Runners most definitely have some quirks and oddities, often completely noticeable by the loved ones in our lives! Yes, they are patient with us… But it can still be trying to live with a runner!

At www.ordinaryrunner.com, we know we’re not normal people!

Here are some Sure Signs that you’re a runner, with helpful suggestions from my wife!

1) Your beach shoes are running shoes. Your dress shoes are running shoes. Your house slippers are running shoes. Heck, all your shoes are running shoes!

2) Your friends call you “Pasta” because you’re always looking for carbs.

3) The first thing you pack is your running gear, even for a wedding.

4) When you’re traveling, the first thing you ask a hotel attendant is, “What’s the closest place to run around here?”

5) The “art” in your house is free Nike posters from the local running store.

6) The first bookmark on your web browser is Road Runner Sports.

7) You have a separate carry-on for your running shoes, in case your luggage gets lost.

Instead of “Winter”, you speak of the season between October & March as “Marathon Season.”

9) Instead of “Summer”, you refer to the season between May & September as “5K Season.”

10) All the shirts in your closet are race t-shirts. (Some of which are 12 years old!)

11) You have a monthly direct shipment contract with an Ibuprofen supplier.

12) When someone refers to the country, Kenya, you picture thin, speedy marathoners instead of coffee beans.

13) The second bookmark on your web browser is http://www.ordinaryrunner.com/top20ea.

14) Your family groans as they find themselves once again in the car while you measure “how far I ran this morning.”

15) Your list of greatest world cities is: Boston, Chicago, New York, London, Berlin, and Rotterdam (famous marathon cities).

16) High fat diets make you laugh, as you eat yet another plate of carb-loaded spaghetti!

17) Unlike most Americans, you know the answer to, “How many km in a marathon?” as well as how far 15, 10, and 5 kilometers are.

18) You think Paula Radcliffe’s running style is a thing of beauty, poetry in motion.

19) The word “jogger” makes you grimace, as you reply once again, “I’m a runner, not a jogger!”

20) You fondly remember 12 months ago when you weighed 45 pounds more than you do now!

Kely Braswell has been a runner for 27 years. He’s not the fastest… just an Ordinary Runner. But he’s in great shape, and he has a LOT of great advice about running! Runners of all ages and abilities can look at http://www.ordinaryrunner.com/top20ea, simple advice on running for beginners and mere mortals!

The days are shorter, the air is colder and the streets are slicker. Yet, many will still brave the cold, damp and dark streets and trails as winter sets in. For those who don’t mind a little rain, snow, sleet or below freezing temperatures and run to survive the winter, it is important to know how to protect the feet so they too, can survive the winter months.

1. Consider running in a trail shoe, even if you are not running on trails. Trail running shoes tend to protect your feet more than lighter nylon running shoes. Trail shoes also have more traction for slippery surfaces encountered during winter running.

2. Avoid cotton socks. Synthetic socks wick away moisture and help prevent blister formation and cold feet.

3. Make sure your shoes fit. Running shoes used for summer may not be an appropriate fit for winter. Many individuals will experience a small amount of swelling in their feet during the summer. This may cause a loose fit for winter, leading to heel slippage and potential blisters.

4. Pair your socks and shoes. Don’t assume your heavier socks will work with your summer running shoes. Some individuals wear heavier socks during the winter and this may lead to the toes being cramped in the front of the shoe causing discomfort, numbness and sometimes jamming of the toes leading to blood under the toenails. The reverse is also true. Your summer running socks may not work with your winter or running shoes.

5. Avoid tight footwear in cold weather. Tight shoes may decrease circulation to the toes and increase the chance for nerve impingement on the top of the foot.

6. Run on flat surfaces. In cold weather it is more difficult to adjust to uneven terrain because your muscles do not react as quickly. This will increase your chances of developing muscle strains and sprains. If you trail run in the winter, choose trails with fewer rocks, roots and dips.

7. Don’t use your old worn-out shoes for winter running. Do not start your winter running in shoes that have 400-500 miles on them. Wearing shoes that are worn-out can lead to foot problems such as plantar fasciitis and tendonitis.

8. Warm up slowly. Your muscles will take longer to warm-up in colder weather. Your chances of injury increase when you do not take the time to warm-up properly.

9. Avoid speedwork in very cold weather. Speedwork in cold weather will increase your chances of injury. Consider saving speedwork for the warmer days, and use the colder days for maintenance runs.

10. Take a break from running. Consider cross training if you are feeling stiff and sore or if you are experiencing foot, ankle or leg discomfort. Overuse injuries occur more frequently in the winter as runners unconsciously alter their gait to adapt to slippery, hard to see surfaces.

Christine Dobrowolski is a podiatrist and the author of Those Aching Feet: Your Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Foot Problems. To learn more about Dr. Dobrowolski and her book visit http://www.skipublishing.com/. For information about products which help with common foot problems visit http://www.northcoastfootcare.com.

Second wind means that when you run very fast, you reach a point where you gasp for breath, slow down but keep on pushing and after a few seconds, you feel recovered and pick up the pace. Some people think that you just slow down and allow yourself enough time to recover from your oxygen debt, but research from the University of California in Berkeley may give another explanation.

When you run fast, your muscles use large amounts of oxygen to burn carbohydrate, fat and protein for energy. If you run so fast that your lungs cannot supply all the oxygen that you need, you develop an oxygen debt that causes lactic acid to accumulate in your muscles to make them burn, and you gasp for air. The muscle burning and shortness of breath caused by the accumulation of lactic acid forces you to slow down. This recent research shows that the lactic acid that accumulates in muscles when you run very fast is actually the first choice of your muscles for fuel when you are running so fast that you can’t get in all the oxygen that you need (American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, June 2006). So your muscles switch to burning more lactic acid for energy, you need less oxygen and then pick up the pace. Of course when you keep on pushing the pace, you can again accumulate large amounts of lactic acid in muscles which makes them burn and hurt again.

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Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports — and the FREE Good Food Book — at http://www.DrMirkin.com

Perhaps you are a jogger and you jog quite a bit maybe you run up to 6 to 10 miles per day and you are very serious about it. In that case you probably are use to running down and up hills. There are many good ways to run uphill without pulling muscles and without slowing down too much. But more importantly running down hills in the correct way can prevent you from injury.

It is not good to pound the ground as you run down hills or allow your feet to slap on the ground. It is better to let your foot roll; landing gently on the heel and rolling your foot forward. If you really want to go downhill fast you can simply lean forward and let yourself go, but if you get going too fast and want to slow down you should not try to slow down by allowing your feet to slap onto the ground. You should slow down by leaning back and letting your feet roll.

Injuries can occur going downhill, as much as pulling muscles on the way up hill. Therefore, you need to learn how to run hills if you intend to do any road racing running if you want to win. If you can run down hills very quickly without injury you can increase your time in a long race by quite a bit. But if you get tired and lean back and let your feet slap you will lose time and potentially injure yourself. Please consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow, a retired entrepreneur, adventurer, modern day philosopher and perpetual tourist.

I have decided to take this week off from running. It has been awhile since I have done this and I believe that I am starting to burn out a bit. I started the summer off running the Calgary Marathon, and then did the Melissa’s Half-Marathon in September and last weekend ran Eikden 12.8 K in Banff. Other than a week and half after the marathon I pretty much have been going full bore with the training and racing. It is more than time to take a bit of a break.

I think that the biggest risk in training for anything is the risk of burnout - getting to the point where you no longer enjoy the sport for the sport. I don’t want to get there with running as I love it too much!!

Yesterday I ran in the Banff Ekiden 2006 run - it was an absolutely amazing day weather wise. This time of year you never know what it is going to be like in Banff but yesterday’s +14 C was incredicle. The race was fun as well.

I ran a 12.8 K in 1 hour and 8 minutes, which is not my best time but pretty good none-the-less. The toughest part of this leg was finishing up the steep and long Tunnel Mountain. One of my team mates summed it up best when we asked him about the him - “FU@&” was the only word out of his mouth. That pretty much sums it up.

Perhaps you are a jogger and you jog quite a bit maybe you run up to 6 to 10 miles per day and you are very serious about it. In that case you probably are use to running down and up hills. There are many good ways to run uphill without pulling muscles and without slowing down too much. But more importantly running down hills in the correct way can prevent you from injury.

It is not good to pound the ground as you run down hills or allow your feet to slap on the ground. It is better to let your foot roll; landing gently on the heel and rolling your foot forward. If you really want to go downhill fast you can simply lean forward and let yourself go, but if you get going too fast and want to slow down you should not try to slow down by allowing your feet to slap onto the ground. You should slow down by leaning back and letting your feet roll.

Injuries can occur going downhill, as much as pulling muscles on the way up hill. Therefore, you need to learn how to run hills if you intend to do any road racing running if you want to win. If you can run down hills very quickly without injury you can increase your time in a long race by quite a bit. But if you get tired and lean back and let your feet slap you will lose time and potentially injure yourself. Please consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow, a retired entrepreneur, adventurer, modern day philosopher and perpetual tourist.

Though it may not seem like it when we’re drenched in sweat and our legs feel like lead, marathon running is as mental as physical. When we’re exhausted, continuing consists of mind over matter. This takes enormous mental power. Once developed, this skill can be transferred from the racetrack to the boardroom.

Training for a marathon is an ideal place to improve the skills needed to achieve success in business: strategy, clear objectives, and a positive attitude. These techniques are also crucial to completing a marathon. Without them, even the most fanatically fit athlete is doomed to fail. Through physical training we can develop and master these skills.

In business, investment and marathon, a well-planned strategy is essential. In each situation, we must commit to our plan, yet be willing to adapt it if it isn’t working. Though strategy can be complex or simple, with our first marathon it’s best to choose the latter. Simplification is a great way to remove self-imposed pressure. This can mean concentrating on maintaining a steady heart rate or pace. We need to do this during both training and our marathon, since sustaining this relaxed-focus helps remove the barrier of performance anxiety.

The strategy of shifting attention to our body’s sensations is called association, and it’s a tactic used by many elite athletes. The self-focused introvert may find this more comfortable than directing attention outside. The outgoing extrovert, however, may be more suited to the disassociation technique. This involves turning our awareness outward. According to a report published in The Journal of Sports Psychology: “ Considerable evidence exists to link disassociation strategies with increased pain tolerance during endurance tasks.” Disassociation may also useful during a dull seminar, or an extended visit from our mother-in-law.

Just as business meetings have objectives, so should your marathon training. Whatever your personal goal, it needs to be specific, measurable, and reasonable. Similar to our professional life, these can be accomplished by choosing to focus on either the process or the outcome. In our business life a process goal would be improving our customer relation skills, while an outcome goal would be making X amount more dollars. For your first marathon, process goals are better. Since meeting them may be as simple as adhering to our training schedule, they guarantee success. As we all know, success produces self-confidence. Developing this gives us courage to challenge ourselves to achieve greater victories. Outcome goals, like beating a rival, are more risky. Since external factors can interfere with them, they are harder to succeed at.

Maintaining a positive attitude is crucial to accomplishment. Without belief in eventual success, we’ll quit at the slightest obstacle. This is true both in career and running. Everyday, marathon training teaches us persistence through discomfort. This is essential. Without challenging ourselves we can never progress to higher success. Besides the things we tell ourselves, a positive attitude also includes motivating inner images.

Many superior athletes use mental imagery, or guided visualization. These include Marion Clignet, 1996 and 2000 silver medallist on the French cycling team, and 6 times Masters winner Jack Nicklaus. Medical experts have also tested this method. A recent article published in the Journal of Sports Science states: “The power of mental imagery in sport performance has been widely noted. Keep your thinking and mental rehearsing of your upcoming races positive and it may contribute to new personal records.”

The importance of mental imagery is also noted in Olympic runner Jeff Galloway’s Marathon: You Can Do It. In this book, Galloway encourages us to rehearse parts of our marathon every day. He says that this will help us prepare for and find solutions to problems we may encounter and help us “tough it out.” This strength doesn’t end in out legs and lungs. Finishing a marathon makes us more tenacious, helping us bring home “the gold” in business.

Galina Pembroke is an internationally published writer. She is also the publisher and editor of New View Magazine online. New View gives you unique articles on health, self-help, animal rights, spirituality and more.

Talk to anyone who has done a triathalon and the word “lifestyle” is often brought up. Successful triathlon training is a lot more than working out.

There are many people who have done very little exercise in, say, the past year or two, who have successfully began triathalon training and go from couch potato to “triathlete” fairly quickly.

First off, to properly define a triathalon for those who choose to transition into the sport is simple: swim, bike and run are the three events in a triathalon.

For proper triathalon training, one would think that he or she would have to start running, biking and swimming a lot, every single day.

But like anything else physical, getting to this is a process, and jumping in head first and training incorrectly for the three events is likely a recipe for disaster. Not getting the desired result, getting injuries and having health problems ( ie., immunity problems, colds and worse).

Most people who who choose to begin triathlon training is that they focus on one event first.

Depending on your mind set, you may choose to tackle your least favorite event first, sharpening and getting better at it.

Or, if you are particularly good at one of the events you may want to build confidence by training with that one first.

Your transition to a triathalon training regimen will likely be slow and making a lot of different lifestyle choices when it comes to diet will likely be the first uphill battle for you.

The “keyword” is “slow”.

Start with small steps, depending on the shape you are in and your background with exercise and sports, such as running a few miles a week, at least the first week, and increasing the amount of running every week.

Don’t start your triathalon training regimen by running 20 miles a day.

It often helps to have a support system in place, especially for those days when you don’t want to get out of bed or do your exercise.

Join clubs. You’ll not only get some great friends, but you will get some great workouts.

Triathalon training is as much mental as it is physical.

But we only seem to focus on the physical part of triathalon training when we talk about it.

You can even go as far as to hire a coach for triathalon training. Many who are beginners to the sport take this route.

Find more articles at Profession Triathlon Training. Do you have what you need to improve your workouts and your races?