Duck-Farm

I didn’t mention in my last post that I also got two handheld water bottles while I was at the Auburn Running Company store. This was big, because I have loved the Fuel Belt combined with the Camelback. However, lately I have been wondering if the Camelback might not be a bit of a catch-22. Since it covers so much surface area on my back, I wondered if maybe it might be inhibiting cooling, causing me to require more water and run slower than I would if I had a different system.  

So I took a $26 risk and bought two of the bottles pictured at left. It is an 18 ounce bottle, and you can upgrade to 26 ounce bottles. I decided to start witht he smaller bottle in order to allow my arms and shoulders an adaptaion period.

This morning I took them out for a six mile test run and I really liked them. They weren’t perfect right out of the box; they will require some getting used to. For example, I never realized how often I wipe the sweat away from my eyes with my hands. That was different. So was blowing my nose without blowing it all over the bottles! But I think they are going to be a part of my regular routine. The Fuel Belt and Camelback may feel unloved for awhile as I figure out exactly what works best in given situations. One thing seems like a huge advantage: these bottles will be much easier to fill on the fly. And since they are easier to fill on the fly, I think it will be possible to just carry my Perpetuem as a powder in a pre-measured ziplock and mix that on the fly as well.

When I first started running, I loved the Fuel Belt because it was so easy for someone like me to gauge how much water or sports drink I had taken in over a given period of time. I was telling a friend who has run many marathons about how much I liked it, and he remarked something like, “after you have been running for a while stuff like that wont matter at all. You just go out and do it.” I have feeling that the move to these less precise bottles may be the partial fullfillment of that prediction.  

Two hours after the conclusion of my run, I can tell it was smart to start with the 18 ounce bottles. My shoulders and traps feel like they had a good workout.

Chris

Several weeks ago, when I went trail running with Fireguy, he took one look at my shoes and said, “You gotta get some trail shoes”. I didn’t really get it at first. What’s the difference? Then I saw how he was bouncing off of rocks like I might if I was wearing a heavy pair of hiking boots, and I realized, there had to be a difference because I would be screaming in pain if I tried to do that in the shoes I was wearing. After our run, he told me to go to Auburn Running Company for the trail shoes. It made sense to go to a running shoe store that was about three blocks from the finish line of the Western States 100 to buy trail running shoes… but of course I didn’t listen.

About a week later I was driving downtown when I decided to stop by Fleet Feet to see what they had in the way of trail shoes. Hmmm…. four different shoes, none in my size. I guess maybe Fireguy was right.

So, after a great ten mile run this morning at a very slow pace, the family drove with me to the Auburn Running Company. It was Trail-Shoe-City! I told the shoe guy I had been directed to come there by a western states runner. He asked who it was. I told him Fireguys name. He said he didn’t know him. The shoe guy said he himself had run the western states this year. He looked believeable.

So I tried on a couple different pair and then the shoeguy brought out a pair of Montrail Continental Divides. I said, “Hey, that looks like the shoes fireguy wears…” I had already done a lot of internet research and had actually decided Montrail Continental Divide was the most likely trail shoe for me, but I didn’t realize it was the shoe Fireguy wears too. At that, the shoe guy walked over to a computer, typed his name in and pulled up slew of photos of Fireguy that were taken at the Western States. When the picts came up, the shoe guy said, “Oh yeah, I do know him afterall. And you are right, he wears these shoes.” The idea of being able to bound off rocks like I had seen him bound bounced in my head and compared with myself running down a trail in the shoes I have been wearing. I saw myself looking like a woman wearing high heels walking in the rain! It was a done deal: Montrail Continental Divides.

So then the shoe guy proceeded to explain too me that if I bought these shoes, I shouldn’t wear them on pavement very much, and that I might actually have to learn to run a little differently. Since they would allow me to put my feet in places my old shoes wouldn’t, he said I would need to absorb things with my thighs. Hmmm… I think I know what he means from all the backpacking we have done… you hafta keep your knees slightly bent in order to ensure you don’t put a shitload of force straight down on the joint. Anyway, here is what the shoes look like. They are super stiff.

As we were leaving, Erin noticed a flier for an organized trail race next Saturday morning right by our house. So I might try my new shoes out there, depending upon the forecasted temperature.

Chris

As part of the conversation I had with ‘Runs with Elk’ last week I started thinking about new shoes as well.  This time I went to the store armed with a bucket full of time and pocket full of cash.  I spoke at length to the sales guys.  He seemed to think with my recent weight loss (albeit minor) that the brooks Beast would be over engineered for me.  Since I am bouncing off the lower weight limit of the shoe it looks this may have been causing the issues I was having with the cramps and uncomfortablility of the shoe.  I ended up walking out the door with Asics Foundation shoes.  I managed to put 5km on them the next day.  While my leg still hurt at the end of the run my feet did not (no blisters or cramping).  Very nice shoe; weight range is for plough horses from 80-120 Kg.  Lots of extra ‘cushion’ in the front and a fairly wide shoe to boot! 

Some photos:

–

Buford