5 WAYS TO FEND OFF GERMS

1. GET YOUR ZZZZs
The more you sleep, the more virus attacking cells you'll produce-according to one study, 50 percent more after eight hours than after six.
2. RUN SHORTER
Thirty to 75 minutes of moderate activity can boost your ability to fight bugs; long, hard runs do the opposite.
3. ...OR DRINK UP
Consuming carb-rich drinks before, during, and after a run longer than 90 minutes can restrain immune-inhibiting stress hormones.
4. RECOVER
Pushing your body without enough rest can weaken your immune response-and cause frequent colds. Mood is an early indicator of overtraining, so take a rest day if you're feeling cranky.
5. STAY LOCAL
If you're really worried about getting sick, consider racing locally. Long trips can subject you to immune-system enemies like stress, poor sleep, and increased germ exposure.

HAPPY TRAINING AND RACING!

BREAK BAD HABITS

4 MISTAKES AND HOW TO FIX THEM

1. RUNNING TOO MUCH, TOO SOON: Coming back from an injury? Now's the time to take things slowly to stay healthy. Follow the standard rule of upping your mileage only 10 percent each week.
2. REFUELING BADLY: After hard runs, grab a high carb/protien snack within 20-30 mins after, then a meal with carbs and protien to rebuild muscle within 1-1.5 hrs.
3. FORGOING SPF: Up to 20 minutes of sun exposure a day can be good for you-but you need sunscreens on runs longer than that.
4. FIXING IT ALL: There's plenty of advice on how to become a better runner, but try to focus on what's manageable. Remember: You likely started running to feel better-not to become stressed.

HAPPY AND HEALTHY RUNNING !

Consistency in Fit

One of the most important things that we talk about here in the shop in consistency. When we are putting someone in a pair of running or walking shoes we really strive to match their foot/leg mechanics with the mechanics of the shoe. I think this is the most important thing that we do being a specialty walking/running store. Anyone can grab a shoe at their local sporting store and get a feel of whether it is comfortable or not. But, is it truly working to make them more efficient and injury free.
When I look back to when I had no knowledge about biomechanics, I am amazed at the shoes that I was given to run in by other running stores. Being a bow legged, supinator, I really need a specific shoe that will work with my funky legs and feet. However, I was given every type of shoe possible. Motion control (a shoe for someone who pronates excessively), neutral, and everything in between. I have found that since I have found the type of shoe that I should be in, I'm running quicker, more comfortably, and I haven't had an injury since. So, that is why I take great pride in how thorough an evaluation we do here.
How do we do it? We do several measurements of the feet (weighted and un-weighted), we watch you walk barefoot, and evaluate you on the treadmill in a flexible shoe. By being able to slow down your gait on the video, we can really show you what you are doing. We can even compare your stride in different shoes at the same time so you can see the difference that the right shoe makes.
What does this mean? Do you always have to wear the exact same shoe? Certainly not. But you should be in the same general type of stability in all your shoes to make you the most efficient and comfortable walker or runner possible.
Come check it out. You'll be impressed. I promise.

Cover Model Kami

Local ultrarunning superstar, and all around nice person, Kami Semick has achieved another milestone in her ultrarunning prowess...she is the cover model for the March 2009 issue of UltraRunning Magazine. This is, no doubt, one of the most coveted honors for an ultramarathoner.

One main reason Kami is the current cover model is that she was voted Ultrarunning's Female Ultrarunner of 2008. In just 5 short years of ultrarunning, Kami has achieved a life-time worth of accomplishments. This past November was the highlight of her career, when she finished 2nd place in the World Championship 100k in Tuscani, Italy, and in doing so, helped the US women's team earn the team silver medal. That race is basically the Olympics of ultrarunning, and Kami earned the silver medal. Incredible.

Congratulations on an incredible 2008, Kami! And thanks for being so darn humble about it all.

Laura...THE Winter Warrior!

Congratulations to Laura Kantor, Fleet Feet's 1st Annual Winter Warrior Champion! Laura attended more workouts over the course of the winter than any of our other 105 warriors. She woke up early on Sunday mornings to run with us, she strength trained with us on Monday evenings, she ran with us in the dark on Wednesday evenings, and then she stayed around after the run for yoga. In doing all of her workouts, she amassed 250 points, easily outdistancing Chris Askew at 210 points and Darla Askew at 200 points.

Laura has definitely become a solid Fleet Feeter in the 11 months that we have been open. She started out coming to our weekly Wednesday evening runs from pretty much week one. It has been a true pleasure for all of us to follow her progress. I could tell from when I first met her that she is a very determined woman. Laura loves to set high goals and work hard to achieve those goals.

Warriors Laura, Darla, and Chris sporting their oh-so-stylish, and very coveted, Winter Warror Shirts!

Way to go, Laura...2008 / 2009 Winter Warrior!

Summit High Pasta Feed for Donations

As we all know, these times are tough for a lot of folks but if you look around there are always people, groups and so on that look past the tough times and find a way to try and make things better.

Summit High came together last Friday evening to put on a great pasta feed and donations went toward the Crook County sports programs that are in dire need of funding. In fact the original idea was that all spring sports for Crook County were going to be cancelled.

Why does that have to happen? We can come up with all the reasons in the world but when it comes down to it, we have to find a way for sports to happen! It's education for the kids and there is no reason why we should skip funding education!

Anyway, kudos to Summit High for doing the pasta feed; we all enjoyed supporting the event here at Fleet Feet.

Boys in the Mud...

Well, the Fleet Feet ultra boys headed over to the Hagg Lake 50k to take on the (moderate) mud and rolling hills outside of Forest Grove. I have personally done this run 7 times (man, am I getting that old?) and Sean has run it 6 times. So, we have seen tons of mud, little mud, and somewhere in between. This year was about perfect as there was enough mud to keep things interesting but not enough to get really frustrated.

The Hagg Lake Trail runs offer two distances: a 25k (15.5 miles) and a 50k (31 miles). The runs circle Hagg Lake once for the 25k and twice for the 50k. They are fun, low key races, that allow runners to shake off the rust of winter and see exactly how many pies need to be burned off from the holidays.

Congratulations to all of the Central Oregonians who played in the mud: 50kers Benjamin Baxter, Al MacInnis, Todd Chester, and Nancy MacInnis. 25k representatives were Clint Mosely and Christina Baxter.

Sean and I both had solid races and finished in 4th and 2nd place, respectively. Sean's might be more impressive as he dressed like Richard Simmons for the entire run (wig included) and come to think about it...his body looks pretty darn similar as well.

If you want to learn more about the event for next year, click here.