Run Mapping Websites

I've tried a few of these. Mapmyrun.com was at one time the leader (and may still be). Mapmyrun has a sister site, Mapmyride.com. Actually, I have no idea why they differ, though presumably they direct different advertisements to the user.

They all use the same software based on Google maps. Refinements the better sites offer include following twists and turns between points rather than drawing straight lines.

I now use www.runningmap.com exclusively. Mapmyrun is either only available with a Facebook account, or it is trying hard enough to push me there that I'm not willing to find the work-around. Others at least want me to sign in so they can direct running shoe advertisements to my e-mail inbox. Runningmap.com just gives the interface, permits me to select a starting point by relatively anonymous information like a zip code or street crossing, and permits me to save routes (giving me a link), and asks for no information or commitment. I have a quaint habit of starting and stopping all of my runs a few blocks away to preserve some feeling of privacy (though I have little question my runs are easily traceable to my front door by a sufficiently savvy investigator).

I've now formed the habit of mapping hypothetical runs while watching TV. "What if I went further on Beach drive instead of turning into Bethesda at Cedar Lane?" "What if I took the Monon Trail all the way to 70th before heading west to the canal tow-path?" It's a less expensive habit than shopping for running shoes as a way to get my fix in the quiet times.

Running within yourself

I learned in college that some people are just better than me, across every observable dimension. PB was a rowing teammate. He and I were two of the better runners on the heavyweight crew. (That is not necessarily a good thing. Heavyweight rowers can not afford the luxury of having runners' builds.) PB was a better runner than me. He was also a better rower than me. And he was a better student than me. Frankly, he was a nicer guy than me.

I may have forgotten this story. I fell into a semi-habit of seeing a better athlete and say "but what's (s)he do for work" or a better professor and say "but how is (s)he as an athlete."

Then today I learned of a leading figure in the antitrust academy and enforcement ranks who is not just a brilliant and productive thinker, he has (fairly) recently run a marathon mere seconds over the coveted 3:00 mark. My immediate reaction was to think I need to change up my training strategy. Or maybe I need to hang everything and write more and better.

Or there's the alternative of "running within myself." Like when I show up at a race and spot the runners who will beat me no matter what I do, or show up at a conference populated by the leading thinkers. All things equal I like the world better with those people in it, so the better strategy is to appreciate and not to compete.

Morning Run

Sometimes the morning light actually makes you happy you got up early in the morning to go running:

January at the Gym . . .

For the last couple of years, spin classes have been a regular part of my workout regime.  They allow me to combine two sports in one workout.  Usually, I spin and swim on Mondays and Wednesdays.  Sometimes I bike and run.  Anyway, the 6:00 am class is always a challenge, but never so much as during the dark days of January.  To make matters worse, this week I have to contend with all the New Years resolution folks.  I got to the gym at 5:45 and got the second to last bike.  Hopefully things will be back to normal in a couple of weeks.

Blogging class

I'm experimenting with a blog for my antitrust class.  It's pretty amazing what you can put together in an afternoon on Google Blogger.  The most obvious difficulty is that my Blogger profile remains the same for both blogs, so I'm either Professor Max Huffman here, or Max there -- unless I create two Google profiles, which I've resisted doing for administrative reasons.

My ultimate goal is to create a vibrant out-of-class setting for discussion.  I'd like in time to experiment with opening the semester up to the public.

The Year of Being Injured

Right Calf, a brief return of P.F., left knee plus It and Quad.  These all contributed to a year of less than 700 miles and few race milestones.  I ran a couple of nice 10Ks, enjoyed my bandit 10K in Santiago, Chile, but nothing longer.  But the real highlight was my 3:15 half mile on the Oxford Sports Club track where Sir Roger Bannister made history.  Hope for more and better in 2013.

Aqua-jogging

I tried this (Ted style) last week. My assessment:

Wow, what a workout.

This is very different from water running, where I push off of the ground. The two seem to serve very different purposes. Water running is a slow-motion strength-builder and form-developer. Aqua-jogging is a high heart-rate endeavor. Like Ted suggested, staying afloat is half of the battle.

I have a knee tendon that is making hill repeats infeasible. That's a problem, because this is hill repeat time of year. But 50 meters of aqua-jogging is much like 90 seconds of hill climbing, without the stress on the tendons.

There is a skill to finding the right pitch for your body in the water. Too upright and you sink like a stone. Too far forward and you are basically swimming. 15 degrees or so from vertical and you can make slow progress without sinking, or at least without sinking quickly.

8 times down the 50 meter pool pretty much knocked me over.

Wow, what a workout.