Saturday, January 26, 2019

Why I Run


Running is simple. All you need to run is your health, your legs, some shoes (debatable), and some gumption. It's waking up and getting moving. Today I ran intervals-talk about a progressive manifestation of gumption. I remember sitting on the bed after waking up pondering if getting older really does have an effect on the difficulty of getting moving in the morning. I knew today was an interval day and I was excited about it. I briefly considered doing the workout outside-checked the weather and decided that intervals in 21 degrees F wasn't my bag-off to the gym I went.

I like to ease into my interval workouts-safer for the muscles that way and it allows me to set up my music listening gear. I haven't upgraded to blue tooth headphones yet so I've got to plug in my headphones and select my audio. For intervals I usually choose something that gets an emotional response-today it was classic metal. Metallica is perfect for running intervals.

Running gives me a sense of accomplishment. I'm not the best at my job. I'm not the most effective, not the most efficient, and not the most knowledgeable. But I sure do care a lot, a try hard, and certainly put in more hours than my share (I'm salaried and don't do it for the cash). After hours or days at work feeling less than satisfied with the guy in the mirror it feels good to be able to do something right! I understand that running is simple to do right but I still feel a bit accomplished. Physical exercise does that for me. Yep, that's the endorphins that all the docs talk about I'm sure. Anyway, I'm thankful to have a healthy body that allows me to run five miles without much difficulty.

Running enables me to do other great sports and hobbies like snowboarding, triathlon, hiking with my kids and scouts, and scuba diving. I love doing all of those things and love going to triathlon races. I'm a lower middle of pack guy but love being out there with other like minded folks. I love going to running races also. I aspire to one day participate in European sky racing competitions-those look like soooo much fun! Being in amazing country and traversing by foot through it. One day I'll be able to go do that.

Anyone can run and the benefits are well researched and documented. So just go out there and do it. If you want to race and get competitive there are tons of resources out there for you. Start listening to podcast are connecting via social media. Anyone can do it anywhere, even in big cities, I've done that too. Take care ya'll and hope you keep getting faster and going further.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Multisport Product News-Running Shoes and Triathlon Watches

So they've put "guide rails" on the Brooks GTS 19. I've been wearing the Brooks GTS running shoe for about 13 years now I think and hope this isn't a big change. Every time I buy a new pair it feels like I'm coming home, I love buying new running shoes. But as I went to their site I was curious what these limited edition runners would be. I'm not impressed by the pictured design, it looks like a digital camouflage which I don't have the palette for. I'll likely buy another pair or two of the 18s and stick with those until a respectable new design comes out. But I may go try on a pair of these new 19s to see what's up w/ that guide rail. Gotta make sure my feet aren't going to get lost in there I guess.

Suunto is having a fairly hefty sale. I've never seen the scale to which they are discounting their products right now. I currently wear an original Suunto Ambit. I love it but I'm a pretty simple guy. The thing is over 6 years old and ran for 13 hours straight once during my Ironman distance race in 2014. It does all I need for triathlon-tracks swim distance, running and biking stats of course, and I synch it with a wire (old fashioned I know) to Suunto's online workout tracker-Movescount which feeds to my Map My Run account. I've often thought it will be nice to upgrade to blue tooth synching capability and with this big sale it may be the right time.

Suunto's website shows the Spartan Ultra at a 45% discount, $411.95 from $749! That being said the webpage as of right now also notes it is out of stock. The Spartan Sport model, however, appears to be in stock and priced at a 30% discount at $349.30 from $499. Their site touts a current sale from 20-70% off. I'm not a staunch Suunto page stalker but the discount seems large and makes me a bit suspicious I hate to say. Perhaps DC Rainmaker can shed some light on the situation and let us know whether or not Suunto is gearing up to release a whole new line. Regardless of my suspicions I've loved using my Ambit for triathlon, hiking, running, cycling, swimming, and just as an all-around tough watch that certainly takes all I can dish out. So I wouldn't mind upgrading to a new Suunto complete with a color touch screen, wrist heart rate monitor, and blue tooth synchronization capabilities.

Back in the Saddle

Alright, I've been out of the blogging business for a spell but I'm coming back on now. I'll try and follow in the footsteps of a great one and entertain my energies despite the less than perfect outcomes. She does the same and low and behold much of her efforts turn out pretty darn good. We'll call it practice in multiple fields.

No races are on my radar at this point in time but they will be coming. There's a relocation in my future that I'm particularly excited about and I believe there will be many available venues for me to choose from, one of which has been on the radar for years. I've got a triathlon in mind and probably at least one fall run that draws a pretty big crowd and sounds amazing. More to follow (MTF) on that.

I've also got a web tool in mind for future build out. Not necessarily a unique idea but a new way of doing things that will prove a useful tool to at least me and perhaps one or two other blokes nearby.

Here's a picture from Earligh Heights, they've got a bike stop pit stop which I think is great. I'm going to miss good ideas and public action results like that when we move. Cheers all-

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