Alameda Runners – Get After It!

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.

The Sof Sole Anti-Friction sock is a very good sock.  As soon as you put them on, you know you are wearing quality.  The socks are extremely comfortable just to wear around the house.  I found that he sock sizes run a little bit big so keep that in mind when purchasing the socks.

To learn more about Sof Sole, visit the company’s official site.

I wore the Anti-Friction socks on a mid-distance hilly trail run and they worked very well, with no slip or foot irritation.  They stayed right where I put them for the entire run.

Comfort and staying put is the name of the game in a running sock.  They  get a big pass for me.  The Anti-Friction socks are good for wearing around and running.  I love a sock that does not bunch up around the toes or heals.

The Sof Sole Coolmax Trainer sock does not look like a sock that I would buy.  It just looks thick and bunchy around the toes.  I put the socks on and was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable they were.

I wore them around as day socks and took a light jog in them and they worked very well.  They are a definite step down from the Anti-Friction as running socks but they work well enough.  The Trainers also gave me hot spots on my feet while cycling.  That is no surprise since they are not cycling socks.  They will work great in the gym.

Double thumbs up for the Sof Sole Anti-Friction at $5.00 a pair.  It is a very good pair of socks for the money.
Thumbs up for the Coolmax Trainer at $3.33 per pair.

Note: I did not pay for these socks.  I will definitely buy the Anti-Friction socks if they are available the next time I buy running socks.  The Trainers are a very good sock but I can’t say I will buy them as I rarely buy that type of sock.

The Mission Peak Striders meet at the Coyote Hills Regional Park the first Saturday of each month.  If you notice “Ted’s Schedule“ I published, it puts me in the Coyote Hills park for Saturday distance training which offered me the perfect opportunity to meet up with the Striders.

The Striders are a group of very friendly people of all abilities who organize trail runs in the Fremont area.  I picked a tough day to meet up with them as a large group was off running a distance relay and the park was closed the morning we were supposed to meet.  We managed to get together and go out for a jog.  The group that did show up all made me feel very welcome.  I have a short photo page because it was a small group and I did not feel up to chasing people down to get their pictures.

After my run with the Striders, I went out for a bike ride through the park with the intention of doing some hill repeats.  I was so worn out, I skipped the last 10 miles of hill repeats.  While I was suffering on the bike, I was thinking to myself how I am not worthy of a shiny new bike.  I will get stronger as the training season progresses.  I hope I do not get injured.

Team Type 1 :

We strive to instill hope and inspiration for people around the world affected by diabetes. With appropriate diet, exercise, treatment and technology, we believe anyone with diabetes can achieve their dreams.

I wrote about Team Type 1 a few days ago, so feel free to check it out.

I’m not going to list and review every clothing product I wear during races — but I do want to give recognition to a few companies.  Last weekend I ran two races,  and want to discuss some of the great gear I wore:

Honorable Mention

Clif Bar is the first ever company to receive an honorable mention!  The company sent a tech running hat for me to wear — which I’ve worn during several races, as it’s the only one I have — and it has been great.  I strongly urge companies to bring hats and goodies like this to events, as they make great products to sell and give away.

Several people asked me during the expo and the Oakland Half Marathon about where I got the hat – they were disappointed to hear I didn’t buy it at the Clif booth.

Concede

The Concede rash guards aren’t currently available yet, but the custom shirts are ideal for running, lifting weights, or training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  The large is much more form fitting than a large Under Armour rash guard, and does a much better job of preventing chafing.   My custom Concede rash guard has my name printed on the back of the shirt and both sleeves — and your custom order can have the same!

Concede’s rash guard will be available here in the next couple of weeks.

GU

Even though I rocked a Clif hat during the races, I actually used GU products (I carried it with me, and the Brazen Racing Wildcat race was sponsored by GU.)  The GU Roctane Blueberry Pomegranate is especially tasty, and it helped me power through 13.1 miles last weekend.

Garmin

Garmin is a company well known by athletes who flock to the company’s GPS products for cyclists, runners, hikers, and boaters.  The Garmin Forerunner 405 remains a trusty training tool leading up to running events across the Bay Area — and helps me maintain pace, accurately track heart race, and log my distance.  It’s especially helpful during events, as its ability to constantly tell me my HR and pace lead to better finishes.

Fuel Belt

Running trail events can be very taxing on the athlete, but we often forget how important it is to have clothing and products that can also withstand punishment.  The Fuel Belt Crush Bottle Carrier is from the company’s “Active Gear” lineup and is ideal for distance runs.  It fits comfortably, can be adjusted easily, and doesn’t bounce around too much.  The waist carrier is available for $29.95.

If one 22oz. bottle isn’t enough, the Fuel Belt Excursion supports two 22oz. bottles.

RoadID

Wearing a RoadID obviously isn’t necessary for an organized event, but I’m simply in the habit of wearing my RoadID every time I go running or cycling.  The information stamped on my RoadID hasn’t been necessary — and I hope the numbers never have to be called in an emergency — but the peace of mind is well worth the $19.99 price tag of the Road ID Wrist ID Sport.

We interviewed GU and Fuel Belt (interview available here) in the past, with upcoming interviews in the pipeline.  If you have a company you think we should get in touch with, please feel free to leave a comment!

I have my events planned for this year.  I will be peaking in August for a Shasta Summit century followed by the Folsom International Triathlon two weeks later.  Then I will transition into marathon training for the California International Marathon.  I will rest up for a few weeks then The real work begins.  Training for a half Ironman next year.

This year I am building up my base for the half Ironman.  Next year I will be working speed for the Vineman in July.  It usually sells out fast so I want to be ready to do the Napa Valley Vintage Triathlon in May.  I prefer to do the Vineman because it is in July.

I like to take a break from cycling usually from October to February.  If there is a big triathlon in May, I will have to go ride my bike when it is cold out.  I like to maintain a base where I can train for a half Ironman in two months.  To maintain that type of base, I swim and run year round.  I also like to do a lot of cross training.  I can maintain a lot of strength and stamina by training twice a week in each discipline as long as I build strength through cross training.

I do a lot of different things throughout the year to maintain stamina and build strength.  I like to use bands for low impact training that holds each repetition for a 5-10 count.  I do every type of ab workout that I can think of.  Ab work is boring and painful. The more variations you can come up with, the more you are likely to do.  If you get lazy with the abs, you will pay for it on the really long (3 hours and up) efforts.

Be patient with your base training.  There is a good chance that it will take two years to build up a sufficient base to do a half Ironman.  If you are patient, the less chance you will have of getting injured.  Staying injury free is the best way to achieve your goals.  As you are building up your base, you will have to sacrifice one day a week for your long events.

I train for a 3 hour international distance triathlon and I spend 6-8 hours training on Saturdays during the summer.

I am in no hurry to transition from run to bike and bike to run.  It is all about building the endurance on a strong body.  I have my 2010 training schedule posted here.

As I transition to half Ironman training, I will add more details of my training.

American teams such as Garmin-Transitions, HTC-Columbia, Team Radioshack and BMC are expected to rack up impressive results during the Tour of California next month — but it’s the smaller teams that could really light things up early in the race.

Team Type 1, Jelly Belly, Bissell and the smaller American teams can make stage racing exciting as they attack, create breakaways, and force the big boys to ride.  I gladly support these teams when they get the chance to race in front of a large audience, but there is one specific team that deserves special praise.

Every time Team Type 1 races — and gets in the newspapers — the team helps raise awareness about Type 1 diabetes.

Team Type 1 is the team I’d like to focus on leading up to the event, as this UCI Continental race team has an interesting background (courtesy of Team Type 1 Media Kit):

Team Type 1 was created in 2004 by Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge, a pair of avid cyclists with Type 1 diabetes. In 2006 and 2007, the pair captained Team Type 1 to back-to-back victories in the eight-person team division of the Race Across America (RAAM). In 2008, the team grew to include a 15-rider professional continental team that included four riders with Type 1 diabetes.

In their inaugural pro season, Team Type 1 compiled 45 victories, including winning the team classification at the Tour de Beauce and the Vuelta Mexico and placing two riders (Glen Chadwick and Moises Aldape) in the Olympic road race in Beijing.

If you’re interested in following in the adventures of Team Type 1, I’d recommend following the team’s official Twitter account.  I hope to learn more about the team in the coming weeks, and hope to share some neat information with you.

Hey Team Type 1, best of luck during the Tour of California next month!

We have been getting a lot of thoughts, messages, blogs and links from people who don’t understand why running does not make them happy.  I am not a therapist or someone who studies happy people but I do have 15 years experience of running and being happy.

I will start off with the anecdote of how I went to a grocery store with one of my gloomy friends who is totally self-centered and thinks the world sucks.  This friend told me how the store is a good store but the people are all terrible and unfriendly.

When we walked through the store, every employee said hello to me.  I thought this was curious but then I noticed my friend walks through stores with a lowered head and a scowl on his face.  This is what made me realize that it is our outlook on life that reflects on others and they respond to that positive outlook.

When I walk around there is usually a good chance that I am going to be in high spirits.  I like to swim in the morning before work, run or spin at lunch and either relax or do yoga after work.  That makes the probability of running into me after a workout high.

When I workout, I am happy to workout and I carry that happiness with me throughout the day and share it with other people.  People take that energy from me and give some of it back.  They always give the happiness back.

It also helps that I carry a lot of confidence from being so fit.  All of you who did a 13-mile or longer run know how much better your waistline looks now that you started endurance training.  For you beginners out there, you will start getting toned in no time.

Happiness comes from within.  Accept things as they are and carry cheerfulness with you throughout the day and soon you will find yourself happy to working out and it will carry on with you all of the time.