Best foot forward: Running tips will help you

Running is about as simple a recreation as it gets. A pair of shoes, some socks, a T-shirt, shorts and out the door you go.

Wait a minute. Do you really know what kind of shoes to buy? Guys, how do you prevent rubbing your nipples raw on long runs. Ladies, what sports bra is comfortable for you?

If you run, issues will follow. To help you address them, here are 30 tips from running experts:

1). Here's a tip that will save you gobs of money. Instead of buying Gatorade, a perfectly adequate and effective replacement drink you can make at home consists of mixing 2 quarts of water, 1 package unsweetened Kool-Aid, 6 tablespoons of sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. It will cost you 10 cents per quart and it creates a 7 percent solution of sugar (glycogen) to water, which is exactly what you get when you buy a replacement drink.

The active body only needs to replace glycogen, salt and water. And if you choose to use gels instead of replacement fluid, make sure you drink a lot of water with them, not replacement fluid. ― Jon Sinclair, Fort Collins resident, Road Runner Club Hall of Famer and coach.

2). Never do anything before or during a race that you haven't practiced in training. Practice your night-before-the-race routine and experiment with what you can or should eat the morning of the race. If running a marathon, find out what replacement fluid will be on the race's aid tables and use that in your long runs. ―Sinclair

3). Always build aerobic strength before trying to run fast. Long, easy runs and higher weekly miles should come before speed and intensity. ― Sinclair

4). When you drive to a location to run, bring a pair of sandals to put on after you finish your run. There's nothing better than taking off your running shoes when you finish. ― Sinclair

5). The No. 1 way to avoid injury is to wear the right shoes when you run and replace them often. Old shoes are the leading cause of aches, pains and injuries. Quality running shoes should last between 400 and 600 miles. ― Sinclair

The Times Does a Thorough Analysis of NYC Clubwear

The Times published an article yesterday about club dress codes, and it's almost (but not quite) as painfully obvious as another story they wrote recently on how dresses are this summer's hot new trend. Turns out, "Dress codes have long been the secret language of New York City night life." But what if you don't speak it? Well, thankfully, they're here to help.

For example: "Gentlemen who prefer Ed Hardy shirts, those dragon-happy hallmarks of 'Jersey Shore' chic, will not be getting into the Mulberry Project, the subterranean speakeasy cocktail lounge in Little Italy, any time soon. If you prefer your dress shirts colorful and boldly striped, don't bother with the club Provocateur, in the meatpacking district."
The big offenders, this way>>

And Daniel Koch, who runs the Day and Night Brunch weekly party, is very against T-shirts. Apparently, he feels, these guys come to his party from LA and have the audacity to think a cotton tee is acceptable. "We have to say, 'Look, dude, this isn't what you think it is.' You can't rock a T-shirt here unless you're a rock star." (Maybe using the word "brunch" for something that is quite different from normal brunch is causing the confusion.)

But some people just won't have any luck. Michael Satsky of Provocateur has admitted that he tries to weed out the "randy bridge-and-tunnel boys who prowl the neighborhood on weekends. Luckily for him, they apparently self-identify through their shirts." He further reiterates: "We do not do plaid, and we don't do stripes."

Satsky says that for women, heels should be a minimum of five inches, which we're sure has been strictly enforced with a sign that says your shoes must be this tall to get into the club. Really, it all comes down to this: "If the crowd in Provocateur on any given night is a gauge, being European, gorgeous and at least 5-foot-10 is good, too." However, it seems there are some exceptions, such as a woman who strolled into GoldBar in pajama pants, and said, "To walk into a place and know it's ridiculous but I couldn't care less because I'm rockin' my pajama pants. That's very SoHo."

The Word: But all 'The Situation' wears is Ed Hardy?

Yesterday, the media was in a giant tizzy after clothing manufacturer for wealthy suburbanites everywhere, Abercrombie and Fitch, released a statement asking Mike Sorrentino (a.k.a The Situation of “Jersey Shore” fame) to not wear their clothes in return for a large sum of money.

“We believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans,” the company said in the release. The statement added that the retailer is “deeply concerned that Mr. Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image.”

Here's the thing: I looked at hundreds of photos taken of The Situation by Getty Images (who says that journalism degree isn't working out for me?) and not once was he snapped wearing Abercrombie and Fitch. Ninety percent of his wardrobe seems to be Ed Hardy (naturally), or he chooses to wear no shirt at all.

The Abercrombie execs are reportedly referring to the fact that he wore a pair of lime-green A&F track pants during last week's episode. But it was such a brief incident; it's hard to think they could be so upset. Besides, A&F created and sold a T-shirt with the words “The Fitchuation” last year. It sounds like something is rotten in overpriced khaki city.

“It's a clever PR stunt and we'd love to work with them on other ways they can leverage ‘Jersey Shore' to reach the largest youth audience on television,” a spokesperson for “Jersey Shore” network MTV told The Wall Street Journal.

The phrase “aspirational nature of our brand” should have tipped everyone off. What is the aspirational nature of A&F?other than becoming a frat boy who lives for raging keggers?

Gerard Depardieupeed off

French star Gerard Depardieu made quite a stink on a CityJet flight from Paris to Dublin recently. While the plane was delayed on the tarmac, Depardieu asked to use the restroom. After he was refused, the actor reportedly relieved himself in the aisle. “I will only confirm that he, in effect, urinated in the plane,” a spokeswoman for the airline says. After the incident, the plane had to return to the gate and was delayed for two more hours for cleaning. What's impressive about this story isn't that he whizzed on the carpet like a not-housebroken wolf-child, but that we all got an update on how Depardieu looks in 2011. Sacre blob!

Counterfeit clothing raid nets $18,000 worth of goods

Manitoba RCMP say they've knocked over a knock-off clothing operation in a cottage community.

In a news release Wednesday, Mounties say their Federal Enforcement section raided a store in Grand Marais Friday and seized 350 items of counterfeit clothing, worth more than $18,000. Brand names include Ed Hardy, Billabong, Quiksilver, Abercrombie & Fitch and DC Shoes.

Officers wouldn't say which retail outlet was raided but Global News cameras Friday recorded images of police cruisers and yellow tape surrounding Tropical Trends. T-shirts and other clothing items could be seen draped over a fence outside the store. An employee of a neighbouring business says he saw the manager of Tropical Trends escorted from the store in handcuffs by police during the raid last week.

Police say charges are being contemplated under the Copyright Act, Trademark Act and the Textiles Labeling Act: but no charges have been laid yet.

Grand Marais is about 100 km northeast of Winnipeg, near the popular beachside community and park at Grand Beach, one of the province's most popular tourist destinations.

Rick Perry, Manly Man

Paul Begala reports that Texas Gov. Rick Perry wore such tight jeans and "adjusted himself so often" as a young Democrat in the Texas state legislature Begala and a group of other aides called him "the Crotch."

That's an interesting data point, as two turns of phrase from the now-Republican governor of Texas last night to a GOP dinner in Waterloo, Iowa, suggest that the way Perry talks about women and deploys his masculinity on the stump will bear watching in the months ahead.

First, Perry invoked the old "girls have cooties" stereotype at the start of his Waterloo speech:

I was about eight years old, and my momma decided I needed to have some musical influences in my life. So I took piano lessons. Mom drove us 16 miles from out in the country into town, and I sat by a little blonde-headed girl.

I'm pretty sure I wasn't real happy about that at the moment, having to sit by a girl when I was eight years old.

Eight years later, I had my first date in my life with her.

And 16 years after that, I married her. Now that's a whole 'nother story about how long it took, that long.

But it just kind of goes to tell ya, sometimes it kind of takes me a while to get into something, like this presidential race. But lemme tell you something, when I'm in, I'm in all the way!

Then, after he finished speaking and was about to entertain questions, Perry took off his jacket and handed down from the stage to his wife at front-row table, who passed it on back to his daughter, who was wearing a sleeveless dress.

"Excuse me, my daughter's cold, so I gave her my jacket. And if this shirt's got a few wrinkles in it, it's not my wife's fault," Perry quipped. The crowd laughed.

Perry's cocky persona and apparent relish for playing gender stereotypes for laughs could sit uneasily with women in a general election contest. Of course, there's no evidence he's got any appeal to Democratic women in Texas -- or to Democrats there more generally -- but half of winning is avoiding angering the other side enough to turn out against you in force.

In any event, something to keep an eye on.