"Women on the Trails" Training Group

Women on the Trails is an 8-week program created specifically for women who are interested in getting into trail running and would like to do so in a group setting. In addition to providing weekly group runs, each run will be held from a different trail head entrance on Austin’s Greenbelt so that new trail runners will complete the program with exposure to a variety of trail routes to run on solo or with friends.

Dates and Times
The group starts on April 19 at 6:30pm and meets every Thursday for 8 weeks.
Dates: April 19, 26 | May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 | June 7
Time: 6:30pm start - 8:00pm end (this includes "Trail Talks")
Locations: Locations will vary from week to week. Information will be e-mailed out ahead of time.

What's Included
The 8-week program includes:
-- A weekly group trail run at alternating trail head start locations.

-- "Trail Talk" 15 minute session on topics like: trail ettiquette, navigation, nutrition, running technique.

-- Optional night time trail run on a different day of the week. **head lamps will be required**
Audience

The program is designed for women who are runners but are new to trail running. All participants must:
-- Be able to run a minimum of 3.1 miles (5K).
-- Be 18 years of age or older.
-- Have a sense of adventure.
-- Be a SHE!

Group Setting
All trail runs will be done in a group setting with two run coaches and a strict "no drop" policy. You'll never be alone, you'll be with us!

Required Gear
Gear requirements are very minimal. All participants must have:
-- Running shoes (trail shoes not required).
-- Water bottle or similar hydration gear.
-- Running attire.

Cost
The cost is $50 per person for the 8-week session.

Optional: The 8-week session ends right before "The Ranch" trail run event at beautiful Reveille Ranch in Burnet, TX on Sunday, June 10. Check out a new venue and hang with other trail runners!

For more info about the run, click HERE.
Event Registration can be found HERE.
Cost is $50 until May 27; $60 until June 9.

Registration and More info for the training group can be found HERE.

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"Women on the Trails" Training Group

Shop ride Sundays: Steiner time and getting wet

This Sunday see's the shop ride return to the Steiner Ranch Steakhouse, a ride thats become hugely popular with both regular shop riders and a whole new Steiner Ranch ride crew. The ride will start promptly at 8:30 am from the Steakhouse parking lot, and will be followed by the customary, excellent, and great value Steakhouse half price brunch. See the shop web site for additional details, including maps.

One request, please remember that the staff, our servers at the Steakhouse, are doing it for love AND tips. They start work early to come serve us. Please remember to share the love not by just telling them how great tight spandex is ;-) that way we might get a few more out to help!

No Drop! As always we'll have "Jack's famous" no-drop ride, lead by James and Hugo this week, a 20-mile out and back along RR620 and through a neighborhood with a few short hills.

Advanced/Intermediate: There will be intermediate and advanced rides with myself(Mark), Jack and Drew from the shop, and Sid Steiner on duty as ride leaders. The Advanced and Intermediate routes are 30-ish miles, and its a good chance to challenge yourself and start towards the back of the Advanced and try to hang-on. If you can't, just spin and the Intermediate group(s) will come along afterwards and pick-you-up!

Swim time: As promised last time we were at the Steiner Ranch, we are going to start a pre-ride open water swim. We'll meet at 6:15 a.m. at the Low Water Crossing below Mansfield Dam. The water there is cold, mostly colder than Barton Springs, and the current can be strong, so you can swim towards the dam and go nowhere. The TCEQ no longer monitor the Low Water Crossing, but you can find some details and pictures here. Wetsuits required, swim at your own risk. We'll plan to start at 6:30 a.m. and head over to the Steiner Steakhouse at 7:30. [Here is a write-up of the swim from Pam LeBlanc on austin360.com]

Shop ride Sundays: Steiner time and getting wet

Shop ride Sundays: Steiner delights!

Steiner rides.... this Sunday(3/27) sees the shop ride move north to the Steiner Ranch steakhouse, wheels down 8:30 prompt. This week is also the booster for the April 10th High Five Events Round Rock Express ride and we'll be giving away some free entries to Sunday shop riders.

Due to Easter w/e, we've also moved the April Steiner Ranch to May 1st. Thats right, in May you get two chances to ride up north and have an outstanding half price brunch courtesy of Sid and the Steiner Ranch crew. Also, May 1st is the booster ride for the Shiner GASP Ride, we'll have free beer courtesy of the Shiner brewery.

Next week I'll publish the ride schedule for April, which includes another post ride Triathlon transition practice session at Butler park. Good luck to everyone racing Champions Tri on Saturday, and to everyone doing the Cap10k Sunday, which I'll be doing so I'll miss the shop ride, good luck and be safe out there!

Shop ride Sundays: Steiner delights!

Shop ride Sundays: It's Steiner time!

Yep, we are back in full cadence for this Sunday, Feb. 27th at the Steiner Ranch Steakhouse. We'll have 3-ride groups doing the usual routes. Advanced will leave first, followed by one or two Intermediate groups and finally the no-drop ride. When we say no-drop, we mean it.

For the first 6-miles or so you can start with any group, if you get dropped, stop and wait, then next group will be along in a few minutes. We strongly discourage any group ride first timers from going out with the Advanced ride since after a mile or two they'll pick up the pace and it's dangerous to you and everyone else if this is your first big group ride, you are out of breath and struggling to keep up, you are likely to make a silly mistake and fall, and worse still, bring someone else down. So pick an appropriate group to start with.

Once the Advanced and Intermediate groups turn off 620, although they complete the same route, they are NOT no drop and you'll have to work to stay with your group.

Don't forget, we leave on time, so that means 8:30 a.m. If you need to set-up, assembly bike etc. then I suggest planning to arrive no later than 8:05.

After the ride we'll assemble indoors or hopefully as the weather looks good, out on the deck for half price brunch and drinks. You can change in the bathrooms but please be discrete and respectful to other customers and to the restaurant for hosting us!

I won't be there Sunday, have a great and safe ride though! Mark.

Shop ride Sundays: It's Steiner time!

Shop ride Sundays - Whats going on?

A few updates for December on the shop ride. We had yet another great turnout last week for the Steiner Ranch Steakhouse ride, and so we be holding the shop Christmas Ride up there on 12/19. They'll be free brunch for those with the best bike, helmet and clothing decorations!

For this Sunday, if the weather holds, it will be a glorious sunny, if not cool morning for a ride, predictions are on 48f - We'll have the shop no-drop ride, that will go South for the usual route, 20-miles total.

We'd like to offer a longer ride this week for everyone else, and we may or may not split into intermediate lead by Tammy and Tempo Multisport, and Advanced with Zac. What we thinking would be good would be to take an easy ride out South East once clear of town, do one, two or three paceline groups, based on who shows up. We'll re-group after about 6-miles at a gas station, and then set off back to the shop together, it will give about a 50-mile ride.

So thats the proposal, show up and we will see what folks want to do. There should be enough ride escorts to split into different groups either way.

Shop ride Sundays - Whats going on?

Shop ride Sundays: Catch-up

First up, a big congratulations for everyone from the shop ride who raced at Austin Tri. I hope we managed to catch up with most of you and either wish you good luck before the race, or congratulate you afterwards.

Big-up for Tracy Ohargan who finished 2nd in her age group at the sprint race, Tracy has been riding with the no-drop group!

Next-up a big thanks to Tammy, Kelley from Tempo Multisport for taking care of last weeks ride with most of us helping out with the Austin tri. Good luck to Kelley who takes on the road racing scene for the next 2-weeks as a member of Velossimo racing

We have decided to change around the schedule for the rest of September based on the success of the Steiner Steak House ride and slot another ride in on the 19th. So the schedule for the rest of the month looks like this:

12th No-drop does Shoal Creek, Intermediate and Advanced will go North
19th Sunday Brunch Ride, Steiner Steakhouse Style (details here)
26th No-drop and rides go South

I'll be hosting unofficial rides of the Austin 70.3 course on Saturday 11th, 18th and 25th, leave at 7 a.m. sharp from the entrance to Walter E Long Park aka Decker Lake. For this weekends rides, and any before then I'd recommend taking extra spares, and a puncture kit. The roads will have all sorts of trash on them after the heavy rain. Be careful out there.

Finally, many of you were on the shop ride last month when Sandy Carson came along to take pictures for Bicycling Magazine. Sandy has put the pictures online here, and you can order copies. They also serve as a great summary of the general ride(s).

Shop ride Sundays: Catch-up

Training Tips for the Bandera Trail Run

Now that the triathlon season is coming to a close and the Bandera Trail run draws near, it is definitely the time to ditch the road and hop on the trail. Luckily Joe Prusaitis, race director of the Bandera Trail run, had a second to give us some pointers for his race and trail running in general.

First and foremost, Joe advises runners to get on uneven surfaces by finding trails like the Greenbelt - dry creek beds and paths that will test stability. Athletes who run only on the road are able to use the same foot plant in every stride and never have a chance to use their lateral muscles. "You start finding all those muscles you never use," Joe notes, "I think of it like going skiing once a year, you just hurt like heck even though you think you're in great shape."

The Bandera Trail Run began with Joe's vision to design one of the most challenging courses in the area. "I went out there and laid out the longest possible race I could get without crossing a trail and without backtracking," he says. What resulted was a 31 mile loop that combines quad-busting climbs with enough flats to keep runners motivated. Joe recommends that all competitors come to Bandera at least once before the race to physically experience (run or hike) the course. "There really is a home court advantage," Joe notes, adding that runners can look at a topographic map and mistakenly think that the steepest hill is the hardest - which is not necessarily the case!

Running on the trail, especially in winter, sometimes requires artificial light and there is a good chance runners who are ready for the Bandera 100k will spend a portion of their race in the dark. Though many runners opt for lightweight headlamps, Joe warns against them because most shine straight down and offer little depth of vision. Hand lamps are larger and brighter. Also, though many think halogen bulbs are a better option because they're brighter, LED lights allow runners to see greater depth and they also require less battery power, which means runners don't have to carry heavy backup batteries in their packs.

Otherwise, distance trail races are "all about food and water" according to Joe, who always suggests front packs. "If it's not convenient, you're not going to mess with it." Stopping to shed your backpack and fish out your nutrition will interrupt the flow of your run much more than simply unzipping a small fanny pack. If you do carry a small pack, make sure have a good plan to replenish your nutrition at the aid stations along the course.

This is where great volunteers and supportive friends or family are a necessity. Joe suggests race support teams find out where aid stations are before the race online, take a chair and layer enough clothing for the cold weather at night. Those who come to support competitors "almost need to plan like that are running" says Joe, suggesting support teams bring more food and water than they assume they would need.

Though planning for this type of race can be complicated, don't forget to have fun and enjoy running in this special place that "just has a good feel to it," according to Joe. Good luck to all competitors!

For more information about the Bandera Trail Run, click here.

Training Tips for the Bandera Trail Run

Coach's Corner: Running Softly

In the November 2007 Jack & Adam's Newsletter, the Training 101 section, written by Derick Williamson of Source Endurance, talked about a running technique called "running softly." Recently we received an email from a customer informing us of how much the technique has helped him. Because of that, we wanted to repost the article:

Run Softly
It seems that the inherent beating our legs take while on training runs often leads to some of the most nagging and potentially severe injuries we face as triathletes. That dreaded pain on the inside of a shin, the chronically inflamed IT band, a perpetually tight hamstring, and the list goes on. Too many times we chalk this up as part of the process. What many athletes do not realize is that by applying a few subtle technique changes to running form, common injuries can be eradicated and running speed can be gained. This happens through increased economy of movement which can be achieved by just being quiet while you run, in other words, run softly.

While on a run, leave the ipod at home and prepare to listen. Listen to your gait. Is there a heavy sigh from the ground on every foot strike, or do you notice a shuffling sound similar to autumn foliage moving along at the pace of a breeze? If you are picking up on sounds that are more audible than not, it may be that you need to work on your foot strike and run more softly.

Running soft allows your foot to strike the ground and transition from the initial contact, often considered heel strike or a mid-foot strike, with less breaking force (ground reaction force). This means that less impact is transferred from this brief, but violent stop throughout the body. Think of a plane that lands gently at an optimal angle versus the landing that comes down a little hard and jolts the entire cabin. This is not entirely dissimilar to the jolt your body takes each time your foot lands. When coaches tell athletes to run with light feet, this is precisely what they are referring to.

On runs, occasionally think about foot strike and quick transition. As the heel comes in contact with the ground, try to roll the foot forward to the mid foot, then to the ball of the foot and then to a strong propulsive toe off. Work on doing this seamlessly and without interruption. Another important key to this skill is never allowing heel strike to be forward of the knee. The heel strike should occur directly under the knee and the knee should be directly beneath your center of gravity. Look down while in heel strike to mid-stance of your stride. At that point you should see no more than the tips of your toes extending from beneath your knee. If you see more than just the tips, then you're creating a greater ground reaction force and more resistance - setting you up for a higher risk of injury.

Like anything, running softly takes time to develop, but remind yourself every once in awhile that doing so can have a huge impact.

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Coach's Corner: Running Softly