Newton

Hey everyone,

My posts have been sporadic, I know… Things should pick up in 3 days…

”how do I know that?”

Well – this weekend I’ll be pacing a friend of a friend (who I can say is now officially bumped up to “friend” status) for the final 38 miles of the Western States 100. With four river crossings to deal with, I can’t guarantee any pictures, but I can almost guarantee a story or two out of it.

I flew down to San Diego yesterday for a retreat of the Board of Directors of the Challenged Athletes Foundation and figured out the secret to a good run in a pair of Newtons... GI Distress...

OK - so I've tried the Newtons.. Maybe it's my flat-footed/borderline heal striker running style or maybe it's the fact that I went from an extended vacation from running straight in to a new pair of shoes (very different shoes, I might add)..

I just don't see how these things are supposed to help!

When your body starts to jiggle.... you know it's time to either accept the "jiggles" or make them sorry they decided to show up. I chose the latter..

My family and I just got back from a road trip to Disneyland followed by a three day saunter back up Highway 1 to our home in Oakland. Two days of walking (and standing in line) with either a 28 pound weight (my daughter) or a 46 pound weight (my son) on my shoulders made me realize the importance of staying in top form. I seriously don’t know how people who are out of shape handle a full day of Disney fun (at least, with the energy level of a 6 year-old). I’m sure most compensate for a low VO2 max with a constant stream of sugar and caffeine (all of which are in abundant supply at Disneyland)..

By now I had hoped to have interviewed Danny Abshire, man behind the revolutionary Newton running shoes and be inundating you with technical detail, the story of the seven patents behind them, a podcast and so on... but things have got in the way.

Part of the problem with the latest crop of aches and pains (see my previous blog about 100 mile weeks) is that I need new shoes.

Not only are most of mine (I rotate them like crazy) getting worn, but my strength and flexibility has been steadily improving over the last six months and as a result my body is dealing with ground contact in new ways.

I'm a forefoot striker, which has always made foot choice difficult. An inflexible, high-arch type to boot. And I supinate, rather than pronate. Lately I've started noticing I am landing even MORE on the edge of my right foot than ever, while the new strength in my feet and ankles seems to be making the left foot land "differently" -- to the extent that I'm getting Achilles soreness.