Happy New Year! While a Zoom holiday staff party was a fun alternative, we are hopeful for in-person parties and in-person races in 2021!

January e-news!

In this E-News

  • 2021 Fitness Goal Challenge!
  • Gear to Get Going
  • Steve's Top 10 Tips to Stay Motivated
  • January Virtual Races You Can Do on the Traditional Courses
Want to be FITTER or FASTER or STRONGER in 2021? Or have more FUN with your running and walking? 

Share with us which of the above you want to focus on in 2021 along with a couple specific things you want to incorporate into your fitness routine to successfully reach your goal.
 
We’ll check in with you at the end of the year to see how it went. If you worked toward your goal, we’ll reward you with a little congratulatory surprise.
 
And we’ll give away THREE PAIRS OF SHOES!
·      Just for sharing a goal, you’ll be in the drawing for a store gift certificate for a free pair of shoes – you get to choose your favorite brand!
·      Two pairs of shoes will be given away at the end of the challenge to two randomly selected participants who made a good effort at following through with their plans.
 
What do I do again?
Just email us at runners@fairhavenrunners and tell us “I want to be fitter”, “I want to be stronger”, “I want to be faster” or “I want to have more fun” and give us a couple specific things you plan on incorporating into your fitness routine to successfully reach your goal.

In case you need some ideas or extra inspiration, we've got some here.
Interested in purchasing your first GPS smartwatch? The Garmin Forerunner 45 is a great entry level option with wrist-based heart rate and apps for running, cycling, yoga and more! Have fun tracking your weekly, monthly, and yearly mileage on Garmin Connect while also monitoring your sleeping habits and stress levels. This watch also features Garmin coach, offering beginner training programs from 5k to half marathon.
Need some motivation to get out the door? Try exploring more of your local trails with Urban Trails Bellingham by Craig Romano. This book features over 40 different trails from the Chuckanuts and Western Whatcom to Skagit Valley each with a trail description, distance, and whether or not the trail is dog friendly. Make it your resolution to visit a different trail each week!
The "Second Shoe". Making sure you have a well fitted shoe for your running and walking needs is so important for your fitness success. But, do you know about the "second shoe"? Having a second shoe in rotation can be beneficial for your foot health, especially if they are slightly different from your first pair. Maybe you want a second shoe specific to trail running or hiking. Maybe you are training for a race, and a lighter shoe would benefit you during your workouts. Maybe you desire a little extra cushion for your long runs or recovery days, and you've always wanted to try a Hoka. Whatever your needs are, we are here to help you find the "second shoe" for you, and to encourage this rotation, when you buy two pairs of shoes for yourself, we will give you 20% off the second pair!
New Year, New Sport Bra! There is a saying that you should never let a bra celebrate its birthday. Having appropriate support will make working out a lot more enjoyable. We have a range of support levels and styles from Enell and Brooks, but we are pretty excited about our newest style, the Seamless Strappy Bra from Smartwool, offering a medium support level, removable cups, and a fun, strappy style! One great benefit of wool is the odor resistance. It will stay smelling fresh longer than traditional sport bra material!
If your goal for the new year is to be more injury free, investing in a percussion massage tool may help. Percussion massage can reduce stiffness and soreness for faster warm up and recovery. We have the Theragun Elite with 5 different attachments and the Theragun Mini, an easily portable option, so you never have to miss that massage!
Chafing an issue? Body Glide is always a life saver, but you might also try a nice 2-N-1 short from Brooks. The built in liners give you an extra barrier between you and your short. We have the 5" and 7" 2-N-1 Sherpa for men and the 5" Chaser 2-N-1 for women.
I admit, I think my wife, Genevie, thinks I’m off my rocker now and then. “Could you NOT do pushups in my view while I’m trying to relax on the couch and watch some television?”, she pleads. True, I periodically bump up my exercise to levels where we joke that I must think I am at the Olympic Training Camp. Really, what I do is not anywhere close to what those aspiring Olympians do (or even the multitude of healthy adventurous folks here in town!), but the joke does make us chuckle. So, yeah, what AM I thinking? I’m getting older, just turning 62 and the pandemic era athletic event schedule is quite limited. Even an old runner friend noticed my Strava mileage last spring and wondered what I was thinking. So what’s the point, Genevie asked recently. What keeps you going? And maybe more importantly, how do you keep going? 

I gave it some good thought and came to the realization that for me I want to be physically ready for the next adventure; to live in wellness for as long as I can; to feel a little wild animal in me (or channel my inner Ferrari) as I run around in the hills and trees; to breathe deep, exert and challenge my mind and body to stay on high readiness because I plan on playing for quite awhile yet. Olympics here I come. ;)

I’ve found over time that different ideas, concepts or “life hacks” have worked to keep me motivated. I’ve listed 10 different strategies (with examples), as one might “click” best for you and make all the difference as some have done for me. 

1) You were given a Ferrari- what did you do with it?

Most of us were lucky enough to run around, somersault and hop as kids. Our bodies are made to move. I believe it’s easy to forget we are little Ferraris inside, just hankering to be driven. Sure, our top speeds are varied, but who cares? Our little Ferrari is a gift that is pretty darn fun and even powerful if we resurrect it, tune it up and maintain it. It’s all there within us, just waiting to be discovered or rediscovered, and driven.

2) Decide, Begin, Persist

We live in a world of distraction and are rich with options for our attention. Making good progress requires focus and choosing specifically what is to be done. Is this thing a priority or not, does it align with my values? Clear the clutter of competing thoughts or priorities. Now, START! Then keep going. :)

This works with a training session too. You already decided this is what you will do and there is no more thinking to do, so just begin. Voila, another day of persistence and it wasn’t that bad!

Don’t run and want to be a runner? Decide to start. Start small (5 minutes!), build the habit and persist.

For Steve's remaining tips on staying motivated, follow the link here.
Chuckanut 50K Segments & Full Course Challenge January/February/March
You can run any or all of the 9 segments in this year's Virtual edition of the Chuckanut 50k, all available with your registration. Each segment is sponsored by an awesome brand, and we’re co-sponsoring the northbound 6.1 mile Interurban Trail Segment where runners will have a chance to win store gift certificates! Run on the actual Chuckanut 50K course or just mimic the miles and elevation from elsewhere and upload your results. Register here.
 
GBRC’s Samish Runs 6.5 Mile & Half
January 1st – 17th
You'll have three full weekends in the New Year to run the traditional Lake Samish course along with the unusual opportunity to choose a weather window that suits you. More information here.

And for a monthlong activity challenge...
Bellingham Multi-Sport Challenge
January 1st - 31st
Build healthy habits, exercise, log your workouts and win prizes! Walk, ruck, run, paddle, hike, row, skate, erg, disc golf, bike, swim, etc. - anything that involves distance counts. Get the scoop here.

Check out our community race calendar for links to race websites.
Fairhaven Runners and Walkers
1209 11th Street
Bellingham, WA 98225

360-676-4955
Store Hours:
Monday-Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm
New Year's Eve - 10am - 5pm
Closed New Year's Day

360-676-4955