Mountain Bikes, Bass Guitar, and other stuff I like

Major stoke for tomorrow's 50k at Oak Mountain! I feel pretty ready for this and have put in a lot of time and miles in training. Promises to be an adventure-filled day. So grateful that my parents and wife Renee Lowe (+the little one :)) Also, good luck to my fellow runners tomorrow at the Georgia Death Race and Mountain Goat Adventures race. I hope that the trail rises with you. #trailrunning "The best pace is a suicide pace and today looks like a good day to die." -- Steve Prefontaine oakmountain50k.com

I am considering starting a series of posts dedicated to stuff I use when training.  I do not receive any compensation from companies of said products.  I would simply like to inform the reader of things that I find useful and have purchased with my own money.   If you find these posts useful, please let me know! I will start with the super-useful Nathan Quickshot Plus.  I was using this on a run the other day and it occurred to me how ingenious the design is.   This is a handy little device that is so minimalistic that you forget it is on your hand after a while.  It holds about 8oz. fluids and has a pocket that will hold a few gels and your car key. I use it for runs in about the hour range.  Great for either road or trail.  After that I need more fluids.  This handheld  has been great in races and has a lid design that I now frankly take for granted.  Well, it has no lid, as a matter of fact! Just squeeze and fluids are disp...

Greg at Natural Strides  asked members of the racing team to send in a bio.  Here is mine: I ran some in high school for basketball but it was mostly sprints. Running was punishment. It never occurred to me to run cross-country or do any distance running at all A mile seemed like a long run. I became really overweight in my 20s and was smoking cigarettes. However, when I was around 28 I had the urge to run, so I did. It wasn't far but it seemed like something I should be doing as a way out of an unhealthy, unhappy life. I only ran a few times then forgot about exercise for several more years. In 2008 I began bicycling and my whole life changed. I began to lose weight and feel better. I was finally becoming the person that I always wanted to be. My wife Renee mentioned trail running to me. It was one of those ideas that sounded so outrageous yet intriguing. Trails are meant for hiking not running! Soon after I went to Pine Mountain in Cartersville, Ga. and gave it a shot. T...

Welcome back to my blog! I have been busy training for the Augusta half-Ironman for the past 4 months and am glad to bring you this post straight from the murky depths of training stupor.  I thought that I would dedicate today's post to running and my thoughts on the subject, observations and stuff I have learned over the last 3 years.  Enjoy my post on speed and getting faster! Flat footfall and no flexion = happy shins! Do not brake every time your feet hit the ground.   If you hear "scuffing" every time your feet hit the ground, that is essentially braking yourself and slowing down.  Aim for a nearly silent footfall.  Achieve this by increasing your cadence. Ideal cadence for most is 80-100 per minute.  Top marathoners barely strike the ground. Run fast.  Often.   To get faster,  do short sprints and if those are not feasible, then run up hills.  Running up hills will make you faster and stronger on the flats.  Sprint...

Had a great time and an excellent race at my 3rd Rope Mill Duathlon. It consisted of a 6 mile bike, 3 mile run, then another 6 mile bike.  Try to imagine all out effort for nearly 90 minutes.  This race was a beast last year and was one of the toughest races I did.  This year was no different except that I am pleased to report that this year I felt a lot better physically and mentally. My bike to run transition was more "pleasant" and I didn't feel nearly as trashed going up the first awful hill to Explorer Trail.  I was a lot more assertive and in control.   I had rested all week except for a short MTB ride on Wednesday. Also haven't been doing much running to speak of for the past several weeks.  I think I may have pulled a muscle in my right quad as it's been bothering me since the ride on Wednesday. We had a race start in the 30s this morning. I couldn't feel my hands and was having to rest my palm on my bars and brake with 2 fingers.  My feet wer...

I am doing the zero to 1 mile swimming program.  http://ruthkazez.com/ZeroTo1mile.html I am currently in week 5 which has me swimming about 0.6 miles nonstop. Yesterday went to Lake Allatoona for some open water swimming practice. I felt strong through the 1000 yards, which took 20 minutes. Sighting needs work. Finished up with 4 x 100s although it was hard to judge distance so I just swam for 3 minute intervals. Ran in to some chop right at the finish. Solid effort but I think I need to rest my right