Instant Love

The time to finally pull the trigger on getting a bike had arrived. During the ides of March, The Trail Store cut the ribbon on our bike store- The Mountain Bike Depot. Stocked with high end mountain and cyclocross bikes, The 'Depot was off to fill a very large void in the Louisville bike scene. The only problem was that I was not interested in an off-road bike. Even when I was living in NYC, I had wanted to take a go on a single speed. I had even gone on a couple test rides, but never went for the purchase. BUT now with a nice Manager's discount, it was time. With help from Joseph, one of the shop mechanics, I found a Single Speed bike from one of our One-Stop distributors. It was kind of a no name brand, which I didn't really care about, but Joseph assured me that it was of good quality, and decent parts, and had the bonus of a flip rear wheel, so I could choose between a free wheel or a fixed . . . plus it had the nice bullhorn handlebars!! I went with the free wheel side, in the effort to not stress out my knees any more than I had to.
The plan for the bike was to use it as a "sprint" workout to and from work three days a week. These sprints would follow a morning hour 40 minute - 2hour run work out. INSTANT LOVE!
The quad burn and heart thumpin' felt fantastic. My goal with these sprints were to stay between 18mpr and 22mpr, and have fun! My commute to work is only 5.5 miles, so we are not talking about a major tempo workout, and that's why I felt it was okay to do this twice a day, three times a week. As I headed into April, I could really feel on my runs an improvement in my legs and my general fitness. Now that my family has taken on a new form and dynamic, my training time has become even more limited and ever so precious. So getting the most out of every time I head out the door is key. Thank you bicycle!! Looking forward to more.

La Sportiva Crosslite

With Spring fever on the rise, this season's new shoes are starting to make their way into the consumer zone. The shoes I have been anxiously waiting for are the Crosslite and Skylite from La Sportiva. I have always kept a good variety of shoes in my rotation, but La Sportiva has always been the mainstay- more specifically, the Slingshot.
While the Skylite is not due out until March, the Crosslite is HERE! I ordered a pair, and they arrived a couple days ago. I had been chomping at the bit to give 'em a go, and wouldn't you know it . . . the UPS guy literally pulled up right as I came in the house after my day's workout. So, all I could do was try them on. Man, what a fit! Like a glove! In the days that followed, I gave the Crosslite a good workout. Day 1 was an easy 10 on grass, rocks, and mild mud, and I just couldn't stop thinking about how comfortable the shoe was, AND being so psyched about how flexible and light it felt. Day 2 was more of a test, as I hit 18 miles of up & down trail with plenty of water and shoe sucking mud. The Crosslite pulled me right though it all, and left the mud behind. Excellent water drainage, too. This shoe did not disappoint! The only thing that bums me out is that La Sportiva North America is not offering the sweet Red version of both these new shoes.
Louisville's Lovin' The Hills 50k is happening next weekend, which usually means snow. If so, the Crosslites will get the call.
As the trails get dry I will also be looking forward to getting back to my Slingshots, Puma Cortlandt II (thanks Tony!), and trying Pearl Izumi's new Peak XC, and of course the Skylite.

1/23/08 jus runnin' . . .

During my first two years of competitive trail running, I took very detailed notes of every run, every cross-training workout, etc. During that time I was living in Brooklyn, NY, so I had my subway ride to Soho to write in my training journal. Having all this information was (and is) very helpful to me. Before a race, I would look back at "the work" and feel assured that I was as ready as I was able to be. However, now I feel less and less the NEED to write everything down. I still time my runs and workouts, and keep tabs on goals . . . I just don't write it all down- nor do I keep each week the same as far as what day is THIS kind of run, or THAT kind of workout. I am jus' runnin'. . . .
I do set lofty goals for myself. Sometimes I hit 'em, and sometimes I am WAY off. I do show up, and I do go for it. That's what I love to do. I am jus' runnin' . . .