Archive for the ‘Matthew Borenstein’ Category

Lauren Moran has a solid idea I will steal, training at Stone Mountain for a half marathon (JOHN SPINK / AJC staff)

Earlier this week, the topic was parks. And that’s a good place for me to start this entry. My runs are starting to get boring.

Every time I run (absent when I am not here), I head out from my house and trek through my neighborhood. My route is usually the same, or at the very least very similar to the route I always take (right now a three-mile loop). I need to break the boredom. I need to find new places to run.

Parks generally give you a nice place to run, something somewhat scenic and break up the monotony of your typical run. But you have to plan ahead and get there. You can’t step out your door and just go. You have to drive to run. Still, I am thinking Stone Mountain for my first running excursion in Atlanta. From there, I might check out some other suggested parks.

Beyond parks, I think my runs could use some livening up. I don’t like the idea of …

Continue reading Making your miles interesting »

Will one of these soon become a necessary part of my runs? (Apple)

The time may have finally come. I have $100 gift card to Amazon.com, and it looks like I’ll be spending it on an iPod nano. Color is still TBD. You read that right, a new iPod will soon be purchased (I got my last iPod more than five years ago), and it will be one made for running. The new nano comes with a built in clip (no nasty-smelling armband needed), an FM radio, a pedometer and it is equipped for Nike+. You can even turn it into a wristwatch. Since I need a new iPod and I am getting one equipped for exercising with it, I’ll give it a try.

If you read my bio – you likely haven’t – you would know I can’t stand running with headphones/listening to music. There are lots of reasons; mainly that music doesn’t do much to motivate me. It actually annoys me because the songs that play are never what I want to hear. I took Yvonne’s suggestion to check out jog.fm, but after entering my pace, none …

Continue reading Headphoning over to the dark side – running with an iPod »

Running on the neutral ground/streetcar tracks in New Orleans, the goal is to not get hit. Photo credit: Carl Purcell/New Orleans Metropolitan C&VB

Are running shoes in your suitcase when you leave town? I made sure my new green and gray New Balances were packed when I left for New Orleans Monday morning. And I made sure they were used Tuesday.

Certainly there are issues running away from home. First, you have to find a place to run, and that’s not always as easy or simple as it sounds. And you must find time. Generally, you are traveling for a reason, and running might not be at the top of the list. Wherever you are will present unique challenges, but also unique sightseeing opportunities. Running gear is additional stuff to pack.

What about New Orleans? My main success was not getting hit by a streetcar running up St. Charles Avenue.

The good: There were no hills. The streetcar neutral ground (the tracks) becomes a de facto off-road running trail (good since the …

Continue reading Runnin’ on the road, avoiding streetcars along the way »

My first month of training (sort of, my past workouts disappeared) for the AJC Peachtree Road Race. Those four will miles will be coming Saturday (hopefully).

I’ve done both – running the AJC Peachtree Road Race with almost no preparation and running it after spending weeks getting ready. Not surprisingly, running a long race, make that any race, goes better when you prepare adequately (especially the Peachtree, where it will be hot and humid and the weather will shock your system if you aren’t ready for it).

Ten or 11 weeks prior seems like as good as time as any to begin training. For me, that means printing a schedule of training runs from runnersworld.com rather than just running however far I feel like going. (There is a free option and several pay options from Runners’ World and many other websites have pay plans. Nike also has free plans available through Nike+. Note that most of these plans seem to recommend 12 weeks to fully get ready.)

What’s important …

Continue reading Is it time to start training… or it’s time to start training »

Unfortunatly, this isn’t me. Terefe Maregu had a good run on July 4, 2008 winning the AJC Peachtree Road Race. JOHNNY CRAWFORD/ AJC

Just about anyone that has run more than a few times knows a big part of a good run is mental. I can’t put a number on it – say running is 65 or 75 percent in your head and the rest your legs – but I know my psyche plays a big part in my runs. More than half the total thought/effort when I run is in my head.

There is no way I could have run the entire Publix half-marathon earlier this year just on how my legs were working. From about five or six miles in until the end, I was in pain; from Georgia Tech until the finish, a lot of pain. But I told myself I was going to finish the thing (my first half-marathon in three-plus years), so I did in a pretty decent time.

Wednesday, in the crazy pre-severe weather winds that felt like they were also blowing against me, I had a very good run. Despite the weather – wind plus the beginnings of the heat …

Continue reading The mental side of running a long way »