Alameda Runners – Get After It!

April 22 (Thursday) will be Earth Day, a day dedicated to our wonderful planet.  We’ll be able to watch the first green supersonic jet launch on Thursday, and can look forward to 50 green Apple iPhone apps to celebrate the 40th Earth Day.

Earth Day has developed into an international day of celebration that is now acknowledged by 1.5 billion people.  As athletes we often see views of the world only a small number of people are able to enjoy, such as the top of hills and mountains, lakes and oceans up close, and exploring the woods.

After running in Coyote Hills last weekend, I discovered a copy of the Tri-City Voice inside the Coyote Hills Visitor Center – and the front page of the April 14 – April 20 edition has a great front page spread about Earth Day.

Specifically, the newspaper’s article is best for S.F. East Bay residents — but the start of  Earth Day also is listed in the second paragraph of the article written by Sargunjot Kaur.

For those in the East Bay, here is one of many events scheduled:

East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) will also be celebrating Earth Day by enhancing existing trails and constructing new trails for Regional Parks through the Ivan Dickson Trail Project. Since 1996, the project has managed over 121 trails with the help of nearly 6,000 volunteers and 25,000 plus volunteer labor hours. Maintenance projects will include pruning, erosion control, post installation, trail improvements, and new trail construction.

As athletes and beginner triathletes look to sign up for new events, some people show interest in purchasing a triathlon bike.  For a regular cyclist who has never ridden — or may not have seen triathlon bikes up close — it can be a relatively frightening experience.

(I remember my first ride on a bike built specifically for time trials – and it was a very unique experience, even after years of cycling and mountain biking.)

To hopefully make it easier, here is a short blog posted on Competitor Triathlon that discusses triathlon bike geometry, positioning, and the basic differences between road bikes and triathlon bikes.

Short blurb about some tri-specific geometry:

“Triathlon bikes have a steeper effective seat tube angle than road bikes. This moves the rider further forward relative to the cranks and allows the rider to get low in the front without discomfort in the hips. Tweak the geometry in a few more places to accommodate a lower position and improve stability, slap an aerobar under the rider’s elbow and you have a tri bike.”

The article is short and precise, easy to understand, and is quite informative.  (Kudos to @TriathleteMag for tweeting this great link a few days ago.)

The “Shout Out” isn’t necessarily something new here on Alameda Runners, but wanted to offer a quick insight into what the “Shout Out” tag is all about.  Both of us (Ted and myself) are just two guys out there running … we’re not elite-level athletes, doctors, or anyone of importance in the running world.  Instead, we want to link to outside blogs and resources that offer training tips, workout advice, and all of that good stuff.

Today’s “Shout Out” is to a neat article posted on the Athletes HoneyMilk Web site that discusses IT band friction syndrome, which plagues runners and other athletes.  As mentioned in the article — and from runners I’ve chatted with in the past — ITB seems to cause rather shocking pain in the knee and higher levels of soreness on the thigh.

A good way to help reduce future ITB issues is to use the two-legged squat to help strengthen your legs:  “The key performance measure to evaluate proper glute function is the two-legged squat. If the glutes are weak then some or all of the following will occur during a two-legged squat: the knees move closer together, the knees slide far over the toes, the heels rise, and the low back flexes.”

If you’re new to squats, it may be a good idea to have a personal trainer (or someone who knows how to squat) watch you a few times.

The entire blog published on the Athletes HoneyMilk site goes into further detail regarding ITB, two-legged squats, etc.

Finis, a company specializing in swimming and athletic products, continues to strengthen its ties to the community by launching a new blog to discuss swimming-related issues.

Expect blogs, tips, workout recommendations, photos and videos, and additional information to make its way to the Finis site.  The blog is expected to have information for everyone from beginning swimmers up to experienced triathletes looking to refine their technique.

“We realize that FINIS is in a unique situation because every day our employees talk to dozens of coaches and swimmers about their latest epiphanies, workouts, and experiences,” said Finis CEO and President John Mix.  “We want to share this knowledge with the larger swimming community. By creating the FINIS Blog we can organize and publish this information with easy access to anyone.”

The new blog can be found here.

From my inbox earlier in the week:

FINIS plans to provide a constant stream of information that will be helpful to everyone from competitive swimmers, triathletes and fitness swimmers to those just learning how to swim. Competitive swimmers will benefit from the latest insights from the best coaches in the world. Triathletes will be given tri-specific training tips and competition day strategies. Fitness swimmers will benefit from visual explanations of helpful swimming concepts and easy to understand tips on technique.

I’ve reviewed the Finis SwiMP3v2 MP3 player for MyCE – and I’m currently working on a couple of other Finis reviews that will be posted here.

Ever since I first learned of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition (EBBC) after moving to the area a few years back, the non-profit bike group was led by Robert Rayburn.  The friendly, knowledgeable former executive took over in 2002 and has led the club with passion as he tackled bike-related issues.

I’ve had the pleasure of discussing various bike issues with Robert on several occasions — he’s outspoken, passionate, and willing to put the real work in.  I couldn’t imagine what it’s like being on the front line of bicycle issues in two counties.

His departure is a true loss for the EBBC.

He was always willing to chat with anyone who stopped by his office next to the Fruitvale Bike Station in Oakland.

“The EBBC and cyclists throughout Alameda and Contra Costa Counties have benefited greatly from Robert’s hard work over many years,” said Tom Ayres, current EBBC Chair of the Board.  “We will miss his knowledge, insight, and enthusiasm.  We are fortunate that the Bicycle Coalition has a dedicated staff, board and volunteers to carry on our bicycle advocacy work.”

Best of luck Robert!

I tried the Clif Shot Mango Orange recovery drink the other day. It was the first water-based recovery drink that I did not have to choke down. It did not taste great but it is definitely drinkable. I found that mixing the drinks exactly as directed make them taste better.

Remember, it is better to mix the drinks a little strong. It is also faster to swallow 8 ounces than 12 ounces.

To be honest with you, I use most of the top electrolyte drinks and recovery drinks interchangeably with little noticeable difference between them. Some flavors are preferred over others but they all seem to work for me. Clif sets themselves apart through their community service. Mike gets stuff to review. He may or may not tell me what he paid for and what is a review item. I don’t usually follow what is a review item because I am the main test subject. 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… »

Perseverance is one thing all endurance athletes have in common. It is a good trait that helps us get things done and make it through the day when things get tough. Unfortunately, that same dedication and persistence drives us to push ourselves beyond our limits. We always get injured and then make things worse by not stopping to rest for a little while until we heal up a bit.

If you are reading this page, you are either an athlete or my mother. I know my mother is not going to swim from Alcatraz any time soon so this article is for the rest of you!

Rest and recovery is advice that we all get from friends, doctors and consultants on the Internet. Of course, we ignore all of the good advice and continue to carry on until we make things worse.

Most of us have visited the doctor for one or two of our injuries gaining nothing but some time off work to see someone who does not care about us hurting ourselves. It often seems that our doctors don’t care to treat something they can’t sew back on or give us a pill to treat it.

I always tried to treat my injuries myself until my son found a sports chiropractor while writing for an MMA site.  It seems those MMA guys are always tearing their backs up but that is another matter. My son told me to visit the sports chiropractor.

To learn a bit more about chiropractors and what they do, here is a bit of reading material.

Dr. Nejad of Chirosports USA (Union City, Calif. office) is my sports chiropractor. I don’t know if he is better or worse than any other sports chiropractor, but I am astounded by the quality of the treatment that I have received over the past year.

Dr. Nejad goes over my injuries and takes the time to look at them and find ways to treat them. If he gives me exercises to do, he checks to make sure I am doing them right and he tracks my strength to make sure I did them. Sounds like a normal doctor and physical therapist but it is much more than that.

Dr. Nejad gives you personal attention and tries to find the root cause of your injury and treat that. The root cause of my injuries is usually getting carried away and injuring myself. Treating that is not as easy as it may sound but he has been successful. I am now as healthy as I have been in my whole life (outside of my first year in the USMC).

He treats my injuries and the reason for them. Every time I visit, I am reminded of life style changes to keep myself healthy. I get to interact with other people with similar injuries and very dissimilar injuries. I learn from the couch potatoes and they learn from me.

Most insurance companies cover chiropractor visits but they don’t advertise it. If you have insurance or can afford an additional doctors visit, I suggest you give a sports chiropractor a call. Dr. Nejad has been very good for me. Hopefully you can find a sports chiropractor who is very good for you.

Ah, the power of the Internet!

American running seemingly fell off the face of the Earth as Kenya, Ethiopia and competitors from other nations persevered. Now, U.S. running is continuing to evolve for a number of reasons.  In the March 2010 edition of Competitor Magazine, Tracy Sundlun, who used to be an Olympic track coach, noted the power of the Internet:

“The Internet has been critical.  People are sharing their times and their workouts.  High school kids can watch the best runners train and listen to interviews with the best in the world.  These kids are finding out what other people are doing and then trying to do it themselves.  Seeing is believing.  When you know hard other people are working, you understand what it takes to be great.”

Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites have led the way, as regular athletes have a unique chance to chat with high-level pro runners and triathletes.  American 50K record holder, Josh Cox has almost 9,000 followers whom he is more than happy to interact with.

On a smaller scale, I’ve discovered a number of Alameda and East Bay runners I look forward to the possibility of running with in the months to come.  Special kudos go out to Runalameda and Powerfitness, who will hopefully make me faster.

I recently chatted with a couple of runners who go out just to get some exercise and fresh air, with no set goal of entering any events.  They mentioned how the cold and rainy weather in the SF Bay Area last week temporarily dropped running morale a bit.  They simply lack the motivation to go out and jog on the trails if they’re all muddy.

(I did urge them to sign up for a local event — just to get the experience and a free T-shirt — and I don’t think they’re going to line up any time soon.)

I’m not likely to be the best person to talk about motivation, so I will offer a quote and link to a wonderful blog from a fellow Alameda runner (and exercise coach) Erin Shirey.

“Our brain plays many tricks and while some people want to lose weight for an event, drop the baby weight, or one day do a marathon the goals seem far off unless written down.  They also seem far off if you don’t share your goal with somebody- be it your partner, best friend, or even your child’s teacher. When writing a goal down, you make it a reality that you want it to happen.  When you say it out loud to someone you see regularly, seeing that person is a reminder of what you shared.”

Erin then urges readers to complete three tasks to help follow through on exercise goals.  To learn these three tasks, however, you have to take a look at the blog.