This post is to clarify a point in USA Hockey Rule 304(b) - one that applies directly to adult hockey classifications.
The rule reads as follows:
Players in the Adult age classification must wear a hockey helmet (HECC approved or not) with helmet strap properly fastened.
Many players remove the chin strap when adding a face cage, incorrectly believing that this is safe, secure, and legal. In fact, this is not the case in any of the three cases. The picture on the left shows a hockey helmet with the chinstrap - notice that the chinstrap connects to the ear loops on the helmet. This strap is designed to keep the helmet attached to the head and not be easily knocked off. USA Hockey does not have a specific rule as far as how tight this chin strap must be, but "properly fastened" suggests relatively close to the chin. (Side note - college hockey uses "no more than two finger widths" between the chin and the strap, so that gives you a good idea of the leeway allowed).
The picture on the right shows a hockey helmet where the face cage straps are visible: The face cage straps are the one’s that read "BAUER" on them. It does not appear from the picture that there is a chinstrap (although if you look very closely, there is a black one tucked into the face cage’s chin cup). However, a player who does not have a chinstrap going under the chin as in the picture above, is in violation of the USA Hockey rule. Indeed, the face cage straps keep the cage on the face, the chin strap keeps the helmet on the head. Simple.
An excerpt from USA Hockey’s Casebook (accompanying the 2007-2009 Rulebook):
Situation 13
A player goes onto the ice, ready for play, with the proper helmet and facemask. The facemask chin cup straps are properly fastened, but the helmet straps has been removed. The player claims that the facemask chin straps are sufficient to secure his helmet on his head. Should the Referee permit this player to wear his protective helmet/facemask in this manner?
No. Rule Reference 304(b).
The helmet strap and the facemask chin straps and chin cup must be properly fastened in order for the Referee to allow any player to participate in the game.
September 29th, 2008
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Marcus |
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Distance: 14 miles
Time: 2:09:44
Route: Treadmill
Pace: 9:16/mile (6.47 mph)
Estimated Marathon Time: 4:02:47
I took off most of the weeklong running this week for a couple of reasons. The first of which was that we were getting a lot of stuff done on the house with a dumpster being delivered and throwing out almost everything in our basement. Add to that a nasty little bruise across my shin, and what was supposed to have been my long run for last weekend turned into a short 5 miler on Monday. With my leg hurting from the bruise I got over the weekend, and trying to get all the basement stuff done and into the dumpster, I took the entire week off of running. However, I know how important the long runs are, so I made sure not to miss this one. Saturday the run felt pretty good, although I was a little slower that I wanted to be, I felt pretty good. My shin was still a little sore, but overall, it only started to bother me in the last two or three miles. The good news is that I’m still pacing well, right around the four hour mark for the marathon, and I’m keeping my goal to come in at 4:30. So - good news so far! I should be back on schedule this week though.
July 26th, 2008
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Marcus |
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Thursday 7/17/08
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 22:51
Route: Treadmill
Pace: 7:37/mile (7.88 mph)
After spending eight hours driving in the car to Columbus, OH and back, a three mile run wasn’t necessarily on the "Top 10 Most Desirable Things To Do"-list, but hey, it’s marathon training! Anyway, good pace and time for a break on Friday before my shortened long run on Saturday. Gotta love the stepback weeks!
Wednesday 7/16/08
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 41:32
Route: Treadmill
Pace: 8:18/mile (7.22 mph)
Not much to talk about here, just a nice steady run at a decent pace. I accidentally ran the first bit at 6.8 mph, but oh well. I picked up speed at the end and had no problem with the five miles. I’ll hit the three miles either tonight or tomorrow, and then . . . maybe . . . try to squeeze in that pesky run on Friday that I never seem to do.
Tuesday 7/15/08
Distance: 3.1 miles
Time: 23:49
Route: Treadmill
Pace: 7:41/mile (7.81 mph)
I took yesterday off from running after not getting home from the hockey rink on Sunday night until after 1 AM thanks to needing a locksmith to come out and cut a new key for my car to get home. So, being exhausted and starved coming home from hockey, I didn’t pack anything to go the gym during lunch, and then last night, I just needed to relax before going to bed early. Needless to say, no running yesterday. My original thought was not to worry about it and just do my longer weekday run today, but I think I can squeeze in a double run tomorrow again, so I just ran three miles today. I was pacing quite well and thought of speeding things up some, so I moved up for about 2.5 miles of the run, and seeing that I would be right around 23 minutes for the 3 miles, I went ahead and made sure to run the other tenth so I can count this in my 5k standings as one of my best 5k runs.
Good news is that the running is getting much easier now and I’m feeling more consistent on all the runs. While I definitely won’t be running at these speeds during the marathon, the hard push helps me to break some of the monotony of a treadmill run, and it makes the slower, longer training runs seem much easier.
July 15th, 2008
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Marcus |
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Distance: 12 miles
Time: 1:48:59
Route: Treadmill
Pace: 9:05/mile (6.61 mph)
Estimated Marathon Time: 3:57:57
The weather was typical Kentucky in July - hot and humid. So, after cutting the grass in the early afternoon, I took a brief nap and then went to the gym to plod around on a treadmill. Really, long distance running is not designed for a treadmill, but I felt a lot better doing that than running in the heat outside. The good thing about the treadmill is that I have no problem setting up a consistent pace and rhythm. There are no hills, no wind, no sun, and a handy speed setting that lets me run consistently at whatever pace I want. I went ahead and ran this one a little more like my expected marathon running. I’m not going to be running the entire 26.2 with no breaks. I usually have no problem walking through the water stations, and that will be my plan in Chicago. So, this one, I decided to take a quick one minute break every 10 minutes. I kept moving on these breaks at a brisk pace of 4.5 mph, and then resumed my training pace at 6.8 mph. I was happy with this run. I ran a mile longer than last week’s long run, it took me less than 2.5 minutes more to cover the extra mile, and I felt great afterwards. In fact, upon going home, I took a quick shower and then headed out to a Barenaked Ladies concert for which I stood the entire time. No problems there.
As for cross-training on Sunday, a walk around Homearama and then two hockey games served to wear my legs out, but also kept them moving so that they aren’t stiff at all.
July 13th, 2008
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Marcus |
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Thursday 7/10/08
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 24:44
Route: Treadmill
Pace: 8:14/mile (7.28 mph)
A run on lunch - still feeling a little sore from yesterdays 9 mile split run, but I figured I’d run now and rest tomorrow. Actually, one thing I’ve noticed about these shorter runs after something longer, they are tough to get going, but once you are going, the muscles loosen up and feel pretty good. I am going to have to get out there and do some more road runs, but I would hate coming back to the office all sweaty. At least the gym has a shower! Anyway, I did almost all of this run at my normal 7.2 mph pace, but went ahead and ran the last little bit since I had to get back to work!
Wednesday 7/9/08
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 25:20
Route: Treadmill
Pace: 8:26/mile (7.11 mph)
Quick run to cover what should have been my run on Monday. Three miles, easy pace, at the gym again. Fun part is this was just about four hours after running my six miles. Didn’t go as quick as some other 3 milers, but then again, I didn’t just run 6 either . . .
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 50:54
Route: Treadmill
Pace: 8:29/mile (7.07 mph)
I went ahead and took a day off after my long run on Monday and decided to run my long weekday run today - a day later than I wanted. However, I am going to run the three mile run I was supposed to do on Monday tonight, and then do a 3 miler tomorrow. That will cover my weekday runs, give me a day of rest on Friday, and then a long Saturday run (before checking out the Barenaked Ladies concert on Saturday night). I still am off my schedule, but I’m adding up the mileage, and that is good news. This run felt pretty good - I went a little easier than before as I was still a little sore from the long run, but considering I ran the first three miles on the treadmill at somewhere between 6.8 and 7 mph, the last half I took up to 7.2+ and finished with a decent time. I’m going to be changing the way I’m logging some of these runs, consolidating the posts (editing each one as I add runs for the week). Also, I’m going to have my estimated marathon pace (which is nothing more than wishful thinking if I picked up an even split based on my long run pace for an entire 26.2) but I’m only putting that on the long runs. Somehow, I don’t think putting down a sub 3:30 marathon after running 3 miles would be accurate. 
July 9th, 2008
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Marcus |
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Distance: 11 miles
Time: 1:46:30
Route: Treadmill
Pace: 9:41/mile (6.2 mph)
Estimated Marathon Time: 4:13:40
After a holiday weekend with guests, my determination was to get the long run in no matter what. Rather than trying to squeeze it in somewhere over Saturday or Sunday, I went ahead and moved it to Monday. The good thing about having my option Friday runs is that I should be able to get back on schedule by next week and still get some quality running in. I ran after work at the gym, and let me say that 11 miles on a treadmill isn’t easy - it gets a little boring. In any case, I ran the first 10k in just under 55 minutes, and then took a small break for water and some energy gel. I was starting to wear out around miles 8 and 9, but finished strong in mile 11. The bad news - there is no way that I can run 26.2 miles right now. The good news, I’ve got several months of training still to get through. Actually, this is the earliest in my training for any other marathon that I’ve broken the 10 mile barrier, and while other times I’ve felt better after running 10+ miles, it’s nice to realize that covering 10 miles so early gives me a lot of time to build up to marathon distances much earlier, and be more prepared. In fact, my previous two marathons were plagued with cramps in the later half of the race - the first one (Cincinnati Flying Pig) at about mile 16, and the Kentucky Derby Festival one didn’t have any problems until about mile 22. I’m hoping with some more long distance training, I should be able to clear the cramp issue and sneak in with a time under 4:30. Marathon pace on this long run: 4:13:40. That works for me!
July 8th, 2008
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Marcus |
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Distance: 3 miles
Time: 23:54
Route: Treadmill
Pace: 7:58/mile (7.5 mph)
Gym trip for a three mile run - didn’t bother with the extra tenth for that 5k distance this time though. A little sore from the 6 miler yesterday and the hockey game last night (4-2 win though and I had a good amount of shots and some good saves!), but the three miles was a good stretch of the legs. Oh - and I was at the gym with the leg stretching machine - back up to 150 degrees on the leg stretch! I’m taking tomorrow off as a rest day (even though it is technically Friday and is my “optional” run). That’s also July 4th, so another reason to enjoy the break. I may try two runs this weekend, but I think I’ll stick to one long one on Saturday.
In other news, I got a relatively cheap hotel ($150) for Chicago, and it’s only about 12 miles from the start . . . but at least it is right off the interstates!
July 3rd, 2008
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Marcus |
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Distance: 6 miles
Time: 49:52
Route: Treadmill
Pace: 8:19/mile (7.22 mph)
Another gym trip on lunch, but 6 miles with a steady 7.2 mph pace until the last 1/4 mile when I went ahead and just made sure I had some left and sprinted up to about 9 mph. Really easy to pace on the treadmill, and my PodRunner Podcast downloads can keep the music interesting if you are into some up beat rhythms. Felt a little tired at about the 4 mile mark, but didn’t stop, and within a half-mile felt pretty good again.
July 2nd, 2008
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Marcus |
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Distance: 3.1 miles
Time: 25:00
Route: Treadmill
Pace: 8:04/mile (7.44 mph)
After running around in some meetings - finally made it the gym and ran a 5k - it was supposed to be 3 miles, but I like being able to say 5k . . . it just sounds better. Did my normal acceleration at the end, just to see if I could hit 3.1 miles in under 25:00, and I just hit it (the clock turned from 24:59 just after I hit 3.10 miles). Good run, felt nice and easy.
(Side note: I took Monday off - had to work on our privacy fence some more, so I’m moving the Monday - Wednesday set this week to Tues - Thursday. Not sure what I’ll do with the weekend, but with Friday off for July 4th, I think I’ll go ahead and just count my 3 mile run on Thursday as part of my rest.)
July 1st, 2008
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Marcus |
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Distance: 5 miles
Time: About 50 minutes
Route: Billtown Rd and Back
Pace: 10:00/mile (6 mph)
Hot day - pretty humid and a little tough to breathe at times, however, Angela rode her bike with me and even provided water on the closing 1/4 mile. Felt good with some hills - will try to post a link to the course too, but a good outdoor run. The rest of the weekend - working on the fence!
June 27th, 2008
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Marcus |
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