8mup Super Blog

Hats off to the awards show for utilizing Hugh Jackman’s singing and dancing talents. Mr. Jackman was a brilliant host, and truly shined during the ceremony’s musical numbers. His singing voice was pleasing to the ears, and he nailed every choreographed step on stage with many other superstars; such as Beyonce Knowles and Best Actress nominee Anne Hathaway (who looked very glamorous in her evening gown).

Breaking away from past award show formats, Sunday night’s ceremony introduced an extremely classy way to introduce the nominees in the actors categories. Previously, a celebrity or two would read off the names of those nominated, and then tear open the envelope bearing the winner’s name. This year was different. For the Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress categories, five past winners walked out on stage simultaneously, and each one would speak kind words directly to each nomimee congratulating them on their nomination. I reiterate how very classy and stylish this form of praise was, because although there could only be one winner in each category, to be honored and even thanked in front of their peers for the outstanding performances accomplished in their respective films was enough to make each nominee appreciate the Academy’s recognition for their creative efforts. The intent being to make each celebrity feel like a winner regardless of whether or not they were handed the Oscar. I hope this is done in future Academy Awards shows.

“Slumdog Millionaire” won in eight of the ten categories for which it was nominated; including Best Picture, Best Director – Danny Boyle, and Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” was awarded three Oscars. Sean Penn won for his portrayal of Harvey Milk in “Milk”: his second win in five Best Actor nominations. After being nominated six times in the past, Kate Winslet won her first Oscar in the Best Actress category for playing the role of Hanna Schmitz in “The Reader”. For his role as the Joker in “The Dark Knight”, the late Heath Ledger won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, which was accepted by his parents and sister. Penelope Cruz was awarded the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”.

The full winners list can be found here:
Oscar.com

I ran last year’s Long Beach Marathon in a pair of Nikes that were not designed for long distance running. I even trained in those shoes for 3 months prior. The end result was a 7 hour marathon, which I’m proud to have finished, and severe soreness in my lower left leg. It wasn’t muscle or bone pain, but a pinched nerve type of soreness. I took a month off of running, and in the process purchased a REAL pair of running shoes:
Saucony ProGrid Omni 7 Ultimate

The new training cycle with my new shoes has been revolutionary. There is no more pain in my leg, and my minutes per mile have dropped from 13 to 8.5. From November to now, I’ve been burning rubber each time I run. Recently, however, my knees began to seriously ache after running; which worries me as my knees have never given me any issues while training. After an 8-mile run two weeks ago, I can still feel a bit of aching in my knees. My shoes may have reached the end of their life span. I wrote the company, and they said the shoes last anywhere from 300-350 miles. I’ve put on close to 250-275 miles.

I went ahead and bought a new pair, and today did a short 2.5 mile run. It’s too early to tell how my knees will react, but if the pain doesn’t get any worse, then I made the right choice in buying a new pair of Saucony’s. So what does this all mean for you who enjoy running or are training for a marathon?

1. Take your training seriously by investing in a shoe specifically designed for marathon running. You’ll want to visit a running store versus a generic sporting goods establishment. At a running specialty store, the sales associates will ask you to run a short distance in order for them to determine what type of running step you have (I’m a moderate overpronator). Then you’ll try on several pairs of shoes that support your step-type until you find the pair that feels naturally designed for your feet.
2. Find out the life span of your shoe so that you can budget ahead of time for future purchases. Good shoes cost around $100. So in my case, it looks like I’ll be buying a new pair every 3 to 4 months. Thus, my overall shoe budget would be $25-$30 per month.
3. Concerning the life span of your shoes; you need to consider your body weight. Companies promote the life span of their shoes based on a runner of average size. For men that’s 5’7″, 160-180lbs. Women; 5’2″, 115-130lbs. I’m 6′, 210lbs., so with each step i’m putting much more weight than the average-sized runner. This intensifies the amount of traction-grinding and shock absorption that my shoes are forced to endure; thus, lowering the life span of my shoes by a large percentage. Be sure to keep this in mind.

At my current pace, I hope to run a 4-hour marathon in San Francisco. I can do a 1hr50min half marathon thanks to running with the right shoes. Of course, it’s not just the shoes that have made me faster. I’ll try and write about other training tips in the near future.

Run safe!

This post is mainly for testing google adsense on my blog. It would be wise for anybody hosting a blog to connect with various forms of advertising. Whether or not it is your goal to earn loads of income from blogging (it isn’t my goal), advertising offers a monetary means of supplementing any investments you might dedicate to your site.

Google adsense is free and there are many ways to implement it into a wordpress blog. Here’s a discussion about it directly from wordpress:
http://wordpress.org/support/topic/215051
An article on the topic is here:
http://www.morearnings.com/2006/07/28/add-adsense-to-a-wordpress-blog/
Spending a minute to find more posts on the topic will have you running ads quickly.