Catching up!

So its been some time since I blogged. The summer has been tough for training with Brenna being out of school and the "haze" being really bad more days than not, no excuses though, all the single moms and dads out there seem to find the time and I need to do the same. I am still able to get in at least 5 days of running, but my gym time has suffered big time and i am getting flabby again. Anyway...How about those Olympics! It was a fun, yes?? Our two Malaysian superstars took home medals, and although our US women and men did not medal in the marathon, Kara and Shalane did really well, and Meb is the man! I was however reminded of what happened in 1972, and having just read an article in Runners World by Kenny Moore (one of the USA participants in the marathon that year). There is a quote in the article that I will keep with me. "...here the village had been a refuge, admittedly imperfect, from a larger, seedier world in which individuals and governments refused to adhere to any human code. For two weeks every four years we direct our kind of fanaticism into the essentially absurd activities of running and swimming and being beautiful on the balance beam. Yet even in the rage of competition we keep from hurting each other, and thereby demonstrate the meaning of civilization. I shook and cried as that illusion, the strongest of my life, was shattered.." I found it poignant that he wrote that in 1972 and for the most part it is still true today, so sad that often it is the people, who might not even agree with the position of their government, get hurt the most. It got me thinking that it would be so nice if most of the larger world struggles were solved by taking the respective leaders involved in the struggle and letting them solve their differences in the realm of sport...Osama (when he was alive) and GW in a 50k ultra-marathon. Osama and Ahmadinejad play a best of seven in "H.O.R.S.E". When I get to be king...that's whats going to happen. I really don't mean to get political, but Its starting to get a bit silly, don't you think?? Personally I don't care what Mitt Romney paid in taxes...I know I can kick his ass in a 5k!

I love running in Penang, i really do, but If i had my wish i would superimpose Singapore on Penang, What Penang lacks, Singapore has and vice versa. Penang has beautiful areas to run, but you have to contend with the traffic and they will hit you, seriously, they will. Singapore also has some really beautiful areas also, and you never have to contend with traffic. I would love it if Penang would take some time and work on that, the longest single traffic free part of penang i have run on is the botanical garden, or parts of Straits Quay. If anyone else knows of a traffic free area of longer than 5k in Penang, let me know (city not jungle/trail). I would love to run it.

Well the minimalistic craze is here to stay I guess and every shoe company is getting in on it, hell its even spawned some new companies. I think its great, however...It has its drawbacks, if you are not prepared bio-mechanically for it it can do some real damage. I mean you cant be a 2 day a week trainer doing less that 15 miles a week generally used to training in a cushioned shoe and switch to vibram 5 fingers, without some transition. I started running in the Brooks Glycerine, a cushioned neutral shoe, despite a noticeable tibial twist, I still run better in neutral shoes, I moved from the Glycerine to the Launch after about a year, the launch being another neutral without as much of the cushioning, and from the Launch I would do shorter races 5k -10k in the T-6 (now the T-7). after about 1 and a half years, i would train at 10k in the T-7, once a week. I then began to work in the Green Silence to the point where I would switch off between the Launch and Green Silence, with the T-7 for speed work. After about 2 years of that rotation, I was able to train regularly in the Green Silence and now in rotation with the Pure Flow. Although my stride is 100% bio-mechanically correct, I am still recovering from my injury and know what I am doing wrong. Now i do NOT mean to say "be like me"all I am saying is make sure that you give your body time to develop as a runner before you try and become a minimalist runner.

Ok last thing...My Garmin 305 is dying, after 4 years the battery is crapping out and the GPS has trouble more often than not. So I think its time to replace it. I will either go back to another 305, despite that they are really hard to find, even from Garmin USA. So my choice is the new 910xt, which is truly more of a Triathlon watch. With the swim metrics, its really a waste of money as 2/3 of the watches technology I will never use (swim/bike). The 610 and 410, i have heard nothing but bad things about and to be hones most of the runners i know don't use either model if they can avoid it.I'm looking at the Forerunner 310XT...which I have known has been  a great watch for many people. I have always been a Garmin guy. Here's the thing though Timex has a GPS enabled watch now, I have begun to read some reviews, but it does not seem to be good enough to keep me from going with Garmin again. Run Happy!