Training Supplement – March 4, 2018

 

I finally purchased a pair of wireless headphones!  I looked at two different models and settled on the Jaybird X3s.  With my ongoing bathroom remodel, body wipes came to my rescue after a few of my runs.  I also stocked up on some light-weight winter caps.

Clothing & Gear

Body Wipes. Epic Wipes. I didn’t have time for a shower after a run-commute this month and decided to use this wipe to clean myself up.  When I unwrapped it, I realized it was huge! I actually cut the panel in half and it was still large enough to thoroughly wipe down my entire body.  It was a little antiseptic smelling, but I still preferred using one big wipe to wash up rather than several smaller wipes.

Hats. Mizuno Breath Thermo Pip. I bought this hat before the 2017 Fairfax Four Miler and it became a favorite this winter.  It’s very light weight, warm, and fits my head like a glove. I noticed the current model was on sale so I bought two more!

Shoe dryers.  Drysure.  My shoes got absolutely soaked during a long run a few weeks ago.  I put these contraptions (that I got in a previous Runner’s World Box) in my shoes mid-afternoon on Saturday and, sure enough, my shoes were almost completely dry the next morning!  I’m not sure they’re better than just keeping a spare pair of shoes around, though.

Runner’s World Box. This month’s box had an interesting mix of items: a cooling towel, stretch bands, odor eliminator, and a cup of “flapjack on the go”.

(My Complete Clothes & Gear Page.)

Routes

Construction.   During a medium run last week, I saw the Lee Highway portion of the Custis Trail was undergoing construction.  But the detour wasn’t disruptive.  It wasn’t until after my run that I saw an ArlNow article about the project.  Work is scheduled to wrap up in May.

Hazards.  “Video: D.C. Taxi Drives Onto Custis Trail,” from ArlNow.  Last month, a taxi ended up on the Custis Trail!  It took me a while to picture where this occurred.  From my recollection, the feeder stretch of asphalt to the trail is very narrow, so it’s hard to understand how the driver got confused.

 

 

 

 

Media & Motivation

Music. “Thunder,” Imagine Dragons.  “I was the lightning before the thunder.”

(My “Songs of the Week” playlist on Spotify.)

Headphones.  I purchased a pair of wireless headphones!  As background, I knew I had to switch to listening to music through my smartphone after Apple announced they were retiring the iPod products.  When I got a pair of FRESHeBUDS Wireless Earbuds in a Runner’s World Box, I thought I should go wireless, too.

Shopping around, I focused on two models – the Jaybird X3 and JLab Audio Epic Sport.  Features I considered were:

• play time (8 for Jaybird vs.12 hours for JLab),
• custom sound (through an app vs. no app),
• comfort (no earhook vs. earhook), and
• reviews on Amazon (3.5 vs. 3 stars).

And, the winner was… the Jaybirds!  Why?

• I didn’t want the earhook,
• I liked the idea of customization sound, and
• I thought the online reviews were more favorable.

During the un-packaging, I was disappointed to see the color I chose – “Alpha” – was green instead of dark grey.  And, the set-up guide didn’t give instructions on forwarding or repeating music.  I had to go online to watch a video for that.

But, my impressions of the product improved once I started wearing them.  When I turned them on, a voice told me how much battery power was left.  And, the headphones came with clips so I could make the cords snug against my head.  Using the app, I changed the output to high definition, which resulted in richer sound quality.

Still, I had a few issues with the headphones.  After an hour-long run, the app on my smartphone showed that I had 70% battery power left, which led me to believe the play time might be closer to 5 or 6 hours.  Also, the headphones charge on a special cradle that was tricky to clip in.  Finally, I had some delayed playback on a couple of runs.  But overall, I’ve been happy with my purchase so far.

Podcasts.  “Episode 422: Ross Murray, Part 2,” from Marathon Talk.  The interesting part of this interview was at the 1:40:00 mark where the guest asks the host how we could make Track & Field (or as they call it across the pond, “athletics”) more popular.  The guest talks about needing to make it exciting and feel like a night out by, for example, serving alcohol!

News.  “Ultra Runners of the Year,” UltraRunning Magazine, February 2018.  I learned a lot from reading this “best of” issue.  And I liked how, after acknowledging the best ultradistance runners, the editors called out other accomplishments.  For example, there were tables on the youngest and the oldest winners at the 50 and 100 mile distances.

Motivation. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

I’m trying to do more things that I’ve been wanting to do or am afraid I’ll regret not doing – like running a 50 miler!