Osprey Rev. 1.5

I bought this pack for hydration purposes on the trails, but have been relying more on handhelds for that use this summer.  I don't like the sound of water sloshing, and find I drink too much causing upset stomach with a giant bladder on my back.

But now that I'm temporarily in a one- car family, and not fond of being solely reliant on RideOn/WMATA, and the fact the weather is getting a little less unbearable for a hilly 6-9 mile one way run, I'm returning to run commutes for some of my travel back/forth to the office.  So: what to use?  Spi-belts only go so far...

I pulled the Rev 1.5 out of my running equipment box and used it on the run in today.  It was extremely comfortable - the chest straps don't rub or chafe, and it doesn't constrict my movement at all.  With the phone pocket, it provides easy one handed access to a phone so I can do work from my field office on the sidewalks of MD/DC.  

And there's enough room in the hydration pack area (I removed the bladder and tube) for a shirt, underwear, socks, wallet, and keys.

At $70, the price is right.  Here's an Amazon link.

You can see where my Nexus 5 fits in the blue pocket on the left side of the vest (for the wearer).

Not a ton of room in the main compartment, but enough for some clean clothes - even a long sleeve dress shirt + undies.

The tie system in the back is handy for cinching a jacket in the outside webbing.

Helping prevent running-related cancer

"Saving lives? She's one step above working at the Clinique counter."

"Dermatologists. Skin doesn't need a doctor."

"Of course not. Wash it, dry it, move on."

- George and Jerry, in "The Slicer"

I didn't put skin cancer on the same level as things like pancreatic or lung cancer.  Even Seinfeld made fun of it.

It took me a long time to come around to her regular use of sunscreen; it really didn't sink in until I sat in a waiting room for a dermatologist who specialized in treating skin cancer. It kills almost 10,000 people per year -- less than the 30,000 who die from prostate or the 40,000 from breast cancer, but much more easily avoidable through a couple of simple steps.

Why should we as runners care?  Marathon runners are far more vulnerable to skin cancer than control groups who don't run.  And there's gear for this, which is why I'm writing about it on this very sunny, very runnable day.

I used to use a visor when I was in direct sun, along with UV protective sun glasses (not religiously, but regularly).  But as I'm getting older, I can see where damage from sun exposure during outdoors activity is occurring - in spots not shaded by the glasses/hat.  

I've started to wear a uv half Buff bandana to keep my head and forehead covered, and using sunscreen to cover ears, face, neck and arms.  Balm to cover lips.  And  I wear tech shirts (not singlets) to keep my shoulders covered - a particularly vulnerable spot.    

I know it seems extreme, but take a look around at races at some "older" runners who don't take precautions.  This damage isn't reversible.  

And it's a matter of life and death, not just vanity.   

PS: While it happens to women runners, men are more vulnerable than women to skin cancer.  So take some care, dudes.

Saucony Breakthru top ten first impressions

I got these bad boys from Running Warehouse on my dime. I wanted to patronize my local Pacers on 14th St., but not only did they not carry these (or the Zealots), but the guy there didn't hear about the Breakthrus nor did he believe that they'd be carrying them.  

I'll probably have more to say, but these were my out of the box impressions from wearing them on a walk and on a 5K training run this am.  I plan on wearing them tomorrow for a 13.1 where I hope to be near my course record time but nowhere near a PR.

1. The Breakthru is in the general ballpark in terms of weight vs the Zealot in size 13. Listed at 8.6 oz vs 8.3 oz for the Zealot.

2. Not as flexible as the Zealot, but it isn't very rigid.  I felt enough give as I rolled from heel to toe.

3. More cushioning than the Mirage 3 but less than the Zealot or Triumph. I'd describe it as firm yet cushioned vs. the firm/hard feel of the old Mirage.  More rubbery than foamy.

4. Enough forefoot space for me.  Didn't seem like there was any areas of discomfort or constriction. Happy toes.

5. The tongue is nice.  

It looks similar to the puffy mesh material in the Brooks Launch. They laced up very easily and have very even pressure.

6. I like the feel of the upper - locked down but not too locked down for me.

7. They are a jack of all trades, like Runblogger said. I could see using them in a 5K race up to a marathon, and for training.

8. I barely noticed the 8mm drop of the Breakthru vs the 4mm drop of the Zealot.

9. My foot seems to have the most pressure below the ring toe on the ball of my foot under my toes.  That is a good place to be (better than on the inside of my foot -- under the second toe).

10. They didn't impact my form much - but it felt easier to run faster than with Zealot.  I definitely can run faster with firmer shoes (The tread seems identical  similar to Zealot, so don't think that is a factor but there is more rubberized tread on the Breakthru. (More of that thin, durable black rubber vs. only the small amount of red rubber near the toe and the outer edge of the heel.  Plus, the yellow rubber is denser than the red puffy rubber nubs under the toes down to the heel on the Zealot)

Edit: this seems to have been corrected on my second version of the Zealot, below: more durable black rubber where the first version had the puffier, less dense red rubber.

Very possibly I think in part, the a faster feel may be related to the lower ground clearance - 15 mm in the forefoot vs 21 mm in the Zealot.)

Update: Just finished a 13.1 race with them. They did a great job protecting my feet and also helped with maintaining a good stride and cadence. Enough shoe for a 13.1/26.2 but not too much to get in the way. A strong contender to be my go to shoe for fall halfs and Marine Corps Marathon. 

Review of Breakthru 2: http://www.midpackgear.com/2016/03/bless-you-saucony-breakthru-2-review.html

Saucony Breakthru

I couldn't keep my hands off of these on Running Warehouse. Look to be a little speedier than the Zealot but in the general vicinity in terms of shape, weight, with a little less cush. The price (and reviews) were right.

I ordered Tuesday with 2 day shipping leaving the Warehouse Wed., but UPS fucked it up, so I have to wait until Monday and can't run them at the Riley's Rumble.  But I had to let the cat out of the bag. Stay tuned.

Nexcare first aid tape

I manage to forget a lot of the low moments in races.  I guess its a lot like childbirth - if you remembered, you'd never do it again.

One indelibly burned into my mind is the end of the North Face DC half marathon.  I got a brutal case of nipple chafe around ten miles into what turned out to be a 14.3 mile hot slog. By the end of the race, I had what is commonly known as the "Sad Clown Face."

As the article says, men, don't forget you have nipples.  The best remedy for a while was duct tape, but removal always ended up a lot like this.

I finally discovered Nexcare first aid tape.  It stays on very well if you do your manscaping right, which means an electric, not a regular razor, please, on these parts.  And it comes off nice and easy, no screaming like the duct tape.

Once, I used it to cover a blister on the back of a heel.  It didn't stay as well as duct tape, but there's no hair down there so the painful removal isn't an issue.

Being summer and all, consider this a public service announcement.

Adidas Climachill

When I saw Sam Winebaum of RoadTrailRun reviewed and loved the Adidas Climachill 2nd generation running shirts, I ran out and got one (figuratively over the 'net).  I'm pleased to say it doesn't seem like a case of overhype (not that Sam falls for that kind of stuff anyway).

I wore the shirt for the first time on a 16M run/50 min walk/1M run.  I felt like I'd have an opportunity to see how it worked under a variety of conditions -- hot and humid outdoors, both under overcast and sunny skies, and inside on the treadmill.

From a very subjective viewpoint, the shirt seemed to do really well when there was a slight breeze (I assume this puts its enhanced evaporative qualities into overdrive) and indoors when sopping wet with sweat.  When I was running in still air, particularly in overcast conditions, it didn't feel much different from a Dryfit shirt.  But even when I didn't feel cooler, I liked the general cut and comfort of the shirt.

Given its fairly respectable $30 pricing on Running Warehouse, I'd say it was a worthwhile purchase.  Use the link in Sam's review so he'll have more money to do his super write-ups.

Edit 7/28/15: I wore for an entire 6 hour run in dew points over 60, temps in the 80s - and didn't change it once.  Several times I felt cool with a slight breeze!  It didn't help my calf cramps, but that's not on the label.

Garmin 620 - "hidden" features

I've had this watch for close to two years, and just discovered two "new" or "hidden" features.

The coolest one is direction - compass.  If you go into activity settings/data screen settings and start customizing, you can find the option to add direction in the menus.  I won't waste my time trying to describe exactly how to do it, but its there.

Proof:

And even better, it seems to be accurate, as I was standing facing where the sun rises over my fence.

Speaking of sunrise, another neat feature is sunset/sunrise.  Could definitely be helpful in an overnight/late afternoon running situation.

Enjoy those 8:37 sunsets while they last.


Edit:  I was not wrong.  This feature wasn't in the watch from the initial release.  From digging around on dcrainmaker:

NAVIGATION FUNCTIONALITY:

Like the FR610, the FR620 does not contain any form of navigational/course routing.  However, unlike the FR610, it doesn’t contain any ‘back to start’ type functionality that the FR610 had around getting back to the start of you run by providing basic compass style directional navigation.  The FR610 also provided current GPS coordinates, which the FR620 doesn’t provide.  Finally, it provided saved locations.  Which also isn’t available on the FR620.

Garmin has stated that they may look to add back some of these features in a future software update, but that they aren’t going to be available for launch.