April 20, 2011 - Run, Volunteer, Give

Yo run gang,

The psychological and physical benefits of running are a gift but our sport gives back in so many ways, including charitable giving and volunteerism, how cool is that! A perfect example, Running Fit just wrote a check to Mott Children's Hospital's Save A Heart program for over $40,000! This was made possible by you, the runners, Conner O'Neill's, and the many sponsors and volunteers at this year's Shamrocks & Shenanigans race. The Martian Invasion of Races made a $7,550 donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society possible, again, thanks to you the runners and sponsors like Forrester's Insurance company and Asics. Today, I just wrote another check for $550 to LACASA, a women and children's shelter in Howell, MI, thanks to all our customers who supported our apparel sales program last weekend. Next week, proceeds from the Fit 5K in Novi go to charity ... and the year is just getting started!

That said, another great, charitable race is coming up on May 14 on the streets of Novi, MI, The Live Like Andi 10 Mile (Yes, a fast, road, 10 mile!), 10K and 5K. Entries are a bit down, please help out this great race and great cause and enter today at

livelikeandi.org/run-2011.html 

Run, volunteer, give, live, run,

Randy Step, an obsessed runner, happy to be a part of this great running community, with all of you!

April 13, 2011 - Log it!

Yo run gang,

Perhaps the most motivational tool in the, "get your butt out the door arsenal" is keeping a running log with daily, weekly and monthly mileage totals. For those of you who keep a log, you know how motivating the weekly mileage total can be. Also keep track of your streaks and personal records or "P.R.'s", in runner's lingo. Examples of P.R.'s would be: the fastest time you ran around the 2 mile loop from your house or in a 5K race, the most days you ran in a row (a streak), the most miles you ran in a week, month or year or the longest run you ever ran. Imagine that one day as you read over your log you realize that it has been 10 weeks since you ran less than 3 days in a week, or less than 8 miles in a week. Imagine that it is a rainy Sunday and you have only run 2 times this week for a total of 6 miles. It's late, cold and you are considering blowing the day off ... but the log will haunt you, knowing you only need 2 miles to keep your streaks alive! You will run the two miles and record the new P.R., 11 weeks of your streaks! Without the log, would you have ran?

Run it and write it down!

Randy Step, the obsessed runner, with a pile of log books to prove it!

PS: For Women Only 5K, 29th Running!

Sunday, May 15th at 10:30 AM, on the grounds of St. Joesph Health Center in Ypsilanti at 10:30 AM.  This race has a tradition of celebration of women in sport, with a fast two loop course, great for spectators or PR's.  We will be featuring beautiful New Balance Tech Shirts and cool champagne glass age group awards. The race will benefit Susan G. Komen Foundation and Girls on the Run, two charities committed to bettering the lives of women in our community.  You can also enter as team with mother/daughter, sister/sister and grandmother/granddaughter teams.  Walkers are welcome on any team, and you can combine walkers and runners on one team.

More online at http://www.aatrackclub.org/2011-05-15/for-women-only-5k/10/ or email rThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions or would like a paper entry form.

Men! Email Rachel to volunteer!

PS: Live Like Andi 10M, 10K Run, 5K Run/Walk, 4th Annual!

The 4th Annual Live Like Andi Run/Walk is just around the corner.  Come on out and run a 10 miler, 10K or 5K or come on out and walk the 5K.  It's all for a great cause.  All of the proceeds (100%) goes to adenoid cystic carcinoma research, patients and their families.  This worthwhile and fun event is May 14th at Catholic Central HS in Novi.  Go to www.livelikeandi.orgfor more info.

April 6, 2011 - Shocking...

Running is a valuable and important use of our time, physically and mentally, it's OK to make it a priority. For whatever it's worth, you have my blessing, ha!

How to make your run a priority? Stop the habit of running when you have time (no one has time). Plan the time you run. For the workouts to get done, they need to be scheduled. Put your daily run in your appointment calendar and give it the same priority as any other scheduled meeting. When friend invites you to dinner at 7 PM on a night you have scheduled a 6:30 PM run, explain that you have a late appointment but you can make it at 8 PM or perhaps another night. You don't need to lie, but perhaps don't tell the whole truth, the value of your run can be hard to explain. Selfish? No, being depressed, becoming a slob, having a heart attack or stroke and needing someone to feed you would be selfish, not a run that gives back so much for the time invested! Sorry, my job is to Keep You Motivated! Yikes!

Run when it's time,

Randy Step, an obsessed runner, who is thinking of getting a job as a shock jock!
 

PS:  Join us for a couple of runs in the springtime woods

• This weekend is a perfect opportunity to support the DNR and get in a few miles on the beautiful trails in Pinckney Rec. The Dirt Crew is teamin' up with the stewardship folks at the DNR to rid Pinckney Rec of invasive Garlic Mustard. We need yer help. Join us for our 5th annual Weed Whacker weed pickin' festival of mustard slaughter, and a pre slaughter run! Info & Registration here. 
• Another fine opportunity to go play in Pinckney Rec happens on April 30 at our Roads End 5 Mile race. (Sorry, the Trail Marathon and Half Marathon on May 1 are sold out.) Info and Registration here.  

PS: Self Defense Classes 

Lee Shaykhet, former Russian special forces trainer is offering a 90 minute class that will give you a lifelong feeling of personal security for about the price of a good massage. This fun, effective session will leave you with moves that will instantly become second nature to you!

Running Fit: 5700 Jackson Rd, Ann Arbor
Class dates: 6:30 PM April 18th and 21th (Limit 15 people per class) $69
Online Self Defense registration - click here.  More Info: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

and one more...

PS: Feet and Friends Fighting Colon Cancer 5K and 8K

Colon cancer is the second leading cancer killer of men and women, but doesn't have to be. Thanks to improvements in prevention, early detection, and treatment, more than a million people in the US count themselves as survivors of colon or rectum cancer  With raised awareness, people need to get checked if they have ANY symptoms. Step one in preventing colon cancer, exercise! Join "Feet and Friends Fighting Colon Cancer for a 5k or 8k (5 miles) on April 15th, Gallop Park, Ann Arbor, MI. We want people not to be embarrassed about talking about their butts and guts! Come join the run! Enter at www.feetandfriends.org  

uh, make that 2 more

PS: The Ann Arbor Triathlon Club's Season Kickoff is being held at Running Fit (5700 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor) next Thursday, April 14th at 5:30pm. They will have race directors from various local triathlons, including Running Fit, there to tell everyone about all of the fun exciting events being hosted around the region this season. In addition to race information, local bike shops and swim coaches will be on site! Come out, meet other club members and find out what the club is up to this season!

March 30, 2011 - Time to breathe...

Yo run gang,

As runners, we drink a lot more fluid and consume more calories than those who are sedentary. That said, our risk of health problems due to taking in chemicals, pharmaceuticals and whatever other impurities there are in our food and water may also be greater. In addition, we suck in a lot more air that is filtered by our lungs than the average couch potato.  I believe we need to keep this in mind and look to run away from busy roadways and dirty air and look for sources of healthy food and pure water, we need to be aware.
 
This may sound like a shameless plug but ... We have Absopure Water delivered and available at all the Running Fit stores and in our corporate office. I believe it's a healthy, inexpensive perk to offer our staff and customers. It's not sponsored water; we pay Absopure for it and are happy to support a Michigan based company that is also the 4th largest plastic recycler in the country (They recycle here in Dundee, MI).  But yes, I admit, the water you drink at all the Running Fit events is pure water from Absopure, delivered to us at no charge from our sponsor!  Thank you Absopure for your support of the running community!

Run smart,
  
Randy Step, an obsessed runner, headed to run a trail where the air is fresh and clean ... And yes, with my Fuel Belt on filled with pure water.

March 23, 2011 - From the ashes

Yo run gang,

Thanks to injury, sickness and all that life throws in our path, every healthy running day is a gift.

But we runners are like the Phoenix, after the crash we have the ability to look through the smoke and ash for a route that allows us to crawl back to standing.  We then put one foot in front of the other until we are running once again.

My favorite Steve Prefontaine quote: To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.

We owe it to the running community to volunteer, at a minimum, for one run per year, why not get it done early? There is a time to run, and a time to give back. The Martian Invasion of Races is Saturday April 2nd. For those of you not running, consider joining me as a volunteer. You'll get the infamous "Obey Me!" volunteer shirt a $30 voucher for a future Running Fit event and you get to put your special touch on the event, making it a special day for 7,000 fellow runners! Click here to volunteer!

Don't waste a single running day,

Randy Step, an obsessed runner, soon to be well again!
 

PS: Hey, we especially need some lead cyclists for the Martian Invasion so the lead runners don't have to think, just run! Click here to volunteer. 

PS: Running Fit is hosting a Job Fair on April 6th! Click here for more info.

March 16, 2011 - Nervous steps into Spring!

I always get a kick out of runners who take to the streets and seem to bloom like wildflowers on the first nice weather days. For those of us who have kept our winter outdoor running vigil alive through sleet, gale force wind, snow and dark of night, we can secretly smile with a smug feeling of superiority and satisfaction as we wave and say hello. Ha!

The truth is, what we put into and take from our running is very personal and we don't really know what that new runner we see out there is experiencing. Perhaps they are taking those first brave and nervous steps into the fitness world and that are about to get the satisfaction we all got that time we finally got up the courage to start! Bravo and a high five to all! Runners Rock!

Please join us on April 2nd at the Martian Invasion of Races as we cheer each other on, fulfilling  our personal goals, be they finishing a run/walk through our first 5K or a personal best marathon. We will party together at the finish line as one big happy fitness community, planting the seeds in the sedentary world who watch and stand in awe of us all! Enter at martianmarathon.com

May you run forever,

Randy Step, and obsessed runner and Alien at heart, Nanu, Nanu!

March 9, 2011 - Mellowin' out...

Running is simple ... why can't life be? I know, why is this coming from a guy who lives by "Everything to excess and busy people do everything and the rest do ... What?" Yes, it's out of character but...

I'm writing today from the Caribbean island of Dominica; that should help explain things. I'm staying with my family in a cabin with no electricity, an invigorating cold shower and more natural beauty than I can describe. Each day starts with a long mountain run, a jump in the ocean followed by a breakfast consisting of local fruit and honey on some killer biscuit from a tin shack bakery. After a nap and a long swim I fall asleep reading a book in the shade. Dinner in the local village is always a new kind of fish with several unfamiliar starchy vegetables served on a plywood table.

The moral of the story? Jump out of the rut, whatever it takes, and spend some quality down time ... So we can return fit and ready to crank!

Peace out,

Randy Step, an obsessed runner who is feeling as mellow as jello.

March 2, 2011 - Where's the Obsessed Runner?

The Obsessed Runner seems to have been abducted by Leprechauns or possibly Martians.

We're not really sure, he was here, there was a flash of green, he was gone!

Come to Shamrocks & Shenanigans on March 13 or the Martian Marathon on April 2 & help us look for him!

Thanks, The Crew at Running Fit

February 23, 2011 - Spring Hopes Eternal

Life is tough, even when things seem to be going well. Stress from day to day life can lead to midlife crisis, depression and even suicide, Yikes! What's the answer? I don't know for sure but I'd bet something as simple as a bucket list could get you out of the rut. What to put in there? My vote is for a half marathon, marathon, triathlon, ultra marathon (What did you expect?) Worse case scenario, you will get a clean T-shirts to wear after you finish each of them! Where to start? Go to runningfit.com and click on marathon training on the left hand links. I think you will find it entertaining, if not, maybe you should buy a Harley, learn to pole dance or jump out of a plane!

First sign of spring? I have not seen a bluebird yet but some colorful new shorts and short sleeve tops are starting to bloom on the walls at Running Fit! Feeling blue, shopping for spring is an effective way to fight SAD!

Jump the rut,

Randy Step, an obsessed runner, afraid but excited by what's next on my bucket list!

February 16, 2011 - Heat up your running!

Yo Run Gang,

Mid February, the back side of winter, it's time to heat up our running and focus on the early spring events! Pick an event, enter and commit, if you have not already. A race entry is strong motivation to get in the miles. No yikes about it, people who don't train at all show up and waddle through running events all the time so no need to get nervous. I'm serious, we all have to start somewhere, just do it, the satisfaction of finishing will be the catalyst for your future running goals!! 

The Martian Invasion of Races on April 2^nd (6 weeks from this Saturday) gives us all something to shoot for, 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon. Heck yes, you can be ready, here's a 6 week schedule, check out the mileage my 5K & 10K schedules call for next week and pick the event that matches where your running stands now (even if it's Zero!). Tip: walk run the miles if you need to, start with alternating 3 minutes of running with 2 minutes of walking, or find any combo that gets you there. I like Friday's and Monday's off, but you can adjust it to your life.

Run forever,

Randy Step, Obsessed Runner 

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