New Shoes..New Insight..and New Injury.

The last week went by pretty quick..as all the weeks this year seem to have.  I did make a few changes..found out a few things and sustained a slight injury.

First..the changes.  Since getting the dreaded gout last year I have been having issues with my feet.  I couldn't run for quite a while and when I did my shoes exacerbated the problem.  I have been running in Newtons for about three years and love them. They transitioned me from a heel striker to a mid foot striker..which in turn got rid of almost all of my knee problems when running. They are also long lasting and built pretty wide in the toe box which is wonderful. Not to mention they are extremely light. I love running in them. Even for a big guy like me the minimal cushioning was not a problem at all.  I would recommend Newtons to anyone who was looking to get away from heavy cushioning and those who are looking to try and get away from heel striking.   In fact if you are interested in a pair you can order them online here  Kompetitive Edge Newton Selection and use my code havn2013 to get 15% off online orders or if you walk in the store.  In fact Kompetitive Edge now has demo shoes you can try before you buy.

Unfortunately the Newtons are not working for me any longer...if you know how the Newtons are constructed..or can see the picture above..the platform is built with a lug system.  That lug system is great for helping a person to mid or fore-foot run.  However, it also sits squarely under where I have been having foot issues..and the increased pressure from the lugs has really caused me problems.  Thus I needed to find a new pair of shoes.  Just my luck Kompetitive Edge started carrying a new brand this year..Scott..I needed a new pair of trail shoes since my North Face pair was over 4 years old..so I purchased a pair of the Scott T2 Kinabalu.

 Here is a REVIEW.  I love these shoes. I have only worn them about 3 times but they fit great..and zero issues with my feet.  Better yet..I am still mid foot striking in them and thus zero knee problems.  I will keep running in them and if they continue to work out I will be getting a pair of the Scott MK4 Road Shoes.

Yes..the badger red of the MK4's is much superior to the Kinabalu's colors..  Either way I am pleasantly surprised with the fit and performance of the Scott shoes..and the fact they personalized them with my name on the side and back..how cool is that. (This may come in handy if I lose one)
Again, if you are interested..contact the guys at Kompetitive Edge..and mention my code (havn2013) for your discount if you do end up purchasing. 

The new things I found out this week. 1. My underwear fits better when it is on backwards. (We will not get into how I know this).  2. I am getting to be one of "those" parents. At rock climbing this week my daughter was the only girl without $60.00 rock climbing shoes, her own harness and rock climbing pants.  (This is week 2 of the beginning class!!). She is as tall as all of the other girls and was doing well to keep up. She actually went higher then the other girls on  a couple of occasions. On one climb a girl in the class did go higher and I could see the smug look on the father next to me..so of course I said, "Wow. That's great..by the way where does your daughter go to school?" He answered with the school name and said she was in the second grade along with the other girl in the class.  I of course then informed them ..that's great..maybe my daughter will go to that school when she starts kindergarten next year... Yeah..I'm an ass.  3. Almond milk is not as tasty as regular milk.  It is a lie. 4. I do not miss sugar all that much out of my diet.

The injury I did while working out at the rec center. I tweaked my hip a bit as well as some other things. My coach had me running on Wednesday so I did it at lunch on the treadmill at the rec center.  Since I sweat like crazy I have to shower after any sort of run longer than 30 seconds.  Since I had done 40 minutes I was pretty much a disgusting mess.  I thus went to the locker room and showered.  I came back to my locker with my towel around me and of course there was a guy on either side of me at their lockers. (They give you locker keys when you check in and for some reason the front desk guy thinks its funny to give the lockers out next to each other..thus if there are four guys using lockers they will all be within 4 lockers of each other..even though there are 60 empty lockers).   Anyway, since there are guys in the immediate vicinity I do what I usually do..which is drop the towel and put my underwear on as quickly as possible...of course..I do not want to actually bend over to put them on for obvious reasons..So standing straight I put one leg through and then quickly put the other leg through..except I miss the leg hole and actually catch the underwear fabric with my foot..Now I don't want to step down since the underwear will be between my foot and floor..and that would be disgusting.  So I try hopping..because I still do not want to bend over..after the second hop I realize that I am going backwards and there is no way my momentum is not going to take my naked butt to the floor.  I guess I should not have been concerned about the underwear on the floor or bending over since in the next 2 seconds I have actually fallen over on my butt onto the locker room floor with enough momentum for my legs to go up and flip my underwear 6 feet from me. To make matters worse..one of the guys next to me is naked old guy...so when i sit up on the floor to reorient myself I get an eyeful of ..well lets just say it was not a pleasant sight..probably just slightly less pleasant than the feeling of my butt on the floor (since being male I obviously do not actually towel off when I get out of the shower and thus am pretty much as wet as when I am in it) and wondering what I am actually sitting on and what is going to be sticking to it when I get up.  The other guys in the room do not know what to do..naked old guy goes to give me a hand up..without covering himself..and the slightly less old guy..70 ish..goes to get my underwear..bends over to grab it..then straightens up..grabs a towel and then picks them up for me.  At this point I am just thankful I remembered to pack clean underwear.  I thank both of the guys and retreat back to the showers and take a 15 minute shower to not only rid myself of anything that could have possibly adhered to my body but to also make sure that both the guys had time to leave the rec center.  Anyway..my hip now hurts and I have a weird rash in the nether regions which I need to explain to the wife.  I also will not be doing lunch time workouts at the rec center for a few weeks. I have to think that this crap happens to other people besides me..Right???

Oh yeah..running is improving..stopped the run/walk stuff and am running. Although my heart rate is still crazy high for the slow speeds I am doing (think very slow jog). With the new shoes I have minimal pain while running. The swimming I need to build endurance..but am under 2:00 per 100..and I am beginning to get used to the bike trainer again. I do need to strengthen the hip and quad considerably though. Down 2 pounds this week..not bad but not good..228. down from a high of 235.

Take care..and Happy St. Valentine's Day...

Wow..what a week.

I received a lot of motivation last week from a number of sources.

First..I attended a hydration seminar at Kompetitive Edge on Wednesday night. The presenter was Dr. Stacy Sims..the brain behind Osmo Nutrition.  Dr. Sims was exceedingly personable and conducted her presentation in a Q&A format which was awesome since we had our specific questions answered.  A couple of the elite athletes were concerned about "hydrating too much."  Seriously? I actually just wanted to punch them in the face. Luckily I sat my big rear right in the front so she couldn't ignore me.  Obviously the question I had  was..how do I hydrate enough not to die during my next ironman attempt.  Her answer was very surprising.  Instead of telling me to take in more and more sodium during the race like I have been told by all my nutritionists she stated I was probably already taking too much in.  She suggested using a product..like hers..as the sole source of hydration during the race and not to drink regular water.  She acknowledged that I should be drinking about 48 ounces per hour but that the sodium in the drink should be enough.  The main thing is to stay away from sugars in drinks and food which hindered water absorption or increased dehydration.  According to her Sucrose, Glucose and natural sugar are the only sugars to ingest.    This cuts out most of the drinks I use because they contain maltodextrin.  She was also against the use of all gels.  She suggested on longer races to start with solid foods..something as simple as a pbj on white or clif or mojo bar and move to semi-solids such as chomps or blocks.  Even jelly beans would work in a pinch.  Another interesting tip was that she suggested taking tums tablets in t1 or t2 to help with any stomach issues.  I would suggest that anyone interested in hydration read the blog on her products page at Osmo Nutrition. Even though she is the main person behind Osmo Nutrition she did not push or even mention her product that much during the presentation.

On Thursday the fun continued...Jen Small arrived in town for the Rev 3 team summit.  She brought with her a 6 foot blonde named Elizabeth who was also on Rev 3.  Luckily I got to spend the afternoon with them taking them around Golden.

Elizabeth at a local watering hole..wearing a napkin as a mask

Apparently Jen and Elizabeth don't get out much in Maine and New Jersey since they were totally enamored by the local watering hole and somehow ended up taking the napkins from the restaurant and using them to try and rob the local convenience store.

After lunch/dinner I then took Jen to Kompetitive Edge to meet her hero Ryan.

Jen and her hero

After a lot of arm twisting it was decided that Jen and Elizabeth were going to stay at our house..They kicked my daughter out of her room and slept in the trundle bed. 

Thursday night I went to my athletes party for Kompetitive Edge. I met some of the other athletes and our sponsor reps from TYR, OAKLEY and SCOTT.  Every one I met was very nice..but definitey the crowd overall was a bit introverted.  But give me a few months and I will have everyone talking to me ..or at least talking about me.

The party was hosted by one of the athletes at his house. I noticed a ton of signed NFL jerseys in his house and a Browns jersey with his name on it.  I went up and told him how the Browns were my second favorite team after the Packers and that my favorite quarterback of all time was Bernie Kosar. I had a dog named after Bernie and still have my poster of Bernie from 1986.  He then informed me that when the Browns signed Bernie Kosar they cut him as their QB.  Umm..Oh.  Guess I should have done some research.

Friday we woke up and Jen actually got me to go to Starbucks with her..I didn't actually get anything but oatmeal but it was fun.  My daughter was in seventh heaven with the girls in the house..she had her starbucks with them in the mornings before everyone went their separate ways.

Girls having their breakfast to start the day

I obviously know Jen and what a great girl she is.  Elizabeth turned out to be just as great. My wife and her friend invited Elizabeth on their power walk and my wife kept asking her if she was doing ok on the walk...a lot of people fly in to Colroado and have trouble with the altitude and hills on the first day.  Elizabeth just smiled and said she was doing great.  The next day I informed my wife that Elizabeth was a 10 time ironman finisher and 30 time half ironman finisher...something she never shared with us. (I actually had to google her).  I did run a background check also after she stole the napkins from the restaurant but she came back clean.  Anyway..I love great athletes..who don't immediately tell you that they are great athletes..and don't take themselves too seriously.(Colorado peeps should take a lesson from this..just sayin)

Sunday we said goodbye to Elizabeth but were able to spend most of the day with Jen showing her around the town.  This was good and bad..since Jen now has pictures and notes on where she can have me work out.  She really liked red rocks for workouts as well as the trail up South Table mountain.

Jen on lookout mountain

The girls heading up to Buffalo Bill's grave

The steps at Red Rocks

Jen figuring out how many times I should run the stairs for my workouts next week

New friend Kate

We also picked up another athlete to sleep in the trundle bed.  Kate from Rev3 joined us. It turns out Kate was originally from Wisconsin..which instantly made her cool..and what was really weird is she knows my friend Keely in Maryland..what are the chances?

I had to go to work on Monday so I showed Kate and Jen where to start their climb up South Table Mountain..which they did and then were off to the airport.

Jen on South Table..notice the X on her butt..I think it is a target for kicking

Kate on South Table

I definitely had a blast and I found out that a lot of the Rev 3 people are going to be at races that I plan on doing this year..so it should be a blast.  Every Rev 3 person that I have met is completely awesome and fun.  (Did I seriously just use the word awesome?..thanks Jen)

So Monday night I get online and found out that my friend/nemesis Angela has started a blog.  Her blog Another Hole in the Head is almost as entertaining as mine.  She is also being coached by Jen and plans on doing a couple of races with me..and she thinks she is going to kick my butt.  That will not happen.  Thus, the last week has been a whirlwind of fun and information that has me psyched for the season.  But he most motivating thing that happened was when I went in for my uniform fitting this afternoon.   Kompetitive Edge decided to go with a European cut compression team kit this year..which means the XL fits you if you are 5'6' 150lbs.  I don't have any idea how many Xs are in the size of my uniform but let's just say I did not feel svelte.  In fact the word Kielbasa popped into my head when I looked in the mirror.  If the image of me in the team kit in public does not motivate me to get my butt moving nothing will.  Of course I am now thinking about going to the European restaurant tomorrow at lunch for sausage and pierogis.

Take care everyone.