Let the snow fly

The Snow Cheap Winter Trail series starts in one week and we are still waiting for some real snow to fly. No worries as the races will be a blast with or without the white stuff.

Playing outside in the winter is one of my favorite things to do. Maybe it goes back to being a kid in Rochester. We never were lacking for snow in my youth. We would go sledding for hours, build forts, play some ice hockey. I even used to nordic ski to school in 6th grade. It really didn't matter as long as we were outside having fun. Heck even in college it became a tradition that with the first decent snow fall the team headed into Mt Hope Cemetary for an epic snowball/fartlek battle.

After college it was time to look for more fun ways to enjoy the winter. I was training a ton for duathlons and wanted something that would work the cycling legs as well as the lungs. I had read how Ray Browning, a stud pro triathlete and fellow Pearl Izumi sponsored athlete, would snowshoe in the Rockies. It must have been 1994 or so when I purchased my first pair of running snowshoes. I've been snowshoeing since.

I can't forget my first time trying to run in snowshoes. It was Thanksgiving and we had gotten dumped on with snow, a good foot or so. I won the Webster Turkey Trot in the am and after the race I headed into the park to snowshoe a little more. I think I made it about 200 yards before I was beant over trying to suck in air. I learned real quick that you have to go by effort, not your running pace. Man that was a painful leason to learn, but I was the only person I knew that ran in snowshoes so how was I supposed to know.

Now that I'm old and out of shape I like to use them differently. I don't try to go as hard or as far as I can. I don't use them to "workout" per say. I use them to enjoy the outdoors with some friends. I love getting a few friends together (and all our dogs) to head out and have some fun on the trails. We all have different abilities but that works out fine. The faster ones go ahead and charge up the hills. The slower ones always catch up as the speedsters are catching their breath or just messing around in the powder. We all have a blast and we do get in a great workout at the same time. Really, what is better then being outside, working out with friends?

If you've never ran in snowshoes before give it a try. You won't believe how much fun you can have with it.

In my next entry I will write about my favorite brand of snowshoes, Crescent Moon. That's Jake the owner of Crescent Moon with a fury friend in the photo above. He builds great environmentally conscious snowshoes right here in the USA.

Now get outside and

Live FIT.

Why you should shop local

So I've been a long time believer in dealing with local business's. Obviously I am a local business so I have a horse in the race but my support of local companies goes way back. I have also been reading a bunch of articles on why others really need to start acting the same way.

A little background...

When I started YellowJacket Racing in 1998 it was about bringing better and more diverse events to our community. I made the decision that profits made off the events would go back into new events and to support the local running community. I was fairly young and most likely dumb but it was important to me to put the money back into our community.

Then in 2004 we opened Fleet Feet Sports and it has been part of our mission statement from day one to support our community. We pour more money, services, and effort into local running events then most could imagine. Sure it is good for business but more importantly it is good for our city. We would like to think that we are helping make Rochester a better place to live.

Now I'm not so dumb as to believe that everyone buys local. Internet shopping is bigger then ever and everyone is looking for a deal. I'll try to explain why that is not necessarily a good thing.

Every so often I'll have someone tell me that they can find such and such a product online for less. They'll ask if I will match the price. 10 out of 10 times I'll say no, not just because it would be a bad business move but also because it devalues what we do.

So why should people shop local. Easy, because then their money stays local. Here are just three reasons supporting my point of view.

1. When someone buys out of state online there is no sales tax being generated (at this time) That sales tax would have gone to pay for our schools, to upkeep our roads and to provide many social services. Lets be honest our state is going broke. If you are going to spend money wouldn't it make sense to have that sale also help support all the things that our taxes support. Trust me I am not a fan of how high our taxes are in NY (ask any business person how NY ranks in regards to business taxes) but I would rather my purchases support NY programs.
2. As I already pointed out we pour an incredible amount of time and money into local events. Without the growth of our business we would not have been able to do this. That would have meant no Dirt Cheap series, No Duathlons or a Tri at Hamlin Beach, no Spring Forward or Lake Effect. In 2009 we'll be producing nearly 30 local events for the community to come out and play in. The more fun you can have the better. We are able to keep adding more and better events because our business is growing. If everyone just looked for the best deal online that wouldn't happen.
3. All of our employees are local. We have 15 employees that live right here in Rochester. They all pay their taxes (at least they better) and they all spend their money right here in Rochester. They shop at Wegmans and the Public Market, they've bought houses in the city and the 'burbs, some go to local Colleges. the money that we are able to pay them goes right back into supporting the community we live in. Purchase from an online site and you are pumping money into that community, not the one you live in.

I could go and calculate how much money we pump back into the community but it would get crazy if I then trickled it down. Think about it, You come into the shop to get some shoes. Kim takes great care of you and then gets her paycheck on Friday. She then heads off to Wegmans to shop. The employee at Wegmans cashes Kim out. Wegmans then pays that employee, who then heads off to Jines on Park Ave for dinner. Peter at Jines has to have cooks and waiters to serve the meal. That waiter then gets paid and heads off to the Little to catch a movie. The little has to have someone to make the popcorn. I could keep going but I think you get the point. All those workers that got paid by each different company can thank you for buying your shoes locally.

Save a couple of bucks and make that purchase online and your purchase now goes to paying an employee in say California. They then shop at a store in Cali, and that tax goes to fund projects in Cali. None of your purchase goes towards helping the very city that you live in.

By making just a simple purchase local you are able to help support so many different local businesses. Local businesses that may appear "small" but when combined generate millions of dollars for our community.

Now you may say that you are only concerned with saving the few bucks. I can understand that as money doesn't grow on trees. My retort would be "and that is why our economy is where it is" Too many people only worried about themselves and not thinking about the bigger picture. We all have to think about what we can each do to help our community.

Maybe that $100 shoe can be found online for $85. At the same time maybe that extra $15 helps pay for that event that you did last month that was so much fun. Or maybe it went to an employee that is saving to buy a house right here in Rochester. Maybe it was used to host one of those fun free events that so many people like to attend.

My point is that if you spend your money locally it will stay local and that is very important for the health of our community. Just think about it the next time you need some gear.

I'll get off the soap box now.

Live FIT.

Battle of the base layers

It is that time of year where how you dress very much has an impact on how much you may enjoy your run. Underdress and you might freeze. Overdress and you'll be soaked.

One of the most important pieces to invest in is the base layer. This is the top that will go on first right against the skin (yes I know the ladies will have a bra on underneath). It can be no sleeve, short sleeve or long sleeve. It will work best if it fits a little snugger against the body. The job of the base layer is to move moisture off your body to the next layer so your temperature stays regulated. In simply terms you'll stay comfy.

I own and have used just about every possible option out there. Nike, Brooks, Asics, Pearl, Descente, UA, Falke, Craft and Helly Hansen. I'm sure there are plenty more in my closet but those pop into my head.

Out of all those there are two companies that I grab more often then any other. These are the only two companies I will wear while directing races in bad weather. While race directing I'll go from sweating like crazy to standing in one place. I need a great base layer to move the moisture off my body so I don't get cold.

So what are the two super base layers. Craft and Helly Hansen. Two old companies from very frigid parts of the world. These guys know how to stay warm when it gets cold. HH makes one of the coolest deep sea survival suits you'll ever see and Craft dominates in Nordic Skiing. Like i said they know staying warm in the cold.

We carry a few options from both companies but the staples are the Lifa Stripe Crew from Helly Hansen and the proZero Crew from Craft. Both fit snug and move moisture like crazy. The Craft has a longer fit to the torso so if you also bike or ski it is a great option as it won't come untucked.

At the recent Webster Turkey Trot all I wore was the Craft base layer, a 12 year old Pearl Izumi Windstopper fleece top and an Asics Storm Shelter Jacket. I could have done without the Asics as it never started to rain or snow. This is what I wore from 5:00 am until 2:00 pm. The temperature ranged from high 20's to high 30's. I was sweating a bunch while building the finish line and corral and was still comfortable while standing and cheering on the runners.

If you want to be comfortable during your winter runs check out these two great base layers. you won't be disappointed.

Live FIT

Waterproof follow up

Ok - So a week or so ago I wrote about my issue with a pair of shoes that a rep had told me would be waterproof. Here's a follow up to that.

1. To be fair the company never promoted the shoes to be waterproof but to be water resistant. My issue was that the rep for the company had assured me that these would be waterproof, they just couldn't say they were as they hadn't applied for outside testing. That rep has left the company so in the future I'll know I'm getting the correct facts.

2. The National Sales Manager and I went back and forth for a few days about doing some further testing. I did a few different tests on my pair and reported back the findings. They then took pairs out of their stock to do testing on as they didn't like what they heard. He admitted that they were not as close to waterproof as they thought they should be. Still very water resistant but not water proof.

3. They sent me a new pair just to be sure my pair wasn't from a funky batch but after their testing we are pretty sure we know what the issue is.

4. K-Robb here at the shop has the same style and also did some testing for me with the same results.

The issue comes down to a bonding versus water resistance. Parts of the upper are bonded to other parts, that is they are glued not stiched. To do this the company had to reduce the amount of spray on water repelancy they used on those parts so the glue would stick. By doing this they made it possible for water to sneak in.

Bummer that they are not water proof but they are very water resistant and very comfy. 2 out of 3 aint bad. We make sure we are very clear with our customers that there is a difference between water proof and water resistant so they don't feel like I did when my feet got wet.

Now I had started off pretty pissed with this company (for a few different issues) but in the end I am really impressed with the amount of time they took to go over my concerns. They pulled product from their selves to do follow up testing. They had their product guys go back over it and figure out where the issues were. They did all this just because I wasn't pleased with my personal pair. That is a company that cares about their customers and their product. Not many of those left these days.

Live FIT.

1 tough week

I get asked a lot if we ever sleep due to the crazy amount of events we work with. Well last week was one of the toughest of the year. Check this out.

Sunday 11/23. 7:00 am Hook trailer up to the Tundra to head over to Syracuse to time the Jingle Bell 5k/10k. The race would be interesting as they had two races starting 15 minutes apart, 1000 runners and snow on the ground. We built the finish line and corral, got the pa system up running and got all the timing done. Overall things went smooth from our end of things. The race itself had a few issues but they'll fix that for next year.

Ellen, Greg and I got back to the shop at 4:00 pm, unloaded some gear from the trailer, accounted for all the timing chips and got started on Trot stuff as packet pick up will begin at 10 am on Monday. We finally left the store at 7:00 pm after a long 12 hour day.

Mon 11/24. 10:00 am. Store opens and packet pick up begins. Not a bad day in the shop and 442 people came in to either register or pick up their packets. Greg spent a chunk of the day getting all the gear ready for the Trot as well as for the two races our crews would be timing. Head out to dinner after closing up at 7:00. Put in about a 9 hour day

Tues 11/25. 10:00 am. Same as yesterday. Another decent day and 402 people come in to register or pick up packets. Greg and a crew spend the entire day in the basement prepping all the timing chips for the 3 races. Barb spent a lot of timing trying to get things ready for Fridays big sale. Head out to dinner after closing up at 7:00. Another 9+ hour day

Wed 11/26 10:00 am. Same as yesterday. Another decent day and 571 people come in to register or pick up packets. Greg and a crew spend the day in the basement prepping all the timing chips for the 3 races. They also load up the FJ for the Watertown race and Greg heads out to Greece for packet pick at 4:00. Barb gets everything done and ready for Friday. Ellen spent time at Wegmans getting all the food for Friday. After closing up at 7:00 we finish loading up the truck and head out to dinner. About a 10+ hour day

Thurs 11/27
3:45 am. Paul and Doug head off to Watertown in the FJ
4:45 am. Greg loads chips into the trailer and heads off to Race with Grace
4:45 am. Ellen and I load chips into Fitlosophy 1 (the big truck) and head out to Webster.

Paul and Doug get to time a race in 18 inches of fresh new snow. 500 register but only 300+ finish as many stay home due to the snow. P&D do a great job in only their second solo effort.

RwG sets a day of race entry record with over 260 people waiting until Thursday to register. Over 800 finish. Greg does a great job taking care of everything

Trot becomes the third largest race in Rochester with over 1800 registered. We get over 270 on the day of the race and over 1600 finish. A little crazy but overall the race went smooth.

Load everything back into the truck and get back to the shop at 2:00. Greg is just finishing up at the shop and he heads off to Ohio for the Holiday. He's worked hard all week and gets to spend a few days with the parents.

I unload all the temperature sensitive stuff, Ellen works on results a little bit and we head to Starbucks at 2:30. Home right after to get results up online for RwG and to continue cleaning up Trot results.

At 3:00 Doug calls to let me know they are on 490 so we head back to the shop to help them unload and Ellen needs to resend the RwG results from there anyhow. Unload fast and get home at 3:30, shower, get RwG results up online along with the Watertown results and head over to Barbs for the family dinner.

Enjoy a little time with the family and Ellen work on results during dessert. Of course I have to answer a few emails from people asking when results will be up. I guess the note on the front page of the website saying we would be having a family dinner wasn't good enough. We get to spend very little time with our family these days due to the amount of work we take on. We feel guilty not having results up yet but at the same time we feel bad working during our family get together. Oh well no way to win this one, at least our family understands

Home by 9:00 and results go right up online.

Fri 11/28
5:30 alarm goes off as we have to get to the store. Doors open at 7:00 am and the crowds are pretty big. People are shopping, others are getting ready for the fun run at 8:00 and some are waiting for Mark and John to fire up the waffle iron. The staff does a great job taking care of everyone all day. We go through 3 boxes of waffle mix, tons of hot chocolate and lots of breakfast sausage.

Great day at the store, we set an all time sales record and everyone really appeared to have fun. At about 6:30 Ellen and I head home. I'm sure we bought dinner someplace but I don't remember

We get to ease back on the weekend, though we do stop by and spend some time at the store. We have errands to run and have to have some of the staff work on some post race stuff like checking all the timing chips back in.

Monday is spent working on the bulk of the chips, Greg will spend the rest of the week getting things back into order, and we'll get ready for packet pick up on Friday for Saturday's Jingle Bell here in Rochester. The race should have 700 plus and we provide a lot of services for it so we'll be busy. Time to get right back into it.

So that is what race week can be like. It can be easy for us to put in over 40 hours in three days and upwards of 100 for a week. We spend a lot of time out on the road and working in the elements. We wouldn't be able to pull it off without a great staff that understands sometimes it gets crazy and sometimes the crazy just starts to feel normal.

Overall a successful week. We worked on 4 races in 5 days with over 3600 finishers. I like to think we helped a lot of people enjoy the Holiday, either by participating in a a race or by coming into the store. We were able to FIT a lot of runners with some great footwear and apparel and fed a bunch of them some really nice waffles.

Hope your week was as much fun as ours, but not as exhausting.

Live FIT

Toughest sock in town

The Darn Tough Merino wool socks just may be the toughest socks on the market. We've been carrying these for over a year now and my original test socks are still looking new (well maybe a little dirty). That means they have survived a year of trail runs, a ton of races where I worked or was the director (much tougher then actually running) and one trail ultra in France. I also wear them casually at the store. You can't wear these things out, and if you do they'll replace them.

Darn Tough Vermont is a cool little company. Based in Vermont they design and actually knit all the socks in their own mill, right here in the USA. They've been making socks for over 30 years so they know what they are doing. They share our belief that a big part of doing business is supporting the community that you are in. I dig that about them.

So what makes these socks so great. It might be the mix of Merino Wool, Nylon and Spandex. It could also be the high density cushioning on the foot bottom. Maybe it is the invisible seam at the toe. It could be the fact that even when wet Merino wool feels nice. All of these things add up to one great feeling sock.

When we were thinking about carrying wool socks last year we tested a few different brands. I had already tested one major brand and the socks just always wore out. It was either a hole at the toe or at the Achilles, either way for 15+ bucks a sock should last. I even spoke with a rep from that company and he said yeh they wear out kinda fast. Right there I knew they weren't for us. If you work for the company and don't even believe in the product why should I carry it. Good thing we found Darn Tough.

So if you wear socks out fast or just want a great sock, especially for the winter give Darn Tough Vermont a try. They're cushioned, wear like iron, and for the weather we are about to get they will keep your toes feeling nice and warm. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Live FIT.

Salomon SpeedCross 2 review

Is this the ultimate trail shoe for winter use? Maybe not the ultimate winter shoe due to a lack of water proofness but it sure is the best light weight go fast grip like crazy shoe out there.

Originally Salomon made this shoe as a winter shoe due to the tread they chose for it. Myself and thousands of others found that it works great as a race day shoe for tough trail races. At just 10.2 ounces for a mens size 9 and a low to the ground midsole and snug fit this shoe begs to go fast. It is kinda like my Aussie, Bart, It wants to run fast.

Here are some of the details

• Like I said light. 10.2 ounces (mens 9)
• Mens sizing only (sorry ladies) but the good news it comes in sizes 5 - 14 (thats wmns 6.5 - 15.5)
• Fits snug and narrow but normal in length
• This is due to the upper being double lasted. Trust me it is worth it if your foot fits in it
• Very nice toe cap to protect the toes from roots, stones and other trail crap
• Salomons lace pocket on the tongue and their great Quicklace kevlar laces
• Funky upper material that kinda repels dirt and crap and is very slightly H2O resistant
• SensiFit upper wraps the foot for a secure and precise fit
• Dual density midsole for slight pronation control.
• I find this very good for most people off road as the soft surface causes the foot to roll past neutral and to splay laterally to try and gain traction and power. Having the second density post will help the foot stay in a better position
• Very nice Ortholite insole
• Possibly the best part, the outsole
• They call it Winter Contragrip. I call it sweet. Think mountain bike tires circa 1992. Big tread, lots of space between treads and very soft rubber. This leads to mud just flying off and not mucking up your traction. It will grip just about anything due to the use of soft rubber.
• And it is all black which women have gone crazy over since we started carrying them last spring and men, well we don't really care.

Of course there must be some negatives.

• Like I already said mens only sizing. They were ready to do a womens for 2009 but dropped it.
• Fits very narrow so it won't work for a lot of people
• That super grippy outsole won't last on the road, but that isn't what it was built for.

Overall: You may have guessed that I like this shoe. You may be able to guess that I have a narrow foot so it fits me well. If you are looking for a great trail shoe that will do double duty as a winter shoe with tons of traction give this one a try.

Live FIT.