Alameda Runners – Get After It!

I’m taking a trip to Colorado early next month to get a rare chance to play in the snow, after major snow withdrawal from living in California for so long. As someone currently living just a few feet above sea level, the thought of visiting a location that is above 8,000 ft. in elevation sounds like an adventure.

It’s been a while since I’ve been to the mountains, and a few people have warned me about possible acute mountain sickness (AMS). I’m not overly concerned, but wanted to share a few tips and recommendations how to avoid feeling down during vacation.

If you want to learn more about AMS, here is some reading material at Altitude.org and the NIH.

To help reduce the likelihood of suffering from the effects of high altitude, the Breckenridge Medical Clinic has a few recommendations:

• Increase fluid intake
• Decrease salt intake
• Avoid alcohol and minimize caffeine
• Eat frequent small meals
• Moderate physical activity and get rest
• Medications and oxygen can help you feel much better

The excellent people at Breckenridge helped share their experiences, with one especially helpful PR person noting she stuck with a slower pace “to compensate for heavier breathing.”

Of note: “Since most people traveling to Breckenridge do arrive through Denver, the BMC’s advice on spending a day or two down there is quite good and I’ve definitely advised family members to do so.”

I’m going to spend almost two nights in Boulder before heading up to Breckenridge, and have been told by locals that should be plenty of time to adjust to the higher altitude.

In addition to the altitude, residents from climates like the Bay Area need to be fully prepared for the weather.

Here is basic winter weather information about Breckenridge:

Breckenridge enjoys a high-alpine climate with an average annual snowfall of 300 inches. The average winter high temperature is 28 degrees Fahrenheit and Breckenridge enjoys on average 300 days of sunshine per year. It is estimated that the valley basin has only 30 frost-free days a year.

Since the weather temperature remains mild throughout the year around here in the SF bay area, it can be hard to remember what it’s like to experience multiple seasons. I’ve checked the Breckenridge weather forecast every day, and have noticed dramatic changes in the weather.

Unpredictable weather means additional time packing and preparing for the trip to ensure I don’t lose any fingers or toes to frost bite.

This turkey is too fast to be eaten

What is Thanksgiving without the traditional turkey trot?  I enjoy getting out and doing a run on Thanksgiving morning.  Turkey trots are always social events which make them fun.  I want to run today but I got out there early to take pictures.  The people from the food bank were out early collecting food and helping out with race logistics.  I did not know about the food bank because I didn’t read any of the pre-race instructions like I should have.  Not only did I show up at an event for sharing and did not have anything to share, I was interacting with the wonderful volunteers from the food bank.  You can bet that I won’t miss the next bin for a food bank.

The race started out with a kids run and the Nitro Turkey.  It was fun to see how popular the Nitro Turkey was.  I was taking pictures of the kids run and was totally overwhelmed.  There were so many kids and proud parents in the race that the winners crossed the finish line before everyone crossed the start line.  I tried to take pictures but I was confused and could not handle the mayhem.

Point Pinole is not very big but it is fun to run there.  The views are excellent and the course is pretty flat.  It is a strange feeling to run with the 5K runners and you can see there finish line when you have to turn the other way because you are only half way done.  Getting out for an early run is a great way to start Thanksgiving.

A big shout out to Sam, Jasmine and Marie over at Brazen racing for a job well done.

After a streak of handing out bad products, I seem to have hit a winner with Athletes Honey Milk.  For those of you looking to buy some, I buy it online.  If you are interested in ordering some, send me a message and I will send you a coupon code.

We need to start getting active again and getting more stuff to review.  After my harsh review of the Timex GPS, I don’t think they will be too eager to send us anything else to review.  It would be wrong to give a good review that I do not believe just to get some free stuff.  When Timex sent us the Triathlon HRM there only stipulations were that we disclosed it was sent to us free of charge and that we give it an honest review.  I have to give Timex some love for their corporate policies.

Speaking of corporate love, I have to give a shout out to Clif for being an awesome company.  They are environmentally responsible, try to make products as naturally as possible and they have great customer support.  If you have questions about how to use their products, send them an e-mail.  They are very responsive with excellent instructions.  I am not a fan of Clif gels for long run days but for long bike/run days, I tear their stuff up.

I am doing the Vineman Half Ironman this year in July.  In honor of that event I started www.alamedatri.com.  The site is brand new but it is up and running.  We will be starting a master swim program in January to get ready for triathlon season.

If you have a marathon in December, it is time to taper.  If you don’t have any hard events until after January, it is party season.  Lighten up, let your body rest and have fun.

After careful deliberation, I bought the Timex Ironman GPS Trainer because a $50 rebate and 15% off coupon made it $100 cheaper than the Garmin.  I also thought it would be easier to use.  I should know better than to think, it only gets me into trouble.  It is not easy to use.  It was a brick strapped to my wrist.  I figured since I went to the trouble of buying the thing I should at least give it a fair try before I took it back.  Maybe the ladies will think I look sexy with a brick strapped to my wrist.

I spent about 3 hours reading the instructions and trying to get the thing to tell me what time it was.  I did not realize that satellite reception is hard to get in the San Francisco area.  My Garmin never had a problem.  I got the time to show the correct time and told the watch my age and weight.

I took it for a practice walk and the watch told me I was going for a swim.    I did get it to switch to run mode and there are a lot of options for configuring the watch face.  I could go from 1-4 items on the face and they are easily configurable without reading instructions.  I decided to give the brick a fair trial starting with a swim.

Off to the pool I went to put my swimming toy through the paces.  The watch failed miserably.  Actually, I was the miserable one.  I managed to get it into swim mode in less than 5 minutes which is a respectable time for something high tech and no instructions in hand.  Happy with my progress, I pushed start and jumped into the pool to start my swim.  I did not mention how the chest strap is hard to adjust and uncomfortable when tight.  I feel it is worth mentioning now because it went to my waist as soon as I kicked off the wall.

I put the strap on the wall and started swimming again.  I swam for about 4 minutes consciously aware of the brick on my arm.  It was uncomfortable and heavy.  I checked the distance and found I went more than 400 meters in 4 minutes, including the time I spent taking the strap off.  For you non-swimmers, that is world class speed.  The GPS did not consider arm rotations as part of swimming.  Since I really wanted the GPS to succeed in the water, I switched from brick mode to anchor mode and put the thing on my leg.  I only found it a bit odd that it fit my leg better than my arm.  Apparently the watch did not like being on my leg and it stopped doing its GPS thing and went to watch mode.

I did not cry when it failed the swim test because I did not really expect success.  I really did hope it had some cool math algorithms going so the distance would be close.  It showed a distance that was greater than twice the distance traveled.  I might have kept the watch if the GPS worked in the water.

Getting to the desired mode is aggravating.  Like most people, I wear the HRM GPS when running more than anything else.  The watch should default to run mode.  It defaults to triathlon mode.  In all fairness, it is not very hard to switch to run mode.  I don’t like the idea of changing modes every time I run.

After reading the instructions, the watch is really powerful and relatively easy to use.  The chest strap is very well constructed with very nice pickups.  It does have snaps which are terrible for us open water swimmers.  The dual adjustment strap is hard to get right.  The watch is big and fits small wrists very poorly.  It fit my leg pretty well but it is hard to read on my ankle.

The GPS watch is so big, heavy and inconvenient to use, I took it back before I got out for a run with it.  Sorry Timex, you have the makings of a great product here but size, weight, GPS performance and triathlon first setup sunk this one for me.  The buckle has a little too much metal that cuts into the arm because the strap has to be tight to keep it from bouncing and it seems like the watch is not designed to be worn.

Here at Alameda Runners, we have no sponsors.  We get a lot of stuff to review and hand out and we always review it honestly.  If someone is added to the our links, it is because they are deemed worthy of noting.  If you see a product in the links, there is a safe bet that the product can be found at home and work and we love it.  We review stuff and hand out to people to help you find what is right for you.  It is not easy to find new products or to find things that work but we try.

Athletes Honey Milk just made it to the list because I have come to love their product.  I did not want to try it because of the name.  Once I tried it, I liked it.  I also mix protein powder with milk or water on various days.  I sometimes mix protein powder with the honey milk.  I like to change things up.  I am now a member of Team Honey Milk which means I get a free T-shirt and a coupon code which is posted here.  If you like honey milk, we can still get more coupon codes, send us an email through the contact us link above.

Clif will probably be the next company to make the list.  Their products don’t really suit my running needs but they work great for my cycling needs.  Clif has some new products that seem to be better for my long distance runs but I forgot what they are.  We have some more on the way and a review will follow shortly after we try them.

With all of the training we have been doing at new venues lately, it is getting hard to keep track of the distance run without a GPS heart rate monitor (HRM).  I am now in the market for another GPS HRM.  Here are my thoughts and decision making process on which HRM to purchase for myself.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Garmin 405.  The controls are so frustrating, I am sure that it would be on the bottom of the San Francisco b=Bay if it did not cost so much.
Polar Accurex II for every day use.  It is nice and simple with 3 buttons.
Polar F55 snazzy heart rate monitor that I use for long days because of the calorie counter feature.
Timex Ironman Race Trainer –  I don’t know where it is located.  I wonder why?
Full HRM reviews can be found here.

I bought the Polar Accurex II long before Alameda Runners came into existence.  The other three I received as review items for Alameda Runners.  I need to find the Timex before I decide who going to get my hard earned money.

I will probably make my purchase from either REI or Performance Bike.  They are both good stores and they are a block away from each other in Berkeley where I can go make the deal during lunch.  The reason I go to either of these stores with confidence is, I know that I am going to pay list price for the latest and greatest GPS HRM.

The players in my selection come from Polar, Timex and Garmin.  This should come as no surprise because they are all tops in their field invading the territory of the others.  It would be nice if they would combine their efforts for an excellent product that I probably would not be able to afford.

My front runner is the Garmin 410.  I hate the Garmin 405 as much as I love it but when I get it to do what I want, it works well until I touch the bezel.  Hopefully the have the bezel issues fixed for this version.  I hear the software works well but I use Linux and have one computer with MSWindows XP 64.  My operating systems are not covered by the software.

Next is the Timex Ironman GPS.  Timex knows watches.  Their screen setup is always good.  I already know I would need a new computer for the software.  I am not sure about being a beta tester for a $300 watch.  This is their first pass at GPS technology, so imagine finding bugs in the middle of a run.

Last on my list is the Polar RS800CX.  This one looks like the best of the bunch but it has too many drawbacks.  It comes in at $500.  It has separate parts for the GPS, HRM strap and watch band.  It looks complicated and comes with a disk.  Disks are bad for people who use open software.  It is probably the best unit overall with an remote GPS that can be strapped on the leg (good and bad) for use while swimming.  I don’t like the idea of the leg strap with batteries.  Batteries add weight and die fast.

Time will tell which product I select.  Knowing the emotional anguish that I go through when my GPS or HRM do not work after a 3 hour event.  I will research this selection thoroughly before I choose.