Tri and Run With CompresSport

Today i have received some great news from Tim Williams of CompresSport who has told me that Greg Bryce at TriandRun, based in Chigwell in Essex are going to lend Alex and Myself a pair of bikes for the London Duathlon on September 12th at Richmond Park.

This will give us both a fighting chance of a good time as we take on the Ultra distance of 20km run/80km bike/10km run, all which must be completed inside 6hrs 15 min. This will be my first Duathlon, a week ahead of my first Triathlon (Sevenoaks on the 19th) and one i have been training for on a mountain bike, which weighs a tonne and adds immense resistance with heavy knobbled tyres, still it builds up the leg strength at least. The Racing bikes will allow us to cut down times and feel more confident of doing well in the race.

Swimming for the Tri has been going reasonably well, although i have to swim breaststroke, due to a shoulder "clicking" problem, mind you i can now do 400m (required distance in the event I'm doing) in 8:30, and should be quicker by race day - so not too shabby. Tomorrow will be a good session with 7m bike/600m swim/8m bike - before work and then 10m ride home in the evening - hard and tiring, but rest day on Saturday!

Running has started again and is gradually building up, so that I'm doing more than ½ marathon runs closer to the time. Last week i did a split day - run to work in the morning - shower (or be forced to work outside) and then run home in the evening - 8 miles each way. A good session as the legs are stiffer in the afternoon and have to work harder, but the return run always seems faster than the a.m. one.

The next month is going to be a tough one to get training done properly, with work taking a lot of time up at the weekends (a number of stock-takes), including the whole of the bank holiday, so i will be slipping in very early morning runs/rides to get the training done. This has also meant i wont be accompanying Alex to Bavaria for the Europe 135 to act as crew, although i am still playing a part, by getting replacement crew and sourcing hotels etc for the race.

Finally i have to say a huge thanks to Tim Williams again - last week i received a great T-shirt and Hoodie from him, ideal for training and recovery and have to say that Tim has been one of the forerunners in getting our campaign more profile and getting us help and sponsorship (such as TriandRun) and supplying us with some of the best compression guards on the market, and i am confident that CompresSport will certainly build their client base quite quickly and become a major player in the sports market - Thanks Tim!!

One more finally - hopefully i will be getting a new back-pack in the next week or so (paid for this one this time), after my Raidlight 10l finally succumbed to overuse (3 years of regular runs, bike rides and races have taken their toll) so a review will be forthcoming.

Stay tuned and stay safe!!

Shoe that fits like a glove

And the shoe in question is the Vibram Five Fingers, a weird and wonderful looking shoe that is as close to barefoot running as possible, without running just in socks.

The shoe i have been using is the Men's Vibram Five Fingers Classic, one of many from the series of Vibram barefoot running shoes, and once i had carefully prised them onto my feet, locating each digit in their respective home, i found the feeling and fit very comfortable and natural (despite the roars of laughter from my wife and daughter). The only thing is that you have to learn to run again with these on, you cannot head off straight away for a 10 mile run, with your usual stride pattern. The change in gait and footfall, back to the natural way of running, is totally different from being in a cushioned, shall we say "normal" road running shoe, and once the fear of stepping on something nasty and sharp has abated it feels surprisingly free to run like this.

The shoe itself is a combination of Vibram's great gripping rubber soles that add a good level of protection and stretch fabric upper, easy drying so that it can be machine washed should you find that muddy puddle. The grip from the sole of these shoes felt very sure, on both treadmill (where i started and would recommend others to start there too) and road running, (I have yet to venture across rugged trails), and the manufacturer list Bouldering as one of its best uses, and judging by the sole of the shoe the grip look sure enough to tackle that kind of adventure.

On a personal level, this is a perfect shoe for both indoor and outdoor use whether it be going to the gym, yoga, summer adventuring in the Rockies or just a quiet 5 miler round the block, but may not be suited to everyone. Before i started using these shoes i did look at a number of reports regarding injuries when using these (mostly about too much reliance on cushioned shoes), and i would strongly advise that if you choose to use these (and i would recommend them strongly) then slowly adapting to the changed style, by even as little as only a few minutes a day, will help you adjust and enjoy spending time on your feet.

FitnessFootwear.com seems to be one of the few official Vibram Five Fingers UK stores and has a huge range of styles and colours to suit all. I would like to thank them for their continued support, and look forward to dragging Adam Smith through the mud with me at the Turbo X, at Borden in November

Safe Running All

Running on Water

I've been watching a mad video on Youtube about Running on Water. The Video was created by Hi-Tec, and runs under the guise of Liquid Mountaineering, a new sport which is attempting to achieve what man has tried to do for centuries: walk on water. Or to be more precise: running on water. the concept being that with the right water repellent equipment you can run across bodies of water, just like a stone skimming the surface.

The shoes in question are the new Hi Tec V-Lite Infinity, being launched shortly in the UK, and being Hi-Tec's return into the serious footwear market, by producing the ultimate lightweight adventure performance shoe, creating a running shoe that could cope with everything while being comfortable and grippy enough for all conditions. But most importantly that it could remain incredibly lightweight without soaking up water on the fells.

Having seen the shoe advertised on the Hi-Tec Sports site and having run in Hi-Tec shoes years ago, I cant wait to get my hands on a pair and see how they have improved to become serious contenders in the trail running market, with some stunning looking shoes, that will make wet feet in winter a lot harder to find.

Role on the rainy season