​Everyone wants to get faster as a runner.  One of my favorite aspects of running is that you’re not always racing against other people, but often racing against yourself.  Racing against your previous best time, your previous longest run, or trying to run negative splits; the possibilities are endless for how you can compete against yourself.  That is what makes running the best sport ever; no matter if you’re in the front of a race, the back, or somewhere in the middle, you can still win by running a new personal best time or accomplishing that goal.
 
But when we stop seeing that improvement or are seeking to get faster what do we do?  We start running harder by doing track workouts, we start to run longer, and we start to more throughout the week.  These are all great things to do, but there is one often neglected area….REST.
 
Rest is beneficial as it allows the body to recover from a tough workout, tough training cycle, or an injury.  As much physical benefits that we get from rest, it also provides a mental break from running.  Within distance running, there are two times to add rest in that are extremely beneficial to distance runners: 1) regular recovery/rest days during the week and  2) planned running breaks.
 
Regular Recovery/Rest Days
I’ll be the first to admit that I hate streak running.  While it can be fun to say, “I’ve run every day for the past three years”, it’s not giving your body the proper rest from the physical pounding of running.  Every runner is going to be different for what type of recovery/rest days you need to take.  One runner may need to take one day off per week, another one per month, and another one every two months.  Looking at your injury history and how beat up your body is, can help you determine how often you should take days off.  It’s important to listen to your body.
 
Another part of recovery days, is taking a run at recovery pace.  This pace is as slow as you need it to be.  If you normally run 9 minute miles for your easy runs, this can be an 11 minute pace for the entire run.  I tell my athletes to not wear a watch and run on only feel.  The important thing is that you are getting out there and getting the body moving at a very easy pace.  The worst thing that you can do on a recovery day is run too fast.
 
Planned Running Breaks
Planned running breaks occur after a training cycle when you don’t have any races on the calendar for an extended period of time.  The goal of a planned running break is to give your body time to recover from the physical pounding and mental fatigue that comes from consistent endurance running.  After any training cycle, I recommend taking at least three down weeks.  These down weeks can be completely off, involve light running, or be a great time to try something new (i.e. swimming, biking, roller blading, etc…).  You can also use a combination of the three during your downtime.
 
Training is tough.  It’s tough on you physically and mentally, so using the rest/recovery tips, should help to keep you fresh and ready to keep training!

​Every week I see someone post something in social media about another cool event they’re doing.
 
RAGNAR relays, triathlons, trail races.
 
Even something as simple as going to a local group run or yoga in the park, or taking advantage of bike valets at JazzFest this past weekend.
 
Sioux Falls has a ton going on lately, and a lot of it is really cool. I know it’s mid-summer, and that means a lot of people are getting ready for fall races. Our bike path is full of folks with hydration packs and training plans and miles they have to get done before it gets too hot. (Side note: Have you seen that you can get a free T-shirt if you run the entire bike loop? 605 Running Co. is recognizing how awesome it is to ring the city on foot. Details here.)
 
But with every serious summer of training, with every build-up of miles, inventory of injuries and perfectly executed nutrition plan, there’s a chance for something to go wrong.
 
It’s a lot of pressure on us amateur runners.
 
That’s why I’m grateful for the Wienerman Triathlon in Luverne, Minn., a race so absurd, so gluttonous and easily miscalculated, that it takes all the pressure off of its participants.
 
You don’t have to be amazing or fast or have trained for months. You just have to be willing to make a fool of yourself, to gag down hot dog buns soaked in glasses of water and to make a truly endless amount of off-color jokes about hot dogs, buns, and all manner of tube meat.
 
It’s become the highlight of my summer.
 
I was invited to be part of a team last year with three women who had done the race before. I couldn’t really understand them when they asked me.
 
“It’s the Wienerman,” Karen Lechtenberg said, like that was supposed to mean something.
 
“You run and eat,” Natalie Kauffman Stamp said. “It’s amazing.”
 
“I do the bike part,” Nancy Kirstein said.
 
And to all of this, of course I said, “I’m in.”
 
Our friend Kami Cross Petersen ended up subbing in for Natalie at the last minute, and the four of us went. We won our division – the all-female, full-food portion (you can do half portions, too) division. We got a giant trophy. Nobody threw up. It was outstanding.
 
So when they called again this year to ask me to be on the team, absolutely I said yes. Once again, Natalie had to bow out, and the glorious Glenda Myers Bittner stepped in.

​Spoiler alert: We won our division again, and this year it’s an even more amazing trophy, with a wooden dancing hot dog on top. Dave Duffy organizes the race, and it continues to be absurd. Legend has it that some years participants have had to put together Mr. Potato Heads on the course. And every year we have to eat some ridiculous concoction.
 
This year there were only a handful of teams, easily a third of what there was last year. (Don’t let that diminish our accomplishment – you race against who shows up, you know.)
 
But that’s why I’m writing this blog post, which I’ll surely pay for next year when we lose our title: You have to go do this race.
 
If the thought of trying to swim through an indoor city pool after just pounding a hot dog covered in a Philly cheesesteak doesn’t entice you, then what about getting a strip of free drink tickets and standing in a hot downtown parking lot with a makeshift bar and a live band on a hot Thursday night in Luverne, while kids play in bouncy houses and you revel in your accomplishment?
 
It’s small town meets college meets dubious athletic achievements.
 
It’s everything.
 
Here’s a quick recap of how it works: When the gun goes off, the team has to eat four hot dogs and buns, as a group It doesn’t matter who eats what, but all the food must be gone before the first runner leaves. You have to open your mouth and prove it, like you’re in prison, too.
 
You aren’t above the law for Wienerman.
 
The first leg runs, then eats a hot dog concoction (each “meal” is different), then runs some more (a total of about 2.5 miles) and then swims a lap in the pool.
 
Then she tags in the next runner, who eats something (this year it was rice and hot dogs), who then runs another few miles and tags in a cyclist. That leg eats (a hot dog with mushrooms on it) and then bikes about 6 miles. The final leg – me, both years I did it – runs about a quarter mile, eats, then runs another 2 miles.
 
Then you join the rest of your team, and as a team you have to eat dessert – brownies and cupcakes and muffins this year. Then you run a quarter mile and finish together, and suddenly think something like a Long Island Iced Tea sounds like a good idea (it isn’t).
 
There are many parts of this that were way harder than I thought. First, it makes no sense, and even after doing it twice now, I still don’t quite get how each leg works. I just waited for Nancy both years (including this year, when she overshot her turn and came from the wrong direction).
 
I underestimated how disgusting it would be to witness my teammates take a hot dog bun, jam it into a plastic cup of water and then inhale it. I couldn’t even look. The thought of a soggy bun makes me want to gag – I just ate the hot dogs, in much the same way my old Labrador retriever would sort of gulp them down. There’s not a lot of chewing going on.
 
I also underestimated how difficult it would be to eat after running. Natalie had warned me about this the first year (when I had to eat a hot dog covered in macaroni and cheese and Froot Loops). It’s way harder than I thought.
 
This year, I ran my quarter mile and felt ready – I knew what would happen, where I was going. I had a general idea of the course from the year before. I knew that the team would carry me when I got to the desserts, too out of breath to help them. 

​But when I stopped in front of the Pizza Ranch in downtown Luverne and opened my box of food, I wanted to cry. Friends, it was an entire pizza. Sure, it was a 12-inch thin crust pizza (Dave isn’t the devil, after all), but it was covered in hot dogs. In my mind, that makes it like a family size double stuffed crust monstrosity.
 
I took out a piece, took a bite, began chewing.
 
My friend was there as the team Sherpa and photographer, and he took a few photos – each one more horrifying than the one before, in retrospect.
 
The volunteer at the stop suggested I flip the pizza over, make it into a sandwich – it was a genius idea, and I did that. I chugged water after each bite, so I could chew less and eat faster. It still took forever, it felt.
 
When I was done, I started to run. My first mile was a 6:58, and the next a 7:15. I didn’t feel like I was running that fast. Let’s be honest – it’s the fastest I’ve run in a long time, maybe since the race last year, when I was actually in shape.
 
I ran through downtown, weaving through the revelers. Dropped into the city park and ran around the campground and playground, back out and over the bridge, down a side street. My team was cheering for me as I raced toward them, and then they began stuffing desserts into their mouths as I leaned over my knees and tried not to embarrass myself.
 
As a team, we raced through downtown again, with Nancy yelling from the back. “It’s hard to run with a fannypack on,” she said later.
 
We slapped hands as we came through the chute, laughing and comparing notes about what we had to eat and how it all went.
 
This is what strikes me when I look at all the photos from that night: Everyone looks so happy. Everybody. The volunteers. My team. My friends. The other teams. The people in the background caught on camera as an elite endurance event takes place in their midst.
 
It’s a great time. Get a team together. Work on your cast-iron stomach and bad puns. And then come out next year. I’ll be sad when the field is stacked with teams – and the chance to win diminishes for us – but then I’ll look at the photos and see more people cracking up about something so revolting, and I’ll feel better again.
 
Besides, “Team Hot Mess Express” will always be engraved first on the traveling trophy. 

Jacqueline Palfy is a longtime runner, reader and writer, marathoner, mom and board member of the nonprofit Sioux Falls Area Running Club. Her contributions to the 605 Running Co. blog will appear each Tuesday. You can follow her on Twitter @runnerJPK or reach her at [email protected]. Story ideas are encouraged.
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​Greetings Friends,

Today I’m excited to announce a new column for the blog. I’ll be contributing on a regular basis with, the business of running. A look behind the curtain at my profession here at 605 Running Company.

When I’m working here at the shop the question I get asked the most is,

​“What’s the best running shoe?”
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The second question I get asked is,

“How is business?”

My natural response is to put up walls when people ask me personal questions. I have learned that this shouldn’t be a stressful question. As our third business birthday arrives I thought it would be good to take a look at what people might actually be asking here.

In truth it’s a loaded question. What aspect of my business are you asking about? When you look at our business mission of enhancing the running community in Sioux Falls, business is good. We’ve got a strong online presence with our social media platforms and a content driven blog, we’ve partnered with local running clubs to both grow and enhance offerings in the community, and our logo has made it across the state in local races at a mind numbing pace.

Somehow, I don’t think that is the answer folks are looking for when they ask me about how our business is doing. People want to know, are you making a lot of money doing what you do. The answer to that question is equally loaded. We pay our bills on time, we have extended our lease agreement at our location, and we are spending more dollars on inventory and have more employees than years past. So are we taking buckets of dollars to the bank? Not exactly, but we are making a living engaging in commerce. Our owners the Watley Brothers have made plenty of sacrifices to get us to this point. We are excited about the future in Sioux Falls and have only just begun our business journey.

Sioux Falls is an incredible place to do business. We seriously have the best people in the world that genuinely care about how you are doing. So while I may put up some walls when people ask me, ‘how is business?’ I shouldn’t.

​In truth I’m possibly the luckiest business man in town. Besides working the majority of my hours in running shorts, I’ve made real relationships with our customers. In turn our community has remained loyal to us by making repeat purchases and referring others in their own circles to shop with us. By building our business with a community first approach our entire experience is more satisfying across the board. Our employees are excited to come to work, the owners are proud to be a part of the running experience in Sioux Falls, and finally our customers benefit from the best service and highest quality products available. So as our third birthday rolls around, you might be wondering, how is business at 605 Running Company? The answer is simple. Business is GREAT!

Greg Koch is the General Manager of the 605 Running Company, graduate of Washington High School and the University of Sioux Falls and a lifetime outdoor enthusiast. His contributions to the 605 Running Co. blog will appear periodically. You can follow Greg on Strava @GregKoch, Facebook @GregoryJohnKoch and Instagram @gregrun605. Story ideas are encouraged.  
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I bought my first bike rack for my car in the mid-1990s.
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It was a black Thule that held two bikes and strapped to the back of my Cavalier, and I got it so I could drive my college mountain bike to the Cleveland Metroparks bike path near where my dad lives when I was home on breaks.
 
In school, I just rode my bike everywhere. Parking was expensive and tight and my car was wildly unreliable – I had to put oil in it every time I drove it, and I had to keep a set of fuses on the passenger seat because something was always blowing. Windshield wipers plus heat plus radio? Now nothing works.
 
The rack served me well, and after my ex-husband bought a truck, we rarely used it. On the rare occasion we needed to take all the bikes somewhere, we would just put them in the truck.
 
I don’t have that truck anymore, but I still sometimes need to bring bikes with me. My son Jack, 8, has been riding since he was 3, and he’s confident and able to go a fair distance, navigate the curbs and city streets. We ride together, he rides alone or I run next to him sometimes.
 
But Viv, 6, isn’t quite there yet. It means we can ride around the neighborhood – if I run next to her, and by “run” I mean help give her a push to start and then full on sprint to be there when she has to turn the corner and inevitably panic. We’re working on it, and recently spent an evening just riding around an empty school playground, where she could learn some bike handling without having to navigate actual corners or curbs, traffic or pedestrians.  

​On a recent Saturday, we decided to go down to Tour Sioux Falls, the family bike event put on by Falls Area Bicyclists. We’ve gone every year since it started, and the kids love it. I didn’t think Viv could make it to the start for us at Rotary Park, though, so I thought I’d drive us there and give her another day of confidence navigating the bike path.
 
I looked in the corner of my garage and saw my old bike rack, now covered in dust and creaking as I pried it open. Some of the straps that held the bikes on were gone, and I had no idea if it would open wide enough to fit on the back of my car.
 
“Do you want something to wipe that off, mom,” Jack asked me when I got it out.
 
“That’s probably a good idea, buddy,” I said. “It’s pretty gross.”
 
He found an old towel, and we cleaned it up, opened it wide and somehow attached it to the car. I found an old bungee cord and secured the bikes. Then we just stared at it.
 
“It’s really crooked, mom,” Jack said.
 
It was. And there was no way I felt like it was going to do what it was supposed to – which is keep our bikes from crashing into the street and getting run over. (Random aside: We once ran a Strider bike over with a Land Cruiser and it was fine. It was that tough. This involved running it over and backing back up over it, with a “hey, what was that” sort of curiosity.)
 
So, I did what anyone would do: I texted my friend Owen at Spoke-n-Sport. I’ve known him for years, first as a coworker when we were at the Argus Leader together, and mostly as a fellow runner. Now he works there, and because of that friendship, I always trust him when I need something. And through him, I’ve become more familiar with the other folks there, and they know me, and all of that means I like giving them my business.
 
But Owen was busy setting up for the tour and didn’t reply. I called the store and told whoever answered, “Hi, this is Jacqueline. I need a bike rack. Today. For a Subaru. Owen told me a while ago you have one. Do you have one?”
 
The guy who answered, I forget his name – somebody remember and tell him thank you from me -- asked me all the questions: what kind of car, how many bikes, etc., gave me a price.
 
And then he did something great: He said, “We’ll get it out of the box and have it ready.”
 
“Awesome,” I said. “I’m coming from across town and hopefully won’t be dragging any bikes behind me when I get there.”
 
The kids and I arrived, and he and another worker quickly came out, put it on my car and showed me how to hook it up, put the bikes on, and store the extra straps. They told me how I could buy replacement pieces after they noticed Jack was intrigued by some – those are people who know a kid will often bend something until it breaks, because everyone needs to find a breaking point sometimes.
 
They talked to Jack about the bike rack. They explained it all to me. They said, “She’s in a hurry to get to the bike tour,” and took it seriously that I’m just a mom who wanted to ride for a bit with my kids and then eat from a food truck while they went in bouncy houses.
 
We made it to the bike path. Parked at Pasley and rode to Rotary. Spent the better part of the morning there, talking to friends and eating ice cream and complaining about the wind.
 
Owen was there, and when Jack ended up snapping part of his bike playing with a bike pump, he offered to drive us back to the car in the store truck. We were able to get a different ride, but that’s customer service. 

​It’s the same kind of thing I experience at 605 Running Co., where I’ve texted Greg and asked him for all kinds of things. Or when I came for a Wednesday run and realized I had forgotten all my clothes in the entry way of my house. Kelli found me clearance clothes and a free T-shirt to wear. Or once on a noon run a few years ago, when I felt lightheaded near Harlan’s Bike and Tour, and they gave me a gel even though I had no money on me. I knew they would understand, and they did. (Someone remind me to give them $2.)
 
I could have gone to another store to get my bike rack. I could have waited a week and bought it online. I could do a lot of things.
 
Instead I did business with my friends, in the stores they run in the community they love. They know my name. They know my kids. They answer my inane questions, “Owen, why can’t I make this bike pump work?” “Push harder.”
 
Greg and I had lunch at a chain restaurant last week (we’re not perfect, see?), and we were talking about the blog posts. I told him I had been thinking about my experience with Spoke-n-Sport, and I wondered if it would be OK to use his platform to talk about another business. He thought it was fine and talked a lot about how they work together for different things, including recent customer service training. I love the thought of smaller businesses getting together to pool resources and lift each other up.
 
I know that small businesses aren’t the only businesses, and like any other single mom, sometimes I pay more for convenience and less for something shopped online. But I usually at least start with one of these places, and most of the time, I don’t have to go anywhere else.
 
If you love your local stores as much as I do, you might want to consider nominating 605 Running Co. for the 50 Best Running Stores in America contest with Insight Running magazine. Here’s a link to their page. They have awards for the store that gets the most people outside, for the store making a difference in the community and the store with the best in-store events.
 
They probably have a shot at all of them. I know you have a story about how they help you, so share it, and let’s recognize some of the work they’re doing for us.
After all, Chad and Owen and Tuesday and Greg and Grant and Kelli and Benson are our friends.
 
My dad’s father never told him he loved him. It’s haunted him his entire life, and he drilled it into me to always tell someone how I feel. I tell the kids every day. I tell the other people I love that I love them, whenever I think about it. Sometimes that’s a lot.
 
I plan to tell this magazine why I love 605. Because when I love something, I talk about it. Blame it on how I was raised.

Jacqueline Palfy is a longtime runner, reader and writer, marathoner, mom and board member of the nonprofit Sioux Falls Area Running Club. Her contributions to the 605 Running Co. blog will appear each Tuesday. You can follow her on Twitter @runnerJPK or reach her at [email protected]. Story ideas are encouraged.
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