See Spot Run – After Me

Aug 9, 2012 by Greg Fowler

Back in the late ’70’s, my grandfather had the hair brained idea to breed a rottweiler and a chow.  Most of the offspring turned out looking like smaller rottweilers with the short reddish coat from the chow.  They also had the chow’s bluish tongue, which I thought was pretty cool.  Like any normal kids, my brother and I bugged the fool out of my parents to let us have one of the puppies.  They finally caved, and we ended up with ‘Ginger’.

Ginger grew up to be a very powerful dog, and she hated other dogs and the trash men.  Back then, the trash men would come to the back of our house, near her pen, and roll the trash can out to their truck and back.  Ginger would go nuts, and then she’d bite down on the chain link fence, bending the thick steel wires.  I just prayed she’d never get out after those guys.  Eventually, we gave her away to someone “in the country”, but the bent fence always reminded me of Ginger and her strength.

These days,  I live “in the country”, and there’s a chow on one of my regular run routes.  The dog is unfenced and unchained.  The first time I came across this dog, I immediately thought of Ginger, and hoped this dog  didn’t think I was a trash man.  I stopped to see what she would do and walked slowly passed her.  She just watched me and never made a sound.  Another time, she was in the middle of the road.  Again, I slowed to a walk and went slowly passed her, each of us keeping an eye on the other.

In almost four years of running, I’ve been very fortunate.  Only one time has a loose dog chased me.  It was a neighbor’s yippy schnauzer, and a squirt from my water bottle thwarted him.  That’s about the extent of my dealing with dogs, so to give you some tips on dealing with loose canines, I had to “borrow” a few ideas from other sources.

Here is the summary of some tips I found at  SecretsofSurvival.com.

1. Have a weapon.  The most practical for a runner is probably pepper spray.  You can buy a small canisters and have it in a running belt pouch.  Other weapons could include a stick or even a gun.  I do have a friend who has tried running with a small pistol.  He has been chased by pit bulls.  The bed of a nearby pickup truck saved him that day.

2. Try to avoid a confrontation.  Don’t stare down a dog, they take this as a threat.  (Oops, I’ve done this!).  Try giving a command to the dog like ‘Sit’.  Also, try not to make any sudden movements.

3.  If attacked, use your pepper spray, trying to hit the eyes.  If you don’t have a weapon, try to hit the dog in the eyes or throat.

One final tip I would add is try to scope out any new routes in a car or bike first.

 For some additional instruction click here: http://www.wikihow.com/Handle-a-Dog-Attack.

POFIFOTO!

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Not My Car

Mar 19, 2012 by Greg Fowler

Many runners adorn their cars with with stickers.  The white oval 13.1 and 26.2 are very popular.  Others go the extra mile…

This is not my car, but some might think so.  I saw this car for the first time a few weeks ago while driving to a race. I could not get a good picture while driving.  Two weeks later, I saw it parked outside the Columbia Convention Center during packet pickup for the Columbia Marathon and snapped this photo.  Enjoy!  If this is your car, please contact me!  I’d love to hear from you.

POFIFOTO!

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Product Review: Swiftwick Aspire Socks

Sep 27, 2011 by Greg Fowler

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a new (at least to me) brand of socks in the local Fleet Feet running store – Swiftwick.  I had a gift certificate with some funds left on it, so I figured I’d try them out.  The pair I purchased was a white Aspire One, the ‘One’ meaning the length of the sock.

Short review version: A+

Longer version: These are excellent socks.  I purchased a medium, which is listed as men’s shoe size 6-9.5.  I wear a 9.5 or 10 in most shoes and these fit perfectly.  No unwanted length.

Swiftwick advertises these socks as compression, blister free, and moisture wicking.  They are as advertised.  The materials listed on the package are 53% Nylon, 39% Olefin, and 8% Spandex.

I like the compression feature around the arch, but I honestly don’t know if it does much.  Feels good, though.  I can testify that the blister free and moisture wicking claims are accurate.  I have had run numerous times in them, including speed work,  with no hint of hot spots. Thus, no blisters.   In a major test,  I did a 15 miler in them last weekend in 80 degree 100% humidity weather, and they were awesome.  Every piece of my clothing was saturated in sweat, including my shoes, and my feet stayed comfortable.

I paid $12.99 for my pair, and they are worth it.  I will definitely be purchasing more of Swiftwick’s products in the future.  Also, they are made in the USA.

POFIFOTO!

 

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Best Reason to Run

Aug 11, 2011 by Greg Fowler

New shoes.
Race t-shirts.
Weight loss.
Lower cholesterol.

These are just some of the good reasons to take up running. Do you know what the best reason is, though? Here’s a hint: It is something you probably loved as a kid but gave up once you “grew up”.

Chocolate milk. That’s right. I no longer have to pretend I’m buying chocolate milk for the kids. Studies show that chocolate milk is about the best thing you can drink right after a hard run or workout to help  your body recover.  So go ahead, buy that chocolate milk on your next trip to the grocery store. I do.

Here are some links for more information:

ChocolateMilk.com

RunningPlanet.com

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Newton Shoe Hunt 2011

Aug 8, 2011 by Greg Fowler

If you’ve looked around my blog, you’ve seen that I have been moving toward minimalist shoes.  This seems to be going well, but my Kinvaras are getting high in miles and I don’t plan on using them much longer.  Also, I currently don’t have a long run shoe, having abandoned my Mizuno Wave Inspires after my foot injury in February.  What to do with half and full Marathon training looming?

As I mentioned, in my last post, Summertime Blues?, one of the motivation steps I planned to take was to purchase  a pair of Newton Running Shoes.  Why Newtons?  These are not marketed as minimalist shoes.  Having read reviews of Newton shoes from the Natural Running Center and Runblogger, I believe a pair of Newtons will help me on my journey to better form, less heel to toe drop, and ultimately, no more left foot pain. Maybe I’m just buying more magic beans.  We’ll see.

Since Newtons are not sold in my part of South Carolina, I planned to drive to Charlotte, North Carolina to see them.  Sure, I could order online, but I wanted to try them on and not hassle with any possible returns from online retailers.  I called a Newton dealer in Charlotte,  and they held a pair of Distance Racers for me.  Well, the Distance Racers did not work very well.  They were tighter in the toe box than I expected, rubbing my pinky toes.  Unfortunately, the store did not have my other choice, the Distance Trainer.

Hmm. Slight Change of Plan

After reviewing the specs and some reviews on the shoes (thanks, iPhone), I decided the Distance Trainer or Gravitas (a trainer also) would probably make more sense, since they should last longer and Newton shoes are pricey.  However, the Distance Trainer is cut the same as the Racers, so I expected them to be tight on my toes as well.  Long story short, I ended up at another running store, Charlotte Running Company, where I purchased a pair of the Gravitas model.  They fit much better across my toes due to different styling.  Also, I liked the blue color much better than the green  Distance Racers.  The heel to toe drop on the Gravitas is listed as 3mm, instead of the 2mm Distance Trainer or Racer. As an added bonus, the store was giving 10% off all purchases, and it was a back-to-school sale tax free weekend in North Carolina, so I saved a good bit of money on the shoes.

First Impressions

From a distance, the Newtons, look like most other traditional running shoes.  Upon closer inspection, though, you can see that the sole is different.  There are 4 lugs that provide the action/reaction system Newton describes on their website.  My wife said I was getting my own pair of Shape-ups…arggh.

Both stores warned me to take it easy transitioning to the Newtons.  So does the literature that comes with the shoe.  As a first run, I only did one mile.  The feeling is definitely different than any other shoes I’ve had.  With the lugs,  I felt like I was landing on a small ball under the balls of my feet.  This seemed to engage the muscles and tendons of my feet more than other shoes, especially that tendon on the outside of your foot that is about the size of 1/2 a golf ball (Fibularis brevis tendon maybe?).  They also seemed to work my right calf differently.  The next morning, my left arch was a little more sore than usual.  I plan on running a little bit every other day this week to ease into them.  I’ll update my progress in future posts.

Here’s a video of my form on the treadmill with them after the road run:

Newton Gravitas on Treadmill

POFIFOTO!

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