Looking for motivation to get some exercise? We all know getting in a work out can be frustrating right now with gyms closed down and social distancing rules in effect. With that in mind, Superfly Running is hosting a fun way to encourage people to get active by having participants individually walk or run in a virtual 5K event.
Sign up for THE SUPER RUN by clicking here to register plus pay a $10 entry fee to receive a swag bag. You'll then be sent a superhero cape and runners bib to wear while you complete a 5K independently. Run or walk indoors at home on a treadmill or take a jaunt around your neighborhood. Complete the distance at your own pace then award yourself with the finishers medal Superfly Running will be providing in the event's swag bag in recognition of the accomplishment.
An entertaining way to lighten up people's moods and get exercise feeling like you are involved in a group activity without putting anyone in jeopardy from the coronavirus. Add a bit of fun to your workouts by participating in THE SUPER RUN VIRTUAL 5K. Plus proceeds from the event go to support providing fun activities for patients at children's hospitals across the country. This dad blogger is thinking of joining in!
Fall is a great time for getting out of the house and going for a run. Autumn temperatures provide some of the year's most comfortable weather for running in Michigan and the region's fall colors can provide great scenery to take in and enjoy during a run. Whether your are an ultra competitive athlete or a casual jogger here are five great running events taking place this fall in Metro Detroit:
Dress up in your Halloween costume and race through the streets of downtown Pontiac which will be lined with ghosts, ghouls, and zombies to cheer runners and walkers on during this morning event. The event is sponsored by EREBUS one of the country's premiere haunted attractions during the Halloween season featuring four floors of spooky thrills. All entrants get a free ticket to the Erebus Haunted House ($28 value) that are good throughout that weekend Friday through Sundayplus the event itself will have a post event party with snacks, refreshments and a costume contest for the best dressed Halloween themed runners. Participants can also purchase additional Erebus tickets for friends and families for $20 each which is an $8 savings per ticket. Note Erebus is not recommended for children under 13.
There are a variety of Grave Diggers Dash option to choose on so that there is something must everyone can participate in ranging from a 1/4 mile kids run to a 5 KILLometer race and fun walk:
5K Run / Walk
Everyone gets a participation medal and a long sleeve tech shirt who has registered by 10/4/15.
Monster Mash Mile
A shorter course but everyone who registers before 10/4/15 gets the same swag as the 5K.
1/4 Mile Trick or Trot
Children 12 and under can run this special course receiving a finisher's medal and Halloween treats at the finish line. There will be a Trick-or-Trot fun zone for participants featuring a chance for children to get a photo with monsters, face painting, and other kid focused activities. Parents can run/walk with registered children for FREE during the Trick or Trot.
This event combines an electronic music festival with day and night color 5K runs and walks. Make your way through a vibrant course where you are splattered with brilliant colors - this is definitely not an event where you want to wear any expensive or valued shoes and clothing. The daytime wave of runners and walkers makes their way through the course beginning at 5pm and the night group's adventure begins during sunset at 7pm.
Color Fun Fest 5K features a massive finish-line festival featuring live DJ's, food, and the monumental EPICOLOR TOSS. Children under 12 are FREE! If you just want to go enjoy the post-race festival part of the event it costs $10.
The Great Amazing Race is a national skills competition, in which teams
of two people race through an obstacle course in competition with their
peers. Modeled after the TV show, this exciting adventure race has teams
completing a one-mile course speckled with up to 8 fun-filled outdoor
challenges. Clue cards provided at each stations directs teams to
complete a task (obstacle, game, relay, etc.), before advancing to the
next challenge station. Teams strive to arrive at the finish line with
the fastest overall time to be declared the winners.
How well you work together with your partner (communicate &
collaborate) is the most essential skill to winning the race. Waves
begin every 10 minutes … kids teams, then adult teams. The top 25 teams
from each local race qualify for regional championship race and chance
to win $1,500! Reserve your spot now as registration will close once 120
team limit is reached.
Here's some important info to know if you want to compete in THE GREAT AMAZING RACE:
The race is for everyone - runners, joggers and walkers - pee wees to grandparents.
A team consist of two people - Adult/Adult, Adult/Kid or
Kid/Kid. Kindergarten & Pre-K are allowed only if paired with an
adult.
Teams compete in 4 race divisions based on grade of the youngest team member. (Grades: K-2 / 3-5 / 6-8 / 9-Adult).
Each race offers 3 challenging levels ... easy, intermediate & difficult based upon age & fitness level of racers. Be aware that the difficult course consumes energies equivalent to that of a 5K.
Join Michigan's largest chocolate party which features 10K, 5K, and 1 Mile races. Here are the details on a really fun event:
Kona Chocolate Run: 10K/5K/Mile~ Celebrate upcoming
holidays with Cups of Hot Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Guernsey
Chocolate Milk & Chocolate Fondue along with music in downtown
Plymouth! Heated Warming Tent next to Chocolate Buffet Tents
Full Zipper Jacket* - High qualityL. Jordan brand "Full zipper jacket with a hoodie, two zipper pockets and embroidered"; Men/Women fitted sizes for entrants; *Jackets guaranteed if registered by 11/8/2015
Post Race Chocolate Party:NEW2 Large Tents with 4 buffet lines.
Panera Bread providing cups of Hot Chocolate, Chocolate Cookies,
Guernsey Dairy serving Chocolate Milk and Schakolad Chocolate Factory
will provide Chocolate Fountain Fondues with cookies & sliced
bagels!
DETROIT THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE TURKEY TROT/ Detroit
Running this 5K that takes you along the annual Detroit Thanksgiving Day parade route with thousands of spectators watching and cheering you on is something everyone should try at least once as a memory making experience. For some runners it crosses an item off their bucket list and for others it becomes an annual tradition.
So there you have it - Detroit has these and many other running/walking events for people of all skill levels and ages to enjoy throughout the autumn season. Whether it is enjoying fall colors, a holiday themed affair, or an amazing race there really is something for everyone to participate in.
Each participant in The Super Run will receive their very own Super Cape and Super Run swag. If you want to join me in the 5k Super Run, or maybe come out for the 1k if that is more your speed, the entry fee is $25 per adult and if you sign-up online and provide them with my special code SUPERGEEKDAD5 they will deduct $5 from your entry so it only costs you $20 to participate.
To sign-up for The Super Run or for more information, including the race course and parking locations, visit: thesuperrun.com/locations/ann-arbor-michigan Remember to enter code SUPERGEEKDAD5 to save $5 on your entry fee when registering. I hope to see you there! If you are looking for me I'll be the blur with the Flash t-shirt on!
I've been upping my mileage from a few laps on the local high school track to spending an hour or two running the neighborhood streets hoping the cardio would help lower my cholesterol, boast my endurance, and improve my overall health. The problem was I had no idea how far I actually was running during these fartleks which would be helpful information when determining if I was strong enough to run a particular distance for a race. Wouldn't be good to think you were in great shape for say a 10 mile race thinking your training runs were 5 - 8 miles long when it turns out you were only averaging 3 or 4 miles instead. Especially when you aren't in "peak" shape it often seems you have run a "long distance" that sometimes just isn't as far as you thought.
As a "recreational" runner I didn't want to invest hundreds of dollars into a GPS watch but I did want to get one that would help me get an accurate grasp on my training. I found the TIMEX MARATHON GPS WRIST WATCH priced at $99 but on sale for $79 and with my wife's Kohl's cash I walked out the door with it for around $50. I thought that was too great of a deal to pass up when the only other equivalent GPS watch I could find was around $89. I have to say while there have been some disappointments with the watch it has overall worked out well for how I use it - which is mainly to check my mileage and pace after I've wrapped up a run.
The TIMEX MARATHON has had great battery life, my run workouts normally last 1/2 hour to an hour on average and I only need to recharge the watch once a week for a couple hours by plugging it into my computer. Based upon my use, I'm sure that if you wanted to use the Marathon for a marathon it's battery would get you through the race. Another great feature has been the GPS, I have not had any problems picking up a strong signal anywhere I've run including along tree lined streets, downtown urban areas with tall buildings and on forest trails. The GPS has been very accurate as well. I went back and traced one of my first runs using the TIMEX MARATHON with my car and its pedometer matched the watch's results. I was curious if the watch would work if I was just running circles and wore it over at the high school track and it accurately tracked the number of miles I ran on the track. So it works well for my primary need of tracking my mileage during a run.
Pace is a little different issue. The watch works well for giving you a breakdown of your overall pace and pace by settable distances such as quarter mile, half mile, or mile marks. It also has a feature that shows your pace while running. I have found that it takes about a half mile of constant running before it provides an accurate pace speed and this is an estimate of your movement between GPS pings so it doesn't seem to be 100% accurate while you are running compared to the final info you are given when you wrap up your workout.
Unlike some other watches, this watch doesn't provide a computer program to allow you to map your routes and workout/race data on a pc or mac. It does allow you to save some info of past workouts on the watch but I haven't found that very useful. It is also not very user friendly in utilizing and flipping through its features, especially while on the run. I've been a little stunned on how difficult they have made it to operate this watch when it could have been made a lot simpler to use.
A plus has been with this watch that it has been very light weight and comfortable to wear. I hate to admit it but I've been genetically cursed with small wrists for being a guy and this wrist fit me real nice without looking like something built for the ladies. So this watch would be functional for women as well as men looking for a GPS watch. In fact the design of the watch makes it gender neutral so anyone can wear it and enjoy it.
If you are looking for a watch to help you with in race pacing or intensive training this isn't for you, but if you want something that is comfortable for the casual runner that will provide you with dependable information on exactly how many miles you have run, or maybe walked, during a workout or race based on the price this is a bargain that gets the job done. So if you lose track of where you are on a road race course this watch will let you know that you are at the 3K point of a 5K race or if you've been jogging for a half hour it will let you know how many miles you've actually put in your workout. For my purposes that has been extremely useful and I haven't needed the extra bells and whistles on other more expensive GPS watches. The TIMEX MARATHON isn't a perfect watch but it gets the job done.
I ran
competitively on high school and college cross country & track teams
setting a few records and winning a few championships.This year I turned 40 and as I looked in the
mirror saw someone who used to enjoy running but hadn’t hit the pavement or a
trail for a jaunt in nearly ten years.So I decided to lace up the shoes and start running again!
Unfortunately,
the muscles in my calves and ankles have weakened causing shin splints whenever
I try to get a running routine into place.
I could only make it a few blocks before having to stop from
overwhelming pain in my ankles or having my calf muscles lock up on me. Reaching out for advice I was consistently told
the only way to stop the pain was to get rest…but that wasn’t going to
strengthen my muscles to overcome the problem when I was healed up from having
strained them and wanted to go on my next run.
MEDI-DYNE
came to my rescue! They saw me tweeting about my shin splint problems and
provided me with a PROSTRETCH +PLUS to help with the problem. I’m pleased to say it has worked!!!
I’ve been
using the PROSTRETCH +PLUS for a few weeks now and it has been GREAT!!! Before using the PROSTRETCH +PLUS, I could
barely run a ¼ mile without suffering severe shin pain and having my calf
muscles lock up on me. After using this
stretching tool I can now run a 5K again without pain and am training for a 10k
race right now. I’m confident that I can
reach my goal of running my first marathon now thanks to incorporating the
PROSTRETCH +PLUS into my training routine.
I use the
PROSTRETCH +PLUS to stretch out while warming up before a run than post-run I
do some exercises on it to help strengthen my leg muscles. I’ve been hesitant to use weight machines to
build up my legs because worried about it causing injury or strain, especially
to my Achilles tendon, especially at my age.
This has worked great at strengthening my muscles without putting extra
strain on them or bulking them up. I’ve
been very pleased with the PROSTRETCH +PLUS and would recommend it to anyone
else suffering from shin splints and weak calves and Achilles tendon issues.
When it
first came in the mail the PROSTRETCH +PLUS didn’t look that impressive, just a
piece of plastic that rocked, but I’ve had some impressive results from
utilizing it on a regular basis. My wife
actually encourage me to start using it after it had been delivered by commenting that this was the same device
her professional physical therapist had her using to strengthen her muscles
during her rehab a few years ago from a broken leg. It is nice to be using what the pros use in
the comfort of my own home to overcome my injuries and running challenges.
I had become
very frustrated because no one was giving me any good advice on how to overcome
my shin splint injuries & problems.
I kept being told to ice and rest my legs to get over the shin splints,
but as soon as I’d done that and felt recovered the problem would occur
again. I went through various shoes and
compression socks to try and fix the problem, but it only finally it stopped
after I started incorporating PROSTRETCH +PLUS into my running warm-up &
post workout routine. Thank you
MEDI-DYNE! I was about to walk away from
running again but now this Sunday I’m going to be running a 10k!!!
DISCLAIMER:I was provided with a FREE Prostretch +Plus
by Medi-Dyne in exchange for doing a review on the product. The views and opinions in this post though
are my own.
