Tri- Shoes

     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.

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

Live Life To Its Tri-est

       Eight years ago we lost our dog Chester. He was the love of my husband Mark's life. Chester was a brown and white Springer Spaniel that my husband trained as a hunting dog. Beyond hunting, Chester was a best friend to my husband,  myself and later to my first born son. Time passed and my family finally convinced me it was time for another dog. I wasn't sure I was ready but then I found a website to adopt Golden Retrievers. I had always dreamed of having a Golden and I had read in Runner's World Magazine that they made great running partners. I primarily run by myself but I thought that could be a cool prospect; a dog to hang with while I run.

       We adopted Buddy(Cruiser) shortly after I visited the website. The rescue had named him so we kept Buddy as his name. It never occurred to me that Cruiser was a hint to this dog's mannerisms. He was a saint for the first two weeks that we had him. The rescue said we could give him back within a two week window. As if Buddy(Cruiser) knew the stipulation from the rescue, he was a model dog; until day fifteen.

      Buddy, aka," Cruiser," decided his yard was not quite big enough and so on day fifteen, and every day thereafter, stretched his legs beyond our neighborhood. No matter, I only had a toddler at the time and a pre-schooler. What else could I possibly have to do but to run after my new beloved Golden each day?
       After many tears and phone calls to my husband at work we discovered a beautiful thing called an Invisible Fence. Once we got that quirk worked out he did become my running partner, but not like one would think. I envisioned my Golden running beside me without a leash, stride for stride, in harmony. Running with Buddy was more like torture than the movie image that I had conjured. He pulled and ran too fast; sometimes he stopped altogether to get a sniff at something.
        No worries though, as time went on, I adjusted to the non-conventional way I had to run with Buddy. He loves to be out front of me in single line fashion, so to this day that is how we run together. I get all sorts of comments like, "who is running who?, " and ,"glad to see who's in charge," but after a while it became second nature to both of us and now I like following behind Buddy, it gives me something to focus on.
      Now he is nine or ten years old, we're not sure because he is a rescue. We went for a short run the other day and I could tell he was out of practice. He is getting older and I haven't been taking him as much. He was out of breath well before he normally is. We made it back to my truck and I gave him a bowl of water. In the old days he would have slurped it down and immediately jumped into my truck. That day he layed down and gave me a look like, "lady what are you do'in to me? Can't you see the white around my eyes?"
       I got down close to Buddy and gave him a pat. I could hear the, thump, thump sound his tail made on the hot pavement. I looked at his eyes and saw that the once golden fur was now white. I sat on the ground beside him and realized that although I fight my age everyday, I too am getting older. I try not to go down the road of thinking about death or my own mortality but for some reason there it was.
      I have more fine lines around my eyes and more aches and pains than I used to. I started wondering how long it would be until my body gives out. Thankfully things like swimming and running in the HydroWorx pool are low impact and definitely help.The reality is, aging  is a part of life, and no matter how we fight it, it is inevitable.
       I triathlon to stay fit and young but I know I am going to slow down and that is okay. I realized that day that I would continue to swim, bike and run as long as I can. I realized that while I am so driven to beat the clock at each of my events the important clock that ticks is life and why rush it? What difference does it really make if I don't win my age group at each race? PR's are great, but it is the journey that gets me to the finish line; like life if we don't enjoy the ride then what is the point?
      I gave Buddy a nudge and he slowly climbed into the back of my truck. I looked at him and said, "Thanks old boy for the lesson." He tilted his head and gave me one of his doggy grins with his tongue hanging out. "Thanks for making me realize it is okay to slow down and enjoy the journey."
       Buddy and my kids helped me finish the last one hundred yards at my last event and although they weren't with me the whole way, they certainly were in spirit.

Tri on Friends,

Kelly