A few changes and some new additions to my racing apparel for the upcoming marathon.

Starting with the shoes…

On Dave Mc Govern’s recommendation, I switched to a slightly more supportive shoe. I over-pronate big time and the shoes that I had been wearing for the last year or so, though very comfortable, offered absolutely no support at all. My replacement shoe is the Saucony Fastwich III.

They’re a little heavier than than My Asics Hyperspeed II’s, (6.8 oz) , but have a little more stability control.
The only thing I’m not crazy about, is the higher profile heal. Makes it a little more difficult to keep my toes pointing up when I racewalk. In general, the lower heal is, the better the shoe is for walking. The problem with these kinds of shoes aren’t really designed for longer distances.

Something else new for Boston, is a running vest…

You never know how the weather is going to be on the Boston course, but one thing you can pretty much count on, are the crazy cold winds that whip up during the last 5 miles of the race. Last year I damn near froze to death after mile 20.

Over the past several months Ive been trying out various brands, including the Thermal velocity vest by Specialized. The one that I like best though, is the Helium vest by Sugoi. Ive never worn a piece of clothing that was so lightweight. Seriously, this vest weighs 80 grams (2 oz) ! Yet, it still keeps your core nice and toasty. If you’ve ever seen these vests, they’re made of a material that has the consistency of tissue paper… it’s freakishly thin.

My new sponsorship shirt ,Courtesy of University of Pittsburgh Asthma Institute

And my new Jersey, Courtesy of World Class Racewalking and PowerBar)

Remember my Boston marathon jacket from 2009?

Well, with the high cost of anything related to the Boston marathon(especially merchandise), and with the fewer dollars I have available to spend on this years race swag, I decided to get creative.

Rather than buying the official 2010 Boston jacket (which btw, is not as nice as the 2009 jacket), I just had the year “2010″ embroidered on last years jacket. I might have them embroider “114th” on it as well to make it look even better. Either way, I think it looks just as good as having a new jacket. Gives you kind of the ” Veteran” look.

I can’t take credit for this idea. Last year I saw several Boston repeaters who did the same thing. I remember seeing one guy who had 10 dates added to his 1999 jacket. Let’s face it, it gets expensive to shell out a $100 for an official jacket every year. Then again, how many people actually do the Boston marathon more than once? Surprisingly….. quite a few.

People really covet these jackets. They’re kind of a status symbol that says ” Look at me, I made it to “Boston” . You should see how many people are wearing these jackets at Logan airport, the weekend of the race. It’s kind of a badge of honor. People will walk up to you out of the blue and give you that special nod. It’s really cool.

OK, I’m not a total cheapskate, I did fork out $25.00 for this 2010 hat ( gotta have the hat).

Check out my new walking jacket.

I can’t tell you how long Ive searched for a sleeveless jersey or jacket with pockets, that I could wear on cold days or long training walks and races without over-heating. As a marathon walker with major health issues, I also have to carry tons of stuff with me, but I hate wearing those bulky packs around my waste.

Well, I think I finally found the perfect solution. It’s called the “Thermal Velocity Vest” made by Specialized (the Bike people). This vest/jacket has pretty much everything I want in a cold weather training top. It has a large zippered pocket on the rear, and a sleek breast pocket on the front. But, what makes this vest special, is that it’s made of a breathable material to keep you cool, and at the same time , fits like a wet suit to keep your core body temp warm. And because it’s a vest, your arms can move freely, which is really important when you’re fitness walking or racewalking . I think it will work out nicely for training on those cold days or for walking a course like the Boston marathon, where the temperatures and winds can fluctuate so dramatically .

A little pricey as far as vests go, but I think worth it. If I’m breathing OK this morning, I’m gonna try it out.

…. ” And would it be asking too much, if you could beam me up to your space craft and zap me a new pair of lungs?”

In just a few hours, this lung defective humanoid is off to Nevada to not only do the ET marathon, but also to attend a string of 3 Manilow shows. (Here’s some photos I took at last years shows)
As far as the race goes,I’m only doing the 10k event this year and I won’t be doing any racewalking at all…just plain old fast walking. My lungs, while doing extremely well last weekend, haven’t been behaving very well this week and I don’t to aggravate things by pushing myself to hard. That, plus it’s kinda difficult to racewalk in total darkness anyway.

Anyways, this is the shirt I’m gonna wear for the race. I purchased the decal at the Lil Ale Inn cafe after lasts years race and I already had this bright ass day -glow shirt, so I threw the two together…and wallah.. I have my costume!

It’s going to be an interesting weekend, because immediately after seeing Barry Manilow’s Saturday night show at the Las Vegas Hilton, I have to drive to Rachel Nevada to do the race. I thought I had the logistics worked out to make this tight schedule do-able, but somehow I miss calculated the distance from Vegas to the race sight. Turns out that its 150 miles from Vegas. Barry’s show starts around 8pm and is usually over by 9:30, so hopefully I’ll still have enough time to make it to the race site before 1am ,which is the start time for my race. The only problem, is that I have to be within 32 miles of my starting area before 12 midnight, because the Nevada state troopers are closing the road for 20 minutes to allow the 51K runners to get their race underway. If I get caught in that mess, I’ll be late for sure. I might just try to sell my ticket for Saturdays show, so that I can get an earlier start.

When you’re trekking through a silent desert, in the middle of nowhere, during the middle of the night, your imagination can run wild,but that’s what makes this event so special and worth all the hassle of getting there. Too bad the Las Vegas Hilton, which is where I’m staying during my trip, doesn’t have the Star Trek Experience Exhibit Thingy there anymore….would’ve been perfect for this kind of weekend.

Unless I’m allowed to use the communication device on board the spacecraft, I won’t be posting again until the middle of next week.
Have a great weekend my fellow earthlings!

Most of the marathon attire that Ive accumulated over the last 3 years usually ends up in a duffel bag crammed in the corner of my closet , never to be seen again. This jacket is gonna get worn a few days before I retire it.

Now if only I can get the post-race bling to match! septilin

I wish it was as easy as putting on my walking shoes and heading out the door. For me, its a well -thought out procedure that takes about 30 minutes before I take that first step…on a good day maybe 20 minutes.

First thing in the morning I have to make a determination as to whether or not Im up to walking that day . Forget about all my other aches and pains, If I’m breathing at my baseline, then I usually walk. . If I’m kinda tight and my peak flows reflect the same, then I will usually still walk ,but not as far. If I’m really short of breath that day, all bets are off. So, once I’ve determined that I’m going to walk, then I have to decide when and where? Usually, I know in advance but , not always.

Currently I have 8 different locations that I like to walk . The most convenient of course, are the ones closest to home but they are also the most boring because I do them so often. Occasionally I will travel up to 2 hours via public transit just to walk a certain route. OK, so now I know when and where. Now ,the real preparation takes place…Getting dressed. If its one thing I’ve learned over the past 2 years , its dressing for the part, wearing the right shoes and taking the right gear. My routine walking distance is 6 miles , 5 days a week and you can double that when I’m training for a race. I don’t exactly walk these miles at a leisurely pace either. My average pace for these “routine 6 mile walks “is appx 13 min/ mile . As a result, I sweat a lot.

Back to dressing the part. I always wear moisture wick tech shirts , socks and hats regardless of the weather. I also wear a light weight hoody unless its really warm. As far as pants go, it depends on the outside temperature. For temps greater than 48 degrees, I wear long shorts. For temps greater than 80 degrees I wear air-wicking light weight running shorts or spandex bike shorts. For temps between 47-40 degrees I wear long insulated jogging pants.

As far as shoes go I usually wear NBs racing flats. For distance walks greater than 10 miles, I will usually wear Asics. Now, once I’ve put all that stuff on, its time for the accessories.. First I select the music I wanna listen to , upload it to the player if its not already on it, then strap the player to my arm. Then I strap on my waist pack that holds the water bottle (if I’m doing a super long walk). Then I strap the Garmin Forerunner on my belt , I strap the medical ID around my ankle and I strap my sunglasses around my neck.

Now I’m almost ready. Just a few more things… I like to let at least one person know where I’m walking just in case I keel over and get 911′d somewhere. After that, I check my peak flow and pre medicate with a neb treatment. Finally, I can leave for my starting point, wherever that might be but ,before I start my walk I have to warm up the GPS ( that can take up to 5 minutes to locate the satellite) Then I press the start button on the Garmin and the play button on my MP3 player……………and IM FINALLY OFF and WALKING .

Today I did my usual 6 miles walk with a fair amount of discomfort .My neck has been bothering me a lot lately. I started purse- lipping from the one mile mark all the way thru to the finish. Used the albuterol twice and post medicated with a neb tx. Starting peak flow was 500, ending peak flow was 300. So, all n all, this was a status quo day for me. I’m lucky, at least I don’t have to worry about pseudomonas infections , like some of my fellow bloggers.