Spring has sprung!
Definitely working on this at the 11th hour (literally), however on a beautiful day like this, why would one want to blogging when they could be enjoying the beautiful weather outside? My thoughts exactly!
School really kicked my butt this weekend. I have this new twitter feed for my blog, and on some of my first few tweets, I was referencing AccountingMan 2011 (part 1). That ended on Thursday. I think I got a B on the exam. Not exactly what I was looking for, but there are lots of opportunities to make up for it the rest of this semester. My training was kinda lax this week because of it. I will make up for it this weekend. Part two of AccountingMan 2011 is this coming Tuesday. Yes I should be studying tonight, however, how would I get my blog post in??? Update: I have since had the exam on Tuesday and it sucked. I made a 100 on my project that was due on Thursday, and spent most of the day yesterday inside in class. At least the weather was not nice, so I don't feel too bad!
Publix Georgia Half Marathon!!!
I finished in 1:57:36
More to come on that in an official race report. Roughly 3 min off my PR finish. So not bad considering my entire month of January was botched because of illness.
Prepping for Peachtree International Triathlon (and if you wanna podium at an event.... super sprint).
Got a little under 50 days till my first triathlon of the year. Little behind on my training, but at this point I will be able to finish the race. However, my hopes of making top third for AG Nationals is flying out the window fast. The problem is school. Damn other priorities in life!!! I am excited that it is coming to and end and I will have an advanced degree that I can actually use. Training throughout he summer is gonna be a bit sketchy with school, however I think I will definitely going to get the volume in. It is just not gonna look pretty!
By the way if you are near the Atlanta area and want to get a podium finish potentially for your AG, you should come the weekend of the Peachtree International Triathlon and compete in their other race the Super Sprint. It is shorter than a sprint distance race, and with all of the focus on the Oly Distance this year in conjunction with the SE Regional Champs, I don't think there will be many people bellying up to the line for the Super Sprint, save maybe newbies, and other triathletes that have the same idea as me.
EBay auctions for Christchurch
The auctions from the IMTalk podcast have ended, and I think they broke over $15000 USD to raise money for the victims of Christchurch. They had memorabilia donated by pros, and major race companies donated entries to bid on for the event (a couple of them were the Hood to Coast relay and the Norseman). Thank you to any of you who may have participated in the bidding. And even if you did not win anything, if you still want to donate, any donations made this week to the IMTalk podcast will go to the earthquake victims in New Zealand, rather than their usual goal which is to send Bevin and John to Kona for great coverage of the World Championships.
And that reminds me, after this week, they will be back to their regular donations towards their trip to Kona. They basically show up and do tons of Kona coverage throughout the whole week including the race and get interview with pros and various other folks while they are there. Last year's coverage was amazing, and if you are looking for something fun, different and informative (and not NBC/WTC coverage related) these are the guys to listen to. I get an extra check in April, so I will be sending my first of many donations to help get Bevin and John to Kona so that this year's coverage can be even better than last year!
Did not feel like reporting on them, however, Ironman Singapore 70.3 and Ironman San Juan 70.3. If you want to check out some race results and stuff, check out Slowtwitch or Xtri as Ironman.com seems to have already threaded them out of their news cycle. 70.3 Oceanside is this coming weekend and should be a pretty good turnout for the pro field this year. With the new points series for pros this year, you see more and more pros getting out there trying to scoop up points earlier in the season. Opposed to prior seasons, where a pro/top AG'er had to show up and qualify and then they were off to Kona or Clearwater/Lake Las Vegas (70.3 Champs).
Are any of you Catholic? If so, what did you give up for lent? (for those of you who aren't are you playing the game also?) I decided this year to change my focus for lent back onto myself and my health. So the two things which I have decided to do is to not drink and also to not eat Zaxby's. For those of you who don't know what Zaxby's is, you can Google it. It is a fast casual food chain that specializes in chicken fingers and various other chicken related items. I normally would eat there once a week. A regular chicken finger plate with an extra Zaxby's sauce and an unsweet tea is over 1500 calories (I believe). While I can burn that off no problem, that is not the most healthy thing for me to be eating, especially once a week. As for the alcohol, I think it is good for me to purge and no have any for a while. I don't need it, and who knows, maybe I will finally be a cheap drunk when it is all said and done.
How are you modifying your training for race season beginning and the transition to springtime??? Let me know! And you guys have a great rest of your weekend!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
TIMEX SWEEPSTAKES!!! Win free stuff including reimbursed race entries!
Happy Friday Everyone!
I got a notice about this and I thought, why not post this so everyone I know has a chance to win free stuff!
I like Timex stuff and I actually own a Timex Race Watch/HRM, which I usually use for solo runs and swimming laps in the pool. Plus one of my favorite pros, Keegan Williams is on team Timex so I am all about supporting him in any way I can!
There are only 13 days left to win big in Timex's March Sweepstakes, offering a $1,000 race and training package. The Grand Prize includes all your 2011 race entry fees up to $620, the latest GPS watch and a Headsweats® Race Hat. Five runner-ups will receive Timex's latest heart rate monitor, which has a unique ergonomic fit for comfort and readability. Finalists (30) will received Timex-branded Headsweats® Race Hats.
Here is the link for the contest: http://apps.facebook.com/timexsweeps/contests/101209?wfrefid=455721c6f470
The sweepstakes ends March 31,2011!!! So if you want to win FREE stuff, get on this!!!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
My 2011 Race Season is Finally Here!
Hi Everyone,
I hope everyone had a great weekend! The weather here in Atlanta was great, and evidenced by the numerous people out and about trying to escape the cabin fever that was this past winter. I did just over 10 miles on Saturday for my last long run before the Publix Georgia Half Marathon this coming weekend, and then on Sunday I did a bit over 26 miles on the new bike (Silver Comet Trail). I need to figure out a way to get my RunningAhead Training Log to post to my Facebook page. Anyone know how to do that? I am gonna eventually have my training log on one of the static page links at the top of my blog. Speaking of which.... I guess you guys/gals have seen my new blog static pages that I have started :) Still slower than I would have liked, but that is also due to grad school (stupid grad school!!!!)
Speaking of the Publix Georgia Half Marathon, Wes giving a lot of smack talk, at least is backing it up by kickin my ass this weekend ;) Here's to your PR buddy! Also my friend Tommy will be in the event as well, as he graciously has taken his sister's race number since she will not be able to participate in the event this year. Kinda want to drive the course again to see where all the elevation changes are. I might do that on Saturday when the traffic is not bad. Actually, now that I am looking at the course map online, I might not need to. I know where all the elevation gains are at.
So I have to take my girlfriend into the shop (most likely tomorrow) for her new ride tune up. Of course all wrench heads will tell you after you get that new bike that after you ride it some, the cables will loosen/tighten, etc and you will need to bring it in one more time to make sure that it gets really dialed in to where it needs to be. Well that happened to me over the weekend. at 1/2 way through the ride, I could no longer go into the large chain ring. Not only that, but when I stopped and physically moved it up to the new chain ring, it moved itself back down as to say, "nope, have fun with this one all the way home." As for the rear cassette, I am having shifting issues through the middle of the cassette, which should just be an adjustment issue. The other problem is about 4 miles from home, I see that the reverse bolt that holds everything together up front (crank arms, bottom bracket, chainrings, etc) is about to come completely out. Also I screwed it in, but not tight enough because that is the one where you need to use a torque wrench, and I don't have a torque wrench. No good. Otherwise the ride was nice :)
The only other thing that I wanted to bring up was a USAT provision that I thought was a rule. Kinda peeved about it. Here is the skinny!
There was a race I participated in last season (I will have to go back and check my notes) where I was trying to put in some fast times, especially in transition, so I decided that I would go back to the old school clipping your shoes onto your bike and setting that up for a fast T1. I got there early and got everything set up, and left to use the restroom. I heard my number getting called over the loudspeaker, and I went to my transition rack with a USAT referee there. He stated that AG'ers were not allowed to have their shoes clipped in during T1. I politely told him that I have actually read the rules and I do not remember this being listed anywhere. He replied that this was the rule and if I did not comply I would be penalized for it. At this point we have about 20 min till transition closes, and even though there was time, I was kinda pissed. I have now done this about 6 times and I have never had that problem before. So I fixed everything and then went on with my race. For the rest of the season I repeated this process so as not to get in trouble.
Recently I heard on the IMTalk podcast that john was talking about fast transitions and that a person had emailed in from the states that USAT does not allow AG'ers to put on shoes on their bikes for T1. This got the blood boiling again, and so I actually went and read the rules yesterday. Went through every damn page. Guess what was NOT there! ANY RULE PREVENTING AG'ers PUTTING SHOES ON THEIR BIKE FOR T1! So I go onto the Facebook page of USATriathlon yesterday, and ask this question. Their response...
"Hi Andy: this actually has never been a rule. In USAT-sanctioned events (unless the RD files for an exemption) you are allowed to attach your shoes to your bike if you wish."
I have asked a number of triathletes in the past, and there is an increasing number that say they have encountered this at races. So either there are a lot more RD's filing exemptions, or the RD's are not wanting the risk of injury to an average AG'er trying to execute a mount and ride with their shoes on their bike. So they just tell them they are not allowed to do it. That is my guess. And please note that I am not knocking the USAT, I just think that if there is OR is not a policy in place, that the officials need to adhere to that policy and if there are exemptions filed, then they need to have make that known in the race packet, pre-race meeting, and/or announcements before the race while people are in transition. That's all I want, adherence and transparency.
USAT has gotten back to me before I finished this post and told me that the Commissioner of Officials will allow people to inquire about specific races to see if that race has any exemptions filed for it. I thought that was very helpful to know! Thanks USAT (more specifically whomever is in charge of their Facebook page)!!!
Have a good week, I will speak to y'all on Friday!
I hope everyone had a great weekend! The weather here in Atlanta was great, and evidenced by the numerous people out and about trying to escape the cabin fever that was this past winter. I did just over 10 miles on Saturday for my last long run before the Publix Georgia Half Marathon this coming weekend, and then on Sunday I did a bit over 26 miles on the new bike (Silver Comet Trail). I need to figure out a way to get my RunningAhead Training Log to post to my Facebook page. Anyone know how to do that? I am gonna eventually have my training log on one of the static page links at the top of my blog. Speaking of which.... I guess you guys/gals have seen my new blog static pages that I have started :) Still slower than I would have liked, but that is also due to grad school (stupid grad school!!!!)
The "About Me" page has the ABC's of me listed, so if you want to jump on that bandwagon just click on the link and read (there is also a Fresh Prince of Bel Air reference at the top of the page).
Speaking of the Publix Georgia Half Marathon, Wes giving a lot of smack talk, at least is backing it up by kickin my ass this weekend ;) Here's to your PR buddy! Also my friend Tommy will be in the event as well, as he graciously has taken his sister's race number since she will not be able to participate in the event this year. Kinda want to drive the course again to see where all the elevation changes are. I might do that on Saturday when the traffic is not bad. Actually, now that I am looking at the course map online, I might not need to. I know where all the elevation gains are at.
So I have to take my girlfriend into the shop (most likely tomorrow) for her new ride tune up. Of course all wrench heads will tell you after you get that new bike that after you ride it some, the cables will loosen/tighten, etc and you will need to bring it in one more time to make sure that it gets really dialed in to where it needs to be. Well that happened to me over the weekend. at 1/2 way through the ride, I could no longer go into the large chain ring. Not only that, but when I stopped and physically moved it up to the new chain ring, it moved itself back down as to say, "nope, have fun with this one all the way home." As for the rear cassette, I am having shifting issues through the middle of the cassette, which should just be an adjustment issue. The other problem is about 4 miles from home, I see that the reverse bolt that holds everything together up front (crank arms, bottom bracket, chainrings, etc) is about to come completely out. Also I screwed it in, but not tight enough because that is the one where you need to use a torque wrench, and I don't have a torque wrench. No good. Otherwise the ride was nice :)
The only other thing that I wanted to bring up was a USAT provision that I thought was a rule. Kinda peeved about it. Here is the skinny!
There was a race I participated in last season (I will have to go back and check my notes) where I was trying to put in some fast times, especially in transition, so I decided that I would go back to the old school clipping your shoes onto your bike and setting that up for a fast T1. I got there early and got everything set up, and left to use the restroom. I heard my number getting called over the loudspeaker, and I went to my transition rack with a USAT referee there. He stated that AG'ers were not allowed to have their shoes clipped in during T1. I politely told him that I have actually read the rules and I do not remember this being listed anywhere. He replied that this was the rule and if I did not comply I would be penalized for it. At this point we have about 20 min till transition closes, and even though there was time, I was kinda pissed. I have now done this about 6 times and I have never had that problem before. So I fixed everything and then went on with my race. For the rest of the season I repeated this process so as not to get in trouble.
Recently I heard on the IMTalk podcast that john was talking about fast transitions and that a person had emailed in from the states that USAT does not allow AG'ers to put on shoes on their bikes for T1. This got the blood boiling again, and so I actually went and read the rules yesterday. Went through every damn page. Guess what was NOT there! ANY RULE PREVENTING AG'ers PUTTING SHOES ON THEIR BIKE FOR T1! So I go onto the Facebook page of USATriathlon yesterday, and ask this question. Their response...
"Hi Andy: this actually has never been a rule. In USAT-sanctioned events (unless the RD files for an exemption) you are allowed to attach your shoes to your bike if you wish."
I have asked a number of triathletes in the past, and there is an increasing number that say they have encountered this at races. So either there are a lot more RD's filing exemptions, or the RD's are not wanting the risk of injury to an average AG'er trying to execute a mount and ride with their shoes on their bike. So they just tell them they are not allowed to do it. That is my guess. And please note that I am not knocking the USAT, I just think that if there is OR is not a policy in place, that the officials need to adhere to that policy and if there are exemptions filed, then they need to have make that known in the race packet, pre-race meeting, and/or announcements before the race while people are in transition. That's all I want, adherence and transparency.
USAT has gotten back to me before I finished this post and told me that the Commissioner of Officials will allow people to inquire about specific races to see if that race has any exemptions filed for it. I thought that was very helpful to know! Thanks USAT (more specifically whomever is in charge of their Facebook page)!!!
Have a good week, I will speak to y'all on Friday!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The (Belated) Friday Review... March 11, 2011
I hope all of you are having a great weekend so far!
I was busy as hell yesterday! Hence the post today. Also is was my first schedule day off from training in over 10 days, so that was pretty cool as well. I think my legs really needed it. Also I am liking doing the post right now because I am outside on the porch doing this in the shade when it is sunny and 65 degrees with a light breeze. Friggin beautiful right after putting in a 2K swim at LA Fitness. After I finish this post, drill through the new issue of Triathlete Magazine, it will be time to put in a 9-10 mile slow run. My last long run before the Publix Georgia Half Marathon next Sunday! Here are some race numbers that you can use to check some results after the race
My Number: 8668
Wes' Number: 10229
If any of you locals are going to be participating in the race, please post your number in the comments section so that we know you are racing, and so we can all track each other's progress to the first of many successful finishes this year!
So.... What in the heck happened this week??? I first had to go back and look at last week's post to make sure that I did not dupe anything.
- Keegan posted his race report for IMNZ (in two parts), so if you are interested in that just click on the link.
- Triathlete Magazine got some pics from Kona after the Tsunami hit Hawaii yesterday morning. Albeit I am sure the pier already looks different because it is cleaned up from the race, however, the pics make it look completely different. Also they took some photos where they shot for this year's swimsuit edition, and most of that was underwater as well. Here is the link to the slide show.
- Sally Meyerhoff (From Everyman Triathlon): You may have heard of her if you are more into the running part of our sport. She was a 2 time Arizona State Big School cross country champion, won the PF Chang's Rock n Roll Marathon in January and took first place at the 2011 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship Half Marathon recently. This week she was on a bike ride and ran a stop sign. Truck hit her. She was killed instantly. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of this great athlete.
- 2nd Annual Abu Dhabi Triathlon: This is a 3K/200K/20K event and has drawn a pro crowd second only to Kona (that I am aware of :) only in its second year. This year's hot and windy course laid a smack down on the pros over the unique distances of this event. Here are the results of the race:
Top 5 men finishers
1. Frederik Van Lierde (BEL) 6:43:14
2. Marino Vanhoenacker (BEL) 6:43:31
3. Dirk Bockel (LUX) 6:43:42
4. Raynard Tissink (RSA) 6:43:47
5. Sylvain Sudrie (FRA) 6:45:49
Top 5 women finishers
1. Julie Dibens (GBR) 7:14:23
2. Caroline Steffen (SUI) 7:19:45
3. Catriona Morrison (GBR) 7:31:12
4. Rachel Joyce (GBR) 7:32:09
5. Angela Naeth (CAN) 7:32:34
If you want more results or information about this race, click here.
- EBay auction targeting the triathlon community for the Christchurch New Zealand earthquake relief: Bevin and John from the IMTalk podcast (click on the link if you have not heard of them before, they are great!!!) put together some KICK ASS auctions where all the proceeds will go to the victims of Christchurch Earthquake. They are on EBay, and you can see the items by clicking on the picture below. As of last night, John said that for some reason EBay took down the auctions (maybe EBay thought it was fraudulent or something, but they are working to get these auctions back up and running. They will expire sometime this week. Some of the items include...
PLEASE KEEP CHECKING BACK WITH THE LINK TILL THEY GET THE AUCTIONS BACK UP! IF YOU ARE ON FACEBOOK JUST "LIKE" IMTALK AND YOU WILL GET A STATUS ON THEIR PAGE AS TO WHEN THE AUCTIONS WILL BE BACK UP.
As for my training and such, I am finishing up week 4 of my Olympic-Distance specific tri training. I have been eyeballing the Westpoint Lake Triathlon in mid June. that is about a month apart from Peachtree International Triathlon. That block of training will ramp up the distance a bit while still keeping the intensity that I want for oly-distance events. After that I don't have anything planned until the fall, where I will have gotten my mileage up to Half Iron/Iron Distance levels. Mid August - Mid September will be my biggest block of training because not only will be right around the time I peak my training, but I also will be done with graduate school in August. This will allow me some more time for training.
I hope all of you have a great rest of your weekend. Now off to do some Triathlete Magazine reading for half and hour and then it is time to bang out some more miles! C-ya!
I was busy as hell yesterday! Hence the post today. Also is was my first schedule day off from training in over 10 days, so that was pretty cool as well. I think my legs really needed it. Also I am liking doing the post right now because I am outside on the porch doing this in the shade when it is sunny and 65 degrees with a light breeze. Friggin beautiful right after putting in a 2K swim at LA Fitness. After I finish this post, drill through the new issue of Triathlete Magazine, it will be time to put in a 9-10 mile slow run. My last long run before the Publix Georgia Half Marathon next Sunday! Here are some race numbers that you can use to check some results after the race
My Number: 8668
Wes' Number: 10229
If any of you locals are going to be participating in the race, please post your number in the comments section so that we know you are racing, and so we can all track each other's progress to the first of many successful finishes this year!
So.... What in the heck happened this week??? I first had to go back and look at last week's post to make sure that I did not dupe anything.
- Keegan posted his race report for IMNZ (in two parts), so if you are interested in that just click on the link.
- Triathlete Magazine got some pics from Kona after the Tsunami hit Hawaii yesterday morning. Albeit I am sure the pier already looks different because it is cleaned up from the race, however, the pics make it look completely different. Also they took some photos where they shot for this year's swimsuit edition, and most of that was underwater as well. Here is the link to the slide show.
- Sally Meyerhoff (From Everyman Triathlon): You may have heard of her if you are more into the running part of our sport. She was a 2 time Arizona State Big School cross country champion, won the PF Chang's Rock n Roll Marathon in January and took first place at the 2011 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship Half Marathon recently. This week she was on a bike ride and ran a stop sign. Truck hit her. She was killed instantly. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of this great athlete.
- 2nd Annual Abu Dhabi Triathlon: This is a 3K/200K/20K event and has drawn a pro crowd second only to Kona (that I am aware of :) only in its second year. This year's hot and windy course laid a smack down on the pros over the unique distances of this event. Here are the results of the race:
Top 5 men finishers
1. Frederik Van Lierde (BEL) 6:43:14
2. Marino Vanhoenacker (BEL) 6:43:31
3. Dirk Bockel (LUX) 6:43:42
4. Raynard Tissink (RSA) 6:43:47
5. Sylvain Sudrie (FRA) 6:45:49
Top 5 women finishers
1. Julie Dibens (GBR) 7:14:23
2. Caroline Steffen (SUI) 7:19:45
3. Catriona Morrison (GBR) 7:31:12
4. Rachel Joyce (GBR) 7:32:09
5. Angela Naeth (CAN) 7:32:34
If you want more results or information about this race, click here.
- EBay auction targeting the triathlon community for the Christchurch New Zealand earthquake relief: Bevin and John from the IMTalk podcast (click on the link if you have not heard of them before, they are great!!!) put together some KICK ASS auctions where all the proceeds will go to the victims of Christchurch Earthquake. They are on EBay, and you can see the items by clicking on the picture below. As of last night, John said that for some reason EBay took down the auctions (maybe EBay thought it was fraudulent or something, but they are working to get these auctions back up and running. They will expire sometime this week. Some of the items include...
- Chrissie Wellington’s Record Breaking Shoes from Ironman Arizona
- Craig Alexander’s race suit along with a #1 Race number (bike) from the 2010 World Championships
- Bevan Docherty’s Jacket from the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and a Beijing Olympics singlet
- NZ champion women’s package
- Sam Warriner’s Helmet Rudy Project Helmet from Ironman NZ last weekend
- Andrea Hewitt’s ITU race kit
- Gina Crawford’s race kit from her win at Ironman Wisconsin
PLEASE KEEP CHECKING BACK WITH THE LINK TILL THEY GET THE AUCTIONS BACK UP! IF YOU ARE ON FACEBOOK JUST "LIKE" IMTALK AND YOU WILL GET A STATUS ON THEIR PAGE AS TO WHEN THE AUCTIONS WILL BE BACK UP.
As for my training and such, I am finishing up week 4 of my Olympic-Distance specific tri training. I have been eyeballing the Westpoint Lake Triathlon in mid June. that is about a month apart from Peachtree International Triathlon. That block of training will ramp up the distance a bit while still keeping the intensity that I want for oly-distance events. After that I don't have anything planned until the fall, where I will have gotten my mileage up to Half Iron/Iron Distance levels. Mid August - Mid September will be my biggest block of training because not only will be right around the time I peak my training, but I also will be done with graduate school in August. This will allow me some more time for training.
I hope all of you have a great rest of your weekend. Now off to do some Triathlete Magazine reading for half and hour and then it is time to bang out some more miles! C-ya!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Asics GT 2150 Shoe Review!!!
(Please note I was not paid, the shoes were not given to me and I did not receive any other form of compensation for this product. This just happens to be the brand of shoes that I have been using the last few years.)
Now that we have the disclaimers out of the way.... :D
I can't wait to get this pair more dirty!!! Too white!!!
This is the next evolution for 2010 in the Asics GT 21XX series. A little background (quickly)... I wore New Balance through high school and college and they worked great. And then, I tried to "fix the wheel, that was not broken." Big Mistake!!! I then proceeded to go through 3 brands before I got to Asics, and I started with the GT-2130's. They were great! I have since stuck with them every year, and I always purchase them through a local running shoe store called Weststride. When I worked for the bank Genie (the owner) and her husband Todd were bank customers of mine. Great people! If you work/live in the Atlanta area you should definitely check them out.
Now that we have the disclaimers out of the way.... :D
I can't wait to get this pair more dirty!!! Too white!!!
This is the next evolution for 2010 in the Asics GT 21XX series. A little background (quickly)... I wore New Balance through high school and college and they worked great. And then, I tried to "fix the wheel, that was not broken." Big Mistake!!! I then proceeded to go through 3 brands before I got to Asics, and I started with the GT-2130's. They were great! I have since stuck with them every year, and I always purchase them through a local running shoe store called Weststride. When I worked for the bank Genie (the owner) and her husband Todd were bank customers of mine. Great people! If you work/live in the Atlanta area you should definitely check them out.
As far as an official stance on the shoe and its properties, this is what Asics has to say about them.
"One of the world's most popular running shoes just keeps getting better. Providing excellent stability, the ASICS GT-2150 road-running shoes work to keep feet comfortable mile after mile, be it training or ticking off another marathon. Lightweight, flexible synthetic textile and polyester mesh uppers offer maximum breathability and comfort. Wicking polyester linings absorb excess moisture and dry fast. ComforDry™ footbeds provide additional cushioning and manage moisture for a cool, dry comfort. Personalized Heel Fit (PHF®) memory-foam-lined collars mold to each foot for amazing comfort. Solyte® 55 midsoles use medium-density proprietary material to enhance cushioning and stability. Proprietary Solyte midsoles are also exceptionally lightweight with excellent rebound for easy running. Forefoot and hindfoot GEL® silicone-based cushioning inserts absorb excess shock in all directions for great stability. Impact Guidance System (IGS®) helps slow pronation for an optimal gait and natural foot movement from heel strike through toe-off. DuoMax® dual-density medial posts provide pronation control for moderate overpronators. Space Trusstic® system delivers stability and arch support while maintaining appropriate flex. High-performance blown rubber outsoles provide superb traction and feel. DuraSponge® forefoot outsole material provides cushioning and traction while AHAR® abrasion-resistant heels enhance durability at the heelstrike area. 3M Scotchlite® reflective accents enhance visibility in low light. GT-2150 road-running shoes proudly carry the Seal of Acceptance from the American Podiatric Medical Association."
These shoes favor runners that have a pronation range from neutral-over to severe pronation. I am more of a neutral runner, but the comfort and width (especially in the toebox area) are great. I usually need shoes that are wider through the middle of the foot, and that support a slightly higher arch than normal. The Asics GT-21XX series definitely fits the bill with my needs and I will continue to buy/use them as long as this series keeps doing what it is doing right, and does not drastically change anything. The GT-2160's have come out for 2011, but I am the kind of guy who is always looking for deals and has no problems buying remaining inventory from last year's line if they are on sale/clearance. And for those of you who like to put more than 300-500 miles on a shoe, I still have my GT-2130's to hang out in and I am still using my GT-2140's occasionally to run/play in (I feel like they still have a few miles left in them). I think this will be the first year in a number of years where I will go through a minimum of two pairs in a year, so depending on inventories at the shoe store, I may get the new 2160's.
If you are interested I would check with your local running shoe store to see if they have any in stock for sale/clearance (2010 model) or go online. And most importantly...
MAKE SURE THE SHOE YOU CHOOSE FITS YOU!!!
Don't go randomly out buying a brand and wonder why your feet, legs, back, etc, hurt. Or why you always seem to get blisters after you have put hundreds of miles on a shoe that should be well broken in. I am sure there are other reasons I am missing as well. Get fitted for your running shoes, and your body/feet will thank you!
(NOTE: Asics, if you are reading, I am gonna need some new shoes in about 3-4 months, I wouldn't mind having a new pair of GT-2160's in red ;)
Thanks for reading the review! Now... What is your favorite running shoe?
Friday, March 04, 2011
The Friday Review!!! March 4th, 2011
Good Morning Everyone! Happy Friday!
I hope everyone had a good week this week! I think the weather was nice for most of us, and with spring rearing its two heads (lovely weather and allergy season for all of you that suffer), I think the 2011 triathlon season is in order :) I was up late last night on the phone, so I skipped my swim workout this morning (again), but never fear! I put everything in the car so when I head home, I can stop by LA Fitness and get some laps in before the weekend. Now onto some good (and unfortunately bad) stuff that has/is going on this week.
Brazil Critical Mass Incident (news from Everyman Triathlon)
We will start with the bad news first. Last weekend, there was a critical mass ride going on in Brazil this past weekend. Apparently there was a motorist in a WV that had been following the group for a number of minutes and wanted to pass through the cycling group that was going in the same direction as him. The driver got more and more irate as he could not pass the hundreds of riders filling up the street. Finally he decided to run a red light and DRIVE THROUGH THE ENTIRE CRITICAL MASS GROUP!
25 people were injured, 30 bikes were totalled. More than 11 of those people went to the hospital, and two were seriously injured. The driver of the car sped off and fled the scene. He did not return home, and furthermore abandoned his car. I don't know if he turned himself in, or if someone found him, but the police apprehended him the middle of the week. Here are the links of what transpired via video.
Brazil Critical Mass Incident
(you will have to sign in as a user for this video it has been flagged with footage that may be considered inappropriate for some viewers)
Ironman New Zealand/Earthquake/Scammers/!
Kind of like Jimmy Buffett's famous line, "It's five o'clock somewhere," It is always summer somewhere in the world. And it seems to be coming towards the end of the tri season in the southern hemisphere (kind of our September in the Northern Hemisphere). Ironman New Zealand is race number 2 of 4 down under (not counting Brazil because it is much closer to the Equator) and there are some big names showing up for the event. Cameron Brown will be attempting to WIN THIS EVENT FOR THE 10th TIME. I mean, he has already won the damn thing 9 times, I don't know if I would show up if I was trying to compete ;) "What Cameron is competing again this year, well damn it, I guess I am not winning..." Under the new points system that the WTC instituted for 2011 and going forward, some pros are lined up at the event trying to get a head start on the 2011 season. While Macca and Rinny need to just show up and participate in an Iron-distance event this year, the rest of the pro field has their work cut our for them. I attempted to get a pro-athlete list before the race (which begins at 12:00pm EST TODAY!!!) I will have some sort of results posted for you guys over the weekend.
Most of you by now have heard about the horrific earthquake that occurred on February 22nd in Christchurch, New Zealand. Some of these survivors of the event are participating in this weekend's Ironman in about an hour and a half. After going through months of training and prepping for this race, their lives have been upturned with something that is beyond their control to handle. However, they are coping, picking up the pieces, moving forward, and finding a way to compete in the event this weekend. The WTC will be issuing special race numbers to them for the event, and hopefully there will be some extra cheering from the crowds when they complete the race this year.
GO KEEGAN!!!
Race Coverage for Ironman New Zealand
Where to donate to assist the people of Christchurch
Tri Season Beginning in GA! (news via Georgia Triathlete)
SEE ME 2011 has come and gone and now our first triathlon in GA of the season (outdoors) in Savannah. I am so happy about this. For those of you who read and don't compete, you can maybe liken this to college football fans. They pretty much mourn not being able to do anything from mid January through August, and then are so excited when fall comes. Same goes here. I think the race is kinda pricey myself, but I am sure there will be a field there nonetheless.
New Bike!
So I have kinda been holding out on you guys and gals. Well, Wes knew, but I was trying to keep it quiet till the first race of the season. Then my training buddy had to go out and get a Trek 7.0 Speed Concept. So I could not keep it quiet any longer. Yes I did honestly get my parts for my bike (pictures are in my older posts) and those are going on the Roadie on Sunday. However, this year will be my 7th season in the sport, so I decided to treat myself. Here she is!
I hope everyone had a good week this week! I think the weather was nice for most of us, and with spring rearing its two heads (lovely weather and allergy season for all of you that suffer), I think the 2011 triathlon season is in order :) I was up late last night on the phone, so I skipped my swim workout this morning (again), but never fear! I put everything in the car so when I head home, I can stop by LA Fitness and get some laps in before the weekend. Now onto some good (and unfortunately bad) stuff that has/is going on this week.
Brazil Critical Mass Incident (news from Everyman Triathlon)
We will start with the bad news first. Last weekend, there was a critical mass ride going on in Brazil this past weekend. Apparently there was a motorist in a WV that had been following the group for a number of minutes and wanted to pass through the cycling group that was going in the same direction as him. The driver got more and more irate as he could not pass the hundreds of riders filling up the street. Finally he decided to run a red light and DRIVE THROUGH THE ENTIRE CRITICAL MASS GROUP!
25 people were injured, 30 bikes were totalled. More than 11 of those people went to the hospital, and two were seriously injured. The driver of the car sped off and fled the scene. He did not return home, and furthermore abandoned his car. I don't know if he turned himself in, or if someone found him, but the police apprehended him the middle of the week. Here are the links of what transpired via video.
Brazil Critical Mass Incident
(you will have to sign in as a user for this video it has been flagged with footage that may be considered inappropriate for some viewers)
Ironman New Zealand/Earthquake/Scammers/!
Kind of like Jimmy Buffett's famous line, "It's five o'clock somewhere," It is always summer somewhere in the world. And it seems to be coming towards the end of the tri season in the southern hemisphere (kind of our September in the Northern Hemisphere). Ironman New Zealand is race number 2 of 4 down under (not counting Brazil because it is much closer to the Equator) and there are some big names showing up for the event. Cameron Brown will be attempting to WIN THIS EVENT FOR THE 10th TIME. I mean, he has already won the damn thing 9 times, I don't know if I would show up if I was trying to compete ;) "What Cameron is competing again this year, well damn it, I guess I am not winning..." Under the new points system that the WTC instituted for 2011 and going forward, some pros are lined up at the event trying to get a head start on the 2011 season. While Macca and Rinny need to just show up and participate in an Iron-distance event this year, the rest of the pro field has their work cut our for them. I attempted to get a pro-athlete list before the race (which begins at 12:00pm EST TODAY!!!) I will have some sort of results posted for you guys over the weekend.
GO KEEGAN!!!
Race Coverage for Ironman New Zealand
Where to donate to assist the people of Christchurch
Tri Season Beginning in GA! (news via Georgia Triathlete)
SEE ME 2011 has come and gone and now our first triathlon in GA of the season (outdoors) in Savannah. I am so happy about this. For those of you who read and don't compete, you can maybe liken this to college football fans. They pretty much mourn not being able to do anything from mid January through August, and then are so excited when fall comes. Same goes here. I think the race is kinda pricey myself, but I am sure there will be a field there nonetheless.
New Bike!
So I have kinda been holding out on you guys and gals. Well, Wes knew, but I was trying to keep it quiet till the first race of the season. Then my training buddy had to go out and get a Trek 7.0 Speed Concept. So I could not keep it quiet any longer. Yes I did honestly get my parts for my bike (pictures are in my older posts) and those are going on the Roadie on Sunday. However, this year will be my 7th season in the sport, so I decided to treat myself. Here she is!
Ain't she a beaut?
I still need to name her... any ideas???
Training and Misc (e.g. What in the heck I have been up to!)
I am about 25% of the way done with my static pages for my blog. I just read the fine print on how I am gonna get this Charity fundraiser thing to work. I think it will be a bit tricky, however I think I can pull it off. I am proud of myself, I have worked out every day this week without fail, and when I hit up my swim this afternoon, 5 days in a row! Plus I have riding plans with some of my friends over the weekend, including during the rain. Gotta do it! Only other thing that is planned is the Sham Rock Fest in Atlanta for St. Patrick's Day on Saturday. Oh and Studying. Advanced accounting is such a bear right now.
Bib # 8668
Probably butchering this phrase, but it looks like a numerical palindrome :) 15 days and change. I am ready. To finish that is. I just want to be able to cover the distance running. I don't care what my time is, although I would love to finish sub two hours. We shall see.
I hope all of you have a great weekend!
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Bike Parts, Closed Pools and Charities!
Good Morning Everyone!
I hope your week is going well so far. Once again my software I need to do my job is down, so I am stuck here twiddling my thumbs once again, and I figured I would bang out a blog post. I have caught up on most of y'alls blog posts through Monday or so, and it is good to see you all doing so well :) I still need to update my blog roll by getting rid of some bloggers that no longer blog, reach out one more time to the people that have taken their blogs private (i.e. read about them for 3-4 years straight and then they leave me on the side walk going private :(, and finally making sure all the new blogging buddies I have are on my blog roll.
I still have not done the final touches to my blog redesign (permanent link pages for things like scheduling, blog roll, other pages, etc.), and I have something special in store I hope you will help me to participate in for various charities. All you will have to do is come visit and click when you are done, and you will help me to donate to various triathlon charities such as Challenged Triathlete Foundation and Triabetes. Note you won't even have to donate money to help me!!! Well if you want to donate I can tell you where to send the money :) I will do my best to get that all done by Sunday!
So I got all my bike parts in last night, and my buddy Kevin, who used to cycle for the Georgia Tech Cycling Team, is going to help me Sunday morning putting the new components on the bike, and then we will go out for a ride on one of the Roswell Loops. It will be good to get out there again. I also have schedule to get out there EARLY Saturday morning with my friend Maria and do some riding with her for an hour or so. She is training for something in August (she needs to be able to ride 75 miles), I guess I could google stalk which event she is doing, but I am sure she will tell me this weekend. Other than that I need to get some key long runs in and quit missing my swim sessions. There are only twenty - some days left till Publix Georgia Half Marathon. The goal of that race is to FINISH, and to finish running the entire event. No walking (OK walking while taking water at aid stations is fine :). There are a lot of people I know doing this and we are all "gaming" each other to see who is gonna finish faster. I just need to focus on me. And if they kick my ass, then I will shake their hand and say, "maybe next year..."
LA Fitness pools are one of the reasons I have missed swim workouts (well, mostly because I have been lazy). This morning I had a scheduled swim and so I went to the Sandy Springs location. Something was wrong with the pool. No worries, I have enough time to drive to the Atlantic Station location and use that pool. Get there and a sign is posted that the pump for the pool and the hot tub was broken. Epic Fail. I decided to head over to the Buckhead location (which was on the way home, where I was going) to ask when they were going to complete the pool at that location. Now this was on February and made it in some local publications. I walked in and asked when their ETA to finish the pool was, and the girl looked at me like I had a third eye. She told me there was no plan for a pool, and then I told her about the PR release from LA Fitness and also what did she think the construction at the back of the building was for??? Geez. I might as well put in my 60 days and join some other group/club. I just don't want to miss out on weight rooms and other things that LA Fitness provides.
Looking forward to Friday and the weekend! Got a lot of stuff happening. Will call around to a few other LA Fitness locations to make sure that I am not driving around in vain like I was this morning. Hopefully by Sunday I will have the rest of the site changes up, as well as the charity thing set up for you guys to begin participating in! Have a good rest of the week.
I hope your week is going well so far. Once again my software I need to do my job is down, so I am stuck here twiddling my thumbs once again, and I figured I would bang out a blog post. I have caught up on most of y'alls blog posts through Monday or so, and it is good to see you all doing so well :) I still need to update my blog roll by getting rid of some bloggers that no longer blog, reach out one more time to the people that have taken their blogs private (i.e. read about them for 3-4 years straight and then they leave me on the side walk going private :(, and finally making sure all the new blogging buddies I have are on my blog roll.
I still have not done the final touches to my blog redesign (permanent link pages for things like scheduling, blog roll, other pages, etc.), and I have something special in store I hope you will help me to participate in for various charities. All you will have to do is come visit and click when you are done, and you will help me to donate to various triathlon charities such as Challenged Triathlete Foundation and Triabetes. Note you won't even have to donate money to help me!!! Well if you want to donate I can tell you where to send the money :) I will do my best to get that all done by Sunday!
So I got all my bike parts in last night, and my buddy Kevin, who used to cycle for the Georgia Tech Cycling Team, is going to help me Sunday morning putting the new components on the bike, and then we will go out for a ride on one of the Roswell Loops. It will be good to get out there again. I also have schedule to get out there EARLY Saturday morning with my friend Maria and do some riding with her for an hour or so. She is training for something in August (she needs to be able to ride 75 miles), I guess I could google stalk which event she is doing, but I am sure she will tell me this weekend. Other than that I need to get some key long runs in and quit missing my swim sessions. There are only twenty - some days left till Publix Georgia Half Marathon. The goal of that race is to FINISH, and to finish running the entire event. No walking (OK walking while taking water at aid stations is fine :). There are a lot of people I know doing this and we are all "gaming" each other to see who is gonna finish faster. I just need to focus on me. And if they kick my ass, then I will shake their hand and say, "maybe next year..."
LA Fitness pools are one of the reasons I have missed swim workouts (well, mostly because I have been lazy). This morning I had a scheduled swim and so I went to the Sandy Springs location. Something was wrong with the pool. No worries, I have enough time to drive to the Atlantic Station location and use that pool. Get there and a sign is posted that the pump for the pool and the hot tub was broken. Epic Fail. I decided to head over to the Buckhead location (which was on the way home, where I was going) to ask when they were going to complete the pool at that location. Now this was on February and made it in some local publications. I walked in and asked when their ETA to finish the pool was, and the girl looked at me like I had a third eye. She told me there was no plan for a pool, and then I told her about the PR release from LA Fitness and also what did she think the construction at the back of the building was for??? Geez. I might as well put in my 60 days and join some other group/club. I just don't want to miss out on weight rooms and other things that LA Fitness provides.
Looking forward to Friday and the weekend! Got a lot of stuff happening. Will call around to a few other LA Fitness locations to make sure that I am not driving around in vain like I was this morning. Hopefully by Sunday I will have the rest of the site changes up, as well as the charity thing set up for you guys to begin participating in! Have a good rest of the week.
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