My weapons of war (Part 1)

What do you use to train?

This is another part of my life as an athlete that undergoes constant revision.  During the ramp up to my first marathon, I had so much gear, that I remember non runner friends teasing me about the amount of technology and other crap that I carried.  And had to prepare - just to get out the door.

Now, even though I'm not a running purist by any means, I've streamlined my gear.  I'm going to break this up into three blog posts, for ease of reading (and writing), and frankly, so you don' get bored.  I don't want to turn this into a gear review.  You can head over to DCRainmaker's blog if that's what you're looking for - he has some great reviews.

Running outside:  Hat, sunglasses during the day, heart rate monitor and gps watch, non cotton low rise socks, and running shoes, foot pod attached to my shoe

Running inside: Heart rate monitor and gps watch (gps off), foot pod attached to my shoe

Whether I'm running inside or outside, I dress to be comfortable, and if I'm running for more than an hour, I use nutrition.  When that happens, I wear a running belt.
That pretty much covers my running gear, now for the pictures!
 

I use a headsweats supervisor right now.  Great hat.  Keeps sweat and sun out of my eyes.  Does its job pretty well.  I like this better than a regular hat because it lets me get rid of heat without letting me sunburn.  The downside?  Slightly too big and it can't be made smaller.

My sunglasses are the tifosi slip variety.  I just got these, so I'm still checking them out.  They came with three lenses, a hard case, and a softcase/lens cleaner.  Give me another month or two, and I'll be able to tell you more.  So far, I really like them.

I currently use the garmin 310xt with the premium heart rate monitor and the foot pod.  I calibrated the foot pod using gps (treadmills can be inaccurate).  I will be switching to the garmin 910xt in the future, just no rush to do so.  Garmin's best quality has been their customer service.  I've had a few problems with the gps watches, but nothing that would make me consider switching to another brand.

When I run more than an hour, I use the nathan elite 1 running belt.  I load up enough nutrition for two hours in the bottle, and if I'm going further than that, I make sure to have a stop on the way to refuel/rewater.

And last, I wear the brooks adrenaline when I run.  I really love their shoes.  After a brief and unpleasant affair with another shoe, I'm back in my beloved adrenalines.  I may consider getting into the habit of wearing a racing flat when I race 5 or 10 k races, but otherwise, I'll stick with the shoe that has taken the best care of my feet.

I do want to stress that just because I or any other athlete has had good luck with a certain product, it doesn't mean that you should go out and immediately change what you're doing if it works for you.

Tell me in the comments what works for you when running.

Kerrville Triathlon Festival

With the Kerrville Triathlon Festival on Sunday, I look at my training this week a little differently than most weeks.  How do my shoes feel?  How does my saddle feel?  What do I need to do to make sure my heart rate monitor doesn't give me blisters?  Don't go too hard this week, an injury would derail my racing plans...
All season I've been training like each day was a race; maybe not the speed or the endurance, but practicing the nutrition, paying attention to the hydration, wearing the right clothes, and working on the other major aspects of Triathlon.  This is the week to look at the little things.   The things that irritate us, but don't really derail our training.  These are the things that might derail our race.  Unfortunately the dreaded DNF comes in many forms, and even small things can precipitate the dreaded DNF.  The fourth discipline of Triathlon to master is nutrition.  And nothing ruins a good race faster than poor nutrition. Can you finish a race if you "bonk?"  Think you can run on a blister?  What about one that covers the entire bottom of your foot? 

Now is the time to notice the raw spots in the shoes, in the tri suit, in the numerous straps we wear.  I favor body glide for race lubrication, and use it quite liberally.  At a suggestion from another triathlete, I coated some problematic seams on the inside of my first tri shorts.  Ahhhhhhhmazing race.  Another race saw a band-aid wrapped around a trouble spot on my heart rate monitor strap.

My point is get familiar with your swim/bike/run.  Know how it feels.  And don't be afraid to do something about those little annoyances, because the little annoyances become big ones.

Everything is in place for Kerrville.  A few hours of training this week will focus on maintaining strength and movement, rather than any gains.  A few (hundred) prayers to the tri-gods for a swift, smooth race...

Sunday will come all too quickly.

Garmin Sets the Bar for Customer Service

I want to send a shout out to Garmin customer service.  Twice now, I've had an issue with my Forerunner 310xt.  Twice now, I've called customer service.  And twice, I've looked back at the decision to use a Garmin training device and been thoroughly pleased with it.  Fortunately, the unit is still under warranty, so the issues are covered.

Devices break.  That's the nature of sports, especially triathlon. Endurance athletes play hard, and expect that our toys will last.  Well, the reality is, we outlast the devices we use.  We beat them up in use, put them away wrong, and expect that they'll keep working.  Since the technology is computer based, you need to have at least a Doctorate in working and caring for gps devices, mp3 players, phones and their apps, and have the ability to know all about the newest gadget within two days of its release date.  DC Rainmaker can help you with education you need to keep up!  www.DCRainmaker.com  But, I digress.  We need a company that keeps up with our rock star attitudes and diva behavior, and gets us back out training yesterday!  Enter Garmin.

The first problem I had was a heart rate monitor strap that reported a heart rate of 220ish.  Ummmmmm.  I don't think so. I wasn't running THAT hard. Google the problem.  Trouble shoot on my own.  Call customer service.  Trouble shoot again with people who know what they're doing.  Didn't solve the problem.  Part ordered.  Be there in a week.  Showed up in three days.  Problem resolved as soon as I paired the new strap.  Done.  I was so pleased with the service that I called back to talk to a supervisor and let them know how happy I was.

Last night the wrist strap broke.  It might have something to do with the 9-10 hours a week of training and racing I've been doing.  Maybe.  Wasn't really sure what to expect this time.  But when a company takes the time to walk through potential (temporary) solutions in order to keep you swim/bike/running, while the needed part gets ordered.  THAT is customer service.  I've easily spoken to more than a half dozen Garmin representatives total, and the service has been equally as good with each person.

Garmin, I'm impressed.  Kudos to you for your quality customer service team.