Ryan Hall's Blog, page 196

50 Best Running Stores in America 2016—Fleet Feet Sports, Nashville, Tenn.

Fleet Feet Sports Nashville in Brentwood, Tenn., was named one of the 50 Best Running Stores in America in 2016 and one of the four finalists for the Running Store of the Year Award.

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Published on December 06, 2016 22:06

Sneak Peek: Cool, New Running Gear, Apparel and Accessories Coming in 2017

We checked out some of the new running gear at The Running Event trade show in Orlando, Fla., Here are some of the cool new things that will be coming out soon.

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Brooks Fly-By Hoody, $98

This moto-inspired hoody looks great worn casually or on a cold run (it’s made to wick sweat).

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Wiivv Wearables, $69-$89

By stepping on a plain white 8.5” x 11” piece of paper, and using the downloadable app to capture images of your feet, custom orthotics have never been so affordable or easy. Simply snap three photos of your feet, upload them and a few days later you'll have your custom insoles shipped to your door. ($69-$89)

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Saucouny Stride Lab app

Developed in partnership with noted expert Jay Dicharry, MPT, SCS, author of “Anatomy for Runners” the Stride Lab app is a sophisticated yet accessible run mechanics analysis and coaching tool. Stride Lab essentially incorporates, via its app, the steps a PT or trained run mechanics coach would go through to evaluate your form and mechanics. The key tool is your phone’s camera, prop it up in a shoe at the right height and shoot as instructed. The app, which is free, uses the data to analyze your mechanics for each area of the body covered in the evaluation.

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Zensah Grit Running Socks, $15 ankle cut and $17 crew cut

Zensah's first trail running sock is made from 40 percent polypropylene, 26 percent nylon, 22 percent fine merino wool and 12 percent spandex. That blend gives it plenty of comfy cushion, reliable support and long-wearing moisture-wicking capabilities. The hexagon pad array under the forefoot offers a great plenty of cushion and ventilation. Best of all? They're guaranteed for life.

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Oofos OOMG, $140 lower version and $150 high-top version

This cozy and cushy lifestyle shoe is made for active post-running recovery. Oofos calls it an "after anything and on to everything" shoe. (Available in May)

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Ultimate Direction FKT Pack, $140

Geared for moving fast and light in the mountains, the FKT pack is a lightweight and super functional trail running pack that has loads of smart storage in a comfortable, close-to-the-body fit. It comes with a 12-ounce Flex Form 350 bottle. ( $140)

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Altra HIIT XT, $100

This new cross training shoe offers lateral support and stability for side-to-side motion necessary for CrossFit, free weights and various gym fitness activities. It features Altra's zero-drop (or flat) profile, a durable mesh upper and a gum rubber outsole that wraps high on the medial and lateral sides of the shoe. It has 23mm of cushion and rubber under the foot and weighs 11.2 oz. (men's size 9).

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Rabbit Long Legs TIghts, $90

This new apparel company based in Santa Barbara, Calif., manufacturers all of its clothes in Los Angeles. These soft and sleek tights are made from the brand's jacquard "rabbitMESH," a four-way stretch blend of 89 percent polyester and 11 percent spandex. The Long Legs Tights have dual internal front pockets and a rear zip pocket.

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Balega Silver socks, $15

Encapsulated with silver ions, the Balega Silver socks were designed to provide long-lasting antibacterial properties and moisture-wicking performance. They're soft and comfortable and dynamically adapt to fit various foot shapes without bunching.

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Infinit Tripwire Fuel Shot, $14

Add water to this powder to make a 100-calorie liquid nutrition gel. Note the interesting flavors.

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FuelBelt Tech Fuel Hand Held, $15

This new handheld 10-ounce hydration bottle carrier features ingenious straps to hold your phone.

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Runkeeper app for Apple Watch Series 2 GPS

Runkeeper has launched a free Apple Watch app that leverages the new GPS chip in any Apple Watch Series 2. There are two data screens available while you run. The main screen has pace, average pace, target pace, distance, time, and heart rate including graph option. Shift the large center metric or lower 2 metrics by touching them on the go. The second screen lists your prior splits. If you use the app while carrying your phone you will also get audio feedback from the phone and auto pause.

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Craft Repel Wind Jersey, $130

This base- or mid-layer shirt repels rain and snow while keeping you warm on the run, and features built-in mitts that stash away in the sleeves when not in use.

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Amazfit Pace smartwatch, $129 release in December, $159 thereafter

The Pace, from a subsidiary of US based Humai, the exclusive provider of wearable fitness tech to Xiamoi the Chinese mobile sales leader, is a new color touchscreen GPS and wrist heart rate smartwatch that breaks price barriers without compromising on features or performance. With a big bold look, it has a trans-reflective, always-on screen for low battery consumption, a ceramic bezel, and is water resistant. It includes the now customary phone notifications: sleep/activity tracking, and even has (when running phone free) a built in BT music player. Run features are said to include distance, time, heart rate, pace (current/max/average), cadence (current/max/average), altitude elevation gain, min/max altitude, and export to Strava.

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The North Face Flight Trail Shirt and Short, $80

Completely waterproof and with a great, mountains- and forest-inspired print, these super-lightweight layers stash in your pack and can be pulled over tights in a downpour on a mountain run. (The print appears on an update of their waterproof Stormy Trail Jacket, too.)

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2XU Women’s High Rise Compression Tight, $100

Made out of the company’s PWX (Power Weight Flexibility) fabric throughout the legs and hips for compression benefits, but with a lower level, comfortable, extra-wide and high waist.

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Scosche Rhthym+, $80

Don’t care for chest heart rate straps or are your wrists otherwise occupied? The Scosche Rhythm+ is a highly accurate waterproof heart rate monitor worn on the forearm and secured by a comfortable neoprene band. Wrist based heart rate sensors can sometimes be less unreliable when lower extremity blood flow is lower such as in cold weather or when clenching bars or lifting. It pairs using Bluetooth to phone run apps and also via ANT+.

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Altra Reflective Hoody, $90

These seemingly simple hoodies (to be worn as a base- or mid-layer) become incredibly visible when lights—like car headlights—shine on them.

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Nuun Vitamin, $6.99 for 12 tabs

Replacing the company’s “all day” product, Nuun Vitamin contains 11 vitamins and minerals and comes in six flavors.

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Yurbuds Inspire 500, $60

The in-ear women fit and style wireless 500 is light, comfortable, and bright. “Guaranteed never to hurt” they have FlexSoft silicone tips and a secure TwistLock fit. Featuring an 8-hour battery life and sweat-proof construction they can help inspire and get you through a week of workouts. We especially like how the weight and bulk hanging from your ears is minimized by putting the battery in a pod behind your neck.

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Zoom HRV, $140

The Zoom is a tiny waterproof pod that measures heart rate in water and on land, activity, sleep quality and HR linked calorie burn, does HR zone alerts, and can count steps or laps in a pool. Not unusual these days right? Well the Zoom, which has a 5-day battery life, goes further by measuring heart rate variability (HRV), the rhythmic pattern of your heartbeats, a difficult to measure metric of recovery often used by elite athletes. Sleep with the Zoom and it will show you a HRV based V Score, your recovery status with exertion recommendations for the day. During the day, take a 3- minute HRV V Scan to see where you stand for that upcoming workout. It also measures your exposure to blue light (screens and electronics) and natural light, and will notify you if you should try for more natural light at the start of your day or less before going to sleep. It can wake you in a time range outside of those key deep sleep phases. It pairs to watches and apps via Bluetooth or Ant+ and can be worn on multiple places on the body.

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Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2 headphones, $200

The new PRO2 is maybe not the best choice for fast runs but is a great option for travel, pre-race relaxation, or whenever you want to be in a sound bubble. At the touch of a button you can turn on active noise cancelation to block out the outside world or enable open listening to hear conversations and announcements. They have sensor-based play/pause that kicks in as soon as you move them off your ears, where they can lie flat just below your neck. With 24-hour listening, talking battery life, and a range of up to 300 feet, they go the distance.

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Published on December 06, 2016 16:44

Out There: The Merriest Run of All

There's no better way to deal with the madness of the holiday season than to go for a run. Illustration: Shutterstock

I used to love Christmas and the holiday season. Every year, I’d deck the halls, obsess over ornaments and bake piles upon piles of cookies. I’d scour the stores for the perfect present and play that ridiculous Mariah Carey song on a loop. Okay, fine, I’d sing that ridiculous Mariah Carey song on a loop, because the Christmas spirit does not care about minutiae like pitch or rhythm or a propensity to fill in the blanks with dah-dah-dah IS YOOOOOUUUUUUU!

But now? Ugh. Christmas. I’m over it before Target even starts setting up their Black Friday displays in August.

Christmas is great as a kid, but once you find out Santa isn’t real, it all goes downhill from there. As an adult, Christmas is a non-stop barrage of forced merriment: making the rounds at holiday parties with people you don’t particularly like; buying presents with money you don’t have; reading holiday letters that boast of “everything is awesome” when you know both spouses are having affairs with their dental hygienist; changing the radio station to death metal because for the love of Rudolph, why does everyone play that ridiculous Mariah Carey song?

Ugh. Christmas. Can we just fast-forward to New Year’s Eve? The only holiday when it’s acceptable to drink an entire case of 99-cent champagne. That’s more my speed.

If left to her own devices, my Inner Grinch would become all-consuming during the month of December. She’d tear down the tinsel and set fire to the neighbor’s inflatable snowman (my Inner Grinch really hates inflatable yard ornaments for some reason). She’d still eat the cookies, though, because even Grinches crave baked goods after a 15-miler in the snow.

But last Christmas, I discovered the trick to canceling out my Inner Grinch. My husband, fed up with my—er, we’ll call it “pleasant disposition”—kicked me out of the house.

“Go for a run,” he said, hoping a few miles would burn off my bad attitude. So I did. On my way home, I gave a Picky Bar to a homeless girl while stopped at a crosswalk. It wasn’t an intentional act of charity—if anything, I wanted to assuage my own guilt for ignoring her and her mother at what felt like the world’s longest red light.

But her reaction was so joyful, so grateful, it took me by surprise. It was just a nutrition bar – I had dozens more at home – and yet for this girl, it was a rare treat. After years of scouring stores for so-called “perfect” Christmas presents in stores, I had stumbled onto it without realizing it. I went home, loaded up a backpack, and set about running around town to distribute more Picky Bars, warm socks, and Christmas cheer. Take that, Inner Grinch!

After writing about my experience in a column, “Making Merry On The Run,” it’s become a thing with runners. It’s been kind of cool to see this small, but growing movement of giving take place in our endurance community. For most people, running is a selfish act, one done in the pursuit of an individual goal or, in some cases, the avoidance of a personal displeasure (I’m convinced 90 percent of the miles run in December are to get a break from visiting family members). But what if we could all use running as a vehicle to bring joy to others?

That’s my challenge to you this Christmas—skip the metrics and find the merry instead. Use your run workout to make the world a better place. This whole thing started with a Picky Bar, so it’s kind of cool to announce that this month I’ll be giving away prizes from Picky Bars for those of you who are making merry on the run. The crew at Picky Bars is all about good deeds—just last week, they donated more than 9,000 bars to a food bank!

For a chance to win a groovy prize from Picky Bars, share with us how you are making merry on the run—take a picture, shoot a quick video, or write a tweet or Facebook post. Share it with Competitor on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram using the hashtag #runmerry. We’ll randomly choose and notify winners via social media on Dec. 31. That’s right—if you do good, you’ll get good.

There are many ways to spread the holiday spirit during your run:

Carry a bag of small, lightweight supplies and distribute supplies to the homeless along your route. Especially needed items are socks, gloves, chapstick and food items like beef jerky or nutrition bars.
Wear an ice scraper mitt and clear the windshields of your neighbors’ cars before they wake up and head to work.
Volunteer to take the dogs at your local animal shelter for runs.
Take a garbage bag on your run and pick up trash along your favorite trail.
A-carolin’ you go. Collect a group of runners to jog from home to home, singing Christmas carols.
If you see a charity bell-ringer along your route, make a detour to a nearby coffee shop or convenience station to deliver him or her a hot chocolate.
Donate the medal from your holiday fun run to a charity like Medals4Mettle.
Mentor a new runner. Run at their pace. Offer support and encouragement.
Run in a busy park, dressed in a festive costume (Santa is always a surefire winner). Offer high-fives to any runner who crosses your path.
Donate blood. Too many runners avoid this during the regular season for fear of performance impacts, but if you’re eating ten pounds of Christmas cookies a day, you’re probably not worried about setting a PR this month.

Go forth and be merry, my friends. Tis’ the season.

About the author

Susan Lacke does 5Ks, Ironman Triathlons and everything in between to justify her love for cupcakes (yes, she eats that many). She lives and trains in Salt Lake City, Utah with three animals: a labrador, a cattle dog, and a freakishly tall triathlete husband. Lacke claims to be of sound mind, though this has yet to be substantiated by a medical expert. Follow her on Twitter: @SusanLacke

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Published on December 06, 2016 16:09

Video: The Inspiring Story of Visually Impaired Runner Chaz Davis

Watch this inspiring story about visually impaired runner Chaz Davis. He became blind halfway through his freshman year of college, falling into depression and gaining weight from lack of physical activity. But he has found his way again, through running. He represented the U.S. at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro and set a new marathon record for a visually impaired runner with a 2:31:48 effort at the California International Marathon on Dec. 4 in Sacramento, Calif.

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Published on December 06, 2016 14:57

Photos: Scenes from 2016 Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon & Half

Perseverance was the name of the game at the 2016 edition of the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon & 1/2 Marathon on Sunday, Dec. 4. With temperatures in the 50s and in rainy conditions, thousands of participants gutted through the 13.1-mile and the 26.2-mile distances. Olympians Jared Ward and Meb Keflezighi also took part in the race as pacers, and helped encourage runners along the course. Regardless of the weather, these snapshots from the weekend races show that runners still had a good time.

MORE: Mark Pinales Triumphs in Half Marathon at Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio

Photos: Kevin Morris, Photorun.net

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