Here’s a great video about marathon pacing. After viewing theses videos, I realized that I’ve been doing it all wrong – every time. I hope to be able to apply their advice on March 21st and establish a new personal best for the marathon.

Are they looking a little tattered? You can check for signs of wear on the sole by placing your old shoes on a table and looking at them from behind. If the soles are worn and leaning to one side, the midsole cushioning is probably worn as well.

How many miles have you logged? It’s recommended that you replace running shoes between 350-550 miles depending on your running style, body weight, and the surface on which you run. Lighter runners can get closer to the upper end of the recommendation while heavier runners are harder on shoes and should consider replacement shoes closer to 350 miles.

Warren Greene & Martyn Shorten, Ph.D. and Runner’s World have put together a concise review of the best running shoes available for Spring 2010. Each shoe review is also accompanied by a brief video highlighting each of the shoes attributes.

Visit Runner’s World for the complete article.

The Live Earth Run for Water is a series of run/walk events happening around the world within a 24-hour period on Sunday, April 18, 2010 to raise awareness about the shortage of safe drinking water in both developed and undeveloped countries.

More than 80 events (to date) on six continents with 6K run/walks – the average distance many women and children walk every day to secure water – to raise money for nonprofit Global Water Challenge and to assemble tens of thousands of the world’s citizens to create a “chorus of voices” bringing home the realities of water scarcity on both a local and international scale.

The Run for Water Los Angeles event will include the 6K run/walk fundraiser and a free Water Village that will feature interactive water education activities, exhibits, vendors and a musical performance by an A-List artist announced in February.

Through water education, the Run for Water Los Angeles event will reinforce messages about water conservation and provide tips on simple ways to save water – critically important for Southern California, much of which is already on water rationing due to diminishing water supplies.

Visit the Live Earth website to learn how you can get involved.

The skirt is only eleven inches long, but has built-in compression shorts. They also have a cute little zipper pouch in the back just below the waist band to hold Gu packets, keys, ID, etc… I’m hoping that these will minimize my marathon chaffing. I’m not a big girl – I’m 5′6″ and 125# – but I’ve had problems with inner thigh chaffing on a few of the marathons I’ve run. So gross. I’ve seen many women wearing similar skirts during races, maybe they’re on to something. I don’t know, but I’m sure gonna find out.

You can buy running skirts through lots of different companies/stores/sites – I bought mine through Road Runner Sports. Click here for full product info.

Update
Tonight was the maiden voyage of the running skirt. Overall I was really pleased. The skirt I bought fit true to size. The compression shorts with 3″ inseam underneath were body hugging, but not too snug. The skirt itself has a little bit of an a-line to it, which makes it extremely flattering and good for those long strides. I wear a size small Nike Tempo short and ordered a small Nike Pacer running skirt – it fit like a dream. Like many, I was worried about the shorts underneath, riding up. They did, but it really didn’t bother me. Probably because I knew that I still had good coverage from the skirt. The skirt moved with me really well. The shape and small side slit kept it nicely in place, no riding up at all. The little zipper pouch in the back is so cute. I didn’t use it tonight because I ran indoors on the treadmill. I did notice that the pouch is lined with a water/sweat proof fabric to prevent your goods from getting damp is you’re a heavy sweater like me.

Overall, I’m ecstatic about my new addition to my running gear. I’d definitely recommend this running skirt to others. Next up look for my blogging about “The Stick“. One word = amazing!