Specificity!

This weekend I was determined to up the ante on my long run; a disappointing distance two weeks ago and being forced onto my bike last weekend with a niggly quadriceps issue which still hasn’t gone away have left my long runs have not ramped up as quickly as I had hoped and the spring in my step over the long distances somewhat lacking!

After a couple of chores I headed to a familiar location, the beach path along Santa Monica beach…not quite the burly trails of choice but with Long Beach Marathon in 33 days it was time to get to get some long runs completed.

So the objective was pretty simple; 20 miles in Zone 2 and a goal pace of 8:45. I staged my car as an Aid Station and had planned to do two 5 mile out and backs but I went two extra which was four extra for the round trip and by the time I got back to refill I was dry and thirsty…another lesson learned the hard way! It was also the opportunity to wear test what I am planning to wear on Marathon day, specifically my Sugoi compression shorts and VitalSox compression socks. The other good thing was that it was a good simulation of the marathon course which follows a pretty flat path around and through Long Beach.

My run, yes some of it is below sea level!

The first hour clicked by pretty easily as did almost the next, by 1:52 I had clicked off the first 13 miles, after this I stared to slow down and my cardiac drift was on the up. I eased of the pace in an attempt to drop back into Zone 2 (below 148) I was in the mid 150s. I took a minute’s walk break at the start of miles 16, 17, 18 and 19. I hit the 20 miles mark in 2:58:32 and then kept going for a nice 3 hour finish with 20.21 miles in the bank.

 Cardiac drift, occurs because dehydration causes a drop in blood volume, which means less blood is pumped with each heartbeat.

All in all a solid run, I spent 24% in Zone 2, 40% in Zone 3 and 26% in Zone 4  the last of which is too high and I an left wondering if I was dehydrated…something to consider on the next long run. Now I just need to sort out this quad issue, it’s been lingering for 10 days or so, to that end my wife is out of town through Friday so that’s going to check my running options and I am aiming to get some treadmill miles at lunchtime along with some good fashioned old yoga and ice.

Hopefully the downtime this week will allow my leg to bounce back and I can repeat last weekend this weekend with a little more staying power!

Review; Sugoi Piston 200 Compression Tights

I am not going to espouse on the benefits of compression, you can read all about it here, the one thing from Sugoi’s website that I will quote is…“targeted muscle groups are isolated and fully encapsulated, resulting in muscle vibration reduction. The muscle group is stabilized by the garments, resulting in less immediate fatigue and reduced chance of injury”...so this review will be basically focus on form, fit, function, and that’s enough of the alliteration!

In terms of form, these are a well constructed pair of tights. The construction has flat seams to avoid creating those ever so welcome chaffed bits with contrasting white stitching and comprise 8 panels which are designed to sculpt to your body. I should point out that I am only talking about the men’s versions here and assume this is the same for the female version. There is a discreet logo on the thigh and some reflective bits on the back on the thighs (illuminated in the photo). Sugoi’s compression fabric has, according to the website the lowest weight per square inch.

Fitwise, I opted for Medium in size and they are certainly a snug fit; kinda the point of compression clothing! While I don’t have huge feet (size 11) getting them through the foot opening takes a bit of a wiggle, something to consider if you’re feet are larger than this or than usual. I have discovered through trial and error that rolling them on seems to give you the best fit rather than pulling them up, which simply stretches them and then they ride down as you run…can you say saggy crotch!

Additionally, and again this may be body specific to me, that the depth from crotch to waist is not huge, I prefer things to go around my waist and not my hips. Rolling them on overcomes this to a degree as does using the tie cord in the waist band. Also tucked in the waist band is a teeny tiny key pocket, very old school but effective enough. From personal choice I prefer not to go commando and to that end I use a pair of Transitives from Asics without issue.

Function; as mentioned they are certainly supportive enough, the compression is very effective, so much so that I opt out of wrapping my knee in KTTape when I wear them. The fabric is not the thickest and while they add some warmth and are warmer than shorts alone they may not be thick enough to be used in full out winter mode, remember SoCal doesn’t really have winter and the coldest I have worn them down to is probably mid 30F’s Sugoi actually offer specific thermal tights for this purpose for those of you in the colder climates.

So in summary these are a great all round pair of compression tights, my only real criticism is the shortness of the crotch to waist issue. But don’t take my word for it, they were recently (Dec 2009) awarded by 220 Triathlon, a triathlon magazine from the UK, the "Editor's Choice Award". Available through Sugoi’s own website or through multiple distributors on the web these retail for $90.00 although I did find them on sale for $61.99 here, get ‘em quick.

Sugoi are pretty social media savvy, here is their You Tube video on their compression clothing lineup;

 

These tights were purchased at a discounted rate available though Sugoi to their Brand Champions, applications are still being taken here. See previous gear reviews in the sidebar on the right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com.

Sugoi, So far, So good...

So earlier this year I applied to Sugoi to become a Brand Champion. I had seen someone I follow on Twitter announce they had been accepted, I looked it up online and read the following:

…..The main criterion for inclusion to the program is not always the people who are fastest in the competition, but it is the person who inspires other by chasing their own personal bests. Many SUGOI Brand Champions are podium finishers in major international events; many others are everyday athletes whose personal bests come in different forms other than winning. All athletes are successful at what is important to SUGOI: the ability to be inspirational and to make a difference.

This appealed on so many levels the least of which was the requirement to inspire, this is something I really hope I do, I am at best a midpack runner who is at an age which is past the halfway mark, but at the risk of sounding clichéd if I can inspire one person that with some training and time and tenacity their goal can be achieved then my clumsy rambling writings will have been worthwhile!

To be honest I forgot about my application until sometime later I got an email saying I had been accepted! Then I started a new job and new training plan for 100 in the Hood, got injured and every thing went on the back burner and before you knew it six months had gone by…fast forward to November and I am starting a new training cycle; my leg is more or less rehabilitated and it’s Winter. Now I know that a SoCal Winter is relative to someone who lives in say, Kelowna or Metro Detroit (you know who you are) but even so it gets a bit chilly and so out came the credit card (as a Brand Champion you qualify for some discounts) and away I went. They are still taking applications, you can apply here and you can read the Brand Champion's Blog here, it makes for a good read as there are a variety of sports covered; running, cycling; road, mountain and 'cross and triathlons and the writers are the Brand Champions themselves and whose abilities really span the spectrum, so it's 'written from the trenches' as it were!

I have owned a few Sugoi bits through the ages and was accustomed to their quality, both fit and function is good as well the attractiveness...gotta look good as you hunched over puking on the side of a trail (been there) or bleeding in a ditch or on the side of the road after an endo (done that)! After looking through their website I selected, with the colder temperatures in mind, a pair of conservatively (not!) colored armwarmers (one of the silliest and yet most practical garments ever invented), a skull cap to fit under my cycling helmet (cold ears are no fun) and a pair of Piston 200 compression tights (I love compression clothing!). Ten days later free shipping, yay!) they arrived, I tried everything on to make sure it fit and I love love love the tights, I can’t wait till it gets really cold; for here…today was 75f, yesterday was 62f so it’s a bit variable right now but in another month or so it will be down in the 50’s at run time...seriously, I can't wait!

Talking of running, Week 1 just ended and it proved to be an interesting one. Not surprisingly my conditioning is for crap! What does surprise me is that CV-wise I am a lot better the muscle-wise, I looked online and the consensus was in 3 months you could expect to lose 50% of your fitness; I did nothing for about 5 weeks and them swam twice a week for another 4 so my best guess I am down by at least 40% maybe more? I certainly felt it during my three runs this week; Monday; Intervals, Wednesday; short tempo and Friday; long tempo, done on a track! My pace is slow and it generally hurts, I am way off my prescribed paces, but, I can only get faster. Cross training-wise I got in my 1000 meters swim and I hit the bike for a pedestrian ride yesterday, I am about 3-4 minutes slower than I was during the summer on my regular timed loop. To be honest right now I am struggling to reconcile that during July, August and September I ran some 20 half marathons, 6 marathons and raced 100 in the Hood, now I am dying at 6 miles! It’ll come back I know but even so…

Anyway the good news is that in general my recovered leg is holding up to what I am putting it through, I need to be smarter as do some general strengthening as well, squats, lunges etc as well as some plyometrics and stretching and also be proactive about my ITB and runners knee that I had back in the Summer, but while early days so far so good! Oh yeah and a toenail fell off...talk about delayed reaction!

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