Everyone has that FIRST Triathlon!

Here's a story about one:

I’ve done the road races, I’ve run the marathons. I want to challenge myself. Why not challenge myself? So I sign up for a triathlon-a swim, bike, run event. I could stand quiet when people ask, “You’re doing an Ironman?” I too thought this was the only triathlon but there are other-much shorter-events for those of us that just want to get our feet wet-literally.

My first thought about this.....What have I gotten myself into? I didn’t realize that it was all about the gear. I show up with my mountain bike and everyone has the nice road bike. One guy says to me, "nice kickstand". I just laugh. Everyone is setting up their transition area, the place where they transition from the swim to the bike. I decide that I need to do that too. I remember everything I learned from Fleet Feet as I lay out my towel, put my shoes on it, my socks in my shoes and I'm done. Everyone else is fiddling with a mountain of gear, putting air in tires, adjusting multiple water bottles. I play with my towel a little longer to look busy.

Now its go time. I'm at the back of the pool and watch people go in 15 sec intervals into the outdoor unheated pool. This is not the first time today I say a prayer. My first prayer was arriving at 7am and putting a toe into that outdoor unheated pool. I'm watching all these people swim wondering again about my sanity at sign up. My husband shows up with the boys and I feel better talking to someone rather than myself about how crazy I am to be here. I wait for my wave to go. When it's time, I jump in the pool and yell, "Holy Smokes!" Someone asks me if this is my first triathlon, I try to say “Yes” but my teeth are chattering. A girl explains the etiquette, “If you want to pass me, tap me on the foot then I’ll wait at the wall so you can pass.” I say, "Oh that's OK honey, I don't think you'll have to worry about that. I'll be too busy swallowing pool water to find your toe!" Swim went well, stumbling out of the pool like a drunken sailor all I can think is that the hard part is done.

Then came the transition. I have to run wet across gravel...did I mention gravel...to my bike and towel and try to get shoes and socks on wet feet! I track mud all over the towel I am supposed to dry off with and spend what felt like an eternity trying to get my socks on. Off and running (with a wayward stone sitting in my shoe) to the bike course, my chain falls off the bike as I leave the transition area. This is my "Oh Sh*T" moment because I have no idea what to do.

The Lord is watching over me and before I know it, the chain is fixed and I’m on my way. I don’t realize that I'd wiped grease all over my face until halfway thru the bike. That’s going to make some good pictures. My sweet husband thinks I got lost on the bike course, but they are cheering as I come back. I felt like I got lost too and even ask a volunteer if I am the last one. She assures me there are other lost bikers behind me. My biggest fear in any race is to be the last one with the police car following me back into Tanglewood. There are a few hills, the last one a challenge as I swear I’m leaving a partial piece of my lung on the road trying to get up it! But I finish the bike and end up in the transition area. A quick energy gel, hat and off to run.

The running is the easiest, I’d done this before. In triathlon speak, the transition from Bike to Run is called a “brick.” I think it is short for bike-run but maybe it’s because my feet feel like bricks as I try to run after biking. Lucky it’s a short run. The first mile I feel like crap, the second I wondering how I can still feel nauseous, and after the third mile it’s done.

I finish in 1 hr and 45 min, 15 minutes under my projected finishing time...considering I didn't know what in the heck I WAS doing. It is exhilarating. I am so excited that I DID it that I'm already calculating all the gear I’m going to need for my NEXT transition area. I understand now-it’s all about the gear. Have you got the right gear? Fleet Feet can help you!

What have YOU seen on a run?

Facebook status update from a runner: "Saved a bird today on my run! Found a hawk hit by a car on Walker Road. Took of my shirt threw it on the bird, picked it up and ran the last mile home with the bird under my arm. Got ready to call Wildlife rehab but it must have been stunned because it awoke under the shirt and flew away (enter me screaming like a little girl as the bird moved.)"

Everyone has that story, something strange you’ve seen on the run. Sometimes it makes you run faster as you pass it like a deer leg sitting by the side of the road out in the middle of nowhere. (pondering how did it get there, where’s the rest of the deer, if something ate the deer is it hiding in the bushes looking for me?) To the outright outrageous, like a man running ahead of you in WAY to short shorts without any type of support! (Is that what I think it is? Oh my goodness, it is! Do I say something? There it is again! Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look)

It’s fun to swap these stories after a good run, these little things are what makes life interesting and why we lace up the shoes and step out the door. Much more interesting than the treadmill and watching TV. These experiences add color to what we thought when we started was going to be a mundane, long, lonely run. What about you? Have ever seen something that made you pause on YOUR run? Want to swap stories?

Have you found your "sweet spot?"

What is your running form?

Take your shoes off and run a little bit. What do you find? Your gait is different? You feel lighter on your feet? Your posture has changed? Most runners find that just a few steps barefoot they change from heel striker to mid to forefoot striker.

Enter Newton Natural Running Shoes, the way for runners to achieve that “natural” gait. If you’ve had injuries and issues with your running, tried inserts, tried different shoes, tried everything, think about Newton Naturals to get your body back to its “natural” state. Newton Naturals are designed to help you find your “sweet spot,” the optimal way for your foot to hit the surface and help you run injury free. Getting your body back to the way it wants to run is the natural way to run.

According to the book, Born to Run, humans are designed for distance running. “That was the real secret of the Tarahumara: they’d never forgotten what it felt like to love running. They remembered that running was mankind’s first fine art, our original act of inspired creation. Way before we were scratching pictures on caves or beating rhythms on hollow trees, we were perfecting the art of combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion over wild terrain.” Getting back to basics helps you remember what it was like to run like a kid, to enjoy it without the nagging injuries.

Find your natural state with Newton Naturals and get back to enjoying your run! Stop by the store anytime and find out if Newton works for you!

5 No Nonsense Tips for Exercising in the Heat

We can’t emphasize enough how important it is to take care of yourself when exercising in the heat. Here are five basic tips, some you may already know – they’re just a reminder to take care of yourself!

1. Get acclimated – if you have a race than promises sultry weather try to travel to your destination ahead of time to get acclimated to the temperature if possible. Depending on the temperature change it can take 14 days to get used to the heat.

2. Stay hydrated – we can’t emphasize this enough, your body regulates its temperature by sweating and if you don’t have enough fluid in your system you can’t sweat which means you cannot regulate your temperature. Nobody wants to say it but if you go 4-6 hours without eliminating then you’re dehydrated.

3. Take it Easy – if the temperature is over 90 realize that it may not be your best workout and be good with it, you’re out there. Do your best and as your body gets used to warmer weather your performance will get better.

4. Be Crafty – wear light breathable clothes like our Craft line, get the moisture away from your skin and let your skin breathe. If you wear a protective hat during the summer, take it off during rest stops to let your head breathe and cool off. If you don’t wear a protective hat, remember that you NEED sunscreen for your scalp as well as the rest of your body!

5. Be Smart – use common sense, if you start feeling bad get inside to lower your core body temperature. Don’t start something new or try a new route if the day looks particularly steamy. Wear the right clothing and protect your skin with sunscreen. Most of all keep putting in all the liquid you’re sweating out.

Workout right and you’ll be as happy at the end of that run as the beginning! What are your summertime exercising tips?

Want a watch that trains with you?

This Thursday, the 20th Fleet Feet Sports will hold two clinics for our Garmin line of GPS watches. These clinics are designed to help those without Garmin products understand their significance in helping athletes train to those WITH Garmin products understand all the great features and use them to their fullest.Our first clinic from 7-8pm is the Garmin 310XT. The 310XT is the ONLY fully waterproof GPS unit offered by Garmin and is the triathlete’s dream.

The 310XT tracks bike and road miles and sends them wirelessly to your computer. Tracking distance, pace and optional heart rate , the 310XT goes effortlessly from bike to wrist for easy transitions. The 310XT has the longest battery life, 20 hours, and is waterproof up to 50 feet, so this watch not only looks good but stands up to the workouts for everything from a Sprint to Ironman. Take advantage of a $50 rebate on the 310XT now through 8/1/10!

From 8-9pm, we’ll showcase the Garmin 405 & 405CX Forerunner. Each run is unique, that’s why the Forerunner 405 can log those miles with you, recording date, time, distance, pace and optional heart rate. Data is send to your computer when in range and stored to help track your training progress. Don’t have a running partner? Use the Forerunner’s Virtual Partner with your stored data and race against yourself for improved performance and time! The 405CX offers calorie tracking and comes with a softband for those that prefer a snugger fit. The 405 and 405CX are sleek and comfortable with a bezel design making looking at and adding data easy. Take advantage of a $50 rebate on the 405 units, now through 5/31/10!

RSVP for either clinic at http://www.fleetfeetwinston-salem.com/ under the events section. If you own a Garmin unit, be sure to bring it with you!

Put a HAMMER to your hydration!

While not everyone sweats at the same rate as their exercising comrades, it is essential during those long training sessions to make sure you are replacing fluids as you sweat them out. 2 or more percent loss of body weight due to perspiration can cause a drop in blood volume according to some studies, this makes the heart work harder and can result in muscle cramps, dizziness, fatigue.

Remember everyone does sweat the same way, use our blog about sweat to determine your sweat ratio, then experiment with hydration during working out to find what’s right for you. · Here. some basic guidelines for fluid replacement:

• 2-3 hours prior to exercise, it is a good idea to consume approx 15-20 oz of fluid, followed by 8-10 oz 15 to 20 minutes before you start.·


• During exercise, consume 8-10 oz for every 15 to 20 minutes. If your workout continues past 90 minutes add in a Heed Sports Drink every 30 minutes. Hammer HEED is a good during exercise sports drink.·


• After exercise, weight yourself to find fluid lost, drink 20-24oz of water for every pound lost during your working, follow within 2 hours with a 4:1 carbohydrate to protein to replace Glycogen stores. Good choice is Recoverite from Hammer Nutrition.
  

We all know how awful you feel when you don’t get the hydration right, stop by the store and we’ll help you with our line of Hammer Nutrition products and how to develop the right system for your exercise needs.

I'm melting......

Did you know that the average person has 2.6 million sweat glands? If you’ve been out on the road running or biking, you’ve probably been using ALL of them. The old school of thought used to be “drink, drink, drink,” meaning you can’t put enough water in your system during exercise! The new school of thought is, “drink with electrolytes” because too much water without them can cause a condition called Hyponatremia. Hyponatremia, also known as low sodium concentration or water intoxication, occurs due to prolonged sweating coupled with the dilution of extracellular sodium caused by consuming large amounts of fluid with low or no sodium. Drinking fluids with electrolytes like HEED help keep your body’s balance during exercise sessions.

So during those long endurance sessions how much are you really sweating? An average person sweats between 0.8 to 1.4 liters (roughly 27.4 to 47.3 oz.) per hour during exercise, the size of the larger bike water bottles. Compare to Alberto Salazar’s recorded highest ever sweat rate (125 oz per HOUR) during his training for the Olympics in 1984!

To determine how much YOU sweat, weigh yourself prior to one hour of exercise, and then weigh yourself afterwards. If you didn’t drink anything or use the bathroom then the difference is your sweat rate-for each pound lost you lost 15.4 ounces of fluid. If you did consume fluids-ADD in the fluids consumed, then SUBTRACT out an estimate of a trip to the bathroom. Don’t forget to record the temperature and humidity AND record for swimming, biking and running because sweat rates for each sport vary.

Do you know your sweat rate? Coming up we’ll tell you why it’s a good thing to know!

Moving From Competitor to Spectator....

After racing for several years there’s been a few revelations along the way. First, I know that I’ll never win a race, I’ve stood there in the front thinking that I’m a Kenyan then as a wave of people pass me, it’s pretty obvious that I’m NOT a Kenyan. I never expected to feel such joy when I became a spectator of a race.

This time as spectator I became in the inner workings of the race rather than just showing up at the starting line and working toward a PR. I spent time getting people excited, talking people into starting a training program, working with people to keep them ON their training program. It felt good to see them hit small milestones all in leading up to the big one.

On race day, I felt the usual rush at the end that some people call “runner’s high.” This time it was different, my time was WAY off my time from the last time I ran the race. My “rush” came when I watched people of our team cross that finish line, some of them for the first time! The accomplish was not just another race put in the books but, watching others that at the beginning said they could never THINK about doing a race, running over that finish line with tears flowing from their eyes. We stand by the sidelines watching people high five them, cheer them on, congratulate them on their finish. They don’t see us standing there, clapping for them enjoying watching their rush of joy almost like it’s our own.

When you move out of competitor into spectator, the race is that much sweeter because just like everything else as you get older you learn that it’s not about you. When you serve rather than request to be served the rewards are more than that quick endorphin rush of crossing the finish line, they’re sweet feelings that last forever.

When have you been a spectator and not a competitor?

You grew in our hearts......

As mother’s day approaches, let’s join together and help a mother’s wish to Bring Her Kids Home! The Williams family is trying to adopt two children from Rwanda and is in need of our help! The adoptions are estimated to cost 30,000 so Fleet Feet is holding a “Bring The Kids Home” run this Saturday in honor of Moms all over the world and two little children waiting in Rwanda for THEIR Mom! You can stop by the store anytime to make a donation or just bring what you can to the run Saturday morning! Our Run Like A Mother shirts are in! Technical in three cool colors, this is a great gift for Mother's Day and ALL proceeds go to the Williams family! We’ll do the run Fleet Feet style with our party stops! We think we’ll get to that goal and send the Williams family to Rwanda!

A family that adopts is a special family, they are opening not just their home but their hearts to someone they’ve never met! Right now there are two little children in Rwanda wishing they had a Mom, not knowing that there’s a Mom right here in Winston Salem that already knows about them!

As Moms we know the children that grew in our bodies, but the ones that grow in our hearts through adoption are that much sweeter! Help us BRING THE KIDS HOME! RSVP for the run at http://www.fleetfeetwinston-salem.com/! Bring your Moms!!

Fitness Tips - How to survive that open water swim...

Head First – jump in with both feet, the only way you’ll get used to open water is swimming in open water. There’s a big difference when you look down into murkiness for a black line to guide you, it’s not there! Get used to rotten leaves in lakes, ducks and their accompanying “stuff”, something touching you as you swim so there’s no “girl like squeal” your first open water race. You’ll also learn pretty quickly that you have to “sight” swim, bring your head out of the water to sight where you are going, which in the beginning means lots of swallowed water with waves and such, practice, practice, practice.

Head First, not Ego First – make sure your practice swims are supervised. Don’t think, “I can do this” and just jump in a lake alone. Anything can happen, so bring a friend to read a book while you practice, or better yet bring a group of triathletes and practice swimming together. If you can’t do this, find a place with a lifeguard.

Bubbles – if you are swimming with a group, look for the bubbles of the person swimming ahead of you and follow their bubbles to try and swim straight. This does not mean stop checking your position during the swim, it’s just less head lifts to sight your position.

Bilateral breathing – we all have that favorite side we breath from, since pool water may be better on the stomach that ocean or lake water, practice bilateral breathing (breathing from both sides) this will help you with waves, you can switch sides is the water is hitting you on one side of the face rather than drinking a gallon of ocean water.

The best way to get over a fear of open water is to jump in, literally. We can’t guarantee that you’ll be comfortable race day but we can say that you’ll feel a bit more confident with the above practice under your belt.