Medal Worthy: CW-X for Breast Acknowledgement

I would just like to take a moment and thank CW-X for their print advertisement which states: While the rest of the world focuses on big breasts, most sports bras refuse to acknowledge them.

Rock on with your excellent sports suspension system bra, bonkfighter.

Link Love: ChicagoNow’s Pace of Chicago, an Endurance Blog

Yours truly is the blogger behind Chicago Subtext, a Chicago-specific literary blog on the ChicagoNow blog network, sponsored by the Tribune. But, perhaps of even more interest here is another blog on the ChicagoNow network, Pace of Chicago, an endurance blog by David Wallach.

Gear Check: Pace Tat

I just learned about the Pace Tat a “…a simple and convenient tool for keeping track of your pace. At each mile marker, simply glance at PaceTat to see if you’re on target!”, a “…durable transfer with all of your mile split goals printed in large font so that you can read easily while running” and “…beneficial to runners of any experience level and is available in 20 different finish times, including all Boston Qualifier times for men and women”…

Discuss. I like it in theory. Who among us has tried them out? Let’s hear it. Better yet, Pace Tat, I want to hear from you. I want to try this.

Fitness and Weight Print Ads

You know me, cultural critic of advertising’s messages and tools. Meh, I accept this.

What are your thoughts on Men’s Fitness’ photo list of highlights from fitness print ads? I like the Powerhouse Gym’s use of cranes, and The Fitness Company’s depiction of a gym lifting on a subway train. Both are about positive additions to one’s life and health and strength.

But the others, the Slim Fast disappearing act and the Weight Watcher’s wide door ads seem a little unsettling and, well, dangerous and mean-spirited, respectively. Where the gym ads are constructive and about strength, the weight-based ads seem to work off linking comfort/embarrassment and size. And, the Slim Fast ad was too close to the controversy several years ago around the ProForm collapsible treadmill ad which declared “Soon, you’ll both be taking up less space“… which I’ve always thought was in bad taste.

Anyway, the things to consider is that while Men’s Fitness lumped all of these ads together as “fitness ads”, a distinction should be made that there are weight loss ads and conditioning ads. Often linked, but still not the same topic.

Let us discuss.

Bling: Big Marathon Finisher Medals

I have now held a 2009 Little Rock finisher medal. It’s serious. Like Flavor Flav clocklace serious. Like most runners, I dig the bling.

So, for this new featue, which we’ll call simply “Bling”, let us begin with some of the larger finisher medals. Aside from Little Rock, which claims the biggest medal, the Quad Cities medal isn’t too shabby, either. The ING Atlanta is impressive if you’re into Georgia, and the Tupelo medal is nothing if not just intimidating enough to want to earn, especially if earned in tandem with the treasure map-medal from the Outer Banks race.

But surely there are more, dear bonkfighters. Which huge finisher medals do you know about, or better yet, which huge finisher medals have you earned? Comments and links to pics welcome.

Training: Marquis de Sade

Listen to me: This is called the Marquis de Sade for a reason.

I don’t endorse anyone who wants to do this drill more than, say, once per month, for the record. Let me just open by saying that. And then, only really do it if you really want to be badass and push the envelope and kick everything up a notch. Because that’s what it’s for; it’s hard work, but it’s really effective. So get your head in the right place before you try it, is what I’m saying. Here’s how it goes:

Run 400 meters at just under 5-K race pace; then easy run 400 meters.

Run 300 meters at one-mile pace; then easy run 300 meters.

Run 200 meters at slightly faster than one-mile pace; then easy run 200 meters.

Run 100 meters at close to all out (but still not quite a full sprint); easy run 100 meters.

Now do it twice more. Not enough? Not swearing up a storm yet? Then easy run 400 meters and do one or two more sets. But– and you must listen to me– that’s it. Nothing else. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Race Profile: The Military Marathons

I’m not going to lie: I think the military races are badass. And, I can’t imagine I won’t feel badass after completing them all, which is a goal on the ol’ lifetime to do list. Here’s the scoop:

US Air Force Marathon, Sept. 19th: Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton OH
Race info and course map here.
Super-bonkfighting power: Aircraft flyovers during the race and deployed-location simultaneous races.

Army Ten-Miler, Oct. 4th, Arlington, VA/Washington, DC
Race info and course map here.
Super-bonkfighting power: Finisher coin in lieu of medal, course is a great tour of Washington, DC; it begins and ends at the Pentagon.

US Marine Corps Marathon, Oct. 25th: Arlington, VA/Washington, DC
Race info and course map here.
Super-bonkfighting power: Hills are ugly but early, course is a total tour of Washington DC and finish is at US Marine Corps War Memorial.

Fight The Bonk: Tight Shoulders = Slower Pace

Spending time hunched over the laptop and the general stress of certain jobs (or, the absence thereof, as the case seems to be all too often lately) causes tension in the neck and shoulders, which, believe it or not, carries over to running. Granted, running, as those of us initiated already know, eats stress nicely, but still! The bonkfighter is all about being proactive, no?

When you have stiff shoulders due to tension, it limits the ability to swing arms freely forwards and back. When this happens, the arms take a less neutral side to side motion, which does not a lot to propel the body forward and mostly just wastes precious energy and causes unnecessary fatigue.

However! Try this:

• Take mini-stretch breaks throughout work time. Seems minor, but matters.

• Lower right ear to right shoulder. Press gently on your left temple with our fingertips. Hold, release, and repeat ten times on each side. Aim for a stretch here, not a neck-crack.

• Raise right arm up, keeping elbow locked straight and palm facing forward. Hold arm between your elbow and shoulder with your left hand. Pull (gently please!), hold, release, and repeat ten times on each side.

Twice a day, then, do the following to strengthen the shoulders:

• Let your arms hang relaxed at your sides with your palms facing in. In one slow, constant motion, rotate your shoulders up, backward, downward and forward, bringing them toward each other. Hold them for a second. Do it in reverse, rolling shoulders until arms return to starting position. Do two sets of ten reps. Hold dumbells to make it more challenging as strength improves.

Bonkfighter: HellaSound Rocks (and Reads)

Bonkfighters! Do make a point to stop over at HellaSound when you have a moment.

(A) Yours truly has reviewed a runnerly book, Personal Record by Rachel Toor, over there. But that’s secondary to the next item:

(B) Mega-announcement from HellaSound! HellaSound now has some of its fancy running music available. “Fancy” because it is customizable to fit your pace, which you can determine with a rather innovative built-in pace calculator, if need be. Very, very cool. Check it out.

Fight The Bonk?: Watch Me Try, Anyway

Folks, along with some other ladies, yours truly, Bonkless, will be streaming live on Sleepover 2.0 today (Saturday) from 4pm until tomorrow (Sunday) until 10am, from the Chairman’s Suite of Chicago’s Hotel Sax. To view, tune in on this website or Sleepover 2.0’s UStream channel. The plan is to stay awake and live-stream all night, so I’ll be trying my hardest to fight the sleep bonk, and fight the sleep deprivation crazies. We shall see.

For a more interactive viewing experience, join the live chat on UStream or contact the suite using Sleepover 2.0’s ooVoo channel, Sleepover20– with a broadband connection viewers can then interact not only with the Sleepover 2.0 group, but with other viewers during the event, as well– think dance-offs, sportscaster-like commentary and emcee battles! Also, be sure to follow @Sleepover20 on Twitter, as well as the Sleepover 2.0 participants individually, or check-in throughout the event by email at sleepoverchi [at] gmail [dot] com.