Phedippidations
615 episodes - English - Latest episode: 19 days ago - ★★★★ - 244 ratingsInspirations, motivations,contemplations and conversations for and about runners.
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Episodes
Fdip201: The Dysevolutional Runner
August 21, 2009 22:00 - 1 hour - 61 MBWe need to recognize the fact that, through cultural changes, we have evolved. It is through modern humanities incompatibility with our natural environment that we are beginning to dysevolve. The Dysevolutional Runner is one who lives in this environment of fast food non-pedestrian and embraces her or his inner hunter gatherer. Professor Daniel Lieberman, Professor of Anthropology at Harvard University, says that "Dysevolution is a positive feedback loop." When we work to treat the sympto...
Fdip200: A Goofy Little PodCast
August 14, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 71.8 MBIn a way, the reason I produce Phedippidations is so I can make the world just a tiny bit better than it was before I started to produce this podcast. I understand that this is something I’ll most likely fail at and that my efforts here might be considered a colossal waste of time, however noble and altruistic this might seem. BUT: there’s always that small conditional word “IF”. As in: IF I can inspire just one human being, who might by accident listen to this goofy little podcast and becom...
Fdip199: Producing Phedippidations
August 07, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 61.4 MBA podcast should be an expression of yourself, with a deep and open honesty that reveals all of the good things in your heart, as well as your weaknesses. A podcast should not be a “show” per se, it should be a conversation: it should have as many audible elements that fit your personality and the truth of who you are. Fear of being honest is perceived by the listeners…and if you’re doing it right: you’ll not think of those who subscribe to your podcast as mere “listeners”, they’re fellow r...
Fdip198: Walking – by Henry David Thoreau
August 01, 2009 10:24 - 58.8 MBToday, I’m going to read you an abridged version of another book by Thoreau, this one titled Walking, which Thoreau written in 1861. This was an essay that was presented as a lecture and published after his death in 1862, this essay, lecture and book has become one of THE most important written works in the environmental movement. So why am I reading this on a podcast about running? Is it because I canoed up the Allagash River Waterway in the Maine North Woods where Thoreau himself spent ti...
Fdip197: The Second Question and Answer Show
July 24, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 61.8 MBA conversation is an informal talk with someone about opinions, ideas, feelings or everyday matters. A good conversation is an interaction between two or more people, where questions are either explicitly asked or implied. For many of you, over the past four years you have been having a conversation with a middle aged, middle of the pack, slightly asthmatic fellow runner, but I assure you that that conversation was not one way. And while I admit I’m not able to answer my emails as much as...
Fdip196: Acclimatization and Performance
July 17, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBWhen summer rears its oppressive head of high humidity and heat, fellow runners must take to the road with the solar conditions in mind and heed the warnings to ensure a safe and comfortable run. Acclimatization is an important precursor to taking to the hotter than usual roads, and the better our bodies can adapt to the heat, the greater our performance will be once we put these bodies to the test in a race. There will come a day when, here in the Northeast, the days will shorten, the leave...
Fdip195: The Bunion Derby
July 10, 2009 16:00 - 1 hour - 57 MBThe Bunion Derby was an event like no other, and there will never be another like it. While there have been many cross continental races since 1928, none were organized in the way that C.C. Pyle had organized the event: it was an endurance race, a circus and a harsh and unforgiving competition. In his book “C. C. Pyles Amazing Foot Race: the true story of the 1928 coast to coast run across America, by Geoff Williams, published by Rodale Press…the author writes “As difficult as his amazing ...
Fdip194: Athletic Arthritic?
July 03, 2009 04:00 - 51.8 MBThere’s this rumor going around that distance runners are more prone to developing arthritis, a medical condition from by the Greek word “arthro” meaning joint and “itis” meaning inflammation. Many non-runners and medical laypersons have assumed that the constant repetitive pounding forces on our joints, especially in the knees, as we run are too much for our bodies to absorb. In this weeks episode I’ll go through some of the scientific medical research on the subject and present an answer ...
Fdip193: Running with Ear Candy
June 27, 2009 16:00 - 1 hour - 64.9 MBFrom a small island in the middle of southern Maine’s Sebago Lake, I present for you my annual review of some of my favorite songs from the past year of Phedippidation episodes. This week, I’m on vacation: giving my ankle a chance to heal and my soul a break from stress as I enjoy my family, lapping waves, a few good books and delicious wine. “Veni, Vidi, Vici” Show Links:“Terra Nova” by Jim Fidler at jimfidler.com.“Be Okay” by Ingrid Michelson at “Pizza Day” by Jonathan Coulton at “I Know ...
Fdip192: Theseus’s Paradox and Other Thoughts
June 19, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 57.1 MBBeware the contents of this episode, ye who come here to listen to the runner boy run! In this episode, I go out for a run and just let my mind flow, talking about a few things that may or may not have to do with running. Of particular interest (to me at least) is the contemplation of the ship of Theseus’s, the discussion of which might may you say “Huh?” We are made of stuff that has a limited shelf-life, but most of the atoms in your body will be completely replaced in just 10 years time, ...
Fdip191: Me Heart Takes a Beating
June 12, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 60.3 MBThis episode is a review of a study published last month in the American Journal of Cardiology titled “Relation of Biomarkers and Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging After Marathon Running”. We use terms and phrases such as “you’ve got to have heart” and “don’t go breakin’ my heart” as a reference to the symbolic vessel we have within us to harbor our capacity to love. In reality the heart is an important organ, strategically located in the center of our bodies to provide oxygen rich blood t...
Fdip190: A Longer Life with Purpose
June 05, 2009 04:00 - 59 minutes - 54.4 MBAs simple and exhausting as it sounds: running can be your purpose in life; and if you’re already a runner as I suspect you are: then running can be a purpose you can give to others, by asking them to join us: by making this sport a game, by thinking of it as play and by embracing a lifestyle that helps you to improve the duration and quality of your life. It’s short fellow runners, this life of ours is far too short…but it should be long enough; and when you find yourself with a purpose to l...
Fdip189: The Other Newton’s Laws
May 29, 2009 04:00 - 57.6 MBThey called him Arthur “Greatheart” Newton. He had been a runner in his twenties, but gave it up after a time, taking to the road again 12 years later when, at the age of 38, he ran his first Comrades Marathon. His contribution to distance running is great in that he chose to use common sense to guide his training methods, rather than formulas found in books on the subject of running. Dr. Tim Noakes, in his book “Lore of Running” outlines 9 of his principles of training that helped to guid...
Fdip188: John Michaels Puppy
May 22, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 70 MBThis is one of those strange podcast episodes that merges a little of my personal life (you’ll hear us picking up our new Dog Indiana and bringing him home) along with some practical tips about exercising your dog and this history of the beagle. It goes without saying that I have a lot to learn about dogs; and puppies specifically. While my wife has always owned a dog, growing up: this experience is new to the rest of us in my household. Will I make mistakes: count on it: he’ll end up chewin...
Fdip187: The Running Evolution
May 15, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 69.3 MBIn this episode I present for you the major findings of Professor Daniel Lieberman of the Biological Anthropology department at Harvard University and Professor Dennis Bramble from the University of Utah in their 2004 paper published in the journal Nature titled “Endurance running and the evolution of Homo”. In this paper, they make the powerful case that “The fossil evidence suggests that endurance running is a derived capability of the genus Homo, originating about 2 million years ago, and...
Fdip186: A Life of Present Defense
May 08, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 65.8 MBA runner lives for the moment, and can rise to call of her or his own character to do what we know we have to do, for our bodies, for our training, for the promise we made to ourselves some time ago. We will have bad days, we will be haunted by the memories of a 4:01:31 finish in Philadelphia back in November of 2007, and we’ll look to our next marathons where we dream of running a sub four…but still, on those icy, rainy, blisteringly hot and humid days when work was a nightmare and everyone...
Fdip185: The Run-Net Community
May 01, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBOurs is a social network of fellow runners who are using new media and the power of what has become known as Web 2.0 – a second generation of web development and design that facilitates communication, collaboration and above all: sharing of thoughts, opinions, observations and yes, even rambling diatribes. There’s this question that philosophers and scientists, artists, writers and dreamers have asked for many centuries when they looked above into the heavens. That question is this: ARE WE A...
Fdip184: The 113th Boston Marathon
April 24, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 64.2 MBIn this episode I will be completely honest and open up a little to tell you some things I’ve not previously revealed about me, and will run the 113th Boston Marathon with you. A marathon is a very open, public and sincere physical event that puts you out there: for better or worse, revealing all of your weaknesses, as well as physical and mental pressure points. A marathon forces you to face yourself in a very public and very introspective way. I wasn’t supposed to run this race, and when ...
Fdip183: Boston = The Worlds Greatest Marathon
April 15, 2009 01:28 - 1 hour - 62.4 MBI do not make my case here with an elitist attitude. I make my case with sound facts which, from my perspective, lends evidence to the fact that the Boston Marathon is, without a doubt and lacking hesitation from my lips to your ears: THE WORLDS GREATEST MARATHON.I made a statement on this podcast, three years or so ago regarding why it is that I’m a runner. Many reasons come to mind; but the one that always rises first and foremost in my thinking might not be one that others would expect f...
Fdip182: Running Legend: Jacqueline Gareau
April 10, 2009 04:00 - 64.3 MBThere’s something special that marks an elite athlete as a true running legend. It’s more than just their athletic appearance, their healthy bodies and the way they carry themselves when they enter a room. A running legend is someone who has a very humble confidence. Their eyes, voices and motions speak of having worked harder than most of us could ever imagine to reach a brief moment in their lives where they understood that they were experiencing something that only the very dedicated and...
Fdip181: The 2009 State of the Course
April 03, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBTwo key messages about the Boston Marathon Course: Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, Boston.Head Away From Nature West Near Ballpark Boston. and Only 17% of the course climbs at a rate of greater than 1%.I’ve learned many lessons from this course. The Boston Marathon has taught me to conserve on the downhills, and pace myself on the uphills. It’s taught me to have humility amid the cheering crowds, to smile despite the pain gastronomical discomfort, to sa...
Fdip180: From Maintenance Miles to Marathon
March 27, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 69.5 MBTo run the 113th Boston Marathon with minimal preparation I have to condition my body for constant and repetitive motion for at least five hours. What’s more, I must be able to carry the weight of my body on a gradual 16 mile course into Newton Lower Falls, up the hills of Newton and over a goofy little speed-bump, and finally down the other side past mile 22 with as much strength as I have left. Traditional marathon training programs begin with a base and gradually work up to build strength...
Fdip179: Morning Runs
March 20, 2009 04:00 - 1 hour - 56.6 MBDespite the scientific rational to the contrary, running in the morning as opposed to other times in the day has many personal benefits which may not seem obvious. We are human beings, called to embrace each day with a vigor and enthusiasm that demands hard work and strenuous effort. We are good animals, moving across the planets surface with purpose and power from the moment the sun rises over the horizon to enlighten our day. We are runners, and the world is our race course: and once the...
Fdip178: All in Stride
March 13, 2009 04:00 - 60.4 MBThe phrase “Taking it all in stride” means to get all you can get within a single step. As runners, we have a special appreciation for longer, stronger strides in that they ensure faster speeds on the open road, and combined with more frequent strides, can turn our back and middle of the pack efforts into something closer to the front. When we train, we are already prepared and pre-conditioned to expect speed work and strength work, long runs and the building on endurance: but within those ...
Fdip177: The Winning Bug by Jackson Scholz
March 06, 2009 05:00 - 1 hour - 72.4 MBThis week I present for you the short story “The Winning Bug” written by Jackson Volney Scholz also known as the “New York Thunderbolt”. Jackson Scholz was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprint, was born in 1897 and died on October 26th, 1986. In the 1920s, he became the first person to appear in an Olympic sprint final in three different Olympic Games. He won the gold in Antwerp for the American 4x100 meter relay, he won the silver in the 100m race in the 1924 Pa...
Fdip176: Mailbox Review
February 27, 2009 05:00 - 1 hour - 67.6 MBThe greatest reward for producing a podcast like Phedippidations is the electronic messages that you are kind enough to send me, but there’s an old Scottish proverb that reads “What may be done at any time will be done at no time.” Today I’m making an effort to find some time to go through my email inbox to answer some of the messages you’ve been kind enough to send me over the past three months. Despite good reason and a stressfully increasing workload, I’ve felt guilty for not answering yo...
Fdip175: Running on the Road Again
February 21, 2009 20:55 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBThere are so many beautiful places on this planet that you can find to go for a run which are beautiful, interesting, and memorable. If you are traveling for pleasure, business or any purpose: pack your running shoes, a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt; you’ll see the places you visit from a more interesting and intimate perspective and will be able not only to say you visited that place, but can boast quite proudly that you’ve run there. In this episode of Phedippidations, I go on vacation to...
Fdip174: A Lecture From Arthur Lydiard
February 13, 2009 05:00 - 1 hour - 72 MBIn April of 1990, Arthur Lydiard gave a lecture in Osaka Japan as part of a clinic he conducted in Tokyo and Osaka. From that trip, numerous articles were written in running magazines all over the world, and the material he covered led to his publishing a book titled “Running With Lydiard”. He is without a doubt one of the greatest athletic coaches of all time, and is credited with popularizing and inventing the sport of recreational running and jogging for health. His training methods were...
Fdip173: The 1st Questions and Answers Show
February 06, 2009 05:00 - 1 hour - 58.1 MBAs runners, we all have questions; questions about our experiences on the road, questions about best practices as outlined by the experts, questions about the human body and the science regarding motion and our bodies, and even just questions about each other. How are you doing? How are you feeling? How’s your running going? Have any big races planned in the near future? What’s up? What’s going on? Did John Michael get his puppy yet? As friends and fellow runners we have plenty of quest...
Fdip172: George Sheehan on Running to Win
January 30, 2009 05:00 - 37 minutes - 34.5 MBThe book George Sheehan on Running to Win, is a book of wisdom, sage advise and clinical recommendations from a well versed authority on health and fitness. Dr. Sheehan was someone who was passionate about our sport, and cited many reasons why all should join us on the road. Most of all, he promised us that the act of running is fun. In his book “Running to Win” Dr. George Sheehan perfectly articulated what many of us have been thinking all along. We’re all winners when it comes to this sp...
Fdip171: Why Runners Break
January 23, 2009 05:00 - 57 minutes - 53 MBThere are plenty of reasons why runners break. The human body is a fantastically robust and adaptable organism, but it has it’s physical limits that, despite our good intentions through hard and long runs…can often lead to injury. The problem is that our willpower is often far stronger than our bodies power to absorb stress. You have within you the power to accomplish great things, and run impressive races…while at the same time you have the power to run yourself into the ground, and bre...
Fdip170: Thoughts from the Road
January 16, 2009 05:00 - 62 MBI don’t want to make a big deal out of it, but the anniversary of my first breath on this planet’s ocean of oxygen takes place on the 19th of this month, just a few days after this show is available for download. It was of course 9 full months prior that I first came to be; and have been growing into a more complex organism ever since. As my complexity increases, so do the ideas that get formed in my admittedly teeny tiny little brain…and like a balloon in the state of inflation, if I don’t ...
Fdip169: Massaging the Trigger Points
January 09, 2009 05:00 - 54.3 MBPain is the body’s way of telling us that something is wrong, and when we ignore those messages we are risking further and more permanent injury. Myofascial trigger point pain syndrome is problematic because of the nature of referred pain, where a defect in the muscle can cause soreness elsewhere in the body. To resolve this kind of pain, you have to identify its true source, and apply massage as a preventive measure to overcome it. It takes patience and consistency to perform the stretch...
Fdip168: Exercise Induced Asthma
January 02, 2009 05:00 - 58 minutes - 53.4 MBIf you find yourself struggling to catch your breath during a race or on a particularly cold or humid day, you may have exercise induced asthma. Don’t let it prevent you from taking to the road and reaching your goals. I have every intention of running and finishing future marathons, and I won’t let my exercise induced asthma keep me from running. There are treatments available to all of us who suffer with E.I.A. which can make our enjoyment of this sport continue through our lives. Show ...
Fdip167: Around We Go Again
December 26, 2008 05:00 - 1 hour - 78.2 MBThis episode is a review of the leap year 2008, MMVIII of the Gregorian calendar, Anno Domini of the Common Era. Like any other year, 2008 had it’s accomplishments and failures, its successes and disasters, it’s good moments and instances of sadness and terror. We lived through it all and each in our own way did our best, wished the best for others and helped to make the world just a little bit better than it was last year. This week we listen to some of the skits, sketches and audio bits th...
Fdip166: It’s Not About Courage
December 19, 2008 05:00 - 1 hour - 55 MBThis week your goofy little host goes “off the deep end” again with a podcast filled with critical thinking, loud enunciation and a very un-holiday-like disposition. This episode is a statement of my opinion. Not all will agree with that opinion, and all are invited to consider and challenge what I have to say here. I suspect many will consider my premise faulty and my conclusion to be wrong; but this is just MY OPINION, and if I sound angry and passionate in my argument it’s because it bo...
Fdip165: Running Legend: Ted Corbitt
December 12, 2008 05:00 - 1 hour - 65.8 MBTed Corbitt was without a doubt the “father of long distance running”. He was a pioneer in ultramarathons and a big part of the running revolution of the 1960’s and 70’s. He was once called “a spiritual elder of the modern running clan". We will remember him in many ways: as the quiet guy in the background working to establish rules for age groups and course measurements. As a promoter of distance running who worked behind the scenes. He was an amazing athlete who was able to cover distan...
Fdip164: A New England Five Miler
December 05, 2008 05:00 - 1 hour - 55 MBIn this episode I run the 20th Annual Whiten Five Thanksgiving Day Road Race in Whitensville, Massachusetts; a village in Northbridge. It wasn’t my fastest five miler, but I had fun running it never the less. I came to celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving, to enjoy the morning with fellow runners, to compete against those around me and most of all, to run. Old New England towns remain preserved while merging with the modern world and new technologies. You can see that most clearly when yo...
Fdip163: Running Clubs
November 28, 2008 05:00 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBRunning clubs are local organizations that you can join to gain the support of fellow runners as a way to motivate, inspire, invigorate and improve your performance on the road. But for all the great benefits that joining a running club will give you, there’s something else you should consider in deciding whether or not you should join such an organization. When you join a running club you are not doing it only for yourself but as an opportunity to help others improve as runners: you are si...
Fdip162: Catching Up
November 21, 2008 05:00 - 1 hour - 58.3 MBWhen you are out there, running a race, and you find yourself (point A) behind another runner (point B) whom you are working to catch up to…there is a relative velocity between the two of you that is much smaller than you can imagine…and today, I want to help you imagine it…because once you’ve come to realize how small that difference is, then you’ll be better able to summon the energy required to exceed that speed and close the gap between you and that runner ahead of you to the point where ...
Fdip161: Gifts for the Holiday Runner
November 14, 2008 05:00 - 1 hour - 59.6 MBSo what is the point of giving gifts to each other during the holiday? It is to express our feelings of appreciation, care and fondness for one another…and the best way to do that, with respect to gift giving, is to make the gift a personal reflection of what you know the person you’re giving to would appreciate. Runners appreciate the little things; a good book on our favorite subjects, or something simple like a pair of gloves, socks or a water bottle…items which help to protect and comfor...
Fdip160: Strong to the Core
November 07, 2008 05:00 - 1 hour - 61.1 MBOur core is our center; it is where our arms, legs and head meet to create the human body we inhabit and control. It is where, just a few inches or centimeters above, resides the all important heart, pumping oxygen rich blood to all of our extremities. In an anthropological sense, the heart is the focused center of our emotional and mental character….it is the mystical source of our kindness, charity, and love. In this same way, our core…the very central characteristic of who and what we a...
Fdip159: Responsible Shoes
October 31, 2008 04:00 - 1 hour - 63.7 MBThis episode will serve as proof that I’m an totally independent new media producer, and will guarantee that I never get that huge contract with a major running shoe label. But when running shoe companies enable their outsourced suppliers to treat their workers poorly, in unhealthy working conditions for long hours with wages that hardly allow them to feed and shelter their families…they are being evil…either by direction or failure. You and I can support the fight for human rights and the...
Fdip158: The 2008 Bay State Marathon
October 24, 2008 04:00 - 1 hour - 57.8 MBLife is all about making choices. Choices between what’s right and wrong, choices between what’s good and evil, choices between altruism and egotism, of giving and taking, of sharing and selfishness and choices between what’s smart and what’s dumb. I chose to run the 2008 Bay State Marathon just as 25 years ago this month I chose to take part in a project to help etch my college radio station’s name in the history of a Northern Massachusetts city. Sometimes we do things without thinking it t...
Fdip157: The Third Annual World Wide Festival of Races
October 17, 2008 04:00 - 1 hour - 62.6 MBOver 1,100 runners from more than 40 countries took part in the 3rd annual World Wide Festival of Races. This really was a festival; it was a celebration of life, of community, of doing something of importance, endurance and strength. It was a day where we took to the roads and ran together although we were apart. There were many reasons why we all took part in this event: to celebrate, to share, to make friends and to inspire others. We did it to prove that national and territorial bound...
Fdip156: Cheers from a Little Blue Bubble
October 09, 2008 23:00 - 1 hour - 61.6 MB"It's hard to appreciate the Earth when you're down right upon it because it's so huge. It gives you in an instant, just at a position 240,000 miles away from it, (an idea of) how insignificant we are, how fragile we are, and how fortunate we are to have a body that will allow us to enjoy the sky and the trees and the water ... It's something that many people take for granted when they're born and they grow up within the environment. But they don't realize what they have. And I didn't till I ...
Fdip155: Pondering as I Pronate
October 02, 2008 09:35 - 1 hour - 61.8 MBThese are some of the things that have been on my mind lately…random thoughts that I dwell upon while I’m getting my miles in…and that’s one of the great things about running…it can sometimes be a time for you to reconnect with yourself, to dedicate the duration of your run to thinking about politics, hate, wine and endurance….so let’s go for a run together, and indulge me the privilege of telling you what I’m pondering today.Show Links:Leave a message: +1 206-338-3211Fdip featured blog of th...
Fdip154: Running Legend: Sir Roger Bannister
September 26, 2008 04:00 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBIt was once thought to be impossible for any human being to run the distance of a single mile in less than four minutes. Roger Bannister knew that if he focused on the task, if he used both his medical knowledge and physical abilities in a good and effective training program he could break the four minute barrier, and accomplish the impossible. This is his story. Show Links:PLEASE SEND IN YOUR WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR FDIP156 Audio Messages needed by no later than October 6th.Leave a mess...
Fdip153: Running Over Cancer
September 19, 2008 04:00 - 59 minutes - 54.4 MBRunning will not prevent you from developing cancer, but it may save your life by retarding it’s growth and by increasing your bodies natural resistance. Life is worth fighting for…and moderate exercise such as a 2 to 3 mile easy run every day is something that can both ease the stress from dealing with cancer as well as help us to fight against it’s uncontrolled growth. Researchers aren’t sure how much exercise is needed to help prevent cancer, but they all agree that consistency is the mos...
Fdip152: Running PodCasts
September 12, 2008 04:00 - 1 hour - 56.5 MBA podcast is so much more interesting, entertaining, informative and intimate than a radio show. When you subscribe to a podcast, you’re really joining a social club of like minded enthusiasts for whatever the topic of conversation may be. Running podcasts are special in that they can be listened to while you, yourself, are out on your runs…or on a treadmill, or in the car on your way to or from work, or after your run as you do chores around the house. A podcast is better than a radio sho...