Ryan Hall's Blog, page 158

Must-Have Items For Every Runner’s Fridge

Are you ready for the most obvious nutritionist advice ever?

Runners need to eat a lot of food.

I know, shocking. We blow through hundreds of calories while running, and need to nourish with adequate calories and nutrients for optimal performance. Variety is key to achieve a well-rounded diet with plenty of nutrients, but there are a few foods I always have on hand to enhance my diet.

As a nutritionist and runner, here are the foods I always have in my fridge.

Frozen Fruits and Veggies

My freezer is forever stocked with a mixed berry blend and any variety of frozen vegetables. Frozen produce can actually have more vitamins than fresh, because they are flash frozen as soon as they are picked. This allows the produce to retain more vitamins and minerals. Throw the berries in yogurt, cereal, and smoothies, and cook up the veggies as side-dishes or in rice.

Green Tea

I like to brew up a large jug of green tea and keep it in my refrigerator. Green tea has endless health benefits, from cancer-fighting antioxidants to energy-boosting caffeine. I sip it before a run for the caffeine boost, throughout the day as a health drink, and even include it in smoothies.

Chia Seeds

Omega-3 fatty acids are important for heart health. However it can be difficult to get enough in a diet if you don’t regularly consume fish, walnuts, and certain obscure meats and beans that contain it. Just three tablespoons of chia seeds have more than twice the amount of omega-3s as a serving of wild salmon, with plenty of protein and fiber as well.

Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars

It’s always important to eat ASAP after a run, even before taking your nasty socks off. I love granola bars because I can grab them and stuff them down my throat while stretching or showering. (Yes, I eat granola bars in the shower…)

Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt

The probiotics in yogurts promote digestive health, prevent and treat yeast infections, and are a delicious source of protein. It can be eaten plain (with some frozen berries of course). Or try using it in cooking in place of cream cheese, sour cream, or heavy cream.

RELATED: 7 Foods Runners Should Eat Every Day

Rolled Oats

Runners need to eat a lot of carbohydrates for quick and abundant energy while running. Many choose pasta or rice, but I like oats because the whole grain provides fiber and protein to keep me full while carb-loading.

Black Beans

Beans can be tossed into many recipes, including tacos, soups, nachos, salads, and various rice dishes. Black beans are a nutrient smorgasbord. One cup provides 15 grams each of dietary fiber and protein. It is also a great source of many difficult-to-get minerals.

Chicken Breasts

Chicken, like all meat, is a great source of protein, B vitamins, and various other minerals. I always have a package of boneless skinless breasts in my freezer that I can pop in the crock pot with some buffalo sauce, salsa, or Italian seasoning for an easy dinner later that night.

Baby Carrots

Try as I might to quit my snacking habit, I’m a boredom eater. I constantly want to munch on something, so I always have baby carrots on hand for a satisfying crunch. As a result, it keeps me away from chips.

Ben and Jerry’s

Unexpected, right? A healthy diet is important, but it’s equally important not to extremely deprive yourself. Don’t cut out all the indulgent foods you love, because it feels like you’re punishing yourself—that isn’t healthy. If you really want something, indulge because you’ve earned it.

RELATED: Fueling Your Brain For Running

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Kicked Off Marathon Weekend with Inaugural 5k

Alaska Airlines Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle kicked off race weekend with an inaugural 5K on Saturday. Thousands of runners toed the start line, which took place at Tukwila’s Museum of Flight. Upon finishing, participants were treated to live music and a beer garden at the finish line festival. Sunday is the main event with the marathon and half marathon taking off at 6:30 a.m. at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Participants that ran the 5K and the marathon or half marathon on Sunday will earn the coveted Remix Challenge medal in addition to each race’s finisher medals.

RELATED: Photos From 2017 Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle and Its New Stadium to Stadium Course

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Alaska Airlines Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Kicks off Marathon Weekend with Inaugural 5k

Alaska Airlines Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle kicked off race weekend with an inaugural 5K on Saturday. Thousands of runners toed the start line, which took place at Tukwila’s Museum of Flight. Upon finishing, participants were treated to live music and a beer garden at the finish line festival. Sunday is the main event with the marathon and half marathon taking off at 6:30 am at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Participants that ran the 5K and the marathon or half marathon on Sunday will earn the coveted Remix Challenge medal in addition to each race’s finisher medals.

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8 Hats To Keep You Cool-Headed During Summer Running

Summer running, how sweet it is. At least until you get sweat in your eyes and a sunburned face. Don’t worry though, this array of lids has you covered.

RELATED: 18 Trucker Hats For Summer Running

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Features New Scenic Course and Additional 5K Race

Alex Bennett was born and raised in Seattle and has lived the better part of his 48 years in the Emerald City. He could serve as a tour guide/historian on Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, Kurt Cobain, the Seahawks and local coffee haunts.

But what he also knows is the Alaska Airlines Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Marathon and Half Marathon. And as vice president of events for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, Bennett will tell you the operative word for this weekend’s event in his hometown is “new.”

There’s a new stadium-to-stadium route, with both races beginning at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium and finishing at the Seahawks’ stomping grounds, CenturyLink Field.
There’s a new date, with the half and marathon moving from Saturday to Sunday.
And there’s a new race, a 5K that will start at 9 a.m., Saturday in neighboring Tukwila, Wash., meaning a chance for Rock ‘n’ Rollers to add more medal bling to their collection.

“With the addition of the second day of running and new stadium-to-stadium course, race weekend in Seattle will be bigger than ever before,” Bennett said.

Seattle is a growing city and growth means bulldozers taking away old streets and adding new ones, which helped create the new marathon and half marathon courses. Bennett had hoped the race would set foot on the University of Washington campus for some time and this year it finally does, with the start at Husky Stadium.

“It doesn’t hurt that Alaska Airlines is the title sponsor of Husky Stadium,” said Bennett. “There’s great synergy.”

“This is a spectacular event, and Alaska Airlines is excited for runners to experience our hometown along the beautiful race route. Runners should be on the lookout for our amazing employee volunteers, an on-course DJ booth and some mid-race motivation from Alaska,” said Kelley Winn, manager, brand sponsorships and partnership marketing for Alaska Airlines.

One thing that hasn’t changed about the event, though, is that the estimated 20,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes will be treated to spectacular Northwest views.

From Husky Stadium, runners will cross Montlake Bridge, then head through the Washington Park Arboretum and its beautiful botanical gardens. From there, its onto neighborhood views of Lake Washington.

The casual runner and walkers no doubt will be stopping for selfies, while those with an eye on the clock must rely on their peripheral vision to soak up the scenery.

For those who appreciate the elites at the front of the pack, the half marathon offers the deepest fields. Jonathan Obando is a Rock ‘n’ Roll regular, including a win last year in San Francisco. Shaun Frandsen from Kirkland, Wash., boasts a 1:09:23 personal best.

On the women’s front, Portland’s Jennifer Bergman won the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas half two years ago. Seattle’s Heather Tanner is a three-time Olympic qualifier.

Moving the marathon and half marathon to Sunday figures to benefit both the Seattle region and runners.

“Seattle’s a destination market,” Bennett said. “(Sunday) allows people the freedom to fly in on a Friday and leave on a Sunday or Monday. It works better for the community and works better for runners coming to this race.”

Bennett added, “Seattle is kind of a secret we have in the Northwest. But we’re willing to share the secret with runners.”

RELATED: This Man is Running His 100th Rock ‘n’ Roll Race in Seattle

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Maine Woman Fights Off, Kills Rabid Raccoon While on Trail Run

A Maine woman fought off and killed a rabid raccoon with her bare hands in the middle of what started out as a pleasant trail run near her home, according to the Bangor Daily News.

Per their report, 21-year-old Rachel Borch saw the raccoon blocking her path. When it began to bare its teeth, she “instantly knew” it had to be rabid. She dropped her phone and prepared to defend herself as it charged.

“Imagine the Tasmanian devil,” she told the paper, which covers a large portion of rural Maine. “It was terrifying.”

The raccoon “sank its teeth” into her thumb and was scratching wildly at her arms. On her knees she dragged the animal—still attached to her thumb—to a puddle where she had dropped her phone.

“With my thumb in its mouth, I just pushed its head down into the muck,” Borch says. “… It felt like ‘Pet Sematary.’”

Once the animal stopped struggling, Borch freed herself and ran home where her mother drove her to Pen Bay Medical Center. Her father retrieved the dead raccoon where Hope Animal Control confirmed it had tested positive for rabies.

Borch is receiving the necessary shots and medical treatment required for someone bitten by a rabid animal.

“If there hadn’t been water on the ground, I don’t know what I would have done,” Borch says. “It really was just dumb luck. I’ve never killed an animal with my bare hands. I’m a vegetarian. It was self-defense.”

RELATED: The Do’s and Don’ts of Wildlife Encounters on the Trail

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Women Who Win This Trail Race Will Be Paid More Than Men

Photo: facebook.com/BarrTrailMountainRace

This July 16, the women who cross the finish line to take the top three spots in the Barr Trail Mountain Race will be paid 20 percent more than their male counterparts.

The race committee of this 12.6-mile race on Pike’s Peak enacted the change to reflect the wage gap between men and women in today’s workforce. In Colorado Springs, near the course, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported that women in their area make 73.6 percent the salary that men take home, according to a recent study.

The prize amounts have been increased to $420, $300, and $180 for the first, second, and third woman, respectively, and $350, $250, and $150 for the men. In fact, race sponsor Simon Gutierrez and race committee member Timothy Gore donated to the prize pool for the women personally to show their belief in the cause.

“I am passionate about equal rights across the board in minorities and I figured this was a way on a pretty big trail race to make a statement about my position on the disparity between women’s pay in general across any job—and also especially in the sports field,” Gore shared over the phone. “I have been on the committee and run the race—it is my favorite to do—and I said would make a statement. This is a grassroots race—the group that puts the race on isn’t doing it full time—and we really come together as a family.”

Nationally, USA Track & Field and the World Mountain Running Association are making strides toward gender equality on the trails. Both men and women raced the same distances at the USATF Mountain Running Championships in 2016 and this year will be the first that men and women will race the same distance and are represented by equal team sizes at the World Mountain Running Championships.

RELATED: Equal Distances For Men and Women at 2016 U.S. Mountain Running Championships

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This Man is Running His 100th Rock ‘n’ Roll Race in Seattle

Even among long-distance runners, who are known to dance to the beat of a different drummer, Kamika Smith is distinct.

He’s a member of the 50 states marathon club. He ran seven half marathons on seven continents in 11 days. (It would have been seven halves on seven continents in seven days were it not for foul weather in Antarctica.)

He lives on the breathtakingly beautiful island of Kauai yet confesses that he loves the cold.

“Maybe I can enjoy it because I know I’m coming back to the warmth of Hawaii,” says the 55-year-old Smith.

Hence, he has trekked to Antarctica twice for half marathons.

He has run 111 marathons with a 3:48 PR. Come Sunday, at the Alaska Airlines Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Half Marathon, Smith will knock off his 155th 13.1-miler. He’ll also become the latest member of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series’ century club, running his 100th Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series event.

Smith ran his first half marathon his senior year at Seattle University on Mercer Island. It was his first road race of any kind, skipping the typical 5K to 10K to half build-up. Plus, it was a hilly layout.

“I didn’t know any better,” he says. “I was out there doing the run and having fun.”

Doing the run and having fun would serve as a nice slogan for Smith’s current running status. His first Rock ‘n’ Roll event was in San Diego in 2001.

“Just hearing there were rock ‘n’ roll bands every few miles, I figured that would keep me motivated,” he says. As for why he got hooked on the Rock ‘n’ Roll brand, Smith adds, “The bands. The bling is really cool. And all the different locations. Since I was on my 50-state trek, it made sense to do all the states they were in.”

While the bands, the medals and race buzz all serve as attractions, the real magnet that draws Smith to Rock ‘n’ Roll races are the people.

“It’s the friendships you make,” says Smith, whose family is in its third generation of operating river tours and luaus in Hawaii. “You have like-minded people doing Rock ‘n’ Roll races, enjoying the camaraderie.”

The Rock ‘n’ Roll regulars call themselves the Rock ‘n’ Roll Gypsies. There’s even a Gypsies subset dubbed the Black Sheep, who’ll do crazy stuff like run the 5K on race morning, then jump in the corral and take off on the half marathon.

In 2013, Smith and more than 20 of the Gypsies ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Half Marathon in the morning, then jumped on a plane and ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half on the Strip at night. #SA2LV the trip was called.

“We see our friends at the races,” he says. “We gather and say, ‘OK, here we are.’”

But there’s another, even bigger reason Smith runs.

“Most of my family is pretty big,” he says. “I wanted to break that cycle. Get out and exercise and not be heavy. I wanted to do something so I wouldn’t get ‘Hawaiian’ (as in heavy). Poi is a good thing but it packs on the pounds.

“I tell my friends, I run so I can eat.”

RELATED: Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Features New Scenic Course and Additional 5K Race

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Despite Past Hurdles, Devon Allen Is On Track For A Successful Season

Photo: Photorun.net

Devon Allen is a hurdler. And thus, by definition, he is wired to leap impediments—physical or otherwise.

Two major knee repairs and a fifth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles at the Rio Olympics later, Allen has learned more about his mind and body than most 22-year-olds.

“That’s why I like hurdles, every race is different,” says Allen. “You practice for every scenario, but you never really know how it’s going to go. You always have to be able to adjust.”

Allen’s rise to national prominence began in 2014 as a two-sport athlete at the University of Oregon. By spring, he was an NCAA champion in the 110-meter hurdles. In the fall, he was one of the most dynamic and dangerous wide receivers in the Pac-12. And at age 20, he was getting ready to play in the Rose Bowl, with a spot in the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship on the line.

But he was injured returning opening kickoff, tearing his right ACL and watching from a wheelchair as the Ducks dismantled Florida State. Oregon would go on to lose in the national title game to Ohio State, but Allen never got the chance to play.

“I felt invincible,” says Allen. “But we all know no one is invincible. I found that out soon after the opening kickoff.”

He never found his groove in 2015, missing the entire spring track season. It was the first time in his career he’d suffered a major injury and he never could have predicted how his body—or his mind— would react.

“I didn’t feel fast,” he says. “I just didn’t have confidence in my speed or my cuts.”

And a sprinter without confidence is like a drummer without sticks. So he made the decision to end his 2015 football season prematurely and focus on the upcoming 2016 Olympics.

“That’s when my mindset changed,” Allen says. “I was starting from square one, but I also knew I was running out of time. I had to make that decision if I was going to make a run at the Olympics.”

He trained exclusively like a track athlete, rediscovered his speed and won the U.S. championship, earning a spot in the Rio Olympics. And while he’s disappointed in his fifth-place finish in the 110m hurdles, he called the experience addicting.

RELATED: U.S. Track & Field Storms to Huge Success at the Rio Olympics

In his first football game following the Rio, Allen took a 77-yard touchdown against Virginia and turned it into an Olympic moment by leaping a pair of invisible hurdles as part of his touchdown celebration. The Autzen Stadium faithful loved it. And Allen appeared poised for the huge season that eluded him in 2015.

But a week later against Nebraska, he tore his left ACL when his leg buckled under him in a non-contact injury.

That’s when the decision came to put football on indefinite hiatus.

“I liked being a two-sport guy,” he says. “But physically this is going to take a lot less of a toll on my body so I can do it for a long time. And then mentally I can focus a little more and really train the way I want to train for track. I never really had a full season. I always start training in January or February.”

Allen’s comeback isn’t totally complete. However, he looked especially strong last month at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., running a 13.11. It was the second fastest of his career, behind the 13.03 he ran at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.

“I feel close enough to being there,” he says, “but it’s hard to ever say 100 percent. I thought I was 100 percent before I tore my first ACL.”

Allen is set to graduate on Monday with a degree in sports business and a minor in economics. And with football in his rearview mirror, the focus now is squarely on the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Football is still in the back of his mind. And perhaps it always will be.

“Maybe after I have a gold medal and a world record,” Allen says. “Maybe then I’ll seriously think about football again.”

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Jordan Hasay To Challenge Shalane Flanagan at Peachtree 10K

2013 USA Outdoor Championships
Des Moines, Iowa June 19-23, 2013
Photo: Victah Sailer@PhotoRun
victah1111@aol.com
631-741-1865
www.photorun.NET

Jordan Hasay placed third at the 2017 Boston Marathon in 2:23:00, the fastest American woman debut time on the course. Photo: Steve Godwin

(c) 2017 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

After running the fastest debut marathon ever by an American woman at the Boston Marathon last April (2:23:00), Jordan Hasay will return to competition at the AJC Peachtree Road Race on July 4 in Atlanta. There she will face Olympic silver medalist Shalane Flanagan in the USA 10K Championships, the sixth stop of the 11-event 2017 USATF Running Circuit.

Hasay, 25, already has two USA road running titles to her credit. Last October, she won the national crown at 10 miles in St. Paul, Minn., running 52:49, and last March she earned the national 15K title in Jacksonville, Fla., clocking 49:28. The former Oregon Duck, who won NCAA indoor titles at both the mile and 3000m, has found new success since choosing to focus on road running last August.

“I’m excited for the challenge,” Hasay said through a statement provided by the Atlanta Track Club, the race  founders and organizers. Conditions for the Peachtree can be very hot and humid, and athletes face the infamous Cardiac Hill just before the halfway point which rises 34 meters in 1.1 kilometers. “I think those things actually give me an advantage,” she said. Hasay has a 10K personal best of 31:39.

Shalane Flanagan ran a personal best and USA 10K record at the 2016 B.A.A. 10K. Photo: Photorun.net

Flanagan, 35, is the USA 10K record holder with a sizzling 30:52 personal best that she ran at the 2016 B.A.A. 10K. She recently returned to competition at the Portland Track Festival with a solid 31:38.68 over 10,000m, an IAAF World Championships qualifier. She had been sidelined earlier this year by a fractured iliac crest, and she hasn’t run a road race since placing sixth at the Rio Olympic Marathon last August.

RELATED: Shalane Announces First Race Since Injury

“I just did a nice grind,” a fresh-looking Flanagan told Flotrack after her race in Portland.  She continued, “If you asked me a month ago, I was still having some hip pain, some back pain. This is probably my seventh workout back since my injury. I just love racing and wanted to get back into it.”

According to statistics compiled by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, Hasay and Flanagan have raced each other five times since 2013, four times on the track and once on the road. Flanagan finished ahead of Hasay on all five occasions.

Other top women who plan to line up in Atlanta include Neely Gracey (32:51 PB), Natosha Rogers (32:46), Aliphine Tuliamuk (31:52), Sarah Pagano (32:31), and Tara Welling (32:46).  Tuliamuk is the current USA Road Circuit points leader with 60 points, followed by Gracey (51) and Rogers (32.5).

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