Alameda Runners – Get After It!

That’s right… the Saucony shoes I bought from Road Runner (my review of the store/service is here) absolutely rock!

Definitely worth the money spent – and the trip all of the way to Concord to utilize the Shoe Dog system.  I still love my Asics Duomax GT 2150 shoes I got from Transports, but they’ll likely end up serving as my backup shoes in the next few weeks.

As the weather in the East Bay becomes warmer and we have more daylight, many people are dusting off their bikes and getting ready to pedal.  What better way to shake off that riding rust than a refresher?  The East Bay Bicycle Coalition (EBBC) hosts the “Traffic Skills 101” classes for free to interested participants.

There will be three East Bay bike safety classes coming up throughout the rest of April:

Saturday, April 17
1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Albany YMCA annex
1216 Solano Ave, Albany

Thursday, April 22
6:00 – 9:30 p.m.
Kaiser Richmond Medical Center
601 Nevin Ave., Conference Room C3

Thursday, April 29
5:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Dublin Civic Center Library
Dublin City Hall

If you want to learn the basics – or re-enforce the laws you already know – look into one of the EBBC Traffic Skills 101 classes.

I recently took a field trip to a running store, leaving Alameda to visit the Road Runner Sports store in Concord.  This little adventure occurred last Monday (April 05), and I made a purchase just after 12:00 p.m.

After arriving at the store, I was greeted by Jenni, who asked if I needed any help finding something in the store.  I told her I’d like a pair of running shoes, and would like to be properly fitted for the new pair of shoes — the process begins with Jenni learning a bit more about my running history and my summer goals.

Once done with the brief number of questions, I stepped on a floor mat designed to measure arch type, foot shape, and pronation tendency.  Then it’s time to get on the treadmill and jog normally for about 30 to 60 seconds, which also analyzes your pronation tendency, arch type, heel strike location, midfoot, and other vital information. Read more… »

Kinesiology tape sounds like a magic potion or snake oil.  How can sticking a piece of tape on your sore leg help?  I can’t answer that but it works for me.  I use it all of the time because I am always injuring myself from over use.

The websites from the two big guys in kinesiology tape are Rocktape and KT Tape”.  They are the two brands on my computer desk for trial purposes.  I have a sore ITB from cycling too hard before a moderate run and a mild pull to my groin from weight lifting.

After applying to both areas, I noticed immediate relief.  It does take a little more practice to get the correct application on the groin area even though it looks easier to apply.  I like to use the tape because it seems to help speed recovery and it reminds me that I am injured and I should rest the injured area. Read more… »

The endurance sports community strongly embraces eco-friendly initiatives to help support the environment, with several clothing companies specializing in green clothing.  Alameda Runners recently chatted with Greenlayer, an eco-friendly company that provided tech shirts for the  Oakland Running Festival late last month.

Greenlayer today wanted to chat about some of its eco-friendly products and why the company’s clothing remains competitive with better known brands.  I first heard about the company earlier in 2010, but never saw or owned any Greenlayer clothing — until the Oakland Running Festival.

The 2010 Oakland Half Marathon long-sleeve shirts were made by Green Layer, and seem like they’re extremely high quality. Read more… »

As athletes, we are familiar with the benefits of stretching as part of their exercise routine, but varying types of stretches and proper technique are just a couple of different issues we must deal with.  Many of us have heard more about dynamic stretching instead of passive stretching and static stretching – but the exact definition of these stretches remain foggy for most of us. Read more… »

This is the first of a short series on base training.

Base training means a lot of things to different athletes.  For advanced athletes, base training focuses on strength and fuel burning.  For a large majority of our readers, base training is for building up strength and endurance to accomplish an event.  It seems the half marathon is the most popular event for base training.  My first base training was for a triathlon some 15 to 20 years ago

A lot of you are people who started out just like I did.  I saw a triathlon that I wanted to do and I trained for it.  I had no idea what I was doing but I sure tried hard.  I did not finish my first attempt at that triathlon and I trained for a whole year to go back and finish that thing. Read more… »

In the May 2010 edition of Runner’s World:

Boost Smoothies
Add Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Cocoa powder is rich in flavonoids – antioxidants that reduce blood pressure and cholesterol.  They also protect skin against sun damage and lower blood levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation.  “Unlike dark chocolate,” says Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., R.D., author of Power Eating, “cocoa powder contains no added sugar and less saturated fat.”

I’ve been meaning to purchase a juicer for a couple of weeks now — and still haven’t done it — but I may try this the next time I make a smoothie.

The magazine also adds:

Eat Smart – Avoid Dutch processed cocoa.  It’s treated with alkali (to give it a mild flavor) and contains fewer flavonoids.

Many runners know a lot of the information shared in Runner’s World, but I always find lots of neat little tips in each month’s issue.

The San Francisco Bay Area has running and other endurance events year round, and something I want to do is help introduce readers to events and organizations you may not be familiar with.  To help do this, Alameda Runners will today chat with Brazen Racing, a Bay Area company specializing in trail events normally held in the East Bay.

Started by Sam and Jasmin, Brazen Racing is a racing management company that specializes in trail running events in the San Francisco East Bay (Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, Alameda, etc.).

The East Bay has many trails that are popular but aren’t well known.

“Some people are interested in exploring new trails and the East Bay Regional Parks District has so many parks, that it is rare that someone has heard of or ran them all before.  A lot of runners will tell us “Oh, finally someone is putting on a race at this park, it’s my favorite park for running!” and others will say, ‘I can’t believe this park exists here, it’s 10 minutes from my house and I never even knew it existed!'” Read more… »

Per Team Alameda cycling team:

Alameda Bicycle is teaming up with Giant Bicycle and invites all Team Alameda members to “Giant Demo Day” where you can test out and ride all the newest Giant road and mountain bikes.

No RSVP is required but you must bring a helmet and your own bike shoes. They have a variety of pedals available, but if you use unusual pedals, bring those along as well. The on-site mechanics will install them and set you up.

Location: Joaquin Miller Park Date and Time: April 10, 2010 (Saturday) from 10 AM – 4 PM

Questions: Contact Gene at Alameda Bicycle 510-522-0070

If you’re in town and want to test ride some Giant gear, go ahead and bring your helmet and shoes!