Innovative Fitness Winter Events

Day Snowshoe at cypress – January 20^th, 2008

Time: 9:30am -12noon (we’ll be snowshoeing for approx 2hrs; 30min approx at lodge)

Pickup your snowshoes at the snowshoe rental building 9:00am

We will be leaving at 9:30am from the snowshoeing tent

Costs: $28.00 (includes ticket and rentals) $20.00 (rentals only)   $10.00 (ticket only)       

  Cross Country Skiing at cypress – February 3rd, 2008

Time: 9:30-12noon (skiing for approx 2 hours, 30 min approx at lodge) Pickup your skis at the rental building 9:00am We will be leaving at 9:30am

Costs:Classic Ski – $21.00 Skate Ski – $32.00 Tickets – $18

Cypress Mountain Fondue Snowshoe Night – March 7th, 2008

Time: 6-10pm Pickup your skis at the rental building at 5:30pm We will be leaving at 6pm sharp from the snowshoeing tent with a guide

Cost: $75.00 tax included (cash or cheque payable to Cypress Mountain) - includes pass, snowshoe rentals, headlamps, fondue and guide.

Agenda: snowshoe for approximately 2 hours. Snowshoe to Hollyburn Lodge where a fondue will be set up. Drinks can be purchased separately. Snowshoe back after dinner.

Join us! Sign up folder is at the front desk.

Don’t hesitate to call or email me if you have any questions about these great events.

Asics 2008

Long awaited updates from Asics have now arrived!

Most notable for 2008 are the 14th edition of the Kayano and 15th edition of the 2000 series.

The 2120, best selling shoe at North Shore Athletics in 2007, has been updated with the 2130. Major changes are seen in the softening of the Solyte midsole material. The laces have been shifted back to provide more room in the toe box and reduce the chances of chaffing on top of the metatarsal joint. The space trussic bridge has been stiffened to offer more support through the midfoot. If you were satisfied with the 2120, look no further than the 2130 for your next pair of shoes.

The same softening of the midsole is seen in the update to the Kayano, along with a new heel construction that improves the fit around the achilles. Midfoot stability and fit have been retained to make the 14th Kayano fit more like the 12th and build on the horrible feeling Kayano 13.

Come check out these two shoes along with the new Landreth, Nimbus and Cumulus shoes!

Running in the COLD

Well I’m on vacation, visiting my parents at their beautiful home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Most of west coasters call it Winterpeg and its living up to its reputation.

Having my sister and her family here I knew that I had a running partner to help stop the holiday 10pounder from happening.

So after a sleepin, I got up and asked her to embrace the temps and go for a run. The thermometer inside the house said the outside temp was -15celsius without windchill, maybe running wasnt going to be such a good idea. But you never know unless you try.

 So bundled we got in as much windproof gear as we had. Here is what I wore starting at my feet.

Sugoi Merino wool socks with rocky mountain Goretex socks over top, next was the lower body with a pair of sugoi windbriefs then a pair of compression shorts I finished this part off with a pair of Sugoi midzero tights. On top I had a Sugoi merino wool top with my Mountian Hardwear Transition Top over this. For my hands I had a pair of windstopper gloves plus a pair of sugoi windmitts over top and on my bald lid a wore the Mountain Hardwear transition dome. So to say I was wearing layers would be an understatment but it all moved well and felt non-cumbersome. On my feet I chose to wear my trail shoes without any extra traction on the bottom(no snowshoes or yaktraxs) and they worked really well for the snow conditions encountered.

Total value of gear for this run way too much but I owned it all already and its lasted me for years so far but to give you a value probably somewhere around $600 without shoes. WOW. Glad I get a deal.

 So off we went into the trails which are all packed from the numbers of folks that venture into this beautiful park just a minutes run from my folks place. After the intial shock of cold to the system and gaining the wind protection of the forest we were off on a gorgeous 45min run on packed snow trails that you could a have managed to do at least an 1hr30min run without even doubling back on yourself.

 Well after having braved this maybe an arctic running stage race is not as crazy as I might have first thought. Like all the outdoor sports that exsist if you dress with the appropriate gear for the weather you will enjoy your day much, much more.

Happy Holidays from Winterpeg. See you all in the New Year

 Peter

HONOLULU MARATHON 2007

 I just completed my 20th Honolulu marathon in about 3:02:35. They used a new computer chip system this year it was the consistency of a label and it poured rain at the start and at times during the race so my time did not show on the initial results sheet.  Some other competitors with the same problem as I had and I went to the officials and gave them our times so they should rectify it. The results say I placed 1st in my age category but I think it will be second because I ran with a guy from Bend Oregon who was in my category and he did 2:57 and it says I placed 61st male and 70th overall with about 28,000 entrants. I ran with a 26 year old nurse from Salt Lake City, Utah and we had a great time. I shared some of my gels and salt pills with her and coached her along then sent her on her way at 23 miles and she finished 1 minute ahead of me.
It was cool and wet at the start but once we got going the humidity and heat engulfed us. There was very little wind for Honolulu. The men’s winner did 2:17 and the women’s winner did 2:33.Cara was out on the course and I got to see her twice, I am so lucky to have her out there supporting me. She watched me go by near our condo then she ran up Diamond Head and caught me at the finish. Now she is back at the condo icing her foot as it has been swelling a bit. I was luck to have no real problems after the marathon other than some chafing from the wet weather.
Nicola Gildersleeve, who used to work for us at North Shore Athletics, ran 3:13 but found it pretty tough and I saw a few other people I knew from Vancouver. B.J. McHugh – an 80 year old Capilano Eagle and North Shore resident finished in 5:08:10 and handily won her age category and set a new world record for her age group, she is pretty amazing!
We are in Honolulu until Dec. 24th so still have lots of time to relax, run, swim and ride around Oahu.

Mark A. Shortert

LEGENDS 5K

Hi everyone, I ran the Legends 5k in Honolulu today. It is a 5k fun run for participants of the Honolulu Marathon. I showed up at the sign in area and the race director announced me as one of the legends along with my “brother” olypmpic marathoner Frank Shorter. They gave me number 2 and I had all sorts of Japanese, Germans and Italians taking my picture and asking for my autograph. Boy are they going to be disappointed! I started the race right on the front row and maintained 2nd place for the first 2k then a couple of younger guys passed me. I finished in 6th place overall out of about 400 entrants and managed to stay ahead of olympic marathoner Frank Shorter, Boston marathon winner Greg Meyer, world record holder in the marathon and New York marathon winner Alberto Salazar and world miler Jim Ryun. I guess it is good they are all getting older! Now it is time to taper for the Honolulu marathon this Sunday. Happy Training! Mark A. Shorter

Aloha from Honolulu!

Aloha from Honolulu. I ran a 22 mile run on the last 20 miles of the Honolulu Marathon course this morning. I started at 5:00 am local time, 7:00 am Vancouver time and ran the last 20 miles of the course. I was pretty well on my own until the sun came up (6:30) then I started to run into other runners. I got to talk to all sorts of locals and had a great run. My plan was to run 75-80% of max but that kind of went out the window on the way back from Hawaii Kai (the marathon turn around). I had a tail wind out to the turn around then a head wind and rain on the way back. It was about 75 degrees F so it was not unpleasant. I caught a guy that wants to break 3:15 and he picked up the pace till we were running 90% (it is easy to get caught up even 2.5 hours into a long run). It is nice to run here as I don’ t find I get stiff and sore and I don’t get too cold.

I hear the coast had about 12 centimeters of snow. My brother has been shoveling snow and meeting the neighbors. We had to wait an extra half hour in Seattle for them to de-ice the wings yesterday and boy, were we glad to take off.

All is well here.

Happy training!

Regards,

Mark A. Shorter

Denise’s New York Marathon

We arrived in New York late Friday night and immediately went to see Times Square and grab a bite to eat.

For those people that have been to TS it really doesn’t do it justice on the TV or movies.  It is absolutely unreal.  The billboards are so enourmous it’s crazy.  Tiger Woods was about five stories high!

We got up the next morning quite early to go watch the men’s Olympic trials in Central Park.  We (me, Pat, Tana and Martin) made our way down to the park to watch them go around the park 2 times as it was unbelievably cold and windy.  (Thanks Laura for telling me to bring my down jacket!)

After walking around the city a bit we made our way back to the Hotel (which was centrally located and quite nice!)  We then decided to run down to pick up our race packages.  We made our way down to the Convention Centre and picked up our race packages and do a little shopping.  The Convention Centre is GIGANTIC.  There was at least 3 other large events going on other than the Marathon and it was not that busy.

With everything organized and ready to go for Sunday morning we hopped in a Taxi and went to Little Italy for dinner.  It is beautiful there.  I felt like I was really in Italy!  There is definitely not a shortage of places to eat in Little Italy.  I had my pre-race pasta and a glass of wine and it was Divine!

On Race Day we were advised not to take the bus from the Library as there was construction on the Verrazano Bridge.  We were told to make our way to the Staten Island Ferry and take the bus from there.  I wanted to take the easy way out and get a taxi from the hotel but Martin convinced me to get the Subway.  So I met Martin at 5am in the Lobby of the hotel and we walked to Grand Central Station and caught the #4 to the Staten Island Ferry (it sounds like we knew what we were doing!)  We got on the Ferry just after the sun came up and it was really beautiful.  We cruised by the Statue of Liberty and it felt very surreal.  The weather was going to be perfect!

Have I mentioned that this was my first “destination race”?  Pat (my husband) thinks that Penticton is a destination but I beg to differ!

Anyways, we hopped on the bus that took us to the start and we saw the buses lined up on both levels of the Verrazano Bridge.  Another surreal visual.  Martin (Mr. Safety) was quick to ponder the capacity of the bridge as there were so many buses on it.

We got to the start quite early and it was quite funny.  People bring tents, sleeping bags, and the best thing is the painters outfits to keep warm before the race.  I went to drop my bag in the designated UPS truck about 1 hour before race start and it was super crowed and busy.  Next time I would drop the bag early and wear some clothes that I could toss away.

My race started on the top level of the bridge.  I understand that they started mostly women on the top of the bridge so we didn’t get “rained on “!  The first mile was slow (9:20) then I got going a bit too fast (8:12) and then I settled in at about a 8:35 pace for the next few miles (which was still too fast).

I got caught up in the crowd for the first 1/2 of the race.  I was amazed at the number of participants as well as the people cheering.  I knew that there were 40 thousand people racing but it really doesn’t mean anything until you see it.  I actually felt really great  until about  the 16 mile mark and I stopped for water and my right leg decided it didn’t want to continue.  After winning the battle with my leg I continued on….just not as fast

The last 4 miles I found tough.  The crowds however are amazing.  I actually saw Pat just before entering Central Park.  It’s really loud and the crowds are huge.  There was a bit of carnage on the way in…people walking,  feet bleeding,  people throwing up, passing out…….sounds good right?  Where do I sign up?

Each Borough was unique.  There were heavy metal bands, bagpipes, reggae, school bands, choirs from churches…….endless support and encouragement from each unique borough.  They close streets for hours on end and whole heartedly embrace the marathon no matter if they run or not.

I ended up with a PR of 3:56:56.  I was aiming for a Boston qualifier (3:50) but hey it’s been a tough year and I had FUN and that’s why we do this isn’t it?

Pat and I stayed until Wednesday night.  We did a lot of sightseeing (do the Grayline bus tour it’s great!)   The food is amazing and last but not least …………..the shopping is awesome.

If the New York marathon is not on your list I would add it.

d

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New Face at NSA

Hello everyone, if you have been in the store on Wednesday or Friday during the last 4 or 5 weeks you might have noticed a newbie sitting helping a customer with about a dozen open shoe boxes around him.  That was me, the skinny guy with a red goatee, Adam.  Just thought it would be helpful to introduce myself to everyone who checks this blog. I’m all about endurance sports, including triathlon. 

I think that’s enough for my first post.   See you soon.

Happy Training,

Adam O’Meara

Mizuno Wave Arashi 2

Love the Mizuno Wave Ascend for the trail? Check out the new Wave Arashi 2 from Mizuno which utilizes the same midsole as the Ascend with the addition of a Gore-Tex upper. Keep your toes warm this trail running season with this new offering from Mizuno!

Shannon Back’s Ironman Hawaii Race Report

Last weekend North Shore Athletics team member raced at her first Ironman Hawaii. Read her race report here.

racereport.pdf