Google 'n' Goggle!

There has been a shift in my goggles style over the past few months. As a “newbie” swimmer it was all about vision and non leakage, both are highly required as it is always good to see where you are sinking! A few years ago post 100 in the Hood while recuperating I swam in a good old fashioned pair of Speedos, I didn't know any better and had black tinted ones. Given that I was swimming outside (in a pool) in November and December this was, with hindsight, a pretty dumb thing, the tint would only be effective on a sunny day or during a sunrise or sunset, certainly not after dark which was when I was using them.

Above all beyond the lack of visibility due to light, (to whit I was oblivious to) they leaked…which was a pain! More than a pain it made swimming a misery and when you don’t really like something you really don’t want to make it worse! So when I started to go to the pool which some goals late last year I turned to my "mad Goggle skillz", did a bit of research and made several trips to Sports Chalet and the like in the area to try some alternatives on. After some trial and error I settled on a pair of AquaSphere Vistas, They worked, the vision was perfect, no leakage, zero, nada, nothing! Now as the yards have gone by, by my count a little over 70,000 since September, my form has improved and I started to notice that the goggles was a source of drag in the water. So back to Google I turned, this time I picked up a pair of AquaSphere Seal XPs.

I liked that the still had the semi mask seal but had a lower profile and therefore less drag…it’s actually noticeable when you swim. Nearly a month in them has confirmed that they too are pretty much leak proof, let me correct that, they are leak proof! The one complaint I have actually relates to the seal which is a little pinchy on my nose and after 40 minutes or so I am left fiddling with them and my experience has been as soon as you start mucking about with them they seem to fog up. Fine for a short course swim I thought but no good for a 70.3 or Ironman both of which are coming my way later this year!

So once again I went back to Google, well actually I went to Amazon and I went straight for a pair of AquaSphere Kayannes, I had tooled around on the AquaSphere’s website and these were the goggles (there are way too many references to Google and goggle in the post) of the likes of Amanda Beard, Terenzo Bozzone, Faris Al Sultan and the like.

To be a swimmer…do what swimmers do!

And so I am still transitioning into them but so far, oh my they are nice, as you can see I got the smoked lenses thinking that they would be only used for race day, but they are so comfy I am now awaiting a clear pair for the pool. The decision also covers the train in what you race in angle.

 Top to Bottom: A goofball in; Vista, Seal XP, Kayanne

I suppose this is sort of a review but I have something a little more deeper planned for the future. So now I am left with several pairs of unworn Vistas as they were on special deal way back when!

Finally stay tuned for my Spring Cleaning post due soon…you know what that means; deal time!

Step back, move forward…

This week was a step back week for me, quite simply I planned to eliminate doubles. Somehow the planets aligned and I managed to pick some snotfest lurgy. I felt it coming on last Sunday and then thought I had shrugged it off on Monday, but Tuesday morning I woke up with what felt like my head in vice so with a pragmatic head on I missed Tuesday’s run and missed Tuesday’s commute and stayed at home! Come Wednesday I was back in work but I skipped the scheduled swim. By Thursday I was starting to feel a little more human I passed on the scheduled tempo run and took a somewhat sniffy cougy fiver miler before dawn. By Friday I was feeling on the upswing and was back in the pool for a slower than usual 1800 yards. I switched out Saturday’s swim for a return to the tails and spent a glorious two hours running around the local trails at Chesebro Canyon.

This is an old picture but you get the idea!

With one day left of rest week I decided to ride short and fast and tack a run onto the end of it, the original plan was to head to the coast and hit PCH but after 30 minutes of being blown left, right, up and down and at one point I was blown clean into the middle of the road, it was no fun and was to be honest just plain dangerous so I threw the bike into the truck and headed inland. After a short drive I was out of the wind!

Here is quick video of the ocean, the waves are rolling in at around 6-8’, you get an idea of the windiness, there were some seriously scary gusts!

So Take Two. Four laps around a local lake, it measures a little over 5 miles and is essentially a square ride, one side is downhill and the other three are up, there’s not a lot of climbing but there’s not a lot of coasting either. The first mile was a bit fudgy as I was getting out a parking lot but I soon settled in. A little over an hour later I was done with 21 miles on the clock. Overall I was very happy with this as M2-15 was completed in 43:44 (19.31mph) my first Tri in 4 weeks has a 14m ride so hopefully I can hit 20mph+. I was hoping for 19mph+ as an average and prolly would have got it were it not for the start and few uncooperative traffic lights!

Ave HR 142 Ave cadence 93…me likey! Right on the red line of Tempo pace!

One thing I am noticing is that the hydration system is not encouraging me to drink, while its more aerodynamic to have the bottles mounted behind the seat I am not drinking from them! This is getawayable for shorter rides or cooler rides but cometh the Summer I am going to be blowing up left, right and center so I am rethinking my set up. After the ride I jumped into my Newtons and set of for another lap around the lake. Overall it went pretty well although I got a bit thirsty and went out a bit too fast but settled into my stride, it certainly was a lot better run than last week!

Picked up the pace in the last mile

So step back week is over and my cold is more or less gone…four weeks to race day, three to build one to step back!

Review; Hood to Coast, the movie

I missed Hood to Coast when it went in general release last year so when I was contacted to review the DVD I jumped at the chance, let’s be honest there are not a lot of movies about running so it’s good to see the ones there are.

For those of you who have not heard about Hood to Coast here’s a overview taken from the films website:

The annual Hood To Coast Relay has run every year since 1982. The race started as an inauspicious event for a group of dedicated runners to stretch their legs and expand on the everyday running experience. Bob Foote, the race founder, had run track with the famous Men of Oregon at the University of Oregon. Marathons had lost their appeal, and to keep himself interested in the sport he loved, he decided to organize an unheard of adventure, running from Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood to the Oregon Coast.

The idea was that 12 people would divide themselves into two groups of six, run three legs each and cover the nearly 200 mile distance from the mountain to the ocean. Running all through the night, it was an adventure for hard-core runners and sleep was secondary to striving for their fastest time.

In 1982 only 8 teams ran, but within a decade, the race had grown to the point where they had to cap the number of teams at 1000. The route shifted to avoid heavily trafficked highways as they needed to find convenient stopping points for the thousands of vans that now made their way through the Oregon countryside.

More importantly, the race had become an adventure not only for serious athletes, but amateur runners and thrill seekers. Team names began to describe not only the origins of the team, but the attitude they would carry with them on the course. Today, teams decorate their vans and take on a race persona, lending a carnival atmosphere to the nearly 200 miles of the race.

Sounds like fun right! In the spirit a picture is worth a 1000 words here’s the trailer;

So on with the review. The film is well made, the production quality is high and overall it makes for really interesting viewing, it’s a good mix of perspectives, history and interviews. The problem was with my expectations, I had set them in the wrong place. What I had failed to realize is that the movie follows four teams rather than the race and this I think is why I was left a little disappointed. The human element of the four teams is interesting to a point and they do cover the gamut of the teams; an over 50 female team; Heart N Sole, a rookie runners team; Thunder and Laikaning, veteran runners; The Dead Jocks and a team running to remember a team mate who died; RBowe.

There are the usual high and lows and funny and sad moments but the excitement of the “race” is lost, after all this is a race and by all standards a really competitive one and this element is given minimal coverage.

Overall I did enjoy the movie but I would sum it up as a movie that follow four teams that run a race rather than a movie about a race and the teams that run it.

It’s available to buy through their website here or you can rent it through Amazon Online here. These are the only places that I could find it although it is listed in Netflix it’s not available yet.

This product was provided free of charge by Hood to Coast. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com