The goal of RunningDVDs.com is simple – to provide athletes with resources to run faster. The first DVD is called “Building a Better Runner: Building from the Ground Up,”

RunningDVDs says their product is made for all types of runners. I have not viewed any of their product (they have one DVD so far) but the samples appear to be of very high quality. Please leave me a comment if you’ve viewed their product and let our readers know what you thought of it.

I’d like to wish the folks over at RunningDVDs all the best. They look like they’ve hit on a great idea.

This might make a great gift!

I had made a number of changes in how I trained for the latter marathon. I could chalk the PR up solely due to those changes, but I also must recognize that I’m seven pounds lighter now.

Naturally, I’ve been wondering how much of my success was due to carrying seven less pounds versus being better trained. I knew they were both factors, but I didn’t know exactly how much of a role each played.

And then there was the question of age-grading – I was three and a half years younger in 2003.

In timely fashion, this month’s Runner’s World had an article in it called What’s Your Ideal Weight. The article had a link to an age and weight grading calculator – a tool that allows you to analyze your successes by comparing race times with a calculation involving your age and weight when you ran those races.

So I compared my 2003 PR:

Age: 36
Weight: 167
Marathon Finish Time: 3:43:53

with my 2007 PR (update: see bottom for a more recent PR):

Age: 39 (actually, I was one month shy of the big 4-0)
Weight: 160
Marathon Finish Time: 3:38:28

And here is what the Flyer Handicap Calculator had to say about those stats:

1. My 2003 result would have equaled a 3:18 marathon at the age of 25.
2. My 2007 result would have equaled a 3:13 marathon at the age of 25

What this means is that with weight and age factored out of the equation, my training is responsible for a very substantial improvement – just the kind of news I wanted to hear.

And that’s not taking into account the differences between 2003 and 2007 race course difficulty. The 2007 course was much more difficult than the 2003 PR course. I estimate I would have run this latest marathon at sub 3:30 if I had run it on the 2003 course.

And how would the picture have looked if I had run it in 3:30? It would have equated to a 3:07 marathon at age 25. Cool.

The Flyer Handicap Calculator is a terrific tool. It’s provided me with objective evidence that my training has been immensely successful.

Give it a try and tell us your stories!
—
Update:

Age: 40
Weight: 165
Marathon Finish Time: 3:30:29
Age & Weight Graded to 25 Years: 3:04:30 (still improving with age!)

Athlinks is the most comprehensive database of endurance race results and events anywhere in the world. We currently provide coverage in the U.S. and parts of Canada and Mexico for six different race categories: Running (over 3 K), Swimming (open water and/or over 500 M), Cycling, Mountain Biking, Triathlon/Multi Sport, and Adventure Racing.

The coolest part is here: put in your name and you’ll get back all (most!) of your races and times. All in one spot!

Free to join. Check it out.

With that, here’s the interview…

Aaron Engelsrud: First, let me start off by saying what a fan I am of FitLink.com and what an excellent job you and your staff have done with the site. With that, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself and what you do for FitLink?

Chris: I have been a software developer and dedicated marathoner for years. I am one of the founders of FitLink.com, and am primarily responsible for the user interface design and for making the site runner-friendly. During development, I challenged myself to run 12 marathons in 12 months while leading a marathon training group. I am proud to say I recently completed my 12th marathon of 2006 (One was actually my first 50 mile ultra-marathon), and many members of my group successfully finished their very first marathon. I have FitLink.com to thank for keeping me motivated and helping me successfully manage the training group.

AE: How long has the site been in development and what made you decide something like this was necessary?

Chris: The idea for FitLink originated in my college days. One of my roommates was a dedicated weight lifter and liked to drag his friends along. He was the only reason most of us ever made it to the gym. Once we graduated and started jobs in different parts of the country, I missed that motivation. I realized that applying a social network to working out would be an amazing tool for friends to keep each other motivated. We started development of the site in 2004, but kept it quiet while we built the feature set. We finally released it just a few months ago.

AE: You offer so many services, no noticeable advertising, so much additional content, and right now it’s all free. What are your plans for the future in this respect? Will there be additional or different features for paying customers? More advertising?

Chris: We currently offer a premium service to health clubs who want to create a localized network for their members. The service also adds club management features, such as the ability to send targeted messages to members based on their interests. For example, a club could inform all female yoga enthusiasts who prefer morning workouts of appropriate upcoming classes. We also plan on offering premium services for personal trainers, professional fitness groups, and event organizers. In addition, you will see an integrated online store that helps people obtain the proper workout equipment for their needs.

As for advertising, I personally hate ads blinking in every corner of a site. We are going to keep FitLink.com as clean as possible. In the future we might allow tasteful and relevant ads on the site, but would have very strict rules on the use of screen space. I would much prefer a few key partnerships with larger fitness companies whose products or services are intelligently recommended when determined useful for the end user. Many of our members have commented on our uncluttered site and I want to work to keep it that way.

AE: What’s in the works for the future? Any new bits you can tell us about? Are you doing anything for blog integration or additional mapping features?

Chris: The list of ideas for the future is LONG!!! We have so much work to do. Members already have the ability to blog on FitLink.com in what we call a workout journal, and we are soon going to add the ability to publish it as an RSS feed. We are also considering adding other data to the feed such as workout results and profile changes. Route mapping enhancements such as marking water and restroom stops are also on the list. We will constantly be adding to our exercise library, including things like stretching, yoga, and any other activity related to staying in shape. I would also like for people to be able to create custom exercises and share them with the community. Many improvements are planned for personal trainers as well. Currently a trainer can assign workouts and track the progress of a client, and we will be adding session scheduling and billing services. These are merely a sampling.

Finally, of course, we listen to all the feedback we get from our members and implement ideas as quickly as possible. One of the truly great things about working on this site is the community. We get to let people using the site dictate what the next feature will be.

AE: There are a few other sites in the same space as you—weendure.com, traineo.com, plus other sport-specific logs. What sets FitLink apart. What makes you the best?

Chris: There are a number of sites that have workout advice, sites that let you track your workouts, sites that list upcoming races, or sites to find exercise partners and personal trainers. To me, these are all related tools that help people stay motivated and fit. We want to build a single community with all of those things, and a whole lot more, in one place. It matters that I can find very contextual things, such as experienced runners at my gym who are training for the Chicago Marathon in the evenings. I love the fact that on FitLink.com, groups can discuss ideas, schedule runs, find new members, and share their progress … all in the context of an upcoming local race.

The goal for me is to create a vibrant community where people can find all the resources they need and have the motivation to use them. We encourage anyone with expertise to write articles and share their ideas. We encourage event leaders, athletic trainers, health club owners, group leaders, equipment manufacturers, and every fitness enthusiast out there to take part in the community. Adding all of these participants together with meaningful tools at their disposal is what sets FitLink apart.

AE: The Complete Running Network is home to hundreds of runners and fitness junkies from around the world. Tell us how we can benefit the most from the services that FitLink offers.

Chris: In the end, FitLink is about staying motivated. I get excited about my training when I get to see other friends of mine working hard towards their goals. I have already made a number of new friends and I have helped some people achieve their goals. For an established group such as The Complete Running Network, FitLink enables your readers to create a profile, set goals, and communicate with each other efficiently. In addition, the ability to record workouts and track others’ progress is a nice complement to your resources. You or your readers could also post some articles on FitLink to help make others aware of your terrific network.

AE: Finally, I seem to find a new and interesting tidbit over at FitLink almost everyday. What is your favorite hidden or under utilized feature, and how do I use it?

Chris: One of the coolest things that many people have not found or understood is our subscription service. Much like RSS feeds that you subscribe to, in FitLink we made it possible to be notified of updates. However, since we take into account personal relationships and affiliations, you can track changes at a much more fine grained level than with a typical feed. For example, you can watch the discussion attached to a single article, journal entry, photo, group discussion topic, or even watch for pictures to be added to a particular gallery. Any time you see the “subscribe” action you can choose to be kept up-to-date. You will then be notified on your home page as your friends add new journal entries or comment on articles, for example. We want to let people indicate exactly what they are interested in reading and help filter out the noise you find on social networks today.

AE: Anything you’d like to add?

Chris: I would just like to say thank you for your interest in FitLink. I hope to see more of the fitness junkies who enjoy The Complete Running Network participate in our community. And, as always, let us know what we can improve for you!

A few things of note. First, please feel free to visit my FitLink site and check out what it has to offer! You can find me at http://www.fitlink.com/aengelsrud or subscribe to the FitLink RSS feed. I have also set up a Friends of the Complete Running Network group for all of us to share our workouts and find out what everyone is up to. I hope everyone can find as much value in FitLink as I have.

Logs for tracking/planning 2007

I did a Google search and got a list of over 40,000 some odd logs for tracking training. Here’s a few to chose from. If you have one you would like to suggest, leave a comment with the details.

• Excel Spreadsheets to download, designed by me, the Pink Chick. Details on my blog.
• BreakingTheTape. We featured this site at the beginning of December. You can read more about it here.
• Dolphinstreet Running Log. It is free, quick and simple to fill out and it gives you instant reports and statistics.
• Cool Running Log. A free online running journal that makes it easy to keep tabs on your progress.
• Road Trip. With this site you log your distances as if traveling somewhere.

Races & Other Events

Of course your plan will include the races and such that you decide to challenge. Not sure what you want to tackle or when it is happening. Here’s a few Web sites that list that information.

• Marathon Guide. Lists Canada/U.S.A. marathons for the upcoming year.
• Calgary Roadrunners. Lists local and nearby events as well as some further away.
• Events OnLine. Lists a variety of events for athletes.

Training Plans

Now that you have your log and your races you need to plan what training is required. For that you might want to a number of sites that offer training plans for various distances. Some of these are listed below.

• Cool Running. Offers a number of plans from 5k to marathon
• Hal Higdon. Has training plans from the beginner to the ultramarathoner.
• Jeff Galloway. Promises that you can “run injury free.”
• Beginning Triathlete. Training and tips for the new triathlete.

How Far Did I Run

Not sure how far you ran or cycled? Don’t have a fancy GPS tool to help you? Then check out these links.

• GMaps Pedometer. Map where you ran or cycled and see your mileage.

Remember when planning your training calender to always allow for flexibility. Pick what works for you, your family and your lifestyle. If you’re new to any of these activities, please consult your family doctor.

Sometimes what we plan for doesn’t always happen. Don’t beat up on yourself—just be prepared to change things as necessary. No matter what you decide or plan for in 2007, have a great year and remember the Complete Running Network gang will be here with great articles to help you along the way.

Got more you would like to suggest for planning, logging or training in 2007? Leave a comment with the details.

All the best in 2007.

I downloaded and installed the program in a few minutes. What took longer was importing the data from my Garmin Forerunner 301. You can import from a variety of GPS tools or gpx files. The tool allows you to setup for more then one athlete. For each athlete you can view items such as the daily activity or even details about the Athlete.

In the Athlete view one can track reasons a workout is missed, weight, body fat, blood pressure and more. If you are really into details and analyzing why your workouts are good, bad or other some of these can be worth tracking.

When you first use the application, you can customize the setup. You have a choice between USA and Metric as well as colors for the background. There are color choices such as Inferno, Mossy, Daisy and more. I chose Daisy which is a nice pink theme. However once setup I could not find how to change settings. For example I chose USA but would now like to switch to Metric and can’t find where to do so. Oh well, I guess I will have to play with it some more.

Below is a screen shot of the Activity view. I like that it shows a map of where I ran.

Thanks go to my friend Mike of Love2Run Canada for this one. I discovered it while reading his blog.

Got a site you would like featured? Leave the details in a comment.

1. Rest. With the high mileage required for marathoning, your body is going to be looking for every opportunity to rest. Taking it easy on a run will allow you to get your miles in without wearing yourself out each day.
2. Injuries. One of the most noticeable by-products of pushing too hard are the ever present over-use injuries. Runner” s knee, IBT syndrome, planter fascitis, shin splints, etc. Many of these over-use injuries can be treated and often avoided by simply taking it easy on your non-critical days.
3. Speed. Your speedwork is the key to hitting your desired pace on race day. Speedwork, whether done as intervals, fartleks, hill repeats or marathon pace finishes to long runs, is your critical workout. Go slow on your other weekly runs and you”ll tackle these workouts with the juice to show your run just who the boss is.

Slowing down can be a tough proposition for those of you who are super gung-ho to turn in a smoking new PR. Use the following tools to help you out.

1. Heart Rate Monitor. Tracking your heart rate during a workout is the most tried and true way of ensuring that your not putting out too much effort for a run. Learn your max heart rate and what your optimal zones are for different efforts and you won’t go wrong.
2. GPS Watches. Another sure fire way of ensuring you’re on pace, GPS watches like the Garmin Forerunner or calibrated solutions like the Nike+, will do the trick. Most have features to alert you when you go over a certain pace. While they don’t have the tie-in to how hard your heart is working, they will give you constant feedback on how quickly you’re moving.
3. Old School. The Ludite in you doesn’t want to be bothered by all that technology? Try taking a stopwatch to a track or choose a route with known distances. Use timed loops around the track or known splits on a course to keep track of your pace.

So, give your body a break. Slow down, because you’re moving too fast.

How does this get your predicted time? The formula used for this calculator was devised by Pete Riegel in the late 70s. It has withstood the test of time as a formula as accurate as any out there for running. In the early 80s, Riegel refined it for other sports for an article entitled “Athletic Records and Human Endurance” published in American Scientist.
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Does credit for the code in this tool belong to you? We found this a few years ago and do not know where it came from so, if it is yours, please contact us so we can properly credit you.

Directions for use:

1. Enter the number of miles or kilometers for your goal race.
2. Select Kilometers or Miles.
3. Enter the time you want to run the race in.
4. Click on Calculate.

Your suggested training paces will be displayed below Suggested Training Paces.

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Does credit for the code in this tool belong to you? We found this a few years ago and do not know where it came from so, if it is yours, please contact us so we can properly credit you!

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Does credit for the code in this tool belong to you? We found this a few years ago and do not know where it came from so, if it is yours, please contact us so we can properly credit you!