Ten Things To Do to Become a Successful Runner-Entrepreneur

Today's post is written by Justine Dolorfino, the marketing manager for The Undress, a fashionable and functional mobile changing room. She ran sprints in high school, transitioned to 5Ks in college, and graduated to longer distances in 2013 before completing her first half marathon in 2014. She also enjoys weightlifting and hiking. 

Have you ever looked at a product and thought, ‘I could have thought of that!’? Why not give it a shot?

We’ve learned a lot while developing The Undress, a dress that helps female runners change into or out of their running gear (or any outfit!), anywhere, without ever getting naked! Entrepreneurship is a lot of hard work, but here are ten things that you can do to set yourself up to become a successful runner-entrepreneur!

1. Look for solutions: Take the first step towards entrepreneurship by always keeping an open mind. Recognize the problems and annoyances you experience during your day-to-day life and try to visualize how you could make it easier.
2. Get inspired by your passion: The idea for The Undress came suddenly after a group run, when Dennis noticed just how many women were changing out of their race gear under towels, in dirty restrooms or portapotties, or in their cars. Take the solution-hunting exercise one step further and apply it to running, specifically. What are the problems and annoyances you’ve experienced while running? What solutions can you think up?
3. Do your research: Once you have your idea, learn more about how you can make it a reality. What are the risks and challenges? What will it take to build your product? How can you protect your invention with a patent? What products are already out there that solve your problem and how does yours differ?
4. Work with a team: You can go it alone - but you don’t need to! Surround yourself with like-minded, talented people you can work with and put your minds together. Each person can play to their strengths and do what they do best!
5. Take the time to do it right: We spent nine months developing The Undress before we launched our Kickstarter campaign. It was worth it, too; we learned more about making a better product and what we needed to do!
6. Understand who will buy your product: One of the best things about being a runner-entrepreneur who creates solutions for fellow runners is that you already have a head start! But besides you and your friends, who would be interested in your invention -- and why?
7. Connect with fellow runners: Are you in a running club? What about a Meetup or Facebook Group? Local runners are future friends and training buddies. They’re also potential product testers and promoters for you and your start-up!
8. Don’t be afraid of criticism: We went through several different versions of The Undress before settling on our design. Testers’ feedback was invaluable, too. It’ll help you take a step back and look at your product with a fresh pair of eyes.
9. Decide how you’ll fund your project: Will you invest your own money in manufacturing? Or perhaps you’ll take out a loan or shop for investors? Crowd-funding on Kickstarter may be right for you!
10. Never stop running: It’s easy to devote all of your time to your start-up. Don’t forget to take care of yourself! Running is YOUR TIME! Besides… you never know what you’ll dream up on your next run!

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The Undress looks like a fantastic product and I can think of many occasions when it would have been useful for me. Justine has worked really hard to produce a product that has so many applications. I hope to get my hands on one soon. Thanks so much for sharing your expertise Justine!

Are there any products you wish existed?

Kit Review: Primark Gym Range

Today I have a guest post and kit review from Dee. Hope you enjoy!

I am not a serious runner, I really only run if I want to lose a few pounds, or to get a bit fitter if Vikki talks me into doing a 5 or 10k!  Because of this, I tend not to go in much for fancy running gear, the running tops I own have been with me for about 8 years or more.  Yes, I know, terrible isn't it?

Anyway, they are getting a bit tired and seem to have shrunk somewhat in length, so I mentioned to Vikki that maybe I should look in the sales for a couple of new tops at least.  She suggested I look in Primark at their sportswear, she had heard good things about the running tops in particular from the ladies in the RMR Group.  As luck would have it, I was off to London that day to the West End where there is a huge Primark, so decided to have a look (they don't stock this range in my local Primark, and that is quite a large store).

I ended up buying 3 running tops, pale green, light marl grey and a black, a bargain at £4 each! They feel lovely and soft, are seamless and nice and long.  They are a technical and fast drying fabric and also have a nice bit of detailing on them. I don't think they look cheap at all.

I went out for a run in one over the weekend to try it out.  It was really comfortable to run in, didn't ride up at all and didn't rub anywhere.  I would definitely have paid a lot more for these tops.

Primark also do leggings and crop tops, but I think I am a bit past wearing those, however if you wear  them, it might be worth giving them a try, after all, what have you got to lose at those prices?

Have you had any running gear bargains? What brands do you think do a good job of producing workout kit at affordable prices?

Guest Post : Winter Workouts

Hi all, I am Julie Roberts, a proud wife, SAHM, runner, outdoorsy nature lover, and a fitness fanatic! I also love to write and now that I am a full-time SAHM I have a lot more time to focus on it! Thankfully for me, Vikki has been kind enough to let me share my writing with you, her readers, on her amazing blog. So for today, I have some of my favorite tips to working out in the winter months when it’s so easy to let up on your workouts because of the cold, I hope you enjoy it! Here’s my email if you have any questions or would like to get in touch!

Is it really that time of year again? If the snow isn’t already on my doorstep, it’s in the forecast for sure. Although the cold weather tempts me to stay in with a big cup of apple cider, I still need to stay in shape. After all, the kids don’t feel the same as I do about the snow. They love it, can’t get enough of it, and cannot wait to spend a lot of time outdoors. If I invest in myself and my body, I’ll be better able to enjoy that time with them.


Hard Work Outdoors

Last year, I had an epiphany. I used to have my husband do a lot of the more ornery outdoor chores, such as gardening, raking leaves and shoveling snow and ice off the stairs, driveways and walkways. I reasoned that he’s stronger and it’s probably easier for him. Then I wondered, why is that? He is stronger in large part because he does those activities. So I started doing them. Yes, 20 minutes spent shoveling snow is not how I imagine a luxurious morning. But I was going to exercise anyway, and this is a great way to burn calories! This is like free exercise minutes that pays off in a more comfortable home. I happily do these chores myself now.

Working Out at Home

There are certain parts of the year, however, when outside chores are the only energy I’m willing to spend outside. That’s when I take my exercise routines indoors. I also take the outdoor chores approach to the home interior. I clean the kitchen counters, wash a few dishes, and do some squats. Done! When it comes to proper indoor workouts, I’m a runner who has no treadmill. I have no choice but to get creative. I like to put on my heart rate monitor and push myself with some bodyweight exercises and cardio workout routines. I’m a big fan of interval training, so I create a few plans for myself and go for it. But I get bored easily, working out indoors day after day. So I like to change it up with a few workout videos. If I’m feeling up to an intense workout, I set aside some time with Tony Horton. If not, I will do some stretching videos like Cardio Barre, Pilates or yoga.

Outdoor Fun

The holidays and winter are a fantastic time to get some serious cardio in. For a simple task, I like to take my kids for a long walk in the stroller to see holiday lights. But I can do much, much more than that. My daughter is getting just old enough that she’s asking about going skiing or snowboarding. She has a few friends who have done it, and she’s eager to try it for herself. I thought that we might make it a family-friendly activity this year. We’ll get her into a class, and then we can all go together. And there’s always sledding. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been sweatier than when I spend an hour dragging a child in a sled up a steep hill. Now that is an outdoor workout.

Winter is barely almost here, and a part of me is already longing for spring. Not yet–I need to wait and savor it. Even if I’m not as big of a fan of the cold weather as I was when I was a kid, my kids are. Taking advantage of the cold and snow to keep in shape will prevent the worst of the winter weight gain, and make me look all the better when the weather finally warms up.

Bournemouth Marathon : The Spectator's Review

Today we have a guest post from my mum. I wrote about my experience of the Bournemouth Marathon earlier in the week but I thought it would be interesting to hear about it from the other side of the barriers. As ever we'd love to hear what you think, whether it be about the post itself or the race. Don't be shy, comment below!

We have been along to many races to support Vikki over the years, including the London Marathon. Last weekend we set off to Bournemouth to support her as she ran her second marathon. Apart from having arranged our accommodation, we had not really planned the weekend at all, in fact it was only the afternoon before that I actually looked at the race route. It filled me with dread as I realised that unlike London, we had no idea at all of how to get around Bournemouth to see Vikki at different points of the route. The shuttle bus had to be pre-booked (we didn't even know there was one) and all tickets had been sold anyway. How to see Vikki at the start, at the finish and ideally at least two other points along the route to encourage her, which she really needed during the London marathon? I envisaged running a marathon myself! We were not getting to Bournemouth until late afternoon, so there was no chance to familiarise ourselves with the route beforehand either.

Red sky at night, runner's delight!

So after a hearty breakfast, we set off to the start area, about a mile from our B&B. Everything about this day turned out to be the complete opposite to the London marathon. The start area was the football stadium, so we all had the use of the stadium's facilities, including toilets and cafes. All very civilised, no burger vans here! The start area was not busy at all, so very easy to meet up with Vikki's friends. There wasn't much of an atmosphere at the start, yes people were excited, chatting and laughing, but there was no loud music or warm up to get people psyched for the race. Being the first Bournemouth, the number of runners was much smaller than I expected, so it didn't take long to see them all set off, then it was time to find our way around the route.

Vikki and co.

In the end, there was no need to have been concerned. The route twisted and turned along the way and we were able at some points to stand in one place and see them pass twice, say at mile 5 and then again mile 8. We then only had a shortish walk down to the sea front to see them run along there. This was a particularly lovely part of the route for runners, as it was a beautiful sunny day and many of the locals had come down to sit outside their beach huts to watch the race.

Wave your hands in the air like you don't care!

Along the route there were plenty of proper toilets, (I never once had to venture into a portaloo!), plenty of cafes if we fancied a coffee, and ice cream vans if we wanted an ice cream to cool us down (have I said it was hot?!) We managed to see Vikki at least half a dozen times along the route which was fantastic. We had no reason to have need of the shuttle bus, although it would have been nice at the end as the finish was quite a way from the start, so therefore a long walk for the already tired runners. Don't worry, we left Vikki on a bench and went to get the car for her.

Sporting a fab finishers t-shirt and medal.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable day, the weather obviously helped, but the route was lovely, very well thought out from the point of supporters.  The only thing I would have changed about it would be not having the 18 mile point next to the finish, passing that and being told you ONLY had another 8 miles to go, seemed a bit mean. All the volunteer marshals (and there were many) were very good, especially the ones at the finish, some of them helping the odd runner overcome with cramps, across the finish line, and shouting much needed encouragement.

The finish area was great too, it was very easy to find Vikki, having first acquired the compulsory ice cream! We thought the medals were particularly nice too, possibly the best Vikki has, and she has a few ;)

Just one or two medals from 2013... can you spot the Bournemouth one?

We are extremely proud of Vikki having finished this marathon almost one hour faster than the London one and we were very relieved she had no injuries and managed to smile all the way round, even at the end. Yes our feet ached from all the walking, but we didn't have to run a marathon to see Vikki as we feared, everyone was happy and cheerful, and the sun shone. What a great day!

Tips on Healthy Winter Eating

Nasty illnesses such cold and flu can be frequent during the winter season with the assaults to the immune system. You can keep going and boost your immune system even during the winter months. There are some tips and great foods for remaining healthy in the winter months. There are a number of foods that will help you to remain healthy all winter long:

• Citrus fruits including lemons, limes, grapefruit and oranges are excellent sources of immune boosting vitamin C. 
• Carrots and green vegetables that are high in antioxidants
• Pomegranates
• Potatoes

This time of year eating fruits and vegetables is a must. Boosting the immunity can be done by eating carrots, which have anti-oxidants and beta-carotene; other great foods include mangoes and squash. Green mangoes can be used for salads while salsas and smoothies can have the mangoes that are riper in them.

Getting a veg box delivered over the winter can make life easier

Probiotics that help to protect against infection can be found in yogurts because of the live cultures in them. You can also add yogurt to recipes to boost the immune system farther, you can even mix it with cream cheese to use a spread. Garlic is also something that can be used all year long to help boost immunity and fight against illnesses such as cold and flu.

Yogurt with added protein will give you a boost.

Vitamin C, found in citrus fruits will help to keep the immune system working properly in order to keep you healthy. Oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes and juices are a source of vitamin C that can help to ensure that you get the recommended daily dose without having to take supplements.

Pomegranates and their juice are full of antioxidants that prevent the oxidation of free radicals into LDL cholesterol. The oxidation causes plaque to build up in the arteries, and drinking pomegranate juice can keep the blood flowing freely to the heart. Vitamins A, C, and K can be found in escarole, mustard and collards, which are also source of folate.

Why not try my Apple, Celery and Stilton soup? Blog post soon!

Soups are an amazing way to keep yourself eating healthy in the winter. You can fix soups with a variety of vegetables to help ensure that you get almost all of the nutrients that you need.  An example would be adding potatoes that are rich in vitamin B6 and C. Vegetarian chili will help the body that is afflicted with a cold or the flu. There are antiviral effects from garlic and onions while the immune system benefits from beans. Spices aid in clearing the sinuses, which can help you to feel better if you have the flu or a cold.

There are dozens of healthy seasonal foods that can be eaten in winter such as collards and mustard greens, which can be planted in a small space in your yard. Eating a wide variety of foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals will help you to receive the antioxidant boosting properties and natural probiotics that aid in digestive health. A wide range of colours and textures will help to make sure you are eating a healthy combination.

This post was written by Tammy Mahan, a medical/health freelance writer who contributes articles to Healthline.Com. You can find more Healthline content on twitter and Facebook.

How to Strength Train for a Triathlon Outside of a Gym Environment

Today I'm especially pleased to be sharing with you a post written for us by Mark Wood, BSc Lead Personal Trainer Course Tutor from Discovery Learning. Discovery Learning is a leading Fitness Training Provider in the UK, delivering training in the weight management and fitness field since 2001. Their mission is to provide and communicate accurate, meaningful information and high quality training relating to all aspects of fitness, overweight and obesity. As you know I took up triathlon this year and while I do have access to a gym, sometimes I would rather exercise at home or outside. To this end Mark is kindly sharing his advice on the best strength training exercises for triathlon and why it's so important to incorporate this at all.

How to Strength Train for a Triathlon Outside of a Gym Environment

Weight and strength training for endurance sports is a widely debated topic and can cause complications and confusion for a lot of competitors. Some athletes think it is unnecessary, while others will favour gym work and other forms of strength training to increase their performance. Personally I believe that any athlete, or member of the general public for that matter, should engage in a sufficient amount of strength training to help improve their performance/lifestyle.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of strength training for endurance events like triathlons. For most athletes you will see that the benefits of strength training outweigh the fear of gaining too much “bulk”.

Injury prevention and improved ligament and tendon strength- making athletes more robust will mean they can withstand higher demands on the body through training, competition and environments. Protecting those knees, ankles, hips and shoulders is a very important part. A large percentage of endurance athletes pick up joint injuries which could be prevented if they strengthen the musculature around that joint.

Correcting imbalances- similar to the above, muscular imbalances can cause major injuries for some athletes. If their technique isn’t perfect and as an example they push too much during the cycle, the quads will become more dominant, leaving the hamstrings weaker and increasing the risk of injury. Or similarly the vastus medialis oblique in runners is usually their weak link which will result in knee pain.

Increased power output- this is a very important factor, the fastest athlete wins!! If you are not powerful, you will not be fast. It is important that you are able to generate force in order to improve how much power you can put down to improve your speed. This will come in handy when powering up hills or pulling yourself through water, lowering your stroke count and improving your efficiency.

Improve endurance- we all have a genetic limitation to how much we can improve our aerobic capacity. Strength training will improve muscular strength and endurance making you more efficient and able to work at a higher percentage of your aerobic capacity for longer.

Increase antioxidant levels and decrease oxidative stress- endurance training has been shown to produce a high level of oxidative stress which can lead to chronic inflammation. Strength training can counter act this and help avoid long term stress.

Best ways to improve strength

Not all competitors are lucky to enough to have access to a gym environment so here are a few ideas to help you improve your strength away from a gym environment.  Cycling in big gears will help improve your bike power. Find yourself a nice long steep hill and attack it in a very high gear which will cause your cadence to drop as low as 40rpm and stay in the seat the whole way up.  Using interval training is another great way to improve your speed and strength. Try this workout of one minute on and 30 seconds off for a total of 20 rounds.

Improving your strength and power for running will have great benefits on performance. Try these following exercises and workouts to help you get faster.

Box jumps- These are great for developing some power in the legs. To perform  this exercise you have to produce a massive amount of power. Try jumping slowly, you can’t! To complete the box jump you must move quickly which means you will improve your power output.

Squat jumps- Another excellent exercise to help you develop power and strength. Combine these with sprints or hill sprints to see some great benefits in your speed and power output.

Hill sprints- A great exercise to improve strength, power, endurance and your tolerance to lactate.

Resisted sprints- This is another great way to help you improve your speed. Try combining resisted sprints followed by non-resisted sprints if speed is something you want to improve.

Glute bridges- An excellent exercise to help you strengthen your core and gluteal muscles. Which are important in both the run and cycle section of a triathlon and will help you generate and produce more power.

Bulgarian split squat- This is a fantastic exercise to really improve the strength in the legs whilst protecting the back if people find squatting uncomfortable. Its also an exercise that can be done anywhere. Try finding a park bench, elevate the rear foot on the bench and away you go.

Single leg squats- An exercise that will really test your strength. Fantastic for improving those stabiliser muscles around the hip to help you not only produce power but also prevent injury. Start by trying this exercise on a stable platform on the floor while using something to support you for balance. As you progress try performing the exercise on a box/park bench to increase your range on motion. Just be aware this is a very advanced exercise that beginners should gradually work up to.

Intervals-  4x1 minute with a 2 min rest- These can be done either on a bike, in the water or running and are a great way to increase your tolerance to lactate.

All of the above strength exercises will really help you improve your performance. Your final thing to think about is tempo. Try playing around with the speed of contractions to really get the best out of your workout. Using slow eccentric phases combined with explosive concentric phases will help improve your power output. Also try pausing for 2 seconds in between the eccentric and concentric phase to start recruiting those higher threshold motor units. 

If you've found this article interesting then do pay Discovery Learning a visit. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter. I will definitely be adding some of these elements to my training routines at home.

Guest Post: It's never too late to start running!

Today I'm delighted to welcome my mum to the blog! My mum only took up running very recently and I thought it might be nice to get a beginners perspective on running and races. I know I'm biased but I'm so proud of what she's achieved and I think she's an inspiration. Obviously my mum and I approach running very differently due to our respective ages and abilities, so without further ado here's my mum with her running story...

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Hello, my name is Dee and I am Vikki's mum. As you all know, Vikki runs... a lot. I don't!

I do enjoy keeping fit though and take zumba and body pump classes at my local gym. I also used to go fast walking two or three times a week round our local park for about an hour at a time; that was enough for me! Anyway just over a year ago, Vikki persuaded me to try running, suggesting I start slowly with short bursts of running combined with walking. I found a really good training app for my iPhone called Get Running, a programme that coaches you to run 5k in 9 weeks. It is a really excellent programme, starting you off gently on week one with 8 one minute runs with one and a half minutes walk in between, building gradually till you are running for 30 mins non stop. Running didn't feature in my life at all at the start but I found to be a really easy way to start running and build my stamina. The first time I used it I was very breathless after just one minute of running, but even on the second day out I noticed the difference.

After I had finished this programme and was running at least a couple of times a week, Vikki persuaded me to take part in a parkrun, which had just started up in my local park. I must say, the first time I did it I felt totally knackered at the end, but recovered quickly and was raring to go again. I must confess, I did not go regularly, and once the weather turned, I almost stopped running altogether. I am definitely a fair weather runner! Anyway, in an effort to keep me fit I think, Vikki talked me into doing a 10k run with her, I must have had a few glasses of Pinot or something, because my response was, "oh well it's only two parkruns, so why not"! So I kept waiting for the weather to improve so I could go training again, but as we all know, this year has not seen much sun, so I didn't really start training until about 5 weeks ago :(

Well last weekend we took part in the Trailblazer10k at Bedgebury Pinetum. Luckily it wasn't raining! I was actually quite nervous the day before and on the morning of the run. I didn't think I would be as apart from running a few times a week, I hadn't really thought much about the actual run. Once we got started though I felt fine and actually enjoyed it. Vikki, bless her, ran with me all the way, giving me loads of encouragement along the way, not giving any thoughts to the fact she would come in the slowest she had ever, ever run. The marshals along the route were great too, being really kind, funny and encouraging, even though we were almost at the back of our wave.

I did walk a few times for a minute or so at a time, mainly on the hills. I hadn't give much thought that it may not be flat! Anyway, we finished in one hour 21 minutes. I did feel proud of myself having actually run this far. And the training must continue as Vikki has also persuaded me to take part in the National Lottery Anniversary Run in 6 weeks time. This time though it's only 5 miles :)