Offer good through September 30.

I’m guessing many of our customers face the same challenges I do in trying to maintain some semblance of fitness while also managing job, family and relationships.  I don’t claim to have discovered any earth-shattering secrets, but I thought a little bit about what I do and why might be of interest to others.

A lot of what I do now to train relates to the fact that I have done a lot of different sports and fitness activities over the past 30 (!) years.  I ran, cross-country skied and rode horses in high school, then was fortunate to walk on to the Yale women’s rowing team and work my way into the varsity eight my sophomore year.  We had a great year, winning the Sprints and losing only one in-season race.  I raced in the V8 for three years, and also learned to scull and raced the single and double at Canadian Henley, summer Sports Festivals and head races.  I kept rowing and sculling for a number of years after college, finally giving it up when I moved to San Diego.

In San Diego I ran and lifted a bit, then took up cycling. I joined a local cycling club for long rides through the hills, on the weekends, and on the weekdays grabbed a quick 17 miles up and down “the Strand” which connected Coronado to the mainland.  The local cycling track offered track racing lessons, so I learned to ride a fixed gear bike and competed in the Pursuit for a few years.  This was my first glimpse into the power of interval training.  Our cycling class was full of serious cyclists, who put in hundreds of miles on the road each week.  Listening to their training regimens intimidated me, but then we’d get on the track and I was faster than many of them.  It turns out that the intense interval training I’d done as a rower gave me peak power that their miles of steady state training did not.  Even on my quick rides up and down the Strand, I’d always work in a few sprints (okay, I’d jump out from behind after drafting off my husband and pass him in the last quarter mile).  Quality, not quantity.

Two kids later, I was up on Whidbey Island, Washington.  For the next five years, my athletic efforts were focused on riding my horse, hiking the trails with a BIG kid in a backpack, and “combat gardening” -  swinging a pick and digging holes in the glacial rock/dirt mix that made up my back yard.  I eventually made my way back to the Philadelphia suburbs, where I continued to ride my horse and took up Ashtanga yoga. (Yes, it’s possible to hurt yourself doing yoga.  My knees will tell you that.) I’ll admit, the core child-rearing years were not my fittest, but I kept moving and grabbing workouts when I could – a run, a lifting session, a swim at the Y.

About three years ago I worked my way back to the boathouse.  Sculling was always my preference, and the symmetry seems kinder to my body.  Whether in my single or team boats, I try to get on the water two to three times a week.  That’s not much, so I do everything I can to make every minute on the water count.  Over the last year I’ve been working with an excellent coach and a fun group, and that has made a huge difference to my effectiveness and focus.  I highly recommend hiring a coach occasionally if it’s available to you where you row.  Being back in the sport has helped me test and evaluate our products, and stay in touch with our customers’ challenges and needs of our rowing products.

Off the water, I ride my horse three or four times a week, run, and throw in the occasional CrossFit workout or yoga session for variety.  I’m reading Chi Running right now as I’ve learned that I can run much more comfortably with a mid-foot strike and a focus on staying light. When I start to plod, it’s time to stop!  CrossFit offers an approach that is intense, time-efficient and yields great full-body results.  At least I think it does, because it sure makes my full body sore whenever I do a “WOD” (CrossFit-ese for Workout of the Day).  You can get a glimpse of what CrossFit is about online, but to really learn the exercises correctly, find a local CrossFit box and go a few times a week during the winter.  Most places offer a reasonable per-class pay as you go approach.  With an understanding of the exercises and a minimal investment in some home equipment (kettlebells, plyobox, pull-up bar, abmat), you can get an amazing leg-toasting workout in 30 minutes.  I’m also a big believer in high-intensity interval training. Even when I’m completely out of gumption, I can usually talk myself into a few “Tabata cycles” of some exercise.  A Tabata cycle is generally 8 x 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, followed by a minute rest.  Four times through that and you’ve worked 20 minutes at a level you just can’t sustain over a long workout.  Research has shown that these workouts generate the same aerobic capacity as long steady state, plus a higher VO2 max.

You can’t explore CrossFit without also encountering people discussing “Paleo” or “Primal” eating, which I’ve also worked towards over the last year.  The philosophy is to eat what our Paleolithic ancestors might have eaten.  Translated – lots of lean protein, vegetables and fruits.  Avoid grains and sugars of all kinds.  Enjoy healthy fats (butter included).  Dairy in moderation or not at all, depending on your personal makeup.  For me and most most people I know who’ve tried it, eating this way helps them stay lean, build muscle, and have lots of energy throughout the day.  I know all you mid-20’s four hour a day rowers out there can eat EVERYTHING that gets in your way, but believe me, that won’t always be the case.

And finally, I’m never afraid to give myself a break.  I figure if I can put in five quality workouts a week, that’s far better than giving up entirely because I’ve missed some days.

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So, when can I get it?

The official release date is scheduled for this fall.

We make all of our own products right here at the Kestrel headquarters so we’re on top of the entire production process. We’re also perfectionists. We refuse to let you have products that aren’t up to extremely high standards. We put our Kestrel meters up against stringent NIST standards, rigid military drop-test specs, and IP-67 & MIL-STD-810 protection from dust and water damage. If you don’t know what those codes stand for, it’s basically a fancy, super official way of saying a product is darn TOUGH. Let’s just say the Kestrel is the Clint Eastwood of hand-held weather meters, or Chuck Norris even. What that means for you, is that we conduct robust rounds of beta testing and updates to ensure the product that reaches your hand is top notch. Check back for schedule updates or changes.

Which Kestrel meters will be available with Horus Atrag Ballistics software?

The Kestrel 4500 NV series will be available with Horus Vision ballistics. The Kestrel 4500 is the only model to give wind direction, which is important for long-range shooting and a perfect complement to an integrated targeting solutions system. The Night Vision (NV) series is the preferred model for the military because of its dim red back light that does not obscure or bleach out your natural vision in low light situations. Nocturnal or early AM hunters like this one too for the same reason.

You will also have the option to choose a model with Bluetooth data transfer or without the wireless technology. With the Bluetooth technology, you would be able to wirelessly transmit all of the Kestrel weather data to a laptop for analysis or long-term documentation. For example, tracking and comparing shooting competition performance against range conditions or for training purposes.

The available colors will be in Olive Drab and Desert Tan.

See what they look like here.

How much do they cost?

We will have more info on this going forward so be sure to check back at our site and this blog. You could also follow me on Twitter @KestrelChick. Fan us on Facebook and of course shoot me an e-mail: mdevlin@nkhome.com.

The Kestrel with Horus Ballistics will certainly cost less than the price of a ruggedized PDA and Kestrel meter combo. This new Kestrel meter eliminates the need for a PDA- all the critical data you need is right in the unit!

For more info on the new Kestrel with Horus Vision ballistics, please click here.

Know Your conditions.

Your Kestrel Weather Girl,
Monica Devlin

Kestrel Pocket Weather Meters are used by wildland firefighters all over the globe. Knowing relative humidity, wet bulb temperature and various other conditions is critical when battling wind-whipped blazes. Imagine being responsible for containing one of the most unpredictable, volatile forces of nature — fire. Talk about pressure. Particularly, in dense brush areas where the environment and ambient conditions fuse to create a potentially deadly crucible that knows no boundaries.

Firefighters are able to use their Kestrel Pocket Weather Meter to quickly get accurate weather conditions right where they are. Monitoring the on-site blaze conditions gives firefighters the information they need about fire behavior and making decisions for safety and strategy.

We understand what a dangerous job firefighters have and are proud to make products that are as tough as the demanding environments they face. When you’re facing a field with quickly-spreading orange stripes of destruction, you don’t have time to guess. You need reliability, accuracy and something that can take the heat.

Before the Kestrel Meter became the standard tool for firefighters more than a decade ago, they used an apparatus called a sling psychrometer, which is basically two thermometers mounted together with a handle attached to a chain. One thermometer has a wet cloth over it for determining wet bulb temperature. They’d twirl the sling psychrometer around and this would tell them the measurement based on temperature and evaporation rate of the wet cloth. A lot more work than just turning on your Kestrel Meter!

Here’s a pic of a Kestrel 3000 one of our wildland firefighters sent me after it survived a 500 degree blaze. Definitely one for the trophy case. It still turns on and the impeller still works. Though, the screen is a bit smoked out. Kestrel S’More anyone? Kestrel meters are regarded as the toughest hand-held weather meters available for a reason. So we feel confident offering an atypical five-year warranty on all our meters.

If you’d like to learn more about wildland firefighting, check out this cool (or hot) resource center the National Geographic site has posted.

Sales Manager Katie doesn’t just sell Kestrel Meters to firefighters, she’s so dedicated she even went and got certified as a Wildland firefighter herself!

That’s pretty smoking hot, huh?

See Katie and Christy talk Kestrels and fire in an interview from the tradeshow.

Kestrel Girls at Interschutz

• Strap Mount Included
• Backlight
• No Seat Magnet
• 60 minutes of stroke rate memory

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(Please mention promo code JUNROW at time of order. Must order by June 30th to receive discount.)

After a successful inaugural grant program in 2008, NK is pleased to continue supporting the rowing community by making nearly $5,000 worth of equipment grants available not only to current national team members, but also to those training hard to make it to the elite level.

We are happy to announce this year’s NK Athlete Grant Recipients for 2009. This year, we selected our grant recipients from over 150 applicants. We wish all of these athletes successful training and racing in the coming year.

Have your sights set on a national junior, U23, senior or adaptive team? Watch for our grant application window in late 2010. Tell us your story, your goal, and how you plan to get there, and you too may earn an NK Athlete Grant of $250 towards NK equipment to support you in your training.

Well, here we are again folks! It appears we are under Jack Frost’s icy thumb as we prepare for another (gasp) 18 inches of powder. Never one to blindly rely on a meteorologist’s sometimes unpredictable prediction, I’m setting up a portable Kestrel Weather station outside the office to track the hourly trends. The new Kestrel Meter with Bluetooth technology can send all the instant, on-site weather conditions straight to my lap top. This way, I can monitor real-time environmental weather data such as current wind speed, wind direction, temperature, wind chill, dew point, altitude, barometric pressure and more throughout the day! Plus, I’m definitely going to dunk my Kestrel into the snow to get the snow temp just for fun. Maybe Lindsey Vonn would have liked to know that as she navigated those slopes? The US biathlon team sure relied on their Kestrel 4500 for the most accurate environmental readings they could get…when you’re going for the gold, guessing just doesn’t cut it.

Our new Technical Support Manager, Ben Nielsen and I are headed out to set up the Kestrel 4500 with Bluetooth, collapsible tripod and Vane Mount for full weather monitoring capabilities. Welcome to the Kestrel blogosphere Ben! Look for video and pics as we do hourly updates on the looming snow storm. Hey, if we get snowed in the office and have to sleep here…does that count as overtime? Never hurts to ask:)

Kestrel Fans: How do YOU Kestrel in extreme conditions? Send me your pics and I’ll post them to our Facebook page, website and twitter. Or upload them yourself and tag me. If it’s a really cool pic, I’ll blog about it on NKhome.com.

Current conditions by #KestrelWeather are 34 degrees, Wind Chill 21 degrees, winds 14 MPH. Weather is as fickle as a 2-year old so be sure to check back for up-to-date conditions throughout the day.

Your Kestrel Weather Girl,

Monica

twitter.com/KestrelChick

facebook.com/KestrelMeters

mdevlin@nkhome.com