What to wear for #running today?

I'm regularly asked advice on "what #running gear do I need for this weather?" The question pops up on +Twitter, +Facebook, Boards, Google+, you name it, I even get asked in +Amphibian King West the odd time!  :)


I usually throw out a few suggestions; "one of these", "some of those" and "if its doing this, wear that".

I realised yesterday possibly the best way to answer this is to do a show & tell. So starting today I'm going to show you how I dress for different weather conditions.

November 21st - Cold, dry 92% chance of precipitation) and with a 'RealFeel' of -5°c (I presume some form of air wind chill guesstimate).

Now, I don't check my phone to see how to dress. I was out at the bins and the foggy breath and snap to the air told me enough.

This one is easy to address:

Those tags in the image may not be clear enough, so.

Hat - a 7 year old promotional beanie from +Polar that everyone wants to buy from me. No way, never!! 
Neck scarf - buff type from Amphibia Sport. Perfect to keep the headphone cables from flapping around, and my chin nice and warm. 
Upper body - Outer shell is a +Saucony Kinvara Nomad Jacket over an inner layer comprising of a long sleeve thermal top. 

Aesthetic FlexFilm details make our Kinvara Nomad Jacket a pack leader, while the windproof front panel, thermo-regulating sleeves and side panels, and the ultra-breathable fleece back vent make runs in any weather a breeze! 

Lower body - Saucony Omni tights with a NGOI base layer (to prevent brass monkeys) keep the leg muscles warm and cosy.

NGOI Base layer shorts.

 

 

The main issue is the windchill factor. You are still sweating in the winter time and clothing that prevents the wind passing through will stop your trunk from getting cold. If your torso gets chilled you are going to be miserable in no time at all.

So, dry weather but cold: thermal base layers, windproof top or jacket, hat, gloves (off for positioning camera), long leg tights.

That's how I dress today.

#GearTip for Winter Training

With the Winter really on top of us now going #running requires a little thought and preparation to ensure that you are comfortable in all sorts of weather conditions.

Two items of gear which are invaluable in my book are:


Designed as a trail running tight, the material in the +ASICS Fuji Trail tight is stretchy and comfortable. The designers made the lower leg material slightly thicker and durable to help prevent tears and pulls when running through rough vegetation.

I find this lower leg material is water repellant and as a result keeps your legs dry when running on wet roads. The splash water is not absorbed by the fabric and you get no water creep on longer runs.

Perfect item for road or trail running in the wet.

ASICS Fuji Trail tight

Second piece of 'can't do without' equipment is a fabric tube from +Amphibia Sport.

Lots of different uses from scarf to sweatband. Personally I find the best winter use is as a neck scarf. Bunch the material up, pass over your head and its sits snug around your throat, keeping your neck warm, zip your jacket up and the scarf prevents rain from running down the back of your neck.
 

Amphibia Sport - fabric tube

Oíche Shamhna - Halloween

So #Halloween is over for another year.

The excitement rolls on for some though.

Halloween is rooted in pagan celebration of Samhain marking the end of harvest, beginning of winter and it is a time when it is believed that spirits could cross over easily into our world so offerings are left for them and people disguise themselves from the spirits. It is a festival time of year.

For me, I'm still celebrating. The past couple of days saw a climactic finish to a little known event called the +Brooks Running Window Challenge.

Across Ireland & the UK, Brooks stockists are encouraged to dress their shop windows and submit them for judging and public voting. The theme is Halloween based, time of year and a loose connection to the Brooks running shoe the #Ghost is expected but not specified.

Time for some artistic flair!!

Not really expecting much out of it, being just a new store in Limerick and only a couple of years experience dressing windows I submitted our window for the LOLZ :)

I wanted atmosphere. I wanted grandeur. I wanted it to be tangible, pertinent. I wanted to make a connection with the spirit of Halloween!!

I also wanted to win :)

I didn't have much in the way of props. Some Brooks race tape from the Galway Aquathon in the summer, some boxes, a cleverly disguised ASICS pedestal (ssshhh!!!) some straw bedding from the local PetMania and pumpkins from a local farm. The cobwebs are real (I really need to clean up more) and the back drop & lights (cobwebs too) were picked up in clearance bins in Woodies.

The final window is plain enough:

But I was chasing details.

The harvest element is obvious

But I really like how the #GhostlyGhost turned out:

Submitting the photos to Brooks UK I wasn't expecting to see my pictures on the website as one of the final four! Cue some frantic sharing & promoting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ to name but a few Social Media sites.

Over the weekend we split away with a store that turned out to be in Lincolnshire, the Lincolnshire Runner and it really became a two shop race. All the entries were cleverly done but there was only going to be one winner.

We fell behind, jumped ahead, fell back, drew level, fell back and at 4pm I was a nervous wreck! You all saw the Twitter feed.

At 4:50pm I was frantic!! I literally spammed everybody I knew, every Facebook page I could access, every friend (I seem to have a few less today, wonder why? :) ) and at 5:00pm on the button voting shut down. I was afraid to refresh the screen and then the Tweets came flying in!!!!

WE WON!!! #AKLimerick are the winners!!

Right away the official word came through on Twitter:

The winner of the @BrooksrunningUK @BrooksrunningIE #Halloween window is @amphkingwest thank you to everyone who has taken part!
— BrooksrunningUK (@Brooksrunninguk) November 5, 2013

All you fantastic #awesomeAKfans have made this shopkeeper very proud and thank you to each and everyone of you who shared, liked, voted, RT'd, favourited, +1'd all my posts over the last few days. Thanks to the guys in +Amphibian King Dublin for sharing on their page too.

I'm off to bask in the glory of "Best dressed window in Ireland & UK" before I get attacked by ninja onions :)

Thank you & #RunHappy, of course!

Recap of our October Newsletter

Season's are changing. There's been a big shift in the daylight hours. As well as early night, the light is poor during the day so make sure you can be seen by other road users. As usual there is a couple of things to share with you: Introduce you to our Autumn #Zero25k schedule Our definitive guide to "Running Safely" Taper you down for your Marathon day WIN a Polar RC3 GPS watch & Heart Rate monitor Highlight some of our exciting new arrivals Update you on some local races (Race Directors please keep us informed here) #AKLimerick We have been settling in well with our Roxborough store. It is the biggest shop in the Amphibian King network and along with the store in Oranmore we will continue to bring you the service, shoes and accessories that you deserve. Share Tweet Forward to Friend +1 Share Reflect on Run Safety There's been a big shift in the daylight hours. As well as early night, the light is poor during the day so make sure you can be seen by other road users. With daylight hours being so short now and visibility so 'grey' you as a runner / cyclist / pedestrian have to take matters of your own safety very seriously. Place yourself in the driving seat on a winter's day, low sun reflecting off damp road, rain blurred windshield, how much can you see? Not much, everything looks grey. As a pedestrian if you can't be seen against this background you are in serious trouble. Read more Share Tweet Forward to Friend +1 Share

Local runners Jason Fahy and Niall Tuohy popped in to test our track. Have you been following our #AKW Intermediate Marathon Plan?

Website Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest The brand new Mizuno Sayonara is awesome!! Share Tweet Forward to Friend +1 Share Autumn Marathon Tired legs and tired shoes. For many, Autumn is marathon season. The final stretch in a long season of 5k, 10k and half marathon races culumnating in conquering the 26.2miles. Whatever your goal, whichever your race or whatever your distance, put some Spring into tired legs with new shoes to keep you going the distance. Don't leave off changing your marathon shoes until the last minute, it is too late by then. You need time to adjust. Check out our blog for some essential beating-the-Marathon-Wall information. Our Intermediate Marathon Runners are currently on Week 13 of a 16 week plan, there may be some ideas there that work for you, you can dip in and out using some of the sessions to suit your own running. Website Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest As a thank-you for Customer Loyalty, every returning customer gets €10 discount on their running shoes. We also have a few introductory vouchers for friends and family you might like to introduce to us. Simply ask for a supply when you are in with us. We look forward to seeing you soon in #AKLimerick!! Share Tweet Forward to Friend +1 Share #Zero25k For the past 2 years, each January, we've organised a #Zero25k group from our shop in Oranmore. This has served as an introduction to running for so many people over the past two years and there is such demand for it we are going again!! Have a read about the group here and you will hopefully be motivated to join us or invite your friends to join us as we go about setting up a new group. Some of our runners have gone on to join local clubs, others have gone onto running Marathons, its up to you where your running brings you. Starting the 26th of October we will be hosting our #Zero25k program in two locations, completing just before Christmas: #AKGalway - based from our store in Oranmore, Galway #AKLimerick - based from our store in Roxborough, Limerick All we ask for is that you are committed to following your fitness development for 9 weeks trust our trainers to guide you correctly (no jumping ahead in the program!!) reasonably healthy and injury free (if in any doubt get your Doctor's advice) There is no online registration for this season, you must call into the relevant store in person to register and it is of course, FREE of CHARGE!! Share Tweet Forward to Friend +1 Share Footwear Freebies :-) Our cool brands have provided us with some FREE Goodies to give away with shoe purchases. We will also be developing demo nights where we will host our specialist brands, giving you a chance to product test new shoes as part of a run and avail of special discounts on purchases. Stay tuned to our Newsletter for updates on this and other items. Featured Products Naturally at this stage of the year you are going to need more outerwear suited to the elements. As identified above, visibility has to be your friend so don't be put off by strong, vibrant colours, embrace them, they keep you safe!! Below is a selection of products we have selected as perfect for Autumn running. Featuring wind proof materials to prefect body chill they also have breathable fabrices to help regulate body temperatures. Pop in and try them on. Events for the Diary There are tons of events happening all the time, all over. Here's a few that we know of but we'd love to hear about any of your upcoming races too. 06/10/2013 - The Human Race (10k, half marathon & 30k) 12/10/2013 - Conamara 10k 12/10/2013 - NUI Galway 8k 12/10/2013 - Ladies Weekend featuring 10k (Limerick) 28/10/2013 - Dublin Marathon Share Tweet Forward to Friend +1 Share Win a Polar RC3 GPS Our good friends at Polar HQ have sent us a brilliant prize to giveaway. One lucky person will run or cycle away with this new GPS watch and Heart Rate monitor. Entry to the draw is free, no purchase required and can be done through this link - Polar RC3 GPS Feel free to pop into our instore expert for a demo of the watches and learn how you can bring your training to the next level using Heart Rate montioring. Good luck iin the draw!! Share Tweet Forward to Friend +1 Share Copyright © 2013 Amphibian King Galway, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a registered customer of our stores in Oranmore & Limerick. You have volunteered your email address when setting up your account. We would like to keep you up to date with any special news & offers that we may have. Our mailing address is: Amphibian King Galway 5 Howley Square Main Street Oranmore, Galway Ireland Add us to your address book update subscription preferences unsubscribe from this list