Sunday, August 26, 2012

the Week in Review


1. Wear Testing running shoe is awesome when you feel nothing. 2. Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France 7 times. 3. USADA Pot calling the Kettle Black. You say Armstrong will pay for his win at all cost methods. Your attitude is simply that, Win at all Costs. 4. I would prefer my tax dollars go to fighting real crime. Hint. Wall Street 5. The Saints were fined and suspended for Bounties (cheating). They still retain their Super Bowl Title. 5. Barry Bonds - wiped all those home runs away right. No because it was history. 6. I wish my high school would have had cross country. 7. There are times when it's best to close your mouth. Still learning that. 8. It's nice to be home. It's a good life.....

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

It's the Same Thing only Different

The beauty of the free enterprise system is that it's free. You are free to make what you want, where you want and sell to whom you want. It creates competition and competition is good for the end consumer.

Seth Godin wrote yesterday about the race to the bottom. The one way to maintain your standing is to strip the costs or race to the bottom. There is also a tend at times to try to buy your business. Neither is very long term. You could actually win the race to the bottom or you could spend way too much for your business.

The essence of free enterprise is to figure it all out and that is Marketing. 4 P's. The right Product, the right Price, the right Promotion, and the Right Personal Relationships (Oh I mean sales).


Dave

Monday, August 13, 2012

Running Form in the Olympics

If you didn't watch the Olympic Marathon yesterday what's wrong with you. The winner Stephen Kiprotich crushed yesterday. In the field were the fastest Marathoners of 2011 from Kenya and Ethiopia and a little known man from Uganda took the title. He did it with one of the boldest moves in Marathoning. At the 23 mile mark on a slight incline he let fly and his Kenyan running partners could not match the pace. It was beautiful. Also in the race Meb Keflezghi proved that he's the best marathoner in the USA. He's not the fastest but speed doesn't count without results and Meb has the results. Silver Medal Olympic Marathon '04, NYC Marathon Champion '08, Olympic Marathon Trials Champion 2012, 4th Place Olympic Marathon 2012.

Now to the topic at hand. Stephen Kiprotich proved that running foot form mean's nothing. Upper body form and strength mean everything.

 In this picture you can see that the right foot on Stephen (guy on the left) is kicking out before it lands. The only thing a foot will do when this happens is it will Over-Pronate. Over-Pronate as in be really slow on the ground and cause all kinds of problems from the ankle up. The other two runners are perfect if you look at their feet. Just looking at feet there is no way Stephen should win.
Yet win he did, and by a wide margin. It just proves that your foot does what your foot does. It lands midfoot or on the heel it stays strong or it rolls in. What matters is how you carry your upper body and your overall cadence. That and some strong legs and core. Stephen and the other two runners had perfect form. They ran upright, used their arms and had a very high turnover. All the energy was directed forward and very little was wasted.

It's a good life....

Sunday, August 12, 2012

London Day #6


 The local print shop getting in on the act. 
 Alistar Brownlee was providing weekly material all season for the Metro. The payment was the cover the day after the Triathlon. 
 I took a break from the Olympics to visit the War Room used by Churchill and his team while London suffered severe bombing during WWII. 
 The office of the Prime Minister. 


 Members of the team slept in their office. I'm not sure that would work for me. 
 Watch any war movie from WWII and this room is in it. The Map Room. 

What an amazing journey. It started 18 months ago and finished in these 6 days. Days I'll remember forever. 

It's a good life...


London Day #5

The big day. 18 months of work with one target. I don't know buy maybe I was more nervous than Javi! 

 Sunrise In London

 A beautiful morning for a run. 
 I had one person ask me to take his dog with me and this woman in the background, stopped me and commented on my color. She was Irish and I think I looked a little Irish. 


Sunrise in Regents Park. 
 Who do you think they were cheering for? They stood out in a crowd of Union Jacks. 
 Before the start all was calm and quite. 
Just a little tribute to the brand. 

Words don't describe the day. From start to finish it was a stadium type atmosphere. The loudest triathlon ever. The security estimated there were 1 million people in the park. There were so many people that Cell phones all around were burning through batteries. Mine drained in 3 hours. The race lived up to the hype and more. The Brownlee brothers pulled through against the odds and with a country on their back. The first brothers to ever medal in the same event on the same day. Javi spoiled the party though finishing between the two of them for Silver. It was an amazing experience to work with Javi and his team. Great to see them realize their dreams. 

It's a good life....

Saturday, August 11, 2012

London Day #4


Hold on because this was a special day that had everything to do with the Olympics and nothing to do with the Olympics
  We’ll start with this. I choose my hotels based on location. The location to a park is most important. So in reviewing the options and the cost I chose a hotel outside of London proper and close to Regent’s Park which is a great place to run. I can look at a map on line and find my way to anything with just one view of the map. So the last few days I’ve run to the park. Yesterday I noticed I was running on this road daily.
 


The famous Studio where the Beatles Recorded. 

  Probably the most famous cross walk ever!
 
  Next was shopping for ideas for Kona/Rio 2016. Adidas is doing something really cool with absolutely bad execution (not the shoe).
 


I had some time for myself. So I went to a museum. To see...

 It’s London, of course I went there.
 
  On my way I ran into Macca
  I then went Olympic Park. Well not the park but the mall. The Marmot store. Marmot is trying to get themselves into the outdoor market in the UK. They are not well known so they picked a crowded mall. The Manager said by far the majority of the customers are coming in because they see Zoot.

  Did I mention Crowds?
 
 From there I went to see Javier the Agent and Omar the Coach and look what I found. Javi will ride this tomorrow.
 
 And He’ll wear these. You should also see his helmet. The best clasp ever! 

 So it was a busy day but that’s not the end. I was standing on the platform about to board the train when I ran into Greg Louganis! Yes the Multiple Gold Medalist. The man to solidifies the Olympic Spirit. Cracked his head so hard that it required multiple stitches. Got back on the platform and hit an amazing dive. He and I spoke for 10 stops. I had tears in my eyes when I got off the train. I’ll tell the story of why some day.

Tomorrow is the big day. They expect 1 million people in Hyde park. Javi is ready. Imagine this 4 years ago there were 5 athletes in the last 200 meters. Javi finished 4th. Do you think he wants it this year?

It’s a good life....

London Day #3

  The Brownlee Brothers have huge pressure on them. This photo of them is everywhere. Phone Booths, Buses, in the subway station. The weight of the nation has moved most to greatness. The events last night of 3 British Gold Medals in 45 minutes on the track or Andy Murray beating Roger Federer for Gold. But the pressure has also gotten to a few especially those who were clear favorites. On Tuesday all the guessing will be answered.
 
 It’s pouring rain at the start of the Marathon. It didn’t slow down the runners and it didn’t stop the fans.
 

 Trafalger Square and the Marathon Start line.
 
  I was cold, wet and needed a break from the rain. I heard the TV coming from a Pub and took the opportunity to get warm. What do I find, a man wearing a pair of Zoot shoes. Tobey from Germany was there with his Greek wife and brother Stephan. We had a great time drinking beer, talking running and of course running shoes. Stephan bought his one ticket for the Olympics one year ago. He debated between events and finally settled on the men’s 10,000 meters. He sat in that stadium in complete Awe of the biggest 45 minutes in British Track History. And he said “I saw a white guy medal in the 10,000”. What a lucky man. Tobey is learning to midfoot run. Do you think I had something to say?
 
 The women at 6K. Big pack that stayed together until 20K. Then the race started and finally at 30K the Africans made their first appearance at the front of the race. What a final 10K it was. 

It's a good life.....

London Day #2

 What an unbelievable day. The highlights:
  1. The humbling experience to watch the Zoot Prophet and Zoot Footwear in the Olympics.
  2. The determination of Sarah Groff of the USA. She was dropped off the pace on the run and fought her way back to the lead pack.
  3. There are 500,000 plus lining the course and who do I stand next to. The open water swim coach for Nicola Spirig. Before the race starts he says “She will win” and she did.
  4. The little girl walking with her mom after the race “When I grow up I want to Swim, Bike and Run”.
  5. The pressure on the British Athletes. The defending gold medalists in lightweight double scull (rowing) who finished 2nd and were devastated. They apologized to the country for not winning. The commentator who said anything but a double gold from Mo Farah would be a disappointment. 


  2 hours before the start and the fence is taken.
 
 They didn’t know it at the time but their day would end up great. Lisa Norden of Sweden covered everything on the run and finished a close (by a lean) second.
 
  The race venue.
 
  I’m going to take lots of pictures like this. The Union Jack comes in lots of different fashion.
  And their off. Somewhere in the front is Olivera of Brazil. She was 3rd out of the water in the Zoot Prophet.
 
  More Union Jack
 After the race I was walking to find a coach to deliver a wetsuit to. I came upon this. Royal Albert Hall. One of the more famous performing arts venues in the world.

It's a good life.....

6 Days in London: Day #1

I had the pleasure of spending 6 days in London at the Olympics. During my time I kept the folks at Zoot updated. This is simply a recreation of those days. 

 Day #1 in London was spent finding my way around. I made it to the Triathlon Venue with no problems. It will take me roughly 10 minutes to get to the park and another 10 minutes to get to a good spot to watch the race. Of course I also found the park close to the hotel for running. 12 minutes to Regents Park and 15 minutes to Hyde Park. Not a bad job finding the hotel. 

Women’s Triathlon is Tomorrow 9:00am London Time.
Men’s 10,000 meter is Tomorrow 21:25 London Time.

The British are killing it on the Cycling Track. Unreal how good they are. It’s always fun to listen to Chris Bordman and Mark Cavedish doing the play by play. 
  Heathrow Airport with the Olympic Spirit
 The Blue Carpet that marks Transition and Finish Line for the Triathlon

 The Swim Start Pontoon.
 
 

Street Art?

 Fancy Fish and Chips for Dinner! 

It's a good life...
Dave