News on reviews

Hey guys and girls been a while eh?

I have been busy trying to get myself ready for my 50 mile Ultra Marathon which is now....dun...dun...duuuuuun! 3 weeks away!
Scary stuff! On the up side for you guys this means that I have had a lot of time to test and review a whole bunch of new gear that I have mentioned before! JOY!!
I will post in more detail on each product as they all need their own space, but for now I shall give you a sneak peak.....

Ultimate Direction AK Race Vest

Brief overview...

Ultimate Direction are a company from the USA striving to bring us some of the best hydration products around. Lightweight, durable, comfortable and beautiful are but a few words that spring to mind when I think of my "AK race vest". The materials used in this pack are just stunning! This pack is one of the main reasons I have not been blogging a lot due to amount of time I want to wear it! The adjustment is amazing, with two chest straps and side straps to help keep bounce to a minimum.

Having the bottles up front is fantastic and I for one will never be going back to anything else.

The bottles themselves are a thing of beauty. They are BPA free to start with which is brilliant, the rubber mouth piece is comfortable and doesn't leak everywhere and they have a really handy loop on them so they are easy to grab! The mouth piece is nice and soft so you don't smash your teeth in as you sip from it like I have done in the past with other plastic bottles! I will stop there before I get to carried away, you will be hearing more about the AK race vest later!

SealSkinz beanie

This is something I should have bought over the winter as it is crazy warm! A waterproof beanie with a fleece  lining that is both comfortable and practical. You will almost wish for rain so you can wear it!

Due to the weather picking up a little bit this is something I may have to test more in the winter but it is worth a little mention now.

Montane Atomic Jacket

Just picked this up on Saturday! New for 2013 the Montane Atomic Jacket is so light and packs down really small making it easy to just throw in a bag for those long runs. Windproof, waterproof, breathable and has an adjustable hood! This is my new "wont leave home without it" item and shall be joining me on my 50!

Montane Terra pants

Ok so the name sounds a bit like a 50`s B movie but don't let that fool you, these pants are all business!

Lightweight and well built, I cant wait to give these a try! I carried them with me on a run on Saturday and didn't even notice I was carrying them! Unfortunately it was a little too warm to try them out just yet but that's what night runs are for eh?! Keep them pealed folks! 

I think I shall stop there for now as I have loads of other bits to get through as well and I dont wont to loose track!

Hmm...it is at this point that I realize that I may have some kind of issue with hoarding running gear! :)

With that in mind, if you would like anything running related reviewed by yours truly then please drop me a line!

Till next time running fans!

Cardiosaurus 

Elbow drop!

How is it still this cold?!

I think someone needs to have a word with Mother Nature and just make sure she is OK, I'm worried that  she may have forgotten how Spring is meant to be!
Maybe she has been distracted and just overlooked the temperature side of things as there are a lot a confused looking flowers out there today.

I unfortunately picked up a bit of a niggle in the back of my knee after having an extremely cold run resulting in twisting my knee a little. After much resting and icing I came to the conclusion that it was finally time to bring out the big guns. Deep tissue massage. 
Those of you who have had one will now be wincing at those three little words, those of you who have not will now be wondering what all the fuss is about.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say....

"Deep tissue massage is designed to relieve severe tension in the muscle and the connective tissue or fascia. This type of massage focuses on the muscles located below the surface of the top muscles. Deep tissue massage is often recommended for individuals who experience consistent pain, are involved in heavy physical activity (such as athletes), and patients who have sustained physical injury. It is not uncommon for receivers of deep tissue massage to have their pain replaced with a new muscle ache for a day or two.

The term “deep tissue” is often misused to identify a massage that is performed with sustained deep pressure. Deep tissue massage is a separate category of massage therapy, used to treat particular muscular-skeletal disorders and complaints and employs a dedicated set of techniques and strokes to achieve a measure of relief. It should not be confused with “deep pressure” massage, which is one that is performed with sustained strong, occasionally intense pressure throughout an entire full-body session, and that is not performed to address a specific complaint. Deep tissue massage is applied to both the superficial and deep layers of muscles, fascia, and other structures. The sessions are often quite intense as a result of the deliberate, focused work. When a client asks for a massage and uses the term “deep tissue”, more often than not he or she is seeking to receive a full-body session with sustained deep pressure throughout. If a practitioner employs deep tissue techniques on the entire body in one session, it would be next to impossible to perform; it might lead to injury or localised muscle and nerve trauma, thereby rendering the session counter-productive."

What it looks like....

What it feels like at times...

All joking aside I am aching a little bit today and it kind of feels like I have been punched in the leg but hopefully a couple of days rest and I should be back on the road again!

It is something I have put off for a long time but I am glad that I went ahead and did it. Anybody having doubts about any pain should really just get it checked out by a professional and save themselves a lot of time and pain.

I shall catch up with you all again soon as I have a lot of new stuff I am reviewing at the moment.

Here is a taste of reviews to come....Ultimate Direction AK Vest, Raceready shorts, Tabi boots.....

Stay safe, keep warm and keep running!

Cardiosaurus

Xero to hero?

Its review time again chums!

The wonderful people at Xero Shoe UK sent me over some sandals to give a darn good thrashing and here is the story so far....

As the little metal door to my mail box gently opened to reveal the grey plastic bag within I couldn't help but smile. I love getting new toys!

So lets have a look in the bag shall we?

New toys!

Nice surprise!

Xero have a choice of two thickness's of sole, a 4mm and a 6mm. I have got used to a thicker sole over the last year so I went for the 6mm version.
They give you a great choice in lace and sole colours which I thought was really nice as it gives you a chance to be a little more individual and well lets face it, its fun!
Next is the wonderful technology in the shape of the lace threading tool, beautifully engineered piece of wire that......ok, ok its a hair pin! I have to say it works really well when combined with the end of a ball point pen!
Finally and most surprising is the hole punch that comes with them! This little tool is fantastic and I love the fact that they have included it with the sandals as making the holes without one is such a pain!

Hole punch included!

So onto the building!
I would really recommend opening the Xero shoe site and having a good read if this is your first time making hauraches (click here to be whisked there now) as their instructions are really easy to follow.
When making the hole between your big toe with the wonderful hole punch tool remember to put down some newspaper if you value your carpet or flooring. Trust me, the tool is sharp and you WILL end up with a perfect little hole missing from my.....I mean your laminate! (time to hide from the impending slap across the back of the head!)
When threading your laces try using a ballpoint pen to help pop the end through. Try and do it slowly as sometimes the inside of the lace will go through and push back the outside sleeve. If this happens, take the lace out and just seal the end of it with a little fire and use some pliers to shape it into a little point.
Careful with sealing the end though as flicking melted bits of lace around the room is not desired and may lead to injury from your significant other.

Tying them is a whole different animal and I will continue to post different methods as I try them out, for now lets get onto running in them!

Right after building my new Xero shoe and messing around for about an hour with the "slip on slip off" method of tying it was finally time to take them for a spin!

Arrow grip

It must be noted that I took these out when it was just above freezing so maybe my discovery was a little unusual.

Good grip on the foot bed

After the first mile or so of stopping and adjusting the laces a little, things settled down into what felt like a normal run for me in sandals. The foot bed felt comfy and had a surprising amount of grip. The little arrow grips on the bottom worked really well on the road and gave a confident footing.
The 6mm was just enough protection from most of the sticks and stones you would come across on a normal road run but I did find that personally I missed the extra 4mm that I have grown accustom to in my Luna`s.
I am in no way saying that this is a bad thing, just a personal preference!
If you like to feel every change in surface and want to be really close to barefoot then the Xero Shoe gets you really close!

Really flexible

I mentioned before that I took these out on a really cold night and this is where I made a strange discovery...

In my Luna (sorry to keep bringing them up but it is my best point of reference!) which uses a Vibram sole, they start off cold and then after about 3 or so miles warm up just enough from the friction to keep your feet warm while you continue to run. The Xero however even after 6 miles showed no signs of warming at all and so left my feet so cold that I had to head home.
Now I'm not sure if this is just me being spoilt with the luxury of "heated" feet with my Luna or what but it left me thinking about weather this was a bad thing or not?

6mm profile

If I was truly barefoot then the temperature of the ground would effect my feet so maybe it is a better representation of being truly barefoot?
On the other hand I am running in a sandal so should it also protect me from the cold of the ground?

As yet I still cant decide, what I have decided is that warmer weather will see the return of the Xero!

They were a lot of fun over a short distance but I think if I wanted to up the miles I would be interested in trying out a hardcore beast version! Something like a 10mm sole with crazy trail grip so I could rip around the trails with just a little more protection.

As I have mentioned before I am training to be an ultra runner so I tend to look for different things when it comes to footwear and gear so my opinion may seem a little over the top and to the truly hardcore maybe I'm just being a bit of a wimp!

So lets move on to the results shall we?

Build quality - I have to say, I was actually really impressed! The sole is a little strange for its lack of heat but the overall build quality is really good! The foot bed worked well under the conditions tested so far, as did the grip. The laces are a little abrasive but still pretty good. The inclusion of the hole punch and lacing tools really impressed me as it showed real thought behind the product. I think 4 big cheesy grins for build quality! :) :) :) :)

Value for money - This is a simple simple question, YES! They are such great value and the options of foot bed colours and lace colours makes them a fantastic choice for anyone wanting to try out sandals and not break the bank! Oh yeah I forgot to mention that they are said to last 5000 miles as well!! 5 giant smiley faces for value! :) :) :) :) :)

Fun value - They are tons of fun once you have them tied on properly. Lacing them may frustrated or delight you, take your time to find a way that works for you! For the most amount of fun take these onto the grass and have a play! Remember to build up slowly though and watch for sharp stones!
For my own fun value I give the 6mm sole 3 in hope that we will see a 10mm version *wink wink* :) :) :)

Would I buy them again? - Well apart from the fact that they are good for a claimed 5000 miles so I may not need to buy some for quite a while, yes I think I would! I think I would maybe try some upgraded laces or webbing and maybe add a plush leather topper just to customise them for my own use.
3 grins for this one as well :) :) :)

Final note -
For someone looking to get into sandals I would say that Xero Shoe would be a great purchase! They are built really well and are very very well priced! Cold weather maybe your only issue if you are just starting out  but don't let me put you off!

If anyone finds a particular tying method that you would like to share please drop me a line and I will give it a go!

This will not be the last you hear of Xero Shoe! (click for a link to the UK site)

Cardiosaurus out!

500 views and working Tweets

500 views!!! :O

A huge thanks to everyone who has stuck with me and keeps reading this blog it means a lot! :)

As you may have already noticed my Twitter feed is now working! Yay!

Please feel free to follow me and also let me know what your up too!

I have also added a "click to tweet" button on the bottom of each post if you wish to pass my posts on with ease!
I am also working on a Facebook page at the mo, I shall update once I have something worth posting about!

Thank you all so much again!

Happy Tweeting tweet fans!

Cardiosaurus

The humdrum conundrum

So you want to become an Ultra runner? Me too! To do this you need time to run, obvious but important fact. The small issue is one of time.
Do you get up at crazy`o clock? Run after work? All of the mentioned? Its tough to keep motivated when your time is minimal.
Personally I like to run after work, well lets be honest if I could run instead of work that we be ideal but unfortunately like many many others this is a luxury I do not have.
Running after a full day at work can sometimes be a challenge in itself as its very easy just to sit in that comfy chair and bask in the glow of the TV. However I find the reward for getting straight back out again even when tired to be great.
Maybe its in my head but I figure if I can head out after working 9 hours and still put in a 3.5 hour run then on race day I should be golden!
Mornings for me just don't work in terms of running, I feel nasty and it takes me too long to wake up. This I also figure wont help my technique so in the interest of not hurting myself and of course the interest of my sleep I am a night owl.
The small issue with being an owl is once again our friend time.
Home, changed and out the door again by 6pm gives me just enough time to get some decent miles in before heading home, shower, eat and bed. On my long runs bed can be just before midnight. Dinner is eaten literally on the run with a small meal once I get home. Then its off to sleep ready for work again in the morning.
Here is where the title comes in to today's story.
The conundrum I am beginning to face as my long runs are getting longer is once again time.
I really need to work up to around 6 hours running time. Now those of you who are gifted with quick math skills will very quickly work out that once done running it is already 12am. Shower and eat and hope that my brain wants to sleep should see me counting sheep by around 1.30 maybe 2am.

I guess I just man up right? Its not called an "Ultra" for nothing right?!

Well this also brings me onto the blogging to running ratio, running gives me something to blog about but takes time. Blogging gives me an outlet for my running adventures but takes time. My job keeps my house paid for so that I can spend less and less time in it due to the running, I obviously need money and a job takes up time. The solution is to get paid to run, I need to win races so would need a lot of time to train....ah...erm....

The Humdrum Conundrum

Cardiosaurus

New toys!

Hey everyone hope your all doing well!

I got home tonight to find my new toys courtesy of the peeps at Xero Shoe! Thanks guys! :)

There will be a full review to come once I have put some miles on them. In the meantime lets have a look at some of the hundreds of ways you could tie one of these bad boys up!

Simply typing "How to tie Huaraches" into Google will give you a great start and coincidentally will bring you to some great videos from Invisible shoe who just happen to be the same guys at Xero!

If you are worried about messing up your new sandals make some out of cardboard to practice!

Getting you sandals "just right" takes a little bit of practice. Tie, untie, tie again and experiment with which tying technique works for you.

One of the easiest has to be the slip on slip off method. Now I could try to explain how to do this in writing but your head my burst, so with that in mind, take it away dude!.....

Ah that was easier wasn't it?! Have a go and see how you get one while I do the same with my new toys!

Catch you guys soon for a full report on my new Xero Shoe!

Remember to smile! ;)
Cardiosaurus

The Gandalf effect

Today I tackled my first 20 mile run since my first marathon back in November!

It felt great to be pushing the miles up again, well that is until mile 10.
Mile 10 decided things were going along a little too smoothly and felt maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to it.

Some call it "the wall", some call it "bonking" though in the UK this mean something different all together! Me? I call it "The Gandalf effect"

Total blindness to the task at hand, an overwhelming urge to just sit down and "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" reverberating all around your brain.

It was a strange moment for me as it doesn't happen very often, I am usually pretty careful about watching my electrolytes, water and food but there he was.

20 feet high, staff raised above his head, beard and cloak blowing in the wind, bellowing "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" into my unsuspecting face. The ground felt unstable and my eyes were tired (presumably from the light of the staff) I truly thought this was game over as I started walking very slowly in what I hoped to be the direction of my house.

Now in times of great running need I turn to the only thing I know....food.

When in doubt, stuff your face! :)
So there I was stumbling slowly with a mouthful of my home made clif bars and I could see Gandalf getting a little agitated.
"food is his weakness!" shot through my fuzzy cortex "nom nom nom these are actually really good!" Gandalf shrank by 5 feet. "mmmm next ones shouldn't be quite this sweet" another 5. Clearly shaken by the power I now possessed Gandalf fought hard over the next mile to bring me to my knees.

Bite after bite I reduced him down to the size of an ant and then simply walked over him. I toasted this victory with the remains of my plastic goblet and instantly started running again!

Just before 14 miles I met up with my future brother in law who had run 12 miles to meet me, just in time too as I was ready to call it a day and maybe have a nap instead.
We chatted and bopped along for the next 6 miles, said our goodbyes and off he went to finish up his 31 mile run!! All in a days work eh?!
It was strange and wonderful to run with someone else for a bit as I have got so used to being on my own on a long run.

So there you have it, tonight's tale of battles, journeys, beards and food!
Maybe I shall put these tales too song so that Bards may take them on their own journeys a far! Yes! Tales of suffering and pain, joy and rapture!
I shall bind it all with a golden shoelace and it shall be called "Lord of the R(unn)ings"!

WOW! OK! That run may have done a little to much to my mind right now!
One final word from Gandalf and then rest......

"RUN YOU FOOLS!"

Cardiosaurus

Busy like a little bee!

Hey everyone, apologies for the lack of posting of late but I have been busy running!

Trying to up my mileage now getting ready for my first Ultra in May! *GULP!*

The Ultra that I speak of is the North Downs Way 50 or NDW50 for short and as you may have guessed by the title, its a 50 mile.
50 miles, 80% trail with a cut off time of 13.5 hours......again....*GULP*

Now the bit that may sound even more bonkers is that I also intend to take this on in my sandals.
This I may regret later but its all part of the experience right?

Now everyone knows the disadvantages of sandals, exposed feet is the main one. Lets instead look at the advantages.
Ever finished a long run and taken off your shoe to the horror of black toe nails? Your poor little toes being constantly squished into the ends of your shoe causing bruising and a lot of discomfort.
That doesn't happen in sandals. There is nothing there to do the squishing!
Wet, stinky socks with what used to be your foot inside have been replaced with a prune!
With sandals (presuming you are not wearing socks!) you don't have this problem! The water just bounces off of your foot and gets flicked away. Ok so if you run in the rain your feet do get softer, but given the option of having a soggy sock keeping everything close to your skin or a bare foot? I choose the bare foot!

One problem I have found with rain running in sandals is that when the foot bed gets very wet you end up with a kind of aquaplane situation.
The water forms a layer on the foot bed, your foot contacts the floor and the water is momentarily trapped underneath causing a bit of a slip.
I am going to experiment with different foot bed toppers as my sandals are just "naked" ones. Hopefully this will solve the aquaplane issue and also cut down on a few blisters that I tend to get.
The guys and girls at Luna Sandals have already come out with some great solutions for the new foot beds but I don't wont to buy new ones, I want to modify my ones! :)

Right! Back to the point and back to the trails!
I am starting to get both excited and nervous at the thought of running 50 miles.

50 miles.

Just typing it makes my belly jump around! :)

Oh well at the end of the day it can all be boiled down to this simple line....

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other!

Happy trails!

Cardiosaurus

Here is a link to the NDW50 for you guys to have a look at.

Hands for your feet!

Hey guys and girls I thought I would kick off today's post with my first review!

I have owned the Vibram Five Fingers "Sprint" model for a while now and thought I would do a little review on how they are after you give them darn good thrashing! :)

Everyone shows you them straight out of the box but we all know what they are going to look like!
Beautifully strange, like having hands for your feet!

I loved the look and the concept of these and they really helped me on the road (forgive the pun) to minimal running. 
                                                                                                                                                   

So without further delay here are a few pictures of my VFF Sprints after around 150 or so miles.

The general condition is still pretty good but I did find that bits have started to come unstuck around the toes and the side of the foot.
I was a little surprised at this as that is not really a lot of miles for a running shoe. 

I loved running in these when I first started out but you have to start slow and short or they will bite you! Try and stray from this very thin line and you will know about it, forgiveness is not the way of the Five Fingers.
Run hard and its going to hurt! Run too far and its going to hurt! In fact you have to be very patient for it to all make sense! 

The great thing about them is they are fantastic at stopping you from heel striking because guess what?
It hurts!

Only 3.5mm separates you from the ground and this can be the most wonderful feeling as it wakes you up to a whole new world.
You can feel the difference in surfaces, the difference in the pavement to the road.
The subtle change in the compound of the concrete with its different mixture of stones.

It feels like your feet are now awake, free to play and experience the world!

Then amongst these wonderful sensations are the not so wonderful. 
The razor sharp stone your didn't see but will remember by the throbbing in the bottom of your foot for at least the next 2 miles. 
The twig that has somehow made a home for itself in that nice squishy bit between your toes......sideways!
That adorable handful of grit and sand that has, oh so lovingly, snuggled up in your arch in the hope to be united with the ball of your foot.
My personal favourite is the blisters, ah the blisters! 
It must be noted at this point that Vibram may have never before come across feet like mine.

I do not exactly have "standard" feet. 
You know how you would draw a foot? Big toe heading down in size order until you reach the little guy on the end? Well mine do not.

My "big toe" isn't, the second one is boss and my little guy on the end I think was adopted from a family of hobbits.

My toes, with the exception of said little guy, are long. Very long, ironically like fingers.

"Surely a product like Five Fingers would be spot on"? 
Both you and I unfortunately are wrong!

I love them but my feet beg to differ.
I just could not seem to stop the blisters, I have tried Injinji socks, (I will come back to these on another post) powder and all sorts of wacky stuff but nothing!
I know many people who adore these and run crazy miles in them but my feet for some reason just don't like them.
Walking in them is wonderful though and I keep them purely for this reason now.
Its a great way to build up your miles in them but again, start slow with short walks as your feet will get tired quickly.
My final point on my little funky feet as I like to call them is the smell.
They smell. Bad. At times, really bad! As soon as the friction of the floor starts to warm up the rubber you better be outside as anyone around you will start asking "what is that smell?!"

Now I have tried desperately to combat this with the washing machine, baby powder, soap, lemon, bicarbonate of soda, you name it!!
The only thing that I have not tried that I think may work is fire.
The stench would be overwhelming at first but at least you could feel pretty sure that after this treatment the smell would stop!
I have to store mine in a tied plastic bag to make sure that this wonderful odour does not creep around the house unsupervised!

Lets have a little rating or something shall we?

Hmm lets see?

Build quality - I would give this model 2 smiley faces out of 5 as I think glue should not be needed after only 150 miles of use and the finish on the inside isn't really great :) :)

Value for money - 2 smileys again for this mainly due to the build quality, with that said the actual sole itself is really good but it must be remembered that this is what Vibram do. :) :)

Fun value - 3 big cheesy grins for fun! I had loads of great runs in these and they really opened up a whole new world of feeling for my feet. :) :) :) 

Would I buy them again? - In a nutshell, no. What with the shape of my feet, the price and the smell its all a little to much for me to splash the cash on another pair.

So there you have it! My alternative review of the Vibram Five Fingers "Sprint".

Ciao for now!

Cardiosaurus 

                                                                                                                                                                               

A training plan for people who hate training plans!

Lets face it training plans are boring, tedious and uninspiring, well at least I think so.

I find it really hard to keep to a training plan, work and social life tend to get in the way.
Before you know it that wonderful plan seems impossible and BAM! You find yourself on the sofa watching some rubbish on t.v covered in crisps and sweet wrappers.

While a training plan can be a fantastic thing for a lot of people, with its structure and regimented miles, time, heart rate, etc...for me, not so much.

Training plans I believe should be taken as a guide instead of some kind of holy book, everybody is different.
We all heal at different rates, run at different speeds, cope better on different terrain, run at different times of the day.......you get my point.

We are all different so why should everyone follow the same plan?
Try this instead, take your plan for your chosen distance and simply regard it as a guidebook.
Listen to your body, if you are tired, rest!
If you feel like running an extra mile or one less, do it!
Feeling quick today? Start slow then leg it!
Feeling slow? Plod!
Relax and enjoy it! Remember why you are running, its fun, SMILE! :)
Once again, listen to your body and get to know yourself, it is your best training tool of all!

Many, many, many people don't listen to their bodies enough and end up hurting themselves.
On the contrary to popular belief, running is not meant to hurt, if it hurts, why?
Is it form? Running too hard? Stone in your foot?

Learn to listen to your body and your training will become play time not time to dread!

Good luck with your "guides" ;)

Miles of smiles

Cardiosaurus