How To Create A Movement:

I thought that this was such a great video and explanation of how to be a leader and create a movement. Thanks Tim for sharing this.

Enjoy!

Ragnar Relays: 2011

Tomorrow is the Ragnar Relays: Great River, a 193 mile relay race from Winona, MN to Minneapolis. I am enter along with 3 other crazy individuals who have determined that a 4 man team is a better value than the normal 12 or 6 man team. This should be a lot of fun and a brand new challenge. The way the Ragnar Relays work is you have your team and two support vans that support the runner along the way. There are multiple exchange point were you swap out runners. In a 12 person team the average length of each leg is 3-7 miles, the event normally take about 24 hours depending on how fast your team is.

This will be interesting because each of our 4 person team will have about 45 miles to run total and each of our four legs will be anywhere from 8-14 miles then we will get 3-6 hours of rest time in between this is a lot of time in between runs. It is almost enough time to fully recover, meaning if one were is pretty good shape you could almost race all four section at close to your half marathon pace.

My team name is UltraRagnasty Fab 4, we will be starting at 12:00pm tomorrow and will hopefully finish around 3-4pm on Saturday in Minneapolis. I will definitely post a race report and hopefully have plenty of pictures and maybe even some video. I posted the course map below and I will try and tweet(follow me @jhanlon31)and update my facebook status as cell phone service permits.



View Great River Ragnar Relay in a larger map

Below is a Check List that I used for the race.


Ragnar Check List 2011:

Clothes:

___Running Shorts-3 pairs

___Extra shorts

___Running tops-2

___T-shirts -2

___Jacket

___Long sleeve running top

___Hats-2

___Socks 3 extra pairs

___Sandals

___Running shoes-2 pairs

Gear:

___Handheld water bottles-2

___Camel Pack

___Head lamp

___Spibelt

___Safety vest

___Tail light

___LED lantern

___Car power inverter

___Camera

___Bug spay

___Sharpie

___Garmin Watch

___Garmin Watch Charger

___Sunglass

Medical:

___Ibuprofen

___Athletic tape

___Body glide

___Blister pads

___2^nd skin

___Mole skin

___Sun block

___Astaxanthin

___Baby wipes

___Extra contacts

___Contact case & solution

___Deodorant

___Glasses

Food:

___Gels-10

___Shot blocks-8 packs

___Salt tablets

___EnduroMax Sport drink mix

___PB&J sandwiches

___Snickers-4

___Salted Nut Rolls-5

___Ginger Ale

___Red Bull

___Coke

___Coconut water

___Chips-1-2 bags

___Sports Drink

___Chocolate covered espresso beans

___Ice lots

___Water 10-15 gallons total

Miscellaneous:

___Glow sticks (optional)

___Sidewalk chalk (optional)

___Shower gel

___Towel-2

___Pillow-travel pillow

___Blanket

___Ipod and holder

___Race Bible

___Cash

___Cell phone & Charger

___Cooler

___( )

___( )

___( )

___( )

___( )

International Hmong Market: Lunch

This is a bit late but had a really good and very interesting lunch last week at the International Hmong Market in St. Paul. For those of you who have been to Asian markets in China this was like stepping into another country. Just returning from Shanghai as few weeks ago this was a bit strange to have a place like this only 20 mins away. A co-worker organized the lunch trip and we headed out, we all got a few different items and shared them. I had some Hmong sausage, Papaya Salad, Bubble Tea, Rice Sausage and Pig Uterus. The Pig Uterus was actually not bad, very irony tasting and pretty chewy but I have definitely had worse.

I would recommend this is anyone who is an adventurous eater or just wants a unique food experience here in the Twin Cities. One piece of advice on the Papaya salad, their version of mild is pretty hot for Minnesota standards so be forewarned.

Yelp Page

Pig Uterus

Pig Uterus



Papaya Salad

Update: August

Ok, so it has been quite a while since I've given everyone an update on what I've been up to. The past 2 months I have been pretty limited as far as running goes. After the Kettle Moraine 100 miler and Grandma's marathon I was pretty beat up, I had some real issue with my left foot. I think it was a start of a stress fracture due to the fact that I ran the last 25 miles of Kettle Moraine on one leg and then ran Grandma's marathon two weeks later.

So what have I been up to if I haven't been running? Good question, I have still been working out, doing mostly strength training, I have found that I have a number of muscular imbalances that have, can and will contribute to injuries should I want to continue running 100 mile races or multiple endurance races.

I have been trying to make good on my claims of productivity that I made earlier in the year on my guest blog post, check it out if you haven't already. 3 Ways to Get More Out of Your Day

Such claims include:

• Full-time employee at Skyline for international trade show exhibits
• Part-time job
• Volunteer one night a week
• Member of Toast Masters (I’m a brand new member)
• Ultra marathoner- I run 50-100 miles a week/ workout 5-7 days a week
• I have my own blog (shameless plug, I know)
• I read 1-3 books a month
• I am currently teaching myself how to play guitar
• Just started to learning German (New Year’s Resolution)
• I do have a social life, time to relax and I do sleep at night, a little anyways.

How am I doing so far you may ask.

I'm still employed at Skyline and will hopefully be moving into a larger roll within the company within the next month. I still have the part-time job but really have cut back on the hours, mainly because they would be replacing my weekends.

I still volunteer once a week and have actually started giving some talks and increasing my role there as well. As far as Toast Masters goes, I am an officer of the club and have given 6 speeches thus far.

In the running world I have completed two 100 mile races(Zumbro 100 and Kettle Moraine 100) and two marathons (Fargo Marathon and Grandma's Marathon) thus far and I am doing a four man 193 mile relay race this weekend the Ragnar Relays.

As you can see I am keeping up with the blog and have even started to do some video post and I am starting to get some great user feedback, keep the questions coming. Also I have expanded my social media presence to Twitter (follow me @jhanlon31), posting on Facebook and Tribal Running (Tribal Running page).

I still read a lot but probably only getting through about 1-2 books a month. I am actually making some progress on the guitar, I am still a ways away from playing a decent song, but I am quite confident that by the end of the year I will be rocking out to some Green Day or Jason Mraz, I might even post a video if I'm feeling confident.

I have purchased the Rosetta Stone program for learning German and I slowly making my way through. "Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch."

Finally as far as my social life goes it has been a great summer so far and I have really enjoyed it and have done a lot with friends, family and others. I was in a softball league and a kickball league, both of which were a blast and the summer is not over yet. For proof check out my Yelp account on the right hand side.

I am going to take it easy on the race schedule this fall, I really want to work on improving some of my weakness before I jump into any major races, so we'll see what happens after Ragnar. I will definitely have plenty of photos, hopefully some videos from Ragnar and a race report. It sounds like this is going to be a lot of fun. Basically I'll be running a half marathon every 6 hours and spending the in between time in a suburban with 2 other sweaty guys. We'll see how this one goes. I will try and keep everyone more updated with what's happening with me instead of all of the reviews and educational info. I guess I was pretty excited about some of the new things that I've reading and doing lately and thought they were worth sharing.

See you on the other side...

Q&A: Minimalist Shoes, Running Shorts, Music

Nike Free 3.0 V3

New Balance Minimus Road

Running Warehouse

Q & A: Minimal Shoes, Bottle belts vs. Handhelds, Water vs. Sports Drinks

Thanks for the questions Matt, I hope this helps. Keep the questions coming.

CLARIFICATION: I did get a comment about this post that made a good point. Sports drinks like gatorade and powerade are really not "good" for you. They are mostly sugar water with salt in them to put it plainly. If you look in the ingredients the main ingredient is probably high fructose corn syrup (sugar) and sodium/electrolytes (salt). So these sports drinks are really not very good for you but they do provide you with quick and easy simple carbs and electrolytes.

Another better alternative would be coconut water and home made gels.

Here is the coconut water that I like the best. You can get it on Amazon with free shipping. ZICO Pure Premium Coconut Water, Natural, 11.2-Ounce Tetra Paks (Pack of 12)
The great part about coconut water is that is has the same type of potassium make up that is found in the human blood stream so it is a great alternative for re hydration. I'd stay away from some of the flavored ones as there is a lot of added sugar to them.


Home made Gel Recipe:
Soaked Chia seeds
2-3 dates
Squeeze of on lemon or lime
Add water to the proper consistency.

I would recommend using a Magic Bullet blender or a high end blender in order to get the right consistency.

Or just buy gatorade


Endurance Planet Podcast:
Skip to 5:00 for the electrolyte question.


Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast:


Nathan Thermal QuickDraw Handheld 22-Ounce Bottle Carrier

Quick Friday Tip: Easy Way to Peel a Boiled Egg

Thought this was cool so I'd thought that I'd share it, I'm a fan of Tim Ferris if you couldn't tell. I eat boiled eggs a fair amount as a good snack. I especially like the organic eggs from Trader Joe's, they taste great! This took a few times to get right but its a lot less messy peeling, especially if you doing at your desk at work.

Another tip is to use older eggs, not expired eggs but just ones that have been in the fridge for a few days.

I am getting to together with the Ultra Ragnasty Relay team, our 4 person 193 mile race team, tomorrow for a run. Should be a lot of fun as long as the heat doesn't kill us.

Ragnar Relays Website

Sunscreen in a Pill:

More info from Wikipedia:

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid. It belongs to a larger class of phytochemicals known as terpenes. It is classified as a xanthophyll, which means "yellow leaves". Like many carotenoids, it is a colorful, lipid-soluble pigment. Astaxanthin is found in microalgae, yeast, salmon, trout, krill, shrimp, crayfish, crustaceans, and the feathers of some birds. It provides the red color of salmon meat and cooked shellfish.


Astaxanthin, unlike some carotenoids, is not converted to vitamin A (retinol) in the human body. Too much vitamin A is toxic for a human, but astaxanthin has lower toxicity. It is an antioxidant with a slightly lower antioxidant activity than other carotenoids

While astaxanthin is a natural nutritional component, it can also be used as a food supplement. The supplement is intended for human, animal, and aquaculture consumption. The commercial production of astaxanthin comes from both natural and synthetic sources.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved astaxanthin as a food coloring (or color additive) for specific uses in animal and fish foods.[7] The European Commission considers it food dye and it is given the E number E161j.[8] Natural astaxanthin is considered generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA,[9][10] but as a food coloring in the United States it is restricted to use in animal food.

Where to get it: Astaxanthin
I took a look at a few places and Amazon seems to be the best option and the 120pill bottles qualify for free shipping.


Proof that I'm not the only one using this and I'm not completely crazy.
Sunscreen In A Pill- Science Daily

BBC-Coral Could Hold Key to Sunscreen Pill

News.com.au-UK Scientists using a coral for 'sunscreen pill' that gives weeks of protection.

Herald Sun Article:

ZeenNews-A Sunscreen Pill Made of Natural Tropical Corals

Yahoo News-Future of sunscreen: a pill could provide weeks of protection

Guardian-Sunscreen pill could be available within five years, scientist say

Sunscreen Pill From Coral Could Be Developed Within Five Years, Scientist Say

ABC News-A Sunscreen Pill From Coral Compound?

Running in Hot Weather:

Since it has been so hot our lately in Minneapolis and around most of the US, I thought I'd do a quick video post on running in hot weather. I hope you enjoy and here are the links to more information on the products that I mention. Feel free to leave comments or questions below.

Nathan Thermal QuickDraw Handheld

Hammer Gel Hammer Endurolytes,

PowerBar Energy Gel,


Clif Shot Bloks,

Favorite Running Routes: Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis in my opinion are a great city for runners and bikers. There are so many running paths throughout the city that the casual runner all the way up to the more obsessed, like me, has plenty of trails to run on. Not only are there a lot of trail but they are maintained all year round and have bathrooms and water fountains every couple of miles.

I can run for 50 or more miles without having to carry more than a handheld water bottle and some gels, because there is enough water stop along the routes that I run. And if you are like me and don't like running around in circles the Minneapolis trails provide a lot of areas to explore and enable you to not have to just go out and back. I have included some of my favorite routes below, check them out and let me know if you know of any other good ones. Enjoy!