Aquaman!

So, as Kathy menitoned, Pam and Ross were up from Vancouver for the "Fit Party" at the pool. Wow. What an eye-opening experience. It was really awesome to be able to swim in the wetsuits we talk about and sell (I hadn't had a previous opportunity). It was great to pick Ross's brain about technical information like Yamamoto 39 vs 45 rubbers, the Nanoskin SCS coating, and all of the technology that goes into a wetsuit. The best part though, by far, was being able to get into the wetsuit, and get into the water and swim.

Let me tell you, the three things that stood out to me were:
the lack of sweating and overheating. I'm swimming HARD, in an indoor pool, in 5mm of neoprene, and I felt absolutely no problem with getting hot inside the suit or getting sweaty.

The second thing was the flexibility of thge suit (in this case, the AquaSphere Icon). I'm not a small dude by any means, and I fit into a small. Read that again. Six foot, 182 pounds, in a SMALL! No, this won't work for everyone my size, as I have a strong background in SCUBA and freediving where wetsuits are required, so I was able to put it on using some tricks I've learned over the years. It took a couple minutes to get in, but a couple minutes on the beach saves a couple minutes in the water. I took the suit through everything :flip turns, backstroke, freestyle, and even butterfly. I have large shoulders. I felt zero resistance from the suit. Awesome.

The thrid thing about the suit was the economy of each stroke. What I mean by this is that for each pull of the arms, I would go significantly further than if in no suit. I had to adapt my stroke for longer pulls and less frequency, but once I did that, man, was I able to fly through the water without any resistance.

If anyone gets the chance, rent a suit and bring it to the lake, the pool, whatever. It will blow your mind.
DP

Time Goes By

Where have the last five months gone?  Hard to believe June is just about upon us!  I hope everyone is having a great spring and doing lots of running and biking.  Maybe if the weather warms up you will be swimming in the lake.   I'm finding it hard to get out there and bike as I had a bad crash last year and my heart just isn't into it yet this year.  It seemed like everytime I turned around I was hearing that someone crashed, got hurt or got hit by a vehicle.  I have been doing lots of swimming and walking and tonight at the pool we are having a Fit Party with Ross and Pam from Aqua Sphere.  It will be fun trying on different wetsuits and swim accessories.  I am looking forward to trying out some fins as quite a few people at the pool are wearing them.
  Hope that everyone is well and training is going as you planned.  Have a great summer.
Kathy

Simply Running

"The equipment from my 23.8 mile run this morning. Nike+iPod thought it was 23.1, but the Forerunner is definitely more accurate. I remember when all I needed to run was shoes, socks, shorts & a t-shirt. And maybe a watch"
(props to flickr user "jakerome")

Where has the love of running gone? Is technology, looking in-style, and the "bling" factor motivating us out the door?

Or is the love of pushing yourself, smelling the fresh air, exploring a new trail, and coming home with a sense of accomplishment getting you up in the morning.

Children run not for others sake, not for fame and glory, not for times, but for the pure joy of it, they run for themselves. They keep running until they are exhausted, and love every second.

Run like a child.

Competition

"They don't give you gold medals for beating somebody.
They give you gold medals for beating everybody"
Michael Johnson

Waking up

The world of running has come out of hibernation.

Many pro athletes have already accomplished or missed their season's main goals.
After many long winter months of training through snow, sleet, aches, and pains, they come out, guns blazing, hopes held high, hoping to hit their peak fitness on race day.

Twenty-six men and women have been crowned as World Champions in Doha, Qatar.
In two hours, five minutes, fifty-two seconds, the record of the world's most historic marathon, Boston, fell.
The Virgin London Marathon, singley the largest fundraising event in the world, has already success raised millions of dollars.

The rest of us are getting used to the sunshine creeping through our windows, motivating us to rise early in the morning and see what awaits us in the long hours of the new days. Temperatures rise, and with it, the motivation to pull out those dusty runners from the closet, or to put on your game-face yet again as you down a quick breakfast before the first run of the week.

While Elites have already had successes and failures on a grand scale of exposure and media flurry, the average Joe and Jane are just starting to think about the first fun runs, or even races of the year. We too, have expectations, maybe to run to the mailbox without losing breath, or maybe to finally convince your loved ones that running isn't for the masochistic or sleep-deprived.

The rest of the running world has awoken. What are you waiting for?

DP