When Life gets in the way

It's been a bit since I wrote any product reviews or articles but I plan to change that. The reason for the lapse has been that little thing called daily life.

Our busy race season has kicked off and we are working on events every weekend. The trucks and trailer and have been traveling around producing races and helping others make their events better. We'll be working on over 100 races this year, crazy growth again this year, should be interesting. We've added timers and support crews to try and keep things going smooth.

The store has been very busy. Even with the not so great economy and less then warm spring we've been pleased with the growth we've experienced. Plans are in the works for a bunch of new programs and events so stay tuned.

Corporate Challenge is coming up next week and that is always a busy time for us. Ellen is the volunteer coordinator, I work on the finish line crew and we provide shirts for 20 different companies. I swear I spend all day for a week straight doing nothing but CC shirts. Crazy but the teams get some great technical shirts at a really fair price

Lab Rats v1.5 is kicking off, late but starting. I'm working with 4 runners and hope to keep them improving and reaching their goals. I've got some seriously nasty workouts planned for them. It's actually tougher having the smaller group as each one will get a custom program.

Ellen and I managed to sneak away for three days to Florida to visit most of her family. I was not ready for 95 degree heat that's for sure. Also got to have dinner with Erik and Stacey, the owners of Fleet Feet Sports Orlando, which is always fun.

I got to watch a few high school track meets since we sponsor three local invitationals. We had a booth at each and got to talk with a lot of kids. Saw a few good races as well.

I've even been running a bit since I decided to register for a 50k in Tahoe in July. Not my smartest move but I've done dumber things. A few friends and teammates had already registered so I decided to jump into it. Unfortunately the race was sold out but lucky for me Fleet Feet Sports Carson City is a sponsor and pulled a few strings. It's good to know people. In the very least it will be nice to get away with Ellen for a few days out west.

So there you have it. My big excuse on why I haven't been writing. Two companies that are growing fast, tons of events, a little bit of travel, and a few days a week of running. I think I'm getting things under control so you'll be seeing a lot more reviews and stories. I've got new shoes to write about, a new event that we are starting, more fun runs and training programs fro mthe store and more adventures with the Salomon Fleet Feet Sports Endurance Team.

I'll see you out there

My new team

Back in January I was having an email converstaion with the marketing guys at Salomon. They wanted to work with us on our Dirt Cheap Trail Series again and I pitched them an even bigger plan. They would get the Dirt Cheap Series along with our two other trail events and would also be the title sponsor of a new Trail racing team that I wanted to put together.

For the last few years I've wanted to build a race team that was about running off road. Of course I needed the right partners in this project and had to build it with the right mix of people. Once Salomon came on board I went about building the team. My goal was to be able to offer up support to the team members while promoting the "trail lifestyle"

To me the Trail and outdoor lifestyle is something we should all strive to have. It isn't just about racing and going fast. It is about being outdoors, enjoying nature and having fun with friends. There is nothing I enjoy more then heading out into the woods and exploring. I don't need to know how far I may go or how hard it may be, I just like to be out there exploring. It really is what I did as a kid all the time.

So now all I had to do was find 11 other people that thought the same way I do. Lucky for me most of my friends have the same idea of fun. I knew K-Robb would be up for it along with his wife Anne. I sent an early recruitment note to two friends hoping that they would be interested, their response was "hell yeh"

So I had 4 plus me. K-Robb and I came up with a short list of potential members and I sent out letters offering support. We filled out 11 spots and I had one to fill. I decided to offer it up to the general public. I posted a note with my concept and waited for the emails to come in. I worked through the dozens of resumes and chose the 12th member.

After reading how so many others wanted to be part of it I decided to add 5 more members that we'll finance on our own and we now have a team of 17. Pretty cool.

My goal with this project is to promote my vision of the outdoor lifestyle. I want to get more people outside running and having fun. I want them to head to the woods and explore a little. Now I have 16 other people helping me spread this vision.

Rochester is going to be known as a trail town. The team will be out running the trails, racing the trails, and getting others out there with us. We'll be hosting races, developing new ones. We'll be hosting trail maintainence days where we get the running community to help maintain the trails we love to run. We'll be offering up guidence and support to new trail runners. This is going to be fun.

Salomon - Fleet Feet Sports Endurance Team

Boots - Director Sportif, Completed Course de Templier in France

K-Robb Ganey - Team Captain, also completed Templier

Anne Esposito - Completed Templier

Alan Powers - 50k completed this year and at least 2 more booked for the year

Laura Church - Multiple Trail Marathons and doesn't want to go much longer (Lab Rat)

Mark Monachino - Learning to go long on dirt (Lab Rat)

Dennis Stearns - Will go longer then he should at times, Ultra vet

Jim Roche - Vows to stay shorter then 15 miles but I bet will be going long soon enough

Chet Jozefski - Will do just about anything. Has completed many ultras

Andrew Baxter - The kid of the team. Has done a marathon on snowshoes (FF Employee)

Kim Rapp - Ultra vet that loves 100 milers (FF Employee)

Krista Englert - New to the game but very much up for the challenge

Dave Sek - The non kid of the team (aka the old dude), Ultra Vet many times over

Karen Kryder - Just completed her first ultra and is signed up for the next one already

Jim McLaughlin - Ironman Triathlete and outdoor enthusiast

Beth Deciantis - Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifier, learning to love the trails

Holly Kuzmiak - Giving the dirt a try after winning Snow Cheap Series

And I can't forget the canine team

Sazerac (Church-Powers) - Our guide out on the trails that finds some great routes for us

Bart (just Bart, kinda like Sting or Madonna) - My over ambitious Aussie that will run all day

Charley (Esposito-Ganey) - The best behaved blonde on four legs

Brandi (Roche) - Learning as she goes. Has been rescued once already on the trails

So if you see any of the red armada (Salomon has hooked us up with some great gear) out on the trails say hello and join them for an adventure

Lab Rat v1.0 Project complete

A little over 3 months ago I put a call out for runners that might want to join me in some fun. I had decided to get back into doing some coaching just for fun and to see what kind of results I could get out of some people using my "method" of training.

Those that signed on had no clue as to what I would have them do or how hard it may be. Eight runners signed up and paid their fee (12 cans of Red Bull) and started training. We started in the dead of winter and now will finish up as spring is upon us.

Those that stuck with it and did the training like I laid it out saw some great improvements. Times came down and PR's were set. Some PR's were crushed by crazy amounts. Like 6 minutes over 5 miles crazy. Man that was fun to see.

Honestly I knew that they would all end up running faster but I really had hoped they just might learn a few more things along the way. I spent time trying to go over how to race smarter. I wanted them to learn a thing or two about themselves in the process. I think I succeeded on both counts there and that is one reason v1.0 has come to a close.

I was out running yesterday and two of my Rats were with me. One of them had set a 5k pr the day before and she was talking about the race to the other Rat. As I listened I loved that she was discussing the tactics she used to race smart and not just talking about running fast. Lesson learned there.

In regards to them learning about themselves I'll let the words of one of my Rats say it. This is an email he sent me after a great race. His subject was "becoming enlightened"

You know, it's funny when we started this Lab Rat thing.
I knew that I would probably get in way better condition than I was in, and I figured that I'd be logging a lot more miles.
Was hoping to get faster, but wasn't counting on it.
I thought that I would learn some things and consider some things about running that I hadn't previously.
Figured I'd be pushed way beyond my comfort level, which I like.
And all of those things have happened. Man have they.
The part I didn't understand and couldn't figure what would happen was in the mental part of the training.
Didn't know what you meant, or how I could get tougher in the head, partly because I've always considered myself to be extremely mentally tough.
It's sort of what's got me to where I am in business ('cause it sure as hell wasn't talent or good looks!).
But I didn't know what I'd get out of this training.
Sure, I'm running way better, and enjoying the crazy workouts and pushing myself way harder than I ever thought I would.
But I think I'm starting to understanding a big part of the mental game and how it applies to me. Sort of came to me over the weekend while I was running.
Over the past few years I've run in a lot of races. All distances, all times of the day and night, sometimes a few on the same day.
But what I've come to realize is that even though I was in races, very rarely if ever did I truly "race" them. Never really pushed myself.
And now I actually believe that I had a fear of racing.
I was never confident and/or knowledgeable in my ability, my endurance, my speed, or my being able to actually finish a race.
In short, I was afraid to try hard and to push because of the fear of failure.
That's really started to change for me.
Now, I'm really getting to understand myself and what I can do.
I'm beginning to really feel free to test my limits, and am enjoying doing it.
Beginning to understand what I can do and how long I can do it, beginning to have the confidence to push myself like I thought I never could.
I find that I really don't care about failing (or puking, or getting passed by poodles), it's all about knowing myself.
And damn that's really, really cool for an old fart like me who thought everything like this was way in the past.
Sure I've had great improvement in my race times (with a lot more to come) and all of that, but it's the knowing and understanding of myself that has really been enlightening.
And that understanding feels really good, especially after such a hard week like last week, and will hopefully allow me to progress even more.
This has been an awesome winter of training and running that I could have never done on my own.
Man I really appreciate being part of this.

So that concludes the Lab Rat Project v1.0. I hope they all enjoyed it. I know they should be proud of how hard they worked. I hope they all realize that they can accomplish so much more. I've simply taught them a few things that they can now take and apply to their running and their everyday life.

Now to figure out what v1.5 will be and who the next victims are.

What a Month

So it has been almost the entire month since I've written anything. That's the kind of month it has been.

We are getting ready for the busy part of our events season to begin. It will slow down again in December so we have been trying to get as many things done and organized in advance. We will be producing or providing services for 100 races this year. We have had to turn down nearly a dozen events this year that wanted to work with us. Sucks for us but we can only be in so many places at once.

The store has been crazy busy. Track and Field is starting and we have nearly 200 people in our No Boundaries Learn to Run program. It is cool that so many people want to get out there and get fit. We've run this program since we opened the store almost 5 years ago as we've always believed that it is our job to get more people out there running and walking. It is the least we can do when we make our living in this industry.

Even with how busy we've been I've actually begun to find time to run a bit more. Still not as much as I need to but I'm getting out there. I'm still testing a lot of shoes and I'm sure there will be more on the way to test.

I'll be making a few more post in the very near future about some of the other things that are going on like the Lab Rat program, product test results, the new Salomon - Fleet Feet Sports Endurance Team and a 50k ultra that I was dumb enough to sign up for.

Gotta keep busy, right?

A new chance to play

Beach Cheap Aquathlon Series

That's right Fleet Feet Sports Cheap Adventures is going multisport

3 races in 3 months

Place: Durand Eastman Beach
Time: 6:30 pm
Fourth Thursday of each month

6/25 1k swim, 5k run
7/23 2.5k run, 1k swim, 2.5k run
8/27 1k swim, 5k run

Swims will take place in Lake Ontario and the runs will be half beach run, half bike path.

Post race will include plenty of food and drink.

Whats better then a nice workout followed by a party at the beach at sunset?

Better hit the pool.

Registration information will be up very soon at www.yellowjacketracing.com

This should be interesting

The Lab Rats are alive

So late last year I announced the creation of the Fleet Feet Lab Rats Program. This is a small group of runners that I am personally coaching in exchange for a stash of Red Bull.

My plan was to work them hard and to make them stronger runners. They had no idea what I was going to do or if it would work but so far they are all still alive and training hard.

I'm real excited that so far it appears they are all taking to the training real well. Some are running faster then they ever have and others are getting there. Every two weeks I have been sending them their workouts and they have been diving right in and doing them. In the very least I am sure they are all getting mentally stronger.

While they are doing some pretty hard workouts I think the reason most of them are getting stronger is that I am actually making them take easy days out there. I find that too many runners are always running too fast. This makes their easy days too hard and then their hard days are not hard enough. Essentially all their runs are the same. With the Lab Rats when they have to run easy they run easy, and when they have to run hard they can run real hard.

Pretty simple really, you might want to try it.

Here's a little sample of a Lab Rat week.

2/16
OFF
Or 40 minutes easy (70/75% of Max Heart rate) nice easy run after Sundays long run

2/17
FF Hills w/ a new twist
Run to the hills, Do the complete “Y” as normal (up at 85% down easy. For the next one go at 80% up the hill and then continue all the way around the res. at 80% then down the other hill and then up to the top at 85%. Now jog down nice and slow and do another normal “Y”. Then do the complete around the res loop like before. Run back to the store nice and easy. Kinda confusing so if you need clarification let me know This ended up being really pretty hard

Or 10:00 up, 10 x 2:00 at 85% w/ 1:00 recovery between each, then 5 x 1:00 at 90%, 10:00 down fairly tough option but not as bad as above

2/18
10:00 up, Snow Cheap plus after finishing 6 x 1:15 at 85 – 90 % ON THE GRASS, 10 down
Or 10:00 up, 20:00 at 85%, 2:00 @ 90%, 2:00 easy, 5:00 @ 85%, 2:00 @ 90%, 2:00 easy, 2:00 @ 90%, 10:00 down Snow Cheap was about 2.5 miles long on tough trails and then the 6x made for a fun but hard night. The second option workout was tougher. Back to back hard days is never easy either way

2/19
OFF
Or 50 minutes easy (70-75% of Max HR) Recovery

2/20
45 – 60 minutes easy (70-75% of Max HR) Recovery

2/21
Meet me at FF for an 8 am surprise run. Bring you’re A game. Don’t be late They have no idea what they are in for on this one
OR 10:00 up, 10:00 @ 80%, 10:00 @ 85%, 5:00 @ 90%ish. 5:00 rest, 10:00 @ 85%, 5:00 @ 90%ish, 2:00 @ all out, 10:00 down This option is pretty nasty but we'll see which option ends up tougher

2/22
90 – 120 minute easy long run (70/75% of max) Nice easy long run

So there you go, a sample of a tough week. Run real hard, run real easy, take some days off if needed. Not rocket science but too many runners appear to mess it up.

Good luck

Testing Update

So I've been logging the miles (not that many) and trying the different shoes I wrote about earlier. First impressions are pretty good which is a good thing.

Puma Vectana - This is the Puma stability shoe that will be coming out this summer. It has a totally new last and fit which should be a very good thing. I've only got a couple of runs on them but they have a real nice ride. Stability is right where it should be, cushioning is more then enough and the fit is what they said it will be, wider then their old fit. I actually got a small hot spot on my first met head on my foot and that is a good thing for this test as I have a real narrow foot so these should be too wide for my foot and they are. This will be a shoe to watch once it comes out.

Pearl Izumi Pace 3 - Just arrived in store and I've got a few good runs on my pair that I got early. They updated the forefoot and it feels great. They needed to increase the amount of cushioning up front so the shoe doesn't "bottom out" so fast. They nailed it on this one, great fit and now a really great ride. Now I just hope they don't run into inventory issues like they did last year. The downside to this update is the $20 price increase. I think PI got hit harder then most by the economy and the rising cost of sourcing products. If you liked the old Pace you'll love these.

Nike Equalon 3 - Update of their high end stability shoe. Very nice ride and plenty of stability. Great Nike fit and with the increased cushioning it feels nice and soft. I think this version is finally worth the cost as the previous ones just didn't quite do it for me.

New Balance 769 - built on their new PL- 1 last which is great for my foot. Much narrower, less volume and a great heel and mid foot. I took these for a nice 8 miler the other day and they have a very nice ride. Smooth transition from heel to toe off with plenty of stability and cushioning.

I have not had a chance to test the Ecco's just yet as I don't think my calves can handle the low to the ground midsole and very minimal heel to forefoot drop.

The adidas adiStar Salvation will be getting a few miles very shortly and Vibram has sent me a pair of their 5 fingers to test out as well. I better up the mileage if I want to get all the testing done. Luckily I have at least 3 other guys here at the shop that also wear size 10.5 so I think I'll start passing the shoes around for testing.

I guess I better keep training so I can keep testing. Tough job but someone has to do it :)