Race of the Month: New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
 Take out the beads- it's time for Mardi Gras! And that means it's also the 45th annual New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon. There's also a half-marathon and a 5K on the agenda.
The marathon's official site has many links to things to do in the area such as attending a New Orleans Hornets basketball game. Or, be your own tour guide and map out a route that brings you through the city using WalkJogRun.net.
Check out the marathon route that winds through the French Quarter and the historic St. Charles. We've mapped it here. This is the second year the marathon followed this flat course, which starts and finishes in front of the Louisiana Superdome.
Other things to do in the area as listed on www.neworleansonline.com:
- Garden tours
- Architectural tours
- And if you're sticking around the city after the race, there are Mardi Gras parades that run almost daily until February 24.
Run for Heart Health
February, fittingly, is American Heart Month (your random fact of the day: Congress has required the president to proclaim February American Heart Month every year since 1963). Heart disease is the number one killer of Americans. For this reason, the American Heart Association has been helping to raise awareness by publishing information and studies on how to help prevent this fatal disease.
Americanheart.org has guidelines and answers to many questions regarding heart health.
We all know that walking/jogging/running are good fitness activities. Here are a few ways that they help your heart, as provided by the AHA:
- Regular physical activity for longer periods or at greater intensity will likely provide more benefits. Examples include:
- Jogging, running, bicycling, rowing and swimming
- Activities that involve continuous running, such as basketball and soccer
- Brisk walking, hiking, stair-climbing, aerobic exercise
- Brisk walking, jumping rope, jogging, bicycling, cross-country skiing and dancing are examples of aerobic activities that increase endurance.
- Don't overdo it! You'll risk getting sore muscles and increase the risk of injury
- As always, consult your doctor before beginning any new activities.
The AHA also recommends the following for most healthy people:
- "Perform moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes most days of the week at 50-85 percent of your maximum heart rate."
- It's important to "include physical activity as part of a regular routine" even if the 30 minutes are done in intervals of 10 or 15 minutes.
For the complete article, read here.
February 1 is also National Wear Red Day. If you can't wear red to work, incorporate it into your exercise for the day by wearing some red shorts found on our deals page.
Deals from WalkJogRun
Check out our deals page for great discounts on running shoes, clothes and related accessories.
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Destination:
Tampa, Florida for the Super Bowl
This year's Super Bowl is in Tampa, Florida, and here in the Windy City, there's nothing more we'd like to do now than be in warm weather!
Our cold feet merely dream of running these Tampa routes at the moment, but if you're in the area, check out some of the runs created by WalkJogRun.net users. There's a 10-mile run along the bay's shore, or there's a 3.5-mile loop around the Riviera.
Other Stuff
As promised, we're making some enhancements to WalkJogRun.net, and here's a feature we're adding to our monthly newsletters: Next month we are featuring the Shamrock Shuffle located in Chicago. We'd love to hear how WalkJogRun helped you train for this race, or if you have any tips in general, so please write us at briana@walkjogrun.net
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