Good News

This morning I was feeling pretty good after another nice session of counting black tiles on the bottom of the pool. I got in 2700yds in right at an hour, so I was enjoying a good since of accomplishment. It gets even better. I opened my email at the office and to my surprise, I received a notice from Sunburst Nutrition (the makers of CarbBOOM Energy Gel) that my sponsorship for the 2007 season had been renewed. It really isn't much, just for product, but it saves me money nonetheless.

From Sunburst Nutrition:

"Thank you for your request for athlete sponsorship and your interest in Sunburst Nutrition great tasting sports nutritional products. We are pleased to pass along the news that you have been awarded an athlete sponsorship for the 2007 season!"

The folks at Sunburst Nutrition have been great to me, easy to work with and really accessible when I have questions. CarbBOOM Energy Gel helped me to finish my first marathon (Salt Lake City) last year and with no stomach problems too. For more information about CarbBoom Energy Gels and other Sunburst Nutrition products (CarbBOOM, ProBOOM and HydroBOOM) see their website, http://www.carbboom.com/

Thank you!!!

Hidie ho neighbors. The other day I received and email from a family friend whose husband is currently deployed to a foreign country defending the world against terrorism and spreading the ideologies of freedom and democracy. While deployed Scott has been separated from not only his wife but also his 3 children. I can personally tell you that this is the most difficult part of being a military member. This tour is the second time Scott has been called by his country and separated from his family for an extended period of time. During his first tour, he deployed with my brother in-law to the Middle East. It was difficult to sit at home when my family member was deployed. Things haven’t’ changed, it’s still difficult. Although I served my time too, it’s still difficult to sit at home, shower with warm water, sleep in a real bed and eat hot meals and know that “our boys” are making a sacrifice and to know that some are even making the ultimate sacrifice. Scott, thanks for all that you have done and thank you for the sacrifices that you have made.

My last post was about the possibility of getting a new pair of running shoes. Scott sent some pictures home of his group handing out some shoes that had been donated here at home. I have been told that although it’s winter and the weather is much like Denver, some villagers don’t even have any footwear. I thought I would be stoked about getting a new pair of shoes, the look on the kids faces is priceless.

You may not agree with the decisions that come out of Washington D.C., but please support the boots on the ground. The soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen don't make policy, they only do what they are ordered to do.

This past weekend I was taking a mental inventory of new equipment that I might need (want) for the impending season. I decided that I would like:

a) another set of Speedplays for my training bike so that I don’t have to keep switching pedals from bike to bike.
b) some new “S” bend aero bars for my race bike.
c) most important item I came up with was a new pair of running shoes.

I am the first to admit that I am a big guy and being so, I tend to go through shoes pretty fast. I get 200 to 300 miles out of a pair of shoes and then they are done, caput, finito. It’s pretty uncomfortable to run with a broken wheel. So, I tend to stick with:

a) what I know will work for me
b) what I have had success using in the past

I love the idea of new skids, but I hate the idea of going to the running store. Trying to buy running shoes out of a catalog is even more difficult for reasons you can figure out. Do you over-pronate, under-pronate, high arch, low arch, all of these considerations and all I want is a new pair of wheels. I have had great success with Saucony shoes. I can run hard (and sometimes even somewhat fast) and the feet still feel good. I have also tried Nike, which tend to run small. I would really like to have a pair the cool looking racing flats, but hey, remember I’m a big guy. I would love to try a Mizuno shoe or even Asics, but I know that that they typically build shoes for “skinnies”. When I do go to the running store they always suggest some beastie, chunky circa 1985 New Balance shoe that looks like it belongs in a museum. I always turn them down, give in and get a pair of Sauconys. I think I am on my 4th pair now. They have done well for me, but I feel like they are my “ole stand-by”. I really want to try something new, but don’t want the disappointment if it doesn’t work out. For instance, Nike has a really cool website (http://nikeid.nike.com) where you can completely design your shoe and even have it personalized with you name or whatnot (cool huh). The price would be about the same as any other shoe at the running store. I don’t know….. the mental debate continues!

REBOUND!!!

I have to say that this mornings tile counting session in the pool was pretty good. I had a horrific training session yesterday and was able to rebound a little today. I was able to do 3500yds in a little over 1:10. I struggled a little in the beginning during my warm up and I almost lost it. However, I stuck it out and worked through it. Although today was a lot better than yesterday, I still have a ton of room for improvement. So all-in-all, today is better than yesterday. Once again, learning has occurred.