Sponsors
Featured Races
Redondo Beach 5k/10k This Sunday
There are races all over the country, from 5k to full marathons, on Super Bowl Sunday. it is a great day to get out and participate in one of these local races. A bunch of us are running in the Redondo Beach 5k/10 this Sunday and a lot of SCR members are running at Surf City. The Redondo Beach race has over 10,000 participants and something for every age. Great stuff for the kids. Look for me and my camera and get there early. I will be registering on Sunday, you can too.
There are many benefits of racing even if you are just going out and doing it as a training run. Nothing replicates a race experience. If can use the race as a practice situation on a training day. I notice that even if you just go out to run it for fun, you tend to run a little faster. If you race, you get to see how you perform under all the different conditions. No matter what, you get to be out with a group of like-minded people.
Don’t forget all the calories that will be available that day and most of you are going to a party, even if you don’t like football. Burn some calories in the morning to help cover at least part of the party to come.
Click Here to see a video I posted about Super Bowl Sunday runs on MarathonTraining.TV
Please leave a comment and tell us what race you are doing and send a report afterwards.
Race Focused, Steve Mackel – MarathonTraining.TV Head Coach
Can’t Get Out the Door?
I was having “One of Those Mornings” not motivated on a Saturday Long Run, 3 hours and 20 minutes. So, here are some tips to help get you going when you are having one of those days.
Please tell me how you get out the door when you are having one of those days in the comment section.
Train Focused, Steve Mackel – Head Coach MarathonTraning.TV
Long Beach One of the Fattest Cities in the U.S?????
Top 25 fittest and fattest cities in the U.S. – Healthy Living on Shine
Sure, obesity is a problem in this country, but when you think fat, you probably don’t think Miami. So you may be surprised to find Men’s Fitness magazine ranks Miami as the nation’s fattest city in its annual survey. The fittest? Salt Lake City.
You’d never believe the rankings I found.
Two huge surprises I found on the fattest cities list.
You’ll have to check it out.
Fitness is Not an Overnight Sensation
Personal Best – Fitness Isn’t an Overnight Sensation – NYTimes.com
“To make a change in how you look, you are talking about a significant period of training,” Dr. Kraemer said. “In our studies it takes six months to a year.” And, he added, that is with regular strength-training workouts, using the appropriate weights and with a carefully designed individualized program. “That is what the reality is,” he said.
Changing your body and getting in shape takes time.
This is a good article to remind you of this.
It’s not going to happen within a couple of months.
But day by day you’ll make little changes that will add up.
Keep on the journey…you’ll make it.
Gary Dawson Smith
GiveFoward is a Great Way to Help a Charity
I just got this email and would love some of our SoCalRunning.com members to raise some money with this website.
*********************
Dear Steve and Gary,
I just stumbled across your website today. I recently ran the Rose Bowl half marathon in December and wish I had seen the Marathon.TV tip on the running the hills ahead of time. Would have helped…
Overall, it looks like you guys have a great thing going on over at SoCal Running I love the sense of community you have with the site and I really like what you had to say about MLK. Plus the Kool and Fit “commercial” in the Catalina Marathon video was hilarious.
Anyway, the reason I am writing is because I recently started a fundraising website called GiveForward.org that provides individuals with free personal fundraising pages (like a Team in Training page) to raise money online for charity and other good causes. Given the nature of your running community (body, mind, and spirit) I thought GiveForward might be something that is of interest to some of your runners.
Although we just launched, we’ve been getting great feedback from runners so far. We’ve found that a lot of people love the idea that they can raise money for good causes without necessarily having to join one of the big programs like Team in Training.
One of the greatest things about our site is that people can run for whatever cause is most important to them. It doesn’t even have to be a non-profit (e.g. I currently have a page set up to start a scholarship fund for my friend’s two-year-old daughter).
We are going to be working with a few different running groups participating in the LA and Seattle Rock and Roll marathons and I was hoping some of the members of your community might be interested as well.
Here are some examples of fundraising pages on the site so you can see for yourself how GiveForward works.
My page: (Lots of bells and whistles)
https://www.giveforward.org/banana
One of our users’ pages: (No bells and whistles but still raising a TON of money)
http://www.giveforward.org/marathondoc
Obviously not everyone wants to run for a charity. But if you think this is something that could be beneficial for even a few of your runners, please feel free to contact us and I can give you more information. We’re just getting started, so any time we can get people to spread the word for us, we are really grateful. Thanks! Oh, and just so you know, using our site won’t cost you guy or your runners anything. It’s FREE!!
Best of luck with the training and hope to hear back from you soon.
Sincerely,
Ethan Austin
Co-Founder and Chief Fundraising Coach
GiveForward
(949)400-0132
giveforward.org
Yoga for Runners Tonight at Lululemon in Pasadena is On!
Coach Gary in Tree Pose at a Yoga Photo Shoot
It is 2:30 and the streets are dry in South Pasadena. Yoga for Runners, tonight at Lululemon in Old Town Pasadena, I guess will have to be a late decision. Right now, if the conditions stay the same it is on. If it rains after 4 PM it is probably off because the patio will be wet.
I am sure you can be a good judge just by looking outside and if you have a long drive to get here tonight, I would not take the chance and do some yoga on your own or find a local studio. You can check here at 5:45 PM for a final decision.
Thinking Dry Thoughts and Train Focsued, Steve Mackel – Meteornotigist (It is a play on words, not misspelled)
Inaugural Tuesday Power Yoga w/Coach Gary
We run at 6:00 p.m from Trump Golf Course
After taking a break, I am back to teaching Power Yoga on Tuesday Nights @ 7:45 at Yoga Bindu.
Coach Gary
p.s. Here’s my thoughts on Martin Luther King and Barrack Obama…warning it does promote non-violence…
so you’re best not to read it if you believe we should be going around dropping bombs on people.
Martin Luther King Jr Day 2009
This is my reflection today, of a great American, Martin Luther King Jr., which we celebrate his life and how he help move America. The more MLK I am exposed too the more I am in awe.
If you are a context freak or just interested here’s the link to the entire broadcast on NPR
“In a day when Sputniks and explorers dash through space, and guided missiles are carving highways of death through space; no nation can win a war. Today we no longer have a choice between violence and non-violence, it is either non-violence or non-existence” -MLK
Train Focused, Steve Mackel – American
Join Us On A Saturday
Here’s a sample of our MarathonTraining.TV weekly Saturday run. It was the day of 2009 so far. Every day since then has been awesome.
I Love LA
Train Focused, Steve Mackel SoCalRunning.com Co-founder
Coach Gary’s Polar Bear Swim
This is the video for my attempt to do the 57th annual Polar Bear Swim in San Pedro on January 1st.
Last year I swam like 15 yards in the freezing cold water.
This year I was determined to swim further. I had trained. But not in water THIS COLD.
I visualized doing this swim quite a bit in my mind. You’ll have to watch the video to see how I did but let’s just say…you’ll be surprised what you can accomplish in life when you say “F&^% it!”…which is what I said right before I jumped in.
Thanks a lot to Kim White and the Polar Bear Swim club for giving me some hospitality when I got out.
God Bless
Gary GoBlissim in San Pedro on January 1st.
Last year I swam like 15 yards in the freezing cold water.
This year I was determined to swim further. I had trained. But not in water THIS COLD.
I visualized doing this swim quite a bit in my mind. You’ll have to watch the video to see how I did but let’s just say…you’ll be surprised what you can accomplish in life when you say “F&^% it!”…which is what I said right before I jumped in.
Thanks a lot to Kim White and the Polar Bear Swim club for giving me some hospitality when I got out.
God Bless
Gary GoBliss
Founder – Coach Steve
Running Shoe Store of the Month – Jan/Feb 2017
Follow Coach Steve
