[audio:https://runrunlive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi111.mp3|titles=Episode 111- Heidi RunAlong.se]

Show intro by:

Ashley -> www.MSRuntheUS.com

Intro:

All righty folks – this is Chris your host and I’ve got a good show for you today. How’s everybody doing? I’m doing well my philosophy of abundance is paying off for me – mostly by creating less stressful interactions with people. I find that when I act with an abundance mindset I’m much less needy and that translates to positive karma in my business dealings. But anyhow – this week I’m focusing on appreciation and I’ll talk at you about that in the outro.

As always you can find me by typing the letters CYKTRussell Chris Yellow King Tom Russell two esses two els…into almost any email address and almost every social networking site. I will respond in the affirmative, thank you for your outreach and practice appreciation on you.

Thank you Ashley for the intro – you should really go check Ashley out. She’s got her act together and I have no doubt she will successfully make her trek across the US. We interview Heidi Harmon from Sweden today about her internet initiative Runalong.se – good stuff.

I’ve also got the usual smattering of ridiculously inappropriate stuff with maybe some useful running information salted in. Including an ice-bath audio from Collin that is pretty funny.

Hey – That interview with Josh Cox last week was great huh? I wish I wasn’t on the road last week and I could have wrapped a higher quality, higher energy studio show around it. But, cest la vie! I’m committed to putting out a show once a week and sometimes I have to do some field reporting to get it done!

I’ve decided I should make a million dollars this year. I’m soliciting ideas as to how I could do that. Any ideas? I could whip up a bestselling book or something… Is there anything I’m saying or doing that you think I could sell a million copies of? Seriously, I’m looking for some field based intel.

So – my training, I ran easy last week and this weekend decided to take my progress so far and see if I can do some fine tuning. I’m just going to keep doing some simple speed and tempo, throw in some long runs and some long races. I signed up for Stu’s 30k and then immediately regretted it because my in-laws scheduled a brunch for my 25 anniversary right on top of it! But I’m also signed up for the New Bedford ½ marathon and I’ll take another swing at my 1:30 there. Harder course, but I know it. I can catch a ride with the goon squad in the limo – it’ll be a hoot. Then I’m signed up for the Easter States 20 miler 2 weekends before Boston – that’s a nice long pace race. And then there is really no sense in hemming and hawing about it I’m going to race Boston and see if I can translate all this quality training into a sub-3:20. I’m hopeful…and I have a mantra. Want to hear it? It goes like this “I am young, I am strong and I can run 1:30 halfs and 3:20 marathons all day long?” What do you think?

OK – Enough piddling about – on with the show!

Audio clips in this episode:

Collin’s Ice Bath

Skits, commercials and parodies in this episode:

Maybe the Coprolite parody…

Story time:

Maybe read intro to Mid packer’s lament

Call to action: I’ve attached a beginner’s running plan to the RSS feed for the podcast. It is a file that outlines a plan to get from non-running to running for 20 minutes. Here’s what I want you to do – if you have the time and inclination. Print it out and leave it by the treadmills at the gym or email it to some friends.

What I have found is that there are a lot of folks who want to start an exercise program, but just don’t have any idea how to do it. This one will get them through that first bad part of getting started. I firmly believe we should do everything we can to encourage new runners. The more people we have in our army the better all our lives will be.

Equipment Check:

Love the podcast and just one quick question. what would be a good trail shoe to run in. I enjoy running in mizuno shoes and i really like my mizuno wave rider road shoes, but I am open to diff brands.

thanks and keep the entertainment coming.

Well – I think a good starting place is to find the trail ‘analog’ of your road shoe. Ask them “What trail shoes is like a mizuno wave rider…” You can typically use your road shoes on the trail unless it’s very technical or their are surface condition problems (mud, snow, etc).

The trails are typically much more forgiving impact-wise so you can get away with less cushion and less heel height. Careful of the height of the shoe for ankle rolling.

C-,

Featured Interview:

Heidi from RunAlong.SE

RunAlong is a female health community specializing in group runs or walks. Created by userdriven innovation, it is the first site by runners for runners. RunAlong was founded by Heidi Harman and supported by the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems, Vinnova.

RunAlong is built in Ruby on the framework Rails, and we do our best to work with an aproach where we release new features and let the users test and get back to us, in order to have a user-driven process.

RunAlong is a service that supports women’s health and physical fitness, by enabling women to run safely and stay motivated. We believe that having a strong informal network helps women create new healthy, personal and professional networks. By joining RunAlong and running with your RunAlong network, it will be easier to meet and maintain your set goals. You have someone else to run with, while your activity level and physical well-being increases.

We only collaborate and work with companies that contribute to womens health in a responsible way.

Our vision and goal is to build the best possible group running site for women to use, both for networking, fun and safety. This project was founded by Vinnova, because we are working with user driven Innovation, something we strongly belive in. The central aspect of developing this site is to let the users define and prioritize what criteria an event-based/group running site should live up to. To conclude, we are a site by runners for runners.

The idea for RunAlong was sparked back in 2005 when Heidi experienced she could do just about anything in life but did not feel comfortable running alone in the dark. In Sweden, where the days are quite short during winter, this was something of a problem. In response, Heidi designed a concept for group runs, for female runners, this to motivate more women to run.

http://www.runalong.se/

Quick Tip:

I’m going to break the rules and give you a second equipment check tip here. I lost my iPod headphones somewhere last week. So I went to RadioShack and bought a pair of those SkullCandy ones. And here’s what I think. First they were $20 – so I guess fairly low end. They are the stick inside your ear canal like ear plugs type. They come with 3 different sizes of rubber grommets so you can size the plug to your ear hole. Some people have told me that the little grommets get lost, but mine have stayed put so far.

You want the good or the bad first? I’ll give you the good, because I try to be a positive person…They fit really snugly in the ear and don’t fall out – even when I’m doing speed intervals. My stock iPod earbuds always fell out. Because they go into the ear like an ear-plug they cancel outside noise very well and are very loud, no volume problems.

This leads us to the bad. Because they are ear-plugs and cancel out the outside noise, you can’t hear cars, children and angry spouses when they are trying to get your attention. The sound quality is also a bit tinny.

So – I don’t mind them, but I’ve only had them for a week – I let you know if I kill them prematurely with the evil toxic Chris juices.

Outro:

That’s it we have successfully buswhacked our way through the biting and thorny underbrush of another RunRunLive Podcast…Episode 111 in the can. In the upcoming weeks I will do a wrap up interview with Sasquatch on the training plan I just went through with him, we’ll see if we can tease some pointers out of it for you. I’m also going to get my friend Dave McGilivary, the race director for the Boston Marathon back on the phone for our annual chat. I’m angling to see if I can get someone to sponsor a tweetup room at the EXPO…we’ll see, don’t get nuthin if ya don’t ask, right? I’m also going to talk to my friend Mike from the Loco race series about a new race he’s putting on.

You know I’m having fun with this and I hope you are too.

Today I want to leave you with an exercise on appreciation. There are really two things to consider when you’re trying to get happiness and purpose in your life. The one you will typically think about first is to get stuff you want and do things that fulfill you etc – in other words taking action to bring the life you want to you. And you’ll hear that story over and again in the people I interview. They take action. As runners we are designed to take action, we are kinetic beings.

But another, less heralded way to bring abundance into your life is to see abundance in what you have. And the way to do this is to practice appreciation. Right now, focus inwardly on the things that make you grateful. Those great and special people in your life, those things and advantages that you have just by getting up every morning. Just for a few minutes focus on how lucky you are to have someone or something specific. Really appreciate them. You will feel your heart fill with a feeling of abundance.

Go out this week and tell 5 people a day how much you appreciate them and watch the karma roll baby. Pay it forward.

And I’ll be appreciating you when I see you out there…Ciao.