It's Marathon Weekend here in Austin, Texas and soon thousands of runners will be flocking into downtown. At Jack & Adam's we're also in the running spirit so this month's newsletter is highlighting the 3rd aspect of a tri - the run! We'll let you know about a couple of running events, including one that is 25.2 miles shorter than a marathon. We have an interesting article from Olympic runner, Leo Manzano. Plus check out a great product that just might help with your post-marathon recovery.

So, we want to know - are you running the marathon this weekend or will you be volunteering or spectating? Let us know over on Facebook.

This month, Jack & Adam's Bicycles celebrates it's 7th anniversary! On Feb. 7, 2004, we opened our doors and thanks to you have been going full-speed ahead ever since. We've been honored with many "Best of" including best Triathlon shop in Texas by Competitor Magazine readers and Best Bike Shop in Austin by Austin Fit Readers. We've been awarded the Keep Austin Beautiful Award in Recycling & Waste Reduction and have been named to Inc. Magazine's Fastest Growing Companies for the past two years.

To help celebrate, we're having a $7 dollar sale online from now until the end of February. Choose from $7 t-shirts, socks, and visors with new items being added daily. It's our little way of saying thanks for being such great customers!

Come join thousands of your closest running buddies for a 5k run through the heart of downtown Austin! The Texas Round-Up, now in it's 8th year, celebrates health & fitness in our Lone Star State. Taking place on April 30th, this event is sure to please the entire family with chip and non-chip divisions as well as a Family Mile going through the Capital grounds.

On April 2nd get ready for the Inaugural Manzano Mile! This event, hosted by USA Olympian Leo Manzano, is an all-comers track meet consisting of individual mile and mile relay events. Age groups start at 10 years of age & go to Grand Masters (50+). There are special relay categories for Corporate, Fit Industry, and Media teams. If you need some inspiration, watch Leo run the 1500 at the 2008 Outdoor NCAA Championships. It's pretty awesome.

Graduated compression engineering by 2XU will knock your other socks off!

The Race Compression Sock is perfect for endurance events. It is ideal for competition and training to stabilize muscles for less fatigue and tissue damage while also channeling air and wicking moisture.

The Recovery Compression Sock is designed for long periods of wear during travel or recovery. This powerful lightweight sock also provides improved venous function and increased DVT protection.

Check out the Recovery & Race versions both available at J & A's online and in-store.

Sub 4 Minutes in a MILE?

Many have gone as far comparing running Sub 4 Minutes in a mile to climbing Mt. Everest, which is also thought to be equivalent to running 100 miles in a day, or basically, holding your breath until you pass out. Your heart and lungs feel as if they are going to explode, all while you still push your limits to see how you can go! Before anyone had been able to run that fast, it was presumed that if anyone did, their heart would explode causing an instant death, that is, until after Sir Roger Banister proved them wrong, when he broke the four minute mile running it in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.

As we all know, a mile is exactly 1.609344 km, or 5,280 feet. To run an actual mile on the track, you have to back up 9.344meters from the finish line. Many people run the 1600m and call it a mile, but this is not the true mile. The true mile is 1,609.344m. That means to run a sub -four minute Mile you have to run at an average speed of 15miles an hour per lap, or less than 60 seconds per 400 meters.

To run a sub four-minute mile is easier said than done. The first lap is always easy, just a lap where you get into the rhythm of the pace, the legs usually feel good and all you focus on is hitting the pace 59, 60sec. The start of the second lap, you still seem to be in it, you press just a little bit to make sure your're on pace, you know the 3rd lap is coming and you start feeling fatigued. Your're not even half way done yet you might hit 1:59 at the end of this 2nd lap, and you know your're on pace. Coming into the 3rd lap of the Mile, things start to happen, the legs start feeling heavy and a burning sensation creeps on in. Now you know that you're really starting to work. Pain sets in and you know that every step that you take it just seems like the pain is exponential. The 3rd lap is always the hardest as though stricken with a mental block of heavy bricks in your legs. Hitting the 1209.344meter mark you know that you only have 400 meters left in the game. As soon as you realize that, something in your mind clicks, "I'm almost done, only 400meters to go! Alright lets go!" Although you still have that burning painful sensation your knees start to lift, perhaps it may be from all the hard work you've put in and the willingness to move forward as you saw the clock hit 2:58, 2:59. 400m to go! 300m to go! As every hundred meters goes by you're still fighting but you don't even think about the pain. The only thought in your mind is run SUB 4 minutes. Then as you pass the last 200 meter mark, the clock hits 3minutes 29 seconds. All you keep telling yourself now is, "Push!,Push! All I have to do is run 30 seconds the last 200m". Its seems like you cant go any faster, you're already maxed out, lungs burning, legs burning maybe even a blood vessels in your head feels like it might burst/pop. But you push! 100m to go, 50m to go, 30m to go - DONE!!!! 3:59.86-This was my experience running my first Sub-Four Minute MILE and now it is yours.

The Mile, like the Marathon, and the 100m has always been a prestigious race, the perfect race, true sport, no time outs, no half times no substitutions and the clock never lies. The Mile is a true sport that tests our wills, our strengths, our weaknesses, and our inner selves, to see how much you really want it. And best of all is that it doesn't matter if you are a sub-four minute miler. It doesn't matter who is watching, what they think, all that matters in the end is that you're competing against yourself and if you'd like to against others. The Mile is like life, sometimes you win, sometimes lose, it hurts, sometimes you have to fight for position, you may fall, you may crawl, sometimes its painful, but in the end you are still moving forward and there is always an end.

Follow Leo on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook! And don't forget to sign up for the Manzano Mile - a true mile!

Many people come in the shop complaining about their chain skipping. There are several causes of this.

1. The most common cause of chain skipping is misalignment of the rear cogs and the chain. There are several things that can cause the misalignment. The most common is improper cable tension, when the tension is incorrect the chain does not sit inline with the corresponding cassette cog and it is trying to jump to the next cog. A dirty cable can also cause the same effect since the dirt is not letting the cable move like it needs to. One more common issue is the hanger for the rear derailleur can affect the alignment if it is slightly bent.

2. The next most common cause is wear on the chain, cassette and/or the chainrings.

The chain is the most likely to wear out first since it is made entirely of very small moving parts, all of which tend to wear out faster when they are dirty or ridden dry. Chains on most modern drivetrains usually last anywhere from 1500 to 2000 miles. This can change depending on riding style, and on how you maintain your bike. If you keep your drivetrain clean and you tend to spin at a slightly higher cadence then you will get more mileage out of your chain. When the chain wears, it no longer sits evenly on the cassette cogs and chainrings. As this goes on the chain will eventually start to jump since the chain wears much faster than the cassette and chainrings. If you let your chain go too long it will start to wear down the teeth of the cassette first and finally the chainrings. If the chain is replaced before it is too worn the cassette and chainrings will outlast the chain many times over. There is a tool that measures chain wear that you can either buy for home use or you can bring your bike to the bike shop and we can measure it for you.

Continue reading for the #3 cause...