One foot in front of the other.
My trip to Louisville, Kentucky began at about 6 o’clock AM on August 26, 2010. Since I had so much stuff to bring, including my bike, helmet(s) and all my other race gear, some of which is quite bulky, I had decided to drive down rather than fly. From New York City, where I live, it is about a twelve hour drive. To be completely honest, the drive was rather boring and uneventful.
Upon arriving in Louisville and checking in to my hotel, I immediately headed to a nearby Wal-Mart super center to pick up some groceries. I was trying to keep my meals as on track as possible leading up to the race and, say what you want about Wal-Mart, but they had everything I needed to have the meals and snacks that Coach Jeff prescribed. After eating dinner and taking a bit to digest, I got right into bed and went to sleep.
The next morning, I didn’t have a very strict schedule of anything to do. So, after eating breakfast, showering and such I headed down to check myself in to the race and to visit the expo. Checking in was relatively painless and went by in about 15 or 20 minutes. The check-in process went like so:
After doing the check-in thing, it was on to the expo. A quick side-note on that; I think WTC (Ironman‘s parent company) is making a huge mistake by only having themselves as the sole vendor of general multisport “stuff” at these events. There are of course, other companies at the expo selling their products, but not really any multi-sport retailers other than Ironman. For instance, I needed two extra eight ounce Fuel Belt bottles. The Ironman store in the expo only sold Nathan products (that I could find) which do not fit in my Fuel Belt. So, I had to drive across town to what was actually a really great local multisport store, VO2 Multisport to find the bottles I needed. My point is, unless Ironman/WTC can somehow manage to have fewer exclusive deals and carry a wider range of products in their “store”, I think they’re hurting themselves and the athletes by boxing out stores that might be able to provide some of the things they cannot.
In the expo, I made my way through the companies that were there to visit Pam, Ian and the crew from Newton Running (I’m sure you’re completely shocked that I spent time there!). It was really great to hang out with them for a few and to talk about everything from shoes to the challenges of running (and hiking and biking and…) with babies, toddlers and beyond. I had put out the call for a tweet-up lunch thing meeting at the Newton booth at noon, so in the time I had before then, I ran back out to my car to take care of a couple of errands and to scope out the area. On my way out of the Galt House Hotel, where the expo and such was being held, I got recognized by a racer named Alvaro (I’m pretty sure). I’m constantly shocked when this happens, but he was such a nice guy and I truly hope his race was everything he’d set out to accomplish.
I got back to the Newton booth right at noon and waited around until 12:30 for people to show. The tweet-up ended up being just me, but that’s OK, because I like me (most of the time)! I think that a lot of the time, people are a bit shy about crossing the bridge between the virtual and real worlds and don’t want to speak up. So, if you’re reading this and you DID show up, but you just weren’t sure what to do next, SAY SOMETHING TO ME!! Chances are you know what I look like, but I probably don’t know what you look like!
After I had my lunch, I went back to my hotel to rest a bit and to shower and such as I’d be heading to the athlete’s dinner and meeting that evening. The meeting itself was the usual stuff; the directors of each portion of the course, and the race director went over rules and cautions, helping to give us the safest and best race experience.
Afterward, I headed back to my hotel. My plan was to begin to get my gear together and into it’s assigned bag. Below is the video of those details:
After all that, I headed to bed with my alarm clock set to wake me up and get down to the practice swim the next morning.
The practice swim was pretty uneventful. The race was NOT wetsuit legal as the temperature was about 86° F. I took the swim to feel out how I would react to the fact that we would begin the race by swimming upstream and against the current of the Ohio River. I also wanted to feel the downstream current as I was expecting to feel more pull than I actually did. The swim felt good and the water was MUCH better to swim in than the Hudson River!
After the swim, I took my bike to the Ironman wheel rental counter to get my race wheels put on (special thanks to @Indianabackdoc for helping facilitate this). I then had a short, easy bike ride of about 30 minutes in order to get my legs spinning. This was followed by a short, roughly 15 minute run. Both of these felt great and I was really beginning to get excited for the next day.
I went back to my hotel and got my gear together to check in. In Ironman races, you are required to check in your bike and transition bags the day before the race. Generally, you will have access to them on race day, but it pays to be ready ahead of time. I got my stuff all checked in and that pretty much ends the preparation!
After taking a short nap and lounging around my hotel room for the afternoon, I met up with Trevor and Kristine (Twitter friends and teammates on Team PRS Fit). We went to Lynn’s Paradise Cafe and had an awesome dinner with excellent conversation. It was so amazing to have met these two and to get to spend some really amazing time with them (more on this later). They really and truly made my trip without my wife and daughter that much more bearable and I cannot thank them enough for all they did for me.
I got back to my hotel at about 8:30 and set my alarm for 3 AM. I closed my eyes, and surprisingly, sleep came easily.
To be continued…
Sole Dual Layer Performance Socks
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After what has seemed like an eternity for many of us die-hard Newton Running fans, the much heralded trail shoe has finally landed in the Newton store for pre-order! I spoke with Sir Isaac a tiny bit today and got some of the skinny on the shoes:
“Closed mesh, PU frame above the EVA for additional support and
protection, gusseted tongue, more supportive strapping, reinforced toe
cap.”
I can’t WAIT to try out these new shoes and get them nice and dirty on any trail I can find! When I do get some on my feet, you can be certain that I will give those of you on the fence about buying some for yourself a detailed rundown. For those of you that can’t wait, click the picture below!
New York City Triathlon Results (I’m bib number 4788)
Me on the Official Newton Blog!
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Hey there guys! I am so excited to share some news with you all. Much has been made over the past year of what exactly defines ‘good’ running for and/or technique. Many, like myself, believe in allowing your body to do what it is meant to do naturally rather than allowing an overbuilt, over-cushioned shoe get in the way. With all that said, there is an awesome clinic on natural running form coming to New York City on June 15! See you there! Here are the details:
What: Natural Running Form Clinic with Newton Running
When: Tues., June 15 at 6:30 pm
Where: Meet at The Boat House, Central Park NYC (See map below)
Why: Join Newton Running for a free, open to the public event featuring
Newton’s co-founder and running form expert Danny Abshire, as well as
Newton’s R&D/Education Director and adventure racing world champ Ian
Adamson. Danny and Ian will lead a clinic to demonstrate how proper running
form can improve speed and efficiency, and decrease the risk of injury.
*NOTE* Do not feel any pressure to be a Newton wearer in coming to this clinic! This is for ALL runners who want to improve their form and efficiency.
June 12th: Newton Running Form Clinic & Symposium, Newton Running Lab, Boulder, CO 9-10am Running Form Clinic, 5:30-7:30pm Natural Running Symposium
June 16th: Newton Running Symposium, The Track and Field Store (997 Madison Avenue, NYC) 6:30-8:30pm Symposium, Q and A
June 17th: Runner’s Edge, Farmington, NY 6:30-7:30pm Symposium, Q and A 7:30-8:30pm Form Clinic
Continued from: 2010 Ironman Mooseman 70.3: Race Report Part 2 – Race Morning…
Beach starts in triathlon tend to be a full contact affair. This is especially true just behind the front of the pack. If you’ve placed yourself in that spot, there’s a decent chance that you’ll get kicked in the face by the guy in front of you and/or punched in various parts of your body by the guys on either side of you and/or dunked and swum over by the guy behind you who may be faster than you. All accidents, of course.
Since I expect to be one of the faster swimmer in any race I enter, I always place myself at the front of the pack in both water and beach starts. In triathlons I’ve done that have pool swims it is incredibly frustrating to be relegated to swimming behind people who’ve WAY overestimated their speed, and having to pass them. So, for this race I was at the front of the pack when the horn sounded.
The run into the water was fairly smooth with the bottom dropping off to swimming depth in probably about ten feet. The pack broke up quickly and myself and a few others pulled away off the front. The swim course itself was a rectangle (see picture) and was protected from and waves kicked up by wind by the shoreline to the East. As we reached the first turn, quite a few waves appeared, I have to assume because we had come around from the lee side of a point of land, and the wind was now kicking up a bit.
At about the halfway point, I noticed that another swimmer from my wave (I could tell from his powder blue cap like mine) and I seemed to be staying right with each other. Shortly after I noticed this, my opponent disappeared and I assumed that I had dropped him. By this time, I had been swimming through swimmers from waves that had gone off ahead of me from about the 1/4 mark on. Every now and then, either I would accidentally run into one of these swimmers or they would run into me. This is when I noticed that someone kept hitting my heels. I snuck a peek back and saw that the swimmer with whom I had been dueling had taken a comfortable spot in my wake and was now drafting along and taking it easy. While drafting is illegal in the bike leg of a triathlon, there is nothing wrong with drafting in the swim. I guess I didn’t mind so much and I wouldn’t have even known the difference if it weren’t for the fact that my heels were getting tapped every thirty seconds or so. Annoying.
The concern I had coming into this race with regards to my neck never really came to fruition. To be honest, I was being a bit conservative (which is evident by my less than stellar time) and definitely felt fatigued in my shoulders more than I usually would, but true pain never affected me.
Swim time: 27:17
Swim pace: 1:25 per 100 meters (boo)
Age Group Place: 5th
Overall Place: 28th
Most of us are aware of the potential dizziness that comes with standing up too fast. I have even fallen over several times because of this. In a triathlon, the same thing takes place. You’ve been swimming for however long, thus you’ve been essentially laying down. All of a sudden, you ask your body to stand up! This problem can be compounded by the fact that your upper body is doing most of the work on the swim and so most of your blood is hanging out there to supply your muscles. Further, if you’re wearing a wetsuit, there is a bit of compression being applied to your lower extremities which keeps your blood even more focused in your upper body. So, when you then stand up to run out of the water, all that blood suddenly drops, and sometimes you do along with it!
As I stood, I was ready for the dizziness and I was not disappointed. Upon exiting the water, there was about a 20 yard (if I remember correctly) run to the wetsuit strippers. This is not some weird, wetsuit fetish exotic dancing area but rather, a group of race volunteers whose job it is to get you out of your wetsuit as fast as possible. All you have to do as a racer is flop on your back on the ground and they will grab your wetsuit and peel it off of you in a flash. The problem with this is the dizziness thing. You’ve just come out of the water, gotten dizzy and then after a few seconds, you throw your body back to being flat again for a few seconds (legs in the air, mind you) and then pop up AGAIN. This makes for a rather world-spinning few minutes.
I made my way into the transition area and found my belongings in fairly short order. By this time, it had been raining for about thirty minutes and everything was wet. I removed my socks from their dry sanctuary inside my cycling shoe, inside that grocery bag I spoke about. Now let me paint you a picture of what I was doing. I was trying not balance on one foot at a time, while my head was spinning, putting dry socks onto wet feet (try putting on sock directly out of the shower some time), while desperately trying not to step into the mud and puddles that now surrounded me. All this time, my head refused to stop spinning. Good times. I eventually got my crap together, even having to literally DUMP water out of my helmet, and was on my way out of transition. Slow.
Transition 1 time: 4:14 (Dear LORD, that’s awful)
To be completely honest, a lot of the bike portion of the race is a blur. It rained the entire time, often very hard. For the beginning six or so miles on the bike, I let my legs warm up well, pushing, but not pushing to the point of exhaustion. At about mile seven or so, the climbing began.
Leading up to this race, I had checked elevation charts and was not prepared for what I encountered. The first, largest and longest of the hills that we encountered was awful. First, we were climbing this hill in the rain, which gave you the appearance in spots of riding upstream in a river with an asphalt bottom. Second, this hill went to gradients of 16% for large sections at a time. To give you an idea of what a 16% grade is, the famous Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France has an average gradient of “only” 8.9%. Many people were forced to walk this hill and I must admit that I glanced at them with envy, but I stayed on my steed.
Several of the descents on the course were long and sweeping and gave you time to rest your legs. Other descents were so dangerous even without the rain that the officials had told us the day before that they would be strictly enforcing a 35 mph speed limit.
Apart from the 16% S.O.B. hill, there were a couple other climbs in excess of 10% as well as some deceptively “flat” sections that seemed to sap energy from the legs. The road conditions were only OK. You were forced to stay constantly aware of the pavement in front of you due to the fact that for 99% of the course there was a large crack (hastily patched but still pitted) meandering across both sides of the road.
Somewhere around halfway through the bike, my Garmin 305 went haywire. I went to take a peek at my heart rate and the screen was flashing from display to display, and not making any sense. I tried to turn it off and couldn’t. So I took it off and put it in my jersey. Now, for the rest of the race, I would have no idea where my pace of my heart rate were. I would be running purely on feel and perceived effort.
The toughest part of this bike course was grinding through it the first time and knowing you had to come back and hit it again. 16%’er and all. My nutrition, which if you know me, you know I have struggled in the past with this, was perfect. I had three hours worth of my “blend” from Infinit Nutrition in my Speedfil and rotated water bottles from aid stations in my one bottle cage. I finished my Infinit blend with about six miles to go on the bike, so, just to be safe, I grabbed a bottle of Gatorade Endurance Formula and dropped a bottle of water into my Speedfil. I also grabbed a banana at some point during the bike (can’t remember when) just because I knew it wouldn’t affect me adversely and it just looked good.
I didn’t do exactly what I wanted to do on the bike, in terms of speed, but I was consistent and I think that is just as important. I also learned a lot of what I need to do moving forward.
Bike time: 2:57:16
Bike pace: 19 mph
Age Group Place: 44th
Overall Place: 217th
By the time I hit T2, my feet had been soaked for over three and a half hours, but were holding up fine (I actually have a lot to say about my Sole insoles on the bike that I’ll write about later). However, I though it would behoove me to put on dry socks. This was frickin’ stupid. It was still raining and I was still surrounded by mud and puddles. I have no idea why I thought that changing my socks would make a single bit of difference, bu I did anyway, and again, I had a terribly slow transition.
I grabbed all my gear, which wasn’t that much after I got my shoes and dry (dumb, dumb, dumb) socks on. This included my new Fuel Belt H2O, which was holding two bottles of my Infinit blend, each with an hours worth of nutrition. As I ran out of transition, my shoes were wet and muddy within thirty seconds.
Transition 2 time: 3:26 (Oy to the vey)
I was really looking forward to this run. I have been running really well off the bike and I planned to make no exceptions on this run. The course itself was quite beautiful, albeit seen under cloudy skies that were still ridding themselves of any moisture they held, much to our detriment. It was fairly flat to rolling. The biggest obstacle(s) came in the form of a nasty little hill that was about 1/3 of a mile long at about mile 2 or so and again at about mile 8.5.
Because my nutrition and hydration had been so good on the bike, I had to pee almost as soon as I began to run. I waited until the first aid station at mile one and stopped to answer nature’s call. I actually ended up having to pee twice, and it bears mentioning that it went well (it bears mentioning due to my previous experiences during races when I’ve stopped to pee).
The course was two loops of an out and back that had as it’s outside turn around point, about a half mile of dirt (read: mud) road that ended in a cul-de-sac. On this stretch of “road” there were some incredibly nice and supportive volunteers and even a barbershop quartet in one of the driveways serenading the runners as we went by.
I felt great on this run. I did struggle a bit with not being able to tell my pace of heart rate. Because of this, I laid off a little on the third quarter of the run, before picking it back up a bit on the home stretch. I didn’t want to wind up completely gassed for the run in. I passed a lot of people wh had passed me on the bike and that was quite good for my morale. The rain never really let up, but I felt solid nonetheless. I truly think I would have been able to do more on the run had I known where I was in terms of pace.
Run time: 1:35:08 (1/2 marathon PR by 12 seconds)
Run pace: 7:15 per mile
Age Group Place: 22nd
Overall Place: 104th
(more detailed splits to come once they are available)
Overall Time: 5:07:21
Age Group Place: 34th
Overall Place: 132nd
This Sunday, June 6, 2010, I will be racing in Ironman Mooseman 70.3 in New Hampshire. While I have done a full Ironman, this marks the first ever half-iron distance race that I will do. I had hoped to have a weeks worth of daily update videos, but with work, training and life getting in the way sometimes, you have to let it go. So, I’m writing this as a prelude to Sunday’s race. I’m sure I’ll have more to say as I get closer but, four days out, this is what I’m thinking:
Swim: For about the past three weeks, I’ve been having trouble with my neck. It began as a nagging thing on the right side near the rear, base of my skull. I made sure to not stress that part of my neck and then, as soon as it began to feel a bit better, I slept oddly and woke up with significant pain on the left side of my neck, this time radiating down into my trapezius. The real problem with both of these pains is that they have hampered my swimming. That being said (and without any amount of arrogance) what is slow for me, is really fast for most triathletes. That knowledge, however, does not assuage my personal expectations. Also, the water temperature for this weekend’s race is a whopping 69° Fahrenheit, but I’m thinking that may actually hold off some of the neck issues long enough to get it done.
T1: Believe it or not, I’m still undecided on what helmet to wear. The weather on Sunday is calling for 72° Fahrenheit and a chance of a shower. The heat, which would usually be the cause for concern in my helmet choice, isn’t a factor (I’ll explain in a second). It’s the fact that my neck could (it hasn’t in my training) begin to bother me, and if I’m wearing my aero helmet, it could actually impede my position. The helmets I have to choose from are:
Specialized Propero
or:
Giro Advantage 2
Bike: One thing I kind of regret is that I haven’t done much training with other people in a group setting. It isn’t so much that I don’t enjoy training alone, but I just have a hard time gauging my speed. I would go to my Garmin info, but since I have to deal with New York City traffic, this is often not a good measure. Rather, I must rely on my consistency. For instance, I know that my right quadriceps tend to flare a bit if I’m not careful. this is an easy fix, just one that I must keep in 
mind. As for nutrition, I have once again affixed my Speedfil to my bike and will fill it’s forty ounces with my personal formula from Infinit Nutrition which will be all may calories, electrolytes, etc. on the bike and on the run. I do have an additional bottle cage that will be for water which I will rotate out at aid stations. I’ll be running new Continental 4000s tires as well as racing for the first time on my Adamo Racing² from ISM. I need to remain in control of my ego and emotions and race my race on the bike, being sure to NOT get sucked into a drag race.
T2: Not much to say here except that I am going to pick up a new Fuel Belt H2O. Each 8 oz. bottle on my belt will be holding a concentrate of my Infinit blend, which accounts for one hour of activity. As on the bike, I will get my water from the aid stations.
Run: Over the past several months, since I began coaching with Jeff, my running has come 
light-years beyond where I thought it could. In my last long-ish brick workout, I came off of 1.5 hours on the bike and ran for an hour averaging 7:03 per mile on the run. I grant you, the bike on Sunday will be longer, as will the run, and I will NOT make any pace predictions. However, I really feel good about the run, which is something I never thought I’d say. I will be racing in my Newton Gravitas‘ which are the same shoes that got me through Ironman Wisconsin. Hopefully, they will get to run a lot more this time around.
So that’s it! I’m excited and quite antsy. I feel ready to go, and I can’t wait for race day to come!
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Triathlete Attacked by Alligator
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For a second year in a row, Newton Running shoes were rewarded for their outstanding products in the prestigious 220 Triathlon awards held on 13th February at Sandown Park.
Following their 2009 win for ‘Innovative Product of the Year’ the popular ‘Newton Gravity’ training shoe was awarded the 2010 ‘Run Shoe of the Year’ award, beating Asics Noosa and Saucony Fastwitch 3 to the title.
Mike Trees, managing director of Triathlon Consultants (Newton Running’s UK distributor) accepted the award and said “It is a great honour to receive this award on behalf of Newton Running, who have put so much research and development into producing what is now recognised at possibly the greatest running shoe in the world for forefoot and mid foot runners. We at TCL have the relatively easy job of selling the Newton Running shoes the eagerly awaiting public.”
The attached image shows Mike Trees standing with his long time hero in sport Dave Scott, 6 times winner of the Hawaii Ironman and arguably the greatest triathlete to date presenting Newton’s award for Run Shoe of the Year.
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Date: 2/11/09
Consecutive Days Run: 42
Runner: Brandon Wood
Shoes: Newton AW Trainers
Location: New York, NY
Type of Run: Easy recovery
Time of Day: 2:23 PM EST
Distance Run: 6.45 miles
Time Run: 00:50:07
Average Pace: 7:46 per mile
Weather Conditions: Cold (35 degrees Fahrenheit), Windy, Sunny
Disposition: Good
Link to Run Detail: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/24480060
About the Run: My assigned run today was a fifty minute, steady recovery run. I had every intention of following Jeff’s instructions on that, but it turns out, the road surface had other ideas. If you recall, yesterday the NYC area got about a foot of snow. While the roads themselves were 99% clear, things such as pathways in the park system took an obvious back seat.
I started out running West on W. 50th Street toward the West Side Greenway. The beginning part and even the first quarter mile or so Northbound on the Greenway itself were fairly clear. However, a little over a mile into my run, the pathways became choked with dense, packed snow. Yesterday I talked about what a great time I had running in the snow and hills. The difference was that the snow today was MUCH more packed down and had become slick. On top of that, I decided to wear my Newton AW’s and, it turns out that on that particular kind of snow, the actuator lugs under the metatarsals act like tiny skis, which I found out the hard way!
All the slipping and sliding I was doing really forced me to pay attention to my technique and REALLY made my legs work extremely hard. Having forgotten my heart rate monitor, I couldn’t see what my BPM was, but I’m sure it was much higher than my pace indicated. Speaking of pace, having just seen my data about ten minutes ago as of this writing, I am shocked at how fast I was going!
Overall, I had a good time, though a lot harder of a run than I had planned on.
EMAIL THE LAMINATOR ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME!
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Barefoot running was clearly one of the most talked about trends in the running industry last year. From the bestselling book Born To Run, to the explosive growth of the Vibram Five Fingers, runners everywhere seem to be talking about barefoot running.
Well, the buzz about barefoot running is about to hit a fever pitch. As we’ve talked about in previous posts, Harvard anthropologist Dan Lieberman has been studying the evolution of human running for several years. Dr. Lieberman has just published the results of his study in the journal Nature and the mainstream media is running (cough) with the story. For those of you who listen to NPR on the drive home, you might have heard this story on “All Things Considered” today. The story is also available on NPR.org and features a pretty interesting video:
Not surprisingly, Vibram Five Fingers are also getting a lot of attention from the media (Vibram sponsored Lieberman’s study). The Five Fingers clearly help people to try barefoot running, while providing some protection from rocks, glass, etc. As we talked about in the previous post, Newton’s are built for Natural Running but some of you may be wondering how Newtons compare to Vibrams. Amanda Brooks asked just that on her blog, Run to the Finish, and Newton Running’s Director of Education and Research, Ian Adamson, had this response:
Running Newton Shoes and Vibram Five Fingers have many similarities, at least from a form perspective. The primary difference is the cushioning and energy return provided by Newtons, which is largely absent in Vibrams.
Both Newton Performance Racers and Vibrams have a 2 mm heel lift, or toe drop depending on how you look at it. This translates into a 1.3% down grade in the shoe, also referred to as ramp angle or drop. Newton Performance Trainers have a 2% gradient, which although very small, can be felt by aware runners. Regular running shoes have a much steeper angle, up to 15% depending on the shoe.
Barefoot running forces you to run efficiently and preventatively with respect to injury. Vibram’s allow people to experience barefoot running with an added layer of protection from harsh surfaces, while Newton’s go one step further, adding forefoot cushioning and a significant energy return component.
Newton shoes are much kinder to the body’s structure and musculature when transitioning from a traditional running shoe to barefoot, and allow you to perfect a natural (barefoot) form while providing protection and cushioning. Newton’s active membrane technology has been carefully designed to facilitate afferent feedback, which means the nerves in your forefoot feel the ground very quickly through the shoe. This is achieved through the outer lugs and internal semi-rigid chamber that is connected to the bio-mechanical top plate adjacent to your foot inside the shoe.
Traditional shoe cushioning mechanisms dampens afferent feedback, hampering proprioception and thus hindering your ability to self-regulate the impact of your foot strike. Studies show that runners strike much harder in shoes that dampen afferent feedback, one of the causes of injury. Barefoot runners and runners in shoes that allow you to sense the ground encourage you to run protectively, as if barefoot.
Bottom line is that both Vibrams and Newtons encourage a barefoot or natural running style, but Newtons make it much easier for runners to transition from typical running shoes.
Beast of Burden Winter 100 Miler
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Racers Against Childhood Cancer
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For the past week or so, much of the United States has been in a deep freeze. Even places that are not accustomed to cold temperatures are feeling the bite. Here in New York, it’s been pretty bad, and it has been especially cold by the time I do my daily run. This requires a good bit of gearing up to keep from freezing to death. So, partly inspired by Ari’s post on his winter gear, and partly inspired by the fact that it takes me about ten minutes to get dressed, I thought I’d list my favorite winter running gear.
Under Armour HeatGear Sleeveless T (compression layer to prevent chaffing)
Zensah Seamless Long Sleeve Compression Shirt
Lower Body Layers:
CW-X Insulator Stabilyx Tights
Nike Lightweight Running Gloves
SmartWool PhD Running Ultra Light Mini with WOW
Head:
I also wear a hat which is an off brand
(Pictures to follow)
So, what do you wear when it’s SUPER cold out?
Black Diamond Sprinter Headlamp
Racers Against Childhood Cancer (RACC)
Carved by God, Cursed by the Devil by Ted Archer
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Date: 1/2/09
Consecutive Days Run: 2
Runner: Brandon Wood
Shoes: Newton AW Trainers
Location: New York, NY
Type of Run: Easy pace
Time of Day: 6:47 PM EST
Distance Run: 2.02 miles
Time Run: 00:14:55
Average Pace: 7:23 per mile
Weather Conditions: Cold (20 degrees Fahrenheit “real feel” of 1)
Disposition: Happy
Link to Run Detail: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/21539133
About the Run: Cold man, cold. I know that I will have more runs that will be colder. I also know that, due to the fact that I hate treadmills, I will endure them. That said, it was cold tonight and I felt it. Thankfully, running was not on my training calendar for tonight (that’s a 1 hour ride on the trainer that’ll come later) and I have no distance requirements in this challenge.
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Josh Cox 2nd Place at the California International Marathon!
Carved by God, Cursed by the Devil by Ted Archer
If you’ve got any extra cash layin’ around, please help me take care of some race fees!!
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As is the case for many at Thanksgiving, my Thursday morning was met with a Turkey Trot. A Turkey Trot, for those not yet in the know, is a race of varying length on or around Thanksgiving. The race in which I, along with two of my brothers-in-law, sister-in-law, mother-in-law and my wife were participating was the Dreamcatcher Classic Road Race in Weymouth, Massachusetts. The race had two distances to choose from; a five miler and a two miler, I chose to do the five.
When recovering from a marathon, conventional wisdom says to rest one day for every mile you’ve run. Since on Thursday I was only four days removed from the Philadelphia Marathon and had not reached the requisite 26.22 days of rest, I was rather curious to see how my recovered my legs would be.
If you’ve visited my site before, or you’ve listened to my podcast, it’s no secret that I am a rabid member of the Newton Running Tribe. I make no apologies for this and defend my choice of footwear at every turn. I never fancied myself a runner until I stepped into my first pair of Newtons. Since then, I have only gone farther, faster and stronger than I ever thought possible. This race report is a testament to what is one of the strongest arguments for “natural running’ (i.e. Newton running); recovery.
Race morning was perfect, in my opinion. It felt like it was in the mid-40′s with no wind to speak of. I had not really done any research for this race in terms of terrain, so I was clueless as to what kind of hills and such lay in store. The race was a mass start and not chip timed, so in an effort to get the most accurate time I could, I lined up as close to the starting line as I could. This is not a place where I usually find myself, but I figured why not?
The starting horn sounded and 1,200 of us were on our way. The front row was, as expected, the races “elites”. They pulled away pretty quickly and cleared out the space in front of me. I haven’t looked at the data from my Garmin yet, but I imagine I was at about 6:30/mile at the start. There were a few of us who fell into a stretched out pace line and who seemed to be running a similar race. As the race progressed, many people who had taken it out hard, simply fell off and ended up walking. The course was, in my opinion, good, if a little hilly. Some of the climbs definitely knocked me down a couple of notches, but I just seemed to have more in my legs.
When doing a last minute race plan in my head for this event, I readily assumed that I would go out pretty quick and sustain that for as long as I could and then lest my pace fade to something more comfortable. The problem with that plan was that I just kept going. Don’t get me wrong here, I felt every step. I took it out quick and pushed myself to do what I could. I guess I just expected my tank to run out at some point and it just didn’t. When the hills came, as I said before, I really felt it, BUT, rather than muscling through it with raw power, I reassessed my body position and technique. This kept my pace fairly consistent on the hills and kept my heart rate at an acceptable place.
I crossed the finish line with an official time of 32:55, which made my per mile pace 6:35 (my Garmin read 32:54 and 6:34 but who’s counting?). This was a PR by exactly FOUR minutes. That, to me, is insane. I finished 3rd in my division and 32nd overall.
But why was I able to do this? I believe that this was a perfect storm of proper training (MASSIVE hat tip to Jeff Kline, @coachprs) and the rapid recovery facilitated by natural running (forefoot/midfoot striking) by way of Newton. My legs, SHOULD have been dead from top to bottom. Instead I felt like I was just doing a fast tempo run.
It’s funny how many are calling “natural running” a fad or trend when, before forty years ago, it’s what we all did. Barefoot technique is what we did through millions of years of evolutionary history, so why did it all change when Mr. Bowerman decided to put a big-ass wedge of air-injected foam under our foot? Newton has been at the forefront of “natural running” since well before that term made it’s way into the vernacular of the running community. Look, I don’t work for Newton and they don’t ask me to write or say things like this, I do it because I want to. In my opinion, because of Newton and the natural running technique that they promote:
I AM A RUNNER.
Additional kudos to my bro-in-law C and mom-in-law K for running their first ever road race (the 2 miler). Also to my bro and sister-in-law A and K for making the early trip to run the 5 miler with the fam. Last but not least to my wife, Danielle, for finishing a 2 mile race while being 6 months pregnant!
2009 New York City Marathon Results
Darren Rovell: Jackass, Part 1
Darren Rovell: Jackass, Retraction
Damon Runyon Yankee Stadium 5K
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This morning in New York City was one of those autumn days when the crisp air bites just enough to make you feel invigorated. It is the part of the year where the city seems somehow washed clean of the humid grit and grime that the summer brings.
So, it was an incredible canvas upon which to join the team from Newton Running for a clinic and group run in that stalwart of nature stuck squarely in the middle of the city, Central Park. We all met at The Boathouse at about 7 o’clock AM amidst runners getting in their last taper runs before the 40th running of the New York City Marathon on Sunday.
Once the group of about fifteen runners had assembled, Danny (Abshire, co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of Newton Running) bid us all good morning and went on to, first and foremost, discuss exactly what “natural running” is. Among the assembled members of the Newton team were Jennifer Abshire (Danny’s wife), Erin Gehlsen, Pam Simich and Josh Cox (American Record holder in the 50K and super nice guy!).This was followed by a quick demonstration by Danny of proper form and technique. It still strikes me how everything he says is not some huge secret, but is quite simply common sense.
After Danny’s introduction we all set out for a quick three mile run around the bridle path that encircles The Reservoir. I have discovered, twice now, that The Boathouse is a fantastic meeting place, however upon leaving The Boathouse and heading North along East Drive, you immediately come upon what has come to be known to many a runner as the bane of their existence; Cat Hill. Today however, with a group of new friends and runners, the Cat was tamed without a problem. We then entered the bridle path loop at about East 85th Street. Now, when I spoke earlier about the time of year, I neglected to mention the brilliant colors the abound in Central Park. Entering the bridle path was like entering another world. We were surrounded by the brightly colored tree canopy as we all ran effortlessly through the park. The other runners on the path, including the occasional professional who came flying by, made the air ring with fresh excitement. Danny, Jennifer and Josh (the Newton crew accompanying us on the run) were so wonderful, and took the time to speak to everyone in the group, discussing everything from technique to the weather to Broadway shows! The wellspring of running knowledge was unparalleled and the kindness and caring with which it was dispensed was overwhelming.
As we wound our way through the trees and back to The Boathouse, it was the perfect end to a wonderful run. There were lessons learned, friends made and a good run had by all. Among those that came was Ty Garner. Ty was at the Newton clinic in the spring and also became and Ironman in Wisconsin with me in September. The next time Newton does a clinic and group run in your area, I cannot encourage you enough to go. It’s an awesome experience!
Thanks so much for visiting my site! My name is Brandon Wood and I am an opera singer living and trying to make it in New York City. This site and podcast follow my adventures on the way to competing in and training for all kinds of endurance events, especially triathlon and running. Click the "About Me" tab for more info!
Who: This contest is open to anyone and everyone in the U.S. and Canada (also APO)! Tell your friends!
What: Stuffitts! I have spoken about these simple yet awesome shoe savers in the past. Click here to read more about them. I cannot say enough how great they are!
When: Starting NOW! This is an ongoing contest that will be every month, or until every person on the planet has nice, fresh smelling shoes!
Why: Because Stuffitts are awesome! The folks at Stuffitts are being SUPER generous and I also want to give you guys something that I think is a great addition to any athletes arsenal!
How: On the last podcast episode post of each month (example: Episode 99 on June 28 HERE) entrants should leave a comment (however long you'd like). On the following week's show (the first show of each month) I will draw, by random number generator, one winner! That's it!
Good luck!
