Q&A With Canadian Triathlete - Claudia Johnston

We recently had a chance to have a Q&A session with Canadian triathlete, mother of 5 (not a typo!) and femme extraordinaire, Claudia Johnston.Claudia is one of the most successful Canadian age-groupers to have competed at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii placing 6th in 2009, 3rd in 2010 and 3rd in 2011 with a time of 9:55:35!

Q: You’ve got so much on your plate and obviously triathlon doesn’t pay the bills, what drives you to train or commit to the sport?

A: Triathlon has given me so much in life. I will be forever grateful for C3 and Barrie Shepley for taking me on their team!! I have many struggles as everyone does, but this sport is something that makes me happy, it always pulls me back onto my feet. It throws me tough mental and physical challenges and I love to tackle them. There is a huge sense of accomplishment when you finish an Ironman.One thing that is very close to my heart is to show Moms and Children to never give up, no matter how tough a challenge, you can overcome anything!! Keep your head held high (I know it can be tough) and keep on going, follow your dreams!

Q: How do you balance training with family life and your 5 kids?

Claudia with her 5 kids

A: Many times my children train with me. I would say as they grow older, they are beginning to kick my butt! It is complicated to fit it in, so sometimes you have to let go and miss a workout. What is important is that the ones I do have to count!! The funniest training was this fall when I had to go to a hockey tournament with my son, so I was biking and running in between games, LOL, you should have seen our motel room, full of hockey equipment, (my son is goalie) my bike , bike trainer and running gear. I know parents on this team find me slightly insane, and that is probably the case.

Q: What’s your goal in the sport?

A: I want to be the fastest I can be in Ironman. I want to be the best I can be and I don't think I have found my fastest yet, or my perfect race. Hopefully next year things will come together!! It would be nice to finally win at the Hawaii Ironman World Championships!!

Q: When did you start in the sport?

A: I have been competitive for four years now. I did do a couple of races before, but nothing serious. But I was an Ultrarunner beforehand.

Claudia in her Rockin' Dots!

Q: What is your strength/background prior to triathlon?

A: My strength used to be the run, but my biking has caught up, LOL!! I was initially a ballet dancer, I know, hard to imagine, then I was very competitive in Showjumping and Eventing. Later I turned to Ultrarunning, I always loved to run!!





Q: If you could convince any triathlete of doing a specific workout or training session what would it be?

A: hmm, let's see; come to my spin class and then join me at circuit!!

Q: What’s your most memorable moment in triathlon?

A: 2010 Hawaii Ironman World Championship. My first Ironman under 10hrs. I didn't realize at the time how huge that was, but it is simply that I always strive for better!!

Claudia was featured in Triathlon Magazine Canada as a "Triathlete Of The Year" for age-group women.

You can follow Claudia on Twitter @Mamma2Five or on her website at www.ClaudiaJohnston.ca.

Lunatik Athletiks
High Performance Gear With Extreme Personality
info@lunatikathletiks.com
www.LunatikAthletiks.com
Twitter: @IamLNTK
We're On Facebook!

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon Expo

We had the pleasure of getting our first event booth at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon Expo last week and what a blast it was! We've been looking for creative ways to show our amazing products to the world and we thought this event would be a perfect opportunity.

Our compression socks were a hit!!

Based on our signage and skirts hanging in our booth, we were expecting mostly traffic from women. Although our business started mainly to bring about running fashions to women with running skirts and stylish / funky compression wear, we do currently have some compression socks and sleeves available for men on our online store. We also have an exciting line up of training and racing gear in the works for both men and women so patience my Lunatiks! 

Surprisingly though, we had a lot of men come through and comment on our products and wonder why no other compression company adds "style" to their socks or sleeves. Our men's Velocious compression socks and our Edge compression sleeves were actually quite a hit and sold extremely well.

@marciomrqz with his Velocious

@mel_aka_momo with her Rockin Dots

The best part of the weekend was definitely meeting customers, participants in the race and other people hosting booths as well. Chatted with Deb aka @UrbanRunningGrl from www.UrbanRunningGirl.ca after originally meeting on Twitter!

The highlight of the weekend was definitely meeting 101 year old Fauja Singh who ran the 5k. For those who don't know him, he attributes his good health to eating a restricted calorie diet. Last year he was the oldest runner to complete a marathon! He drew quite the crowd.


Were you at this expo? Did you drop by the booth? Send over an email or write down some comments. We'd love to hear from you!

Next up, we will be at the Road 2 Hope Marathon the weekend of November 3rd in Hamilton, Ontario to do it all over again! If you missed the chance to try on some gear or get your hands on our compression socks or running skirts, swim by the event and come see for yourself!

Lunatik Athletiks
High Performance Gear With Extreme Personality
info@lunatikathletiks.com
www.LunatikAthletiks.com
Twitter: @IamLNTK
We're On Facebook!

Compression Socks or Compression Sleeves?

So you've done your research, read our blog post on the various benefits of wearing compression garments for training and racing as a runner or a triathlete and you're now ready to make your purchase. However, you realize you have the option to go with compression socks or compression sleeves.

So how do you choose?

The first thing you need to do is assess your needs. Socks offer a slightly better compression factor than sleeves because they also "hug" your foot as well as your ankles. Ask yourself the following questions which will help guide you towards the right direction.

1. Will you race and/or train in your compression wear?
Even though the benefits of compression wear are mostly for recovery (after doing exercise) there are some benefits of wearing compression socks or sleeves during longer races like a marathon, Ironman or any Ultra distance races. If you are a short distance runner (racer), you should consider your purchase of compression wear strictly for recovery, in which case either socks or sleeves would work for you. However, read the next questions before making your decision!

2. Are you "only" a runner or a triathlete?
As a triathlete, the last thing you want to do in T2 is put on a pair of compression socks. These are meant to be somewhat tight for them to work properly which means, will take some time to put on your wet feet! You could wear socks under your wetsuit, however, that would look a little funny and they would get damaged fairly quickly. That being said, sleeves fit perfectly under your wetsuit and leave your feet exposed for the elements of swimming.

3. What type of runner are you?
Are you a trail runner, a road runner or do you run barefoot on the beach? Trail running is usually pretty messy and wet so wearing a compression sleeve with a "quick dry" sock will be the best solution for your feet and for the longevity of your compression garment. Also if you are a barefoot runner or run with a "minimalist" shoe, a sleeve would be a better option for you since most of those shoes require no socks.

4. Are your feet sensitive to the type of sock you wear while you run?
Obviously if you are, the sleeves might be the best option for your situation. This leaves your feet exposed for you to wear your favorite running socks and for triathletes, don't interrupt your T2 routine for your usual socks/shoe combination.

Regardless of your decision, compression socks or sleeves are a great way to help you recover faster - getting you ready for your next training session and also help in injury prevention.

You can visit our website at www.LunatikAthletiks.com to see our line up of compression socks and sleeves. We're constantly adding to our inventory so follow us on Twitter or Facebook for product updates and new releases!

Lunatik Athletiks
High Performance Gear With Extreme Personality
info@lunatikathletiks.com
www.LunatikAthletiks.com
Twitter: @IamLNTK
We're On Facebook!

LNTK Tweet and Win Contest Results

This past Thursday, we launched our first contest for TWO Lunatik Prize packs. We're happy to announce our winners: Katie Graham (Twitter: @cdnkatie) and Janelle Glover (Twitter: @miletwentyeight). Congratulations! We'll be in touch with you shortly.

For everyone else who participated, thank you for entering and stay tuned to our Twitter and facebook pages for more contests and giveaways! We're only getting started!

In the meantime, take advantage of our website launch promotions and use promo code "launch40" to save 40% of any product on our website. This coupon will be good until October 31st, 2012. Great opportunity to stock up for next year's training/racing season and to check some items off your holiday shopping list.

Lunatik Athletiks
High Performance Gear With Extreme Personality
info@lunatikathletiks.com
www.LunatikAthletiks.com
Twitter: @IamLNTK
We're On Facebook!

LNTK Tweet and Win Contest

We are proud to announce the official launch of www.LunatikAthletiks.com. 

Lunatik Athletiks is an athletic apparel company created with the extreme athlete in mind. Endurance and extreme athletes are often referred to as being crazy, insane or a "lunatik" for enduring the dedication, focus, training, sacrifice, and pain associated with their particular athletic endeavours . Lunatik Athletiks hopes to support these athletes reach their athletik goals and lifelong dreams by providing the highest quality athletic apparel.

To celebrate this occasion we are giving away not one but TWO Lunatik Prize packs consisting of our Speedster Running skirt and our Hot Rockn dots Compression Socks. You can click on the links to read more about them.

Speedster Running Skirt

Hot Rockn Dots Compression Socks

 













To Enter The Contest:

1.  Make sure you are following us on Twitter (@IamLNTK) and on facebook (www.facebook.com/LunatikAthletiks)
2. From Thursday, September 20th to Sunday, September23rd, tweet the following

#LNTKContest: Enter me to win the @iamLNTK prize pack!


3.  On Monday, September 24th, TWO winners will be randomly selected from the entries.
4. The more you tweet or re-tweet, the more entries you will have in our draw. Feel free to re-word the tweet, just make sure the hashtag #LNTKContest and @IamLNTK are included in the tweet.

This contest is only available to those in Canada and the USA.

Good luck!

Lunatik Athletiks
High Performance Gear With Extreme Personality
info@lunatikathletiks.com
www.LunatikAthletiks.com
Twitter: @IamLNTK
We're On Facebook!

Lunatik Featured Athlete - Anna Falkowski

Anna Falkowski – Naturopathic Doctor, Mother of 3, Business Owner, Lunatik!

Anna is featured above wearing our "Radiance"
Running Skirt and "Hot Rockn' Dots" Compression Socks

Most people look to simplify their life with their day to day chores and activities. Not our featured LNTK Athlete Anna Falkowski. Not only does she own and operate an integrative health clinic, she is also the resident Naturopathic Doctor as well as the founder of a baby skin care product line and a co-founder of a women’s skin care product line. To top it all off, she is the mother of 3 kids aged 7, 5 and 18 months!

After the birth of her daughter, Anna has added yet another activity to her busy schedule... that of getting back into shape!

So something has to give right? Well not exactly.

“It’s really about figuring out what your priorities are and working to be successful at them” says Anna on how she manages her time with so much on her plate. “The busier you get, the more finely-tuned you need to be with your training and diet. I had to use all the tools that I normally use with my patients to create a program that works for me” says Anna of her ‘Clean Eating’ and increased strength training program.

Some people might call her crazy or delusional. We’re proud to call Anna a “Lunatik”.

The running skirt and compression socks Anna is wearing, as well as many more high performance apparel is available for purchase on our website at www.LunatikAthletiks.com.

Lunatik Athletiks
High Performance Gear With Extreme Personality
info@lunatikathletiks.com
www.LunatikAthletiks.com
Twitter: @IamLNTK
We're On Facebook!

Lunatik Athletiks' Perspective on Compression Socks

LNTK Compression Socks

It's seems Compression sportswear is the latest craze for runners, triathletes and other endurance sports. Not only does it look cool, it provides an additional "layer" of fashion to show off your style, but recently, there's been a lot of evidence pointing in favor of the benefits of compression wear.

Compression garments for hips, thighs, arms, legs and even your face have been around in the medical field for many decades now; mostly used in post-surgery for support and increased blood circulation. It was later adapted for the sports industry for similar reasons as well as improved and faster recovery (to be fit to train again, quicker!)

Simply put, compression wear does just that - it's a tight fitting garment that when worn properly, keeps your skin tightly pressed against the muscles and provides a "second skin" for warmth, which is the ideal environment for muscles to repair and heal. Improved circulation means your body can get rid of harmful fluids such as lactic acid faster. 

Here are some additional benefits of compression sportswear:

•    Improves athletic performance and endurance by reducing muscle vibration.
•    Graduated compression reduces the build up of lactic acid, helps the muscle recover faster.
•    Provides relief from feeling tired and aching legs.
•    Improves blood circulation.
•    Prevents injuries.
•    Elastic top band adjusts to fit leg perfectly without slipping or constricting. (Compression Socks)
•    Special weaving texture protects tibia. (Compression Socks)

Our medical graduated compression stockings are manufactured in conformity with ISO 9001, ISO13485, CE, FDA and GMP graded facilities with recognizable quality assurance certificates and seals.  

We're super excited at Lunatik Athletiks to be carrying a line of branded compression wear. We've done extensive research on materials and brought in some top notch designs to allow our athletes to make a fashion statement while staying fit!

Lunatik Athletiks
High Performance Gear With Extreme Personality
info@lunatikathletiks.com
www.LunatikAthletiks.com
Twitter: @IamLNTK
We're On Facebook!