My favorite comic strips of all time are: The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom Country, Life in Hell, Dilbert, Foxtrot, and Basic Instructions.

If you’ve never heard of the last one, go immediately to basicinstructions.net and enjoy. I found out about Basic Instructions on Scott “Dilbert” Adams’s blog, and it turns out Scott Meyers, the creator of Basic Instructions, is amazingly cool.

How cool is he?

I told Scott I loved this strip about freaky runner parades, and could I have a mug of it? Rather than completely ignore me, which is usually what happens when I write to my internet heroes, he sends me a link to a customizable mug:

Anti-Running Mug from Scott Meyers of Basic Instructions

Now go buy it for all your runner friends, especially if they’ve just finished a marathon or half! I suggest the 15oz ringer’s mug in black or the travel mug. Buy yourself one of Scott’s signed books or Infini-Tee while you’re at it.

Thanks Scott! I hereby officially deem you Prime Exalted Cartoonist of LightheartedFitness.com!

I noticed yesterday that it was bothering me a little again, and then today, it was hurting me quite a bit. I was so bummed! I was wondering if I had injured it again during the race when I suddenly realized… I wore different shoes for the Carlsbad Half.

I prefer lightweight “performance” shoes to run races, but they wear out so fast that I tried a heavier one for regular training. I realize now that my hip pain disappearing a few weeks back coincided with switching to the lighter shoes, and the hip pain coming back coincided with my switching back.

This, in fact, is my second running injury from not realizing it was my shoes. I had plantar fasciitis and achilles tendonitis from running on worn out shoes. They didn’t look worn out at all… they were the lightweight ones I like for racing, and I guess they just wear out faster. Once I got new shoes, my heel healed and life was good.

Moral of the story… if you’re a runner, and you’re experiencing pain, CHECK YOUR SHOES. The solution may be as simple as replacing worn out ones, or switching back to a brand/model that didn’t give you trouble.

If you haven’t figured out details for your fitness goals this year, let me suggest finishing a walking or running event! You’ll have a very clear goal and it’s super fun!

I’ll be running the Carlsbad Half-Marathon later this month, then the Surf City Half right after that. If you’d like to train for the Carlsbad Marathon or Half-Marathon next year, the InMotion Fit training program starts in July!

The original Rock N Roll Marathon in San Diego is June 6! Start training now! Contact me if you need a training plan, a training group, or a relay team!

You say a marathon’s too much of a challenge? How about 6 miles? 4? 3? OK, how about 2 miles? Run or walk with me at the St Patrick’s Day Run/Walk in March, the Carlsbad 5000 in April, and the Oceanside Turkey Trot in November!

All of these events are sunny, close to home, and runner and walker-friendly! Let me know if you have any questions about finishing an event or training for time! Hope to see you out there!

• The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook by Andrew Doughty – My sister and I bought Maui Revealed for our Maui Half-Marathon trip, and these are simply superior guidebooks. Friendly, funny, up-to-date, and the ONO restaurant ratings won’t let you down.
• The Kauai Marathon & Half-Marathon – A well-organized race, with very pretty scenery. This was the inaugural year, so I’m looking forward to seeing it grow. The elevation for the half was fairly sane (800 feet uphill, then 800 feet downhill), but the marathon route looked more brutal. Hardest part for me was the summer training and the humidity. Also, I really like the logo! It’s an island, a flower, and a runner! Goodies included technical tee and aluminum water bottle. And there was a great shirt with a chicken crossing sign.
• Postcard Shot #1: Kilauea Lighthouse – You can’t take a bad photo there.
• Postcard Shot #2: Waimea Canyon Lookout – Breathtaking. Again, any photos you take are going to be amazing.
• Waiohai Mariott – 2nd time staying here, and I like the big suites with private, roomy bedrooms, air conditioning that works, WIFI, full kitchen, and washer/dryer. Shower heads kinda sucked, but oh well. Cell phone reception in the room sucked, too, but… I kinda enjoyed that.
• Garden Isle Inn – Not a fancy resort or anything, but we stayed here for one night, and it really was nice! Near the airport, clean room, air conditioning, and free WIFI… works for me!
• Puka Dogs – Nom! And happy, friendly service!
• Grove Farm Homestead Museum – Low-key but interesting guided tour about Kauai/Hawaii history.
• Grass-Fed Beef – Dad grilled up some super yummy hamburgers. It seems beef grown on the island is mostly grass-fed.
• Always Awesome: snorkeling at Poipu Beach, doing nothing to island time, the color of the water, reading all the road signs out loud, sushi, Kona coffee, macadamia nut ice cream, and honey roasted macadamia nuts.

I’ll post photos on Facebook! http://facebook.com/cparkburke

When I workout to music, I like to fall into sync with the beat. For example, it’s very natural for me to take about 170 steps per minute when I run, so I like to listen to music that has 170 BPM (beats per minute) like Misirlou from Dick Dale & His Del-Tones.

To find the BPM of a song and save it to iTunes, search for “BPM detection software iTunes”. On a Mac, I personally use:

For Automatic Detection:
http://www.wildbits.com/bpmer/

Manual Detection:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19324

Finally, to determine your running pace in BPM, download this awesome free MP3 file from hellasound.com: http://tr.im/mlK6

Mondays & Wednesdays: Run/Walk 20-30 Minutes
Thursdays: Yoga or Strength Workout at Gym

Sat (2/14) 45-Minute Run/Walk
Sat (2/28) 50-Minute Run/Walk
Sat (3/7) 55-Minute Run/Walk
Sat (3/14) Big Day! 10K Run or 4-Mile Walk

Mix up your workouts! Try a new trail or beach! Or contact me if you’d like a customized workout!

Mix the eggs and rice together, then scramble them, either in a non-stick frying pan or in the microwave. Dress with salsa and eat! Yum yum!

300 Calories
11g Fat
31g Carbs
18g Protein

I laughed out loud at this because I run to this song all the time. In fact, according to iTunes, I’ve played it well over 259 times. The song is Misirlou by Dick Dale & The Del-Tones, and you probably recognize it if you’re a fan of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.

If you’re a fast runner (around 9-min miles or faster), this is a good warmup song. If you start at an 11 or 12-min mile pace, Misirlou is great one for picking up your speed during your run.

Of course, some cats actually prefer treadmills…

BONUS Entertainment: start playing the slide kittens and when the music starts, play the treadmill kittens at the same time. It syncs up quite well!

Today, I want to congratulate my friend Pam, who finished her first 5K at the Oceanside Turkey Trot! See? Wasn’t bad at all!

(I’m sure she’ll start speaking to me again soon.)

I also want to acknowledge my sister, who crawled out of bed early and drove through sheets of rain to run the race with me.

(She eventually conceded she had fun, too. After we stopped running, of course.)

My folks are in town, and I’m looking forward to stuffing and pie and playing Guitar Hero with my cousins. Oh sure, times are a little rough right now, but it makes it that much easier to be thankful for all the things that are good.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

American Idiot
by Green Day

Welcome to a new kind of tension
All across the alien nation
Where everything isn’t meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow
We’re not the ones who’re meant to follow.
For that’s enough to argue.

Don’t want to be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information age of hysteria.
It’s calling out to idiot America.

Fast pace, strong beat, great for stride-outs and intervals. The whole album rocks.