Alameda Runners – Get After It!

Xood is advertised as an all “natural healthy endurance drink.”  I went out for a hard run on a warm day last week and had a hard time choking the green tea-lemon flavored drink down immediately following the run (One package to 24 oz water).  I was a bit dehydrated and could feel the sweat building up and releasing from my body immediately.

I told myself:  “Yes, this new drink is going to be great.”  After eating lunch and drank some water, I found myself heading to the coffee pot.  That was odd, coffee on a warm afternoon.

I was not about to try Xood on a long training day so I waited until Monday to try again.  Today was a cold, rainy day that beat me up pretty good.  This time I mixed the packet to 16 ounces of water.  It tasted a little better but it was still a battle to drink the whole shaker.  Just like Friday, I hit the coffee pot again this afternoon.

I am torn on Xood.  They are a small company that works hard to present a quality product for the masses.  I can choke down the drink and not feel sick afterward.  I felt like I just ate a piece of chalk but other than that, I feel no ill effects.  When I drink Xood, I think of my wife when she is putting on the anti-aging cream.  I hit the wall hard one day.  I am not comfortable using Xood to stand between me and that wall.

I don’t like to leave a small, hard working company a bad review.  Xood sent us a  sample supply to test.  I am going pass out the remaining samples to some readers to see what they have to say about the products.  Hopefully, I will get some prompt feedback from them.

Please keep in mind that my reviews are not scientific.  I am just an athlete, like you, who just happens to do a little more than most people.

Mike’s Note:  I’m going to test the Xood product myself, and have recruited a couple of friends to also help out.  Check back

Ultima Replenisher comes in little packages that look like Kool-Aid packages.  They are advertised as “the balanced electrolyte drink” with no artificial flavors or sweeteners.

I was pretty sure that I was going to try one package, go “Meh” and give the rest of the box away.  I tried one package, went “Meh” and drank two packages a day for the rest of the week.  It has been pretty warm here in the Bay Area for the past two weeks and I have not had any problems with cramping while I have been drinking the Ultima Replenisher.

The replenisher comes with less supplements than I get with my daily multivitamin but I drink it anyway.  I don’t know how, why or if it works but I assume that if it helps me drink more water before a run and it does not make me sick it is a good thing.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, when you do not consume enough electrolytes before and during a run, you lose the ability to absorb water.

It is a nice light drink that you can have before a run and it’s not so loaded with electrolytes that you have to burn it off after consumption.  Ultima Replenisher is something I plan on keeping around as a morning drink to keep in my system before my lunchtime workouts.

That is a hell of a compliment considering the fact that I go for weekly 9-11 mile tempo runs at lunch while carrying no water.  I am on the edge on these long runs and every bit of water I can absorb before I leave is a big plus.

It seems auto makers enjoy supporting the endurance community with sponsored professional athletes and events.  To learn more about this mutual partnership, I reached out to Subaru to learn more about the company’s sponsorship.

Perhaps you or someone you know own a vehicle made by Subaru — the brand is extremely popular among athletes.  It’s not uncommon to go to a triathlon or ski town and find many cars made by the Japanese car maker.

“The Subaru brand is known as the brand for people with active lifestyles. The reason is that Subaru vehicles provide their owners with the capability, durability and dependability to get them where they want to go,” Subaru recently told Alameda Runners.  “As more people realized that they too, are adventure seekers, they also recognized that Subaru is the right vehicle brand for them.”

Subaru has extended its efforts in the sports community with a partnership with the Gary Fisher bike manufacturer to team the Subaru-Gary Fisher Mountain Bike Team.

“Subaru is a perfect fit for the Gary Fisher brand as our vehicles come standard with All-Wheel Drive technology, providing the team with go-anywhere capabilities and the team likes to go on challenging rides.”

Subaru also disclosed how this helps cater to the right people interested in purchasing a car:

” (It) provides an outlet that allows us to introduce our vehicles to like-minded, outdoorsy and adventure-seeking people. That is why you will see Subaru vehicles at trail heads, snowy mountain tops and sandy areas in the sunbelt region where traction is essential to getting around safely.”

Expect Subaru to continue catering to its selective group of customers in the future by using sponsorships, advertising, and  similar measures in the future.  The company has seen growing sales last year, and hopes to keep that momentum going forward.

“We are consistent in our approach to marketing and about who we are as a brand and it has really paid off for us. In 2009, Subaru had its best sales year in the history of the company and we were the only manufacturer with a sales increase in 2008.”

Still love my 1994 Subaru Legacy with almost 200,000 miles, even though it’s now showing its age.

Brad Ziegler is a relief pitcher for the Oakland A’s baseball team who I follow on Twitter.  Don’t ask me how I started following him as I usually follow less than 20 people and I am no fan of sports.  I am usually busy doing my own thing, such as writing this shout out.  Brad usually lets you know how he feels at the moment he is posting on Twitter.  He sometimes gets into trouble for not being politically correct but I wonder how many of the politically correct complainers spend time in the schools reading to children or go help out at the local hospital.

A lot of times, it only takes a little bit of time or effort to make someone’s life a little better and we often let the opportunity slip by.

Brad Ziegler is the first role model for Alameda Runners.  The following section is a list of quotes from bradziegler on Twitter.  I have arranged some of the paragraphs together as they get posted on Twitter out of order.  I don’t have a journalistic handbook but I assume it is proper to put quotes around the whole page and call it good.

“But first, going w/ a couple other guys to visit some oncology & rehab patients at Oakland Children’s Hospital – can’t WAIT to see the kids!  Around 20 guys showed up today for Oakland Children’s Hospital visit…and, man, did those kids touch our lives… Appendix-removal patient, Jocelin – with (R to L) me, Powell, Cahill, and Anderson, Dallas: brain surgery patient,  Gerald – 15 months old

Ziegler winds up for Pastime for Patriots

Reading to 170 4th and 5th graders at Lydiksen Elementary in Pleasanton

Not that I’m looking ahead at all, but just a reminder: Saturday we have a 1:00 game against the Rays and it is our Armed Forces Day.  The A’s are graciously letting me use that day to officially launch Pastime For Patriots (PFP). I’m SO excited! Hope you can come out and help me get PFP off to a great start! There will be a couple donation tables on the concourse, and all donations would be appreciated no matter how big or how small. & spreading the word would be appreciated, too! It’s also Andrew Bailey bobblehead day! So more incentive!! Read more… »

Marketed as a “whey protein with purpose,” I decided to try the BiPro whey protein isolate after a six-mile jog around Bay Farm Island today.  I’m used to trying different whey protein products, but have always stuck with flavored whey protein (and now I remember why).

I don’t recall how we stumbled upon these BiPro samples, but we both ended up with a sample packet of the Original BiPro (natural unflavored) whey protein mix.  Before I mention the nutritional benefits of BiPro, I want to be perfectly clear here:  unflavored whey protein mix is bad!  I think it’s disgusting, foul, and rather gross … and I’m not going to drink it again.

The BiPro packet we received is to be mixed with 8 ounces of water, skim milk, or whatever else you need.  A single 22-gram serving has 80 calories, 0 calories from fat, 20g protein, 28mg calcium, 170 mg sodium, and 15mg potassium.

The sample pack has the following printed on the back:

“Pure, natural BiPro is the ultimate whey protein isolate for athletes who want to build or maintain muscle mass.  Unlike other products, BiPro contains no protein blends or unwanted ingredients.  Purified through a selective ion exchange process, BiPro contains all of the essential amino acids, and is rich in branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), which are metabolized directly and absorbed quickly into muscle tissue.  No carbs, no fat, no sugar, no lactose, no artificial flavors.  BiPro is the original whey protein isolate — the only choice for serious athletes.”

A 2-lb. jug is available for $34.99.

I’m a firm believer in drinking some kind of recovery drink, especially after hard workouts.  To put it in perspective, a 55 gram scoop of Optimum Nutrition 2:1:1 Recovery formula has 210 calories, 0 calories from fat, 18grams sugar, and 17 grams of protein.

I just can’t drink unflavored whey protein — I have a hard enough time drinking vanilla, chocolate, or rocky road.  They are hard to get down when mixed with milk.  I like the ingredients (and the amount of ingredients) in the BiPro packet, but the unflavored whey protein is just downright disgusting.

If you mix whey protein into your smoothies, milkshakes, or don’t mind the taste of unflavored whey, I’d recommend checking out BiPro.  The BiPro FAQ page is available here, so I recommend reading it over and deciding for yourself.

The ability to connect with professional athletes to learn about their training methods and habits can be extremely beneficial.  Ultrarunner Josh Cox is well known on Twitter and Facebook, as he maintains a very strong Web 2.0 following that includes thousands of endurance athletes.

For all triathletes out there, I’d recommend stopping by the official Team Timex Blog, which can be found here.  The company invites readers to briefly enter the lives of professional triathletes who blog about race preparation, workouts, post-race reports, and other interesting reading material.  (Recent race reports include Tim Hola’s Wildflower Double and Bruce Gennari’s St. Anthony’s Tri report.)

I think it’s great to see pro athletes share their experiences, as very few people know what it’s like to compete at their level.  It’s also neat to see what kind of training they do before events, so we can borrow certain workout ideas and techniques.

Enjoy!

As you regulars know, I am well into my base training routine right now doing multiple workouts each day, 2-3 days a week and one long day per week.  These double workout days build strength that help prepare my body for the hard workouts expected this summer.  The long day builds endurance to prepare my body for a long exerted effort of a triathlon.

I ease into these hard base training weeks as they can be very painful.  I don’t have enough ice packs to cover all of my sore muscles.  When you get to be as old as me, a lot of pain means the edge of injury.  I don’t want to get injured so I go into things slowly.

One of the ways I ease into strength training is by using P90X.  The P90X routines generally run 60 minutes with 15 minutes of warmup and cool down.  That leaves you with a 45 minute workout in addition to your 30-60 minute daily run.  If you want to lose weight, try my schedule using P90X for core and plyometrics.  It is not likely that you will make it through a whole routine the first few times you try.  That is fine, you just need to do your best every time you do it.  You will get better with time.

The routines that I do in the order of quantity:
Core – synergestics, My favorite workout of them all.  A real calorie burner.
Plyometrics – Plyometrics is a new word for pain.  It builds leg strength and makes you sweat!
Cardio X – A great low impact workout when you want to take it easy.
Kempo X – The most fun workout that I do.  You get to kick and punch like a nut.
Yoga X – We all need yoga.  Don’t be shy, just do it.
Ab Ripper X – 16 minutes of pure hell.  They make it look easy, but it is not.
X stretch – I never stretch enough.  I know I should but I don’t.

I schedule core and plyometrics one day a week.  The other workouts, I slip in when I can.  I also go to the weight room one day a week.  You can use P90X to your benefit but you have to do it.  You don’t have to do all of the workouts.  They have a 90 day plan to get you ripped.  I am not on a 90-day plan but I am a firm believer of variety.  These workouts work.  I am sure there are other videos that work well.  This is just the best one that I have tried.

The website sells the DVD set (13 DVD’s) for $139 plus $20 for shipping and handling.  They break the payments up into “3 easy payments” of $39.95 (Typical infomercial).  I did not want to pay 3 easy payments so I went to one of those “As seen on TV” stores and picked it up for $100.  I also saw it on eBay for around $100.  I chatted with one of the reps on Twitter but I lost his account information.  Maybe he will see this and send a link.  He was very nice and said I could order without sending “3 easy payments”.

I am a fan of building strength through cross training.  If you pay attention, you can find all sorts of tips on the local news or on YouTube and build your own routines.  If you want to lose weight, add 2 or 3 of these routines into your week and you will losing pounds in no time.  If you keep up the routine of 10-15 hours of exercise per week, you will be drinking weight gainer protein shakes.

Alameda Runners today decided to focus on Punk Rock Racing, the type of small, fun company I’ve looked forward to interviewing.  Today we chatted with the company’s founder, Ron “The Punk Rock Runner,” who explained a bit more about the company, its values, and what to expect in the future.

“Officially, PRR has been around a few months but I’ve been toying with the concept ever since I started going to running expos,” Ron told AR during a recent interview.  “I was amazed at the lack  of creativity that went into some of the stuff being sold at the expos and I wanted to create shirts that people would actually wear outside of an event.  I grew-up listening to punk rock so the imagery of punk rock made sense to me and so did the attitude that surrounded the entire punk rock scene. This was the Genesis of Punk Rock Racing and I like what we’re doing so far. The key to this is acknowledging that we are not a logo. With the exception of some hats, our logo is always on the back of our shirts. We celebrate art and imagery so there is no need to ruin that with a logo.”

Interestingly, Punk Rock Racing hasn’t been heavily promoted, but still has a strong following on Twitter and Facebook:  “Twitter is huge for runners. I had someone post a photo of our new tech shirt about a month ago and before you knew it thousands of people had seen it. We’ve sold a bunch of tech shirts and they’re not even on the Web site yet.  We go to races knowing a lot of people who are entered and we’re seeing our stuff on people we don’t know. The ‘plan’ is to start marketing as soon as our bike/tri stuff is ready and online marketing will be a big part of this.”

Punk Rock Racing is available online through the site’s Web site only, which is done for a very specific purpose.

“We would love to sell a bunch of shirts but we don’t want to over saturate the market either. Far too often you see cool stuff that was meant to be underground explode and the next thing you know every school kid is wearing it and it becomes a cliché. I guess I would rather stay small and change up our designs every 3-months to avoid becoming mainstream. Watch, I’ll end up selling out and someone will remind me of these statements one day…”

The cost of T-shirts and tech shirts in the running and athletic community can be extremely expensive — even for regular cotton t-shirts.  This is a personal issue with Ron, as the company plans to try and keep things as cost friendly as possible.

“We made a lot of serious statements in our ‘I am not your Logo’ mission statement.   One of those statements was, ‘We think everyone deserves better and we think that paying a bunch of money to wear a logo is bullshit.’ And we meant it. Our business model will not make anyone rich. Because we don’t print thousands of shirts at a time and we use good quality products, our production costs are high but our shirts are all $20.00 or less. Trust me, I’ve been told people will pay $30.00 or more for a T-shirt but I want to make it easy for someone to wear our stuff if they want to. Some of the artist series will cost more than $20.00 but that’s because I have to compensate the artist.

(As an aside:  Shirts sold to mixed martial arts fan can cost $50+ per shirt, with a customer base of shoppers willing to fork over the cash.)

There are a large number of companies attempting to offer athletes regular t-shirts and gear good for exercise — but the constant pursuit for profit can lead to a decrease in quality.  I haven’t personally owned Punk Rock Racing gear (waiting for the future stuff), but everyone on Twitter seems impressed by what they’ve received.

If you want to chat with the PunkRockRunner himself, feel free to find him on Twitter.

I normally run in the afternoon or early evening during the week, though try to get started somewhat early on the weekends.  I find it can be difficult to shift gears and get out the door earlier in the morning, especially since I have to make sure I eat properly to prevent bonking while running.

A computer geek friend of mine recently mentioned how he ran into some difficulties trying to find his rhythm during his first 5K.  The race not surprisingly started in the early morning (8:30 am. or 9:00 a.m.), but my friend admitted he hasn’t tried running in the morning quite yet.

Even though a 5K isn’t quite the same as a half or full marathon, it still is one of those situations where you shouldn’t experiment too much on race day.

To help offer basic guidance, the Runner’s World (March edition) has some useful advice:

Run at the time of your race once a week.  Train your intestinal tract by rehearsing what you’ll eat.  Eat your normal breakfast (about 500 calories) four hours before your race time, then snack on a banana or energy bar an hour before you head out.  If pre-race jitters make you too nervous to eat the morning of a big event, practice eating breakfast the night before.

If you’re running a short distance (a 5K, for example), a large breakfast and two nights of carbo-loading obviously isn’t necessary.  I ran the AEF 5K a couple of weekends ago, and didn’t eat breakfast before running.  If you need to fuel up, be sure you eat a couple of hours before you run… you don’t want any unpleasant surprises by eating too close to race time.

For those of you who are just starting out on your running adventures, here is some good reading material:  Everything.com 5K eat and drink preparation, and here’s another article on Health Writing.

Prior to my long runs (and half marathon races), I’ll eat pancakes with syrup, water, Cytomax, and some oranges or banana.  I won’t eat 90 minutes prior to the event (except for a sport gel), as I don’t want to risk making myself sick.  If not pancakes, a bowl of oatmeal with raisins and banana tends to fuel me up properly.

Oops!

I accidentally signed up for the Active Advantage trial about one month ago, and completely didn’t realize I signed up.  (It’s one of the memberships offered when you sign up for an event through Active.)  I checked my credit card statement last week and saw a mysterious $59.95 charge I didn’t recognize.

Did I register for an event and forget about it?  Is this a fraudulent charge?  Hm.

I e-mailed Active last weekend and asked if I could cancel the membership — and get a refund for the billed charge.  I received a response on Monday noting I did sign up for the service, but they’d still cancel it for me.  Wow.  A response (and resolution) in  just one day?  Woohoo!

Here’s part of the e-mail I received:

We also want to reassure you of our policy with regard to this trial offer:

About one month ago, you or a family member registered online for an event, league or activity.  At the end of that registration you were offered a membership to Active Advantage.  If you clicked yes, we signed you up for the trial membership.

As explained in the offer, once the trial membership period expires, your membership is extended for one year.  You are also given the choice to cancel the trial at any time at no cost to you.

Earlier this morning (Tuesday), I received an e-mail from the Active support staff that said I was refunded the money.  It should be removed my from my credit card bill sometime late this week or early next week.

Kudos to Active for swiftly fixing a problem that was entirely my fault.  I’ve used Active numerous times before, but didn’t think it’d be so easy to get my refund.

Editors note: Active does put that check block in a place where it looks like something you need to check before you can close the window and get on with your day.  I came close to falling for that one a few times myself.  I am glad to hear they are responsive to the consumers who make a mistake.