My new favorite video

 There are four different riders on this video. The first guy has skills, the second guy is "haulin it", the third guy is sick (Thomas & my favorite), and the fourth is...well he's riding "The Full Nelson". 

...Later

No taxation without representation

Many of us love this oleaginous spread, and the price in middle Georgia seems to be rising do to its popularity. But the French have gone to far. They are moving for a tax on palm and coconut oils. Which forms much of this hazelnut/cocoa wonderfulness. The French media is calling this  le taxe Nutella....Nutella tax. Just think, what if we were taxed on this, and maltodextrin (Gu, Shot Bloks, sports drinks). What would we as endurance athlete's eat? We would have to eat like we did years ago. Pastries, cookies, PB&J's. And dare I say....Fruit! 

 Well until this happens, eat up! 

And Thanks Mr. Pietro Ferrero for your "Supercrema gianduja"...Later

Up and Down

Going up

Going down...Later

Taco's and Trails

 The words "taco's for dinner and I'm going for a trail run" should never be spoken within  an hour of each other. 
 I wasn't planning on eating one before I ran, but as I was tasting the kids dinner I ended up eating one. About 52 minutes into my run at L.H.Thomson, I placed an "ABC taco" on the trail. It sure did taste better the first time. Now my stomach felt terrible, so I planned on taking the radio tower loop bypass. I then thought, if I ever want to regain my "ultra runner" status, I should suck it up and finish the whole lap. Then I heard someone shooting a gun on top of the radio loop....so the bypass seemed like a good idea again. 
 I ended up with a very good run. I have 120 miles on my new Asics scouts, and they feel really good. Although If I buy another pair I will buy a half size smaller. 
 Only a couple of weeks until the L.H.Thomson marathon. I have some good miles on my feet. Pine Mt., Pinhoti trail, countless laps at Thomson, and my regular lunch runs. I'm excited about the race. Because I feel good and finally a race close to home so I don't have to travel...Later

Minimal or Maximal

  Minimalist running shoes, there are several definitions for a minimal running shoe, (minimal drop, minimal features, minimal cushion). Recently I've been running in a couple of different minimal shoes, New Balance MT 110's, and Brooks Pure Grit. Both minimal drop, features, and what I consider minimal   cushion.

 The bare foot crowd says the Brooks shoe is a high cushion shoe...Aaaa whatever! The  cushion is soft but not "high". When I run in them, I can feel my feet hit the ground, and I feel every rock on the trail. After just a short run my feet feel beat up. Maybe if I could run fast, they would not hurt my feet. But as it is, I am slow and plod around the trail. Not the shoe for me. I now really like these shoes for after run (or ride) shoes. Light and soft cushion I would say.

 Then there is the New Balance MT110. I have a lot of miles on these, but all runs are one hour or less. I  made one attempt to have a long run (20 mi.) in them at Dauset trails, took two and a half hours, 14 miles. I was so ready to get back to the truck. My feet were killing me. My calves hurt, my knees, my back...Let me back up, I had just started picking up my mileage when I made this run, so these are probably normal aches and pains. But I have since had other trail runs in them and I ended up swapping them out for my old trusty 450 mile worn out Columbia Ravenous, and my feet felt O.K. I now will save these shoes for runs of one hour or less, or for a race (short race).
 The MT110 has minimal cushion, 4mm drop, minimal features. I like this shoe for short runs. The Pure Grit has minimal cushion, 6mm drop, minimal features. I do not like running in this shoe. So where am I, maximal shoe for me. Maximal cushion that is. I can give or take on the features of a shoe. But I think a lot of cushion is what I need. 8mm to 10mm drop I think. I would like to try another 6mm shoe, but one with firmer cushion.

 Now for my new shoe, Asics Gel Scout. High cushion (firm), 8mm drop, more of a traditional shoe. I have 70 miles on these shoes and so far they are great. At first I was not sure because they felt stiff and too firm.  Maybe because they are so different from the other two shoes. After my Pine Mt. run of 24 miles (Tower to Molly Hugger & back) they started to feel much better. So after 5:22:00 in these shoes on a demanding trail like Pine Mt. and no issues...I'm "digging" these new Asics. Great traction, great rock protection, and still soft enough to run on pavement.
 Maybe not the "trail feel" that the minimalist crowd always talks about, but I like the fact that I can plow through the trail in these shoes with good feeling feet at the end of my run. Much like the way my 29er does. A maximal shoe perhaps. The endless search for the perfect shoe goes on...Later