Over the past few years my dad has gotten a little more involve in woodworking.  I asked him if he could make me a simple shelf with some hooks on it to display running medals on.  The next time I was at my parent's house, he had a drawing of something a little nicer and the next, he had built a prototype.  Now I have this:

There are some ideas/improvements being tossed around, but if you are interested in one of these or one similar, let me know as I'm sure we can work out details.

Difficult Decisions

The last few months have been quite humbling.  After successfully completely 10 marathons, 6 ultras, and 2 Ironmans without a DNF on my record, I recorded two in two attempts.  The first, I dropped to help someone else.  The second was due to my own issues.  After, I continued to battle a strange foot issue.  I was able to shake the pseudo-injury, but in the process I lost a lot of training toward the Cactus Rose 100.  Initially, I accepted the fact that I would be running the race under-trained, however, the more I thought about it the more I realized I was not in any shape to attempt the race.  I struggle with this knowledge for several days before finally having a discussion with Katie.  It was finally an admission that I needed to forgo the 100 attempt.  I had already made the decision before calling her, but I needed to hear myself say it out loud.

I emailed the race director and asked if he could change my entry from the 100 to the 50.  My new plan is to run the 50 at Cactus Rose and then make my debut at the 100 mile distance in February at Rocky Raccoon.  I guess I'm learning and getting smarter in my old age...

Review: Simple Hydration Bottle

I was given a Simple Hydration water bottle to test out.  It has a simple little design that allows the water bottle to slide into the back of your shorts and "hook" onto your waistband.  The bottle is even contoured so that it lies flat against your lower back.  Check out the video:

Seemed like an interesting product, so I agreed to give it a try.  I initially filled the bottle with water and did  an easy jog around down the street.  I immediately felt the bottle bouncing up and down.  It wasn't terrible, but definitely noticeable.  I then went out on a 4 mile run.  When I returned, I tested the bottle in several ways.  I wanted to try the bottle out when I was sweaty to see if it would increase the amount of bouncing.  My hypothesis was correct, as the bottle bounced even more with sweat essentially creating lubricant between the bottle and the skin.

Next, I tried the bottle slid through a SPIbelt, as shown in the video.  While it didn't bounce quite as much, it was still quite noticeable.  Lastly, I looped the bottle through the SPIbelt and into the back of my shorts.  This provided the most stability, almost neutralizing the bounce at a slower pace.  However, regardless of how the bottle was worn, at a fast pace, the bottle bounced a lot.  This is not a product that I could ever use while doing a race.

I did another round of tests with the bottle 3/4 and 1/2 full.  As you would expect, bouncing was reduced as the volume of water decreased, but unless it was through the SPIbelt and into the shorts, the bottle bounce enough to be noticeable.

One other thing I noticed was the seam on the water bottle.  The seam wasn't smooth at all, which I'd imagine would chafe the hell out of you on a longer run.  I didn't test this hypothesis (and won't), because I just can't see myself being able to cope with the bouncing for that many miles.  The seam on the bottle really should be on the sides, but that would likely require new molds and/or a new process for making the bottle.  Right now, they produce two pieces that are mirrors of each other and fuse them together.  Perhaps they can spend a little more time smoothing those seams down.

One last thing that comes to mind with this product is water temperature.  The bottle is sitting on your back, so the water is going to be quite warm when you drink it, although it might be a positive if you live in the north and you are running in the winter.  That does bring up one test I did not do: tucking this bottle into running tights.  Those might fit tight enough to keep it in place.

At $20 and a whole list of negatives, I'd pass on this one.  I imagine if you are back-of-the-pack runner, this product might work for you, but you'll probably need to coat it in a thick layer of body glide.

2012 IM Wisconsin

Katie and I both registered for IMWI on Monday.  We waited in line for 3+ hours to register on-site in Madison.  This will be my third Ironman and Katie's first.

Stay tuned for a big announcement regarding our participation in this race...