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10Sep

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This Sunday I went with some athlete friends to do mountain biking in Quito.  We went to a close by city named Cumbaya (15 mins from Quito); to a mountain bike trail named “Chaquiñan”  where people can run, walk, and bike at approximately 2,288 meters above sea level.

We started at 7am and we did 34 km in about 3 hours.   Biking along this trail is fun!  you get to see nice views and have hills, down hills, rocks, sand, trees, tunnels, and cliffs (to your side). The trail is not dangerous – meaning you don’t need to be a pro to go with your bicycle there –  just make sure you have a good mountain bicycle and some company (as it is not recommended to go by yourself and definitely go early in the morning).

Approximately 11 km from the starting point in Cumbaya, you get to the best part of the trail!  you are going downhill and you have at your right a beautiful view of the “Chiche canyon”, this nice view at your right lasts about 10 minutes, approximately 2 kilometers.   Then you get to cross several tunnels, the second one being the longest, it has a length of about 100 meters.  You have to have a lighter or you won’t see a thing!  It is a bit of an upper hill, but it is not bad; so make sure you put a lot of strenght on this part to cross the tunnel fast!

When you get to kilometer # 17 (Arrayanes), you have a refreshing point.  Here you can buy fresh fruit juices, energy drinks, fruits, snacks, and water;  there are also restrooms here.   Juices are good, especially because they are 100% natural and no sugar added!   I drank an orange and banana juice and it was very refreshing!  As part of the snacks they sell “chochos” this is one grain that is original from the Andes, it has a lot of nutrients!  So this could be a good snack for you, if you want to try something different and healthy.

Once we reached to the refreshing point (Arrayanes) we rested there like 10 minutes; then we took our bikes to go back to where we started.  The way back is a bit easier because you go most of the time downhill.

We were back at the starting point after 3 hours of biking, and thanks to my Garmin watch I was able to track a map (which I have shared it under Share a Trail:  “Mountain Bike at Chaquiñan”), and gather a lot of useful information.

If you want to do this too, here are some important facts and tips:

 

Information on the trail:

* Starting point:   Km 2 of the Chaquiñan

* Finish point:  Km 17 Arrayanes

* Total distance for this trail:  34.05 km

* Average speed:  11.3 km/hour

* Altitude:  2,288 m

* Elevation gain: 459 m

* Starting time:  7:29 am

* Finishing time: 10:30 am

 

Tips:

* Bring a lighter with you – there are some dark tunnels on the way!

* Use sunblock on face

* Always wear a helmet

* Wear long sleeves, or sleeves because the sun is super strong and you will get sunburned

* Better to use bike pants (to your ankles) because there are trees, dust, and few mosquitos that could bite

* Wear sunglasses

* Wear bike gloves

* Start early in the morning to avoid strong heat at noon, at the latest 7:30 am.

* Bring some cash with you (like $25 US dollars – better to have one or two dollars in coins especially if you want to enjoy a fresh juice and you dont wan’t to wait for change)

 

Hope you enjoy the ride as much as I did!

 

 

4Sep

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This was my comeback race in Latam after living for five years in New York, and mostly competing in races organized by the New York Road Runners.

I was a bit hesitant in signing up for the race, since I only have gotten to Bogota two weeks before the race and hardly had time to train (Bogota is the third-highest capital city in South America at 8,612ft or 2,625 meters above sea level); though at the local gym I joined, I was told that it is one of the better organized races in the city, so I decided to give it a shot.

This was the third anniversary of this 10K race, which has historically had Polar as its main sponsor. This year it also counted with Citibank as a sponsor as part of its 200 years celebration. One of the special features the race offered this year was the possibility to participate with a team of 4 people competing in relays (a couple with run 5k, passing the relay to the next couple to compete the 10K course). I haven’t seen this in other races before, but I thought it was interesting to promote a higher number of participants (people seeking only to run a 5K).

I tried to sign up online, but couldn’t do it because as a mandatory field you needed to input a cell phone, which I did not have yet. Instead, I had to go to one of the Polar stores to do it in situ. The process was fairly easy and quick (no issues because of not having a cell phone here), and had to pay the equivalent of approx. $30. Race pack was handed at the stores starting on Thursday until Saturday. No major issues in collecting it, you just had to hand in your receipt of payment.

The race start time was scheduled for 8:30am with runners suggested to get there at 7:30am. The race started at a relatively centric spot in the northern part of the city (Cra 15 and street 97), which is easily accessible by public transportation.

I got there at 8:00am and there was fairly large crowd (approximate 4,000 runners participated). A group warm up led by a personal trainer started 15 minutes prior to the race. I thought this was interesting, since it was a way to motivate the participants -it was aerobic-music-driven exercise moves-, and also prepared you for the coming effort. Five minutes before the start time I decided to go to the corral (one single corral with no pace separation), though there wasn’t any formal announcement, loud music continued playing. There was no horn or indication that the race started, but I saw people moving forward, however, we were slowed down by a partial barricade in the corrals, which I thought might have been to separate elite athletes from other runners. It was not a big issue, but if you had a larger crowd this could be dangerous.

The day offered good running conditions with approximate temperature of 65°F or 17°C under a sunny sky. Through the race, you had 4 hydration points (2 offering water and 2 a sport drink), which felt enough. Turns were announced in advance with hanging banners and you had volunteers through out the race, which played a key role, especially in the second half of the race, since the route interfered with “Ciclovia” (a program by which each Sunday a main avenue in Bogota is closed for car traffic allowing it to be used by runners and cyclers).

The finish line was in the same spot where the race started; once you crossed the line you got a medal (which is always nice), a bottle of sport drink and fruit.

Approximately, four hours after crossing the finish line, I got an email from the race with my time, which I really liked.

I did not broke my PR, but I felt pretty good about my time, considering the lack of training and the altitude, and also gave me an idea of the local running community.

26Aug

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One of the collateral effects of the globalization of the economy is that we find more people traveling as part of their work routine. This puts a lot of pressure in trying to maintain a healthy life style and for our purposes sticking to a training plan. Nonetheless, as we runners know, it is pretty much about discipline and flexibility that allows us to reach our goals, being this completing a 5K, 10K, half marathon or a marathon.

A couple of large hotel chains have become conscious of this strive for a more balanced life style and have improved their gyms and incorporated healthier choices into their menus.

Recently, I had the chance to stay at the Westin Tampa Bay Hotel. My trip was for leisure, thus I always bring with me my running gear and try to accommodate at least a short run in the morning. I have read before about their RunWestin program in association with New Balance, so I decided to give it a try. The program basically offers you for $5 the chance of getting a New Balance short, shirt (and appropriate clothes for women), shoes and socks; basically, all that you need to hit the gym or the road.

The first thing that came to my mind (and maybe better said to my wife’s mind) was about cleanness and how comfortable I was in using sport’s gear that might have been used several times by different people (by the way the socks are for you to keep!). I got the gear the night before my early run (you call guest services and you get your stuff in approximately 10 minutes), all running oriented. Shirts and shorts looked fairly new and shoes were brand new. I asked if they had a recommend running trail and they gave me a small map with a 2 miler and a 3 miler path. The trails were average, since you run through a park, but then headed by a parking lot, and there was hardly anybody else running there; nonetheless,  it is nice at least to have an idea where to go and of the distance (bear in mind that this hotel is nearby the airport, so probably not the best location to find local runners). After my run, I hit the gym, which was nicely equipped. I was happy with my morning workout.

After running in Florida’s summer conditions (hot & humid), the cleanness factor struck back to me; I had to ask the hotel staff how they handle this. They told me that they wash the clothes (which is obvious, but I have to tell that there was no trace of any odor whatsoever; it passed my wife’s smell test) and the shoes’ insole is replaced every time someone uses it, which gave me assurance that it should be OK not to bring my own gear next time I think in staying at a Westin. At the end of the day, it is not different to the clothes you get at a gym.

 

17Aug

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Thinking on doing a triathlon?  maybe it is time to start training with a good device like a Garmin watch.   I’ve been using the Garmin Forerunner 910XT; it gives you every ounce of information possible!  Including speed, routes, distance, altitude, bpms; if you are swimming it gives you distance, number of strokes (you are able to select your style), time, wolf score, and your swim efficiency index.

You can easily change from one sport to another one if you are participating in a triathlon; there is a feature called “auto multisport” to quickly transition to each sport segment. The Forerunner stores multisport workouts in history and includes total time, distance, average heart rate (heart rate monitor required), and calories for all sports in the workout; as well as specific details for each sport.

The Forerunner also lets you store your data on your computer, by using Garmin Connect.  Garmin Connect is a web-based software for storing and analyzing data.  Data on your computer looks something like this:

You can also set alerts for: time, distance, calorie, heart rate (if you have the heart rate monitor).   Each time you reach the alert the device beeps or vibrates and displays a message.   You can also set “walk break alerts”,

These watches also have a “navigation” feature, where you can add a map, mark your location, navigate to a location, view gps information, and more.

A fully charged battery is supposed to last up to 20 hours, but it depends on usage.    Here is a video we wanted to share: A Day in the Life

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With this watch you will be able to train well for a triathlon and it will definitely help you achieve your goals!  Good luck on your next triathlon!

3Aug

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Not too long ago you needed a single purpose peripheral to track your running, but now smartphone apps make it easier than ever. You have a lot of choices on both iPhone and Android. Some are feature rich with lots of stat tracking, and others are fun games to distract you while you work out. This week we’re going to look at the five best smartphone running apps.

Earlier in the week, we asked you which running apps were the best. You weighed in with your nominations. We tallied them up, ranked them, and picked out the top five. Here they are:

Five Best Smartphone Running Apps

RunKeeper

RunKeeper has long been one of our favorite apps to track your running habits, and it’s clearly still one of the most popular. For a free app, it’s very feature rich and includes ways to track runs, jogs, and even cycling. When you have a time you’re particularly proud of you can share that through Facebook. RunKeeper also has a great set of stats for seeing when you’re improving, checking your pace, and getting a better understanding of how you’re doing. If tracking all that data on your phone doesn’t sound appealing, RunKeeper also stores your stat=s on their website so you can check it out from anywhere.

Five Best Smartphone Running Apps

Endomondo

Endomondo is a very social running app. Like RunKeeper it’s easy to track your duration, distance, and speed. You can also create routes, challenge your times, and challenge friends who live in your neighborhood. It’s about as feature-rich as running apps come. You can get an audio coach, track hydration, send friends pep talks, and plenty more. One of the cooler features is the ability to see other people’s times on routes and test it against your own. For those who like to socialize over their runs, Endomondo provides all the options you need.

Five Best Smartphone Running Apps

Nike+ Running

Much like Endomondo and RunKeeper, the Nike+ Running App provides all the stats, history, and sharing capabilities you could ask for. Nike+ has its share of tricks up its sleeve though. You can get cheered on by a real time crowd, activate a powersong to help you finish off your run, and keep track of your performance in different weather. Nike+ works with out without any of the Nike accessories as well, so if you want to just run with your phone, it won’t be a problem.

Five Best Smartphone Running Apps

Zombies, Run!

We really liked Zombies, Run! when it was first released on iOS. Now the app is out on Android (and Windows Phone) as well and gives everyone the opportunity to run from zombies as fast as they can. What makes Zombies, Run! different is the fact it turns your morning jog into a story about survival. You’re not just tracking your run with stats and numbers—you’re building a base full of supplies, and using zombie chases as interval training. It’s clearly not the app for the stat-obsessed, but it’s a fantastic experience for anyone who hates jogging.

Five Best Smartphone Running Apps

MapMyRun

As the name suggests, MapMyRun is all about tracking your route. On top of that, MapMyRun tracks your distance, calories, elevation, and your nutrition for the day. The nutritional info is what makes MapMyRun stand out the most. If you have a poor day where you’re lagging behind your regular times you can check in to see what you ate on other days and try to improve your overall health. It also gives you an estimate on how much you should eat, and how many glasses of water you need.

Now that you’ve seen the top five, it’s time to put them to an all out vote to decide which smartphone running app is the best.

What’s the Best Smartphone Running App?

This week’s honorable mention goes out to iSmoothRun, an iOS-only running app that uses both the accelerometer and GPS to track your distance. You can also keep all of your data and output to any other service you like, improve your running style with a metronome, and even create your own intervals.

Have something to say about one of the contenders? Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn’t included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Make your case for your favorite—or alternative—in the discussions below.

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it’s not because we hate it—it’s because it didn’t get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it’s a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!

2Aug

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If you are trying to stay fit, and want some cardio exercises you can think of swimming; it is a great option for you!   Swimming builds endurance, muscle strength and cardio-vascular fitness; plus swimming can give you a great exercise session with very little joint strain!

Start taking swimming sessions on a regular basis, like two sessions per week as part of your training routine!

26Jul

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If you want to have a flat stomach, here is a list of five foods that you should try to avoid:

1) Greasy meats

2) Sugar:  try to avoid sugar in juices, desserts, cereals, candies, chocolates.

3) White bread:  avoid eating food that is made with white flour

4) Potato chips:  full of fat and low protein

5) Alcohol:  usually alcohol is high in calories, so avoid drinking alcohol in order to have a flat stomach.