Spring is finally here and with the change in weather I've seen many people out enjoying the warmer temperatures. I have about a month now before my first triathlon of the season, and I'm "gearing up," for my event. Training is part of my "gearing," but I need some new gear,( namely running shoes), in the literal sense. This blog covers the importance of good running shoes, but also how to figure out what type you need. The market is flooded with different brands that offer a variety of promises, so where do you start?
I've never been a gadget person. I don't believe in over-spending on gear or anything else for that matter. I am a " bargain shopper," by nature. My thought is why spend more when you don't have to? Also, my philosophy is gear will only get you so far. Training is more important to get you to the finish line. You can have fancy heart rate monitors, fancy bike equipment, expensive tri-suits etc., but it won't guarantee that you finish a race. Believe me, as a triathlete, you do need gear, but you don't have to take out another mortgage to have what's needed. I have been wearing the same bike shoes for about nine years now, but that is a another story.
I do believe in the importance of good running shoes for triathlon or running races. There is an exception to this; when I'm running on the HydroWorx treadmill, their treadmill is under water, so shoes are an option. Most of the employees there use a basic water shoe or AQX water shoes, I like bare feet.
There are so many brands, where do you begin? I call this the footprint test. Find a brown paper bag or butcher paper and spread it out. Next, wet the bottoms of your feet and make a print of your foot on the paper bag. This also works well if you have access to a pool because you could do it on the pavement after you swim. Look at your imprint carefully; if you have a high arch you need a Neutral shoe, if your arch is medium- go for a Stability shoe, if you have a low arch you'll need a Motion Control shoe. Sounds complicated, but it isn't.
Once you figure out what type of arch you have you need to know your body frame. If you are a larger man or woman( over180lb man, over 150lb woman) look for a plus shoe as well as whether or not you need a Neutral ,Stability, or Motion Control . If you are a lighter runner that races or runs fast (man under 180lb., under 150lb. woman) you would need to add performance to your shoe as well as what type of arch you have. For example, I am a 130 lb. woman who likes to race and I have a high arch; I would need a Neutral performance shoe or a Neutral p shoe. Basically if you are a heavier runner you need added cushion, and if you are a fast runner and on the light side, you'll need a more flexible, lighter shoe.
Once you know your arch and your body type it's a breeze. I would recommend going to a running store that specializes in fitting you. A great store is, Inside Out Sports in Cary, NC. They are a triathlon store, but they know about running shoes and how to fit you. If you tell them your arch type as well as your body type, they will be able to set you up. They also have online shopping once you get your first pair. Some stores for my PA friends include, Appalachian Running Co. in Carlisle, and Inside Track in Harrisburg.
Brands are another story. There are so many brands what should you choose? I really feel that this part is personal preference because all brands make shoes that fit different arches. I asked some of my friends who run and got a variety of answers; Jen C. said," definitely Asics,Nike's gave me no support," Jen Mc. said," Dolce Vita Heals as I run late to the office," Shellie G. said," Mizuno for trails," my husband ( non-runner) said,"Adidas Adi- Zero, in fresh lemon," okay so not all the comments were exactly what I was looking for, but you get the picture. The brands are all different and just like your footprint, it's very personal.
A word to the wise; don't change once you find something that works for you. Once I changed running shoe brands. I've always been an Asics girl. I go for the cushioned, neutral shoe as I have a med-high arch and am average in size. The Asics always gave me the cushioning I needed. Then one day, I decided to try a new pair of running shoes, called Super Nova Cushion made by Adidas. The shoes were supposed to be a cushioned shoe, but for my particular foot they did not work because I ended up with a stress fracture-if it ain't broke don't fix it! I learned my lesson, and now only wear Asics(either Gel Cumulus or Gel Platinum).
One more tip; you don't have to break the bank to get a decent pair of running shoes. I had an orthopedic tell me( during my visit when I had a stress fracture)," anything over $80.00 is fluff." He's right, after that price point, it is all about marketing. Also realize that it only costs the manufacturers about $3.50 to make a pair of running shoes( I learned this from my husband the Marine, who toured a Nike factory in Japan).Running shoes are not a commodity.
I highly believe in adding inserts to your running shoes as well. Again, this is a personal preference but it works for me. Remove the cheap inserts in your shoes and add an insert. The original inserts offer no cushioning. I recommend the Sof Sol brand inserts. This brand offers different inserts for different arches; here's that concept again. Sof Sol also makes an insert that you can custom mold to your foot with a little tweaking and an oven. I love the Sof Sol for a medium arch. My shoes tend to last a little longer with the inserts and I get extra cushion which I love. You can find these at Dick's or other sporting goods stores for around $20.00.
Running shoes typically last around six months. "Typically," is the key word here. I change out my running shoes around every four or five months depending on my training/racing schedule. I also know when my knees start to get twingy it is time to change out my shoes. High mileage runners will need to change out their running shoes more frequently than the weekend warrior. Again, it is all about personal preference and how your body is feeling. Listen to your body and if you are experiencing more than usual pain check out your shoes.
Whether you are a new or seasoned runner, a good pair of shoes will carry you where you want to go.
Tri- On Friends,
Kelly
Check out http://www.roadrunnersports.com/
Their site has a lot of great information which I used for this article. They also have a great assortment of gear.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Tri- Happiness
Happiness: as defined by Wikipedia; a mental state of well being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.
Gratitude: as defined by Wikipedia; the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful, appreciation is a positive emotion in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received.
Admittedly, I have not felt either of those emotions in the last week or so. After losing my aunt to cancer and then two days later finding that an old employer and friend passed away from a health complication, my happiness level has been challenged, along with a feeling of what do I possibly have any gratitude towards right now? My husband has taken a new job, which will lead us out of Pennsylvania, and he is gone now most weeks leaving me the challenging task of caring for two boys and selling our home. I'm not complaining, just simply stating what's going on.
But life is full of peaks and valleys, highs and lows. As usual, I have turned to running, swimming, and biking these past few days to figure out a way to feel these emotions of gratitude and happiness. Ironically, my book club is reading, The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin this month, and for me the book couldn't have come at a better time.
I feel a strong connection with the book. Gretchen Rubin has a family, she is writer and an avid reader. I feel as though I could go out and have a cup of coffee with her, as we have similar likes and dislikes and a commonality in the fact that, I too write, love to read, have two children and a husband. In her book she spends a year trying to make her life more meaningful. She tries to figure out what makes her life happier. In the process, she realizes that is isn't necessarily big things or big changes that make her happy but mostly being true to herself; tuning into what she likes to do and accepting what she can and cannot do. She calls it, "Being Gretchen," and I have found that to ring true for myself.
I can relate to The Happiness Project because like Gretchen searching for happiness, I too am searching for meaning in life each day. Rubin found happiness through organizing, writing a blog (sound familiar?), having more free time, taking life less seriously, trying to live more in the "moment," and by pursuing a passion. I know triathlon makes me happy because I can do good for others by earning money for causes. I can also feel a sense of accomplishment for the distances I've travelled, and the work that went into training before an event. Through triathlon, I can get a sense of the meaning of life, or at least the meaning of my life. In a sense, we all have our own happiness project.
Yet still, a sense of sadness had come over me the last few days. Grieving is a strange process. According to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross there are five stages of grief: denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and acceptance. I think I've gone through all of those stages and was comforted to know that I was normal in feeling these emotions. Death is just as much a part of life as trying to figure out what our own personal meaning is.
Rubin also wrote about gratitude in her book. I've definitely been looking for more of that, and as I read on, I learned that she too had gone through some difficult times. She decided that it was important to write each day about what she was grateful for, even during "down" times. I've blogged about gratitude before and the importance, but will admit that I might not practice in this ritual each day. I decided to pull myself out of my "slump" and practice what Rubin describes in her book as a gratitude list.
So here goes: I am thankful for being able to do triathlons (come on you knew that), I am thankful for the opportunity for a great company called HydroWorx to sponsor my efforts as a triathlete, I am glad that my aunt passed away at home with her family near, I am thankful for two great boys and a great husband. I have great friends, family, and colleagues. I have my health. I have everything I need. I am thankful to be able to write as an outlet and also as a way to communicate my gratitude.
Looking at my list, I felt a sense of happiness. Acceptance had set in, the last phase of my grieving process. It's time to focus on my upcoming event at the end of May. While my training has been consistent, I could probably use some ramping up with a little more than a month away from my first tri. So, like Gretchen Rubin made a list of her goals, I too decided to write down more of my training goals, and in doing so felt happy.
This blog is about what I'm going through in triathlon, but it is also about what is happening in life.Triathlon happens to be my Happiness Project, but I hope to have at least made you think about what your own happiness project is or could be.
Happy Training,
Kelly
Gratitude: as defined by Wikipedia; the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful, appreciation is a positive emotion in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received.
Admittedly, I have not felt either of those emotions in the last week or so. After losing my aunt to cancer and then two days later finding that an old employer and friend passed away from a health complication, my happiness level has been challenged, along with a feeling of what do I possibly have any gratitude towards right now? My husband has taken a new job, which will lead us out of Pennsylvania, and he is gone now most weeks leaving me the challenging task of caring for two boys and selling our home. I'm not complaining, just simply stating what's going on.
But life is full of peaks and valleys, highs and lows. As usual, I have turned to running, swimming, and biking these past few days to figure out a way to feel these emotions of gratitude and happiness. Ironically, my book club is reading, The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin this month, and for me the book couldn't have come at a better time.
I feel a strong connection with the book. Gretchen Rubin has a family, she is writer and an avid reader. I feel as though I could go out and have a cup of coffee with her, as we have similar likes and dislikes and a commonality in the fact that, I too write, love to read, have two children and a husband. In her book she spends a year trying to make her life more meaningful. She tries to figure out what makes her life happier. In the process, she realizes that is isn't necessarily big things or big changes that make her happy but mostly being true to herself; tuning into what she likes to do and accepting what she can and cannot do. She calls it, "Being Gretchen," and I have found that to ring true for myself.
I can relate to The Happiness Project because like Gretchen searching for happiness, I too am searching for meaning in life each day. Rubin found happiness through organizing, writing a blog (sound familiar?), having more free time, taking life less seriously, trying to live more in the "moment," and by pursuing a passion. I know triathlon makes me happy because I can do good for others by earning money for causes. I can also feel a sense of accomplishment for the distances I've travelled, and the work that went into training before an event. Through triathlon, I can get a sense of the meaning of life, or at least the meaning of my life. In a sense, we all have our own happiness project.
Yet still, a sense of sadness had come over me the last few days. Grieving is a strange process. According to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross there are five stages of grief: denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and acceptance. I think I've gone through all of those stages and was comforted to know that I was normal in feeling these emotions. Death is just as much a part of life as trying to figure out what our own personal meaning is.
Rubin also wrote about gratitude in her book. I've definitely been looking for more of that, and as I read on, I learned that she too had gone through some difficult times. She decided that it was important to write each day about what she was grateful for, even during "down" times. I've blogged about gratitude before and the importance, but will admit that I might not practice in this ritual each day. I decided to pull myself out of my "slump" and practice what Rubin describes in her book as a gratitude list.
So here goes: I am thankful for being able to do triathlons (come on you knew that), I am thankful for the opportunity for a great company called HydroWorx to sponsor my efforts as a triathlete, I am glad that my aunt passed away at home with her family near, I am thankful for two great boys and a great husband. I have great friends, family, and colleagues. I have my health. I have everything I need. I am thankful to be able to write as an outlet and also as a way to communicate my gratitude.
Looking at my list, I felt a sense of happiness. Acceptance had set in, the last phase of my grieving process. It's time to focus on my upcoming event at the end of May. While my training has been consistent, I could probably use some ramping up with a little more than a month away from my first tri. So, like Gretchen Rubin made a list of her goals, I too decided to write down more of my training goals, and in doing so felt happy.
This blog is about what I'm going through in triathlon, but it is also about what is happening in life.Triathlon happens to be my Happiness Project, but I hope to have at least made you think about what your own happiness project is or could be.
Happy Training,
Kelly
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
A New Angel Got Her Wings
Sometimes I question myself each week about what I am going to write. After all, how much triathlon talk can one take? But that is what makes this blog unique, it is about the interlinking of life and why I triathlon. I've hit this point many times, but I'll hammer it again. The way I work through my life is by staying active. By swimming, running, biking, I am able to work out my inner demons, my inner struggles. Some people use religion, some use therapy, some drugs and alcohol. While I am spiritual, and believe in the importance of faith, I also believe that without some healthy outlet I could chose to do something not so productive.
This week I had planned on writing about running shoes. I had it all worked out in my mind, which is usually the way it works for me. I think about different ideas and I self-talk about what could work. Then I visualize, and then I write. But this week something happened. After a long fight with cancer my Aunt Didi ( my mom's sister) finally said goodbye to this earth. Writing about running shoes just seemed a little insignificant. Don't get me wrong, that blog will be there, and there is some important information to share, but in order to work out my aunt's death I needed to do the exercise of writing.
I always admired my aunt. She had four boys that she stayed home with to raise. When the fourth child graduated from high school, she decided to go back to school and get her nursing degree. She worked at University Hospital, in Cleveland Ohio, as a nurse, helping young couples who had fertility issues. Aunt Didi loved her work and traveled an hour and a half each way to work everyday. She dedicated her life to others.
I got the news of her passing on Tuesday morning, and immediately turned to my blog, but before I could finish writing I went for a run to clear my head. While running, I could think of what I wanted to write, and once again my life and triathlon intersected. Through my run, I could organize my emotions and try to remember the important things in life.
My Aunt Didi recently had surgery to remove tumors that had metastasized to her brain, and she was moved from hospital to hospital. Finally, when nothing else could be done, she was moved home. She spent her last days at home with her kids and family. She wanted to rest peacefully and she did. The fight was over and she was able to say goodbye to her immediate family. I have peace knowing that her requests were fulfilled, and after a long fight with a horrible disease she was no longer suffering.
Aunt Didi was a spunky woman. She never had a problem telling you what was on her mind. In fact, one of the last times I talked to her she told me that the nurses didn't know what they were doing. I had to smile because she was outspoken and never held back.
Deloris Gray kept her fight going for three years. One of the most important lessons that I learned from her was to enjoy every day. When she was diagnosed with cancer, she never complained, and she made a point of seeing her children and grandchildren as often as she could.
Tell the people you love and tell them often. Hug those that you love often. Speak your truth. Love what you do and do what you love. Life is short, live each day. Don't take anything for granted. All the material things in the world cannot replace love, family, and friends. Time is precious. Smile often. Love often. These are the concepts that I have taken from a tragedy.
As I end this entry I leave feeling lifted, and that is what my aunt would want. I'm off for a trail run now to enjoy the sunshine, and to remember Aunt Didi whose light will forever live in my heart.
Tri-on Friends,
Kelly
This week I had planned on writing about running shoes. I had it all worked out in my mind, which is usually the way it works for me. I think about different ideas and I self-talk about what could work. Then I visualize, and then I write. But this week something happened. After a long fight with cancer my Aunt Didi ( my mom's sister) finally said goodbye to this earth. Writing about running shoes just seemed a little insignificant. Don't get me wrong, that blog will be there, and there is some important information to share, but in order to work out my aunt's death I needed to do the exercise of writing.
I always admired my aunt. She had four boys that she stayed home with to raise. When the fourth child graduated from high school, she decided to go back to school and get her nursing degree. She worked at University Hospital, in Cleveland Ohio, as a nurse, helping young couples who had fertility issues. Aunt Didi loved her work and traveled an hour and a half each way to work everyday. She dedicated her life to others.
I got the news of her passing on Tuesday morning, and immediately turned to my blog, but before I could finish writing I went for a run to clear my head. While running, I could think of what I wanted to write, and once again my life and triathlon intersected. Through my run, I could organize my emotions and try to remember the important things in life.
My Aunt Didi recently had surgery to remove tumors that had metastasized to her brain, and she was moved from hospital to hospital. Finally, when nothing else could be done, she was moved home. She spent her last days at home with her kids and family. She wanted to rest peacefully and she did. The fight was over and she was able to say goodbye to her immediate family. I have peace knowing that her requests were fulfilled, and after a long fight with a horrible disease she was no longer suffering.
Aunt Didi was a spunky woman. She never had a problem telling you what was on her mind. In fact, one of the last times I talked to her she told me that the nurses didn't know what they were doing. I had to smile because she was outspoken and never held back.
Deloris Gray kept her fight going for three years. One of the most important lessons that I learned from her was to enjoy every day. When she was diagnosed with cancer, she never complained, and she made a point of seeing her children and grandchildren as often as she could.
Tell the people you love and tell them often. Hug those that you love often. Speak your truth. Love what you do and do what you love. Life is short, live each day. Don't take anything for granted. All the material things in the world cannot replace love, family, and friends. Time is precious. Smile often. Love often. These are the concepts that I have taken from a tragedy.
As I end this entry I leave feeling lifted, and that is what my aunt would want. I'm off for a trail run now to enjoy the sunshine, and to remember Aunt Didi whose light will forever live in my heart.
Tri-on Friends,
Kelly
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