[*Recipe titles from Crisco.com]

Happy 4th of July from RunMamas!

From California to the New York Island, this land was made for you and me…to run.

This 4th of July, RunMamas asked you to share your favorite American runs and you did.

So go ahead and have that extra helping of Aunt Marge’s potato salad at your annual 4th of July cook-out. You can rest assured you’ll have no shortage of great places to run it off tomorrow.

From hidden neighborhood gems to the biggest races and even some races happening on the fourth, here’s where YOU run in America.

Kaanapali Beach in Maui

Aloha spirit means the coordination of mind and heart within each person

And by the sounds of it, a run in the Aloha state is just the thing to get your heart and mind coordinated. Susi Watson, on a recent stop-over to her home state in the midst of huge transatlantic move, found a run on Kaanapali beach in Maui to be an excellent re-set. And it’s easy to see why from the photo she sent in.

Sunset Run, Hawaii

“A favorite from  Hawaii?” says runner Romelle of the state where she grew up, “That’s a very tough question because no matter where you are, it’s going to be a fabulous run!” But she recommends the beach of Ko’ Olina Beach Resort on the island of Oahu, as a good after work run. “It’s a great way to wind down after a hard days work,” she adds. “In the afternoon, the weather is much cooler and when you are running along the beach, the salty air, the fresh cool breeze, and the the sway of the coconut trees is enough to erase your problems. If you feel so inclined, you can take off your shoes and run on the sand.  Nothing like fine sand sifting between your toes as you build your calf muscles.  And after the run, you are rewarded with a stunning sunset and refreshing water to soak your tired feet.  And while you’re at it, you can grab yourself a glass of Mai Tai at the beach-side bar.  Oh, and BTW, not too many tourist know about this place, and not many runners run this route, so it’s a perfect place for solitude.  So hush….shh…. LOL!”

Boston Marathon, mile 25, by pingswept

America’s Oldest Marathon? The Boston Marathon, run annually since 1897, is in fact the WORLD’S oldest.

Held in a state whose name actually means “the people of the great hills”, it boasts probably the most famous marathon hill of all: Heartbreak. But the hype surrounding that dreaded climb doesn’t always prove to be true. Boston finisher Drew Gordon actually found it to be a relief. “I never thought ‘Heartbreak Hill’ would feel so good,” he says, “after enduring the sting of over-worked quad muscles from the intense downhill.”
If you’re looking for a Boston run that doesn’t involve the words ‘sting’ or ‘over-worked’, Fran suggests you “run along the Charles River! It’s a flat and beautiful run. Cross any one of the bridges over the river to the Cambridge side.”

The Fells by melikamp

Lori Bertin agrees and she also recommends a favorite from her old backyard of nearby Winchester, Massachusetts. Known by locals as simply ‘the Fells’, Middlesex Fell Reservation encompasses over 2000 acres of parkland and offers an abundance of trails over rocky hills, meadows, wetlands, oak and hickory forests.

America also boasts the world’s biggest marathon, New York City.

The ING New York City Marathon is now the largest marathon ever with 43,660 finishers in 2009.

NYC Marathon, Verrazano Bridge, by Martineric

The runner who put the ‘Y’ in NYC…

Drew ‘Gordy’ Gordon has a bit of advice he learned the hard way in New York.  ”When you decide on having your name on your shirt, so people can scream-out encouragement, make sure you either sew it or write it,” he warns. “I had vinyl letters, affixed with adhesive and after the first two miles, all the letters fell off, except for the ‘Y’ …I had to endure people screaming ”Y” to me for the next 24 miles.”

‘Y’ …absolutely the last thing you want anybody yelling at you in a marathon…

You can run all 72 of ‘Rocky’s Steps’ at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania actually means “Penn’s Woods” and Wayne, Pennsylvania resident Lori Bertin loves to run through the scenic woodlands of the Radnor Trail system, part of a network of hiking paths through woods, meadows and historic areas. In Philadelphia Bertin says local runners are fond of Kelly Drive and the Valley Forge Trail.

Another Philly find? “Forbidden Drive!” says Fran, “Who would think you could run in such a beautiful, wooded area in Philadelphia?”

Coastal run, Pacifica

Strike it rich in the Golden State

In California, (a state named for a mythical island ‘laden with gold and strewn with pearls, inhabited only by brave, beautiful women’) the days of the gold rush may be in the distant past but it’s still a treasure trove of beautiful places to run.

The state boasts an exhaustive (and potentially exhausting!) slate of breathtaking and historic races, but the trails you told us about were some hidden gems in your own backyards.

Northern Californian Romelle offers this lovely description of  her local running pick. “California is such a huge state, but I can tell you my favorite place to run in the small coastal town of Pacifica,

Santa Barbara coastline

CA,” she says. “It’s an 9-mile (out/back) run along the beach prominade and leads you to a wonderful trail run up the hill with a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean.  It winds you down to some cute, beach-side shops and then on a switchback on asphalt up to another hill along the infamous Highway 1 and back down again to Linda Mar beach, where you can also mingle with surfers.  You have a mixture of sand, dirt, and asphalt and trails that will always keep you entertained.”

Marin County resident Drew Gordon loves the 10-mile loop that starts in his own driveway. “I start at my house in Belvedere, head into Tiburon and follow Paradise Drive along the Bay.  It’s like a country road with few cars, undulating topography and sweeping views of the bay looking East,” says Gordon.

A little further down the coast Southern Californian Karen Falat gets to commune with marine life on her morning run. “I live in Santa Barbara so I run a bike trail by my house,” she explains. “Strap on some shoes and I am outta here and transported to the beautiful SB coastline. It’s hilly so it’s a crazy workout but if I let myself drift I can see dolphins on the hoizon. Not too shabby.”

Chautauqua Park with Flatirons by Laura Scudder

Sometimes called the Switzerland of America, Colorado’s Rocky Mountains have more than a thousand peaks that top 10,000 feet

Runner and co-author of Run Like a Mother Dimity McDowell Davis offers this favorite race in her home state. “I’d nominate the 1/3 Marathon in Crested Butte, which goes from Gothic to Crested

Beckie Mostello and family

Butte, CO, she says,  ”It’s about 8ish miles, and the scenery is lovely (CB is known for their wildflowers) and the course is downhill after about mile 3.”

And Beckie Mostello of www.bornfit.com: shares her own centennial state tip: “I like to run in the trails in Chautauqua Park at the base of the Flatirons in Boulder, Colorado.http://www.chautauqua.com/”

Sanibel Island, Florida

Running on Sunshine

Looking for a rave run in the Sunshine State? Former Floridian Peggy Peel says “Sanibel Island is a great place to run.  The whole island is covered with biking/jogging trails.” 50 percent nature preserve, Sanibel Island, Florida is crisscrossed by over 25 miles of bike paths, that also offer access to beaches and opportunities to spot wildlife including an incredibly colorful bird population.

View from the La Luz Trail, by Siebrand

Under a spell in New Mexico

Bryan Gomez pointed us to the land of enchantment’s La Luz Trail Run in the far northeast heights of Albuquerque. “It starts at the base of the mountain and goes all the way to the top,” Gomez told us. Yup, all the way to the top: that’s a 9 mile climb up to an elevation 10,678 feet with a 12% grade. No wonder Trail Magazine has called it one of the most grueling races in North America.

Two favorite 4th of July races from the state with an Olympic running pedigree.

“I live in Tracktown USA, Eugene, OR, home of the U.S. Olympic trials, birthplace of Nike, and all around great city.  Every 4th of July, we have the Butte to Butte,” says 6-time Butte to Butte runner Gloria Speasl. ” It brings out runners of all types.  Running it is a right of passage in this area.  The 10K starts with a mile uphill!  The last 100 yards or so is beyond steep.  The race ends with another gradual, but very long hill…it feels like the finish line will never come.  The entire course is lined by people cheering you on, you’ll be offered donuts and cold beer along the course, you’ll likely see firefighters in full turnouts running while carrying the flag.  It’s amazing because running is such a huge part of our cities identity that this race really reflects that as the whole town gets involved.”

Sauvie Island, Oregon, by Matvyei

Portland runner and co-author of Run Like a Mother, Sarah Bowen Shea has her own favorite Oregon holiday race. “There’s a great half marathon just outside of Portland held annually on July 4th called Foot Traffic Flat Half.” Bowen-Shea explains. “They bill themselves as ‘flattest half west of Mississippi’. It’s on Sauvie Island, a small, flat island in the Columbia River just north of Portland. Dotted with small farms and pumpkin patches. It’s a lot of fun to run the race then go blueberry picking with family right afterward, which I’ve done.”

Minnesota sunset

From the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, a race to start your Fourth off with a bang

Minnesota, means “water that reflects the sky” in the Dakota language and with over 90,000 miles of shoreline it’s easy to see where the state got its name and what makes it appealing to runners.

Runner Lisa Koeppen brings us a race from the shores of Lake Minnetonka. “A great race on July 4 is the annual Excelsior Firecracker Run 10K,” Koeppen told us. “The race starts and ends in the beautiful Excelsior Commons on the shores of Lake Minnetonka.  Finishers get tshirts and popscicles.  The course is gorgeous, some flat, some hills, lots of scenery of the lake and lovely homes.  It’s a fantastic start to the 4th of July festivities!”

And once the festivities are over, you can start planning your runs for the next year. With so many amazing trails to choose from, this RunMama better start saving air miles.

Happy 4th! And if you have a favorite not included here, please tell us about it in the comments.

[The fun facts about state names were found in Greetings from the 50 States, How They Got Their Names, by Sheila Keenan]

Happy Canada Day!

The true north running strong and free…

To the rest of the world Canada may be best known for hockey (especially after this year’s unforgettable Olympics), cold winters and so called ‘Canadian bacon’, which isn’t even Canadian (note to non-Canadians: we don’t know where you got this funny idea – our bacon is just regular, ol’ bacon) but ask a few Canadians (and I asked plenty) and you’ll soon learn something else about Canada: it’s a great place to run.

In honor of Canada’s 143rd birthday, RunMamas asked runners from across the country to share their favorite races and running places (and great Canadian running tunes, see Canada Day Playlist) and they did, from the shores of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia on to the edge of the Pacific in Nanaimo, British Columbia (BC).

Unparalleled scenic beauty, friendly and enthusiastic running groups and a slate of races running the gamut from family fun runs to extreme Arctic challenges are just a few reasons to consider making Canada your next running destination.

So lets take a tour from coast to coast and discover what makes Canada run.

Run in the Land of the Midnight Sun

“There are strange things done in the midnight sun,” according to the poet Robert Service, but I don’t think he had running a marathon or 55km ultra in mind. If you do, you might want to consider the northernmost marathon in the world the Northwest Passage Marathon held on Somerset Island, Nunavut on August 1st.

Polar Bear Point, Nunavut

Josee Auclair of race organizer Canadian Arctic Holidays invites you to “discover the mythical Northwest Passage and experience beluga whales playing in shallow water while you run. That is a chance of a life time!” In addition to baby beluga, you might also see icebergs, polar bears and muskox as you run under the 24-hour arctic sun.

BC…it really is SUPERnatural

And all that nature has inspired some pretty impressive sounding runs, such as “The Grouse Grind”. “The Grouse Grind is what all the Vancouverites do,” says former resident Sherry Mcphail. “You run up the freaking mountain(all 2,830 stairs and 853 meters of elevation).” For those seeking a slightly more level challenge McPhail recommends the seawall, around downtown and Stanley park.

Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, by Christian Abend

And she has some tips for running in the rockies too: “In Yoho NP we would run around Emerald Lake. Once a friend was charged by a moose on that trail. Running the trails in the Rockies is always a bit dodgy as the animals can’t hear or smell you coming fast enough to make off! Unless you make a lot of noise singing.”

And from the home of the gooey and delicious Nanaimo bar, runner Ross Palfery offers up a race called The Nanaimo Gutbuster : “a half marathon and a 12.5 km trail race with water hazards, hills and great single track trail.” Ross also hand-picked two other choice trail runs: “The Fletcher Challenge is another race with great trails and climbs and the Cedar 12 K is a road race featuring rolling hills, flats and great country scenery.”

Banff National Park, by Jedphoto

Rocky Mountain High

Alberta runner Aimee Kozun chose a race in the heart of the Rockies:

“I would have to say my favourite race right now would be Melissa’s 10K in Banff, Alberta,” says Kozun. “Not only do you get the most beautiful scenery with trees stretching as far as the eye can see, and the cool calm waters flowing in the distance, you also get to see the truly Canadian mountains across the horizon. And along with the beautiful view this race presents you with the challenge or powering up the side of the mountain and back down again! (If you’re doing this race, I hope you worked your hill training in, because you’ll need it!)”

And for visitors to Calgary, Alberta looking for a nature run right in the city, Sherry McPhail suggests, “Nose Hill park, a crown of native prairie, in fact “a significant rough fescue grassland ecosystem” at the top of the city.” McPhail says the park features, “loads of trails where you can see deer and the coyotes that eat them.”

Running Back to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Saskatoon Skyline in Winter by ThomasKelly

Maybe this flat prairie province is where you’ll set your next p.r. Their marathon is an official Boston qualifier.

Saskatoon Road Runners Association president Lorren Dobni sent in a plug for these favorite races:

• Aug 15th  River Run Classic  5km / 10 km / half marathon
• Oct 23  Sask 50km Ultra Marathon and Relay
• Nov 6  Prediction Mile

See the Saskatoon Road Runners website for more details and other races:www.saskatoonroadrunners.ca

10k run Toronto by Danielle Scott

Along the Lake and Around the Bay, Ontario Runners Are on the Move

Ontario runners are full of suggestions. Patty Scott votes for the Around the Bay 30K in Hamilton, Ontario, a great distance for those wanting more than a half-marathon, but not quite a whole.

Jonathan Hughes of Toronto’s Running Rats picks www.nightcrawler.to He say it’s “a fantastic race, that we love as a group.”

And Glenn Gabriel of the Toronto Penguins offers up some favorite Toronto races:

Longboat Toronto Island 10K & Races (September)www.torontoislandrun.com
* A great location, a great course and well-organized by the Longboat Roadrunners. Where else can you take a ferry to the race site?

Sporting Life Downhill 10Kwww.canadarunningseries.com/
* If you like “big city” races, nothing beats the sight of thousands of runners zooming down Yonge Street.

…and running places:

High Park
* Beautiful location in the west end of the Toronto. A runner’s favourite and the venue for many of our city’s races.

The Beach (Ashbridges Bay & the boardwalk)
* A place to be seen. Not uncommon to see cyclists, dog walkers and rollerbladers share the path with runners and walkers.

Ottawa, The Nation’s Running Capital?

With an amazing network of mult-use pathways and a world-class marathon my own hometown of Ottawa, Ontario is certainly a contender for the title, and runner Tiina Podymow agrees.

“Let me be the first to vote for Ottawa!” Podymow told me,  ”I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know; Ottawa is a major running town with the canal and and river parkways offering miles of beautiful, at times, tulip decorated paths.”  ”The May marathon weekend is amazing,” she adds. “It starts in the center of town, winds down the canal all the way to Hog’s Back Road and then back again, with thousands of cheering fans along the way: gorgeous and invigorating.”

The Nation’s Capital takes Canada Day very seriously, so it’s no surprise they boast two different Canada Day Races. According to local runner Carlene Paquette, “This allows us to burn a few extra calories and justify the BBQ and extra beer later in the day.” One race is the Canada Day Run (5K, 3K and 1K) in downtown Ottawa: http://www.canadadayrun.ca/ The other, the Bustukah Canada Day Road Race (10K, 5K, 1.2K and 300m tot trot) is out in neighboring Kanata: http://www.runottawaclub.com/events/detailsB.html

Carlene added, “I have run the Kanata races for a number of years and love the family atmosphere there.  This is also a great event for families since the 10K and 5K are at different times.  So one parent can do each race and take turns watching the kids while the other is running.  And there are kids distances like the 300m tot trot and 1.2K fun run too.  Plus face painting, etc to keep the kids busy.  It’s a great event.”

And she also put a plug in for her free running group in Kanata.  ”We meet at Sports 4 in Centrum every Wednesday night,” she says, “Many folks also meet in the weekend for runs, bike rides or brick (bike/run) workouts.  Here is the link to our group: http://www.paquettefamily.ca/Sports4/index.htm”

Québec – La Belle Province

And it is très belle, indeed as many Ottawa runners know only too well. Ottawa resident Sherry Mcphail loves to slip across the border to run the trails of the Gatineau hills. “Any of the routes up to Ridge Road get the heart going,” she says, “then the road itself goes on forever, up and down and on and on.” And the best time to run here is in October when the fall color is on fire.

Running Room Quebec Events Coordinator Caroline Kronlov shares a newer race one of Quebec’s largest and most beautiful National Parks.

‘’La Course au Parc National d’Oka Race’’ was such a great success last year, over 650 participants for a first edition, that I am presently planning the 2nd edition with great excitement,” she says. “Last year we offered a 5km walk and run as well as a 10km walk and run…This year, I will be adding a 21km run on this spectacular site…Participants will be starting the race at Le Littoral Service Centre to then follow the bicycle path…the 21km runners will most probably also experience beautiful trail running on a portion of their run (to be confirmed…).  Proceeds for this event will go to the WIAIH (West Island Association for the Intellectually Handicapped. [Race info: Saturday November, 6/2010, 8h30 am for the 21km, 8h45 for the 10km, 9h00 for the 5km To register: on-line at :http://www.events.runningroom.com/hm/ or in all of the Running Room stores  Participants will also be able to register the morning of the race between 7am-8am on site.]

Hello to Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia coach and runner Steve Morley gets the prize for the most comprehensive guide to races and running places.

Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia, by Chensiyuan

Judging by his suggestions there mustn’t be a square inch of the island that isn’t runnable and by the sounds of it he’s run it all.

Nova Scotia also gets the prize for best race names. According to Steve, “racing in Nova Scotia has to include a few of the following:”

• Johnny Miles Marathon, named after 2 time Boston Marathon winner Johnny Miles, which has just celebrated it’s 35th running.
• Antigonish Highland Games 5 miler on Friday July 9th.  These highland games are occurring for the 147th year.
• Halifax/Dartmouth MacPass Bridge Mile on August 1st (http://www.macpassmiles.com/)
• Dartmouth Natal Day 2 Mile & 6 Mile road race on August 2nd, which celebrated it’s 100th in 2006, and is the 4th oldest road race in North America.
• Not Since Moses run on the Bay of Fundy at low tide in Parsborro on August 14th.http://www.notsincemoses.com/
• Rum Runners Relay from Halifax to Lunenburg September 25th.http://www.rumrunnersrelay.ca/ (sold out)”

And Steve also has a great list of places to run in Canada’s ocean playground:

And if you have any energy left after running the length and breadth of Nova Scotia, head on over to New Brunswick and try one last run offered by Sherry McPhail, who seems to have one for every region of the country. In New Brunswick she runs “from Shediac to Parley Beach along the reclaimed railroad track through raspberry and blueberry bushes, and then through the completely sweet old cottage neighbourhood called Pointe-du-Chêne. It’s always hot, so hitting the Atlantic after the run is a good reward.”

And another good reward is a nice cold beer at your Canada Day celebration. So, cheers! And Happy Canada Day, eh!

If you have any favorites you’d like to add to the list, please submit a comment – we’d love to hear ‘em.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

From Cape Spear in Newfoundland to the Yukon border with Alaska, from Ellesmere Island, Nunavut to Middle Island in Lake Erie, Canadian runners will be rockin’ out this holiday from sea to shining sea. Whether you’re lacin’ up to beat last year’s Canada Day p.r. or kickin’ back with a cold one at the annual bbq, or BOTH, RunMamas is pleased to offer up your picks (and a few of our own) for an all-Canadian playlist you can really ‘take off’ to:

RunMama’s Canada Day Playlist

• Black Cars - Gino Vannelli
• I Beg Your Pardon - Kon Kan
• Ordinary Day – Great Big Sea
• You Don’t Know Me – Jann Arden and Michael Buble
• Symphonic – Em Gryner
• Safety Dance – Men Without Hats
• Must I Always Remember – The Box
• Rock n’ Roll Duty – Kim Mitchell
• 1, 2, 3, 4 – Feist
• I Believe – Nikki Yanofsky
• When the Night feels my Song – Bedouin Soundclash.
• Keep the Car Running – The Arcade Fire
• Cursed Arrows-Run Forever
• Fly By Night – Rush
• Wake Up – Arcade Fire
• I’m Running – Misstress Barbara featuring Sam Roberts
• Tragically Hip – Courage (For Hugh MacLennan)
• Closer to the Heart -Rush
• One Week – Bare Naked Ladies
• Like a Hurricane – Neil Young
• The Guess Who – American Woman
• BTO – Takin’ Care of Business
• My Body Is a Cage – Arcade Fire

I don’t know if Hemingway ever tried this workout, but with moves named jerks, snatches, cleans, and dead lifts Kettlebell Boot Camp certainly would’ve been macho enough for him. And the kettlebell’s origins over 300 years ago on the Russian waterfront as a weight slung onto scales by burly dockworkers fits the bill too.

So why would a little girly-girl RunMama want to try swinging one of these cannonballs with handles (ranging in weight from 8 to 97 pounds) around at something called a ‘boot camp’?

RunMama trying to 'clean' the bell

…And we’re not talkin’ Macy’s one-day winter footwear sale…

That’s exactly what I asked personal trainer Bryan Gomez of Precision Fitness. And his answer was pretty convincing.

“All over body function,” for one thing, he told me. Gomez explained that the kettlebell workout, brought to the US in 2001 by Russian special forces trainer Pavel Tsatsouline “improves every system of the body: flexibility, mobility, power, strength and stamina.”

That sounded pretty good but what about it would specifically benefit a runner?

Apparently It’s All in the Hips

Gomez asserted that in running, as with most sports all the power comes from the hips, and since one of the key components of the kettlebell workout is a continuous forward thrust from the hips (yup, that’s right, ‘forward thrust’), it’s an ideal cross-training workout for runners. It’s also been shown to improve muscular endurance, core strength, and shoulder flexibility. “Oh, and then there’s the cardio aspect of it,” Gomez told me.

Burn, Baby, Burn.

In fact kettlebells have been touted as the new kings of cardio, purported to burn twice the fat in half the time of other cardio workouts including running. In a new study funded by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), scientists at the University of Wisconsin discovered that during a 20-minute kettlebell workout, research subjects burned calories equivalent to running a 6-minute/mile pace.

Gomez, right, and Orosa demonstrate proper form

Since I haven’t run at a 6-minute/mile pace in a while…okay, never, I figured I oughta give it a go and joined Gomez, an RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) certified trainer and his fellow trainer Nikki Orosa (Hardstyle Kettlebell Certified) for their bootcamp in Millbrae, CA’s Central Park where they walked me through some kettlebell fundamentals.

Kettlebell Butterflies

I had one or two second thoughts on my way there, wondering what sort of group I would find. I started picturing a hard core, chiseled group of ex-Navy Seals/Russian Special Forces/burly dockworkers who would be laughing at the little girly-girl in her bare feet (since I had not yet purchased the recommended flat-soled sneaker – running shoes are verboten since they don’t offer enough stability).

Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that kettlebell fans come in all shapes, sizes, levels of ability and ages – there was even a baby there – although he didn’t do much besides show off his impressive flexibility. Reassured that I’d do at least as well as the baby, minus the flexibility, I was ready for my first move.

Keep the Load in the Butt

Before taking me through my first move, the swing, Gomez outlined the keys to good form: the shoulder pack (keeping your shoulders connected to your lats), the upright plank (maintaining a plank, while upright) and proper breathing through short bursts of air (vaguely reminiscent of Lamaze, but just one on each swing). Oh, and he also reminded to keep the load in the butt, to save my back…okey, dokey!

Perfecting the plank

And then he handed me an 18 pound bell to get started with. Yikes! After years of running and basically ignoring my upper-body strength, I wasn’t even sure I could pick the thing up. But I was pleasantly surprised to learn the swing is in fact propelled by the lower body. You let your hips do the work, not  your arms. You squat, pick up the bell and thrust forward with

Keep the load in the butt

your hips, swinging the bell up to the point where it feels weightless, then hike it back to your butt like a football and swing again. Not so tough, after all. But my heart was soon racing as I swung my way through a ‘tabata’ workout alternating 20 seconds of swinging with 20 seconds of ‘active’ recovery (me doing my best Rocky imitation).

Going Naked

Next up, was a move called the turkish get-up, which Gomez informed me I would start off by doing naked.  I was about to get up and go, when he explained ‘naked’ just means without the weight. It’s a safer way to learn a new move and get the form down before amping up the level of difficulty by several pounds. The turkish get-up is essentially a series of moves in which you start lying on your side in a fetal position and step-by-step work your way up to standing while holding the weight overhead, and then reverse your way back to the ground. Some schools take a fluid approach to this move, but Gomez and Orosa prefer to break it down slowly, checking for proper form along the way. This also maximizes the workout, Gomez said.

Challenge Your Mind, as Well as Your Body.

With ordered sequences of moves, proper form and breathing to think about, the kettlebell workout definitely offers a mental challenge, especially to the coordination-challenged, like myself. ( After all, running is my sport for a reason. ) But all that thinking provides a great distraction from the effort of the workout itself, which can be a little intense. In fact I was so busy trying to get my moves down, that the true intensity of the thing didn’t really reveal itself until the next day, when I discovered sore muscles I never even knew I had. Clearly I had done a good job of ‘keeping the load in the butt’, only  now I could not get the butt into a chair.

Repetition Is the Key.

However, it has gotten better. I’ve done five kettlebell sessions now, and I think I may just be getting into the ‘swing’ of things. It’s tough, but the pain in my butt has gone away and the more times I repeat a move the closer I get to perfecting it.

If I can build strength, endurance and burn fat on my cross-training days, that’s pretty hard to resist. So go ahead and ring kettlebell.

I’ll answer.

Kettlebell Boot Camp Photo Gallery

Today I found a bright and shiny quarter. A fancy commemorative Arizona state quarter in fact. And deciding to follow an inflation-adjusted version of the adage of my youth: find a quarter, pick it up and all the day you’ll have good luck, I pocketed it. Have I had any good luck yet? Well, I was lucky enough to get to run and feel good doing it. And I was lucky enough to realize that important fact. So get out there and run – who know what you’ll discover on the road or about yourself.

No, I did not forget that my adopted land is celebrating its 234th birthday just 3 days after Canada blows out the candles on her cake, and in honour (oops! better spell it the American way) honor of this illustrious occasion, RunMamas wants to hear about your favorite races, running trails or neighborhood routes all across this great land and include them in a special 4th of July feature:

50 Great Runs in 50 Great States.

So email kristine@runmamas.com and share where you love to run, from the shores of the Great Lake waters to the trails of the Redwood forests and everywhere in between and beyond. Don’t forget to attach pictures if you can!

…And tell us your favourite American playlist pick too, for the companion post tentatively titled,

Born to Run in the USA…

…hey, I bet you thought of two good ones already!

Send your run and tune picks to kristine@runmamas.com by July 3rd.