Running Without Music

New Summer ‘09 Season Underway!

Posted by Marvin Tabangay under experiences

Sorry for the lack of updates, it’s been pretty busy with the new summer marathon season, which is already at week 5! As you can see from the screenshot above, I’ve been busy creating and maintaining that website. During the season, I will update fundraising updates on the Westside LA TNT Marathon Blog, and I will post updates on my training here.

Week 5 practice tomorrow will be in Marina Del Rey, one of my favorite running spots. It’s not too busy and it’s relatively flat. The tough part about tomorrow is the it’s Daylight Saving’s Time adjustment so it’s really 7am instead of 8am. I’m so glad to be back in Team In Training though, especially as a mentor. I love helping people out, and so far it’s been a great season. Everyone is so friendly & energetic (as always).

TNT Scrapbook

Posted by Marvin Tabangay under photos, websites

Last year was Team in Training’s 20th anniversary. I don’t know how I missed this one, but it’s their special 20th anniversary website. They have a scrapbook you can browse through with some interesting photos about the Team and its experiences.

Website Optimized TNT Site

Posted by Marvin Tabangay under videos, websites

I have a huge interest in online marketing, web design, and running. This video covers all three. Sure, it’s a marketing video trying to get people to use the Google Website Optimizer, but it was some great insight by the VP of eMarketing of LLS on why certain aspects of the TNT website exist. I bet you never knew how much effort is put into a website like that?

Are You a Newbie?

Posted by Marvin Tabangay under websites

Are you a beginner level runner? Runner’s World has a channel just for you!

Beginning Runners: RunnersWorld.com

Here’s some advice for the beginning runner:

• If you train with a team, or coach, don’t be afraid to ask them questions (I mean ANY question) because that’s what they’re there for
• Don’t try to race (or even mentally race) that person next to you, they could be runners of a different level anyway
• Hydrate!
• Buy your shoes at a specialized running store, not Footlocker or Big 5.

There’s A LOT more you’d have to take into consideration, so I recommend you check out Beginning Runners: RunnersWorld.com for more tips.

MyActive

Posted by Marvin Tabangay under websites

A year ago, Active.com was a so-so website for all things activity-based, from swimming, running, to team sports. I first learned about it when I registered for my first marathon. It was a wealth of information, especially the running articles I subscribe to via e-mail, but I never really used it because it was too slow, and the UI was clunky. I’m a visual person, and I understand and appreciate well thought out design. I noticed a few redesigned elements a few months ago, but never really dove into it.

Today, I decided to go back to Active.com to look up old marathon times, and also to get more inspiration for content for this site. I logged into my account, I was caught by surprise. I thought, “Nice! This would have been so useful during my training season!” It’s MyActive, their personalized portal for your athletic interests.

What do I mean? Let me tell you about the features I was exposed to. Depending on your location, it displays the upcoming events based on the activities you’re interested in. You can search and claim all your past race results. Yes, ALL. I searched my results and it showed my old Nike Run Hit Remix 5Ks and my other marathons. Active Trainer is another feature where you log your daily training stats: how you feel, your health vitals, how far you’ve run etc. You can also map your runs, share it with the Active community, and also search for other people’s routes. There’s some social aspect to the site too, where you can interact in the forums and ask whatever questions you may have about your favorite activity.

I’ve only touched the surface of what this website is all about. I’m sure most of you who are in Team in Training already have an account with Active.com because of your fundraising pages, but I invite you to roam around MyActive, I know I am.

Check out my MyActive profile (yes, it’s still bare… I just started)