The B.A.A. at 125: The Official History of the Boston Athletic Association , 1887-2012

The B.A.A. at 125: The Official History of the Boston Athletic Association , 1887-2012 has finally been ordered and should be at my door between March 28th and April 1st! After visiting the BAA office/museum in Boston this time last year, I acquired a new appreciation for such an organization. The history of the BAA speaks for itself and I am sure the author of this book, John Hanc, will surpass my expectations! If you are into the Boston Marathon, the Boston Athletic Association, history, running, etc, this will definitely be a book to check out!

Here's a link to Amazon to order a copy:
The B.A.A. at 125: The Official History of the Boston Athletic Association, 1887-2012 by John Hanc

Permalink: http://amzn.com/1613211988

Cover Photo from Amazon.com

 

Boston Marathon Thesis Published

November 19th, 2011? That is a long time since I have posted. Let's try to alter that!

I originally started the blog as I began writing my Undergraduate Honor's Thesis on the Boston Marathon. Conclusion---it was successfully completed and I was able to present a poster version a few times in various conferences. My final document as an Undergraduate was completed April 2012---my last semester as an Undergraduate! Bittersweet. As I am now in Physical Therapy Graduate school, I will probably at some point play around with the document some more. I know a new book, "B.A.A: 125", will be coming out December 2012, which I am looking forward to as I am sure it will contain new information!

The first half of my thesis is currently published in the KAHPERD Fall 2012 journal. The second half will be published in the Spring of 2013. Click HERE to see Part I or visit: www.kahperd.com/userfiles/Fall 2012.pdf.

Training for 2012

Yesterday evening I ran on the treadmill. Told myself that if I was going to get back into training I would do it smart and start with a base period, also known as the principles of progression! I only wanted to run for a certain duration of 45 minutes. I stayed at an easy pace so that my body could get use to the repetitious movement. I also wanted to get some hill training in, so I increased .5% incline every five minutes. When I progressed to 4% I went ahead and my was back to zero. In total I ended up doing 5 miles and felt great.

Today while I was visiting the local Starbucks for use of their wifi, I began looking to see if anyone had ever designed a treadmill program to mimic Boston---someone did for the most part. It is I believe it is primarily the Newtown hills, but looks like a fun workout. I am going to give it a try tomorrow. Tomorrow I am going to shoot for an easy 8. Wish me luck!!!!

The website to the Newton hills simulation program here is the site: www.runnersworld.com/community/forums/races-places/Boston-marathon/treadmill-run-simulating newton-hills

Time Management and [Fill in Activity]...

Time management and [Fill in Activity], wait, fill in activity? Yes, that activity may be, well, for myself training for a marathon, for another it may be juggling college classes, working, and extracurricular activities, for another it may be work and family and so forth. You get the idea! I can gurantee you by reading the title alone, many runners, athletes, and anyone with a busy scheducle and goal at mind can understand. As mentioned, for me, it is starting my marathon training regime. This semester I have been soo busy. This is my first semester taking 19 hours, my first semester working, applying to physical therapy graduate school, leading three campus organizations and so forth. So, it is a very busy schedule at the moment!

With time management, an individual really needs to sit down and look at their schedule. Everyone has that little activity where he or she may get involved in and it just takes up their entire day once you count total hours spent. There is no reason for an individual to giggle at another for their activity, because he or she also has that little task that takes up their time which someone may giggle at them for. For example in modern terms, Facebook. I see so many people on campus filling their time with Facebook and then turning around saying, "I have no time. I am sooooo busy!" Well, for that individual, if they limit their time on Facebook and produce more active time toward their project before their extracurricular activity, then they would have plenty of time! Honestly, I am one of those people and find myself checking my messages, responding, and then all of a sudden get caught up in a chat.

Honestly, we all need those few minutes of socializing. Although, it should be more preferred face-to-face, but that is what today has come to for the most part. Back on task now!
Now that I am wanting to get my marathon training started, time management has been a huge focus for me! What many of us do not realize are the side effects of negative time management. When we run late our arterial pressure builds up from the stress, that causes pores in our arterial walls that then causes material to build up. When it becomes so built up it can more easily become blocked. So, the next time your running late, take a note for the next time, "leave sooner!" or maybe for some it should be "start project/studying earlier!".

So here are some tips and links to go about efficient time managament. Let's face it, we all have the same amount of time in a day (24h)! Here's a list from Mayo Clinic:

Plan each day. Planning your day can help you accomplish more and feel more in control of your life. Write a to-do list, putting the most important tasks at the top. Keep a schedule of your daily activities to minimize conflicts and last-minute rushes.

Prioritize your tasks. Time-consuming but relatively unimportant tasks can consume a lot of your day. Prioritizing tasks will ensure that you spend your time and energy on those that are truly important to you.

Say no to nonessential tasks. Consider your goals and schedule before agreeing to take on additional work.

Delegate. Take a look at your to-do list and consider what you can pass on to someone else.

Take the time you need to do a quality job. Doing work right the first time may take more time upfront, but errors usually result in time spent making corrections, which takes more time overall.

Break large, time-consuming tasks into smaller tasks. Work on them a few minutes at a time until you get them all done.

Practice the 10-minute rule. Work on a dreaded task for 10 minutes each day. Once you get started, you may find you can finish it.

Evaluate how you're spending your time. Keep a diary of everything you do for three days to determine how you're spending your time. Look for time that can be used more wisely. For example, could you take a bus or train to work and use the commute to catch up on reading? If so, you could free up some time to exercise or spend with family or friends.

Limit distractions. Block out time on your calendar for big projects. During that time, close your door and turn off your phone, pager and e-mail.

Get plenty of sleep, have a healthy diet and exercise regularly. A healthy lifestyle can improve your focus and concentration, which will help improve your efficiency so that you can complete your work in less time.

Take a time management course. If your employer offers continuing education, take a time management class. If your workplace doesn't have one, find out if a local community college, university or community education program does.

Take a break when needed. Too much stress can derail your attempts at getting organized. When you need a break, take one. Take a walk. Do some quick stretches at your workstation. Take a day of vacation to rest and re-energize.

 Source: Mayo Clinic Time Management

5K and Boston Training Begins!

Well, today I helped host a 5k and decided to go out and run it! There has been no training whatsoever for quite some time now, maybe a few months. Typically I swim Mondays and Wednesdays for an hour and lift heavy here and there. I have been doing probably about an hour run once a week or two, but at an easy pace. I have been essentially so busy with school, extracurricular activities, work, and applying to physical therapy school. An easy pace versus today's 5K, lets just say lactic acid hit me quick! :) My unofficial time was about 21:10, which I was honestly fine with considering my lack of training toward 5K's, the extremely windy weather, and lack of runners in the front running sub-20's. OKAY, really I am just out of shape! So, today was a great day for me to motivate myself into starting my marathon training program. I have already paid for my (3rd year in a row) Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon registration. If you have never ran a marathon or a race, FYI it's cheaper if you do so in advance, plus it is a little extra boost of motivation knowing you have a race coming up.
     I have ran the PIG three years running now. My first time was my first marathon--essentially I blacked out the last 7 miles, crossed the line and collapsed. Lost my chip so I never had an official time and I didn't look at the clock as I passed out. Friends say it was about 4:20. I learned that I had not performed enough hill runs as the Flying Pig is pretty hilly. During my second marathon, I trained much harder for it. I had planned on qualifying for Boston on it and called it my redemption race. Even if I didn't qualify, but I crossed the line with more awareness than the first---perfect! I decided at the last minute to run with the pace group (7:15)---great group of guys. I was keeping up and thought the pace felt great. Mile 17 approached and I got caught on the inside of the pack around a curb, next thing I knew, I had caught my ankle on the curb/drain and twisted it. I brushed it off and maintained pace. We were so far ahead of running the 3:10:59 that tripping over a curb---not a big deal! :) Unfortunately, a few miles later, my entire right leg cramped up. It was injury related, not lack of nutrition. I assume it was from the sprain, the few leaps I had getting caught up on it, stopping to look at it and continuing that caused the cramping. An object that stays in motion remains in motion. I shouldn't have stopped. But, I continued on, unfortunately my ankle was swollen and discolored pretty bad so I decided to cheer other runners on and ran with a few to help keep them motivated. My time was about 3:40. I did manage to knock 40 minutes off, Thank You!
    The third marathon?!? Well, it seems my training paid off as I managed to maintain a 7:15 pace and felt great---thanks, ankle! Unfortunately, the Boston Athletic Association has decided to change the qualification standards for my age group to a 3:05---no 59 second window! So, that's what I will do! B.Q. or Die, right? So, I will up my mileage and intensity a tad! I have also taken up swimming and biking so I am planning to add some hours throughout the week in these areas! I would love to one day speak with someone about setting up a personal training program (nutrition and training based) for myself. Typically, the training program I use is the Runner'sWorld SmartCoach app for my phone.
    Does anyone use any types of vitamins, supplements, and so forth? I read some marathoners pick up Whey Protein and Endurance products

Boston Marathon & Running Books

Here are a 'few' Boston Marathon and running books/programs and articles I have accumulated in the last few months (in no particular order). I will update as I can. If there are any recommendations, please let me know. For the most part, all of these books I have accumulated from Amazon, eBay, and so forth. You can really find some great deals. For example, in one book, I paid $4.00, the book arrived in excellent condition and autographed by Bill Rodgers.

Here is a picture of my small library of Boston Marathon books for my thesis.

Bill Rodgers signature to a fan in 2010.

Books: 

• Boston Marathon-Centennial Race Edition
• Author: Tom Derderian
• Boston, A Century of Running: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Boston Athletic Association Marathon
• Author: Hal Higdon
• Duel in the Sun: The Story of Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America's Greatest Marathon
• Author: John Brant
• The Boston Marathon: A Century of Blood, Sweat, and Cheers
• Author: Tom Derderian
• 113th Boston Marathon 
• Official Program (April 20th, 2009)
• 114th Boston Marathon
• OfficialProgram (April 19th, 2010)
• 115th Boston Marathon
• Official Program (April 18th, 2011)
• Boston Marathon: The Legendary Course Guide 
• Author: Raymond Britt 
• The Boston Marathon: Images of Sports 
• Author: Richard A. Johnson and Robert Hamilton Johnson
•  Marathons, The Ultimate Challenge 
• Author: Joel Homer
• Advanced Marathoning
• Author: Pete Pfitinger and Scott Douglas
• Boston: America's Oldest Marathon
• Edited by: Ray Hosler

Websites and Articles:

• Boston Athletic Association 
• Boston Marathon Official Media Guide
• A History of Medical Reports on the Boston Marathon: 112 Years and Still Running 
• Author: Paul D. Thompson and Carmelo V. Venero

Impact of the Boston Marathon on Surrounding Cities

     Since 1897, there are have been many articles and documents surrounding the prestigious event of the Boston Marathon (BM), a near 116 year old race. When an individual hears the words, Boston Marathon, he or she may think particularly in regard to qualifying standards, the Olympics for runners or as a Runner'sWorld article was titled: B.Q. or Die! What is this infatuation with running day after day to no endless means and if to only fail, you try again and again? Is it simply because one can run with the elite runners of today? Is it because you have to meet qualifying standards in order to compete? There is a similar and different reason among each individual training for this race. For me? It is everything mentioned beforehand! It is a runner's dream to train hard day after day to meet the standards of such a race! To run the same road where many elite runners set a world record, an American or where both elite and, we will call 'us' everyday runners, recreational runners have set our own personal records. Where runners of all ages, sexes, and ethnicity have experienced pain, sadness, happiness, honors and so forth! The Boston Marathon---it is simply, for some as myself, A Runner's Enduring Excursion. 
     There is so much more to the Boston Marathon as it takes place on the third Monday of April. As an undergraduate, I am researching the history of the Boston Marathon and looking at the impact it has had on surrounding cities for my thesis. A thesis? This is the Boston Marathon we are talking about here---a long history of 'running' marathons! I mind as well turn this into a dissertation or a book when I finish this exquisite product of work. Essentially, this blog will track my progress and help others learn about the race. Heck, this will help me 'free write' and develop new ideas to help express myself during my process. I have setup a thread on Runner'sWorld and I figured, why not create a blog where I can express my ideas and see what others think and so forth. So, I hope many will post ideas, comments, concerns and may be even questions of their own in regard to this road race!
     Let's get started! I will try to post sections for books, articles, other blogs, websites and etc that I have accumulated and found interesting.

General goals for my thesis and research:

• Clearly---to learn about the history of the Boston Marathon
• Define more clearly the impacts of the Boston Marathon on its surrounding cities
• Charities, Sponsorships, Tourism, and so forth.