NYC Marathon Wrapup

How exciting to have an American win the New York City Marathon!

I can remember when I first started distance running and Bill Rogers dominated the major marathons on our soil. Since that time, the pack leader face in these events has taken on a number of different colors – primarily Kenyan. Meb Keflezighi's victory last Sunday makes it great to bring the crown back to the red, white and blue.

As it’s great to see one of our own bring back the crown, it’s also satisfying to know that this race commands celebrity – celebrities and popularity from all directions of the world!

I digress. The bottom line of this post is that I just wanted to share a couple of links from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ about the NYC Marathon. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Take a look -- http://tinyurl.com/y9los8p and http://tinyurl.com/yfsuqgg.

Off-Season Tri Activities

Don't be like me!

Not winding down properly after my triathlon season led to a knee injury for me. So, take a look at this link from http://www.active.com/ at http://tinyurl.com/ygayuxa to learn how to properly wind down, then gear back up for next season's events.

This link takes you to several articles that discuss rest, fall/winter cycling, running in the off-season, swimming workouts, spinning and many more activities.

With the amount of information provided here, you're bound to find something useful that will get you properly rested, prepared and motivated for your events next year!

Middle-Aged Women Can Lose Weight

There is hope for middle-aged women looking to lose weight.

A new study released by the Obesity Society at its annual convention in Washington, D.C. shows that women who stick to diet and exercise can easily lose up to 20 pounds. The study also indicates that a commitment to diet and exercise are keys to losing significant weight.

Read more about this study in the article by Nanci Hellmich of USA Today at http://www.usatoday.com/ - http://tinyurl.com/yfn2ocn.

The results of this study suggest it’s never too late to develop a plan for weight loss with dieting and/or exercise.

Watch Halloween Sweets

While it’s great to embrace holidays with sweet treats, keep in mind the calories and carbohydrates that exist in your typical Halloween fare.

Snickers bars are a Halloween favorite, but they come at a price. Check out this post from Bev Sklar at http://www.thatsfit.com/ to learn some of the contents of some popular Halloween snacks, particularly Snickers -- http://tinyurl.com/yjpu23k.

Even At 80 Years Old, It's Not Too Late For Fitness

If you’re 80 years young or older, you should be reading this.

A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine indicates that even a small amount of physical activity can extend life by at least a few years for people in their mid- to late-80s. The study was conducted by health professionals in Israel. The results “clearly support the continued encouragement of physical activity, even among the oldest old.

“Indeed, it seems that it is never too late to start,” the article said.

Check out this article written by Associated Press medical writer Lindsey Tanner -- http://tinyurl.com/m49h7k.

Use TV To Work Out

If you find yourself getting bored to tears and unable to work out without some mental stimulation, maybe you should consider making better use of a television.

While TVs may seem boring to some, it can be a great source of distraction for those who are struggling with maintaining a program. There are many ways you can use a TV to help you in your training efforts.

If you belong to a health club, you should be able to plug some headphones in and watch a variety of programs as you exercise on a treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical and other cardio machines.

There are numerous videos available for workouts. Heck, now you can just look up FitTV on your television and off you go for a workout.

Check out this article from http://tinyurl.com/yfgr436 from www.popsugar.com. It offers some great help in how you can do different exercises while you’re TV watching!

What A Day For Homecoming With Family!

Somehow I really can’t think of many things that are better than a beautiful fall day visiting your alma mater for a football game . . . and that’s just what we did this past weekend!

My wife, Betsy, and I both attended the University of Missouri and have been “die-hard” fans since childhood. So, that makes for a perfect marriage in many ways. This is especially true when both of our boys have grown to love our Missouri Tigers as well.

The weekend was special because as many Tiger games as our boys have attended in Kansas City, St. Louis, San Antonio and Ames – they had never seen them play at home at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri. With all of the sports activities our sons have on the weekends, we planned well in advance that this would be one homecoming the Hrdlicka Family would “come home to”.

After lunch with some old friends at my college place of work, Harpo’s; a tour of campus; a trip to the bookstore (appropriate “gear” is a “must” for my family) and hotel check-in, game time approached. Our pre-game meal came at Buffalo Wild Wings followed by a shuttle ride to Faurot Field. An older couple was ready to adopt my youngest son, Matthew, after the bus ride to the game. They were so excited to see him on the return trip to the hotel!

Well, as the scoreboard will tell you, the game was not as fun as our previous activities of the day. However, our on-field seats were exciting, as our pictures of All-Americans Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley will show. My 13-year-old son, Jay, (an aspiring college athlete himself) was quite enamored with “the scene” and immediately began texting pics to his buddies back home.

Following a long day, we returned to the hotel for some rest and the ensuing Sunday morning trip back to Des Moines. But of course, a detour for lunch with my in-laws in Kansas City was in order for the obligatory game breakdown and color commentary. My father-in-law is also a Tiger die-hard who doesn’t make any bones about how night games are unnecessary, but nevertheless wants all of the details.

It was a great trip with my great family and I can’t wait for the next visit to Columbia!