injuries

On Wed noon I was all set to do my last set of jog-a-mile, run-a-mile intervals on the Boulder Creek path before the 4 mile Best XC Race on Sat. It was relatively warm and I was almost looking forward to it. I jogged the first mile in 9:18, and started into the first mile run, but about 50 yards into it, I felt a sharp "twang!" in my outer left thigh, basically a pulled muscle. I immediately cut my pace back to a jog, and the pain diminished, so it certainly wasn't a bad pull. I managed to to finish an 8 mile run, keeping my pace low enough that that the pain wasn't sharp. I even managed the last 3 miles in 7:49, 7:44, and 7:20.

Product: The Stick's Sprinter Stick

Price: $32.95

Rating: Excellent 8.9/10.0

Pros: Improves performance by accelerating recovery; portable; good value; versatile

Cons: Difficult to use on arm muscles and feet without a partner.

Overall: This is a one-of-a-kind self-massage tool that can reduce muscle soreness, prevent injuries and even make you a better runner.

For those who have never seen it used, The Sprinter Stick is likely to seem quite peculiar. As a matter of fact, when one of our product testers first received it, he thought we had sent him: "Some type of a hybrid between a rolling pin and a weapon from 'The Karate Kid'".

Word on the grapevine is that Lance Armstrong is to run the Mile.

No, he hasn't signed up with the Sub-5 Program -- but we're working on it!

We hear that Lance is going to target the Main Street Mile in Boise, Idaho, a race which raises funds for prostate cancer. We wonder if the decision has anything to do with "King of the Mile" Hicham El Guerrouj, who was one of Lance's pacers in his recent marathon?

The Main Street Mile, held at the end of June, is part of the Downtown Mile Race Series; the individual winner of the Men’s and Women’s open wave, as well as the individual winner of the Men’s and Women’s masters wave, win expenses-paid trips to Boulder, CO, to run the Pearl Street Mile.