Nobody reads blogs at the weekend!

Nobody reads blogs at the weekend, right! I know this from my Sitemeter stats, everyone is out doing weekend stuff, it’s a well known fact that blogs are read (a) at work, (b) at home on a laptop while watching TV and (c) if you’re like me in the wee early hours while having breakfast during the week.

That being said I thought just in case anybody is around you might be interested in a few bargains I’ve seen over the last few days, it’s that time of year I guess with folks outing 2009 gear and ushering in the 2010 look. So in no particular order.

Hammer Nutrition are having their end of year blow out, pretty much everything is discounted; Perpetuem, which I have used for the last two years, their gels; again I used these heavily until finding Chocolate #9 as well as all their pills and potions. I picked up some excellent cycling outfits from them this time last year. Their kit is made by Voler. Voler is a US based cycling clothing manufacturer based in Southern California, I really like their clothing, it fits really well, is made really well and lasts really well!

Voler themselves are having a blow out on many items, and with in mind that I have two triathlons for next year I splurged (it was only a little spluge) and snagged a tri outfit. I am a firm believer that feeling the part is halfway to being the part, it’s a zen thing…what would a triathelete wear? It will also be a good incentive to drop some of the ‘I am injured but I am eating like I am running 50 miles a week’ weight gain otherwise I am going to look like a quart poured into a pint pot come race day!

Finally and sticking with the cycling theme Primal Wear are having a Veterans sale with their forces orientated outfits on sale, check them out and show some patriotism at the same time. They’ve also got some of their regular jerseys on sale.

But seeing as you’re all out doing weekend stuff you’ll not be reading this will you!

PS good luck to everyone running the inaugural Malibu Marathon and Half Marathon this weekend!

Review: Asics Gel Kayano 14

I have been running in the ever popular 2000 series from Asics for over 10 years. Last year I switched models. After a long winded bout of ITBS last year and the realization that despite whichever model I was wearing I was wearing the uppers through faster than the life of the shoe, (it was the same spot everytime; the right foot by my big toe where the toe cap met the fabric) and they were only lasting 250-270 miles. So after some consultation I moved from 2120s to the more solid Asics Gel Kayano.

Having got closer to 350 miles through rotating two pairs of “13s” I was looking forward to trying the new and improved “14s” and so with 100 miles or so on my first pair here is a short review.

The Kayano falls under Asics “Structured Cushioning”, that is it provides support to pronators, like myself, without that clog like feeling that you can get with motion control or stability shoes. There is a noticeable improvement in the ride over the 13s; the heel gel pad is 25% larger than its predecessor and is combined with a resin plate that prevents over compression in any particular heel strike area. Asics have loaded up this shoe with their proprietary Solyte across the midsole and the last (the yellow thing in the picture) which provides a good trade off between weight and bounce and the heel offers a special molding fabric/material that is designed to stretch to fit your foot without pinching or binding.

So enough of the technical blurb, how do they work? Well there is a noticeable improvement over the 13s, the 14s offer a significant improvement in cushioning without going all mushy in both the heel and especially the midsole; the 13's felt "flat" in the forefoot after a couple of hundred miles so we'll see if that happens here. It feels like that the support is, well, just a little more supportive; that is you get the feeling that you feet are tracking on rails rather than flailing about like an over talkative semaphorist! The heel fit is snug and overall the shoes provide a comfortable fit with no tight spots, the toe box is roomy and as per usual I got these a half size up. The shoe comes in three colors, the following are the mens choices; dull as you like blue and white, racy red and silver (pictured above) and my favorite, being the conservative soul (no pun intended) I am and just in time for the Olympics the newly introduced Gold and Silver. Available across all sizes, several widths and in a ladies variant the only real downside is the RRP of $135, although you can shop around and get them a bit cheaper. I picked mine up from for around $110, I am a member of RoadRunners so after my fifth pair of shoes in a 12 month period I get a $100 voucher and with the membership discount it pushes the average price down to below $100 a pair; which is about the same price as the 2130s.

So two big toes-up from me, right now I am just about to introduce my second pair into alternation and hope to retire these at around 350 miles.

I have a bunch of other reviews to write up: Salomon XT Wings (100 miles), Ultimate Direction Wasp hydration system and RecoverEase if anyone has a burning need for one over the other just leave a comment and I’ll get it done.

This one's for Marcy!

After totalling my rear wheel last weekend, I have be pawing over ebay looking for a new one (set). A quick correspondence with DCRainmaker put me in touch with The Wrench over at Wrenched By Winz, (you have got to love blog networking), it’s a great blog if you’re even remotely interested in bikes and it's pretty cool if you're not. The Wrench provided me some comments and feedback on a few makes, models and sets etc that I had been perusing online namely; Mavic, ALX or Cane Creek.

Well today I scored. A nice set of Cane Creek Aerohead SGs, albeit used but in, I am told “like new” condition, complete with tires; yay, no skewers; boo. Retail price new $550, ebay price $120.09. On that note if any of you (that means you Marcy) are an ebay shopper and are fed up being pipped at the post check out Auction Sentry, it’s a very nice little snipe program. OK I am off to pack my drop bags.

Ongoing Boing!

Well yesterday’s go fast beans managed to loiter a second day, which I am glad to say was not something I was doing, as I put in my 4 x 1 mile intervals. I am always worried that because I have nowhere that’s really flat, go figure living in West Hills; clue's in the name! I am just not getting the quality of speed that I should, but I suppose the rolling road is not a bad thing, as you can see from the elevation profile (the green line) they’re not major hills but they're are just enough to push your average down, although I lucked out on the last rest period and nearly made it up the hill. I actually took the time to program the intervals into my Garmin instead of just relying on the mileage readout, so I had a nice little countdown beep telling me when to transition. The data is below; the average pace is skewed because of the warm up/cool down and the ¼ mile walk in between each mile run, the last one in particular is slow where I was messing about with my iPod under a street lamp, but in isolation it works out at 7:1025, so I am pretty pleased, although I would have really liked one sub 7 min mile, it looks like my predisposition to fast twitch fibers does help!

On another note, I totally scored at Cosco today, book publishers Human Kinetics have a series of books which illustrate what muscle does what when you weight train, do yoga and stretch. There really good in helping you find out how to isolate specific muscle groups etc. Usually you can only buy them on line for around $20 each and then you have to pay another $10 or so in shipping, well I found three excellent books; one on yoga and two on strength training one for men and one for women, (ignore their needs at your peril), I skipped the stretching one as I already have a great stretching book, by them in Cosco today for the bargain basement price of $11.99 each and obviously no shipping so that nets out to over a 50% discount. Gotta love a bargain; flash your card and check them out.

We apologize for the delay...

But the year approaching on Platform 1 is 2008!

Finally after the New Years’ celebrations have died down, hangovers (yeah right) departed, my neck is now in the right place thanks to my chiropractor; who I heartily recommend if you're in the area and with the help of a large dose of Better Living through Science (BLiTS), I was able to tentatively take baby steps into 2008.

Monday, to see what would happen, I spent 30 minutes on my bike and trainer, not wanting to push the envelope, I rode consistently but not too fast, once I got got the resistance and laps sorted out, with one small hill and one small sprint, so far so good.

Last night I donned my running shoes and headed out. It was late and cold (for here) around 48f when I hit the roads and after a small, untimed warm up, I put my foot down, literally and metaphorically to see what my chest could take. I pushed hard for the first three miles and throttled back for the next two with a walk up the last one back home. All was well and I was pleased with the result; my lungs stayed in my chest! The splits were pretty good as well.

I also took the chance to run in my new Injinji socks, you have to spend a little time feeding you toes in but they are very comfortable, a little thinner than I am used to so I may need some Spencos, but all around very toasty!

I am not expecting to run fast this weekend but having read SoCalRunnerGirl’s comments it seems that the hills will be a little long. I will run some hill intervals tonight to double check but so far everything is looking good for the weekend.

It's shiny, I want one!

So seeing as how I have not run in a week, cancel that. So seeing how I have not done anything in a week (oh the shame!), I thought I would tell you about the last time I did. Well not specifically about the run, let me assure you it was a most unmemorable 24 miler, but about the new piece of shiny kit I have. The Nathan HPL#028. Inspired by Krissy Moehl during her 2005 Grand Slam season, Nathan have called a “Race Vest”. It is designed to carry fuel; bars and gels and small running essentials, camera, lip salve, BodyGlide etc, and is aimed at the runner who prefers to carry their hydration in hand held bottles a’la Ultimate Direction (which is my bottle preference). The decision to purchase (well add it to my Christmas wish-list) was driven by the fact that having switched to Hammer Nutrition the use of a bladder type backpack is not recommended for Pepetuem as it settles and the thought of having to do 20 jumping jacks every time I wanted a drink was not very attractive!

Well first of all it’s a really dull name, c’mon Nathan how about something with some umph! Ok now for the nitty-gritty; the vest is very lightweight; 4.5oz, so you hardly know its there, until of course you start stuffing it with all your junk. It’s grey and has a reflective logo panel in the back; also in the back is a stash pocket for gloves, arm-warmers and the like. At the side there are adjustable straps which allow a snug fit. On the front you have two pockets; one zipped (the larger) and one with a drawstring. There is also a buckle fastening that is adjustable not only in girth but also in height; you can slide it up and down to find a comfortable spot, useful if like me you are wearing HRM strap, the strap is really long, with a good 10 inches of play. There are also two shoulder loops where you can hang things; extra bottles, compass etc. The material is breathable, so there is little discomfort from the extra insulation.

I was really pleased with this vest (other than the name), once adjusted it fits very well and you do not notice it, there is no sliding or slopping about or bouncing on the shoulders. The various straps allow you to create a snug fit without cutting off your circulation of breathing. The breathability is very good, I did not suffer from a “hot back” which you can with some packs. The storage is pretty good, I crammed 4 gels in the smaller pouch and had 2 more, a lip salve a small BodyGlide and cash in the other and there was room to spare. In the back I had a baggie which contained dry Perpetuem which I mixed up after purchasing some water while “on the road”.

I’ll be wearing this weekend under “race conditions”, oh that makes me sound so professional, (lol) so if there is anything more to add I add an update.