Run, Karla, Run!

Running in Canada (RunKarlaRun.com)

Winter is here and it can be hard to stay motivated on cold, snowy, dark-too-early days. But in the last few years, I’ve found that winter is one of my favorite times to train. Where I used to hibernate over the holidays, I’ve grown to love winter runs. Marrying a Canadian will do that to you. Don’t get me wrong: there are few things I hate more than running in 38-degree rain. But I find the mix of cold, brisk outdoors runs and focused treadmill work on a dark evening more invigorating than the summertime equivalent of sweltering, humid outdoor runs or treadmill workouts when it’s bright and sunny, but too hot outside.

So here are a few of my latest stories at SHAPE.com meant to pump you up for winter running, with lots of running tips from experts in the know.

Rocking my run streak in New York City’s Central Park. (Photo: RunKarlaRun.com)

Your Guide to Cold Weather Running

Don’t let frigid temps stop you from getting the most out of a workout! From warm-up exercises to running essentials and how to adjust your stride, follow these 10 running tips to make the most out of your winter run.

Read all 10 tips at SHAPE.com.

How to Complete a “Running Streak”—Safely

Holiday running streaks are popular. I know, I’ve done two myself, logging 46 days in a row at the longest. But running every day certainly isn’t for everyone. Experts explain how to make this winter motivation strategy a healthy—not harmful—habit with key running tips.

Check it out at SHAPE.com.

Victory in Philadelphia (RunKarlaRun.com)

5 Tips to Run Negative Splits For Positive Results

I ran a 4-minute negative split at the GORE-TEX Philadelphia Half Marathon to run my fastest 13.1 in more than two years. And I did it after writing this article. These running tips from expert coaches were in my head the entire race. In other words, they really work. I even got a new mantra from it: Last Mile, Fastest Mile. Training your body to start slow will help you finish faster (and happier!) at your next race.

Learn how you can do it too at SHAPE.com. Read the rest of this entry →

Nike’s Just Do It NYC: House of Innovation showcases their latest running technologies. (Photo: Nike)

Last night I had a chance to get a sneak peek at the Nike Just Do It NYC: House of Innovation, an art/commerce installation that showcases the brand’s new running gear for winter through video, lights, and sensory objects.

The Nike Hyperwarm shirt floats in a sea of icicles. (Photo: RunKarlaRun.com)

The project is housed in New York’s Skylight at Moynihan Station, NYC’s historic James A. Farley Post Office turned event space. Guests walk into a completely blackened space, ushered through by Nike employees also glad in black. Lights are kept to a bare minimum—just enough to safely walk to the starting point of the installation.

From the pitch black of the warehouse-like space, a video on two screens straddling a walkway begins the presentation. When the video ends, lights rise on the first part of the exhibit: a collection of shoe forms and Nike Free Flyknit shoes hanging from the ceiling.

We’re encouraged to touch and walk through them before proceeding to the next stop on the tour, a similar presentation of Nike’s Pro Hyperwarm Hybrid shirt surrounded by field of floating icicles. Read the rest of this entry →