Okay, so I've owned up to not being a good runner. I am not a good runner. I'm okay with it, but I like to run, and I'd like to get better. Still, I consider a 6-mile run to be "long distance". To combat this, I signed up for a half-marathon this summer, and I've been slowly increasing my mileage by 10%/week. And I bought a HR monitor. DannoE "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one..."

Recently, I’ve been plagued with an injury while preparing to race the Ironman World Championship of triathlon in Kona, Hawaii. The injury is called “IT Band Friction Syndrome” and requires low-impact or non-weight bearing exercise to maintain fitness until the knee is pain-free (alternative, highly non-attractive option is to run through the pain and destroy your knee forever).

I am training for what will be my two first triathlons (both sprint distance) at the end of the summer. So far I am doing pretty well, pursuing the fairly aggressive sprint tri training program for intermediates on this site. As a 21 yr old male, I was in fairly good shape even before I started training.

Lose weight: The biomechanical consequences of lifting 1, 5, or 10 extra pounds with each step can get you huffing and puffing just a little more from climbing a flight of stairs, imagine what it does to your body over the course of a 26.2 mile marathon, or even a 3 mile fun run!

Alex Mrosczyck-McDonald writes: Some people are natural born runners, while others have to encourage their inner runner to emerge.  Here are 5 tips that, if incorporated regularly into your training, will help you to work your way up in the pack.