April 25 Six Minute Mile

By David LavalleeUncategorized

Minute 1: Biggest finish line drama in Boston Marathon history

The Boston Marathon course is 138,435 feet long. After covering the first 138,000 of those feet last week, Lawrence Cherono of Kenya and Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia found themselves shoulder to shoulder sprinting down Boylston Street. Cherone edged Desisa at the line to deny the Ethiopian has third Boston title (previous wins in 2013 and 2015). Those couple of feet cost Desisa the top step on the podium and $75,000 in prize money. Cherone cashed a winner’s check for $150,000 while Desisa received half that.

In the women’s race, Worknesh Degefa made up for her fellow Ethiopian fading down the stretch to win the women’s race with no one in sight. The respected website Letsrun.com provides grades for all of the top 10 male and female athletes based on performance vs. expectations. American runners fared OK, not great on the report card.
You can check out the final battle on Boylston Street between Cherono and Desisa here:

Minute 2: Even more Boston drama

Is running a marathon with a broken leg an act of courage or a dangerous example of pride coming before the fall? Sarah Crouch decided to race Boston despite a stress reaction in her femur that she knew could worsen into a stress fracture. Sure enough, she felt her leg fracture about halfway into the race but decided to limp to the finish anyway.

Crouch was the top American woman at Chicago last fall and had hoped to meet the qualifying standard for the 2020 Olympic trials of 2:29:30 at Boston. Now she has jeopardized her goal as she faces a long recovery period. She has also caught some flack online from fellow runners: “I would be cautious describing starting a marathon with a stress reaction as tough,” wrote one professional runner. Whether she’s real tough or real crazy, she is a thoughtful social media poster and we liked her take on 30 Things Running Has Taught Me Before 30.

NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson made a few Bostonians wicked mad when he told reporters he is just as good an athlete as Tom Brady. While he can’t lead a 4th quarter comeback like TB12, Johnson can certainly outrun Brady in a marathon. Johnson ran a 3:09 in his 26.2 debut last week which was good enough to qualify for Boston next year.

Before Johnson starts gloating in pit row, he should keep in mind that a 61-year-old woman beat him by 5 minutes. Granted, that woman was Joan Benoit Samuelson who was running Boston on the 40th anniversary of her first win there. Joanie ran sub-7:00-minute miles for the first half and survived Heartbreak Hill on her way to a 3:04. Her happy finish line video shows off a Bowdoin College singlet, similar to the one she wore in her Boston debut as a college student.

Minute 3: Finding carb/protein balance

For years, endurance athletes won races, broke world records and lost weight while eating mounds of pasta and bagels. The low carb diet craze launched in the late ‘90s told us this wasn’t possible and that we shouldn’t just ditch Krispy Kremes, but ziti and rice, too. We like that the pendulum has swung back and new analysis in Outside magazine makes sense to us: Yes You Need Carbs. Here’s When to Eat Them. And in case you’re among the folks whose pendulum has already swung too far back into Carb Land, here are 10 Signs You’re Not Eating Enough Protein. (Sign #4 is that you’re hungry an hour after eating.)
#justsaynotoketo

Minute 4: Trending brands your friends haven’t discovered yet

We love to celebrate maverick athletes who take risks and blaze their own trails in life. When we are running through pre-dawn rain or waiting for the front door of our gym to open at 5:30 am, we can’t help but think, “Yeah, it’s kinda cool that I’m the only one of my friends doing this right now.” When it comes to our sports fashion choices, however, we are typically more sheep than showboaters. Most of us are sporting brands like Nike ($35 billion in revenue), Adidas ($26 billion) or Under Armour ($5 billion). Even a former upstart like Lululemon sells more than $2 billion of leggings and apparel every year.

If you’d like to expand your sweat-wear options, we’ve provided links to some recent reviews of newer brands. We like this list of the 5 best athleisure brands for men, highlighting companies like Vuori. The 5 best athleisure brands for women companion story features Sweaty Betty and ADAY. Harper’s Bazaar weighs in with 15 Activewear Brands Every Stylish Woman Should Know. If you’re trying to make a fashion statement on a budget, Men’s Health offers the 7 Best Brands for Affordable Activewear. LIVESTRONG even provides some good ideas on home workout equipment with 10 Affordable Workout Gear Brands, most of which are none-too-fancy.
#sweatstainsarethenewblack

Minute 5: Cheating the grim reaper

Three new studies caught our eye this week because they explain how exercise can help you live longer. If you believe that sitting is the new smoking, the first study tells you exactly how much exercise you need every day to offset 6 hours of time on your butt. The short answer is that you need roughly 25 minutes per day, but check out the story link above to find the ideal zones. The second study offered a promising connection between exercise and a reduced risk of cancer. It has been known for many years that some link existed (exercise is particularly helpful in avoiding colorectal cancer), but scientists were not exactly sure why.

The new study suggests that healthy inflammation following exercise can slow the growth and reproduction of cancer cells. The New York Times provides a good summary of the research. Finally, another new study shows that men with a resting heart rate of 55 BPM or lower are much more likely to outlive their peers. On the other hand, men with a resting heart rate of more than 75 BPM are 2X as likely to die young. Newsweek has the data here.
#sweatlongerlivelonger

Minute 6: Daily Inspiration

Kevin Wanichko went from unknown cross country coach to internet phenomenonbased on his Boston performance. No, Kevin didn’t pull an underdog upset of any sort. In fact, the one-time 2:33 marathoner was way off his target pace when he came down Boylston Street, fighting a severe calf cramp. Kevin spotted a runner in distress on the final stretch to the finish line and prolonged his own personal agony to stop and help a fellow runner. Teaming up with a Mexican athlete, Kevin helped carry the struggling runner with a 107-degree body temperature to the finish line. Kevin’s inspirational 30 seconds of fame video is here.

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