 Christmas is just 10 days away - if you need to shop for a triathlete - or send a few ideas to the people that shop for you - here are some great items in stock right now at Northwest Tri & Bike! Blueseventy Sprint Shorts - $85.00 The Sprint Short provides float for the hips and legs while swimming. It is perfect for triathletes simulating the lift of a wetsuit and swimmers seeking a versatile alternative to the pull-buoy. Built with buoyant Yamamoto neoprene and coated to ensure durability, it is an excellent training tool that will help improve distance per stroke, speed and body position. Features a drawstring at the waist for securing fit. Blueseventy Buddy Bag w/ Light - $45.00 Never swim alone with the blueseventy Buddy Bag. The Buddy Bag improves your visibility in the water, keeping you safe from boat traffic and easy to see from shore. Take your essentials with you. Keep your keys, phone and even a small amount of clothes safe and with you while you swim. The entire interior of the Buddy Bag is open for storing your gear. Simply close the dry bag seal, then use the valve to fully inflate and go! Note - if you use the main portion of the bag for storage you will not be able to fully inflate the bladder. Easy to Use. The Buddy Bag blows up and tows behind you while you explore the open water. A go-to accessory for any open water enthusiast. Theragun Wave Solo Massage Ball - $59.99 (Reg $79.99) This ultra-portable smart vibration therapy device delivers pinpointed pressure and vibration to focused areas for reduced tension and improved movement. Three powerful vibration frequencies and innovative wave texture allow its ergonomic shape to work deep into hard-to-reach areas, while our innovative QuietRoll Technology™ effectively mutes sound and reverberations. Vision Metron Front Hydration System - $83.00 • CFD refined integrated bottle with bento box and computer mount • Articulated straw mount to allow precise angulations and unobtrusive fold-away • Patented and removable labyrinth water fill-spout for rapid refills without splashing • Forward computer mount • Included Vision Drop Bottle System and Extension Mount • Metron TFE compatible with adaptor Lezyne Connect Smart LED Light Combo - $99.99 The most advanced front/rear cycling light combo available. The Connect Smart Pair comes equipped with our Smart Connect wireless technology. This pair of lights can be quickly programmed and customized by the companion LED Ally phone app. Once programmed and paired, the front light wirelessly controls the rear light when toggling through its modes. Setup only the modes you need, and up to four mode-sets for whatever type of riding is planned, day or night. KOM Indoor Cycling Trainer Desk - $99.99 The KOM Cycling Indoor Media Display bike desk workstation is a must have for all serious cyclists looking for an indoor training solution during cold winters, or for a way to warm up before a race. Designed with ease of use in mind, you can easily reach your water bottle or phone thanks to two conveniently placed holding water bottle slots. Tifosi Sledge Lite Cycling Eyewear - $79.95 Sledge Lite in Crystal Smoke takes all the performance of Sledge and packs it into a streamlined, lighter design. The oversized ergonomic face-fit features three vented lens options that provide maximum coverage with adjustable temples. Sledge Lite caters to comfort and drives performance. Find this and many other Tifosi styles in stock at the shop
RTB is made up of 240 men and women of all ages, but only 11 are under the age of 30. Those numbers are growing, though, and we are celebrating their presence on the team and thankful that they are making us younger! Learn about a few of them below.  Jaison Brooks - 29 When did you join RTB? September 2021 What city do you live in? Kent What prompted you to join RTB? Finding a community of like mind folks What's the most memorable event you've ever done? So far I've only done the Lake Steven's Sprint tri. What are your goals for 2022? Any race plans? Goals are to signup for another 70.3 What do you do outside of sport? Work? School? Family? Skateboarding, Snowboarding, Riding motorcycles, Writing / recording music, Tattoos and Software Development.  Joseph Cordell - 30 When did you join RTB? 2018 What city do you live in? Auburn, WA What prompted you to join RTB? I needed to get better at swimming to do a full Ironman. And I also have two friends that are members. What's the most memorable event you've ever done? Finishing Ironman Canada at 10pm. It was a long day… What are your goals for 2022? Any race plans? Finish a full Ironman in 14 hours. The only concrete plan is Ironman Washington. What do you do outside of sport? Work? School? Family? Karate, video games, and board games. Anything interesting we want to know about you that we don't??? I almost got into a fight with a sheep, but the owner prevented it from happening  Sky K - 27 When did you join RTB? This summer when I moved here! What city do you live in? Kent What prompted you to join RTB? Just moved to the area and looking for a supportive, fun community What's the most memorable event you've ever done? Hmm. It’s a toss up between the Wonderland 100 run or Orcas Island 100! Both were beautiful and brutal What are your goals for 2022? Any race plans? I’m trying to get back in the racing mindset after taking a few years off, so Ironman CDA 70.3 next summer with a handful of shorter races. I dabble in ultrarunning and would love to get into bikepacking next summer! Anything interesting we want to know about you that we don't??? I’m an aerospace engineer and a triathlon coach! I’m married (but living apart while husband is stationed in eastern WA) and have two fluffy doodles that try their best to be good running partners. We’re from Colorado and love all things adventure and outdoors - can’t wait for ski season! Hoping to go back to school for a grad degree later this year :)  Hanna Raine - 28 When did you join RTB? December 2019 What city do you live in? Renton What prompted you to join RTB? I had done a few sprints and Olympics but was struggling to self motivate during training. What better motivation than joining a team! What's the most memorable event you've ever done? Black diamond 70.3 this year. I really didn't think I would ever be able to finish a 1/2 ironman. Thanks to my coach Alissa (Anderson) she convinced me to do it and I had a great time! What are your goals for 2022? Any race plans? Another 70.3 (maybe coeur d'Alene)! A few trail half marathons and I'd love to try a longer swim race. What do you do outside of sport? Work? School? Family? During my non-triathlon free time I have two horses and I take them packing in the backcountry. This past summer I also got into trying to grow more of my own food. I work on Amazon's drone delivery team, we hope to have packages flying to your doorstep someday soon!  Katie Thompson - 30 When did you join RTB? 2015 What city do you live in? Technically Kent, but its right on the border of Black Diamond What prompted you to join RTB? I walked into Northwest Tri and Bike and they asked me what I was training for. At that point I had signed up for my first triathlon, Challenge Penticton, and was learning to swim via YouTube and LA Fitness. I hadn't yet gotten pedal clips for my road bike, but I had a training plan attached to my fridge and I was pretty determined to get to the finish line. The folks at NWTB told me about the RTB team swims. I joined one of the swims and loved it! I have met the best people through RTB. So many good memories of bike rides with friends and early morning team swims. What's the most memorable event you've ever done? Challenge Penticton... It took me quite a while to finish and it was a suffer fest, but I was hooked. I remember I was running next to an old guy who had done Penticton like a million times. We were pretty early into the run, but I remember I told him "we are almost there!" He looked at me and shook his head.... I have since learned that mile 6 of the full distance run is not almost there. What are your goals for 2022? Any race plans? I will be doing Kona in October 2022, but other than that I don't yet have any solid plans for 2022. My goal is to stay healthy and get faster. I will be doing a swim/run block after Ironman Florida this year. What do you do outside of sport? Work? School? Family? I am married to Sean Thompson! 🙂 We like to ride gravel bikes and if I am feeling courageous, we ride them on the mtn bike trails. We have three doggies and a cat named Jack. For the past 8 years I have been a Microsoft consultant, but I will be starting a new adventure on November 15th as a Partner Development Manager for an awesome tech startup called Dremio. Anything interesting we want to know about you that we don't??? Honestly, I can't think of anything lol! Maybe thats not good?!  Like it or not, as triathletes, we are all runners. Some of us thrive on the run, others simply survive. The latter was certainly the case for me when I first broke into triathlon. Running was much more of a chore than it was a hobby. “I am just not made to run,” I would tell myself. I logged miles each week, plodding along, just hoping I would build up enough fitness to “just get through the run.” I would inevitably get nagging injuries along the way and some of those would go away or become more chronic in nature. I assumed that was just part of the process. I could not have been more wrong. It wasn’t until I took a step back and took a serious look at my form and training regimen--along with the help and feedback of others--that I started to make real changes that led to significant improvement in my performance. The reality is, it is hard to do a self-analysis of your running and what you need to improve. You can always run more and train harder, but that usually isn’t the answer. In fact, you may be doing more harm than good, if you're using poor technique and overtraining. I won’t bore you with my whole story, but a large part of why I started my own clinic was to be able to help runners. I do not claim to be an elite runner myself; I am far from it. However, I believe my own experience combined with my background in sports medicine and podiatry has given me a great foundation to help others get the most out of their running. A running analysis can be a very effective tool to give you feedback and coaching on what tendencies or deficiencies you may have in your running form that are either contributing to or predisposing you to injury, as well as hindering your performance. One of our primary objectives here at Endurance Foot and Ankle is to help athletes of all levels maximize their performance while avoiding injury. We offer this service to all runners and triathletes who are either suffering from nagging injuries or want to see an improvement in their performance. It should be noted that this does not require a complete change in your running form. We understand that people come in all shapes and sizes and not every running style is going to look the same. What is important, however, is to focus on a few core principles of good running technique and then you can make small, subtle, incremental changes that can be integrated into your practice and can do wonders for your running. It does not matter what your ability level is, as we have helped clients looking to do their first 5k, to first-time or multiple Ironman finishers, to Boston Marathon qualifiers and ultra runners. A run/gait analysis appointment consists of the following:
Just as swimming and cycling should be fun and enjoyable, so should running! In fact, running can be your strongest discipline. Don’t limit yourself. Don’t buy into the excuse that you “just aren’t made to run.” Don’t believe that getting injured while running is simply part of the process. Even for those who do quite well on the run, don’t believe you have peaked and you can’t improve your performance. You can! With races cancelled or postponed and our training schedules up in the air, there is no better time than now to focus on getting your run dialed in so you will be injury-free and ready to thrive on the run come race season. Feel free to give us a call or send us an email if you are interested or have any questions.  Happy running!
Chris Jones, DPM Endurance Foot and Ankle 175 1st Pl NW Ste B Issaquah, WA 98027 (425) 780-7055 endurancefootandankle@gmail.com  My name is Shaun Linse, and I've been a member of RTB for 14 years. Those of you that don't know me personally may know me as Disco Lady who dances at the Lake Meridian Triathlon. I am reaching out to this community because I have always felt that all members have supported each other, whether you're an elite athlete or not. I have always felt cheered on while racing.
Normally when there is a hot-button topic or political agenda, I have kept my mouth shut on any social media sites because I did not want the backlash or to engage in argument. Lately, I have been stepping out of my shell and speaking on something that is very personal to my family. All of this outrage of racism that is going on in the world is very disturbing to me. I am afraid that people are not understanding and missing the message. I would like to share a couple stories with you because my own family members and other black professionals can't always express their opinions because that could cause them problems in their jobs, which is very sad. They must suffer in silence. My son is of mixed race, my daughter-in-law is black, and then I have an adorable grandson. My son and his family came home from having dinner out. While walking up to their house, a man approached them and asked, "Where did the white people go that lived here? How could they let you live here? How can you even afford a place like this?" My son took his family inside, did not engage, and locked the door. They have to suffer in silence. My son's good friend who is a well-known sportscaster has been pulled over 19 times and had his car searched many occasions because he is black. He was never been arrested because he didn't do anything wrong. Again, he must suffer in silence. My daughter-in-law's sister just graduated Bellermine Prep and came home crying to her mother, "Why are we treated this way?" She has a basketball scholarship for Gonzaga University and is great student. Her mom said, "Just focus on the positive things." She did go out and protested trying to be heard but all people see is the thugs. There are many more stories out there that are unheard because people have been crying for years, and it has just been swept under the rug. People don't believe it exists. I feel most divide is because of ignorance. I don't think most people want to be racist or prejudice towards anyone. I myself have kept quiet on this issue with lots of my friends and colleagues because it lands on deaf ears, and it's just too painful. It's also much easier than stepping out of your comfort zone and having this conversation. Today is a new day, and I am going to step out of that comfort and project my voice. I ask each of you to try to listen and have conversations with your black friends and other ethnicities to see what their story is. The more we hear, the more we communicate, just maybe we can all come together as a country!! Thank you for listening!! |
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