In the loopy world of blogs, this is the first post you'll see. For us, it's the last.

From the time this blog launched with several contributors, it has always been in a bit of a gerrymandered space between the sports and health worlds, with some transportation and food thrown in.

We've lost some voices in the year since then, so it's with some relief that those of us still active move to Picture of Health this month. We hope you'll come with us so we won't have to miss you.

It's been fun. Thanks for all the comments!

Photo credit: Getty Images

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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USA Triathlon is creating a task force to determine if anything more can be done to prevent deaths such as those that occurred at recent races in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Louisville, Ky.

An independent panel of three physicians and two certified race directors will review the cases and see if there are common factors among them, USA Triathlon Rob Urbach told The Associated Press. The panel's findings will then be presented to a larger review committee of medical professionals and industry personnel to determine what, if any, actions should be taken.

Continue reading "After 5 deaths in 2 months, USA Triathlon forms task force to study procedures, prevention" >>

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Triathlon
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From a Sun brief in this morning's print edition:

Kathleen Hursey, 22, of Hampstead finished in first place among Elite women with a time of 1 hour, 44 minutes, 52 seconds at the sixth annual Nation's Triathlon in Washington. Competitors from across the nation, including active-duty service members and first responders, joined a field of more than 4,500 athletes who competed in the International distance triathlon event. First among the Elite males was Danilo Palmucci, 48, of Rome with a time of 1:33:06.

Here are the race's top 3 Maryland finishers of each gender:

Continue reading "Win for Hursey at Nation's Triathlon" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Triathlon
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I've been wanting to do a triathlon.

But since I'm still taking swim lessons, I've been concerned about finding the right race - not in scary open water, and not too long of a distance.(I'd signed up for the Columbia Celebration Tri, but withdrew.)

At last, I think I've found my race! And it just happens to be in my favorite park.

 The inaugural Druid Hill Park Sprint Triathlon will take place on Sunday Aug. 7 and includes a 300 yard swim (in the pool, not the reservoir!), a 20K bike and a 5k run. All the distances are very doable on their own, but the fact that it's a pool swim, rather than open water, made me think this might be the right event for my first triathlon.

And while I am a little concerned about participating in the first year of the event -- hiccups are bound to happen -- I'm excited about a triathlon in a city park.

Now, I just need to get up to being able to swim 300 yards...

Posted by Anica Butler at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Triathlon
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A new triathlon is in the offing for May 14 in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. It’s the inaugural TriRock Annapolis Sprint Triathlon.

The event will start with a swim in the Annapolis Harbor, followed by a 12.4-mile bike ride that will end at the foot of City Dock.

A 5K run, the last leg, will loop through city streets. Organizers expect the event to attract about 1,500 to 1,800 participants and as many as 2,000 spectators. Start time is expected to be at 7 a.m. and city officials say the breakdown of portable facilities should be done by around 5 p.m.

For event information and more, click here.

Posted by Andrea Siegel at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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What I’m doing: I'll be going down to watch the National Marathon on Saturday, then probably doing some makeup mileage on Sunday.

Why: I've never seen this relatively new race -- this will be its sixth year -- and while it's not as big as autumn's Marine Corps Marathon, I respect the ambition that it takes to call yourself the National Anything right out of the gate.

What else I recommend: The Keep Your Colon Rollin 5K gets 10 points just for its name. I know nothing else about this race. I'm also curious about the Great Escape 5K in Cumberland (both links after the jump).

Other options:

Continue reading "Weekly walking/running roundup" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Events, National Marathon, Running, Triathlon, Walking, Washington, Weekly roundups
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I have not always been big on new year's resolutions and have usually forgotten the few I have made by the end of January. But, last year, instead of giving up soda, a resolution I managed to keep for only three months, I decided to set a cycling mileage goal for the year.

According to my bike computer I had logged in the neighborhood of 3500 miles a year in past years but had not kept very good records. So, I figured 5000 miles for the year was an achievable goal, especially broken down into bite-sized pieces. I only had to average 416 miles per month or 13.6 miles per day, roughly my round-trip commute to work.

The key to sticking to my goal was to record my daily mileage on a calendar, focusing on staying ahead of weekly and monthly targets. I also found that picking a few long distance events and registering early was a good way to maintain focus.

I ended up hitting the 5000-mile mark in mid September while riding the Civil War Century. I have slacked off a bit since then but will have about 6300 miles for the year - by far, my biggest year ever.

So what's next?

Continue reading "Lofty goals for 2011" »

Posted by Jerry Jackson at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Bicycling, Running, Triathlon
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I can't remember exactly how it came up, but some time ago, Jerry, our resident cyclist, Leeann, my swimming mentor, and I started talking about doing a triathlon. Wouldn't it be fun to stretch ourselves and try to get better in sports that we don't think of as our "main" sport? 

Well, the day of reckoning is upon us. Today, Jerry, Leeann, Patrick and I are planning to sign up for Columbia's Celebration sprint triathlon. 

I can't speak for the whole crew, but for me, this will be my first triathlon, and I realize I may be in over my head. (I just started taking swim lessons two weeks ago!) But it's fun to have a goal to work toward.

Often, during the winter, I feel myself losing much of the fitness gains I've made during the summer and fall. It's easy to hibernate, eat too much, and cut back on working out. Even though the triathlon isn't until June 2011, I'm hoping that just knowing I have such a daunting event coming up will keep me motivated during the colder months. It'll keep me in the pool, that's for sure!

So, at some point early next spring, expect us to blog about our training, and of course, about the event itself. We're kicking around some ideas to include readers in our training. If you have any ideas let us know!

Posted by Anica Butler at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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What I’m doing: Probably catching up with some buddies in Anne Arundel County. Maybe interviewing people at a race on Sunday.

Why: Last weekend was the running festival, and next weekend will be the Marine Corps Marathon, so this weekend is the best week to take things easy and meet for a relaxed Saturday run/brunch.

What else I recommend: If you just ran the marathon or half-marathon, I recommend not racing at all. Assuming that's not the case, I like the student-public-hybrid nature of the Raven Classic Cross Country 5K (in list below). I would also be interested in how the Goddard Running and Orienteering Club Fall 10K turns out, especially for anyone using it as an offbeat tune-up for the Marine Corps 10K. For a Friday option, there's the MPRC 5K Walk/Run.

Continue reading "Weekly walking/running roundup" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Events, Marine Corps Marathon, Running, Triathlon, Walking, Weekend, Weekly roundups
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A bunch of fitness-related businesses have started a new trade group, acccording to runnersweb.com.

The two main companies involved in Saturday's running festival -- Under Armour and Corrigan Sports Enterprises -- aren't on the initial members list, but Washington Sports and Event Management shows up, as do a couple other East Coast companies and Competitor Group, one of the Marine Corps Marathon sponsors. From the article:

Continue reading "Some local presence in a new triathlon industry group" »

Posted by Patrick Maynard at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Marine Corps Marathon, Triathlon, Under Armour
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Rob Vigorito, race director of the Columbia Triathlon and several other local events was seriously injured in a bicycle accident Wednesday in Kona, Hawaii.

Vigorito struck a vehicle that had turned in front of him while he was training for Saturday's Ironman World Championship.

More from The Columbia Flier.

Posted by Jerry Jackson at 5:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Bicycling, Triathlon
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