More drivel about my marathon-prep. I decided to buy a hydration pack because…
My aimed pace is 7km/hr (or 8.30/km). That’s a 6-hour walk. For the 1st 3 months of training, I needed a liter of water every hour. On a hot day, about 50% more. As the fitness level came up, I’m seeing myself needing less. On short 5-10km run/walks, I can down 1 – 1.5 liters an hour before my outing and just bring a small bottle with me.
I got the Lezyne Fire Break in December, and I liked it. It was light and ergonomic. It had a whistle integrated to the clip on the sternum strap. It would hold my keys, some change, ID, ventolin, a little pocket knife, some gels, not much else.
The valve did leak sometimes. The ziploc style closure of the 2 liter bladder was sometimes difficult to positively seal. This gave me worries of refilling on the go. The screw-down hose-to-bag interface loosened on me one time and over an hour drained the contents of the bladder down my butt and legs.
I got the Camelbak Lobo recently and have used it once. So this is just a first impression.
Unlike the ziploc closure of the Lezyne bladder, this 3 liter bladder can be filled from a tap with the bladder in-situ. I reckon I need 6 liters total. This bag, coupled with just one water stop would do the trick. It’s got space probably even for a T-shirt change.
It doesn’t have a clip to hold the hose, but unlike the Lezyne, the Camelbak hose will mostly stay down and won’t swing up and hit you in the face (yes that’s ever happened).
As a start, it doesn’t feel as comfortable as the Lezyne. The straps seem to sit further up my shoulders, closer to my neck, and pressing down on my traps. The Lezyne is made of really minimalist type material and so sits flatter. The Lobo, however is deceptively light once the bladder is about 1/2 emptied.
Lastly, the Camelbak model seems to have a rain-resistant zipper (none of the literature say this though). I experienced rain for the first time while I had this with me. I ziploc’ed my phone and keys just to be sure – nothing got wet, but me.
Bought a pair of ASICS GT-2160 in late December so I could train for the marathon I’d signed up for. I’ve been tracking my workouts, so it came as a huge surprise that after 2 full months and 260km, these have given up the ghost.
I’ve been walking most of the time and only do short runs. I heel-strike on walks, and forefoot-strike while running. From the damage on the sole, I’d say forefoot-striking is detrimental to these! OR, there was a QC problem on this batch.
In either case, I’m giving ASICS up for a while. I just got myself that pair of Nike Free Run’s.
Can’t wait for my next workout – I’ve decided it’ll be a 5km run. Worst case scenario, these become my out-and-about sneaker; I still have my worn (but not dead) ASICS GT-2140 sitting around.
As an experiment, I recorded myself running on a treadmill. In 120fps slow motion 
I still have 460km worth of training before the marathon. I think I’ll also have a go at a pair of Brooks.
The Brooks website has this really cool shoe-advisor feature that helps you find an idea shoe depending on what you currently wear, or by answering some simple questions.
These were my results:
Adrenaline GTS 12 direct replacement for the ASICS GT series
PureFlow direct replacement for Nike Free Run
“I’m a dude with a normal foot; I weigh 200lbs and I love walking on road for 45 min or more; I have a mild amount of pronation”
PureFlow if I say I have a normal foot, Adrenaline GTS 12 if I say I have a wide foot.
PureCadence looks interesting too.
Choices, choices.
Curiosity got the better of me, and late in January, I ordered a straight razor, sight unseen, from Larry @ The Whipped Dog.
I asked for something with black scales, full hollow ground, 6/8. He said he only had 5/8 razors and I gave him the go ahead. It arrived a week later in a brown envelope. The razor wrapped securely in bubble wrap. It came also with a leather strop (a length of leather to strop the blade a-la barber style) and a balsa strop (a strip of balsa wood loaded with abrasive compound). Better, it came with detailed instructions on how to use, care for and sharpen the razor. It also came with extra abrasive compound for the balsa, and a small Lavender Chamomile sample from Bald Frog Soap. The tagline says “Slicker than a bald frog” – can’t wait to try this.
To be completely frank, I didn’t like the look of the razor out of the box. There was significant pitting on the spine of the blade and was rusted where the pivot is. It looked like it was a thicker blade (like maybe 6/8), but it’d been honed to a 5/8. There was also not much information I could find about this manufacturer online. Made in Germany, but Phil Eisemann (sometimes Eiseman) operated from 616 N. Queen St., Lancaster, Pennsylvania – and was in business between about 1906 and 1934.
I posted a picture of it on my Facebook page for my friends to see, and they advised that I ready band-aids and/or a turban. I took a first exploratory face shave with it a couple of days later. I have to say it didn’t feel right. The angles were odd, the blade didn’t feel particularly sharp compared to the DE. I stropped it (cut my finger in the process) and haven’t used it for about 3 weeks – until tonight.
Using my Semogue 730HD and the last of the Mama Bear Lime soap, I painted my head white and went to town. Unlike a DE, you can’t just use the weight of the razor. Some pushing is required. 2 slow WTG passes and I’m done. A close comfortable shave. One mistake – put the blade edge down one time on my scalp and felt the sting – no blood.
This isn’t so bad! I can see this becoming part of a routine relaxing Friday evening shave. Now if I could JUST keep my eyes off a Dovo Master’s in Stainless Steel.
