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Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 2008

TFS News Briefs: 3/31/08

Posted March 31st, 2008 at 2:41 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs

Reluctant IAAF Hands Jones’ Silver Medal To Thanou
Even though she herself is under a cloud of suspicion, the IAAF said they “had no other choice” but to hand Marion Jones’ silver medal from the 2001 World Championships 100m dash to Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou. Jones lost all her medals last year after confessing to doping.
Read more at: [Google News]

If Only Fan Reaction In the US Were This Rabid
Even though they won both men’s and women’s team titles in the 2008 IAAF World Cross-Country Championships, the Kenyan team returned home to mixed crowd reaction. Since the Ethiopians swept the individual titles, some of the Kenyan fans look at this outing as a failure. Here in the US, our own delegation was greeted with confused looks and people who were heard saying, “cross country? What’s that?”
Read more at: [Kenya Broadcasting Corporation]

The Day The Music Died
If you need more than the sound of your own breathing and footsteps to accompany you while you try to reach that marathon finish line before your glycogen level drops further south than a penguin during mating season, you might be troubled to learn that the IAAF is considering a world-wide ban on mp3 players during competition.
Read more at: [Guardian UK]
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TFS Review: Nike+iPod Sport Kit and Online Training Log

Posted January 13th, 2008 at 1:39 PM by Paul Petersen

Section: Gear & Apparel, Gadgets & Acces., Motivation, Music, Product Reviews, Special Features, TFS Reviews

Product: Nike+ iPod Sport Kit
Prices: $30.00 (foot pod & iPod receiver). iPod nano and Nike+ shoes sold separately.
Rating: Very Good 8.3/10.0
Pros: Very easy to use. Good accuracy once it is calibrated. Inexpensive; very good value if you already own an iPod and Nike+ shoes. Power Song feature is great idea. Nike+ online training log free, fun, and incorporates good motivation and community.
Cons: Requires calibration. Requires specific ancillary equipment (iPod nano, Nike+ shoes).
Overall: To use this innovative running tool effectively, you need to regularly run with music (or podcasts), own an iPod nano, and should own Nike+ shoes. Given these “ifs”, it is a great product for the money, and a tremendous motivational tool. The sensor will need to be calibrated, and works best in a Nike+ shoe, but tends to yield fairly good accuracy once these criteria are met. Runners who don’t use an iPod, or who want a richer feature set, should continue looking at more “traditional” fitness monitors.

Design - 9 - Out of the box, the Nike + iPod Sport Kit includes a Nike + iPod Sensor (foot pod), a Nike + iPod Receiver, and an instruction manual. The foot pod goes into the cavity in the left Nike+ shoe. The receiver goes into the bottom port of an Apple iPod nano. If you don’t own Nike+ shoes, the foot pod can be put into a shoe pouch (sold separately for $10), which can be attached to any shoe’s laces. All testing for this review was performed with a pair of Nike+ shoes and a 3rd Generation iPod nano.

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TFS Review: Nike Sport Headphones: Flight and Vapor

Posted December 29th, 2007 at 8:30 PM by Paul Petersen

Section: Gear & Apparel, Gadgets & Acces., Miscellaneous, Motivation, Music, Product Reviews, Special Features, TFS Reviews

When I made the jump to running with an mp3 player, I quickly noticed two things:

1. Running with music is fun and motivational.
2. Stock headphones that come “free” with most mp3 players just don’t get the job done.

As a result, one of the first accessories I purchased were nicer, more comfortable, more stable ear clip headphones. Even these never quite fit my ears right and tended to jiggle around. Perhaps I should have first looked at a pair of Nike sport headphones.

I recently had the pleasure of testing the Nike Flight and the Nike Vapor sport headphones. I enjoyed both models, and each offered a unique set of pro’s and con’s.

The Nike Flight headphones (Pictured above) feature a behind-the-head design, and retail for $20. The aspects I immediately noticed about this model is that they are extremely lightweight and simple.
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USATF Delegates Debate Headphones Ban

Posted November 29th, 2007 at 11:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Running & Training, Injury & Rehab, Motivation, Music

Delegates to the USATF convention who attended the open session of the Long Distance Running Division chaired by Fred Finke were anxious to debate the ban on headphones in road races which was imposed by USATF at last year’s convention.

“We realize this issue has caused a great deal of angst,” said Finke, who has received hundreds of e-mails on the subject. “It seems to be a hot button issue.”

USATF enacted the ban in accordance with a rule put in place by the IAAF which banned the use of headphones in championship events. The IAAF ban was intended to prevent athletes from receiving information via radio about the whereabouts of their rivals, a practice which is permitted in the big bicycle tours, like the Tour de France.

But in practical application, it has meant that recreational runners are not allowed to wear MP3 players, like Apple’s iPod, and listen to music during road races. Only a handful of U.S. races have actively enforced the ban.
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Insignia 4GB Video MP3 Player: An affordable, lightweight and easy-to-use gadget for runners

Posted April 20th, 2007 at 10:00 AM by Christopher Jack

Section: Gear & Apparel, Gadgets & Acces., Motivation, Music, Product Reviews

I heard good things about Best Buy’s Insignia MP3 players, but being an Apple junkie, I was reluctant to stray from my good ‘ol iPod. However, I got hooked on the 4GB Video MP3 Player in no time and was impressed by the built-in Bluetooth, FM Radio, Video Playback and easy-to use-interface.

Although a bit larger than its predecessors (the Sport 1GB and Sport 2GB), Insignia’s new 4GB Video MP3 Player still weighs a mere 2.4 oz. and is only 0.6′’ thick; making it a perfect tag along for your next run and allowing it to fit easily in most pockets. The 2.2” LCD color screen takes up about two-thirds of it’s face; creating a sufficient viewing screen for watching movies and/or browsing pictures when you are done with your workout.
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GET YOUR MOVE ON iMix #1

Posted February 13th, 2007 at 10:00 AM by Mickey Katz

Section: Motivation, Music, Special Features, Pump-up iMix's

Every week The Final Sprint’s team of music gurus post a new, downloadable iMix on the site and in iTunes to help you stay motivated throughout all of your weekly runs and workouts.

GET YOUR MOVE ON iMix #1, created by Mickey Katz, is a 60-minute playlist that will get your adrenaline pumping; featuring 12 dance, reggae, latin and hip-hop tunes. Below you will find the complete track listings and then a brief synopsis by Mickey.

To open iTunes and download the entire iMix or even just a few of the tracks, click here or on any of the songs or artists below.

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Confessions of a former iPod hating runner (Part II)

Posted January 27th, 2007 at 9:30 AM by Paul Petersen

Section: Running & Training, Motivation, Music, Training Tips

Update time. In Part 1 I outlined my initial aversion to the fusion of mp3 players and running, and how I eventually decided to give it a fair shake. Here are the results of my experiment with adding “flavor” to my running via music & podcasts.

To be honest, I got off to a rocky start. I had issues with cords getting in my way, unsecured, jiggly earbuds, and equipment malfunctions. I expect this with anything new, and I soon summitted the learning curve by making some necessary modifications and adjustments. After a couple days of tinkering, cutting, taping, and adjusting, I had improved (but not perfected) the rig and was trotting merrily to my downloaded concerts and podcasts.

I noticed during my very first run that as the workout drew to a close … I wanted to keep running! It was an otherwise mundane Sunday run, but as my mind wrapped around the music, I felt like I should extend my run just to hear the next track… and the next…and the next. This is in contrast to the boredom that sets during the late stages of many of my typical runs; I just want to finish and take a shower. Well, jiggly earbuds aside, anything that encourages increases in training volume must have it merits!
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Confessions of a former iPod hating runner (Part I)

Posted January 24th, 2007 at 8:30 AM by Paul Petersen

Section: Running & Training, Motivation, Music, Training Tips

Well, I’ve broken down and done it. I have purchased an mp3 player … and I intend to run with it!

Most of you are probably thinking: “Well, so what? Welcome to the 21st century!” It’s true, I’ve been a bit behind. But there’s more to it than that. I have to confess that I have been one of those people who not only did not have an mp3 player, but actually frowned upon their use while running.

“It’s dangerous, not being able to hear and all,” I would rationalize. I would glower at unsuspecting music-listeners as they ran; assuming that they must be getting in everyone’s way during races as well. Not to mention all those mp3-lovin’ vagabonds blatantly violating the rules in races where audio devices are banned.

Then a few weeks ago my wife challenged me to fully explain my irritation with mp3 players. I opened my mouth, but then . . . I closed it. I had nothing constructive to say. No real reason, other than I didn’t understand listening to music while running. In my own ideals, the wind blowing by my ears should be enough.
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