Tampa 26.2

Wiggling Their Toes at the Shoe Giants - NYTimes.com

New York Times article about running barefoot:

Wiggling Their Toes at the Shoe Giants - NYTimes.com

And the opposing view from Runner’s World:

http://dailyviews.runnersworld.com/2009/08/running-barefoot-an-opposing-viewpoint.html

While barefoot running is not for me, it isn’t hard to tell which publication gets the bulk of its advertising form the shoe industry!

Pace Tats

An interesting idea on maintaining pace in a marathon – what will I do with my packing tape and stapler?

http://www.pacetat.com/

 

Do We Really Need Running Shoes?

Maybe tech shoes aren’t really needed?  Excepts from the forthcoming Born to Run seems to imply we may not.  And this story shows my shoe as the example!

Full article here.

A Solution for Reading that Tiny Watch

For a lot of us, reading the tiny watch/GPS while running becomes more challenging as we “mature”.  My close-up vision began to weaken over the past few years after a life time of perfect vision at all distances.  Reading, computer work and other close up tasks require reading glasses to get the job done.

On of the most frustrating aspects of this is working with my Garmin GPS while putting in the training miles.  Those numbers start swimming around and become unreadable.

I looked into expensive sports glasses – often in the $200-$500 dollar range – that provide bifocal lenses.  They typically have no correction on the top and magnification on the bottom.  I’m sure these would work for me, but I need that cash to buy the running shoes I go though in the average year!

Searching for an alternative, I had an epiphany a few weeks ago and tried a new strategy.   Looking around the internet, I found EyeSave.com, an site specializing in industrial eyeware.  Specifically, I was looking for safety glasses used in manufacturing and shop settings. 

It turns out some of these glasses have small magnifiers built into the bottom of the lenses for close up work.  Being for the workplace, they have several other attributes that are runner friendly:

• Wrap around lenses for minimal distortion.
• Scratch resistant lenses for industrial situations.
• Anti-fog lens material.

I decided to give the Zorge Magnifier from Edge Eyeware a go and bought two pairs with 2.0 Bifocal magnification: one clear and one “smoke”.  Clear for early morning running in the dark, and smoke for daytime running.  They are only $8.75 a piece and recently I got them on sale for $7.00.

After using both for the past month or so, I am happy to report this solution works very well.  I have found many benefits using them:

• I able am to glance down through the small bifocal section to see my watch clearly.  This was especially challenging for me in the dark.
• While running, the wrap around lens does not distort my field of vision.  The bifocal part of the lens is low enough that I don’t notice it unless I actively use it for close up work.
• Unexpectedly, I really liked having eye protection on all runs – especially those runs in the dark where I would normally not be wearing eyeware.  Tree branches, dust, bugs etc. no longer find their way into my eyeballs.
• For the most part, glasses seem to avoid getting fogged up.  This may change in the most humid parts of our summers, but so far so good.
• The glasses are light and designed for wearing over long periods of time.  I have found them to be reasonably comfortable on long runs.

If you are finding the numbers on that running watch are getting squishy, give these glasses them a try.  I’d be happy to loan you a pair for a trial run. 

While you won’t be making a fashion statement, you will be getting the most from your watch or GPS on your training runs.

Ultimate Ear Bud/MP3 Combination?

No wires!  Almost Invisible!  Sound to good to be true?  Well, you’ll have to be an Ipod Shuffle user, but if you are the Arriva  headphones might be the ideal.  For more info see David Pogue’s review.

Badwater Gear

If you like the Badwater ultra-marathon, get some Badwater Gear!

How Do U GU?

We all know about GU, but how do you use it?  This page defines the schedule, according to the manufacturer:

GU Energy Gel: How to Use It

Competition Gaining on Running Gear Stores - New York Times

Interesting article on retailing of running gear:

Competition Gaining on Running Gear Stores - New York Times

When is it time for new shoes?

Jeff Galloway's Advice on Shoes

Updating to Current ForeRunner 205/305 Software Versions

Garmin is regularly posting software updates for the software that runs inside the Garmin watch itself.  There are actually two pieces of software running in the watch, "Software" which presents the menus and other features visible to you; and "GPS" that drives the Global Positioning Device in the watch as it communicates and collects data using satellites.

As of this writing, current versions for the software running in the Garmin ForeRunner 205 are:

• Software Version: 2.8
• GPS: 2.9

To view the current version on your watch, use the following steps:

• turn on the watch;
• press <mode> button to bring up the menus;
• press <down> button several times to select "Settings"; press <enter> button
• press <enter> button to select "General"; and
• press <down> button several times to select "About ForeRunner"; press <enter> button.

Garmin provides a piece of software called "Web Updater" for updating all of its devices, including the ForeRunner.

To update the your software on your watch:

• download any data you want to keep to the Training Center.  I've noticed that recent updates to the watch software don't erase data stored on the watch, but it is better to be careful;
• make sure you have installed Garmin's Web Updater;
• connect your device to your computer; and
• run Web Updater and follow the on screen instructions.

I found that recent updates really improved the ForeRunner's ability to pick up the satellites quickly, especially after changing locations (over 100 miles).