This weekend while chatting with some fellow runners, I discovered some of us are more worried about local wildlife than getting struck by a car or attacked by a stranger.  Whatever your concerns when you're outside running, biking, walking, or blading, there are certain safety precautions we should all be taking. 

Here are several I do, but please feel free to add more.

1.  Dress bright.  Dress right. 

Whether you're running in…

When my alarm clock went off at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 26th, I hit the snooze, rolled over, and promptly fell back asleep.  However, when it went off again 9 minutes later, I remembered I had race training to do, hit the snooze, rolled over, and fell back asleep again.  When it sounded a third time, I remembered it was my BIRTHDAY, and surely I could take off just this one Saturday and pick up where I left off the following weekend, right?

Not.

Ask any…

Since I built my monstercross rig up it's begged the question of how far and where could I ride. It's become the true all around bike my mountain bike used to be. My first 10 years of mtbing was done on 1.9 to 2.1 tires with 2.1 seemingly "way big" at the time. But then again, I was riding it everywhere. To the trails, on the road, gravel roads, and wherever. But with small tires, steeper angles, bigger gears...you could. Now though my mtb has a 150mm fork up front, 39/26 gearing up…

I like to brag that I have never suffered a training related injury, yet I have been injured numerous times in the past several years. Just recently I fell over a landscaping timber during my 5 am run--I wasn't quite awake yet--and I landed on my knee. I suffered a bone bruise that took me out for more than three and a half weeks. Granted, it wasn't an overuse injury, but it definitely came about from running (or tripping, in my case). It probably didn't help that I ran the Moab RedHot 50k…

This Saturday at the store is the 2nd annual Trail Days.  We will have vendors from New Balance, North Face, Scarpa, La Sportiva, Brooks and Garmin.  We are doing a run from the store at 9 and heading into Palmer Park for a few miles.  If you are a Quinns runner this run will count for your total.  There will be give a ways and drawings all day long.  Also, Anton Krupicka of NB and ultra running stud will be there to discuss the NB Minimus shoes that he helped develop. …

HI all,

Just wanted to share some information about BMX racing in Colorado Springs and Fountain.There is currently a BMX race track in the Briargate area called Pikes Peak BMX and also a new track under development in the city of Fountain. BMX serves all walks of life, age, and gender.…

I was a bit nervous about going to this ride for a few reasons. Were people going to look at me like I didn't belong there? Where people going to look at my older bike and think "who's the old school dude on the old bike"? But most of all I was a bit nervous because I wasn't sure if I could keep up.

I got there right at 10:00am and no one was there. I started to think, maybe I already missed them. I hung out for a few minutes and people started to show up. After about 10 min or so,…

It's been over 36 hours, and I still have not come down from the high of successfully completing my first race!

As a first-time runner, I was skeptical of registering for the St. Patrick's Day 5K in the first place, especially since I've only been training for about 5 weeks.  But after I ran 4 miles at Monument Valley Park two days prior, I knew that…

New gear review up on UpaDowna.com!!!

http://upadowna.com/2011/03/10/gear-review-klymit-double-diamond/

One of the biggest hurdles I've had to jump over with my running is deciding where to run.  There are many pros and cons to running outdoors versus running on an indoor treadmill, and over the last several weeks, I've had a healthy taste of both.  However, I haven't decided which is better, because there are benefits and drawbacks to each.

Running outdoors:

Cons:

The weather is always an…

A year ago, if you had told me that I would be running on a regular basis, I would've asked you what kind of drugs you were on.  Running, heck, walking, was furthest from my mind!  I had no interest whatsover in any form of exercise, let alone eating healthy. 

However, I had a change of heart in April.  Actually, my mom offered to pay for me and my…

My friend Michelle Abdi from high school recently lost her site due to a rare disease. One of two people in the world to have it at this point. The thing she misses the most? Bike riding.

She is actually in Blacksburg, Virginia...I know a far cry from here...but I think that riding a bike is a great thing and know that finding a tandem bike that is inexpensive for her needs is tough. So I'm reach out to all my networks. She just misses the feeling of riding and has someone…

Snow.

It’s March, for crying out loud.

As a point of explanation, I’ve lived in Colorado for almost 15 years. Add another 3 years in Albuquerque, NM, and I’m pushing 20 years in the mountain west. I’m well aware of the April (and May) snowstorms, and the August cold snaps.

I’ve gotten over my hatred of cold.  Growing up in Louisville, KY, in a time before Polar Fleece, I abhorred the cold.  In ’77 we had 2 feet of snow that shut down our southern town for 3 days – we…

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) differs substantially…

Paradox Sports changes lives. Hell, they even save lives.

Vijay being helped into the canyon by Chad and the group.

I can not describe to you in words (but I’ll sure try) the overwhelming feelings I had this weekend, and give you a little insight into the unbelievable memories that were…

(this and other training tips can be found at http://neoendurance.blogspot.com)

Lucas wrote in this week: How does one sort shin splints- fast? 

Lucas is looking for a quick fix for shin splints. Many athletes complain of "shin splints" which is often a general term for lower leg pain. Since the pain is on the front of the leg, it gets equated with the shin. Lower…