic Trail All Weather

Competitor
http://running.competitor.com/2013/09/shoes-and-gear/fall-2013-trail-running-shoe-review_84020/11

 

Last week

One week to go....Saturday I had a small setback, inner thigh cramped up again. Not sure why this is coming back.It might have to do with my hydration as it has been really humid lately. I have to be more careful with my warm up and cool downs also add more time with ice. Sunday it was back to normal, a bit firm and stiff but I could run without any pain. The humidity killed me although and I was really tired in the end. Now the last week I'll be focusing on easy shake out runs, some speed involved for turn over. As usual lot of help from Caleb, #teamwickedbonkproof and Skechers Performance Division

Nothing beats the colors of the fall here in NJ. Really hard to beat a run when the colors are on fire!

Our beloved Cat Apelsin is missing. During my runs over the I have been running all our back roads several time in hope to find him. Unfortunately not luck yet...