How I Kept This Body

A year ago the StarTribune ran a series of articles entitled "How I Got This Body" in which they did a write-up on myself. They recently revisited three people they had profiled in the past year to find out how their fitness programs were going -- and how they keep themselves motivated. I was one of those three people. I wanted to share this so that people who do not follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook would be able to see it as well. Also I wanted to note that at the time the interview took place I was in the Top 7% nationally but it appears I will fall into the Top 11% overall once final year-end rankings come out.

Here is how the story appeared:

Maas currently ranks in the top 7 percent of 50-54-year-old male triathletes in the U.S. -- despite taking 12 weeks off last spring after suffering a pelvic stress fracture. He shares a few of his tips for staying motivated (and injury-free):


Motivating factors are really having goals (I call them carrots) to shoot for. My son, Graham (now 11), is now running 5Ks and competing in triathlons. This last year, he and I teamed up in a triathlon relay in Park Rapids, Minn., and won the relay division. I swam and biked and he ran. Also joining us is my wife, Jackie, who is also competing in 5K running events. The highlight for us was each of us winning our respective age groups in a race in Bismarck, North Dakota, earlier this year. Lastly, my 70-year old father, Don, competed in his first-ever 5K in Fargo this year and I was in that race as well.

In the last three years I have competed in Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. ... Training for events in Texas keeps up the motivation during the winter months.


The rule of thumb is not to increase your mileage by more than 10 percent over the previous week. When I got my pelvic stress fracture, it was during that nice stretch of warm weather last February and I basically doubled my run mileage for two straight weeks. Too much, too soon. [But], I responded [to injury-induced time off] by attacking my workouts to get into shape quickly and salvage the remaining 2011 race season. Also, I get deep tissue massages twice a month during the off-season and weekly during race season. This has helped me in terms of addressing those nagging aches and pains. I can literally barely hobble into my massage a day or two before an upcoming race and be running comfortably the day after and in fine shape for the race.

Eric Ware Becomes the Fastest Minnesotan

Next tri-season I'm planning to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I'll be all out of bubblegum (Google 'They Live').

How do I intend to kick ass? By biking at over 70 MPH, of course.

On September 17, Eric Ware became the fastest Minnesotan, pedaling his Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) over 71 MPH! His feat, accomplished at Nevada's Battle Mountain Human Powered Vehicle Race, also makes him the 8th fastest human. The winner of the men's event clocked a world record speed of 82.4375 MPH. The winner of the women's event covered the course at 75.458 MPH.

The Battle Mountain race is timed over a 200m distance. Racers are allowed to build up speed over 5 miles before entering the speed "trap". The Human Powered Vehicles they race are recumbent bikes fully enclosed in an aerodynamic shell.

A documentary film crew covered the event for their short film "Human Power". Check out some early footage on YouTube.



Eric races at the NSC Velodrome for the MN Cycling Team in the Cat 4/5 field.

H1N1 & the Endurance Athlete

This is a great little article on the effects of H1N1 on the endurance athlete. I bring it to you for your reading enjoyment. Thanks to the tip from Mr. William Jenks, Ironman & esquire. This article appeared in the NY Times on October 14, 2009. I bolded the most prominent paragraph for those who only have three minutes left in your day to read something.

Phys Ed: Does Exercise Boost Immunity?
By Gretchen Reynolds

Two recent experiments hit rather close to home at this time of year. In the first, published last year in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, researchers divided mice into two groups. One rested comfortably in their cages. The other ran on little treadmills until they were exhausted. This continued for three days. The mice were then exposed to an influenza virus. After a few days, more of the mice who’d exhausted themselves running came down with the flu than the control mice. They also had more severe symptoms.

In the second experiment, published in the same journal, scientists from the University of Illinois and other schools first infected laboratory mice with flu. One group then rested; a second group ran for a leisurely 20 or 30 minutes, an easy jog for a mouse; the third group ran for a taxing two and a half hours. Each group repeated this routine for three days, until they began to show flu symptoms. The flu bug used in this experiment is devastating to rodents, and more than half of the sedentary mice died. But only 12 percent of the gently jogging mice passed away. Meanwhile, an eye-popping 70 percent of the mice in the group that had run for hours died, and even those that survived were more debilitated and sick than the control group.

Is this good news or bad? This is a particularly relevant question as two important human events converge: the peaking of the fall marathon and other sports seasons and the simultaneous onset of the winter cold and flu term. Scientists are diligently working to answer that question, perhaps because they are as interested as the rest of us in avoiding or lessening the severity of colds and the flu. The bulk of the new research, including the mouse studies mentioned, reinforce a theory that physiologists advanced some years ago, about what they call “a J-shaped curve” involving exercise and immunity. In this model, the risk both of catching a cold or the flu and of having a particularly severe form of the infection “drop if you exercise moderately,” says Mary P. Miles, PhD, an associate professor of exercise sciences at Montana State University and the author of an editorial about exercise and immunity published in the most recent edition of the journal Exercise and Sport Sciences Review. But the risk both of catching an illness and of becoming especially sick when you do “jump right back up” if you exercise intensely or for a prolonged period of time, surpassing the risks among the sedentary. (Although definitions of intense exercise vary among researchers, most define it as a workout or race of an hour or more during which your heart rate and respiration soar and you feel as if you are working hard.)

Why exercise should affect either your susceptibility to catching an illness or how badly a particular bug affects you is still unclear. But it does appear that intense workouts and racing suppress the body’s immune response for a period of time immediately after you’ve finished exercising and that “the longer the duration and the more intense” the exercise, “the longer the temporary period of immunosuppression lasts — anything from a few hours to a few days has been suggested,” says Nicolette Bishop, an associate professor of sport and exercise sciences at Loughborough University and the author of a review article about exercise and immunity published in January.

A telling new study, published in August in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, looked at cellular markers of immune system activity in the saliva of twenty-four, Spanish, professional soccer players, before and after a strenuous, 70-minute match. Before play, the saliva of most of the players showed normal levels of immunoglobulins, substances that help to fight off infection. Afterward, concentrations of saliva immunoglobulins in many of them had fallen dramatically.

If scientists aren’t sure yet why intense exercise temporarily depresses the immune system, however, they seem to be closer to understanding why, once you’ve caught a bug, intense exercise can make the symptoms and severity worse. In work at the University of Illinois, reported last month in the journal Exercise and Sport Sciences Review, some of the same scientists who’d studied mice and flu looked at just what was going on inside the cells of the affected animals. They found that the leisurely jogging rodents showed signs of a very particular immune response to the flu. In general, and this is true in both mice and men, says Jeffrey A. Woods, a professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois and one of the scientists involved, viruses evoke an increase in what are called T1-type helper immune cells. These T1-helper cells induce inflammation and other changes in the body that represent a first line of defense against an invading virus. But if the inflammation, at first so helpful, continues for too long, it becomes counterproductive. The immune system needs, then, at some point to lessen the amount of T1-mediated inflammatory response, so that, in fighting the virus, it doesn’t accidentally harm its own host. The immune system does this by gradually increasing the amount of another kind of immune cell, T2-helper cells, which produce mostly an anti-inflammatory immune response. They’re water to the T1 fire. But the balance between the T1- and T2-helper cells must be exquisitely calibrated.

In the mice at the University of Illinois, moderate exercise subtly hastened the shift from a T1 response to a T2-style immune response — not by much, but by just enough, apparently, to have a positive impact against the flu. “Moderate exercise appears to suppress TH1 a little, increase TH2 a little,” Woods says.

On the other hand, intense or prolonged exercise “may suppress TH1 too much,” he says. Long, hard runs or other workouts may shut down that first line of defense before it has completed its work, which could lead, Woods says “to increased susceptibility to viral infection.” So, if you have just completed a strenuous 20-mile training run and have, in consequence, a depressed immune response, avoid colleagues who are sniffling. Wash your hands often. “I would recommend everyone get the annual influenza vaccination and the new H1N1 vaccination,” Woods says. But if all of that has been for naught and you now feel the early stirrings of sickness, “listen to your body and be prudent in your exercise decisions,” Woods says. In general, moderate exercise, such as a leisurely jog or walk, may prop up your immune response and lessen the duration and severity of a mild infection, but be honest about your condition. “If you don’t feel well, especially if you have fever or body aches, I would recommend stopping daily exercise until you are recovered,” Woods says. “It is okay to exercise if you have a simple head cold or congestion — in fact, it may improve the way you feel. I would avoid heavy, prolonged exercise with a head cold, though,” since it can unbalance that important T1 and T2-helper cell response.

And take comfort in the results of the most recent study to look at actual, practicing marathoners. In it, 1,694 runners at the 2000 Stockholm Marathon informed researchers about any colds or other infectious illness they developed in the three weeks before or three weeks after the race. Nearly one-fifth of the runners fell ill during that time period. That’s higher than the rates in people generally, but it still means that the overwhelming majority of runners didn’t get sick.

Wow! Plymouth (Minnesota) Takes Honorable Mention as Top Tri Town

Did anyone read the Triathlete magazine article about America's 20 Best Places to Live if you are a tri-geek? There are a few at the top of my list: Austin (#4), Tempe #17), and Tucson (#1). All places I would not mind retiring to (or go to NOW!) if I have my druthers. I lived in Texas for three years and loved the ability to train year round OUTSIDE. I dread the thought of another winter riding the trainer or running on the treadmill, all the while staring at a wall waiting for the snow to thaw.

And before any of my Texas buddies start harping on my short memory of the heat and humidity....I'd rather have that than frozen toes, fingers, and ears for six months of the year.

I kept reading the article. I wanted to see what other places were named. I literally spewed the Hammer Perpetuem I was drinking when they named Plymouth, Minnesota as an honorable mention. Holy shi....iskobob. Um, that's where I live.

This comes on the heels of Plymouth being named Best Place to Live by Money magazine in 2008 (Money's list of America's best small cities).

OK, we have great trails. No doubt, but the majority of those are chock full of the Hen Clusters. You know what I mean. The lady power walkers who can only walk three or four abreast talking to each other. The only decent trails where a guy can muster up some speed without fear is the Luce Line (the majority of which is limestone and not great for your components) or the Dakota Rail Trail, which is wonderful as long as you aren't riding it on the weekends (see aforementioned reference to Hen Clusters).

But just west of Plymouth, on the outskirts, is a wonderful area of rolling hills and open roads in Baker Park. This is where Gear West sponsors the Tuesday Night Time Trial series. This is where I spend the majority of my time training.

Recent Dakota Rail Trail workout, Garmin style.

Recent Baker Park workout, Garmin style.

There are several lakes in which a person can train in open water, but there are local ordinances so unless you have a boat/kayak/canoe spotting you it is not advised. We do have the local Life Time Fitness indoor swimming facility which is shared with Wayzata high school.

Finding a place to run is fine. There are many local trails, both on- and off-road. The off-road trails, such as at French Regional Park, offer great trail running for those who need to take a break from pounding the concrete. Just be sure and end your trail running before the Minnesota State Bird (mosquito) emerges in early summer. Once the first frost hits, you can once again go off-road without fearing of being 'swarmed'.

There is Gear West, one of the best triathlon shops in the country. Officially located in Long Lake, so Plymouth can't officially claim it. But close enough (10-mins from my house) to claim it.

While Plymouth doesn't host any triathlons, there are no shortage of first-class events all within 90-mins. If so inclined, a local could certainly race twice each weekend there are that many events during our shortened triathlon season.

For the record, the Top Twenty Cities were:
1) Tucson, AZ (voted best terrain as well)
2) Boulder, CO (voted best place to find a training group)
3) Carlsbad, CA (voted best climate)
4) Austin, TX
5) Santa Barbara, CA
6) San Francisco, CA
7) Bend, OR (voted best quiet roads)
8) Clermont, FL (voted best facilities)
9) Alexandria, VA
10) Park City, UT (voted best small town)
11) Maui, HI (voted best big climb)
12) Reno, NV (voted best trails)
13) Madison, WI
14) Wilmington, NC (best place to find a race)
15) Barrington, IL
16) Believue, WA
17) Tempe, AZ
18) Providence, RI
19) Cary, NC
20) Bloomington, IN

The Honorable Mentions
- Boise, ID
- Chattanooga, TN
- Columbia, MD
- Coral Springs, FL
- Des Moines, IA
- Little Rock, AR
- Omaha, NE
- Plymouth, MN- State College, PA
- The Woodlands, TX

So, I guess in my case I should not be complaining too loudly. The grass is pretty green on my side of the fence. To be sure, the grass dies from November to mid-April. But then if I have to live in a city where cabin fever is a real disease, it might as well be Plymouth. That is, until the Boy® is off to college. All bets are off then!

Does anyone have any thoughts on places they've lived (inside or outside the U.S.), and how conducive the atmosphere was to triathlon? It'd be nice to hear anyone elses thoughts on the cities mentioned...or not mentioned.

Special thanks to fellow triathlete Steven Schurtz of Mason City, IA for the heads-up on the article. A few weeks back, Steve tripped and fell getting off his sailboat - caught his foot on a "safety line" fracturing the tibia and fibula. And here I'm complaining about a bad ham and nagging Achilles. Speedy recovery Steve!

Tour de France Average Winners Speed

While watching the Tour this year, I began to wonder what was the overall average speed of the past Tour winners. So, after compiling the information I can now share with you via Google tables.

It would appear that I would have had a chance in the year 1919. Of course, the key would be taking my current stable of bikes back in the time machine with me. That year, winner Firmin Lambot averaged a mere 14.95 MPH. That was the slowest tour ever. Now, that must have been a very tough year. Sixty-nine entrants started but only eleven finished. And the route didn't leave much to the imagination, as shown below.



Why? The impact of World War I had been large on the French road system, which made cycling difficult. This tour was important because the yellow jersey was introduced for the first time and was so successful that it has been used ever since.

The fastest year? That would be 2005 won by Lance Armstrong. His speed for the tour that year averaged 25.88 MPH.



It took until 1948 for any rider to average above 20 MPH for the entire tour when 38-year old Gino Bartali averaged 20.78 MPH. In 1960, the 23 MPH average for the entire tour was cracked by Gastone Nencini. In 1981, Bernard Hinault brought home the overall title with 24.21 MPH average for the tour. The 1999 tour was won by Armstrong at 25.02 MPH, the first time the 25 MPH tour average was broken.

Some fun trivia to close out this blog entry.

•123,900 - calories burned by a rider in the course of the Tour

•324,000 at 60rpm, 486,000 at 90rpm - number of pedal strokes taken per rider over the Tour

•Three - average number of chains worn out by a single rider (Armstrong goes through one chain per week)

•792 - total number of tires used by the peloton

•Eleven - fewest ever finishers (1919, out of 69 starters)

•34 - most stages won by a single rider, career total (Eddy Merckx - 1969, six stages plus overall; 1970: eight stages plus overall; 1971: four stages plus overall; 1972: six stages plus overall; 1974: eight stages plus overall; 1975: two stages)

•Eight - most number of stages won on single Tour (Charles Pelissier, 1930 - Eddy Merckx, 1970 and 1974 - Freddy Maertens, 1976)

•Eight - most riders to wear yellow jersey in one Tour (1987)

•96 - most days spent in yellow jersey (Eddy Merckx in seven Tours)

•28 minutes 27 seconds - biggest winning margin (Fausto Coppi over Stan Ockers, 1952)

•Eight seconds - smallest winning margin (American Greg LeMond over Laurent Fignon in 1989)

•22 minutes 50 seconds - biggest winning margin on stage win (Jose Luis Viejo, 1976)

•34.27 MPH over 4 miles - fastest prologue (Chris Boardman, 1994)

•Seven - highest total number of "King of the Mountains" victories (Richard Virenque)

•33.89 MPH over 15.22 miles - fastest individual time trial (Greg LeMond, 1989)

•34.13 MPH kph over 41.63 miles - fastest team time trial (Gewiss, 1995)

•36 - age of oldest winner (Firmin Lambot, 1922)

•20 - age of youngest winner (Henri Cornet, 1904)

•16 - most times Tour finished by one rider (Joop Zoetemelk, 1970 and 1986)

Saturday Ramblings

Wow, I am having a great July as far as workout totals. I fact, if I keep on my plan for the weekend I will break my monthly bike total record this weekend. With twelve days left in the month I will be over 320 miles on the bike. And that will be a new monthly record since I started my triathlon comeback two years ago. Could I get to 400 miles for the month?

Of course, it hasn't been pain free. On Thursday evening, I had a windy 40 miler on the bike. Then I picked up some road rash in my friggin' driveway when I couldn't click out of my pedals and just fell over. Laugh a minute I am.

My fav rider (thus far) at this year's tour is Franco Pellizotti. Yours?



And am I the only guy who doesn't really like Mark Cavendish? Can't put a finger on why. I've never met the man. Never will. But I just bristle when I see him.



Me and a copper got into it the other day. It was captured on tape.



How can I get a yellow Specialized S-Works? Seriously. More on this bike here.



Of course, everyone wants to ride what Lance is riding. Which is a Trek Madone 6.9 If you want to play around, you can build your own Madone 6.9 to your own custom specs. Here are three that I created. Amazing that just under $9000, ahem, gets you a custom bike. The third is my favorite. I've been wearing orange when racing, so why not a orange bike? And this actually comes in at $8609.99.







I leave you with a short video of my whippets.

News Ticker

Various things I pulled from the news today that you may or may not have seen.

From the Giro d'Italia - How neat is this!?!?



Per a Mr. Armstrong via Twitter

lancearmstrong: - Italian Air Force flyover during the stage today. Was really badass in person.

Phelps back in Action - Well, sort of. Hopefully the Boy® won't see this story. It was bad enough explaining 'pot' to him.

And I leave you with the question of the day: If doing a bike/run workout is a BRICK, then doing a swim/bike/run workout is a TRICK?

On Sunday, as I was having a bachelor weekend, I did a 2850 total yds swim. 2x200 easy w/u with 30 RI, 6x200 medium with 20 sec RI; 2x400 hard with 20 sec RI; 8x25 hard on 20 RI; 5x50 hard on 10. I followed that with a 13.6 mi TT on the bike at 22.2 MPH. Hey! I'll take it as long as I can start to repeat that speed come race day. I followed that with a short run on the sore Achilles/heel because, well, I had to complete the TRICK!

Monday, I did my second TRICK on as many days. A short, easy (but surprisingly fast) 30-minute bike. Another slow, agonizing run. And then a short pool swim with the Boy® since we both have our first tri of the season this coming Saturday.

Two days. Two tricks. Maybe Phelps and I have something in common after all. No, strike that!

Quick Hit: More on Armstrong

On Tuesday I wrote about the unfortunate event in which Lance Armstrong's custom time-trial bike was stolen from the Team Astana truck during the night before Stage 1of the Tour of California. This was after Saturday's prologue of the TOC, in which Armstrong finshed 10th overall covering the 3.9km course in 04:37.17 which equates to 31.19 MPH on the bike. Not bad for an old fuddy duddy like moi.

One of the last photos of the stolen bike in action. Click on photo for larger view

So, how does he do it? Well, the legs. The quads are most certainly dynamic. But the calves aren't looking to shabby.

Calves that would make Schwarzenegger Proud. Click on photo for larger view

It's been cold and rainy for the TOC so far. And with all aging athletes, the weather has not been friendly to Lance. Here's a taste of his recent Twitters:

lancearmstrong Random thought: The Tour of California should be in late April. Better weather, can get into the sierras, final tour of italy tune up, etc.
6:39 PM Feb 16th from TwitterBerry

lancearmstrong Hitting the sack early tonight. 2 days in the pouring rain has worn my old @$$ out. Good night to you all.
about 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry

lancearmstrong Getting moving here in san jose. 10 hrs of sleep! Guess what? It's raining out... Days like this it's better to have the lead/yellow jersey.
about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry

lancearmstrong Done with stage 3. Another wet/nasty one. Made it home (to the finish) in one piece after some sketchy circuits. Btw, sierra road is steep!
about 3 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Sometime yet this week, I will write up a blog entry on aging triathletes and diminishing skills. Of course, the savviness that comes with old age can also make up for those diminishing skills. In any event, it should be an interesting read. Until then, happy training!

Lance's Time Trial Bike Stolen

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Lance Armstrong's time-trial bike was stolen from the Team Astana truck during the night before Stage 1 of the Tour of California.

Armstrong rode the bike to a 10th-place finish Saturday in Sacramento during the Tour prologue. The race is his first competitive appearance in his native country since the seven-time Tour de France winner began his cycling comeback last month.

A few hours after the time trial, someone removed four bikes from the Astana truck outside the team hotel in Sacramento. Armstrong's time-trial bike, which was closest to the door because he was delayed by a post-race trip to doping control, was taken along with race bikes belonging to Astana teammates Steve Morabito, Yaroslav Popovych and Janez Brajkovic.

Astana spokesman Philippe Maertens confirmed the theft to The Associated Press after it was reported by Armstrong himself on his Twitter feed. Armstrong later posted a picture of the bike, which has distinctive yellow-and-black wheels and the logo of his Livestrong foundation.

Lance's Missing TT Bike

"There is only one like it in the world therefore hard to pawn it off. Reward being offered," Armstrong wrote before jumping on his race bike for the 107-mile ride from Davis to Santa Rosa through a steady rainstorm.

Team Astana manager Johan Bruyneel also mentioned the thefts on his Twitter feed before he began following his riders. The racers all have backup bikes, and two-time defending Tour champion Levi Leipheimer's bike wasn't stolen.

Armstrong won't need his time-trial bike again until Friday in Solvang, where the race holds its second time trial. That segment is crucial to Astana's hopes of winning the overall team title.

For those who don't Twitter, you can follow mine (notice the Twitter badge on the right navigation bar). But then my Twitters aren't as exciting as a Biking God. I have been following Lance's: Here are his recent Twitters:

Already up. Have an 8:30 start today. Yikes. Going to be some tired boys today.
5 minutes ago from TwitterBerry

Thanks to everyone that came out today and cheered us all on even in these conditions. We all appreciate it. Good night.
about 7 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Just caught up with my step bro Mike and his family. Great seeing them.
about 9 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Reply - "I was at In and Out Burger". What?? He ordered a double-double (xtra onions), fries, coke, and a strawberry shake. Wow.
about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Getting massage and Horner comes in. He's just back from the race. Johan and I were like, "where have u been?".
about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Staying at an amazing place here in Sausalito. Helps to take the sting off of today's stage.
about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Had lots of ?'s re: the status of the stolen bikes. Still no sign of them.
about 12 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Holy hell. That was terrible. Maybe one of the toughest days I've had on a bike, purely based on the conditions. I'm still freezing.
about 13 hours ago from TwitterBerry

http://twitpic.com/1i8t1 - A pic of the stolen tt bike. There is only one like it in the world therefore hard to pawn it off.
about 21 hours ago from TwitPic

Whoa!! They just came to my room and said our truck was broken into and someone stole my time trial bike! Wtf?!? APB out to the twitterati.
about 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Note - If you were curious about the open water buoy roll move I spoke of last week in this earlier blog entry, the YouTube video has been located. Give it a look!

Weight: The Parlour Game of Old

The Minneapolis Star Tribune had a interesting story the other day. Seems in the days of yore, a big weekend highlight would be to get together with all your friends and, um, see how much you weighed.

How about putting a bathroom scale in your living room and inviting guests to weigh themselves, while the whole gang watches?

That may sound like the height of rudeness in today's weight-obsessed culture. But a little more than a century ago, festive group weigh-ins were all the rage, according to Deborah Levine, a postdoctoral fellow at Washington University in St. Louis.

"People would think it fun to weigh themselves before and after a big holiday dinner to see how much they had gained," said Levine, who is writing a book on the history of obesity in America.

In this age of watching everything you eat and getting a constant reminder of how fat America is I found it amusing that a century ago, scales were dressed to impress, made of polished wood and embellished with semi-precious stones.

But in the early 20th century, scales and attitudes about weight started to change. Medical and life insurance companies set weight "norms," and Americans began to view being over- or underweight as unhealthy. Weight was no longer a fun fact to be shared publicly; it was private information that could be interpreted as a statement about one's health or even moral character.

As the public's perception of weight changed, so did scales, according to Levine. They moved from from posh parlors to kitchens and, finally, bathrooms, hidden from public view.

Can you just imagine this in today's world? Maybe. On the Tri-Talk forum page a recent topic found us comparing our quads and calves measurements. So, while I cannot see us going back to having Friday night weigh-ins ala, "I can't believe I finished off three Big Macs and only gained 3 pounds!", I can see people comparing their fitness quotient.

Still, the times they are a-changin'.

Grandma's Now To Allow Headphones

Grandma's marathon runners can now use headphones do listen to their mp3 players.

But organizers urge headsets be left at home: Your race experience will be greatly enhanced by having complete use of all of your senses.

I was aware that most sanctioned road races banned headphone use by runners in order to comply with the rules of USA Track and Field (USATF). I was unaware that last month, USATF lifted the ban, clearing the way for Grandma's and other races to decide on their own whether to allow headphones.

I love my iPod. Use it all the time on training. I like that the option is now up to the race organizer to allow or not. If a race would allow, I probably would wear headphones. If they didn't, it wouldn't bother me. Honestly, I've always liked the occasional back-and-forth that can occur with fellow runners during a race but its is nice to have a 'power song' come on and help get you through a killer hill or something.

And of note, with the Nike Plus iPod comb, I can actually set my distance (such as a 5K) and program it not play any music but give me distance splits only. That way, I'm technically deaf and can still be audibly aware of my surroundings.

Of course, I'd never wear during a tri as you would lose too much time in transition...not to mention making the bike leg ultra-dangerous. Believe it or not, I did see people using mp3 players during bike legs at several triathlons last season. Flabbergasted.

What do you think? Should headphones be allowed during road races? Why or why not?